Red Star Sheriff Chapter Nineteen ~ The Storm ~ Part Two: Story Time With Tim

Here we go with Act Three of my first MAJOR novel that I self-published a few years ago! I’ll be posting the whole work here with links to where you can find the novel on sale, to read completely, and author pages to check out all the other work I have available out there! Feel free to support the cause! Or just enjoy all the free reads I’m giving you. No worries. No hate. Just continue coming back and reading my work! I am Timothy Scott Purvis and THIS is Story Time With Tim!

Red Star Sheriff is a work inspired by several sources. First off, it is a sort of light homage to the Dark Tower series written by Stephen King. It doesn’t go overboard with the inferences, but the travails of a lead character who isn’t very emotional overall lends the weight to a protagonist who will go out of her way to get the job done. Secondly, this work was initially inspired by the video game series, Wild Arms. I had once considered this sort of an anime’ in literary form. A high octane lead character driven to become the best gunslinger in the solar system. Third, and definitely not least, I drew significant inspiration for overarching details from the show Westworld.

Many elements came together to make this work what it is. It is a long story coming in at just under 190 thousand words in total. Yet, it is a quick read, if I do say so myself with a lot of intense action and interesting characters. I’ll post links below for where to find this novel in its complete form so feel free to support the cause and check them out. I will also include links for prior chapters and postings throughout this venture so that it will be easy to keep pace of where the story has been so that the reader can keep up with the story.

Anyhow, Aidele Wilson is the lead protagonist. Her father was murdered so the story starts out with a quest for revenge. Then, a journal he’d written becomes the focus of a fast paced journey across the Wastelands trying to evade Union soldiers who want the journal for what lies within its pages: key technology specs that will alter the balance of power in all of the colonies.

Thanks for reading and read to you again next week! See you then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ACT ONE

RSS Chapter One Part One, RSS Chapter One Part Two, RSS Chapter Two Part One, RSS Chapter Two Part Two, RSS Chapter Two Part Three, RSS Chapter Two Part Four, RSS Chapter Two Part Five, RSS Chapter Three Part One, RSS Chapter Three Part Two, RSS Chapter Four Part One, RSS Chapter Four Part Two, RSS Chapter Four Part Three, RSS Chapter Five Part One, RSS Chapter Five Part Two, RSS Chapter Six Part One, RSS Chapter Six Part Two, RSS Chapter Seven Part One, RSS Chapter Seven Part Two

ACT TWO

RSS Chapter Eight Part One, RSS Chapter Eight Part Two, RSS Chapter Nine Part One, RSS Chapter Nine Part Two, RSS Chapter Ten, RSS Chapter Eleven Part One, RSS Chapter Eleven Part Two, RSS Chapter Eleven Part Three, RSS Chapter Twelve Part One, RSS Chapter Twelve Part Two, RSS Chapter Twelve Part Three, RSS Chapter Thirteen

ACT THREE

RSS Chapter Fourteen Part One, RSS Chapter Fourteen Part Two, RSS Chapter Fifteen Part One, RSS Chapter Fifteen Part Two, RSS Chapter Sixteen Part One, RSS Chapter Sixteen Part Two, RSS Chapter Seventeen Part One, RSS Chapter Seventeen Part Two, RSS Chapter Eighteen Part One, RSS Chapter Eighteen Part Two, RSS Chapter Nineteen Part One

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RED STAR SHERIFF: ACT THREE: CHAPTER NINETEEN~THE STORM~ PART TWO

#

THE SHUTTLE SLIPPED through and past the transit tunnel towards the Martian atmosphere and rose up towards orbit where waited the Invicta. Inside the small vessel sat Sam, his three prisoners, two soldiers, and two pilots. An energy scan had been run while Sam was having his little negotiation with Lynch, but nothing had been uncovered. No snipers, ambushes, or government troopers, either. This unnerved Sam more than anything else as he riffled through the journal. Even the book was legitimate.

  The bitch meant it. She brought me Weiss and the journal… None of this feels right. Even reports of the lab’s destruction and Nielson’s death checked out. They’d lost an entire regiment of troops in the process as well. Just as Lynch had suggested. Yet, there was one nagging detail the woman hadn’t mentioned. When Nielson had been gunned down, the reports made mention of a second shooter. The report had been vague, as usual (the Council’s lack of concern about the showdown had caused him to shake his head), but the descriptions had been clear enough. A young Chuhukon woman had been there as well. In fact, she was the one to file the report to begin with. And her name was Aidele Wilson.

