Serpents and Vipers Read online

  Serpents and Vipers

  The Adventures of Christopher Slone – Book III

  By Donald Nicklas

  Copyright © 2017 Donald A. Nicklas

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without written permission from the author.

  Other titles in the Adventures of Christopher Slone series:

  Book I - Voyage of the Hayden

  It is the 32nd century and earth is no longer the center of humanity. After the last war on earth, all governments have fallen and known space is ruled by the huge mining corporations that had previously served the needs of earth. The corporations have waged periodic war on each other but there have been no corporate wars for over a century. One of the most powerful of these corporations is Sinclair Corp., headed by Horatio Sinclair. On one of the corporation’s far-flung mining bases a distress signal is received from a yacht registered to Sinclair Corp and carrying Horatio Sinclair’s youngest daughter, Alaya, on her honeymoon cruise to the galactic rim. It falls to Captain Christopher Slone, newly appointed to the helm of the star cruiser SS Hayden, to investigate the distress signal and attempt a rescue if possible. The Hayden and her crew look forward to anything that will break the monotony of guarding a mining colony from sporadic pirate attacks, but nothing could prepare them for what lay ahead. . . .

  Book II - Nova Romae

  It is the 32nd century and the Dragon’s Claw sailed through the energy paths between star systems called slipstreams. These highways of energy were the only way to go faster than light. With the proper sails to catch the energy, and the right ship, one could travel as fast as two light-years per hour. The Dragon’s Claw was a state of the art mining scout ship from one of the most powerful corporations in human space, the Sinclair Corporation. After the last world war on earth, only the space based mining corporations survived and for the past 800 years, they were the only political power the humans knew. Only the ship and her crew were no longer part of the Sinclair Corporation. They were thought to have died along with the entire crew of the star cruiser SS Hayden on a mission to the Andromeda galaxy. Among the seven survivors traveling aboard the Dragon’s Claw, there was the captain of the ill-fated Hayden, Captain Christopher Slone. Also aboard was the youngest daughter of Horatio Sinclair, the owner of the corporation, Alaya Sinclair. Since she was the result of an affair between his wife and another man, she was considered expendable. He thought he had sent her and her scouting crew to certain death to cement an agreement. Alaya Sinclair was shattered when she realized he thought of her only as a chip in a big business deal. Alaya’s biological father was a man named Strabo, the leader of the Nova Romae pirates, in the Matsua Rim arm of the galaxy. The Pirates called themselves the Romani. The Dragon’s Claw was moving ever closer to the pirate territory; Alaya was moving closer to the father she had never met …

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 – The Emissary

  Chapter 2 – Rubicon Station

  Chapter 3 – Primary Jungle

  Chapter 4 – The Sea Clan

  Chapter 5 – Return to Rubicon

  Chapter 6 – The Senate and People of Nova Romae

  Chapter 7 – Defending the Mountain

  Chapter 8 – Queen of the Mountain

  Chapter 9 – Transit to the Viper’s Nest

  Chapter 10 – Into the Vipers Nest

  Chapter 11 - Lex Unguibus

  Chapter 12 – The New World Order

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  The year 3120 started with much happiness and joy for the future. It was now four years since the Hayden incident and a year and a half since the fleet returned from the successful liberation of New Wales. During the first quarter of the year, the Republic of New Wales applied for official admission into the Nova Romae federation and this was granted on a provisional basis. Ambassadors were sent and former admiral Igor Perminov became the first ambassador of the Republic of New Wales to Nova Romae. Since his old corporation had been taken over by Sinclair Corp, he had applied for official citizenship in the New Wales Republic. Since he had worked tirelessly to help reverse the damage done by his former government, his experience was considered and he was made part of the transition team. His extended family had joined him on New Wales and now joined him on Nova Romae. As a full member of the federation, he also now became aware of the serpents and their gift of invisibility, with the usual threat of death if he disclosed the information. New Wales now elected a senator to represent them in the Nova Romae Senate. The senator elected was Ian MacDougal who gladly moved to Nova Romae to live with his niece. Tavia MacDougal was now a self-assured young woman of 17 who was fully in her element as a scout. She and Alaya Slone spent many weeks scouting surrounding systems for good mining and resource locations. The house Tavia inherited from Marcus was more than a cottage; it was a large house on the river, which emptied into the lake, on which the Slone house was located. She invited her uncle and the rest of his family to join her there, and they accepted.

  The Republic of New Wales was once known as the Balin Corporation. In the 32nd century, earth is no longer important. It has become a tourist spot for those who are interested in history. The last war on earth made it a wasteland and it took centuries to turn it into a living museum. Less than a billion people remain and most of those are caretakers. All government in human space was now controlled by corporations. These corporations exiled their intellectuals and free thinkers five centuries ago, to what they thought was certain death. However, not all died and those that survived formed a new civilization based on the ancient Roman republican model and formed a democratic federation. They called themselves the Romani and their home system Nova Romae. It was their avowed intention to destroy the corporations who had exiled their founders. To the corporations they were known as pirates, to the residents of New Wales, they were saviors.

