NeoTerra: The Shadow Wars

By Nayeri Wolf

Humans discovered warp drives several centuries after the initial moon landing. They sent out dozens of exploratory ships but only one reported back with news of a world so much like their own that it was practically indistinguishable. They called it NeoTerra and control of it was swiftly taken up by greedy companies with cash to spend.
However, their actions upon the world had two major consequences: it created the anthros and it gave birth to a menacing Shadow, the embodiment of the chaotic hatred in the hearts of bigoted people. It was this Shadow that helped keep the trouble brewing between humans and anthros. Eventually, the Shadow attacked on his own, only to be beaten back.
It is five hundred years later now and he has returned. It is up to Nayeri, a wolf, and heir of her pack, Darick, a human Captain and friend to Nayeri, and Avreba, a black cheetah ex-spy with a personal grudge against the Shadow's armies, to defeat him. To do so, they must undergo a hazardous journey, facing many trials, uncovering secrets and dealing with betrayals from their past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nayeri Wolf
• Release date: Aug 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463560761

Nayeri Wolf

Nayeri Wolf is a 28 year old living with her grandmother and dog, both of whom she takes care of. A long time author, she has spent many years honing her craft on various unsold stories. The story and world that has kept her the most invested, however, is her NeoTerra book.

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Neo-Terra

The Shadow Wars

Nayeri Wolf

Copyright © 2018 Nayeri Wolf

All rights reserved.

Published by Nayeri Wolf at Smashwords

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To my family, who has always been there for me.

To Kimaru, who believed I could touch the stars, if I wanted to.

To Dr. Haber, who gave me back my muse.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Admiral

Chapter 2: The Spy

Chapter 3: Lunar Pass

Chapter 4: Traveling

Chapter 5: The Fight

Chapter 6: The Mission

Chapter 7: War

Chapter 8: The Forbidden Zone

Chapter 9: Caught in the Web

Chapter 10: The Guardian

Chapter 11: Our Home

Epilogue

About the Author

Prologue

In the year 2469, five hundred years after man landed on the moon, the warp drive was finally discovered. A few hundred ships that had been specially prepared for the stresses of warp drive were fitted with the new, more powerful engine; with it, humans could skip between galaxies and solar systems that were many thousands of light years apart, as long as they knew the relative coordinates. It took a short year for several of the scouts to send back reports of planets they had found that were suitable to contain human life, though a few ships had been lost in the process.

One ship though, the Space Ship Condor, found an almost exact replica of their home world, Earth. It was given a number, but the original founders nicknamed it Neo-Terra, or New-Earth. The name stuck, and many colonists called it that from then on. However, the price to colonize a planet was steep, despite the high population level that crowded Earth, the Moon, Mars and a few moons of Jupiter. Thus, it was only the very rich corporate big shots that could afford to go to good planets like Neo-Terra.

The home world had forbidden the creation of anything that would pollute Earth further; so many big companies had started to slowly go out of business because of the inability to get rid of toxic and other dangerous wastes properly. On many of the colony worlds, Neo-Terra included, this law did not apply because of how unsullied everything was. The head honchos that colonized the new Earth had no care for the environment, and what took thousands of years to happen on the home planet, only took one hundred years on the new one. Neo-Terra was soon corrupted, and many of the people started leaving as the world became more and more uninhabitable.

One island, though, in the planet’s western ocean, did not react negatively to the toxic and radioactive wastes that had been dumped upon it. Already unusual in that it very much resembled the Zen symbol of Yin and Yang, the pollution only made the island more special and unique. Though there had been claims of creatures like unicorns, dragons and phoenixes being seen on the island by the disposal crews, the most common animals were creatures that had once been seen often on the dying Earth. These animals that so resembled Terran creatures were different in one major way, however: their DNA was of a different composition than Earth animals. Instead of the negative reaction most creatures on the home world had, these animals reacted well to the toxic/radioactive wastes. Thus were born the anthropormorphics (anthros), and humans found themselves a new slave race.

Five hundred years passed, and the date was 600 Warp Era (W.E.), or 3069 C.E. Unrest, in the form of definite ill feelings towards the humans, was beginning to develop in the anthro population, despite all the attempts of humans to suppress it. The mistreatment of the furred, feathered and scaled races was beginning to grate on the now well-developed sensibilities of the slave population. They saw themselves as people in their own right, and as much deserving of freedom and fair treatment as any other sentient race. The unrest was exacerbated by a Shadow, a demon with no apparent form, which seemed to have originated on Terra itself.

