Sons of Abraham: J-17's Trial Read online

  Sons

  Of

  Abraham

  J-17’s

  Trial

  JOSEPH RAY

  Copyright © 2015 JOSEPH RAY

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1519641441

  ISBN-10: 1519641443

  DEDICATION

  For Shawn:

  We were never blood,

  But we were always brothers.

  You quit playing before the game was over,

  But I got this one, partner.

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  i

  1

  Chapter One

  3

  2

  Chapter Two

  33

  3

  Chapter Three

  65

  4

  Chapter Four

  81

  5

  Chapter Five

  78

  6

  Chapter Six

  92

  7

  Aftermath

  116

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Sis: I’m not using the Star Wars cup

  1 CHAPTER one

  Rebooting……

  Installation complete. Updating……

  Confirming programming………

  Confirmation complete………..

  Scanning……….Scanning……….

  Location: Quadrant I7, Sector 4.

  Common Planet Name: Parasus.

  Population: 942,540

  Founded: Earth Year 2892

  Parasus Year: 134

  Ruling Class: Monarchy

  Government History: 3rd Monarchy. 1st Monarchy overtook during civil war, 2944. Replaced by 2nd Monarchy. Regime overtook, method classified, 3019.

  Current Leader: King Isom (Monasaul), first of his name. Queen deceased, 3022.

  Future Leader: Prince Isom (Darasaul)

  Retrieving critical information……In orbit above planet. Hermes class ship, sixth edition. No other life signs on board. Ship condition: stable. Rations and supplies show 100%. All weapons present and accounted for.

  Retrieving previous transmission: Interplanetary order filed by Lord Elsmere. Goods were stolen, 4-22-3026. Suspect believed to be off world. Intervention requested, 4-23-3026.

  I.M.A. Agent J121 dispatched, 4-23-3026.

  Departure from nearby Gabriel Ring: 04:45:00 4-25-3026

  Current Time: 9:15:26 4-25-3026

  Orders: Land at the capital. Military platform: 4-7-A. Meet with I.I.U. Agent Nathaniel Calloway. Proceed to Business Sector, Capital building. Receive official complaint from Lord Elsmere. Further actions based upon findings.

  Orbital path disengaged. Proceeding to the destination.

  ***************************

  Agent Nathan Calloway quit pacing the moment his eye caught the Hermes class ship approaching the landing pad. He didn’t need to check his watch to know that the Military Advisor Agent was almost five hours late. Twice he’d asked the Dock Master to run an atmospheric scan and twice the scan had come up empty. Nathan wasn’t surprised by the negative result. Hermes class ships were small, especially by interplanetary travel standards. Such small vessels seldom appeared during scans that weren’t tuned for such lesser spacecraft.

  He couldn’t help but pace back and forth, as he watched the small vessel twist down smoothing upon the landing pad. It wasn’t like the military to be late. Not in the sense that they were late on occasion, or even on a rare occasion, he meant that they were NEVER late. He had half a mind to send a message to the nearest military base, two rings away, just to ask about the location of the advisor they’d sent. Now, as he watched the ship power down, he was almost sorry that he hadn’t made that call. It was good for the military to know that even they could screw up from one time or another. God knows they wouldn’t hesitate to make a call to Nathan’s superiors. Twice in the last six months, his superiors had received such calls from Admiral Yaris. If he added every minute from every time he’d ever been late over the previous ten years, he still would not reach half the time span that this advisor had been running late by. At this point, however, Nathan wasn’t certain if he was growing annoyed over how late the MA was, or from having to spend almost five hours with the port guards.

  The Hermes class ship was small, but it was spectacular to see. Nathan always felt a twinge of jealousy overtake him whenever he gazed upon military-class vehicles. The Earthen military had adopted the use of Greek mythology names and words to give their spacecraft their names. Maintaining true to the naval ships from a millennium ago, the military vessel was colored in a light blue-gray, with white letters/numbers, trimmed in black. The design on the Hermes was sleek and narrow. A bullet shaped cockpit, only made for one pilot seated at the helm, a short bow with short wings coming from the base, and two small stabilizers on the top, one over each engine. The pictures from the history books of the old military aircraft reflected heavily upon the Hermes’ design, paying tribute to the fighter jets of yesteryear.

  Nathan gave a half-hearted look towards his own vessel, resting mercifully on the next pad. The Carris class vessel was standard issue for I.I.U agents, was nothing pleasant to look at. The cockpit was a dome, allowing for multiple people to sit at the helm, with wings that were based at the top with a cylinder shaped engine hanging from each side. Unlike the Hermes, the Carris needed a separate engine in the rear of the vessel for inner orbit flight. The stabilizer thrusters always had to work overtime to ensure the pilot would be able to land his vessel, even in the kindest of weather. Luckily, the Carris did not catch the wind easily, making it as easy to pilot in a storm as it did on a cloudless day. The Carris was easily seven times the size of the Hermes, with large bay doors underneath the inner atmosphere engines. True, Nathan’s brown beast of a ship was able to carry a superior amount of cargo or passengers compared to the Hermes, but the I.I.U. Agent always wanted a chance to take the military craft for a test flight.