  The Nova Romae republic now consisted of 386 systems, with the addition of New Wales. On the border of this vast space, opposite human space, is a large area controlled by an alien race of reptilians that the humans call serpents. The humans helped them, three centuries before, without asking anything in return and now they are close allies. The serpents serve on the Romani ships and they gave them the technology of invisibility, but only they know how to make it work. To reveal their existence to anyone outside Romani space is a capital offense.

  The past year and a half was a happy one for the Slones. The Gardners moved in with them at the lake house along with their son, Allen. Soon Alaya gave birth to a daughter. They named her Olivia, after Alaya’s mother. Her father, the Consul Strabo, was touched. Olivia was now a year old and an active toddler as was Allen, eight months her senior. When Alaya and Christopher were on space duty, both toddlers spent their time on the Dreadnought Invicta. The nursery aboard was for families with children who were on duty. The Romani allowed families to be together, even when in combat. People tend to fight harder when the future of their families was also on the line.

  As far as their status in Romani society was concerned, the Slones were always in demand. There were benefits to being the daughter and son-in-law of the First Consul of the Republic. However, the party scene never appealed as much to them as being at home with their family and friends. Spring was covering the shores of the lake with flowers, the aroma wafted up to the veranda of the lake house as Christopher Slone, and his wife watched their child playing in the mild spring sun. Unbeknownst
to them, a ship was about to enter the Nova Romae system, which would send them on an adventure fraught with danger and the unknown . . .

  Chapter 1 – The Emissary

  Nova Romae is defended by a series of cannon and missile platforms surrounding the planet and extending to various orbits around its sun. They are manned by retired legionaries and they take their task seriously. Any ship that enters the system without the proper identification codes is immediately tracked and it runs the risk of being destroyed. These platforms are part of the planetary defense system and any breach causes activation of the entire system. Faster than light travel is accomplished by using special sails that catch the energy flows between planetary systems called slipstreams. With the proper sails and the right ship, one could travel as fast as two light years per hour. Within systems, the smaller ships could use sail power to capture the star winds present in all systems. The larger ships could not use sail power inside a system but could use it for rapid pivots in combat. Near planetary defense base 28, is the inbound slipstream coming from the republic systems between Nova Romae and serpent space. Slipstreams are one way only and one has to take different slipstreams to enter and leave a system.

  Aboard planetary defense base 28, Amelia Rudolph had just come on duty when a light lit on the console before her, indicating a vessel entering the system from the inbound slipstream in her sector. Amelia had spent 60 years in the legions and was now a woman in her 80s and enjoying her life. Planetary defense gave her a purpose and helped her contribute to the safety of her home and family. She looked at the flashing light and saw the mass indicator showing a very small vessel entering the system. Smaller than a private yacht but larger than a message capsule. No registered ships fit that mass and therefore, this was an unknown and a possible threat. As required by protocol, a tight beam message was sent to the other defense platforms and to the home world. Amelia then started a threat board that would track the ship as soon as it entered normal space and show its position along with authorized vessels in system. Only the defense bases were armed. It was against Nova Romae law to be armed within the system or on the planet.

  Fifteen minutes after the light started to flash on Amelia Rudolph’s console, a small ship came out of the slipstream by depolarizing its sails. As soon as the sails were furled, the engines came on and the ship sped towards the planet, ignoring all hails. Transit time to the planet was 11.8 hours and all defense bases were now tracking the intruder. Ship configuration was unknown, but sensors indicated it was occupied and unarmed, which caused some relief.

  On the planet, central command alerted the government and they alerted the Consuls Strabo and Lorenzo. These were the heads of government and would have the final determination about how to handle the intruder. Consul Strabo was visiting the Slones and enjoying some time with his only grandchild when the message came in. Alaya could see immediately that the message was serious.

  “A problem, Dad?”

  “Not sure. An unknown vessel has entered our system, but it is very small and appears unarmed, so we are just watching it. Juan is on his way to central command to monitor the situation.”

  “Good, then you can stay for dinner?”

  “Gladly,” Strabo was happy to stay and enjoy a family life he had always desired. “Is Sly also staying?” He was referring to the serpent who had become friends with the Slones and with Tavia MacDougal, who was the only human who has ever wanted a close relationship with a serpent.

  The serpents are a very intelligent, alien race, who considers the humans a little backward. They are bipedal and look similar to earth dinosaurs called raptors, but there was no relationship and it was purely parallel evolution. They lack the claw on the feet used for ripping, their feet and hands, are flatter, and the forearms are longer. At the end of each finger and toe are long claws and, they have a rat-like tail with an armored tip. Their body is covered with thick scales that protect them like armor. Their language is completely unintelligible to humans, but they can speak human standard. When they speak with humans, they have a hypnotic effect on them and they tended to start with a hiss and prolong the ‘s’ sound. Now Sly was down on the shore of the lake watching the Gardners playing with the toddlers. Sly adores the human children. She would protect them with her life.

  Alaya looked at her father and said, “Sly is like part of the family. I even keep a good supply of live food for her and she practically lives with us.”

  Strabo had to chuckle a little, “The serpents living here usually keep to themselves when not on duty, yet in the few years you have been with us, you have managed to make one a close friend.”

