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  REV: Resolve

  The REV Warriors Series Part 2, Book 2

  T.R. Harris

  A Military Sci-Fi Adventure

  Copyright 2020

  by Tom Harris Creations, LLC

  All rights reserved.**

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  Novels by T.R. Harris

  The Adam Cain Saga

  The Dead Worlds

  Empires

  Battle Plan

  Galactic Vortex

  Dark Energy

  Universal Law

  The Formation Code

  The Quantum Enigma

  Children of the Aris

  The Human Chronicles

  The Fringe Worlds

  Alien Assassin

  The War of Pawns

  The Tactics of Revenge

  The Legend of Earth

  Cain’s Crusaders

  The Apex Predator

  A Galaxy to Conquer

  The Masters of War

  Prelude to War

  The Unreachable Stars

  When Earth Reigned Supreme

  A Clash of Aliens

  Battlelines

  The Copernicus Deception

  Scorched Earth

  Alien Games

  The Cain Legacy

  The Andromeda Mission

  Last Species Standing

  Invasion Force

  Force of Gravity

  Mission Critical

  The Lost Universe

  The Immortal War

  Destroyer of Worlds

  Phantoms

  Terminus Rising

  The Last Aris

  The Human Chronicles Box Set Series

  Box Set #1 – Books 1-5 in the series

  Box Set #2 – Books 6-10 in the series

  Box Set #3 – Books 11-15 in the series

  Box Set #4 – Books 16-20 in the series

  Box Set #5—Books 21-25 in the series

  REV Warriors Series

  Rev

  REV: Renegades

  REV: Rebirth

  REV: Revolution

  REV: Retribution

  REV Warriors Part 2

  REV: Revelations

  REV: Resolve

  REV: Requiem

  REV Warriors Series Part 1 Box Set - The COMPLETE Series (5 books)

  Jason King – Agent to the Stars Series

  The Enclaves of Sylox

  Treasure of the Galactic Lights

  The Drone Wars Series

  Day of the Drone

  In collaboration with Co-Author George Wier…

  The Liberation Series

  Captains Malicious

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  Contents

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Coming Next

  Author Notes

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  Novels by T.R. Harris

  Part 1

  The Outer Reaches

  Chapter 1

  A dozen dark figures with black skin and black uniforms slithered down the steep rock face of the cliffs to either side of the huge hydroelectric dam. They moved with uncanny speed and confidence, their two-inch-long retractable claws on their hands and feet providing traction on the hard granite surface. Even if sound could be heard above the din of the water cascading from the spill ducts, there would be none coming from the commandos. Stealth was their strength, their weapon.

  They climbed down past the roadway that crossed the towering edifice until they were about twenty feet below the top. Here, matching metal walkways snaked along the concrete façade and wound down to the structure’s base, with doorways periodically leading into the interior. The dam was much more than a barrier to hold back the millions of cubic miles of water forming Lake Ries’ azure wonder. Within its relatively narrow breadth, a variety of pipes and tubing fed the sixteen whirling electric generators that provided power for the city of five million located eight miles farther downriver, as well as for much of the farmland and scattered manufacturing plants of the surrounding plains. Some of the electricity even made it to the coast and the series of sprawling metropolises along the bluffs and sandy beaches.

  Now the dam served as the hunting grounds for the alien Ha’curn, cat-like creatures from a lost world over fourteen hundred light-years away.

  The metal doors leading to the interior were no challenge for the aliens, and within moments of reaching their target destinations, the slender, dark figures disappeared inside the structure. The various spotlights that lit the sheer concrete barrier now showed no movement, as was expected at two in the morning. Once inside, the dual teams moved efficiently to the lower levels. The base was thicker here, but the ordnance the aliens carried would be enough to do the job. Besides, the Ha’curn knew precisely where to go and where to place the charges. To their disappointment, they only encountered a handful of lethargic security guards during their mission. They would have preferred more, but their mission was not to directly engage the enemy. They were tasked with simply entering and exiting the structure by the appointed time.

  Within twelve minutes of appearing on the mountain ridges, the Ha’curn were back at their high perches overlooking the dam and the moonlit lake to the east, sitting back on their haunches and swaying slightly from side to side. The sway was an instinctive reaction signifying anticipation of a future action. Most of the black aliens were salivating, even though this pack had reached the point where they would no longer face the possibility of physical combat with an enemy. Still, they knew what was coming. And this was the moment the species lived for—the point of execution.

