Godeena: SF Novel Read online

  Stjepan Varesevac-Cobets

  GODEENA

  English Edition

  Copyright © 2015 Stjepan Varesevac-Cobets

  Published by Create Space Independent Publishing Platform;

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including photocopy, recording, information storage and retrieval system, or digital media without written permission from the Publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical and articles and reviews.

  Second Edition

  This book is set in Bookman Old Style from Croatian.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Edition: June 2015

  First Printing: June 2015

  Second Printing: March 2016

  ISBN-13: 978-1542369206

  ISBN-10: 1542369207

  Godeena

  By Stjepan Varesevac-Cobets

  I dedicate this book to my wife, Renata, and my daughter, Viktorija.

  Thanks to Clare Diston. Without her the English translation of this book would not look as good as it does now and KP Merriweather who made a miracle with the cover of the book.

  Thanks to CEMEX for giving me financial support to finish the proofreading of this book.

  Thanks to my family and friends who read this book before it was released. They helped me with their advice and criticism.

  Special thanks to my good friend Savio who helped with re-proofreading the second edition of the book.

  Contents

  I Morad7

  -II-Had 15

  -III-Astasan 44

  -IV-The Preparations 65

  -V-Sergeant Colburn 93

  -VI-The Repeated Arrival 115

  -VII-The Desert Mouse 135

  -VIII-On the Way to Godeena 158

  -IX-The Landing 173

  -X-The Crater 188

  -XI-Outside the Crater 207

  -XII-Absolute 228

  -XIII-In the Den 259

  -XIV-The Last Line 281

  -XV-Epilogue 298

  Morad

  I

  Through night-vision binoculars, Henry Broncon closely watched the small meadow in front of him and the high rampart which bisected it like a meandering snake. The ground was striated with dark craters, like Algerian cheese, and a hundred yard away from a dense forest spread. This forest covered a large part of the planet Morad. Six months ago there had been a bloody battle here against Ansker warriors, but now everything was quiet as a cemetery. Henry was concerned because he couldn’t notice the animal prints in the whole area. The planet Morad was filled with native animals which lived and hunted by night.

  He closely watched off the field and asked his friends and deputy, Lieutenant Carlos Hortiz, who was lying next to him on the wet grass, “Did you detect anything around the trenches?”

  “Everything is clear in this part,” Carlos declared quietly.

  Henry hissed through his teeth, “Too clear for my taste.”

  Carlos knew that his friend liked to have everything under control, but as he had noticed nothing on the field he remarked, “What are you worried about? There’s no living soul around.” He continued his watch.

  Henry was concerned, though. Something was bugging him. The enemy had to be near. He sensed danger without being able to place the source, “I don’t know. Something… something is bothering me. Something’s not right.”

  Carlos had tried to calm him, “I think you’re overreacting.”

  Henry breathed loudly, “Maybe, but it doesn’t matter right now. We don’t have enough time to return anyway. You should notify the others to take their positions.”

  “Ok.”

  Carlos slid down the gentle slope like an eel and called the platoon leaders who were hidden in the thicket. “Jon, you and Arondo are going with the tenth on the left side, Ken, and Horacio on the right! Major and I will take the middle. Synchronize your watches! We will cross the clearing in ten minutes.”

  Used to obeying commands, they moved away without a word and Carlos wriggled on his stomach through the dense undergrowth. When he crawled up beside Henry, he whispered, “Are you sure that there aren’t any forgotten Ansker in the trenches?”

  Henry smiled and answered, “I didn’t notice any, and as far as I remember you were much better than me at finding them in the simulations. According to all the information from the General Staff, no one has been here for a long time now…” Henry stopped suddenly. At the edge of the forest, he had noticed a slight movement in the branches, so he focused on that area. Then he cursed angrily. It was all quite annoying him; to flinch at a crappy breeze moving the branches was just too much to him. Henry continued, “You saw it in the command. We must walk another one hundred miles before we reach the first Ansker camp.”