  Sam looked up at Asta who stared at the wall across from her and ignored the soldiers strapped in there. She was quiet with a calm demeanor. She was so credible he almost wanted to believe her. Almost.

  So, where’s the Wilson brat, Lynch? Oh no, it didn’t feel right at all. And it stunk of a trap. The only problem, he couldn’t see what it was. He looked back to the journal, flipping through the pages yet again. The professor had been a busy bee and had a lot of inventive designs within that could prove quite useful to the Union. But nothing in it that would point to a prototype that would be used against him. He’d found the rough schematics for young Ms. Wilson’s guns and was certain their scientists could figure out how to recreate the weapons. Those would prove very useful in Union arsenals.

  There was a design for a hovering vehicle, which would put their all-terrain marauders to shame. An entry that was almost all a train-of-thought exercise in developing an interface drive that was holographic and could be worn on the wrist. A startingly simple design for an oven that required no heat to cook food. And, of course, the gravitic core that suggested utilization in a capital ship.

  He must have had other journals then. Did they find a journal that held a secret weapon? But what? What are you missing, Sam? What are you missing? The whole journal was meant for Wilson’s wife, obviously. Outfitting a Red Star Sheriff. That fucking order. But how could all of this be used in conjunction? What did Weiss discover in this tome? You know they didn’t just come to surrender him and this book. No, they wanted you there, son. They wanted you to come get them. You couldn’t just leave well enough alone, leave them to their fates, do your job as commanded. No, you had to be curious and acquire this damnable journal. Still, the technology inside… We need to move fast. Get ahead of whatever they’re planning.

  He rubbed his nose and sniffled. Then a thought came to him. That alcove… There was something off about it. Like the air was buzzing with insects. But Aquila Mons ain’t got no insects. And they were… purple? A trick of the eyes, maybe? Then why are you focusing on it so much, Sam? What are you missing?

  He shut the journal and leaned back. “You done us a great service, Lynch. You’ll be well rewarded. I promise.”

  Lynch glared at him in that devilish way of hers. Oh, she was fierce. Even when the odds were stacked against her, she was ready for a fight. He had to admit, he admired that about her. Of course, she sure wasn’t a smiler.

  “Believe me, if’n ah had the choice, ah’d sooner put a bullet in Weiss’ head, then hand ‘m over ta ya.”

  Oh, I’m sure. But then again, that’s not the plan, is it?

  “Nothin’ stronger than a mother’s love,” Sam nodded. “You have my word, Lynch. Your children won’t have anything more to fear from me once our business is concluded. In fact, once all is said and done, I’m headin’ back to Earth and retirin’ to my plantation in Georgia.”

  “Good fer you,” Asta quipped. “Hope nobody burns it down ‘fer ya git there.”

  Sam raised a brow and chuckled. “I doubt it. I’m not hiding any secrets from the Union.” He sighed. “When we get to the ship, I have something to show you. Then, our business will be concluded. As for you, Weiss, we’ve prepared special quarters for you. Room and board as a way to say thanks for all your service.”

  Durante leaned forward, “Mr. Berricks, as I’ve been trying to tell you, I was trying to get the journal to you! But, as I was escaping, these… savages… started shooting at me! How was I supposed to get back to you under those conditions?”

  “You can plead your case at your court martial,” Sam clasped his hands between his knees, journal clutched tightly in his palms, and stared deep into Durante’s eyes. “Make no mistake, though. I don’t give two fucks about your excuses. You tol’ me two days. It’s going on two months. You’re AWOL for all I’m concerned.”

  He leaned back as Durante bit his lip. There was dead silence in the ship with the exception of the thrumming of the engines and a slight shudder as the shuttle transitioned from the stratosphere into orbital space.

#

THE DREADNOUGHT APPEARED out of the darkness of space as it curved around the horizon of Hinon. Aidele’s heart pounded heavier and she tried to keep her focus on the shuttle just beyond them. They would need to land silently somewhere in the shuttle bay. But her eyes kept drifting to the red planet. Not to mention the depth of space below where her feet rested on the pedals. Stars eons away twinkled in their long shining lives. It was dizzying and she had the sensation that any move she made would result in her falling off and spiraling into the cosmos forever. If not for the shielding, she might be having an actual panic attack.

  She still had the shields modulated to pick up sound, which meant she could hear an eerie pulse humming all around them. The sounds of space.

  Pulsars, and vibrations, and shuttle thrusters, oh my!