  As Agent Calloway stood at the edge of the pad, three guards had been making their way out to greet the newcomer. The guards were military, ran by the Monarchy of Parasus. Nathan was never certain as to whether or not he cared for the idea of a Monarchy ruled planet. He never considered himself a scholarly man, having never spent the time in the classroom to study the ancient governments of Earth. Like many self-taught men, Calloway’s education came from movies, shows, and books. One thing he was certain of and that was he didn’t care for the way the guards, lords, or kings of Monarchy governed planets treated outsiders. As an I.I.U. agent, he was easily considered an outsider, as would be the I.M.A. agent. At least, Nathan knew he would have something in common with his future co-worker.

  “Is this the Military Advisor?” one of the guards asked.

  Agent Calloway turned to the three guards, uncertain as to which one had spoken to him. His gut told him that the one standing in front of the others, the obvious squad leader, was likely the one who asked the question. It took every ounce of his willpower to hold back the sea of sarcasm that threatened to flood the platform. No sense in getting off to a bad start. Well, they were already off to a bad start as the Military Advisor was already four hours late. Still, no sense in making things worse.

  “You’d be correct,” he replied through gritted teeth.

  The uniforms of the guards were something that Nathan didn’t care for, but they were far superior to the uniforms of other Monarchy planets. At least on Parasus, the military didn’t wear their battle armor while on duty. This particular group wore dark red cloaks over plain black attire. The clothing underneath the cloaks was so ordinary that you couldn’t make out any of the details at first glance. The shirts were long s
leeve thermals, tightly ribbed patterns with no pockets. There was nothing visually stimulating about the pants either, just plain black slacks that matched the thermal shirts. The belts were a slightly different story as each black belt had numerous pouches and containers on them. Nathan knew that they carried communicators, medical supplies, and binders inside those pouches. The head guard had a sidearm in a holster on his belt while the other guards to either side carried rifles, one hand on the stock and the other holding the barrel. It was an awkward pose, causing Nathan to wonder if their first response was to smack someone in the head with the stock, or move their hands and attempt a firing position.

  None of the guards wore hats or glasses. A silver badge on the dark red cloaks was all that signified that they were members of the royal guard, someone to be treated with respect. From what Agent Calloway knew of Parasus, the guards also needed to be feared. He’d been called on assignment numerous times to retrieve Parasus Royal Guardsmen to be taken to other planets for assault charges or theft cases. The assault charges usually warranted a prison sentence, but little was ever done over cases of theft.

  Parasus was a majestic planet with high mountains as far as the eye could see. Great oceans swelled against the cliffs, offering gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. The planet had become a tourist attraction over the years as most of the other planets did not offer naval cruises. Tourists to this planet were treated well, as it was a fair source of income for the government. They were treated well, that is, if they were highly rich and had tons of credits to spend while they were here. Those who were less fortunate often found themselves at the mercy of the locals, or to the guards themselves. From what Calloway knew of the situation, this was not to be a case of a guard roughing up a low-end tourist.

  Agent Calloway was still resisting the urge to ask the guards whom else they were expecting to land in a military class, single passenger vehicle, when the cockpit of the Hermes released its seal, filling the landing pad with a faint hissing sound. The ship’s top covering retracted, sliding backward over the sleek back of the small vessel. As the top retracted, small panels folded outwards, allowing the pilot to exit the vehicle without requiring an external ladder to drive to the pad.

  A sigh of relief escaped the Agent’s chest as he caught his first glimpse of the pilot. He estimated him to be around six feet, two inches tall, weighing around one hundred and eighty pounds. It seemed no matter how evolved men try to sound, their first instinct when describing another man is by his height and weight, like every encounter was a boxing match being announced. The military advisor had broad shoulders, his entire body forming a ‘v’ down his trunk, all the way to his athletic legs. Calloway guessed the man barely had an ounce of fat to his body, the exposed skin of the face and hands always filled with veins and muscles. His hair was simple, short, swept forward, the sides and back trimmed neatly to the skin. It was brown in color, nothing extraordinary to be seen, nor remembered. The advisor’s eyes were a mystery, somewhere between yellow and brown, depending upon how close one was looking. The nose was rather flat, a faint bump in the bridge that was bent unnaturally to the left. The lips over the man’s mouth were wide but very thin and light in color. All military advisors wore the same light gray uniform, jacket and matching pants with a black t-shirt underneath. Calloway didn’t need to look at the man’s feet as he could hear the heavy boots beating the metallic landing pad from several paces away.

  Calloway was glad to have been assigned a familiar face. Off world cases, especially when Monarchies and Hierarchies were concerned, could always be a tricky endeavor. The military had a habit of sending rookies to him, wanting to keep their best and brightest as close to Earth as possible. On many occasions, however, Nathan was fortunate enough to be joined by someone whom actually knew what they were doing. This was a fortunate day.

  “Agent Joseph!” Nathan exclaimed as the man drew near. “Thought they were sending me a rook for sure this time. Thank God it’s you.”

