Dark Horizon: The Great War Legends, #1

By K. MacCabe

War. The Coalition holds its breath in the shadow of the Fall of Kadesh, the most one-sided defeat in Galactic history. On a trading station called Atmos, in the Ort Cloud of the Orizari system, the war doesn't seem quite real yet. However, Aela-el'Kabar, troublemaker, and ne'er-do-well in the Coalition Infantry, must take command as her small station comes under attack.

 

But when she is tasked with saving the Admiral of the second fleet, Aela must become the one thing she promised she would never be: a hero, just like her father.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shatterpoint
• Release date: Jan 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215687918

K. MacCabe

I am a nerd – have been that way since childhood. So far, there is no cure. Ever since I was a toddler, I have wanted to write stories, and bring a universe full of wonder and beauty to an audience. Sure, once I dreamed of being the next George RR Martin, but let’s be fair, my beard is nowhere near epic enough for that. Today I want to bring you guys some awesome stories, epic tales, and maybe even a romance or two. You never know.

Book preview

Chapter 1

COALITION, AELA-EL’KABAR

The room stank of sweat, and the bar above her was slick with her own, as she pulled herself up for her fiftieth rep. Yeah, ’cause fifty was a good number. She would get to a hundred, clean Tanner’s chronometer, and flatten his record. Her arms ached with the effort as she let herself down, pulled to the floor by the spin of the station’s massive struts. She stuck her legs out in front of her, and her stomach tightened, all six waves flexing beneath her skin—and then she went for fifty-one. Pain swept over her, followed by the pleasure of the exertion, as sweat dripped into her eyes. Fifty-one, a record. Lowering herself once again, she dropped to the floor and pulled her towel off the bench, wiping her brow. Her arms were thick with built muscle, defined by her efforts. She may not be the best GI in the Coalition, but she could take most of the men on the station in a boxing match, so that would have to be enough. Being the best was dumb. It just meant everyone was out to beat you. Being ripped—that was where it was at. Hell, yeah.

Looking fine, came a voice, thick with an Outer Rim accent. Do some more squats and that ass will be the best view from here to Belarus.

Fuck off, Tanner. Aela spun on her heel to face the beefy monster of a man. You’re a piece of shit.

Yeah, but I’ve got your back. He winked. So I’m your piece of shit.

She smiled, trying not to laugh. Tanner was an ass, no two ways about it. He was also one of the best men she knew. Maybe that was a statement of the quality of her acquaintances. Tanner grabbed the fifty-pound weights and slammed them upward like they were feathers, his enormous arms bulging and rippling with veins. The behemoth was three hundred pounds of pure unadulterated fuck you, with a heart of gold and the mouth of a slummy pile of garbage. He must never know, but Aela would never want another to watch her ass in a firefight.

Sure. She flashed him her middle finger.

Anytime, babe! he said without missing a beat.

Aela walked around him, slamming hard into his crotch. Tanner’s eyes went wide as she squeezed. Squeaking sounds erupted from him as he struggled to set his weights down on the ground. The other soldiers in the gym watched in some mixture of fear and intrigue as the events before them unfolded. She squeezed harder and drifted to within an inch of his face.

The only time I will ever grab this hunk of meat is to pop your testicles like eggs. She gave his tender bits a squeeze.

Totally worth it. Tanner squeaked.

Aela let go as Tanner grabbed his groin and doubled over. It was a game they played: Tanner would make lewd comments and she would kick his ass—because Tanner’s ass was fun to kick, and it was funny as hell. The soldiers snickered as Tanner waddled off toward the dressing room, clutching his nether regions.

That’s not gonna stop him, Fred said, laughing. Tanner is a piece of shit.

Hey, bitch, she snapped, that’s my teammate you’re talking about. Say shit about him, and it’ll be your cock I twist off.

Okay. Fred threw up his hands, realizing he was dealing with crazy. No worries. Not another word.

No one fucked with her team except her. It was a silent rule of the GI. You can give the soldier hell only if you’ve gone through hell with that soldier. The look on Fred’s face was priceless as he tried to avoid making eye contact. Grabbing the weights, she began her repetitions, pumping iron like a hydraulic press. As her father used to say, a powerful body equaled a powerful will because it took pain to build strength. The pain was beautiful, surging through her muscles, reminding her she was strong. It was important to be strong now, especially with everything going on at the border.

With the room descending into silence, the words of the announcer on the holo-screen at the front of the gym boomed across the small space:

In other news, Kadesh enters its fourth day under siege. Reports from Tell al-Nubai have been flooding in, as civilians pour through the Soreton gateways in a desperate effort to evacuate the planet. With over ten billion inhabitants, experts say a full evacuation of the planet could take months, and the Empire is making quick progress in capturing and holding territory.

