The Noah Warriors

By JW Luff

Twenty years ago, Earth was invaded by an alien race. Its once great cities have been reduced to ruins. Those that didn’t die in the initial battles are rounded up for slave labor. A reptilian race known as the Draki, are led by a powerful being that considers itself a god. The most violent place on the planet is the area formally known as the United States. America was the last to fall. Some say the U.S. is gone forever. But deep underground, a nation is rebuilding itself. New weapons, new tactics. The aliens suspect the humans are planning an uprising. But that’s not the least of their problems. Five years before the invasion, God removed a remnant of the human race. That remnant is coming home, and they’re bringing some friends along with them. And they have a score to settle too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781387294886

Book preview

33

Chapter 1

Derek Becker leaned back in the copilot’s seat of the dropship and sipped his coffee. The maintenance crews had done an excellent job repairing the damage but the alien vessel still carried an odd smell. It was no wonder though, the craft’s previous occupants had died in the very place Dereck sat. Outside the assault ship’s mostly transparent nose section an unnamed gas giant circling an equally unknown star drifted by. The compact vessel was not designed for interstellar travel but rather for bringing troops and supplies down from a larger transport in orbit. This was the reason it was safely secured to a larger ship.

At age 55 Dereck could feel his back complaining by way of dull pain. He’d been working under one of the consoles in an unusual position trying to repair some damaged modules. As he sat, trying to get his back to relax the middle-aged space traveler glanced up at the larger ship that carried the one he was in. This one was capable of traversing interstellar distances. Called Avenging Angel the 300-foot long battlecruiser was not only capable of faster than light travel but could generate an artificial wormhole as well. This interdimensional corridor could send the ship across hundreds of light years in a matter of seconds.

As he took a sip of the warm liquid Dereck let his mind drift and the memories came rushing back. Dereck remembered a time back on Earth when he first started his career as a pilot. Having just turned twenty, the young man had no idea where he’d end up thirty-five years later. He certainly never imagined he’d become an astronaut. In the world, he grew up in, only the best of the best made it to the space program. The competition was fierce and American astronauts carried multiple degrees and were the top of their class. Dereck didn’t even finish college, and yet here he was. He’d beaten them all getting to another solar system and he didn’t even try. He was here because God had chosen him. Funny how a series of seemingly unimportant events added up to an incredible outcome. Working for a small construction company for less than a year it had been acquired by a much larger firm that in turn was gobbled up by Blackwell Enterprises; a huge defense contractor run by the infamous billionaire Marcus Blackwell. Dereck was sure he’d be laid off in the corporate shuffle but when the dust settled he was one of many corporate pilots stationed in Fort Worth, Texas at one of the company’s offices. He flew managers and department heads around to various locations in airplanes and helicopters. The young pilot had managed to marry the woman of his dreams and her, in turn, introduced him to Jesus. Then one fateful day while carrying the owner the young pilot was forced down in the middle of Arkansas. At an isolated cabin in the mountains, he watched God’s power firsthand as the Lord transformed Marcus Blackwell from playboy billionaire to Christian soldier. The elderly preacher at the cabin had given Marcus a small jump drive. On it was a seemingly benign computer program that would turn out to be as powerful as the Ark of the Covenant. Through God’s guidance, Marcus founded the NOAH Project which stood for New Onward Advanced Hardware. The computer program came to be known as The NOAH Equation. Also on that trip to Arkansas, he met a woman that would happen to be his mother-in-law. Dereck and his wife Nicole had been orphaned before they met. Nicole had never known her birth mother having been told she died in childbirth. The forty-year-old former Assassin Jessica Mckinney was told her daughter had been stillborn so the two women continued their lives never knowing the other was alive. Dereck had been drafted into God’s army and was sent on a mission to recover alien technology, that had crashed in Germany in 1936.

Dereck found out later that the Lord had given Marcus a mission: use the alien technology to send two hundred and eighty people through a wormhole to another star system. While a very visible Project NOAH was developing new and innovative ways to produce food and energy, the classified department was busy constructing two compact starships. Dereck, Nicole and everyone else onboard the two ships had no idea they were humanities first interstellar colonist until they awoke over eighty light years from Earth. That was twenty-five years ago. The group also had no way to contact the Earth or go back having expended all of the anti-matter fuel. Although the two hundred and eighty souls on board the two ships focused on survival they couldn’t help but wonder why they were there. All were believers in Christ and knew with every fiber of their being that this was God ordained, but for what purpose?

