The War Within

By David Grunwell

“John Wick meets Blade Runner.”
Book Two in the Newcastle Saga
Miles deep in the Great Solomon Mines, a covert meeting is taking place that could determine the fate of New Jerusalem and maybe the known universe. A mysterious leader and his cadre of deadly assassins arrive to change the balance of power. If they are allowed to escape, there will be hell to pay. Thrown into war, will New Jerusalem survive where beauty is at the core of the problem?

Rolland’s troubles may have started with the Fall of Heaven. This time there is The War Within.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Grunwell
• Release date: Mar 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781732582033

David Grunwell

Author of the science fiction books THE FALL OF HEAVEN and THE WAR WITHIN, and the fantasy series THE ADVENTURES OF RUFERTO BASARETTI: TROLLS AND OTHER TROUBLE, PROPHECIES AND OTHER PROBLEMS, and DARK ELF DANGER.I love to write. There are always dialogues and adventures going through my mind, asking, sometimes demanding that they be shared.In my process, I tend to create mayhem and then try to figure out some plausible, fun, and unique way for the characters to escape. Readers are smart, so I avoid lengthy descriptions that slow the story.I seek to make stories and characters that you like and think about months later. Good books end with you saying goodbye to friends.Visit dgrunwell.com to learn more about my novels.

Book preview

The War Within

Copyright © 2021 by David S. Grunwell

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Logo, company name Description automatically generated

Grunwell Media

Edition ISBNs

Trade Paperback: 978-1-7325820-2-6

E-Book: 978-1-7325820-3-3

First Edition: 2021. Editing revisions 12-2022.

Book cover design by David S. Grunwell

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

For:

My beloved wife, Dawn and my daughter, Julia.

And most of all,

Jesus, to whom I owe everything.

Special Thanks:

David E. Elsner, a great friend. His thoughtful suggestions have made this a better book.

Overview

Book two in the Newcastle Saga.

Set a year and a half after the attacks detailed in The Fall of Heaven, Life is good and there are a few last-minute tasks to be done before the big day.

Miles deep in the Great Solomon Mines, a covert meeting is taking place that might determine the fate of New Jerusalem and the known universe. A mysterious leader and his cadre of deadly assassins arrive to change the balance of power. If they escape, there will be hell to pay. Thrown into war, will New Jerusalem survive where beauty is at the core of the problem?

Rolland’s troubles may have started with the Fall of Heaven, this time there is The War Within.

The War Within

Going Underground

An Unexpected Motion in the Boardroom

The War Within

An Old Friendship Renewed

The Incoming Tides

The Will to Help

Sleep Changes Everything

The Pressure Increases

An Angry Woman Comes Knocking

Help for the Weary

A Note from the Author

1

Going Underground

[Translation to Earth English, ca. 2018-2030 complete. Normalization to period-speak at eighty-seven percent. Unit of measurements conversion: pounds, feet, and inches.]

This system is amazing, said the attractive, slender woman with dark shoulder-length hair as she leaned over, gently resting her delicate hand on the shoulder of the muscular man seated at his console. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

The burly guard dressed in a black military outfit glanced up at her, trying not to stare. It’s really not that difficult, ma’am. He pointed to the wall screens that filled the side of the oval room. It is self-explanatory, I mean, once you get training.

The second guard added, The system is state-of-the art. You could run it if you had clearance. Effectively it runs itself.

Next to the second seated guard was a small-framed, older man with a noticeable paunch. The guard glanced at his coworker with a sly grin and darting eye glance to highlight the humorous disparity of their circumstances.

With a worried expression, the woman looked the guard in the eye. Her soft brown eyes searched his. So, what if someone bad held a gun to you and forced you to do what they say?

The young man cleared his throat and repeatedly glanced back at his screens to avoid extended eye contact. The system would note my distress and the weapon. If they killed us and tried to use our biomarkers to activate it, the system would automatically lock down, alerting the remaining team to the breach and it would release the assault mechs. It would not be pretty for them.

With a slight raise of her sculpted eyebrows, she said, So, for someone to get access, you would have to do it willingly?

There is a two-party authentication process. Seth and I would have to agree to that and that will not happen, right?

The other guard nodded, his face stern. That is correct. No breaches on our watch.