  It filled her with even more panic, yet, it was also somehow soothing. Much more so than if she’d silenced it and sat in the containment of their own gravitational environment. The silence would’ve been unbearable. And, had that been the case, she wasn’t so sure she could’ve stopped herself from turning right back around from this madness. Being in orbit of her home world was immediately the most thrilling thing she’d ever done, and the most frightening.

  Stop focusing on all that, girl. Ya got a job ta do…

  Her focus returned to the shuttle. She forced herself to ignore the enormity of space. The shining moons of Phobos and Deimos. The billions (trillions even!) of stars twinkling in tiny little pinpricks of a thousand different colors of vivid light. Never in her life, though, had she seen such a view, or had such an awesome sense of insignificance.

  The dreadnought grew closer, more immense. But, even in its size (one that would have intimidated her before), it was a tiny manmade vessel that was inconsequential compared to the cosmos. That was something she could work with.

  The shuttle angled towards the port with plasma shielding covering its entrance and the vessel began to enter. She reached for the panel at her fingertips. She was going to have to time this precisely, lest she alert the crew to her presence. Sure, they were invisible to the naked eye, as well as to the Invicta’s sensors. But they were still a physical presence that, not modulated right, would leave a vacant spot in the shields hard to miss. Or, she supposed, they would be completely obliterated as the shields collapsed into one another. Probably taking out the whole bay in the process. One way to kill Berricks, she supposed. Though Asta, Drevan, and Durante would be having a really bad day as a result.

  The vessels reached the plasma shielding and slowly entered. First the shuttle. It landed on a pad on the far side of the docks. Aidele let the shuttle go ahead to avoid its maneuvering thrusters causing a visual wake around them.

  Then, she maneuvered the waverider through the shielding. She went slow, keeping an eye on the instrument readings as she proceeded. There were a series of three sparkles, and she frowned, glancing around. None of the crew wandering around the bay seemed to have noticed. She was nearly all the way through when they saw a sharp spark and heard the noises of the universe suddenly burst out in a split-second screech. She pushed through and guided the vessel to a corner of the docks that seemed unused. In the process, she saw a crewman walking towards the shields with his hand to his brow and an expression that said he’d noticed this last, strange occurrence.

  “Shit…” Aidele muttered.

  Grandfather pat her shoulder. “Land. Perhaps they will attribute the anomaly to just a glitch. But, I’m glad to be inside. Thought I was going to have a heart attack out there. I love the stars, but, for now on, I think I’ll leave them to their homes and me to mine.”

  Aidele nodded and set down as the shuttle ramp lowered to the deck. Then Berricks emerged with his prisoners. “Game time…”

#

SAM STEPPED OFF the ramp and motioned for two soldiers to join him. As they hurried towards the shuttle, he noticed a cargo dockhand staring at the bay shielding. Sam furrowed his brows and walked over to the man.

  “What are you looking for?” Sam asked coming up beside the dockhand not even twenty seconds later. The man turned as he approached.

  “General Berricks, sir!” the man saluted.

  Sam waved him off. “Nevermind that. What’s the issue?”

  “Oh, no, no issue, general! I was just momentarily confused by a trick of the eye.”

  “Son, if you don’t tell me what you saw now, I’m going to have you sent to the brig.”

  The man looked startled, swallowed hard, and nodded. “Yes, sir. I really don’t know what I saw, sir. I… could have sworn I saw a bright multi-colored spark, mostly in purple and blue hues, right in the middle of the shielding. Where your shuttle entered. Trying to figure out if a shuttle wake could cause such a distortion. Especially the sound.”

  “What sound?”

  “It was like a growling, screeching noise. Didn’t even last a second. Like a window to a raucous party had been briefly opened then slammed shut a split second later… Sir.”

  Sam took stock of the shuttle bay, taking in every nook and cranny in view. He was almost back to looking at his shuttle when he spotted a slight shimmer in the back corner of the docks. Like a swarm of gnats hovering in place. Somewhat purple even. It lasted for less than a few seconds and then was gone.

  “Have a technician evaluate it,” Sam said after a minute, not taking his eyes off that spot. “Probably nothing but distortion, like you said. But better to be sure.”

  “Yes, sir!” the dockhand saluted and rushed off.

  Sam stood staring at the spot a moment longer, then headed back to the shuttle. His ‘guests’ had already disembarked and he motioned to the first trooper in view.

  “Guide ‘em out to the lift. Take ‘em to the bridge. I’ll be along shortly.”

  “What ‘bout our payment, Berricks?” Lynch folded her arms across her chest. “Ah don’ like bein’ ushered ‘round like a dog on a leash. Ah’m eager ta git back home.”