  “It would be easier if they drove us closer to their positions!” Carlos said angrily.

  Henry fully agreed with his friend, but he had to obey orders and therefore, made up an excuse, “They told me that they’re occupied with driving Smith’s division to the Sanan peninsula.”

  “Is it true there’s a fierce clash over there?” Carlos asked curiously.

  He shrugged. “Precise information is a military secret, unavailable as always.”

  Carlos cynically added, “And we get a mission in this wilderness! I did not expect this when we left the base.”

  Henry knew very well that there would be more clashes with Ansker, and it was inevitable, “I think this war will not end so soon!”

  “I know, but why didn’t they give us a real mission? We got an easy walk through the wood.”

  Henry gave him an askance look and then pushed him aside, “It would be better for you if you brought our group over here, rather than yammering at my ear.”

  “Yes, Sir!” But Carlos could not keep anything to himself and added, “Should I bring a guide to show us some of the sights?”

  Henry struck his helmet and hissed through his teeth, “Do what I tell you idiot and don’t talk out of turn.”

  *

  Carlos came back with two soldiers, positioned them along the edge of the underbrush and knelt down beside Henry, “Everything is ready.”

  Henry got up, charged his energy rifle and waved to move. Halfway between the underbrush and the fortification, approximately twenty yards ahead, the first grenade exploded. It lit up the surrounding area with a bright green light.

  This surprised Henry, and he cursed “What the hell…!” A second shot echoed behind him, and he shouted, “Run towards the fortification!”

  The darkness around was ripped apart by green flashes from the plasma strokes. One of the soldiers on Henry’s right side was blown away by an explosion, spattering his uniform and armor with a mixture of mud, blood, and hot plasma. Flashes blinded him and earth mixed with plasma flew in all directions; it was like being inside some wild firework. Henry ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards the only protection from the dangerous meadow. He threw himself behind the rampart and the painful crash on the hard ground aroused Henryʼs rage. The adrenaline rush was driving him insane. He couldn’t gather as to how the enemy could have hidden so well; he hadn’t even noticed them.

  Carlosʼ cries dragged him back to reality. “There’s no one there! What the hell?”

  Henry glared at him and, snapped, “As far as I remember, you were looking for some action!”

  Carlos laughed like crazy. While he was cleaning layers of mud from his rifle, he asked, “Are you sure that we are at the right place?”

  Henry had examined every detail of the map a hundred times, and had no doubt as to where they were su
pposed to be, “I’m one hundred percent sure.”

  One of the plasma grenades whizzed above him and exploded a few yards behind. Carlos gnashed his teeth and said, “I wonder which asshole gave us intelligence on the location being safe!”

  Henry thought for a moment, “That asshole would be the whole general staff.” He then he spat on the damp ground and concluded, “It doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s get on with it.”

  Carlos got on his knees and began to observe the plasma-shells that flew with deafening noise over their heads, “What’s happening here anyway? From where are all these grenades coming from?”

  Henry leaned his hand on Carlosʼ shoulder and looked at him and instructed, “Go and check our crew. I will figure out what’s happening.”

  Carlos nodded, grabbed his arm and said, “Courage and honor my friend.”

  “Kill and survive,”Henry responded to their motto.

  He moved to an area on the opposite side of the rampart which was beginning to develop cracks due to the grenade strike. As soon as the bombing stopped, Henry crawled to the top and tried to look over the ridge, but one of the remaining grenades exploded a yard below the spot he was laying. The shockwave threw him back down the steep slope, along with a pile of mud and stones. He cursed bitterly as he tried to sit up, “Shit! What’s going on here?”

  Lieutenant Carlos patted the dirt off his back.

  Henry shook the dirt off his shoulders, “Fucking grenade. I’m fine. Did you do what I told you to?”

  “We lost four of our men, and five of them are injured! I think that soldier Fenijan will not live for long, his wound is deadly!”

  Henry was raging, “Damn it! They got us, alright!”

  “Should we pull-back towards the edge of the wood?”

  “Use the radio. There’s no point in hiding anymore! Tell the others to destroy the forest.” Henry got up and walked towards the edge, “I will check over the edge again.”

  Henry noticed that the missiles were not hitting the place from which the grenades were being hurled. Their plasma cannon flashes appeared to come from deep inside the forest, so he issued a new command, “Carlos, make them hit the deeper parts, there’s no one at the edges!”

  “Ok,” he replied and issued the new command to the radio operator.

  “Perfect! Just proceed!” Henry complimented. But there was no answer, so Henry shouted over the rumble of explosions, “Lieutenant Hortiz!”

  Carlos didn’t move, so he slid down to him, wondering as to what was going on. Henry grabbed his shoulder. “Why don’t you answer…?”

  His lifeless body fell to the ground, and the smell of scorched flesh filled Henry’s nostrils. Carlos whole chest and his light armor had melted from the hot plasma, and most of his face was missing. A grenade had exploded between him and another soldier, so they didn’t have any chance of surviving. Henry was shocked to see the butchered face of his friend.

  The Ansker fire stopped. That brought him back to reality. He knew very well that they must have to prepare quickly, for the enemy’s fearsome attack was yet to come.

  He turned to the nearest soldier and asked, “Is Sergeant Eliot here?”

  “He is dead, Sir!”

  Not far from the place where he was, he saw Corporal Samuel Lampard and called to him out loud. “Corporal, you will take over the authority of this group!”

  Corporal although was obviously in shock, replied loudly, “Yes Sir!”

  Henry cried out aloud to the other soldiers who were hiding at the bottom of the rampart. “All of you get to the top of the rampart. They will probably be coming after us right now!”

  “All right, Sir!”

  Sergeant Timothy, who was on his side, asked him, “Should I notify the others, Sir?”

  “Yes, they should all be ready! Stop firing at the forest edge!”

  “Aye aye Sir.”

  Henry once again climbed to the top of the rampart and took a look at the edge of the forest, but between the wrecked trees, he couldn’t see any movements of Ansker soldiers. He had no idea why they had stopped firing. Between the position where they were and the forest was the meadow, a clearing approximately five hundred yards wide, filled with a large number of various sized mounds. Strategically, it was not appropriate for the enemy troops to move forward as – they would be a perfect target for his shooters on the rampart.

  He was angry with himself because he could not figure out their strategy. “What the hell was they up to?” he thought to himself.

  And then he realized what was obvious the whole time. The mounds were dispersed evenly all over the field. They couldn’t have been natural – and there were hundreds of them. Henry is taking one of the bombs from his vest shouted to the Sergeant, “Timothy, notify the others to aim their bombs at the closest mounds.”

  Sergeant looked at him in confusion. “What?”

  “The Anskers are under those mounds. Attack right now!”

  He threw a bomb and held his rifle took aim on the mound. The explosion blew away one of the hidden Anskers. Henry shot two others who were trying to escape. The darkness was lit up by the explosions of plasma bombs and energy rifles, and hundreds of Anskers filled the clearing, running towards Henry and his men. Henry started shooting and, killing the enemy soldiers without a second thought. He noticed one soldier preparing to jump over Samuel Lampard with a double-edged laser Sarhat knife in his hand. Henry fired a shot aiming his head, and he collapsed right next to Samuel’s feet, but that didn’t save the Corporal. Another attacker stabbed him with a long laser bayonet, lifted him from the ground and threw him down the slope. There was nothing Henry could do. Just then he noticed an Ansker soldier lunging towards him with a Sarhat in his hands. Henry shot him but did not manage to get away from the body which hit him like a mallet. He lost balance and was thrown down the humid slope to the bottom of the rampart. While he was trying to push the Ansker away, a huge explosion echoed. Mounds of dirt and dismembered bodies buried him. Because of the weight on his chest, he couldn’t breathe. Sparks started to fly in front of his eyes and then he passed out.