The planet they’d been sent to was not just a random destination. One of the items recovered in 1936 was an alien computer with a database of star systems. On it, they discovered what they thought was an uninhabited planet. As the ships approached they soon discovered the planet was in fact populated at least in one region by another species. The humans decided to land on the other side of the planet far from their new neighbors. The new arrivals had no idea how they would be received especially since the aliens appeared to be not as technically advanced as the humans were.

Four years after the humans arrived, the planet’s inhabitants found them and the two species discovered they worshiped the same God. Despite what atheist had claimed that Christianity was just another made up religion to control the masses. It was discovered that the Dolimon which is what the rat-like humanoid species was called had in their possession a book almost identical to the Holy Bible. The lessons were the same only names of the people and places were different. Also, the humans found out much to their amazement that their arrival had been foretold in the Dolimon prophecy. The aliens also informed the humans that they had been brought to this world three hundred years previously to escape some cataclysm. Although they were not sure what caused it. They also discovered that their world was called Salamu which in ancient Sumerian means safe. Whoever had brought the Dolimon here had even given them the English language to learn in preparation for the arrival of someone called the Ersetu. Much to the human's astonishment, Ersetu turned out to be another Sumerian word for those that from the Earth came. They even discovered through an ancient database the Dolimon had been more advanced than the humans. And the cataclysm was, in fact, an alien invasion that had destroyed their homeworld.

For the next twenty years, the two societies grew together forging strong bonds between one another. The first generation of human and Dolimon children grew into young adulthood not knowing a time when the two species were not together. Dereck’s daughter Jessica was one of that generation. Like her father, she loved to fly and proceeded to master any piece of aerial machinery she could get her hands on. The ruling council made up of human and Dolimon saw no reason for creating a military and didn’t even want to leave the planet except for orbital repair of satellites, much to the frustration of the younger crowd.

Dereck understood their reasoning although he didn’t agree with it. Even though they had lived in peace for over three centuries they decided it was best to keep a low profile. The species that destroyed the Dolimon homeworld was still out there somewhere. This new generation craved challenges so they turned inward to a video game called Vengeance. This multiplayer online game was a way to turn the tables on the invaders even if it wasn’t real. Huge numbers of human and Dolimon grew up playing the challenging virtual reality game. Jessica and her friends were some of the best and she even designed and built her own ship albeit virtually or so she thought. Dereck remembered an old Earth poem: The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go askew. Their peaceful existence was shattered one summer morning when the same aliens that had destroyed the Dolimon homeworld showed up on their doorstep so to speak. The planet’s inhabitants were defenseless or so they thought.

They discovered that the ship and its artificial intelligence that had brought the Dolimon to this planet was still there watching over them and the humans. Called Arsa, the highly advanced alien intelligence was also preparing that first generation for war. Vengeance was more than just a video game, it turned out to be an extremely advanced combat simulation trainer. And as Jessica had built her battle cruiser virtually the real ship was being constructed in an underground base beneath a frozen continent in the north. Accompanied by a squadron of fighters the alien mothership was destroyed and an assault craft was forced down. As they inspected the wreckage they made an alarming discovery: two human prisoners.

This brought more bad news; Earth had been invaded. The humans and Dolimon learned that the same creatures that had destroyed their homeworld had conquered and enslaved the human race. Called the Draki; the humanoid reptiles were led by a creature that they worshiped as a god. Known as the Tolmech, this powerful being was as close to pure evil as something could get. Arsa explained how it had lost a battle against the Tolmech. With its crew dead and the ship heavily damaged something had saved it from destruction. Arsa found itself repaired and reprogrammed with a new mission. Also, something had happened during that time. It had been made aware and given what could only be described as emotions. It saved a remnant of the Dolimon as it was instructed then watched over the humans as they arrived. It guided the two species without their knowledge so they would be ready when the Draki showed up. And the news just continued to get worse. The two humans on board the dropship were known to Dereck.

