The Colony Read online

  Contents

  The Colony (The Survivors Book Seventeen)

  Copyright © 2021 Nathan Hystad

  Books By Nathan Hystad

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  New Galaxy (The Survivors Book Eighteen)

  Baldwin's Legacy Box Set

  Copyright © 2021 Nathan Hystad

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Cover art: Tom Edwards Design

  Edited by: Christen Hystad

  Edited by: Scarlett R Algee

  Proofed and Formatted by: BZ Hercules

  Books By Nathan Hystad

  Keep up to date with his new releases by signing up for his Newsletter at www.nathanhystad.com

  And get Lights Over Cloud Lake for FREE!

  Nathan’s books are also available on Audible!

  The Bridge Sequence

  Lost Contact

  Lost Time

  Lost Hope

  Space Race

  Space Race

  Space Battle

  Space Strike

  The Survivors Series

  The Event

  New Threat

  New World

  The Ancients

  The Theos

  Old Enemy

  New Alliance

  The Gatekeepers

  New Horizon

  The Academy

  Old World

  New Discovery

  Old Secrets

  The Deities

  New Beginning

  New Lies

  The Colony

  New Galaxy

  Baldwin’s Legacy

  Confrontation

  Unification

  Culmination

  Hierarchy

  Lineage

  Legacy

  The Resistance Series

  Rift

  Revenge

  Return

  The Manuscript

  Lights Over Cloud Lake

  Red Creek

  Return to Red Creek

  Prologue

  The city was under siege. Jaessa watched the ships disrupt a bank of clouds. Not clouds: it was smoke, billowing from the countryside. Hundreds of acres of farmland destroyed with an orbital blast. How could they ever recover?

  “We have nowhere to hide,” her mother said, pacing the room.

  “Hide? We’ll do nothing of the sort. We fight.” Her father, Governor Gulin, was an imposing man, his chin jutting into the air with pride.

  “We’re not prepared for the Brack.” Jaessa’s mother regarded her with sadness creeping past her normally composed expression.

  “The Brack are ruffians. They invade with recklessness, like a blunt object. We have grace. Skillful soldiers,” her father said.

  “There won’t be a battle. From the looks of things, they’ll destroy our city before we have a chance to fend them off,” Jaessa’s mom added.

  Jaessa gathered the nerve to ask, “Why are they here?”

  “They must be searching for something. I’ve heard they’ve been acting similarly in our neighboring systems,” her dad said.

  The lights flickered off, leaving them in darkness. Jaessa stared out the window as the war machines advanced to the surface. There were so many of them, each shaped like a flat triangle, red blasts cutting gaping holes into the cityscape.

  Her father carried his tablet, issuing orders into it. “Hold the line. Flip the reserves from the hydrogate to the shields. Throw everything we have against them!”

  They were in the penthouse of Adrol’s largest building, and Jaessa could see the dam three kilometers away. If the Brack blasted the walls, they would be flooded. Without the barrier up, her father was putting them all at risk.

  “Father, you cannot—” The building shook violently, sending Jaessa to the floor. Her mother scrambled close, pulling her into a hug. “Mom, you’re hurting me.”

  “We can’t stay,” she whispered.

  Her father was still barking commands at his people while Jaessa was dragged from the room. He didn’t seem to notice.

  “What are you doing?” She attempted to free herself from her mother’s grip, but the woman had the strength of desperation behind her.

  “The escape pod. You’ll go.” The walls shook, and pieces of mortar fell from the ceiling. “It’s too late. We won’t defend against them. You must seek help. They will imprison us. Bring someone—” Jaessa’s mother was cut off as a tearing sound echoed through the hallway.

  A hole twice Jaessa’s height tore along the wall. Her mother finally let go, moments before a beam sliced her in half. She fell to the floor, eyes remaining open.

  “Mom!” But she was dead. There was no saving her.

  The pod. Jaessa was used to listening to her parents, and the last order she was given burned into her mind. The Brack would potentially enslave her people, but Jaessa could escape.

  She remained low, navigating the hall. The stairs were dark with the power off, but she made her way down them with speed she’d never attempted before. Jaessa nearly tripped as she went, but managed to stay upright. By the time she reached the bottom level, her hair was plastered to her face, and she clawed at it.

  The pods were stored at the edge of the governing offices and their home, in preparation for an emergency like this. Only they had remained inactive. There’d never been a situation warranting their utilization until today.

  People screamed in the streets, and Jaessa almost stopped to recruit a soldier to join her. But the pod couldn’t sustain more than one. It was up to her.

  Jaessa ignored the cries as the Brack began dropping to the ground. She was outside, running between the people of Adrol. Her people. The Fera. Not a soul noted the governor’s child. They were too busy surveying the skies.

