A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5) Read online

  A Fistful of Credits

  Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe

  Edited by

  Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey

  A Fistful of Credits

  edited by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey

  Published by Seventh Seal Press

  Virginia Beach, VA, USA

  www.chriskennedypublishing.com

  This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States’ copyright law.

  The stories in this collection are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used in a fictitious manner. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Editor: Chris Kennedy

  Co-Editor: Mark Wandrey

  Cover Design: Brenda Mihalko

  Cover Image: Ricky Ryan

  Copyright © 2017 by Chris Kennedy

  All rights reserved.

  The stories and articles contained herein have never been previously published. They are copyrighted as follows:

  THE LAST ALPHA by Mark Wandrey. Copyright © 2017 by Mark Wandrey.

  BREACH OF CONTRACT by Terry Mixon. Copyright © 2017 by Terry Mixon.

  PAINT THE SKY by Jason Cordova. Copyright © 2017 by Jason Cordova.

  SURF AND TURF by Jon R. Osborne. Copyright © 2017 by Jon R. Osborne.

  STAND ON IT by Kevin Ikenberry. Copyright © 2017 by Kevin Ikenberry.

  LOST AND FOUND by John Del Arroz. Copyright © 2017 by John Del Arroz.

  GILDED CAGE by Kacey Ezell. Copyright © 2017 by Kacey Ezell.

  LEGENDS by Christopher Woods. Copyright © 2017 by Christopher Woods.

  WITH THE EAGLES by Doug Dandridge. Copyright © 2017 by Doug Dandridge.

  DEAD OR ALIVE by PP Corcoran. Copyright © 2017 by PP Corcoran.

  HIDE AND SEEK by Christopher Nuttall. Copyright © 2017 by Christopher Nuttall.

  INFORMATION OVERLOAD by Charity Ayres. Copyright © 2017 by Charity Ayres.

  ENOUGH by Chris Kennedy. Copyright © 2017 by Chris Kennedy.

  CASPER’S GHOST by Brad R. Torgersen. Copyright © 2017 by Brad R. Torgersen.

  * * * * *

  Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Gateway to Union”

  and discover other titles by Mark Wandrey at:

  http://worldmaker.us/

  * * *

  Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Shattered Crucible”

  and discover other titles by Chris Kennedy at:

  http://chriskennedypublishing.com/

  * * * * *

  This book is dedicated to all the readers who support us, and to the scifi authors who paved the way so that today’s authors can do what we love. This book is for you.

  * * * * *

  “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little while, until it was fulfilled that their fellow servants and brethren were killed, as they had been.”

  ― Revelation 6:9-11

  * * * * *

  Contents

  Contents

  Preface by Chris Kennedy

  Foreword by Dr. Charles E. Gannon

  The Last Alpha by Mark Wandrey

  Breach Of Contract by Terry Mixon

  Paint The Sky by Jason Cordova

  Surf And Turf by Jon R. Osborne

  Stand On It by Kevin Ikenberry

  Lost And Found by Jon Del Arroz

  Gilded Cage by Kacey Ezell

  Legends by Christopher Woods

  With The Eagles by Doug Dandridge

  Dead Or Alive by PP Corcoran

  Hide And Seek by Christopher Nuttall

  Information Overload by Charity Ayres

  Enough by Chris Kennedy

  CASPer’s Ghost by Brad R. Torgersen

  Excerpt from Book One of the Revelations Cycle:

  Excerpt from Book One of the Kin Wars Saga:

  Preface by Chris Kennedy

  This book was born in the same place as the rest of the Four Horsemen Universe—in a bar. Mark and I were talking about the universe, and where we wanted to go with it, and we realized the galaxy was a lot bigger than we were going to be able to flesh out on our own any time soon.

  We needed help.

  So we asked some authors we knew, and some we just sort of knew of, if they’d like to help us expand our universe by writing a short story set in the universe. We were overwhelmed at the response—it will take us several books to accommodate all of the authors who immediately said “Yes!” when we asked them to participate. Like us, they found the universe a lot of fun and couldn’t wait to jump in.

  We gave them a short primer on the universe and sent them on their way with only two points of guidance: it had to be set in the Four Horsemen Universe, and it had to be good. As such, these 14 tales describe the highs and lows of life on the battlefield, as well as in the streets and alleys of the Four Horsemen Universe. While some deal with mercenaries, others introduce readers to members of the other guilds and organizations, and even a vagrant living on the street.

