Annihilation: The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, Book 1: The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, #1

By Andrew Broderick

The entire planet Relisse will burn within days... 

Theo, a struggling farmer on the planet Relisse, gets by on selling crops--until he gets too greedy. 

A small-time smuggling gig to help feed his children turns into a murderous double-cross. Now, he's got a price on his head. Theo's forced to find some powerful--and dangerous--friends. Fast. 

The deal doesn't seem bad: in exchange for protection, Theo only has to help the Carbonari rebels mine rare minerals for their war with another faction. 

But when a deadly third player joins the battle, they hit hard: Theo sees his entire planet burn before his eyes! 

Now, Theo's got nothing left but fiery revenge, and he'll take his vengeance all the way to the emperor himself!

Don't miss Annihilation, a new space opera first-in-series by sci-fi writer Andrew Broderick.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Broderick
• Release date: Jul 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393138525

Book preview

One

The smell of coffee hung in the hot air of the Carristoux market. Theo drew his arms around him, to make his silhouette smaller in the shadows. Passersby were generally too caught up in the souk to notice much else around them. That was all for the best, as far as he was concerned. They could keep their powdered, haughty noses in the air. He preferred an honest day’s labor.

Theo’s arms were taut and toned, from laboring in the fields of his farm on Relisse. If he had it his way, he would have already been back on his home planet, with the profits of this year’s harvest tucked nicely in his pocket. Unfortunately, he had been talked into a questionable favor by his sister-in-law.

The girl was an off-worlder the rest of his family thought of as bad luck. Standing in the shade of the coffee shop, Theo felt himself agreeing with them more and more. His brother Remi had hooked up with Cierra, after being dishonorably discharged from the Carristoux Regional Militia. As beautiful as she might have been, his sister-in-law’s outspoken nature and radical ideas made her an embarrassment to the rest of Theo’s family. She was nothing like his own wife, Mari, who was a timid but respectful woman.

Theo had gotten Mari in a family way back during his stint with the CRM, and done the decent thing by marrying her. Though Mari wasn’t an exotic beauty, Theo knew he could have done far worse. She had blessed him with healthy children, who could help till the fields.

Theo checked the chronometer on his wrist. The star Raes continued its slow arc across the sky, dragging the shadows with it. ‘It’ll be an easy job. Just go through customs with your produce, sell your stuff, and take this envelope to a man named Garth outside of the coffee house,’ Remi had said. Theo rolled his eyes, as he recalled the words. His brother had tried to convince him the whole thing was his idea, but Theo wasn’t a fool. The whole situation had Cierra written all over it.

His eyes scanned the crowds. The only description of Garth he had to go on was that the man was older, large, and would be wearing a black shirt and green breeches. The man was supposed to be bald and clean shaven, but in the Carristoux heat, that could have described more than a handful of the men he had seen already. Theo shifted uneasily.

The crowds made him uneasy. Typically, he dropped off his harvest, picked up any supplies he needed, and returned to Relisse as quickly as possible. Festivities were not his cup of tea. It didn’t help that the place was crawling with Imperial soldiers, either. Theo had gotten enough of soldiers during his required military service. The only thing that came from his time with the militia that he still valued was his pilot’s license.

Relisse was an outer planet on the far reaches of the empire. It was far enough away to rarely—if ever—draw the attention of the Emperor. It was quiet, quaint, and Theo couldn’t imagine living out his life anywhere else. He loved the hard labor that wrought the crops and kept the animals healthy. The soil was rich. Theo was still in his early twenties, and the work channeled his energy and kept him out of trouble.

Other planets were not so lucky. Some were so densely populated that they couldn’t help but draw the Emperor’s attention. Others were plagued with sandy soil or frozen wastelands. The blessings of Relisse were not lost on Theo or his family. Even just yearly trips to the souk were enough to remind him how lucky they were.

Remi had insisted that it would be an easy job, and the money was good. To Theo’s surprise, his brother had paid him upfront. Since they were so far removed from the empire, he doubted that Remi and Cierra could be involved in anything too dangerous; besides, Theo had already spent the money on shoes for his eldest son. The kids were going through growth spurts, and even with Mari repurposing what she could, the amount of money needed to keep them clothed was staggering. The harvest money alone wouldn’t have been enough this year. It was Theo’s job to do what he had to, in order to provide for his family. So, there he was—against his better judgement—waiting for a stranger outside of a coffee house.

Theo tapped his foot impatiently. Ten more minutes. I’ll give him ten more minutes, and if he doesn’t show, I’ll find a way to pay Remi back.

Theo plopped himself down, at a bench in front of a table. The bench on the other side was occupied by a local family. They chatted away, in a dialect he barely understood. He ignored them, and continued scanning the crowd discreetly. The air was stagnant, and the heat more than he cared to endure. He unscrewed the cap on his water flask, and fingered the dirty piece of ribbon that Mari had tied onto it years ago. A small smile turned up the corners of his mouth, in spite of the heat. The marriage medallion hung against his chest. After all this time, its weight was comforting around his neck.

The family bounced away, to look at more vendors who were preparing for the official opening of the souk. Theo shook his head in displeasure. It was astounding to him, that so many of the people in the city partook in excess. It didn’t matter if it was food, drink, or gawdy trinkets. Many children grew up pampered, surrounded by so much comfort that they wouldn’t know a hard day’s work if it was right in front of them. His children grew up knowing what needed to be done on the farm, and that their father expected it done in a timely manner. Mari made sure they were spiritual, and he made sure they were strong.

Theo glanced at his chronometer again. It was getting too late. He was wasting time trying to meet this Garth fellow, when he could have been back home taking care of chores and spending time with his family. They couldn’t hold him accountable, if their man couldn’t keep to a schedule.

Two men, waltzing down the aisles between the booths, caught Theo’s eye. They wore the badges of the city council, and had impact guns slung lazily over leather belts. Watchmen. Theo glanced at them, with his heart in his throat. He reassured himself that there was no reason for them to be looking for him. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Still, this whole mess was leaving him with an