  A drop trooper landed straight in front of her, his heavy armor cracking the concrete. The trooper swiveled a huge gun around and aimed it at her. She stood in fear, holding her hands up. There was so much smoke in the air, she could hardly breathe, and she cried for mercy. Jaessa spotted a strange symbol glowing on his visor. She’d never seen anything like it.

  The gun stayed aimed; then he dashed off, blasting at the defenseless crowd. She’d been spared.

  Jaessa froze in horror as her people were gunned down, and hated how helpless she felt. The Brack were everywhere. Their ships were enormous this close up, and they blotted the smoke-filled sky. More drop troopers fell from the heavens.

  She began to run again. People called out; families huddled in corners of the alleys. “Get inside! Hide!” she shouted at them, but no one seemed to hear.

  The hangar was only two blocks away, and her legs burned with the effort. Her initial spike of energy was sapped, and she slowed as she rounded a bend. There it was. The escape pod was in the building across the street.

  She crept near the warehouse. Most of the action was behind her, coming closer, and she kept moving.

  The drop trooper whistled in the air, landing a few meters ahead. The Brack was shrouded in black armor, and a glowing green visor gave the monstrosity a dash of color. The gun looked to weigh more than Jaessa, and the barrel pointed at the ground. It started walking at her. The road crumbled beneath its steps.

  She froze.

  The Brack trooper proceeded, standing so close, she could hear the gentle whirring of the robotic suit. The visor turned dark for a moment. She saw a pipe farther down the street, and darted past the invader. It spun, giving chase, and despite the weakness in her knees and the smoldering in her lungs, she made it, bending to pick up the three-foot-long metal tube. The trooper barreled toward her, and she lunged. The trooper’s armor cracked into the warehouse’s brick wall, and Jaessa swung the pipe, banging it on the edge of the helmet. Sparks flew from the damaged wiring.

  Jaessa took the opportunity. She sped across the road, entering the hangar with her family code. Once she was in, she pressed her back to the slab, panting. Her enemy arrived a second later, pounding on the thick door.

  She couldn’t break for a breath. Not yet.

  Dozens of thrust ships sat within the hangar, but only two pods. They were designed to travel far distances, using a dangerous technology to keep the pilot in stasis for the duration of the flight. Jaessa used to dream of leaving Adrol behind, finding new and exciting galaxies to explore, but those were the fancies of a young girl, not a grown woman.

  She raced past the bulky transport vessels, around her parents’ private touring ship, and saw the vessels.
They were twenty feet in length, shaped like teardrops, with smooth blue hulls. She nearly forgot where the entrance was, until she was right on the first of the two.

  Jaessa jumped as the trooper bashed into the door again and again. She heard its gun fire at the hangar, and knew she didn’t have long before the Brack trooper breached the building’s exterior wall.

  Jaessa waved her palm near the hull, and the entrance slid open. She thought about her parents, and recalled her mom’s face as she was slaughtered only minutes ago.

  No. Not now. Focus.

  The door closed behind her, and the lights powered on as it recognized there was a pilot present. The screen was familiar. She’d been trained to operate the craft, but it had been a couple of years since she’d set foot in one.

  “Where’s the…” As if reading her mind, the yoke appeared, aligning with the seat. She clutched it as the screen rose, illuminating the outside view.

  Jaessa ensured the cloaking was activated, and opened the hangar’s ceiling. The smoke was thicker, and she could barely see past the dense cover. The pod rose, vibrating gently as it climbed higher. Part of her was grateful she couldn’t view the destruction the Brack had caused, and another portion wanted to behold her city for one last time. Not the last time, she assured herself. I will return. With assistance.

  Jaessa saw the bottom of the triangular war machine and nearly bumped into it. She dropped the pod lower and sped past the looming enemy vessel, pushing higher in the atmosphere.

  “Goodbye, Adrol,” she whispered.

  The pod wasn’t actually invisible, but the Brack would be unable to sense her position, and the reflectors made it nearly impossible to sight the smooth craft. She entered space with ease and took a deep inhale as she came upon the double moons in the distance.

  Only then did the full realization of what had transpired take hold, and she sobbed at the loss of everything she knew. Even if she managed to locate someone to help her, her mother was still dead, as were so many of the people.

  She wiped her cheeks, letting anger burrow into her chest. She would not cry for them. Jaessa would get even.

  There were a few predetermined destinations programmed into the pod, and she was unsure of which to take. Something lumpy was under her, and she shifted to the side, pulling a book out. It was hers, from when she was a young girl. She must have dropped it the last time she’d come for training.

  Jaessa opened the journal and found the drawing. Her parents couldn’t explain its origin, but said a traveler from another galaxy had brought it. He’d traded with the governor’s uncle, but had vanished before they could question him anymore.

  She almost smiled at the sight of the sketch. The girl’s eyes were laced with a sparkling green stone, adhered to the page. Her curly brown hair drifted behind her, as if she was floating. Jaessa had dreamt of being this distant princess when she was younger.