  Sam glowered. “Patience is a virtue, Lynch. You’ll get your pay on the bridge. After I take care of an issue first.”

  The group was led out of the docks while Sam headed to the control tower to this particular bay. Lynch and her group watched him marching across the bay across from them, his duster trailing out behind him like he was some dark lord on a mission of terror, his Grey Lance creating deep shadows across his eyes. That nagging thought of what he was missing had finally coalesced into a reasonable theory and he was about to find out if he was right.

#

“THAT WAS A close one,” Aidele exhaled. “How long ya think we should wait ‘fer headin’ towards the brig?”

  Garret watched Berricks walking away, a nagging alarm growing in his mind. He placed a hand on Aidele’s shoulder. “Normally, I would advise the utmost of patience and caution. However, that gleam in Berricks’ eyes and his meaningful gait tells me he suspects more than he’s letting on. Look, he isn’t following the others out. Time is of the essence.”

  Aidele looked over her shoulder at him, a worried expression on her face. “What is it?”

  “We need to lock the waverider down now and get out of the docks before our team has been completely led out.”

  “What are you expecting?”

  “No time for details. we must be fleet of foot. Look, a maintenance corridor.”

  Aidele followed his finger to a doorway not far from their position. Its view was blocked by stacked crates. She immediately lowered the shields and grabbed an interface drive from the console before her. It was no longer than her index finger, but could send a signal to the waverider ordering it to lower or raise its shields, as well as triggering it to launch to their location. She and Garret dismounted and headed for the corridor. In the process, she triggered the shielding and the vessel vanished from sight.

  “Come. We’re almost too late.” Garret led the way into the corridor.

  Aidele followed close on his heels. “I’m so ready to git on with this and put that monster down.”

  Garret said nothing as he glared down at her yet continued his pace without slowing down.

#

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading and hope you had fun! There will be more to come next week! Until then, have a good week!

~Timothy S Purvis

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amazon Kindle Author’s Page–> Timothy S Purvis

Smashwords Author’s Page–> Timothy S Purvis

Red Star Sheriff On Amazon Kindle–> Red Star Sheriff Volume One Kindle

Red Star Sheriff On Amazon Paperback–> Red Star Sheriff Volume One Paperback

Red Star Sheriff On Smashwords–> Red Star Sheriff Volume One Smashwords

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION STARTS!

I would appreciate if you have Kindle or even if you want some paperback goodies if you’d head on over to my page and maybe show me some love there. I mean, if you’ve been reading a while and see something you like, wouldn’t you like to have it in your personal library? I have some cool short stories available for cheap. Also Tales From A Strange Mind that collects my short stories (there’s also a Kindle edition but, for some reason, Amazon wouldn’t let me link them together) , Tales From A Strange Mind II which collects my old novellas, Red Star Sheriff (Which also has a Kindle edition but Amazon, am I right?) my first novel ever released, though, yes, it does have some grammatical errors and drags on for way too long, sigh. But I still love it and I will be writing a follow up sometime within the next few years. I have a collection of my poems called MisAligned: The Heart Waxes Poetic which collects my old poems but not some of my newer ones included those flash fictions! I’ll probably do that in the future as well. And if you love the perfectly inane, why not check out my Star Cloud scripts presented in book form? Star Cloud The Original Scripts. Another one where Amazon was being difficult with me in connecting the Kindle and PB versions. Still, the paperback they let me sale for cheap and it’s well worth a look if I say so myself. Or, if you don’t want to click on individual links (all of which will take you to my author’s page anyway), just click on my author’s page directly by tapping my name: Timothy S Purvis See for yourself what all I’ve published since I began this venture in 2016.

I mean, if you like my work, of course. No pressure. Just trying to find my way in this world without working menial tasks and suffering physical and mental issues as a result. If only I could merely stay home and write. That would be my most epic fantasy brought to life. Well, if you don’t want to do that, you could also donate to my cause down below after all is said and done. It would help. You know, if you liked what you saw and all. Up to you. I don’t have a lot of reviews on my materials because of low sales. I mean, very, very low sales. In the single digits. Right now, I have to rely on Pubby for reviews and those people only read your synopsis and recap it for a five star review. I want honest opinions. Not mean ones, but honest. So, if you ever find yourself buying some of my work, I’d certainly appreciate some feedback. Again, up to you.

Also, I’m selling my work for cheap over at Smashwords.com! Check out that page here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TSPurvis

END SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION!