Osdal (Harmony War Series Book 3) Read online

  Prologue

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  Prologue

  Mining City Twenty-One

  Osdal Actual, Osdal System

  10/3242

  It was a holographic meeting; people sat around a desk, and there were three chairs where there had been five just 25 years ago. All the representatives were cloaked in shadow, their features and voices obscured.

  “The representative from Osdal has the floor,” a commanding voice said.

  Luke knew the representative from Housapel, he had been the one to teach him about Harmony. How to get people to do what he wanted with a small incentive and the right leverage.

  “From our communications with Mintran, it looks like the Harmony forces there were not able to secure their positions before the Troopers appeared,” Luke said, his voice coming out deeper and slower.

  “We knew that the EMF had many carriers in limbo, so it is not a shock that they had carriers close to at least one of our systems,” Fernix’s representative said, sounding monotone and tinny.

  “It will mean that we do not have the materials we need for more weapons and armor,” Luke explained. Osdal supplied the majority of materials to the other systems, but Mintran had fuel and specific metallic materials for building. Items that would take time to get to Mintran from Osdal.

  “It looks that Nivad has caught on to Fernix and Housapel, he is rerouting shipping away from our systems in a bid to recreate strike station he says. I think he just wants to keep the materials away from us,” Housapel said.

  “It might make sense to let our presence be known soon,” Fernix mused.

  Luke and Housapel waited for Fernix to continue.

  “We already control all that we would need; we do not need to convince anyone to join our cause. We can also get the propaganda machine going and turn Osdal into a show of what the company forces will do when we try to work for equality. We don’t start with enforcers, we start with chosen, and start making militaries. They will need time to get better and to prepare to fight Troopers. If Nivad thinks that we are already Harmony, then there is no issue,” Fernix said.

  There was silence. Luke thought it was a good argument, but Harmony had started in Housapel, and Housapel’s representative was the leader of their movement.

  “I think you might be correct, Fernix. With proper militaries, that look to protect the people instead of exercise their power in any way possible, our systems will support us more fully,” Housapel said.

  Luke didn’t comment; Masoul and Osdal were proving grounds for tech to be used against the EMF. He cared little for the systems, they weren’t his own. He would make sure his forces bled the EMF as much as possible. That was his role, to weaken the EMF before Housapel and Fernix.

  “So shall we move ahead with our plan?” Fernix asked.

  Housapel replied, “Yes we shall, send word out to our people to put our plans into motion. Osdal, have the EMF appeared yet?”

  “Not yet, though I have freighters out for them,” Luke said.

  “Be careful, these ones are smarter than I thought. Using an EMP to blind our sensors and communications - no other EMF Carrier has done that before. Destroying the Earth’s Military Force Carrier Reclaimer is your highest priority,” Housapel said, and even with the voice modification there was no denying that the words were an order.

  “I will see to it. Measures have been taken to make sure that we are not blinded by another EMP strike,” Luke said.

  “Good. We have lost valuable information being unable to see the performance of new weaponry,” Fernix said.

  Luke had had more than one conversation with the other Harmony system heads about how they were building weapons that they didn’t know were still effective or not.

  “I think that is all we have to discuss, see to your tasks.” Housapel disappeared from view. Fernix similarly dissolved.

  Luke let out an amused snort.

  Housapel never said “For the sake of Harmony” around the other system leaders, it was a saying for the useless peons that did their bidding.

  Being a CEO for nearly four hundred years and getting sidelined by other systems, Luke and his fellow ‘Harmony leaders’ had conspired to use the lower ranks anger to collect the power and control of other systems. When they were done, they would control Earth. No longer would they be sitting in backwater partnership worlds; they would be the CEOs of Earth.

  Luke stood and left the conference room, a hungry look on his face as he pictured Nivad Selvra begging for his life at Luke’s feet.

  Chapter 1

  Tower

  Earth, Sol System

  10/3242

  Nivad looked at the reports from Housapel and Fernix.

  He was a simple looking man, with black hair, light colored skin and a flair for expensive suits. He did not look like Earth and Her Colonies’ power broker. He was the go-between for companies,
and he ruled the EMF and intelligence ministry. Information was his trade, and money was his score card.