One was a Marine Colonel that Dereck had admired since the first day they’d met. The man had no problem acknowledging his faith and he didn’t care what people thought of him. Colonel Coy Mcroom lived by the scripture when Jesus warned his disciples if they denied Him to their fellow man Jesus would deny them to the Father. Sadly the seventy-year-old didn’t survive, only living long enough to mumble something about a prophecy and to vouch for the man they’d found with him.

Dereck knew the other human all too well. Before they’d left Earth twenty-five years ago this man, Paul Koltzor had been instrumental in wreaking havoc on the Christian community. The self-proclaimed gay activist and atheist had done everything in his power to terrorize Christians and anyone else that didn’t believe exactly the way he did. But according to Col. Mcroom, Paul Koltzor was now a powerful man of God. In fact, the Colonel had used his dying breath to communicate that to Dereck.

As a Christian, Dereck was called upon to forgive. How did he expect God to forgive him if he didn’t forgive others? But Paul Koltzor? If it was anyone else he probably wouldn’t have a problem. Didn’t God know the things this man had done? The lives he had destroyed. Of course, He did, Dereck thought, He knew all of Paul’s transgressions, just as He knew all of Dereck’s. That last thought caused a wave of emotions to wash over him. God knew that Dereck would have a hard time trusting Paul. So the Lord had sent someone to Dereck that he trusted. The Lord had kept Colonel Mcroom alive even with the pain from his injuries long enough to deliver a message. Dereck knew he was going to have to find a way to begin trusting Paul. The fate of the human and Dolimon race depended on it. The alien mothership; the Zadra had stumbled upon the colony by accident, and the planet’s inhabitants had managed to destroy it before it could relay information back to Earth. But they were far from safe. Paul informed them that a fleet of mother ships was nearing completion back on Earth. And when they were launched they would inevitably start looking for the Zadra. It was only a matter of time before the fleet showed up in their star system.

According to Paul, the more than two dozen ships should be completed in a few months; precious little time to prepare. The inhabitants of Salamu only had the one battle cruiser ready although several were under construction. The mother ships, which were over a mile long were huge compared to the Angel. Everyone knew it was by the grace of God that they’d won the battle. So the decision was made to send a recon mission to Earth. Information gathered on this mission would determine the strategy for the attack. A contingency plan was formulated in case the Angel was lost albeit not a popular one. If they hadn't heard from the Angel at the appointed time the attack would proceed with the hopes that the element of surprise was on their side. The fleet had to be destroyed before they had a chance to launch. The Draki didn’t possess wormhole technology and were restricted to faster than light travel only. Suddenly arriving in Earth’s orbit would be an advantage but they still had no idea what they would be flying into. The human and Dolimon ships would essentially be blind until after they came out of the wormhole. The Angel could’ve traversed the eighty light years in a matter of seconds. But there was a chance the Draki might get the coordinates of the ship’s entry point before it closed.

The plan was to spend the next two weeks zig-zagging from one star system to another, alternating between faster than light and wormhole travel. The tactics would hopefully make it difficult to trace back to where the ship originated. It was a risky maneuver using up two of their four weeks. Even now the ship was positioning itself for a jump of almost thirty light years. The idea was to get just ahead of the gas giant before the leap. The huge planet’s gravity well should disrupt any evidence that an artificially created wormhole was ever there.

Dereck finished his coffee. As much as he would like he had to get back to work. The man could spend hours just staring out the window. The crew of the Avenging Angel was not very large so they had to count on everyone pulling their own weight. A total of twelve; seven Dolimon and five humans. Well, actually there was thirteen if you counted Arsa.

The alien artificial intelligence had insisted on coming along. As far as it was concerned its mission was completed when it turned over the base to the humans and Dolimon. Its mission now was in a way self-serving. Ever since the program had been repaired and reprogrammed it had wondered about the identity of its benefactor. Over the last three centuries, it had searched the extensive database for clues. When the humans arrived it searched their network also. Arsa came to one conclusion; the only thing that could have accomplished that task was what the humans and Dolimon refer to as God. And now it was searching for that identity. Dereck wondered, how would it know when it found God? It was after all just a machine albeit a very sophisticated one. Could a machine understand what God is? When Jesus walked the Earth over two thousand years ago the Bible said He was fully human. So according to that account, His body would show up on a bio scanner as a humanoid life form. But what about the rest? Can a particle scanner measure God’s grace? Would doppler radar detect God’s love? Would His mercy register on a radiometer?

