Determination: Age Of Expansion – A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Precious Galaxy Book 3) Read online

  Determination

  Precious Galaxy Book Three

  Sarah Noffke

  Michael Anderle

  Craig Martelle

  Determination (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2018 Sarah Noffke and Michael Anderle

  Cover by Jeff Brown, http://jeffbrowngraphics.com/

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, August 2018

  The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2015-2018 by Michael T. Anderle and LMBPN Publishing.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Author Notes - Sarah Noffke

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  About Sarah Noffke

  Acknowledgements

  Books By Sarah Noffke

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Connect with The Authors

  Determination Team

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Peter Manis

  James Caplan

  Mary Morris

  John Ashmore

  Kelly O’Donnell

  Cathy Gibson

  Micky Cocker

  If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

  Editor

  Jen McDonnell

  To Suzie for encouraging me.

  To Diane for reminding me.

  To Pavi for celebrating every win with me.

  I owe many a success to the support of my friends.

  -Sarah

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  To Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  To Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  -Michael

  Chapter One

  Solomon Vance’s Private Office, Monstre Corporation Headquarters, Planet Carina, Aurelis System, Precious Galaxy

  The forest wasn’t a place of peace for Solomon Vance. He’d heard many speak of finding themselves when in proximity to nature. That was ludicrous. The notion that one could ‘find’ themselves was preposterous. There was no self to find. Creatures were all connected by star dust and other forces, and Solomon was that much closer to proving it. Not that he’d ever tell anyone once he’d proven this and assimilated hundreds of consciousnesses. That would forever be his secret.

  Finally, after thousands of trials, he had successfully combined two consciousnesses. Adding a third, though, had proved problematic. Deadly, actually, for the test subjects. Still, he was that much closer to having the smartest computer in the universe, owned and operated by the fastest, strongest processor known to man: the human brain.

  Solomon’s eyes swiveled away from the forest lying just beyond the bank of windows in his office. He hadn’t built the headquarters to his most prized company, Monstre Corporation, in the Chumash Forest because he found respite among the trees. He did it for practical reasons: he liked the privacy. That was exactly the reason that this office, where no one in the building was allowed but him, was his favorite place.

  His eyes landed on the quote written across the far wall, the one he often read while sitting at his desk: “‘He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.’ - Adolf Hitler.”

  He had many favorite quotes by that dictator, but this one had to be his favorite. Those words were what had inspired Solomon to build the monster. And now he owned more than the youth; he possessed a large population of minds.

  “Those who own the greatest minds, gain the future,” Solomon said to himself, his voice echoing in the mostly empty office.

  “Dr. Vance, I apologize for interrupting,” Dean, his AI, said overhead.

  “Go on, then,” Solomon ordered.

  He had known his private moment alone with his thoughts wouldn’t last for long. There were too many projects in the works. Too many that were nearing completion.

  “Dr. Lukas would like to speak with you.”

  Solomon let out an impatient breath. “Put him through.”

  The screen hovering above his desk, seemingly suspended by nothing, flickered to life. The long face of the doctor stared back at Solomon. It had been many years since he’d seen Alan Lukas in person. The last time had been when he’d put him in charge of Starboards Corp and cut all ties to the company, or so it should have appeared. Solomon didn’t want to be traced back to the things he’d put Alan in charge of. He didn’t have that same fear at Monstre Corp; he was too removed from Federation law to be caught or punished.

  “The agents from Ghost Squadron have escaped from Sutra Six,” Dr. Lukas said, his tone rising as he spoke. Solomon could hear the panic.

  He shook his head and lowered his chin. “I told you that they weren’t my concern.”

  “But that was when you thought that they’d be blown up when we detonated the building,” Dr. Lukas argued. “Now they’ve gotten away, and we don’t know what they took. What if—”

  Solomon held up a hand to stop the constant babbling. Yes, he’d thought that the monster had uploaded everyone on Ricky Bobby. It had at first been frustrating when he learned that Dr. A’Din Hatcherik had escaped the monster, but worse was that he’d trapped it. That was no matter, though. The monster got away, and those remaining on Ricky Bobby were so few. They would try and come after him, as he’d seen, but there was no way they would succeed. They were simply outnumbered in force, prowess and numbers.

