Hostile Planet (eBook)

Jeff Tanyard (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2019 | 1. Auflage
365 Seiten
Jeff Tanyard (Verlag)
978-0-00-014472-0 (ISBN)

Infos

Sergeant Jerry Harper left the military nine years ago. The four Breeds of humanity are at peace, and he's just a landscaper now. He spends his days mowing lawns and his nights playing gigs with his band. Civilian life in the Wheel of Fire galaxy is quiet and steady, and that's the way he likes it.

That steady life is interrupted when a colonel from military intelligence shows up. Jerry's old war buddy, Brandon Woods, has gone missing, and the colonel is assembling a motley group of rescuers. He wants Jerry to join the team.

Jerry owes Brandon his life, so he agrees to help. He travels to another planet and soon finds himself mired in interstellar politics. There's something psychological going on, too, a legacy of his last battle nine years ago. Finding Brandon is challenging enough by itself, but now those secrets from the past threaten to drive Jerry insane. He hopes he can grab his friend and get out without attracting too much attention, and he certainly doesn't want to risk starting another Breed war. But he's on a hostile planet now, and it won't give Brandon up without a fight.

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Chapter 2 – Homestead

 

Jerry awoke and lurched up into a sitting position, soaked with sweat and gasping for breath. He jerked his head left and right, searching for those yellow eyes. His conscious mind battled with his subconscious, and the past and the present were intertwined for a few long, horrifying moments.

“You had your nightmare again, didn't you?” a woman's voice said.

Jerry blinked and turned his head in the direction of the voice. Blackshoals began to fade, retreating back into the darkest corners of his mind. His consciousness took over with a firm hand, sternly reminding him that he was in fact on Homestead, his home planet, and that it had been nine years since the battle. Fort Baker dissolved away, coalescing into Jerry's bedroom.

He laid his head back down on the pillow, put a hand to his chest, and sighed. His heart raced, thumping against his palm. A part of him wanted to cry with relief. As usual, though, he didn't. He might be a broken soldier, but he still had some pride.

His girlfriend, Laurie, was getting dressed, and he took a moment to admire the view. She was attractive by any measure, but compared to the horrible visions in his nightmare, she was absolutely beautiful. Seeing her naked body was like a balm for his tortured soul.

She pulled a dress over her head and let it drop, ending the show. She pulled her golden hair out of the back of the dress and ran her hands through it, giving it a more kempt yet still wild look.

“Are you going somewhere?” Jerry asked.

“I'm taking some things over to a friend's.” Laurie sat on the edge of the bed to put on her shoes. “I'll pick up the rest of my things later.”

“You're really leaving this time.” Jerry wasn't sure if he meant it as a question or not.

“I warned you.” She stood and began to gather her things. “Stay on your pills or I'm gone. That's what I said.”

“I have a gig tonight. I had to skip a dose. When I get back, I'll go back on the prescription, and then everything will be back to normal.”

“Until the next gig.” Laurie stopped moving around. She stared at him with big green eyes and sighed. “Look, Jerry. You're not a bad guy. And you're a good lover. We had some great times. But I can't deal with your nightmares anymore. I thought I could handle being with a man with War Strain, but I guess I was wrong. I've got a bruise on my arm where you hit me in your sleep.”

“I'm sorry.” Jerry closed his eyes and sighed. “I would never intentionally hurt you.”

“I know. But intentionally or not, you did. It's not the first time, but it will be the last.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and gave him a sympathetic look. “You know, if you would just give up your music—”

“I can't do that.” Jerry slid backwards to sit against the headboard and looked at her. “You know I can't. Picking on stage is the only thing that helps me completely forget. It's the only time I'm at peace. And the pills mess it all up. I'd do just about anything for you, but not this.”

“So there we are.” Laurie stood and walked to the door. She put her hand on the knob and turned to look at him. “I'm sorry it has to end this way. I'm sorry it has to end at all. But I've reached my limit. I can't handle a man who's not right in the head. I thought it wouldn't be so bad, but I was wrong. Maybe that makes me a bad person. I don't know. But just so we're clear: it's over, Jerry. I'm sorry. Good-bye.” She opened the door and walked out.

Jerry lay in bed for several moments. The front door opened and shut with a thump, and then all was quiet. Laurie wasn't the first one to leave him over his War Strain. Like many women, she had found his status as a war veteran exciting and attractive. But the reality of his condition always ended up souring his relationships. Nine years after the battle, Blackshoals continued to claim casualties.

He lay in bed contemplating his life for a few minutes before crawling out and getting dressed. Girlfriend or no girlfriend, War Strain or no War Strain, lawns didn't mow themselves. He had to go to work.

 

* * *

 

After a full day of landscaping work, Jerry found himself doing what he loved most in the world.

“Homestead Blues!”

“Stonefell River!”