  “Don’t give me any credit for that. It was all Tavia’s doing. She constantly wants to talk with Sly and learn about her culture. She wore her down and Sly came to truly care for her.”

  “Tavia is a remarkable young lady. I have been monitoring her career and I think she will go far as a Romani.” As Strabo said the last statement, his communicator chimed. He answered and listened as the voice on the other end told him the unknown vessel was now transmitting a continuous loop message in the clear. The message was in the serpent’s language and none of the humans had any idea what it was transmitting. They were waiting for a serpent to come to central control and translate. Transit time was still over 11 hours so nothing to worry about yet.

  Alaya had heard the message and decided to tell the cook to have the dinner ready in a half hour. Between the gold the Slone’s and their crew brought with them, the prize money from captured ships during the battles over New Wales and their regular pay, they were able to afford a comfortable life with servants. She called down to the Gardners and Sly, telling them to come up to the house for dinner.

  Dinner was enjoyed by all and Sly took her live worms and sat a little away from the humans. She had learned that humans did not like watching serpents eat live food. As the dessert was being served, Consul Strabo’s communicator chirped again and he answered it.

  “Consul Strabo here, report,” and he put the speaker on so all could hear.

  “Sir,” the communications tech said. “The serpent here reports that the ship is carrying an emissary who is here to report to the serpent assigned to the scout vessel NR Draco of Captain Alaya Slone.”

  Everyone one at the table unconsciously looked in the direction of Sly and she came over when she heard the message. She looked at the Consul and her lips began to undulate preparatory to speaking. “Sss, Consul, may I speak with the serpent at central control?”

  Strabo said into the communicator, “Put the serpent with you on the line to speak to Sly.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  At the other end, there was some shuffling and then the communicator was filled with a combination of hisses, clicks and barks that constituted the serpent’s language. Sly responded with similar sounds and the humans watched in fascination. It was rare to be present when serpents communicated. After a short exchange of sounds, the human tech came back on, “The serpent here left the communicator so I assume they are finished.”

  “I will let you know what Sly says after we talk with her. Strabo out,” and the Consul closed the communication.

  They all looked at Sly whose lips were undulating. “Sss. The vessel is carrying an emissary from the home world to see me. I will need to meet her at the space dock.”

  “Do you know what the emissary wants?” Alaya asked before anyone else could.

  “Sss. No Captain Slone.”

  “Chris and I will fly you up to the space dock an hour before they arrive.”

  “Sss. Thank you, Captain Slone. Sly will rest now,” and with that she went over to her rug and curled up, as if emissaries from her home world were a common occurrence. In the 300-year history of human and serpent relations, no emissary from their home world has ever arrived in the Nova Romae system.

  An hour before the emissary was scheduled to arrive in orbit, Alaya, Christopher, Sly and Consul Strabo boarded the Slones’ private shuttle and flew to th
e space dock in a synchronous orbit above Roma, the capital city. Alaya piloted the shuttle into a berth in the space dock, after entering through the force field. The interior of the dock was pressurized, so they could leave the shuttle without environmental suits. As soon as the Consul left the shuttle, everyone on the platform stopped what he or she were doing and snapped to attention. Strabo signaled them to stand at ease and carry on with their duties. From the other end of the platform, a colorful figure dressed in bright clothing with a wide brimmed hat from which protruded a long feather, came towards the group. He had an infectious smile with a mustache and a goatee. This was the second Consul of the Republic, Juan Lorenzo. As he reached the newcomers, he extended his hand to Strabo.

  “An auspicious occasion, a ship from the serpent home world.” He then smiled at Alaya who gave him her hand, which he promptly took to his mouth and kissed. She was now used to Lorenzo’s old earth manners. Next Lorenzo shook hands with Christopher Slone and then looked at Sly. “Well, my friend, Sly, I hear you are the one this emissary wants to speak with. Any idea what it is about?”

  Sly looked at Lorenzo. She liked this human a great deal. He dressed in colors pleasing to serpent eyes and she knew he did not act like the other humans. She and her crew had fought side by side with him and he was courageous. “Sss. Consul, emissarie only comes when something important happened on the home world.”

  “Well, let’s hope it is something good.”

  Just then, the deck officer came over and saluted the Consuls. “Sirs, we have the alien vessel in tow and are bringing it to the dock. There appears to be no door and it is too small to hold either a human or an adult serpent. It is only a little larger than our message pods.”

  The tow vessel passed through the space dock force field and within the two pronged fork coming out of the rear of the vessel there was a small, cylindrical vessel a little larger than the message pods used to send information between systems through the slipstreams. When the tow ship was parallel to the dock, it released the cylinder and a robotic arm came down, picked up the small ship, and placed it in a cradle on the dock used to retrieve message pods. Sly and the others went over to the pod and Christopher could not see any way to open the pod. Sly looked at it and then started to bark, whistle and hiss. When she was finished the outer casing of the cylinder slid forward to reveal a cryostasis chamber within which was a small, curled up, serpent. Within seconds, the chamber warmed and five minutes after opening, the small serpent began to breathe and move. At the end of ten minutes, it jumped out of the capsule and looked around.