Blood Red: The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, Book 2: The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, #2

By Andrew Broderick

Theo is a broken man. The only family he has left is the rebel group known as the Carbonari.

The war against the powerful Yasta acolytes, blamed for destroying the planet Relisse, and Theo's family, is heating up. No longer a farmer, Theo must train for combat. Before he's even half ready to fight, his cell must infiltrate a Yasta monastery, to retrieve vital intelligence. But, can the Carbonari pull off the incursion? And, even with the sharpest blade in existence, can Theo survive the fierce onslaught of dozens of Yasta?

Don't miss Blood Red, a new space opera adventure by sci-fi writer Andrew Broderick!

If you like epic battles, action-packed adventures and edge-of-your-seat suspense you will love The Relissarium Wars Series! Get it now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Broderick
• Release date: Jul 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393822004

Book preview

One

Give me five more! Hojae barked at Theo. The Josti stood in front of him, a shield in one hand and a wooden sword in the other.

Theo lifted his thin metal helm, to wipe away the sweat from his eyes. It’s only my second week! Give me a chance to catch my breath!

Your second week? How could I forget? Hoaje softened his voice to give Theo a momentary glimpse of hope, before snapping back into his drill-sergeant demeanor. If it’s your second week, you should be able to give me ten more!

Theo groaned. When the Carbonari masters had told him Hojae would be leading his training, he had thought it would be more like two friends sparring off. He couldn’t have been more wrong. You know, I think I liked it better when you only used two arms.

Oh? Would you like to go back to that?

Hojae tucked his two lower arms behind his back, and charged at Theo. His wooden training sword plummeted down in full force. Theo’s arms ached, but he tried to counter the blow. His breath came in strenuous puffs, but he managed to keep the Josti’s sword braced against his own. A cocky smile spread across Theo’s face, but it was short lived. In the space of a heartbeat, Hojae pulled out is lower limbs and delivered a quick series of jabs and cross punches to Theo’s midsection.

Theo crumpled to the ground, clutching his ribs. Hey!

On the battlefield, do not expect your opponent to fight fair! Expect the unexpected. Now get up. You still owe me ten more. Hojae twirled the wooden sword over his head. He began to circle around, as if stalking his prey. With the protective helm on, the Josti appeared to be some sort of demon from hell.

Theo struggled to his feet. It was always awkward to stand back up after he had been knocked down. The armor padding he was wearing made him ungainly. The extra weight made it harder to move, and the heat that it trapped in drenched him with sweat. It would be so much easier to move without the restrictive armor plating. The Carbonari never wore it in battle, so why did he have to train in it? You wear it so I can hit you as hard as I like, and not bash your brains into your skull! Hojae’s voice still rung in his ears. The purple bruise on Theo’s back ached with the memory.

I still don’t understand the need to learn to use a shield. Theo managed to throw up a block, intercepting another strike from the Josti. These things aren’t as big as the ones I saw the militia use.

It gives you a sense of situational awareness. Hojae circled around Theo, and looked for an opening. His eyes were bright and keen. Noticing Theo following his movements, Hojae looked down. Theo followed to see if his opponent found some opening. Before Theo looked back up, Hojae popped him in the face grille with a hard whack. Theo was knocked to the ground.

Theo sucked in a sharp breath. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing. He should have seen that coming. Exhaustion was fogging his mind, and slowing down his reflexes. Theo stood up, and dusted himself off.

See? Situational awareness. You were concentrating so much on me that you let me fake you out. What I did was an old trick. You need to learn your opponent’s body language. Hojae moved back for another round. A satisfied smile lit up his demonically shrouded face. For a moment, Theo wished he could get close enough to knock both the helm and the smile off of his teacher’s face.

Cherish broke up their training session. Hojae, why don’t you let Cierra and I work with him for a while? I know you like beating him up, but he needs to learn from different people. There won’t be only one fighting style in the field.

Well and good. Hojae nodded. He unsnapped his helm, and pulled it off. He turned to Theo, who’d managed to wipe most of the sweat from his face. Trails of dust turned to mud along his cheeks and forehead. Remember what I told you about being alone in space. Hojae picked up his gear and walked back toward the main hall.

What did he mean by that? Cherish cast a curious glance at her retreating teammate.

Theo was glad to have a moment to breathe. I’m not sure. Something about not having anyone around to help you. I made the mistake of telling him, last week, that I wouldn’t have to worry so much during my first time out because there would be plenty of the Brotherhood around me. I still have the bruise on my arm he gave me for that remark. He winced, and lifted his injured arm.

At least you didn’t challenge him to hit you somewhere. Cierra snorted and rolled her eyes. I’ve seen the results from that, and it’s not pretty.

Cierra, you go a few rounds with him. Let me watch. I’ll see if I can tell Theo what he’s doing wrong. Both women were armored up to fight. Cherish stepped back a few paces to give them room to spar.

Hey, I’ve got an idea. Theo readied himself on the practice field. He was close to the same height as Cierra, but he still had reservations about striking a woman. In his former life, being a wife beater was the worst thing anyone could say about a man.

She scoffed under her breath. After training with Hojae, I’m surprised you’re able to think anything at all. We had a bet going about whether or not you would have brain damage.

Oh, yeah? I bet you made a killing off of that one.

Cierra shrugged her shoulders. Not really. I didn’t think you’d last two days. She watched the shock of her words roll over his face. Now, what was your idea?

Theo glared at her, but he continued his thought. Why don’t we make this interesting? If I win, you tell me what planet we are on, and if you win, you still tell me what planet we’re on.

Ha! Not a chance. If the masters wanted you to know where we were, they would have told you. You can suffer with not knowing, just like the rest of the first-degree recruits. Now, quit stalling. We’ve got a fight to do.

Theo followed Cierra’s patterns. His eyes narrowed, as he tried to remember the important lessons Hojae had taught him. There were so many things to remember: footing, stance, situational awareness. He ticked them off one by one in his mind. Hojae had assured him that