  After a long pause, Solomon said, “They have the locations for the databases, you said.”

  Alan nodded. “Yes, and they have the codes. I think we should change them. Possibly move the databases. We can’t risk—”

  Solomon shook his head, cutting off the other scientist. “I have no plans to do any of that. We don’t run from ants, Alan, we squash them.”

  “But, sir, they managed to break into Starboards’ headquarters and also Sutra Six.”
br />   Solomon’s eyes narrowed. “I let them into Sutra Six, knowing we were going to blow it up. You are the fool who allowed them to trespass into Starboards.”

  “I realize that I’ve made mistakes with security,” Alan said in a rush. “I figured that, due to this headquarters’ location and deceptive qualities, it wasn’t necessary to have many more security measures.”

  Solomon sighed. He’d given Starboards Corp a floating building that was camouflaged in the sky, and still, Alan had messed things up. “We are going forward as arranged. Changing codes would stall our plans. As for changing locations, that’s out of the question.”

  “But what are you going to do when Ghost Squadron tries to break into another database location?”

  Solomon felt the wicked smile break across his face. “I’m going to be prepared for them. I’m not running from these pests, I will ensure they are taken out on their next attempt. Then we will no longer be concerned about their interfering.”

  Alan nodded, an unsure look on his face. “That’s a good plan, but—”

  “Dean, disconnect vid comm,” Solomon said, interrupting Alan.

  “Yes, sir,” the AI replied, and the screen went black.

  Solomon strode for the door, his pulse beating harder, as it usually did just before he entered the room he was now headed for. “Dean, deploy a fleet of combat pilots to Makare and the surrounding area in the Hapeti system.”

  “I calculated an eighty-seven percent chance you would make that decision, based on the current threat,” Dean stated. “I will enact defense protocol alpha now.”

  Solomon wished that Alan could be as competent as the AI, but that’s where human error came into play. One human was prone to mistakes, whereas hundreds, maybe even thousands of consciousnesses, would behave much like an AI—only better. It wasn’t artificial intelligence. It was real.

  When Solomon reached the unmarked white door, his chest tightened with anticipation. The rush was always the same. “Dean, open the door.”

  At the conclusion of his sentence, the door slid back to reveal a solid white room. Solomon stepped forward, and the door shut behind him. The material of three of the four walls, as well as the floor and ceiling of the space, were made of a unique carbon-polymer material that conducted electromagnetic energy.

  The special wall construction ensured that the monster didn’t enter Monstre Corp headquarters, where it might become disoriented and upload employee’s consciousnesses by mistake. The reinforcements kept the creature caged while it was home. However, most of the security measures weren’t necessary, since it followed every order Solomon gave. He was, in a way, its father, its creator.

  Solomon stared around the all-white room, waiting for the monster to reveal itself. First came the loud humming, like that of an engine starting. Then the area in the corner filled with what appeared to be gray smoke, the density intensifying moment by moment. Solomon’s heart beat faster, but he kept his chin raised and his face neutral.

  The monster rose off the ground, like an animal getting up after a nap to greet its master. Sparks began firing inside the monster as its color darkened, making it appear almost like a black cloud.

  Solomon looked up at the monster, marveling at its appearance. It could expand to cover a great area, or shrink down small to fit into a room this size. It was the most changeable beast, with the ability to do one unimaginable thing: it could steal consciousnesses.

  The monster roared with what Solomon interpreted as anticipation. The creature could understand him, but, for all his trying, he didn’t understand the strange noises his invention made. He’d programmed it, though, so he knew what it would say if words were available to it: ‘Yes, master. How may I serve?’

  “I have a job for you.” Solomon looked up as the monster reared overhead, its outer edges unfurling like plumes of smoke. “You are to go to Sutra Seven on planet Makare in the Hapeti system. Stay vigilant for intruders. Only upload those not associated with Monstre Corp.”

  The different lights buried deep within the monster glowed at once, seemingly in response to the order.

  Solomon remained frozen as the biosynthetic machine floated closer, nearly grazing his face. Yes, he knew the monster could upload him. Take him. But that would never happen; its programming prevented it. Since its inception, Solomon had told the monster one thing over and over: ‘You can upload all but me. My control of you is absolute.’