Arsa assured the crew it was there to help but that it may have to go its own way. Dereck had already had one uncomfortable conversation with the AI. It had asked if Dereck had ever had a near-death experience. To which he answered, no. Arsa also asked what would happen to it when it ceased to function? Would it pass on to an afterlife? How do you tell a machine that it has to have a soul to get into heaven, after all, wasn't that what Dereck had been taught?

Dereck, are you busy? Came a voice over the intercom.

He recognized it instantly as Arsa. For whatever reason, the artificial intelligence had decided to choose a voice that sounded like a teenage girl.

Truth be told I should be, but I’m having trouble taking my eyes off the view outside, Dereck replied, watching the storms in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant. What can I do for you, Arsa?

Captain Becker asked me to analyze some of the geopolitical data that Mr. Koltzor has provided, Arsa replied.

That sure sounds like fun, Dereck said sarcastically.

Also, he was still having a hard time accepting the fact that his little girl was now a starship captain. She would always be that little girl that he read bedtime stories to, no matter how many starships she commanded.

Could you answer some questions I have about the political parties? Arsa asked.

Sure, but you do realize that I’ve been gone from Earth for twenty-five years, Dereck replied, And, as far as Paul said, they don’t exist anymore."

I understand, but Captain Becker wanted an analysis of the conditions leading up to the collapse, Arsa replied.

Okay, fire away, Dereck said, I’ll do the best I can.

As I understand, there were two main political parties, Arsa said.

Yes, Dereck replied, They were referred to as the left and the right. Liberals were considered the left, and conservatives called themselves the right. Of course, there were also groups that put themselves in various degrees in the middle, and the outside of the main viewpoints.

Which one in your opinion was the best? Arsa asked.

Both had their good points, Dereck replied. I think that is important because there needs to be checks and balances. They both wanted the same thing, but had different ideas on how to achieve that goal.

Can you clarify? Arsa asked.

Well, for instance, Liberals thought the bigger the government the better, Dereck replied.  "And, conservatives wanted the government as small as possible. There has to be some control but not so much that businesses can’t survive.

Liberals instituted labor unions in the early twentieth century for better wages and working conditions. Decades later some of those unions became so corrupt their leaders ended up in jail. Fair wages are essential but the demand has to support them. Just before we left, the minimum wage required by law had been increased to the point that businesses were closing because they couldn’t afford it. Of course, government-owned businesses took their place. But surprisingly they were exempt from their own wage laws. Liberals will say that they hate capitalism, but without it poverty is rampant.

But according to Mr. Koltzor, the government was mainly liberal when the invasion came, Arsa said.

Yes, Dereck replied, I’m sure their goal wasn’t to destroy the United States. It sounds like the fringe and special interest groups attained so much power the country was fractured. I know just before we left, the politicians and their speeches were driven by focus groups and polls. I thought if I heard one more elected official say we needed a comprehensive coalition to combat collective terrorism I was going to be sick to my stomach. And every time I turned on the news some liberal professor at a college was claiming all of the world’s problems were the fault of straight, white, Christian males. Or climate change, which was supposedly caused by straight, white, Christian males. With everyone preoccupied with their own agenda, it’s not surprising there was no one capable of putting up any worthwhile defense against the Tolmech.

Thank you for your insight, Arsa said. Captain Becker said that you are to report to your quarters at this time.

Thanks, but I’m not sleepy, Dereck replied.

Angel's crew was on an eighteen-hour rotation. Three six-hour shifts that included a work shift followed by a light duty or a recreation shift and then a sleep period.

Dereck had pulled double duty on the bridge during a number of rotations and instead of sleeping, worked on the dropship. He would catch a catnap occasionally in the cockpit of the alien craft.

Not the most comfortable place, so it was no wonder his back was giving him trouble. For a person in his mid-fifties, the lack of sleep was starting to show. The bags under his eyes were becoming a permanent fixture. He had a lot on his mind.