  Company takeovers, and the latest scandal he could use to leverage shares from a prominent CEO, were far from his mind.

  His office was large; it held an obsidian black desk, a liquor cabinet, opulent chairs with couches beyond them and wall-length view screens that showed Mega City.

  Everything was designed to display both his power and personal wealth.

  Dalia and Wallace sat in the chairs in front of the obsidian desk, their faces hard as Nivad held his chin and read reports on his surface.

  Harmony had been hit almost overnight. They had removed the CEOs from their systems and called for democracy.

  It was a sham, like Earth’s own presidential election. The voice pieces of Harmony were elected; there were a number of them and they even made it look like a fight between them all.

  Nivad wondered if Harmony might have had an actual election. With all of the options being Harmonies anyway, whichever one got elected they would spout Harmony’s words.

  They’d brought back religion, they’d raised the wages and then asked for people to join their military.

  Nivad felt his face tighten as he put the surface down.

  There was a light buzzing in the air, telling Nivad and his company that no one would ever hear their conversation.

  “It seems that they have finally shown their hands,” Nivad said, looking from Dalia to Wallace. Any other person might have fidgeted or been scared. These two simply sighed and nodded.

  Wallace pulled out a cigarette as Nivad sat back in his chair. He offered them to Nivad and Dalia, and they both took one.

  Nivad allowed the practice to center his mind as he thought.

  “What are our recruiting numbers looking like?” Nivad asked.

  “We have three thousand potentials going through every day,” Dalia said.

  “Move all Limbo carriers, except the four surrounding Earth. How is that contract for Carriers coming along?” Nivad asked.

  Wallace exhaled smoke. “Now we have ‘The Yard’ working for us, we should have twelve carriers produced in a year.”

  “What about the new survey ships?” Nivad asked Wallace.

  “The first is already in transit to Masoul to track down the Harmony’s FTL communications. The second and third are moving through the uninhabited systems.”

  “What can we expect at the end of this?” Nivad looked to the other two.

  “Masoul is still rebuilding, Mintran is firmly on our side, Osdal is in opposition. The chosen are still nothing but a large gang that intimidate people. While that works for individuals, for populations it makes them restless and angry. The civilians want them gone, but they’ve been around for so long that they’re used to them. Humans get used to a new situation quickly. They won’t help us but they won’t go against us. It will take new colonists and new CEO’s to get the planet running.” Dalia smoked on her cigarette, bracing herself for the worst parts.

  “Fernix and Housapel are doing something similar to Sacremon; they’re giving power to the people, and they’re raising a military with a stake in their future. It looks like they want to create a professional military, like the EMF. One that has tactics, weapons and gear that are on level with our Troopers, if not above.” Others would have shied from this admission, but she knew how Nivad needed the information, and withholding it from him would only make him angrier when he found out. And he would find out.

  Nivad smoked and looked to his view screen, staring down on mega city. “If we win, what will happen to the systems?”

  Dalia hid her wince at his choice in words.

  “There will be groups that will work for the new CEOs, but it will require a complete colonial reseeding to get the systems into production,” she said.

  “Have the partnerships for Housapel and Fernix been approached yet?” Nivad asked.

  “Through unofficial channels. They want to know how much this will cost them. They understand it will be high,” Dalia replied.

  “They won’t have any profits until the new colonists and CEOs arrive. We should have them picked and transported to the systems, waiting and reseeding the systems as soon as the Troopers clear them. Still, it will take at least thirty years of profits to pay off our fees, so we will have to run them on credit.” To Nivad, the business side of these things was simplistic, relative to everything else. “What about the EMF?”

  “Losses are expected to be high; we don’t know all of the tech Harmony is building, but Fernix builds freighters and was where a number of Carriers were made. They know the ships, their armor and armaments. Estimates put us at losing half to three quarters of our forces. We simply don’t know,” Dalia wasn’t optimistic.

  “There’s something more than numbers we have to think on. What will the Troopers be like after surviving the war against Harmony?”