“Brown Beauty!”

“Agrarian Breakdown!”

He grinned. The bar's patrons all had their favorite songs, and it was now late enough—which meant they were drunk enough—for them to voice their opinions loudly and often.

Bill Finch, the guitarist, turned to Jerry. “How about another fiddle tune—maybe Green-Eyed Woman, since we haven't done that one yet—and then Spin the Wheel of Fire, and then we take a break. You up for that?”

Jerry nodded. “Sounds good.”

“You sure you can handle the solos? You sure your head's on straight after Laurie—”

“I'll be fine. Laurie's gone, and that's that. It's over. I need to put her out of my mind, and picking is the best way to do that.” He gave Bill what he hoped was a confident-looking grin. “So let's let Clay show off a little, and then I'll bring the lightning.”

Clay Ackerman, the fiddler, laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Then start us off, fat man,” Bill said to Clay with a grin, “and show us how it's done!”

Clay sawed the first few notes of Green-Eyed Woman on his fiddle. The bar's patrons cheered and began to clap and stomp their feet.

Jerry picked the backup rhythm on his banjo, alternating his thumb between the third and fourth strings. It was a fun tune, even though its banjo part wasn't much. It was meant to showcase the fiddler, and Jerry loved hearing the big man play.

And play he did. Clay was six feet, four inches tall, and shaped vaguely like a barrel. His yellow hair was matted with sweat, and his shirt was soaked, but his beefy hands moved just as deftly as they had two hours ago. His body swayed and bounced along with the rhythm. By the time his solo arrived about halfway through the song, he was practically dancing around the stage.

Bill strummed his guitar and sang into the microphone, his voice just barely cutting through the clamor from the patrons. The whole bar rumbled with the noise of clapping hands, stomping feet, and clanging beer bottles. Some of the couples in the audience had begun to dance between the tables. One drunk man even tried dancing on a table, though he soon lost his balance and fell off, sparking laughter among the onlookers.

Jerry chuckled and shook his head. He watched the fallen man for a moment, hoping he was all right. When a few others helped him to his feet, Jerry's gaze shifted, and that's when he noticed a familiar face. Brandon Woods was in the audience.

He saw Jerry looking and gave a wave.

Jerry blinked, stunned for a moment, and his fingers froze. After a moment, he resumed playing and nodded at him. He hadn't seen Brandon in nine years. The last time was after returning to Homestead after the Third Battle of Blackshoals. They had both spent some time in the infirmary. By the time Jerry was discharged, Brandon had already been gone a week.

Thinking of Blackshoals gave him shivers, and he tried to put his old war buddy out of mind. He focused on his playing, fumbling his way through the rest of Green-Eyed Woman. The song ended, and he took a deep breath and exhaled, blowing out his cheeks. He'd screwed up his part a little, but it was just back-up, so it didn't matter so much. The next song would be very different. It was time for him to shine.

“And now,” Bill announced to the crowd, “let's ratchet things up a bit. This next song features our banjo picker, Mr. Jerry Harper. You all know the tune. It's the one you've been waiting for all night. It's called Spin the Wheel of Fire. Clay, start us off.”

The audience hooted and hollered for a moment, but then became abruptly quiet as soon as Clay started playing. They listened to his fiddle, but their eyes were fixed on Jerry's hands. They knew the song well, just as Bill said, and they knew what was coming.

Bill sang the first stanza. It was over quickly, and then the fun part began: the first of three banjo solos.

Jerry picked the down-the-neck break, his fingers transitioning from one roll to another, one chord to another, and hitting the accents on the melody notes. It wasn't a hard solo, but the syncopation made it sound tougher than it was. He wrapped it up, and there was some scattered applause. He played the background rhythm while Bill launched into the song's second stanza.

Jerry took the opportunity to sneak another look at Brandon. His old friend was still there, but he wasn't looking at Jerry. His face was like a storm cloud, and he was looking across the room. Jerry followed his gaze to a young couple. They had orange hair and skin, and they stood out like torches against the brown Agrarian crowd. For a moment, Jerry was back on Blackshoals, and his fingers froze again on the banjo's strings.

“Jerry!” hissed Bill. “Solo B coming up. Pay attention!”

Jerry blinked rapidly. The flashback faded, leaving him in control of his faculties once again. He admonished himself for the lapse. The Claim War was long over, and those Felids at the table certainly weren't the enemy. They were just a couple of teenagers in love, whispering to each other and stealing kisses and whatnot.

He shook his head and focused on the song and his bandmates. Clay was improvising a solo and watching him out of the corner of his eye. Bill stared at him, his face full of worry. Jerry gave them what he hoped was a confident look, nodded, and began...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 25.1.2019
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Science Fiction
• ISBN-10: 0-00-014472-X / 000014472X
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-014472-0 / 9780000144720