Enhanced

By David. B. Reynolds-Moreton

In a faraway Galaxy, a solar system of some four planets came under threat from an alien force. On one of the planets, a civilisation had developed, split in two, and gone their separate ways. Their salvation from destruction will depend upon someone from one of the lesser groups of near savages (by comparison to the main group) to acquire enhanced abilities from a most unlikely source – something which had advanced the main group to develop space travel within their system – and which had now been lost in the mists of time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David. B. Reynolds-Moreton
• Release date: Sep 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370099221

David. B. Reynolds-Moreton

Retired Research & Development Engineer. Interests:- Physics, Electronics, Chemistry, Renewable Energy Systems. Also:- writing Sci-Fi and building an adult realtime 3D adventure computor game.

Book preview

Enhanced

( part 1 of the Zuki trilogy)

by

David B. Reynolds-Moreton

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

D.B.Reynolds-Moreton on Smashwords

Enhanced

(part 1)

Copyright © 2016 by D.B.Reynolds-Moreton

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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Synopsis

In a faraway Galaxy, a solar system of some four planets came under threat from an alien force. On one of the planets, a civilisation had developed, split in two, and gone their separate ways. Their salvation from destruction will depend upon someone from one of the lesser groups of near savages (by comparison to the main group) to acquire enhanced abilities from a most unlikely source – something which had advanced the main group to develop space travel within their system – and which had now been lost in the mists of time.

ENHANCED

Part 1 – The Threat

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Zuki

Chapter 2. The Proposition

Chapter 3. A Repeat Performance

Chapter 4. Full Command

Other books by the same Author

About the Author

Chapter 1

Zuki

Zuki awoke from a dream into a living nightmare - the sounds of terrified screams, the thunk of metal striking something hard, and a low roaring noise. A dull lurid red glow lit up his room as he stumbled about, trying to make sense of the cacophony of sounds which assailed his young ears.

He went to the small hole in the cottage wall which served as a window and looked out, he could see several of the little cottages with their roofs on fire, and dark shadows running about. What was happening?

The village was composed of a neat double row of well built stone single story dwellings, with thatched roofs, many of which were enthusiastically ablaze, while those occupants who could, ran forth, only to be mown down in a shower of arrows and the occasional spear. Those who had dodged the onslaught were then met by sword wielding creatures clad in animal skins and metal helmets – they didn’t stand a chance against their attackers.

Although built of stone, the roof timbers and thatch, plus the contents, were bone dry due to the unusually hot weather, and it only needed a few sparks for the fire to spread from cottage to cottage.

Zuki ran out into what passed for a stone road between the dwellings, trying to make sense of the terrible carnage. At that moment, a blazing roof timber freed from its neighbours holding peg, swung down across the road, striking Zuki on the back of the head, and his world slipped into intense blackness as he crumpled to the ground.

One of the passing attacking creatures gave his limp body a hefty kick, but as it didn’t respond, he considered it already dead, grunted, and passed on down the road, looking for anyone else still left alive.

As the grey light of dawn broke, Zuki’s eyes slowly opened to be greeted to a scene he could not have imagined. Little wisps of smoke drifted up from the still smouldering timbers of what had once been a neat peaceful little row of dwellings – the occupants lay all around, some adorned with arrows, some with their heads missing, while others were so burnt as to be unrecognisable.

He slowly raised his head so as to not draw attention to himself if any of the attackers should still be around, but they were long gone – their gruesome task completed – the village had been wiped out.

Zuki rose to his feet, and swaying slightly, made his way back to the remains of his home. The stone walls still stood, but the roof and contents had all been consumed, all he could find which made any sense were the two charred bodies of his parents – he was the sole survivor.

He knew there had been bad feeling between his village and the next one, but they were only words, as far as he knew. Why kill everyone just because of a few hot words? It didn’t make any sense to him. There were several disparate tribes dotted about along the foot of the great mountain, but there had never been all out war that he knew of.

Zuki decided he should leave the village quickly, just in case the attackers returned to loot what little was left; even if they didn’t return, there was little purpose in him staying here – everything was wrecked or burnt – even what little food they had.

Carefully treading between the smouldering timbers, he looked for his fathers hunting knife with its sheath and belt. Fortunately for him, it had dropped down between the stone wall and the wooden water trough which had been recently filled, and so had been spared the conflagration, and there beside it was his metal drinking mug – there was precious little else worth salvaging.

Strapping on the knife belt, he looked around for the last time, gave a shuddering sigh, and strode out into road. Which way to go? To the right would lead him in the direction of the attackers village, if it were they who had wrecked his life and that of all he had known. To the left were the orchards and animal pens – he could get some food there – if the raiders hadn’t taken it all.

For a brief moment he wondered if it was worth while trying to contact the Masters, as they were referred to in the old ledgends, maybe they could help? – but then he thought better of it, as the Masters had tried many times to get the tribes to join them and ‘become more civilised’ as they put it – but everyone had refused, and so they were left to their own devices – which didn’t amount to very much, according to Zuki’s way of thinking.

The