No one recognized the Shadow for what it was, though, as the feelings of anger and hate were too strong to be overcome by the few pure souls that escaped the pressures of a growing war. Undeclared though it was, it was still a war. Sometimes it was very subtle; the anthros that were under a human family doing little things like burning a dinner, or causing upset within the herds. Not entirely obvious, the problems were miniature enough on their own, but when combined together caused major problems for the humans. On Neo-Terra, though, skirmishes were happening left and right, one of the few places that the anthros fought back with all their force. Many a good anthro and human died, before a group began to form to stop the violence yet still obtain the freedom of the anthros.

The group called itself the Sentient Peace Warriors, and was made up of about ten humans and ten anthros. Their calm logic and determined civil disobedience won the day, though it took twenty-five years before the Human-Anthro war ended for good, and the freedom was given to the Anthros, who changed their name to Furrs, Feathers and Scales respectively to their own kind.

Seventy-five years later, at 700 W.E. The Shadow that had been stalking the creatures during the previous war attacked on Yin-Yang Island, causing an uprising of evil to spread throughout the land. Even good people, anthro and human alike, who had nothing but peace on their mind fell victim to the Shadow, and the death toll began to rise. Thus awoke the two guardians, the white eyed black wolf Yin, and the black eyed white wolf Yang. Together they forced into submission the Shadow, though not the memory of the hell the Shadow Wars brought to the world.

It is now four hundred and twenty five years later, in the year 1125 W.E. It is the five hundredth anniversary of the Anthros freedom from slavery, and all the Furrs, Feathers and Scales are incredibly excited. However, on Neo-Terra, particularly on the island, a stirring of an ancient evil is beginning to arise again. Hopefully this will not affect the celebrations in a month’s time, what those on the island call the Hunting. I, however, will likely be on duty on the Falcon. This is Colonel Nayeri Woolfe signing out.

Excerpt taken from the diary of:

Nayeri Woolfe, Colonel, and bodyguard on the S.S. Falcon

Chapter 1

The Admiral

Nayeri sighed and turned off the mini-computer. The thing resembled some of the ancient cell-phones she had seen once in a museum, except it was about half-the-size of one of the old lined notebooks. She was extraordinarily grateful that Captain Darick allowed electronic equipment on his ship. She would likely be inordinately lost without her diary, as she depended on it to provide relief from the stresses of her bodyguard life. Particularly when she had an assignment such as the one she had currently.

Speaking of assignments…her ears pricked up, and she sighed. Putting away her computer, she called, Coming, Lord Smith! She hated her charge, by the stars and planets; one James Codfish Smith. He was about twenty years of age and was a brat as only a noble’s kid could be.

He had been living off his father’s earnings for the past month, making the transfer from the Ganymede Dome colony to the space station Cerain. He had a temper and no respect for those under him that were assigned to protect him. Indeed, one of his biggest complaints was that the Falcon was run by a mere Captain while he was guarded by a Colonel. It made no sense to him that Nayeri gave deference to someone who had much more experience than her in running a space ship.

What angered her most about him was: that he had decided to treat her like a page or an errand girl, despite the fact that she far outranked him. His civilian rank only translated into a Lieutenant at best, yet he acted like he was the Admiral of the Terran star fleets! She longed for the day where she could put him in his place with no reprisals for her actions. After all, as long as she didn’t kill or otherwise maim him, her actions would be overlooked by the port authorities.

She paused in front of her mirror, making sure everything was in order. Her gray fur was lying perfectly flat against her body. The majority of her body was covered with a long-sleeved tunic in the Falcon’s colors. The Colonel Insignia she wore proudly on her chest. The eyes that saw all of this were blue in color and glowed with inner turmoil. She hurried out of her room after her brief check with the mirror, heading for Smith’s quarters.

However, before she did so, she nearly ran into Skye, the engineer of the ship. Nayeri took a quick inventory of what her ship-mate and friend was wearing. It seemed to be the typical ship’s uniform, with the Lieutenant insignia and the Falcon’s logo on one chest. The main difference with Skye’s was the border of the uniform, which changed colors depending on what gender they were feeling; though this could be a bit of a hassle for Skye, it allowed some peace of mind. Today, the border was a nice, gentle green, complimenting her eyes wonderfully.

Skye was an interesting person, as she had gone out of her way to befriend the only furr on the ship almost from day one. She had later told Nayeri, in confidence, that she had always wished she could be a furry or similar. Apparently, from what she had said, she was what was known as a ‘human furry’, though that term was out of date now that it had pretty much been given to the mammalian members who originated on Neo-Terra. It honestly hadn’t mattered to Nayeri one whit what Skye called herself; the Lieutenant was a kind soul and probably the oldest of the entire crew. Unlike Nayeri and the Captain, she had taken several years to achieve her rank.