  Scanning….

  Facial recognition confirmed…..

  Subject: Agent Nathaniel Calloway

  Age: 41

  Origin: Earth. Interplanetary Investigative Unit.

  “Greetings Agent Calloway,” Agent Joseph replied. “I am most pleased to be joining you as well.”

  The three guards exchanged concerned glances. Without hesitation, the left guard stepped forward, reaching into a large pouch on his belt and retrieving a scanning device. His shoulder brushed against Calloway’s as he passed, unnecessary given the ample amount of room to either side of the I.I.U. Agent. Nathan bit his tongue, ignoring the obvious rudeness the man showered upon him. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t treated in the same manner everywhere he went. Local guards and law enforcement seldom cared for outside investigators digging their noses into local affairs. What was about to happen, however, was an act that Nathan loathed more than the recent banning of ketchup at restaurants.

  The advancing guard ran the device over military advisor Joseph’s body. The small, black device with orange lights vibrated as it passed over the man before the tiny screen offered its user the sought after information. The frown forming on the guard’s face told Nathan that this would not go well.

  “Cyber!” he shouted, shoving the device back into the pouch and pulling the shoulder-slung rifle back into his grip. “Drop your weapon Cyber! Now, or I WILL shoot you!”

  MA Joseph stared at the barrel of the rifle, the short cylinder aimed directly at his face. He offered a glance to Agent Calloway, then to the other guards, now circling around the two men to cover him from all sides.

  “Lower your weapons,” Nathan snapped, closing the distance between him and the guard who scanned Joseph.

  “None of your concern Citizen,” the guard snapped in return, his eyes never leaving his target. “Parasus law forbids Cybers from entering the capital. It has five seconds before we turn it to target practice.”

  It. A word Nathan had endured far more than he cared to in his career. Most planets welcomed MA Joseph, but certain planets grew a distaste for their kind. Calloway would only admit to himself that there was a time when he felt the same way. However, during his ten years of occasionally working with MA Joseph, he’d grown to respect their kind, even recalling the history lessons of how Cybers had saved the human race. Unfortunately, the appreciation of the universe was short-lived, seeing several planets besides Parasus adopting similar laws against the presence of Cybers.

  “You misunderstood me, Guardsman,” Nathan replied. “My concern was for the three of you. Under common law, the MA and I are within our rights to shoot you for raising a gun to us. Hell, I might just stand back and watch him drop you.”

  The Guardsman swallowed hard, the lessons from his training returning to his memory. Cybers were fast, able to react at speeds quicker than most predators. Even with the three of them, he was starting to doubt whether or not they could take it down.

  “A counter-proposal,” MA Joseph said, his voice dull and void of rising or fall. “You may have my firearm if it eases your discomfort. I shall expect it to be returned to me when I return to my ship. Do we have an accord?”

  Accord. Nathan tried not to laugh at the vocabulary of his counterpart. He could swear that the Cyber downloaded more words every day, just to baffle Nathan upon their use. Calloway always intended to study words on his own, just to be able to counter the Cyber’s words with his own.

  The three guards looked to one another, silently making a group decision before their visitors. After several seconds, the guard without the rifle nodded, returning his sidearm to its holster and stepping towards MA Joseph. The MA wasted no time, pulling his gray jacket back to expose the pistol that was previously hidden from view. The guard hesitated for a second, his hands shaking as he reached out and took the holstered weapon. He tried to slide it into the slack of his belt, but the square barrel of the MA’s weapon was too large to fit. He hid his embarrassment, choosing to hold the weapon by the barrel inst
ead.

  “Are we done here?” Calloway asked. “I’d like to receive Lord Elsmere’s complaint before nightfall. There’s a big ceremony on Eden coming up, I do not want to be sitting in my ship for ten hours at the Gabriel Ring, waiting for my turn to head home.”

  The guards paid little attention to the question, reforming their ranks and leading the two investigators to the vehicle waiting for them at the end of the platform. It was a standard transport truck, six-wheeled, silver, and no top. The seats were all bench style: one in front for the driver and a passenger, and two others in the back that faced one another. The seats were light cream in color, bowing when Calloway sat on them, but with a vinyl like exterior. The agent couldn’t help but wonder what they did when it rained as he saw no signs of a retractable top for the transport vehicle. The engine quietly came alive, the electric unit barely making a sound as the driver pulled out onto the street.

  “First time in Parasus Agent Calloway?” one of the guards asked.

  Agent Calloway looked at the city as they sped through it. The capital was an odd mix of ancient style from Earth and the new technology of the current age. Each building was an off-white, perhaps cream-colored stucco. The streets were made of a light orange brick, angled diagonally. Each building had the old, red clay tiles for roofs, stacked neatly over the top of one another. That was where the ancient style ended. The windows looked traditional from a distance, but a closer view showed that they were transition plastic, the windows automatically tinting as the sun broke free from the clouds. The technologies had proved useful towards reducing the use of energy to heat or cool the structures as the tinting would cease when the sky grew dark.