That was where Aela should be fighting for her country. But here she was running escort duty for the Coalition. It figured—she was not a model soldier. Since the beginning she’d been a pain, and she knew it. Tell her not to do something, and a deep craving boiled in her stomach, like a fire, pushing her to do exactly that. Maybe that’s what happened when your father was an OAS hero. OAS: the mighty orbital assault soldiers dropped from orbit onto battlefields. Thus raised his daughter like a damn soldier. The military felt just like home, and so she acted just like she did at home—and boy, that did not float well with authority figures. Had not floated well with Pa either. Fuck it. She didn’t care. A lieutenant for life wasn’t so bad. She needed nothing fancy as long as she never went too far.

Yo, boys and girls. This time a sweeter voice touched Aela in all the right places, a voice she yearned to hear. The Admiral will throw a soiree for the officers, so you grunts get to feel bad.

Raymond, a man in his thirties, at least ten years Aela’s elder, marched through the room. A man who built his body from marble, or so it seemed, had an impeccable command of his form. He cast her a smile, his bright green eyes flickering past her. Once he was at the front of the room he turned, faced the soldiers, and swiped his hand over a clear sheet of plastic. It burst to life, issuing a blue glow over his solid, sharp jawline and strong features. Peppered hair was the best, and he was just beginning to turn at his sideburns. Sexy as men could get.

Okay, Fred, Tanner, and Collins, you are on patrol. Get along by yourselves because Aela and I will be in the soiree, he shouted. You can chew us out later, but the fact of the matter is, it’s going to be boring as hell.

Yes, sir, came two soldiers’ voices from the back.

Where is Tanner? Raymond looked around. I need to find him.

Recovering, Aela answered, prompting an explosion of snickers from the back.

He pissed you off again, didn’t he? Raymond gave her a frustrated glance. Aela, please stop harming your fellow squadmates. Their pride can only take so much.

Yes, sir, Aela replied.

She gave him a coy smile, and his lips tilted ever so slightly upward in response. Anything between them had to be on the down low because he was her boss, and according to general rules of the military, that type of thing was strictly forbidden. But forbidden fruit was always the sweeter and called to Aela like the sirens of old. Life was fucking short, and she wasn’t wasting it. Not even for the stuffy old brains up at the brass.

He nodded. I’m going to hit the head. Please pass the assignment on to Tanner.

Yes, sir, the group replied in a quick crescendo.

With that, Raymond snapped his hands to his side and marched toward the back of the gym, swinging into the bathroom. Aela knew exactly what that nod had been, and her body yearned for it. She counted off a few more reps with the weights and dropped the heavy objects back onto their racks. Straightening her tank top so that her feminine aspects showed better, she made her way toward the bathrooms. A smirk slipped to her face. Cheating the rules was one of the best feelings ever. Obviously, there had been feelings between her and Raymond from the get-go, but let’s be honest: he was an excellent influence on her. He had kept her in the military, made her see a future beyond the slums of Orkan. She plowed through the bathroom door, yearning for the sweets that lay within.

Chapter 2

COALITION, TANNER RYAN

Tanner’s pride always got beat up with Aela—kind of like walking balls first into a hydraulic piston. Sucked. The pain passed, but his stomach still churned with a million amps, more from his pride screaming in agony, as if it were lit on fire and thrown into a vat of kerosene.

The lady on the screen flickered from the frame, and an image of burning forests and crumbling cities replaced her. Kadesh, the jewel of the sector, was going down in flames. His fist clenched. He had so many friends stationed on Ramsey and Fort Lewis. It was only a matter of time before the letters started arriving with news of their demise. That familiar sinking feeling sat in his stomach, not from the testicular trauma, but from the constant reminder that violence was breaking out across the Coalition-Imperial border. It seemed so far away; twenty light-years was a small number but a massive distance. Yet at full burn in a Red Space Corridor that was fifteen or even ten hours away.

He stood as the pain finally passed, and marched out into the rec room. There was plenty he wanted to say to Aela but never would. Not if she was with the colonel. Literally everyone knew the two were banging whenever they got a chance. It wasn’t a secret anyone was keeping, but no one cared. He flexed his oversized forearms and nodded to his bros, like he was fine. His pride still ached, but that was it. He cast a swift glance around the gym. There was one notable absence. Aela.

Raymond put you on patrol with us, Fred said with a wink. Gotta keep the bigwigs safe.

What bigwigs? There was some kind of party going on, but Atmos station was a trading station, not a military installation. The presence of the 401st was barely more than a formality. We going to get the director?

Maybe if the station grew by a billion tons, Fred said as he stepped off the treadmill, wiping his brow.

A cry issued from the bathrooms, as moaning seeped from behind the doors. The curse of small confined stations like Atmos. No one bothered to insulate the interior walls from sound. The repetitive thudding echoes pounded against the wall, and male grunting joined the cacophony. Tanner’s pride took another blow,