No time to talk, Nayeri. I need to inform the Captain that Engine 2 needs replacing within the next year. It should’ve been replaced at Ganymede! Good luck with James. Skye’s voice, always fast paced in comparison with her methodical actions, was even quicker and more clipped than normal. Nayeri grimaced and hoped things would turn out okay; Engine 2 had been giving them problems since they’d installed it. Shaking her head to keep from getting further distracted, she continue on her way.

Stopping outside the doors, she smoothed down her ship uniform, a habit she had picked up to calm herself when she was thoroughly irritated. Entering the guest room, she made little notice to its lavishness. After all, she had seen the large sitting room with its special gravity-couches many times before. And with a month’s distance between Ganymede and Cerain, she had seen more than enough of Lord Smith

The self-proclaimed ‘Lord’ was a short man at the height of five feet, eight inches, though he made up for his small size in muscle. He was incredibly fit for a civilian, as could only be expected from the son of a butcher. The animals that had never gained sentience were large herd animals, and it took a lot of upper-body strength to get one of those beasts onto the butchering table. That, and the fact that meat was a scarce luxury in these times, made the young heir feel justified in acting like a noble-man. And he wasn’t far off in his assumptions, at least when it came to being guarded. Thus had Nayeri’s fate been sealed; to serve the short brown-eyed brunette as a bodyguard had been a nightmare, but she still did her job well.

Yes, Lord Smith; you called? Nayeri asked politely. She grimaced mentally as he turned to her with an all too familiar sneer. How she longed to wipe that look off his face, even for a few minutes. Instead she waited for her instructions, her face as neutral as always. Her training dictated that she keep a calm exterior when dealing with her clients, particularly the difficult ones.

She didn’t have to wait long for her orders to come, as Smith said in a disdainful voice, Yes, Nayeri, I did call. I’m thirsty; pray, bring me a glass of wine, you know the kind I prefer. She did know the kind he preferred, much to her disgust. A dry white wine, that stank to high heaven of the alcohol within. Like most of the Furred, she couldn’t stand liquor and its effects.

She was saved from the hated task by the captain’s voice over the intercom: All crew and passengers prepare for warp exit. Passengers are required to be secured in a seat or a couch. We will be entering Cerain space very shortly. Sighing mentally with relief, she returned to Smith to make sure the safety harness was properly attached. She then went to her seat to buckle herself in. She had once been forced to use the handles found around the ship for warp exit when a seat wasn’t nearby; it wasn’t a pleasant experience, and she truly did not want to repeat it.

As the ship began to rumble and vibrate, she unconsciously gripped the arm rests, her ears straining to lay flat against her skull. She hated the feeling that warp exit incurred on a ship, especially if the ship jumped right into a space storm. Then the turbulence was incredible; even the captain had looked green around the gills the few times they had jumped into a storm. However, despite the anxiety, the shaking soon stopped, and the captain was announcing that they had exited into Cerain space safe and sound.

Breathing out sharply through her nose, she unbuckled the safety restraints and stood up. She then went to Smith to unbuckle him; she was pleased to note that he was white. It appeared that he hadn’t taken very well to the transition. Nodding to him, she went off to prepare for landing. His objects would be packed by the robotic drones around the ship. She had to make sure she was fully equipped for the bodyguard transfer, which she was fully looking forward to. She muttered, Yeah, yeah when the captain once more spoke on the intercom, this time to alert them that they had gotten permission and were landing in one of the Cerain station’s landing bays.

Bracing herself against the feeling of landing, she made her way to her position: outside the current guest’s room. Despite the feeling of lasting forever, they were docked in Cerain station less than an hour after the captain had warned everyone about the imminent warp exit. Fingering the hilt of the knife that always stayed with her, she waited until everyone had started down the hall before falling in behind Smith. She hoped the transfer wouldn’t take long, but had a feeling that she wasn’t going to be able to take her revenge upon the human who had made the last month a practice in frustration. With that in mind, she managed to slip him a card with her message on the back. Justice would be served, even if it wasn’t her dishing it out.

Lord Smith, it appeared, had taken a class in being inconspicuous, as he slipped the card into a pocket with no one the wiser. As they were already walking down the walkway to the exit into the station, this was a necessary ability. When they were finally off the Falcon and in Cerain proper, she greeted the bodyguards, the ones who would take her charge, civilly. Then, making sure that there were no assassins waiting, the two bodyguards flanked Smith as Nayeri returned to her crew. It was with relief that she watched Smith walk away from them, and their ship.