That’s reassuring, said the older man with a smile. It’s good that we have such good, strong men on duty. He patted the younger guard on his shoulder and stopped, resting his frail hand there to maintain his balance.

To the guards’ surprise, the shoulder grip of the older man and younger woman grew stronger, holding them in their chairs. The visitor’s free hands crossed their torsos to place a small rectangular patch at the base of the guard’s skulls. Both guards registered a fleeting moment of surprise as the cerebral spiders sent out tendrils connecting into their nervous systems.

The older man and young woman lifted their left arms to access their wrist monitors. As they moved, the guards mimicked their motions in a macabre synchronized dance. The screens around the room changed as the invaders changed their settings. A section of the wall opposite the door opened, revealing a thin podium console.

The woman made her guard dial in more numbers. She spoke, Yellow One to Orange One.

A man spoke, Orange One. Over.

Complete control confirmed. Landing permission and access activated. Over.

Well done. Continue as planned. Orange One out.

The woman had the guard she controlled work once more. The wall to the other side of where they stood opened, revealing a stocked weapons closet. Unlinking from her guard, she strode over to choose a small pistol and placed it in her belt-mounted purse. The older man had unlinked and joined her, picked a pistol that he hid under his shirt at his waist. The woman selected a small palm-sized kit from the lower shelf and carried it over to the newly revealed pedestal. Pressing the gray kit to the front panel and it stayed in place.

Closing the access door, she joined her partner near the exit door. Controlling the guards again, they made them pull their sidearms and point the blocky weapons at each other’s heads.

Now, said the woman with no emotion.

The handguns fired in unison and the men slumped in their chairs. Without a word, the two left the room. The door behind them locked with the sound of a pressure seal.

Are you sure that you are good with this? I can call it off and you can go later, or we can get someone else to go in your place, asked the tall, dark-haired man on my screen.

He looked worried. I didn’t want to show it, but I was not eager to go, either. This wasn’t something that I felt was reasonable to pass off to someone else.

Matt, calm down. Lauren knows that I still have duties to perform. The wedding isn’t until the weekend. She can do without me for a few days and probably needs the break from me, anyway. Besides, what are brothers for, if not to watch out for each other?

Mathew laughed, reminding me of the way our father would when he was stressed. Thank you for that. I hoped you knew what brothers are for, little brother, as I was at a loss. It’s only because of mom’s constant vigilance and intervention that you are still around. From the start of the call, I could tell that he was nervous for me. His normally easy humor was strained and forced.

Not funny, Mathew. Keep it up and I will demand that you come out to visit the mines. Even with my ill-advised attempts to help plan our wedding, Lauren will gladly back me on that request. Then you would be stuck calling Tim, Luke, Mark, or Martha.

I saw a fleeting look of fear on his face. Sorry, Roll. I was just trying to be funny. I must go to that meeting at Crawford’s and honestly, I am thankful to have any reason to miss going to the mine. You know how I get in close quarters or even thinking about miles of dirt above me. He wiped his hands on the arms of his chair and put them down out of my view. I noticed you didn’t mention Magdalena. Do you even know where she is?

No idea. She is off somewhere as usual. For all I know, she could be off planet. That wouldn’t surprise me. She could even be… you know— I stopped, not wanting to continue with the thought.

Dead? replied Mathew quietly. His blue eyes completely lost their twinkle, and he looked drawn.

Yeah, that is a possibility that keeps haunting me. What sucks is that depending on where or how it happened, we may never hear about it. I pray for her every night, I replied, feeling that worry deep in my gut. I blinked a few times, hoping that the hint of tears would leave my eyes and not be noticeable. I didn’t need that teasing from Matthew.

He seemed lost in thought. Me, too. I hope she knows that she can always come home.

I tell her that every time she contacts me. Does she call you?

Matt shook his head. Not enough. Likely about the same as you and the others. It is few and far between. When she calls, I always let our family know. I mean, I wouldn’t if she demanded that I don’t, you know? I don’t want what little connection that we have with her damaged to where she severs all future contact with us.

I nodded. Our dear sister has always been—mysterious. Is that an appropriate description, or is elusive or reclusive?