  The words that inspired this method came back to him then: “‘Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they’ll believe it.’ – Adolf Hitler.”

  “Dean, release the barrier,” Solomon ordered.

  A buzzing sound that he had barely registered over the noise the monster made fell away. The creature inched forward, nearly touching Solomon’s upturned nose.

  “It is time. Go and follow my orders,” Solomon barked, his voice clear and loud.

  The roar of the monster increased. Its black form spread, clouding Solomon’s vision like he’d stepped into a pitch-black room. He didn’t move, although something inside him squirmed. He didn’t blink, although his eyes were drying out from staring up.

  And then, quite gracefully, like a storm cloud moving over a great land, the monster pushed backward, sliding through the solid exterior wall, out into the Chumash Forest and away.

  Chapter Two

  Hatch’s Lab, Ricky Bobby, Cacama System

  The GAD-C made a sound like a train was racing through the middle of the ship. Hatch tapped three of his tentacles on the side of the machine, growing restless from the process. When the body of an older man with long sideburns and brown hair materialized on the bed of the machine, Hatch diverted his eyes, extending one tentacle holding a white robe in the man’s direction. He had seen enough naked humans that day to take his appetite away for life.

  “Mr. Brian Pinnacle,” Hatch began, his tone rehearsed. “You are aboard a battlecruiser. You will be assigned housing here on Ricky Bobby until transport can be arranged to your home planet. If you should need anything specific, our AI can assist you.”

  The man lifted his arms, looking at them with shock. He pressed his hands to his face, his mouth hanging open. “I’m…I’m real.” Looking around, he shrank back when he caught sight of Hatch on the other side of the GAD-C.

  Hatch sighed, bored of having the same reorientation speech with every single person. “Yes, we’ve printed you a body that is genetically identical to your previous one, although some aspects might be different due to environmental factors. This one is at optimal levels.”

  The man laughed, sliding off the bed of the GAD-C. “I’d say so! I used to have quite the gut.” He slapped his flat stomach and chuckled again. “I haven’t looked this good since my teens.”

  “Well, keep in mind,” Hatch began, “that you are now subject to environmental factors again, so if you eat like you used to and don’t exercise, you’ll go back to looking and feeling like you did.”

  Liesel stepped forward, holding a stack of folded clothes. “What the doctor is trying to say is that you’ve been given a fresh start.”

  Hatch rolled his eyes. She was the charming and sensitive one on the welcoming committee.

  Mr. Pinnacle stared around the ship and took the clothes from Liesel. “I…I…was in the strangest place. It was like a dream.”

  “Yes, there are many of you on the lower deck,” Liesel explained. “I’m holding a few support groups this evening, if you’d like to join.”

  “Support groups? Others?” Mr. Pinnacle questioned, seemingly locked in a daze.

  Liesel smiled. “Yes. It will take some time for you to understand what’s happened to you, but we’re all here to help.”

  “I printed you a brand new body,” Hatch grumbled. “I think my job is done.”

  Liesel led the man to the exit. “Try to take it slow. You’ve been through a big ordeal, but cosmically speaking, you’re about to have an evolution. In many ways, you have a fresh start.” br />
  The man halted abruptly. “Greg? Is Greg here? My brother…”

  “If he is, we’ll connect you two,” Liesel assured him.

  Hatch hadn’t printed a Greg Pinnacle yet, that much he knew. He searched through the database…. There was no one by that name. Hatch’s mouth tightened. It was most likely the brothers’ consciousnesses were stored together and therefore Greg’s was probably gone. Another consciousness Vance lost doing his experiments. He uses people like they are matches.

  “Mr. Pinnacle, I’m Ricky Bobby and I’ll lead you to your quarters,” the AI said overhead.

  The man looked up, staring around like he was afraid he was hearing voices in his head. “Oh, this is all quite strange.”

  Liesel patted the man on the back affectionately. “Things will get easier, I promise.”

  He nodded and disappeared through the exit.

  “This is taking forever,” Hatch said under his breath, turning his attention back to the GAD-C.

  “I could make your job easier,” Pip sang overhead.

  “If you only had a brain,” Hatch teased.