  *

  It was still pitch dark when Henry woke up, but it was still difficult to move. For a moment Henry thought that he was dead, but then he heard muffled voices. He almost fainted even while attempting to scream. Luckily, just about then the pressure on his chest eased allowing him to breathe easily.

  He could see the light now and heard a muffled, raspy voice shout out, “Over here! Somebody survived the massacre!” Then the person leaned forward and said, “Hold on a second! We will get you out of here.”

  They moved the dead bodies that were lying over him and helped him up slowly. One of the soldiers gave him a bottle of water and asked, “What’s your name?”

  “Major Henry Broncon,” He barely answered, taking a sip of water because his throat was dry as gunpowder. The soldier was about to salute him, but Henry waved him to stop, “Forget about that right now. Tell me if there are any survivors.”

  “Our men are still searching for survivors Sir, but it’s a slaughterhouse here. You are the first one we’ve found alive.”

  Henry tried to stand up and, if the soldier hadn’t held onto him, he would have fallen. He was still getting his bearings right.

  “You are still unable to walk, Sir.”

  He angrily replied, “I am able!” The Henry was already raging when the attack started, and now with the consequences, he was literally driven to insanity. He looked at another soldier who winced when he saw Henry’s bloodshot eyes. “Find my binoculars! They have to be here somewhere!” Henry commanded.

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “The two of us are going up there.”

  The first soldier held Henry by his waist as they walked up to the rampart. The other soldier soon followed them and handed Henry his binoculars, “They were not far from where you were lying, Sir.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Do you need a
nything else, Sir?”

  “No!”

  Soon Henry was standing on top of the rampart and looking at the clearing in disbelief. The binoculars were trembling hands in Henry’s as he looked at the clearing from which the Anskers had attacked his troops. There were numerous dead bodies lying all around, twisted in a maelstrom of death. It was a gruesome sight. Hundreds of dead bodies of soldiers and Anskers lay scattered from the clearing to the bulwark, and all the way to the edge of the forest behind him. On hindsight, the edge of the forest must have been what his men would have tried retreat to. Numerous paramedics and soldiers were running up and down across the plain looking for survivors, but Henry knew that their efforts were futile. One looks at the execution site, and he knew everyone was dead unless there was any other lucky soul just like him.

  The soldier, who was holding Henry up, commented with despair, “It must have been hell here!”

  Henry squeezed the binoculars feeling helpless against this tirade which left his companions dead. Pain and sorrow engulfed him. Henry finally spoke in a troubled tone, “They had gone through hell, and I am living one.”

  Hades

  II

  The Kxanerek System in the Interstellar Confederation was one of the cruelest habitats in the whole Gama galaxy. None of the five planets that surround its sun were suitable for human life. Cios I and Cios II were gas giants filled with poisonous cyanide gasses, Keredumus had a very active volcanic surface, and Alpha, located closest to the sun, was a scorched desert where temperatures could exceed 500 degrees Celsius. On the fifth planet, Jan II was one of the safest and best-guarded prisons in the entire universe. Its name was Hades.

  There had been attempts to escape from Hades, but all ended with the deaths of the fugitives who were exposed to the on the dangerous surface of Jan II. Watching its wild nature from the pilot cabin of the transport aircraft, it was obvious to Henry why the escapees had lost their lives. The entire planet was a large marsh without much of dry land, and the marsh had innumerable bloodthirsty animals. They were sighting of huge reptiles like creatures called Huducs; a bit was seen; similar to terrestrial crocodiles. They lay around on mounds of mud and dense vegetation. When they heard the transporter flying above, they dived and swam away. The transporter regularly flew over large flocks of birds among which the big, white Sukare stood out. They inhabited the planet in large numbers. There were plenty of fish, which the Sukare preyed on, though, these were poisonous to people. In fact, the entire planet was a gigantic poison trap for humans – where only the native animals could survive.