  Edited by universe creators Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy, “A Fistful of Credits” includes all-new stories by a variety of bestselling authors—and some you may not have heard of…yet. Authors Brad R. Torgersen, Christopher Nuttall, Terry Mixon, Doug Dandridge, Paul Corcoran, Jason Cordova, Jon Osborne, Kevin Ikenberry, John Del Arroz, Kacey Ezell, Christopher Woods, Charity Ayres, Mark Wandrey, and Chris Kennedy take on various aspects of the universe, giving you additional insight into a galaxy that isn’t at war, but definitely isn’t at peace. One thing is for sure, though—anything’s possible if you have a fistful of credits.

  Mark and I are indebted to the authors who participated in this project for their time and talents, and to Dr. Charles E. Gannon for the foreword.

  What makes Dr. Gannon worthy of kicking off this book (i.e., Why should you listen to him)? You name it; he’s done it. He’s been selected as a Fulbright Fellow at Liverpool University, Palacky University, and the University of Dundee. He has written outstanding fiction, including two New York Times Best Selling series: the Starfire military SF series and Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire series. He has also written award-winning non-fiction, including his book, “Rumors of War and Infernal Machines” that won the American Library Association Award for Outstanding Book. He is a member of SIGMA, the “SF think-tank” which advises intelligence and defense agencies, and he was one of the featured speakers on Discovery Channel’s second installment of “Curiosity,” titled “When Aliens Attack.” A better question might be, what hasn’t Dr. Gannon done?

  Better than any of that, though, Dr. Charles E. Gannon is just a heck of a guy, and I’m proud to know him. Once in a while, he even lets me call him, “Chuck.”

  Take a look at what Dr. Gannon has to say—he knows what he’s talking about.

  Chris Kennedy

  Virgini
a Beach, VA

  Foreword by Dr. Charles E. Gannon

  It’s the Twenty-Second Century; the galaxy has opened up to us as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch:

  Humanity is pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.

  We do have one commercially viable asset, however: our willingness to fight for pay. And there is plenty of fighting to be done in a universe that is not so much governed by rule of law, as it is balance of terror. In a setting that evokes and blends elements that resonate with elements of Pournelle’s Falkenberg books, Mass Effect, and even a Star Wars-meets-Warhammer 40K vibe, conflict is omnipresent. But that conflict doesn’t conform to the predictable shapes of a single, expansive war of contending states, ideologies, or even species. It is a constant fractal churn of battles and invasions, double-crosses and surgical strikes, all fought in the pursuit of one overarching objective: power.

  Whether that power is measured as influence, security, technology, resources, or money varies, of course. Because this is a galaxy-spanning Warring-States period, with every planet and every race jockeying for position and, in some cases, survival. Humanity is one of the latter. But fortunately (and ironically, and even sadly), we Humans are quite accustomed to combat—and our visceral, close-range experience of it makes us more ready for its vicissitudes, horror, and grief. So although our technology is rudimentary and our knowledge of surrounding space extremely limited, four mercenary groups—The Four Horsemen—nonetheless survive long enough to start bringing in the currency necessary to upgrade our planet into a minor power that can survive being dropped into the shark-tank that is the Milky Way. This then, is space opera at its most energetic, with a compelling mixture of technological wonders and limitations thrown in for good measure. (And you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out what I mean with that cryptic comment.)

  However, the editors of this series have also achieved something else: they have not merely compiled a selection of great stories; they have curated a collection of great writers in the genre. And that is probably worth the cover price alone. Here’s what I mean:

  One of the great things about the age of electronic publishing is that, if you are a book lover (and since you are reading this now, I’m pretty sure that means you) you always have more to read. Not only are traditional publishers producing record numbers of books, but small presses and indies are creating a non-stop monsoon of them in every genre, according to every taste and preference. There’s only one drawback:

  Finding the ones worth reading.

  It’s been said that when everyone is shouting, you can’t hear anyone. It’s a little bit like that in electronic publishing. Now that everyone with a computer can independently write, edit, package, publish, and market their own books, there is no reliable way to know where the good stuff is. You can stick with the traditional publishers—but if you are a regular reader with very specific tastes, you might run out of material pretty quickly. Or given their prices, you might run out of money. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some books out there that, just by looking at the misspellings on the cover of the book, you can be pretty sure will not warrant investing any time in—even if they are free.

  But what about the immense bulge in the middle ground, the trackless expanse of tantalizing titles and cover art and blurbs that succeed in catching your eye but fail to tell you what you most want to know: will I like it? How do you find the good, even the best work that suits your taste when there are so many people putting it on the market?

  The answer is, quite literally, right in front of your eyes. The co-creators of this series—Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey—are examples of indie-powered cream rising to the top of their electronic subgenre. They have written and succeeded—critically and financially—amidst the endless thickets of internet publishing. They understand what it means to write for a target audience with specific interests, and since you’re perusing this now, it also means they know how to find and connect with those readers.