Dereck and Paul were the oldest ones onboard, and he felt responsible for them. He’d watched family members at their departure give their children and siblings what could be the last goodbye. Not only was he familiar with the crew, but he’d also watched every one of them grow up. He and Nicole had been to their birthday parties, graduations, and even weddings. All of the other members of the crew had been given ranks in the newly created military. Dereck had been offered an officer's commission but refused. It just didn’t seem right to him. He’d never been in the military even back on Earth so in his mind had not earned it. He was comfortable with the title Civilian Advisor.

The young people on board and back on Salamu had earned their rank through the video game. Working for hours on what they thought was a challenging game. Although they’d never been through a military boot camp, his daughter and the rest of the crew had spent weeks at a time during their childhood in the wilderness living off the land. It was a competitive game to them hiding from their friends. This war had been placed square in their lap. The Dolimon joined up by the hundreds of thousands ready to give their lives to free a race that they had only known for twenty years. Some said it was payback for what the Draki did to their world, but Dereck knew it was more than that. There were the voices that claimed that this was not their war and if we left the Draki alone they’d leave us alone. Paul informed them that’s just the kind of sentiment that left America unable to defend itself. And it was only a matter of time before a Draki fleet showed up to finish what it started three hundred years ago.

I think I’ll just work here a little longer, Dereck replied, I’ll be fine.

She anticipated that response, Arsa replied. I have been given the authorization to shut down life support in the dropship if you do not comply.

That’s my Jessica, Dereck said, She has more of her mother in her than she realizes. The ship wouldn’t depressurize because it was docked to the Angel but it could get really cold.

When is the wormhole jump?

Nineteen minutes, Arsa replied.

Okay, Dereck said with a grin, How about you let me stay in here so I can get a great view of the jump and then I’ll leave?

Very well, Arsa replied, That is acceptable.

Cool, Dereck replied. Maybe God did give this thing emotions; how else was Dereck able to bargain with it?

Dereck poured himself another cup of coffee. His thermos was empty anyway, he was going to have to refill it.

As the time approached the different departments checked in. Anyone standing up was told to secure themselves. The jump could be a little disorienting. People that were in their racks and especially if they were asleep shouldn’t feel a thing.

Jessica’s face suddenly appeared on one of the cockpit monitors. The twenty-five-year-old had her mother’s stunning looks. But Dereck could see more and more of his daughter’s namesake in her. The late assassin turned bodyguard seemed to look back at him through his daughter’s eyes the older she got. Jessica’s short red hair had not been brushed in a couple of hours and the crimson bangs were hanging down over her eyes. Dereck wasn’t the only one that was pushing the lack of sleep limits.

Dad, she asked, just a little miffed, Why aren't you in your quarters?

Guess I let the time get away from me, Dereck replied with a grin. Don’t worry I’ll be fine here. I promised Arsa I’d leave after the jump.

Alright, Jessica said. I want you in your quarters right after we give the all clear.

Aye aye, Captain, Dereck replied, and then he asked, Would you have really had Arsa turn off the life support in here?

Jessica didn’t answer, she just grinned back and terminated the connection. The answer was obvious, yes she would have.

Dereck watched the counter tick down. He’d been on the bridge for the last one and he’d never get tired of the view. As the numbers continued he watched the semi-transparent energy field form around the two ships. Behind him in the engineering section, the three fusion reactors were powering up. Focusing their combined energy into one purpose; keeping the ship in one piece.

Passing through the artificially created wormhole required massive amounts of power. Much of it was used to keep the ship from being crushed and squeezed into a tiny thread light years long. Outside the protective energy bubble, the stars began to stretch as the ship was pulled through. Dereck felt his stomach getting uneasy as gravitational forces outside the energy shield stained to reach in and rip the cruiser apart. The view turned into a long star filled tube as both doorways opened. They still weren't clear what they were passing through. The area between the two points of normal space could be some kind of different dimension, even Arsa didn’t know. It was over in a matter of seconds. Dereck got that odd feeling of slight nausea and dizziness that cleared up just as quick as it started.

The energy field dissipated and they were in an entirely different star system 28.225 light years from where they had been just a few seconds ago. It was no wonder the Tolmech wanted this technology; with the ability to jump across hundreds or even thousands of light years in a matter of seconds no civilization would be able to oppose them.

There wasn’t time to admire the view. The Angel was getting ready to traverse another ten light years at faster than light. This would use up another three