Beaumont's Gambit: Badlands Born

By Wade Peterson

Arm the cannon, fire at will!

 

Captain Reginald Beaumont of the long-range airship October Sky is diverted to the deader-plagued Badlands to assist a covert agent's mission. As the mission unfolds, Beaumont will be carried deeper into hostile airspace, fight for the lives of his crew, and discover a secret weapon that could doom his beloved fleet. Only a desperate gamble will save the day.

 

Get Beaumont's Gambit and start the adventure!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wade Peterson
• Release date: Nov 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9798201269500

Wade Peterson

Wade Peterson writes award-winning sci-fi and fantasy stories you think about long after finishing. He's poured a lifetime of tabletop RPGs, 80s and 90s hair metal, electrical engineering misadventures, and dog-eared paperback novels into his story worlds. When not writing, he's in the back yard trying to master the arcane mysteries of Texas barbecue while also wrangling two over-scheduled teenagers, serving the whims of two passive-aggressive cats, and agreeing with whatever wine his wife picks to go with dinner.

Book preview

1

Captain Reginald Beaumont stared out over the sea of dunes, searching for signs of life: a dot suggesting a head, natural oases, a line of tracks in the sand, fresh kills, man-sized shadows. In short, anything that could harbor a threat to his airship. One loony with a rifle was all it would take. One lucky shot to deflate the wrong air sac, or jam an elevator, or the rudder, would consign his airship and crew to a slow death upon the sands. Damn the desert heat! Beaumont reached up to his collar buttons but stopped short. No, better to wait until he was out of the crew’s view. Let them see sweat, not weakness.

A faint cough sounded behind him, more as an announcement of presence than an actual need to expunge the lungs.

Yes, Chevket? Beaumont said.

Sir, the younger, taller, and much thinner man said, the engine room reports that our powerplant will need changing within the hour.

Have we lost the capability of hot-swapping deaders?

Chevket turned his head and gave an apologetic bow. The engineer feels it would aid the deaders’ recovery if we did not subject them to the undue stress of swapping while under load.

Duly noted. Inform Mister Wallace to proceed with the hot-swap.

Sir. Chevket moved to the brass tube and began relaying the order to the engine room.

Engineers, thought Beaumont, must have fears of becoming deaders themselves, the way they coddled their charges. They were more interested in their unnaturally-animated husks and the precious engines they powered than in the integrity of the October Sky’s gleaming silver envelope or all the truly living souls aboard. Such was the luxury of a ship’s engineer, but not its captain.

Weaponry report, Beaumont said.

Ensign Charles’ first attempt at speech came out as an awkward pubescent squeak.

All—that is, all turrets are green, pneumatics loading systems ready to pressurize. The youth’s face reddened as chuckles sounded from around the bridge.

That will do, gentlemen, Beaumont said, though he couldn’t keep the grin from his face. Mister Charles: gunnery drill, if you please.

Sir.

Mister Chevket, you have the conn.

In the privacy of his cabin, Beaumont removed his jacket and let cooler air circulate around him. Cannon fire erupted from the port side, muffled explosions followed by the rattling of the airframe. His shoulders relaxed and Beaumont leaned further back into his chair. Nothing like the sounds of battle to clear one’s head. Beaumont opened a red leather book on his desk and removed the envelope stuck between log entries.

To R. Beaumont, Captain, October Sky,

Proceed SSW to quadrant 13, Badlands border. Hold station until contacted by Agent of the Council using FLARE, STANDARD, GREEN. Rendezvous and render any and all assistance to agent. Return to Stratocaster Aerodrome on conclusion of agent’s mission.

Signed: M. Remmy, Air Marshal, P.C.A.C

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Below, in a handwritten postscript:

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Reginald, it pains me to have to assign you this duty when I know you would rather use your skills against the Caliph’s raiders at the northern borders. However, the FOE himself has specifically requested your ship for this mission. Keep a weather eye on the horizon, my friend.

-Marcus

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Beaumont folded the letter and tapped it against the desk. He had served under Marcus in the war for independence against the Caliphate. Marcus Remmy had become the Hero of