  “I guess it is a war now, so what do you think, Wallace?” Nivad asked, throwing his cigarette into a disposal chute.

  “We’re going to have heroes, and that’s something I think that we should embellish. We want people to get behind us and support our war? We want more people watching the feeds? We need heroes. Hell, that group that infiltrated Masoul… they’re already heroes. We need real leaders, none of the politicking CEOs in EMF uniforms. We’re going to have to remove most of that crust and let Trooper leaders, real leaders, step into that space.” Wallace paused. “But we have to remembered that these leaders will have their people’s loyalty, so we have to make sure that we always have a way to control the situation, some kind of charges, medical release, retirement and so on. We’re going to have to run a balance, there will be hundreds of thousands of Troopers working together. We need to make them as effective as possible as they face down millions. We also need to make sure they don’t turn that confidence against us.”

  “So we balance the heroes with our strategies to remove them from the limelight, but we also have to deal with a disparity of forces, and the fact not many will be of use to us,” Nivad said.

  “Essentially,” Wallace agreed.

  “You said that they will be facing millions, on Osdal there are twelve million people. Housapel has fifty million and Fernix has twenty-seven. How do we know that any Troopers will survive?” Nivad asked.

  “Look at EMFC Reclaimer, the carrier has gone through two bad systems, statistically those that survived Sacremon survived Masoul. Their overall survival rate, compared to EMFC Fearless, was higher - other than in units primarily staffed by Reclaimer Troopers that had been transferred,” Wallace said.

  “It’s the reason that they are going to be reinforced, instead of reinforcing other units,” Dalia supplied, remembering the conversations they’d had on the subject.

  “So if the Troopers survive their first engagements, then they should survive the later ones?” Nivad asked.

  “It will get rid of the worst Troopers, only increasing the effectiveness of the units left behind. Accidents happen and they will die, but they will have a greater effect,” Wallace said.

  They had all needed to learn about the EMF and their Troopers in order to combat the threat that Harmony posed to their system. Wallace had studied unit tactics as Dalia dealt with the numerical side of the situation.

  Nivad trusted Wallace’s judgement. “Status of our carriers headed to Osdal?” he asked, and Dalia glanced to her surface.

  “They are a year and a half away from the system. Five carriers are waiting.”

  “The others?” Nivad asked.

  “We need to make the decision to have them go to Osdal or hit Fernix and Housapel,” she said.

  “Have forces move to Housapel and hide outside the system. We have limited intel coming from the ground, so having scans on the system will be of utmost importance. If we see a weakness, we’ll hit them, and I want forces stopping any traffic leaving or entering the system. However, I want the full force of our EMF focused on taking Fernix. We cannot l
et them get carriers and start attacking colonies,” Nivad said, pressing his finger on the table to punctuate his point. He sat back in his chair as he continued. “I want our carriers intercepting freighters to Fernix, and sending them to Masoul. Once we control Osdal, I want to shift all of our forces, except those around Housapel, to hit Fernix and then Housapel. We’re going to need freighters and carriers to revive the economy, we don’t need household goods and electronics.”

  “Intercept all materials moving between the systems, and have forces gathering intel as we move forces to hit them en masse,” Wallace summarized.

  “Exactly,” Nivad said.

  “We’ve also shut down the connection to the banking system; the leaders will probably figure another system out, but it puts their funds now at our disposal to use against them,” Dalia said, pushing something up on her surface, and it appeared on the obsidian desk.

  Nivad looked over the numbers; three systems’ worth of wealth at his fingertips.

  The thrill he usually felt looking over the sheet was dulled by the reality that he would much rather have the systems back to the way they were instead of having all of that wealth at his disposal.

  Chapter 2

  EMFC Reclaimer

  Moving from Masoul System to Osdal

  1/3266

  Mark woke up from cryo for the sixth time in his life and, unlike the last time, he wasn’t suffering from the effects of being ripped out of cryo by drugs.

  He grabbed the bars of his pod and pulled himself out.

  His platoon were all stretching, working their tongues and spitting on the floor to try and get rid of the cryo aftertaste. After Masoul, there weren’t even enough of them to make up a half platoon.