Once the transfer was complete, the entire crew turned to Captain Darick to receive their new orders. Looking at them, the man sighed; he had been given a lot of responsibility at a very young age, and was biologically not much older than Nayeri, who was in her early twenties. Thus he felt the pressure of being a Captain more so than most that had grown into their role. Still, it wasn’t hard to feel a bit of guilt when he had to deliver their new orders: Back on the ship crew. Our new client will be here shortly, on an urgent mission to NeTerr Station.

They all looked stunned at him when he said this. Except for the captain, the twins Tari and Taron, and Nayeri, none of the crew of ten had ever been to Neo-Terra (NeTerr) Station. It was the only station in all of Alliance space that had an anthro majority, with the leader being a black-maned manticore. He was one of the few breeds that seemed to be of a pure Neo-Terran stock, the Terran manticore having faded into ancient myth ages ago. Despite this, he was actually somewhat friendly to those who were respectful.

Nayeri, who had a vested interest in avoiding her home solar system, asked Who is the client that needs to go to NeTerr so badly that he can’t allow us a day of rest? The others nodded in agreement. It had been a hard month, and they usually were allowed some free time before being forced to go back out. In a case like this, they likely would be in the station just long enough to resupply their ship and to pick up their new charge, but would be in space again before the day had changed.

Admiral Badru Abend, Darick stated quietly in answer to the question. This shut them all up. The only noble who could truly say he outranked them, and he was requesting the use of the Falcon to transport him to NeTerr. That was both a frightening, and exciting thought. It was the type of feeling one gets when one knows they are going to meet someone they look up to, but aren’t quite sure how to address them once the meeting does take place. Nayeri, however, was grinning full toothed in a sure sign that she was nervous or angry. Darick knew why, though likely the others didn’t. It was only on Admiral Abend’s say so that any of them were allowed to keep the Falcon past the contract date; most crews were moved to another ship if the contract had expired, and sometimes the crew was disbanded entirely. Thus, Nayeri was afraid that she would say or do something that would cause them to not only lose the ship, but be forced to return to their home planets, perhaps with a dishonorable discharge.

Nayeri sighed quietly, and went back on the Falcon. It wasn’t her job to refuel and restock the ship. It was her job to make sure she was mentally prepared for the upcoming two weeks. She was just grateful that the distance between Cerain and NeTerr was much shorter than the distance between the Sol system and Cerain. She would, hopefully, be able to ask for a month’s leave and attend the Hunting. She wouldn’t hold her breath for it, but she would ask eventually.

However, when Admiral Abend finally came on board, there was a drastic difference in tension levels. Despite everyone moving about on eggshells though, he was still better received than Lord Smith had been. Abend, for his part, stayed in his room but for meals and the 19:00 recreation time the crew attended. Those that talked to him found him to be rather calm of disposition, and easy to get along with. Nayeri, despite her fears, actually enjoyed guarding him whenever he went about the ship.

Besides Abend, though, there was only one other passenger, which kept itself covered with layers of cloth. No one was quite sure what it was, or even who, though the name Talon had been on his boarding pass. Indeed, Talon wasn’t the only thing unusual of the situation on the Falcon that trip. The fact was: they usually could carry around five passengers; that only two had boarded was eerie. And to Nayeri, it suggested something of a sinister nature. It was the same feeling she got when she’d been on a Hunting. One could always tell when one of the bigger predators was about, as the silence grew deathly still. Thus it was on the ship, but for meal and rec times.

Perhaps it was the atmosphere that set the events in motion. Perhaps it was the fact that the two weeks were almost up, and the assassin’s chances were quickly running thin. Whatever the case, about three days before they were to make NeTerr space, Talon made its move. Nayeri distinctly remembered it being exactly 19:35 when Talon came rushing into the rec room, brandishing two long swords. The crew was still for a minute, looking at the passenger oddly. Nayeri, however, had jumped up and drawn her own sword as soon as she’d seen Talon. She wasn’t a minute too soon, as Talon charged directly for Admiral Abend, forcing her to leap in and defend him.

She grunted mentally as the two swords struck against her one. This started the deadly dance that all bodyguards feared: the assassin attempting to get to its target, the guard doing its best to stop the attack. Thankfully, it appeared that Talon had less experience with the sword, despite it having two of them. Nayeri soon had disarmed Talon of one, and was working on either removing the other, or taking off the hood that hid Talon’s face from her. She wanted to know who and what she was fighting, though she had a horrible suspicion on what it could be.

The wolf grunted, this time audibly, as a particularly hard strike hit her sword. Growling, she lunged forward, barely managing to catch the hilt and send the last of Talon’s swords flying to join the other. Talon made as if to go to them, only to stop as Nayeri’s sword pricked its neck. With swift movements, she got the hood off while making sure to keep it from moving too much. The removing of the hoods revealed what she had most feared: one of the