  As her pod shot from the only home she’d ever had, she considered her destination. The drawing was loose, and she pulled it out. It was light in her grip, and when she flipped it around, there was a notation on the back.

  Fontem – Udoon Station

  Udoon? Where was that?

  Jaessa used the computer, and retrieved a single reference to the place. It was far away. She set the course, predicting how long it would take. She gasped. Twenty years. There had to be somewhere closer.

  The pod rocked, and she checked the sensors. No. The Brack had located her.

  She tried to recall her lessons, aware that if she activated the stasis, the pod would begin the slip drive. It shook again. Alarms sounded, and Jaessa didn’t hesitate. She hit the command before clutching the pilot seat’s arms. Air hissed around her, and a bubble enveloped her skin. It threatened to drown her, but everything turned blurry.

  Jaessa heard the alarm fade and felt the shift as the slip drive powered on.

  The realization that she’d just sent herself on a twenty-year trip to another galaxy hit her as her eyes closed. It was too late to alter trajectories.

  She slept.

  One

  Weddings. There was something fascinating about the occasion. Attending the ceremony reminded me of our own nuptials. We’d been married at New Spero, and later that night, Sarlun had asked us to join the Gatekeepers.

  I glanced at the Shimmal leader, witnessing the pride in his eyes as he strode arm in arm with Suma across the beach. Not every culture had marriage as humans did, but the Shimmal traditions weren’t too far from our own. They often mated for life, choosing lavish celebrations to commemorate it.

  Suma was dazzling in a bright red dress, colorful floral prints spread around the fabric. Her partner waited at the pier, shifting nervously on his feet. His uniform was simple, white with red accents, and he smiled widely when he spotted his soon-to-be wife.

  We were all shocked by the revelation that Suma was being wed to a man none of us had met more than a handful of times. We only learned how serious they were when Suma exclaimed they were getting married. Elex was a good partner, one of the most renowned engineers on Shimmal, and a great asset to the Alliance of Worlds. He’d begun working on future colony project planning, and already we were seeing promising results.

  Sarlun stopped at the end of the pier and hugged his daughter. I could see the love emanating from him, and hated that I needed to finally have our awkward conversation before I departed for Haven. Not tonight, though. I’d give him space on the wedding day before confronting him about Ovalax and the Sect of Memories. He’d been ignoring my communications, and was always conveniently away on a trip whenever I tried to drop in on him at his offices.

  The sun shone high in the sky, and suddenly a rush of premonitions surged forward inside my mind. I saw images of Suma with Elex, holding their children. One showed her crying and unaccompanied at a grave in a few years, judging by her appearance. Another had them holding hands as they strode this very pier in their golden years.

  “You okay?” Mary asked.

  “Sure.” I blinked, and the premonitions vanished. They didn’t come very often, but when they happened, my head ached fiercely. I wanted to tell Mary, but she’d been so stressed after the recent events. I’d died for a moment, and I couldn’t share the vision I’d had of her. It was too painful for me to even recall without pushing it aside.

  I watched Jules, sitting to my right with Patty. Dean wasn’t beside her. He was with Magnus a row behind. The ceremony continued, the squawks and cries of a Shimmali song carried across the beach, and most of the audience was smiling, some crying as their union became official.

  My daughter played with the star necklace around her neck, a gift from Dean. It was obvious their breakup had hurt both of them, but they were too stubborn to admit it. I wasn’t sure a couple in the galaxy could cite the term “amicable break” and actually mean it.

  The crowd was full of our friends, and there was Loweck with Slate, staring at the pier next to Walo and Sergo. My Padlog friend wore a satchel around his chest, holding the three fist-sized eggs his wife had laid a few weeks ago.

  I couldn’t believe Sergo was about to become a father. Of all the people in my circle of friends, he was the last I expected to embrace being a parent.

  “Wasn’t that sweet?” Mary whispered.

  The bride and groom faced the audience, and everyone rose. I clapped with vigor, joining the rest with a phrase of encouragement in their native tongue. Soon the service was completed, and people began mingling. After the visions, the sun was too bright, the noises of the crowd louder than before.

  “Dean?” Mary gripped my arm, and I tried to tell her I was okay, that it was just the heat, but I couldn’t. My head spun, and I dropped, hitting the sand. I heard voices, but they were distant, and not meant for me. I had more important things to do.

  ____________

  “He’s awake.”

  “Dean, what happened?” my wife asked. The lights were dim, and I saw Nick in the corner, holding a tablet. Jules was in a chair, chin resting on her chest as she dozed. I could almost see the gentle green glow escaping her eyelids.

  “I must have been dehydrated,” I said. My lips were partially stuck together. “Can I have some water?”

  She brought me a cup with a straw, and I drank half of it. We were inside the Gatekeepers’ main office in the city. “How long was I out?”