Critical Strike (The Critical Series Book 3) by Colin F. Barnes, Darren Wearmouth, Wearmouth, Barnes Page B
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should do next, based on our appearance. Prepare yourself,” Vingo said.
“How do we beat something like this?” Denver said.
“Cause enough damage, if we can.”
A small blue bolt shot from its base, passing straight between Layla and Denver in the blink of an eye and zipping into the forest over Charlie’s shoulder.
Layla and Denver fired again, but their rounds had no visible effect. Vingo jumped between them, knocking them out of the way as he rushed away from the entrance.
The prism’s rotations increased. A halo of white light appeared above it, brightening the rings of wooden benches crammed into the temple.
A piercing whistle blasted through the intercom, sending pain shooting through Layla’s ears. She grabbed either side of her helmet. Her focused blurred and she felt her grip weakening around her rifle.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dreams were not the seeds of one’s own imagination but the confused signals of the gods. At least this was what Augustus believed.
He yawned and rolled off his bunk, standing up with a stretch of his arms over his head. His back cricked satisfyingly. He turned to the small bedside table and removed a root pill from the drawer, downing it without water.
While he waited for the active ingredient to hit his bloodstream, he thought back to his earlier daydream.
Shortly after seeing to Zoe, he fell into a slumber. At first his dreams were the usual replaying of the day’s events: his conversation with his scion handler, Zoe on her hands and knees, but more importantly the remembering of a thought that had crossed his mind earlier in the day before; it disappeared as soon as it arrived.
This thought was about the scion and their purpose.
Since Augustus had taken over from the insider croatoan agent—this was when he was back on the mother ship with Hagellan and the council—he had always wondered what the scion’s true mission was.
He didn’t believe they wanted him to take over Unity, and essentially Earth, just for the entertainment factor of it. Although he had to admit that since gathering his forces and connecting with the other farms, he was certainly finding a lot to be entertained by.
Not least was Zoe. She really was quite a remarkable woman. Her pain, and pleasure, tolerance was admirably high. She reminded him of a previous concubine from back in his Roman days.
Back then, though, the women would break all too easily, but Zoe was bred from hardier stock. Perhaps she was more like him than he first realized.
She had certainly seemed to ingratiate herself into his thoughts.
Augustus smiled and sat back down on the bunk; the sheets smelled of her sweat and musk, conjuring the image of her naked body in his mind.
But now wasn’t the time to give in to animal urges.
He turned his thoughts back to the scion: what was it they were truly after? He knew they had been battling with the Croatoan Empire for millennia all throughout the galaxy. The previous agent had told him just a few details: that they were searching for their creator and it had something to do with humans, hence why the croatoan agent was turned against his race, and now Augustus had taken up the mantle.
But why humans? he thought.
What was it about his species that was of such interest to them? The scion had been around for longer than humanity—at least those on Earth—and had grown to such a formidable size they now truly threatened the largest empire the galaxy had ever seen: the croatoans.
When two huge entities like that clash, the ripples change the future—and Augustus didn’t want to get caught in the riptide. He wanted to be in a position to ride the wave, conquer it.
As far as he was concerned, once Unity was taken and the scion gave him his promise, he would be the custodian for the humans, and then he could negotiate with the scion for more information.
He had learned even as a small child that you keep your enemies closer than your friends, and you get to know them better than you
“How do we beat something like this?” Denver said.
“Cause enough damage, if we can.”
A small blue bolt shot from its base, passing straight between Layla and Denver in the blink of an eye and zipping into the forest over Charlie’s shoulder.
Layla and Denver fired again, but their rounds had no visible effect. Vingo jumped between them, knocking them out of the way as he rushed away from the entrance.
The prism’s rotations increased. A halo of white light appeared above it, brightening the rings of wooden benches crammed into the temple.
A piercing whistle blasted through the intercom, sending pain shooting through Layla’s ears. She grabbed either side of her helmet. Her focused blurred and she felt her grip weakening around her rifle.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dreams were not the seeds of one’s own imagination but the confused signals of the gods. At least this was what Augustus believed.
He yawned and rolled off his bunk, standing up with a stretch of his arms over his head. His back cricked satisfyingly. He turned to the small bedside table and removed a root pill from the drawer, downing it without water.
While he waited for the active ingredient to hit his bloodstream, he thought back to his earlier daydream.
Shortly after seeing to Zoe, he fell into a slumber. At first his dreams were the usual replaying of the day’s events: his conversation with his scion handler, Zoe on her hands and knees, but more importantly the remembering of a thought that had crossed his mind earlier in the day before; it disappeared as soon as it arrived.
This thought was about the scion and their purpose.
Since Augustus had taken over from the insider croatoan agent—this was when he was back on the mother ship with Hagellan and the council—he had always wondered what the scion’s true mission was.
He didn’t believe they wanted him to take over Unity, and essentially Earth, just for the entertainment factor of it. Although he had to admit that since gathering his forces and connecting with the other farms, he was certainly finding a lot to be entertained by.
Not least was Zoe. She really was quite a remarkable woman. Her pain, and pleasure, tolerance was admirably high. She reminded him of a previous concubine from back in his Roman days.
Back then, though, the women would break all too easily, but Zoe was bred from hardier stock. Perhaps she was more like him than he first realized.
She had certainly seemed to ingratiate herself into his thoughts.
Augustus smiled and sat back down on the bunk; the sheets smelled of her sweat and musk, conjuring the image of her naked body in his mind.
But now wasn’t the time to give in to animal urges.
He turned his thoughts back to the scion: what was it they were truly after? He knew they had been battling with the Croatoan Empire for millennia all throughout the galaxy. The previous agent had told him just a few details: that they were searching for their creator and it had something to do with humans, hence why the croatoan agent was turned against his race, and now Augustus had taken up the mantle.
But why humans? he thought.
What was it about his species that was of such interest to them? The scion had been around for longer than humanity—at least those on Earth—and had grown to such a formidable size they now truly threatened the largest empire the galaxy had ever seen: the croatoans.
When two huge entities like that clash, the ripples change the future—and Augustus didn’t want to get caught in the riptide. He wanted to be in a position to ride the wave, conquer it.
As far as he was concerned, once Unity was taken and the scion gave him his promise, he would be the custodian for the humans, and then he could negotiate with the scion for more information.
He had learned even as a small child that you keep your enemies closer than your friends, and you get to know them better than you
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