Matthew has always been a staunch defender of her enigmatic lifestyle. Matt squinted as he chastised me. I think we could say that she is her own person who doesn’t care to follow any standard social model. I don’t think that is wrong, and she certainly hasn’t done anything that would rise to the level that requires psychiatric care. I can guarantee that any suggestion of that nature would highly anger her.

Relax, Matthew. I agree with you. I did not mean to imply that she needed mental help or to change. We all love her dearly. I miss her. I selfishly find it very hard to deal with her disappearing for years at a time and resurfacing randomly with no explanation of where she was or when she is going again.

Do you really need her to give a full report on her activities?

Of course not. Nor do I expect anyone else to give one. A vidcall from her or a way to send her a message every few months to say hi would be nice, but not required. I swallowed hard and was frustrated with my eyes trying to tear up again. I miss her, Matt—and Paul and Mary, I said, speaking of our siblings Paul and Mary, who had been brutally assassinated under the guise of dying while hunting a wild goliath.

We had run into several goliaths out on the plains, and we barely made it out alive. Goliaths are powerful, 160 feet long, eighty feet wide, and sixty feet tall at the head, beetle-like creatures that roamed the wilder areas of the planet. They were fast, ornery, and able to dig through the hardest materials without hardly slowing. They had eight chain brains and a tough exoskeleton that made them extremely difficult to kill. Hurting one drove others into a frenzy. Overall, I would suggest never messing with one.

Yeah, I miss them, too. He looked sad and drawn. Now his eyes reminded me of our mother, and I found it bringing up the memory of our parent’s deaths. I decided not to mention it, as I was sure that he was thinking about it as well. Matt was a pleasant mix of both of our parents. I looked at my live view of me. It was clear that we were brothers.

He forced a smile and said, Enough of this talk, you’ll bring us down. He changed his tact. I am eager to hear your report on the mines. They are being pretty secretive if one of us has to come in person. If it is some new veins, this could be an enormous boost to all New Jerusalem for years to come. I am jumping to conclusions; maybe it is that the mines have run out.

Agreed. If it is more veins, I can already hear the arguments from those demanding mansions and pulsorjets for everyone, or just themselves, regardless of what that might end up doing to future generations. I frowned. We do not know what other minerals or elements people will find on other planets that will be more valuable and plentiful than Adalinite. Some will use that reasoning to push for mining and selling as much as we can before that would happen.

Adalinite was first found while mining an asteroid near Saturn. This amazing mineral made space warping possible and heralded the great space migration. As it is so rare and essential for space exploration, that economies are built and destroyed over mere pounds of this material.

I sighed. It worries me it is so hard to find on other planets, but so relatively abundant here.

Mathew laughed again. That, my dear brother, is great for business.

I shook my head. Call me paranoid, but I see that as making us ripe for invasion.

Okay, you are paranoid. Seriously, Rolland, we have been careful to not broadcast the embarrassing amount of wealth on New Jerusalem and we have also been extremely careful to avoid linking the shipments back here. The EPGB has been helpful in shipping it out quietly for us.

Oh, yeah, I feel much safer now. Like the EPGB has been so good to us, and me in particular. Leyland Melcurate was not such a great sponsor of my well-being. You know that don’t trust them any farther than—oh, forget the analogies, I don’t trust them.

Oh, relax O’ paranoid King David.

It was my turn to reprimand him. Mathew, I haven’t gone by David since I was a boy.

Mathew shook his head. It is a perfectly good name, and don’t you think others have wondered why all our family has biblical names and yet you were called Rolland? I will always think of you as David, and don’t you also think that you have lived up to the name when King David was a shepherd boy?

He tended sheep because his brothers thought he was too young and weak to do much else.

I mean him taking on giants and beating them. I am proud of you little brother, even if you changed your name.

I smiled at him. It always bothered me that Dad was named Solomon, and he named me David. David was Solomon’s father, not the other way around.

Mathew chuckled. You are such a literalist. It is not a biblical, historical, or genealogical record we are talking about, just how our family named us. He raised his hand to stop me from going on. I can see this is going nowhere. I can also see on my screen that you are close to landing. One last thing, after all of your ‘save money for the people’ speeches, I was noticing the fine pulsorjet you are riding in.

