The Gambit

By Alexander Ferrick

In the year 2178, the greatest calamity in human history occurred; a fleet of advanced alien ships massacred our astronauts on Mars, and then set their sights on Earth. If it had not been for the visionary leadership of Mathias King, the wealthiest tech CEO on Earth, Humanity would surely have been annihilated by the alien menace. With his new, more advanced star ships and his genetically enhanced soldiers, King was able to drive the aliens away from the Earth, and even lead a counter-offensive across the galaxy. All humans owed King their lives, so it was only fitting that he take over the global government. It was only fitting that he make service in his military mandatory. It was only fitting that he surveil every conversation on Earth... At least, that's what we were told.Ten years after the alien invasion, a young orphan named Zain finds himself forcibly recruited into King's army, and as he climbs the ranks and sees the war first hand, he begins to wonder if he is really fighting on the right side, or if he has been lied to about his alien foes from the very beginning.

Experience Part 1 of the critically acclaimed Crystal Helix Trilogy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alexander Ferrick
• Release date: Jun 1, 2019

Book preview

Prologue

The human race has always expanded. It has always felt entitled to do so, for in all the Earth, to its knowledge, it was the superior species. A time came in its history when it was able to expand beyond the Earth. By the 22nd century, it did. Believing that if it were the most developed species on the planet, mustn’t it also be the greatest in the universe? ... As it’s future would reveal… The greatest, it was not.

For a time the humans progressed, and during that time, they were watched. Eventually, the beings of the planet Valhailia saw fit to send an envoy to greet the Earthlings. At that time, Earth’s most remote outpost was on the planet the Earthlings called Mars. The Valhailians knew that the humans had forgotten them for the most part. Their most recent visit had been chalked up to primitive religious mythology by several generations of human civilization. The prince of Valhailia, Loki, knew that the humans had always been unusually prone to conflict. That tendency could prove to be dangerous if their growth were left unchecked. Ultimately, it did.

Human history books maintain that the envoy crash-landed on the planet Mars. However, the chief engineer of Valhailia’s royal court, Aesir, insists to this day that the craft was shot down by the humans on Mars. It is not certain which account is true, but if the craft did crash due to a technological failure, then it was the first and the last of Aesir’s ships to do so. Human history books also maintain that the alien body found on Mars was deceased, but he was not.

Interstellar travel is a complicated thing. The manner in which the Valhailians accomplished it involved deep meditation. It enabled them to travel vast distances, at humanly impossible speeds, without the kinetic forces killing their bodies.

It is not known why, but the Valhailian pilot suffered a peculiar injury, when his vessel crashed. This left him in an altered state of suspended consciousness, neither meditating nor awakened. Rather, he appeared to the scientists to be dead, while still alive and completely aware of his surroundings.

The humans began investigating the envoy’s physiology unaware he was still alive. They were so thrilled to have discovered a humanoid life form, that upon discovering he was still alive, they continued to dissect him. Abandoning their human sensibilities, they descended into unspeakable cruelty, in the name of scientific discovery.

Meanwhile, on Valhailia, the normally peaceful people were gearing up for battle. A sensitive link exists between the minds of all Valhailians, and accordingly, each and every one of the planet’s inhabitants could feel the pain of the humans’ barbaric experiments on their ill-fated envoy back on Mars. The inevitable result was war.

In the Earthling’s year 2174 AD, they isolated the chromosome pair that distinguished them from their captured Valhailian. They dubbed it The Crystal Helix. Their scientists attempted many experiments with the gene sequence, trying to give themselves the natural capabilities of the young Valhailian. Every human subject of those experiments died painfully, until the year 2175, when the scientists had a new idea: they used the gene sequence, mixed with their blooming nano-bot technology to grow a groundbreaking organic armor, which gradually imparted pseudo-Valhailian characteristics and genetics to its user through osmosis. They named the new fighting force C.H.E.S.S. (Crystal Helix Enhanced Super Soldiers), and they dubbed each class of soldier after their own ancient strategy game of the same name. The national governments on Earth found the systems to be overkill for the combat to which they were accustomed, and the project was sharply defunded.

In the year 2178, the first flotilla of Valhailian ships arrived at the Mars outpost to avenge their fallen comrade. The devastating attack wiped out all of Earth’s astronauts on Mars.

The Mars massacre triggered a worldwide panic; as the hysteria spread throughout the world, the sitting governments began to lose their grip on power. The UN then issued an emergency order unifying global government into