  But they have an even rarer skill: the ability to find, and recruit, more excellent writers who are cut from the same cloth. And they are able to gather contributors from the full spectrum of that environment: from well-established authors associated with traditional imprints to indies who might have gone under your radar—until now. So they are doing more than bringing you great fiction. They are bringing you great authors to discover, to follow: they are expanding your access to more of the military-themed space opera that you love best. If you doubt me, just turn to the table of contents and take a look at the names you find there. And then read the stories and see if you haven’t found at least half a dozen new authors to follow.

  But why believe me? And why are you reading a stupid foreword instead of starting your journey with the Four Horsemen of this troubled and almost apocalyptic future?

  So—turn the page, damn it!

  Dr. Charles E. Gannon

  May 22, 2017

  * * * * *

  Chris’ Introduction to:

  THE LAST ALPHA by Mark Wandrey

  Anyone who follows Mark on his boards will know of his long-running dispute with his publisher over story size. Generally, Mark likes to view a final word count in the same manner a bull views a red cape—it’s something to charge past as quickly as possible. “The Last Alpha” is one of those stories, as it is (by more than 10%) longer than any of the other stories in this book. It’s also one of the best, which is why I let it stay that length.

  Mark is a Dragon-nominated author who writes scifi and zombie apocalypse and is the Co-Editor for this book. Although we’re officially co-creators and have spent countless hours on the phone and online hashing it out, the Four Horsemen Universe is originally Mark’s brainchild, and he will always have 51% of the decision on all matters for how it runs. If you think antimatter is a real “thing” that ought to be in the universe, you can blame Mark for its exclusion; I used my 49% to its greatest effect, but was denied. Want to see where the universe started? You can get the first contact story for free at his website: http://worldmaker.us/.

  His contribution to the anthology, “The Last Alpha,” takes a look at the effects that joining the Galactic Union has had on Earth society, as seen by the last man to return from the Alpha Contracts. After more than 100 years of fighting, is it time for him to settle down into a life of luxury, or will he have to walk tall?

  You may want to remember Zeke, too, as you haven’t seen the last of him…

  THE LAST ALPHA by Mark Wandrey

  Part I

  The Return

  The flyer banked over the Smoky Mountains, dropping below Mach as it fell into the city’s traffic control pattern. The 700 nautical mile flight had taken a boring 40 minutes, and Zeke had spent it looking through some of his old digital photos and thinking about his short time in Houston. It had been 10 years since he’d sent anything to be stowed there, and the storage unit had been so rusted, he’d had to pay the owner $500 to cut the door down, then another $1,000 to shut up about what was inside. The contents had been packed into a mobile cargo module and were awaiting his final decision on their disposition.

  “Cash when we land,” the pilot said through the partition. Zeke just nodded. The man scowled and went back to his controls.

  It would have been impossible to hire a robotic flight. You can’t smooth talk a robot with cold, hard cash. This guy, though, had been another matter. The little plastic safe in the partition held a single 1,000 credit chit, its tiny red diamond shining a promise to the cabby. The safe could only be opened if they both thumbed it at the same time. The driver hadn’t wanted to go, not even for a stack of five crisp new $500 bills with Barack Obama’s face grinning like an idiot on each one. No surprise the chit did it, though; that little piece of plastic was worth more than $10,000 in US dollars. A credit could buy you dinner from a robochef; a buck would
n’t buy a stick of gum.

  They were low now, under 5,000 feet, and he could see the Tennessee River twisting and turning below. The crumbling remains of old Interstate 40 were still there, and the gleaming superconducting rails of the southern trans-continental maglev roughly followed the same path, though without the curves. You couldn’t turn hundreds of tons of train quickly when it was traveling faster than the speed of sound.

  As luck would have it, he spotted one of the high-speed transports. It swept gracefully around a curve and slowed before it went through a tunnel. Zeke could just make out the bow shockwave of the engine unit as it came out the other end, accelerated, and shot ahead of them. As his flyer passed over the last ridge, he finally saw his destination: Chattanooga. The maglev train slowed below Mach again before it went through the city…but not by much.

  The cabby headed for the destination his passenger had specified when they took off. Seeing they were on final approach, Zeke put away the ancient digital viewer in his sole piece of luggage, an equally venerable Osprey duffel bag, and zipped it up. He checked that everything was in its place under his leather bomber jacket and zipped it up as well. He still hadn’t gotten used to how loosely the jacket fit compared to the way his memory said it should.

  The cab banked, and rotor blades extended from the top of the fuselage. The cab transitioned to helicopter mode, flared, and set down in the big red-painted landing zone; the flexible signs saying “Danger – VTOL Zone – Keep Back!” rocked in the rotor wash from the flyer. The cabby kept the hydrogen-powered fuel cells hot.