I glanced about at the opulence of the pulsorjet. I didn’t order this thing. The board demanded that I take it to meet with the head of the mine. They are about pomp and circumstances. I would have been just as happy with an econo one-seater.

What, like a Stratos 395x?

Funny as always, Matt. What are those going for, something like 1.2 million unicreds?

Mathew smirked. Something like that.

Well, as much as I have enjoyed this fun banter, I have just enough time to call Lauren before I have to get all businessy with the mine’s management team. And trust me, you aren’t pretty enough to keep me on this call.

Mathew coughed out a laugh. Fair enough. Say hello to the lovely Lauren for me. I am looking forward to having her as part of the family—you did good, little brother. She is a keeper. I love you. Call me when you can, okay?

Will do, Mathew. Much love to you and your family.

I clicked off and called the beach house on Sail Island. There was almost no wait as it connected me to my lovely fiancé Lauren, who leaned forward in her chair with a huge welcoming smile on her beautiful face.

Rolland!

Hey my, Love. I am close to landing, so this has to be quick.

She tried to hide a frown. Why didn’t you realview me earlier?

I had to call Matthew before he went to Crawford’s for his meeting. He is anxious about it. I suspect he is more worried about how much he owes me for taking this meeting in the mine. He should be, too. I don’t like that security allows limited contact once I am there. I already miss you beyond words.

I miss you, too. Her beautiful gray eyes brightened. With excitement, she said, I have a great idea; I can hop on a pulsorjet and be there in under an hour.

I laughed. An hour? You would be breaking most of the laws on the planet to get here that fast. As much as I would love to see you, this is a board member-only meeting; it is bound to be extraordinarily boring. I didn’t want to say contemptuous or combative, as she would put on some gigasuit armor and don weapons to show up to defend me. Oh, shoot. I am descending. I wish you were with me.

Me, too. I miss you already. Be safe, Rolland. I love you.

I will be safe, and I love you, too. I will be able to call later if I am going to be staying overnight.

Lauren got one of her impish expressions I so loved. I didn’t think this through. I could have stowed away in your luggage. I am small enough.

I laughed. In height, maybe. I chose not to make any unnecessary comments about her lovely and impressive figure, making it impossible for her to fit into my overnight bag. Next time, I will have to bring a bigger bag. I would have loved that surprise. I doubt the mine’s security would have found it as endearing. My love, I will see you soon. Bye.

She blew a kiss and waved. The connection ended.

The ship’s clock told me I still had a few minutes before reaching the mine’s shielded communications blackout zone. In my anxiousness, I had cut the call shorter than was needed. Spending more time with Lauren on the call would have made this even more difficult. I seriously contemplated turning back and canceling the meeting. No matter how great that plan sounded, this was important.

Faced with waiting, I studied the beautiful desert landscape near the mine. A low ring of hills surrounded a deep and wide valley. Sand-worn boulders littered the ground with low scrubby bushes and plants hiding in the shadows from the harsh sunlight. My monitor told me that the temperature here could hit 135 degrees Fahrenheit and drop to twenty degrees or less at night. It was an unforgiving land.

The mine owned the land for thirty miles around this site and there were posted signs stating that the area was dangerously contaminated. To those unwilling to read and comply, there were levels of non-lethal deterrents, and if the intrusion escalated, there were arrays of strategically hidden autonomous weapons.

The land vaguely reminded me of the ground formation around Kongesgaard where the goliaths attacked us. I hope that there would be no similarities to that event. I never want to relive a goliath attack—or, heck, be part of any attack.

The early morning light caused my face to reflect in the crystal windows of the ship. I looked the same, dark-haired, thirty-three, and with a hint of weariness. I hoped that didn’t show. I was doing better than I had a few months earlier. That was the influence of Lauren, Jessica, and Terry Curtis.

Terry. Just over a year ago, everyone called him by his last name, Curtis. After meeting Jessica, everyone now calls him Terry. It is strange how and where we change. I still occasionally call him Curtis, though that adaption to using his first name change came easier than I thought it would have.

So much had happened since my adventure where Leyland Melcurate and his gang of miscreants had tried to kill me and start the third Remnant purge. Or was it the second purge? Did the first purge ever even end? It didn’t