The Legion and the Lioness (World Apart, Book 1) by Robert D. Armstrong

Release date: December 19, 2017

Subgenre: Military science fiction 

About The Legion and the Lioness: 

 

They said I would never finish flight school. Never rank at the top of my class. Never fly with the top aces. Never return from combat against the Kelton androids. Never survive emergency surgery. 

Here I am.

The year is 2151, Earth is gone. A hellscape. I've been unfrozen after 72 years of cryosleep on a medical facility on Saturn's moon, Titan. I have nothing, no home, no friends, no concept of this new world, these Titans.

All that remains is the old conflict that has blackened my veins and memories of the ones I loved still fresh in my heart. Forgotten for decades.

But it seems war hasn't forgotten me, no, even in my slumber. My name is Captain Victoria Ann Belic, I was a wife and an ace fighter pilot, and have been revived for one reason--to die again.

Excerpt:

 

“I noticed you received a message early this morning,” Luther, my husband of nine years, said.

“Yes. I did,” I replied.

“Is there anything you want to tell me? You seem a bit more, distant.” His back was turned away from me while he washed the dishes.

“I’m choosing my words, carefully,” I replied, staring at the half-eaten omelet in front of me.

“It’s better if you just lay it out for me. You know that,” he muttered.

I nodded slowly in agreement. There wasn’t an easy way to say it. “Ahem. It was Admiral Banner. He confirmed all fighter pilots from my squadron will be deployed to meet the war effort,” I explained. Luther dropped a dish in the sink and paused. He glared up at the ceiling and sighed. I allowed him a moment to process it.

“When?” he asked.

“As early as today,” I said.

He dropped his head. “Well then, I guess you need to eat, keep up your s-strength,” he said. I could hear the lump in his throat. I stared down at my fork as a ringing sound faded into my ears. I closed my eyes and opened them as reality filled my view. I wasn’t at home with my husband anymore. I was the tip of the spear.

Snap out of it.

“Captain Belic! Respond! There are thirty-nine hostages, what are our orders?” My targeting officer, Commander Rotus shouted. The fork in my right hand became a flight stick as I wrestled the turbulence, barreling through thick cumulus clouds at Mach speeds.

We never trained for this enemy. They were supposed to protect us.

“Roger! Okay. I’m dropping altitude to four thousand meters. I want zero civilian casualties, Rotus. Burn those hostiles,” I ordered.

“Four thousand meters?” he asked.

“Did I stutter, Commander?”

“That’s inside the kill box, Captain, the androids will cut us to shreds. They’ve likely seized our anti-aircraft guns on deck,” he replied. A red warning indicator blinked on my visor, alerting me to the enemy targeting systems that would be in range soon.

“Commander Rotus, strap in and prepare the precision phantom. I want that laser ready to fire in under a minute,” I directed.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. I imagined Rotus gulping before he answered. I listened to the hydraulic hatch beneath me open. I imagined the deadly orb like weapon reflecting the perfect blue sky, the white fluffy clouds, and the rolling green hills of Tennessee as it lowered into firing position.

The red tinted dome was the size of a basketball, and sported a menacing 6-petawatt laser beam that could bore a hole through a four-story building in a millisecond, top to bottom.

The androids would pay.

It was summer 2078. We’d been at war with them for two weeks. They were designed as assistants and caregivers for the elderly and handicapped. Mass produced and in millions of homes, the Kelton 1.13 androids united against us through their online maintenance forum called the otherside.

The mega corporation, Kelton, secretly allowed their androids open communication amongst themselves to remedy issues and maintain upkeep via software patches. This saved on expenses, eliminating thousands of human programmers on the payroll.

It backfired. No one knew what caused them to unite, but they hacked and took control of their heavy military variant android cousins—the 1.14a—sending them against our own troops. It was a massacre, for every 1.14a android destroyed, the United States lost seven servicemen, nearing almost twenty-two thousand dead.

Now, they were pushing for further control by attacking National Guard armories at strategic locations. They were commandeering our tanks, choppers, and fighter planes.

My orders were simple: Cripple the android’s newly acquired capabilities at all cost.

 

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About Robert D. Armstrong:

Robert D. Armstrong is a USA Today bestselling author and a former military intelligence specialist. His interests include creativity and science, specifically space exploration, technology, alternate energy sources, and robotics. With degrees in Social Science and Medical Sleep Technology, he prides himself on understanding what makes the human brain tick, both day and night, the link between the subconscious and conscious.

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