  Ahmed Wadee knew he shouldn’t be here; it wasn’t his job to be on the planet with a battle about to begin. He was the commander of the REV forces, and as such, his place was back on the battle-carrier Valhalla, directing the action on the surface, not being part of it. But he was also an Alpha REV, and the cascading he was experiencing made his body tingle with excitement. If anything, he wanted to smell the smoke from the battlefield, experience the thunder of exploding ordnance, and revel in the thrill of his savage horde ripping alien flesh apart, often with their bare hands. He wanted to be there with his troops, and perhaps—if he had the opportunity—he would partake in a little bloodletting of his own. It was still early; who knew where the fortunes of war would take him?

  Colonel Ahmed Wadee had taken over command of the REV forces after his predecessors—General Zac Murphy and Colonel Angus Price—were recalled to Earth. That was six months ago, and since then, there had been a dramatic shift in tactics employed to facilitate the incorporation of new worlds into the Union of Affiliated Systems—the UAS, Earth’s burgeoning stellar empire. This change came through the direction of the CFC—the Combat Force Committee, more commonly referred to by the grunts as the Cluster-Fuck Committee. The Consolidated Diplomatic Corps directed this sixteen-person panel of civilian, military, and government personnel under the auspices of the Outer Reaches Settlement Committee on the planet Joris. Each of these various e
ntities answered ultimately to Earth and the UAS Expansion Committee of the World Congress in Rockville, Maryland. It may seem like a long and convoluted chain of command; however, the CFC had considerable latitude when it came to accomplishing the goals set forth by Congress. As long as the stats showed a steady increase in the number of affiliated systems added within a specified accounting period, the CFC could do pretty much what it wanted. So far, the goals had been met and often exceeded. Because of this, CFC Director Elliott Bell was the shiny new thing in the halls of government, and Ahmed knew the senior diplomat was determined to keep it that way. That was why the Klaynor campaign was going to be one for the record books, and why Ahmed was on the surface, ready to give the order to execute. He didn’t want to miss a thing.

  Ahmed had been a major in the REV Corps when Murphy was in command, so he knew how much things had changed. In Murphy’s ten years in charge, he was under the direction of the old Armada and the Diplomatic Corps operating within the Outer Reaches. At that time, their actions were slower, more deliberate. Often, it would take six months or more to subdue a resisting species. It was more important to preserve the infrastructure of the world rather than score a quick capitulation. That changed with Murphy’s recall and the transfer of power to the CFC. Now it was a numbers game, with the people of Earth addicted to the idea of an ever-growing stellar empire destined to one day rule the galaxy. At one time, that was only the domain of science fiction. But under Bell’s leadership, it could someday become a reality. Granted, that was still generations away. But if the CFC had anything to do with it—and they did—it would happen sooner rather than later.

  “The Ha’curn are in position, colonel,” Ahmed’s adjutant reported. The command staff was in a heavily-armed tank-like vehicle proceeding through a section of the huge alien city that had been recently abandoned by the civilian natives and accompanied by a squad of nine other APCs. They were in a hurry to get to high ground before the offensive began. Ahmed knew the game plan, so not much would surprise him, even the complete one-eighty his superiors had made regarding combat operations. In one way, he was glad that his troops wouldn’t be bogged down on any one planet for long. In another, he missed the days of prolonged engagements with more opportunities for his REVs to be REVs.

  “Very well, major. Start the countdown. Inform the Valhalla. We light the candle in sixty seconds.”

  The planet Klaynor was a typical Earth Standard world—now designated ES-102—with Humanoid natives sporting fur-covered bodies and a small tail. The tail appeared through slits in their clothing and helped with balance as they ran. They were much faster than normal Humans, but not REVs or Ha’curn. The Mal’em—as the natives called themselves—rated six-point-nine in the Blood Book, placing them equivalent to early 20th-century technology on Earth. They had projectile weapons, rockets and aircraft, but no nuclear weapons. The fact that they resisted the offer to join the UAS surprised Ahmed. They had a lot to gain with membership. But some species valued independence more than their future wellbeing. Ahmed seldom concerned himself with the politics of a situation, but now that he was in command, it was hard to avoid.

  Director Elliott Bell of the CFC had approached the Mal’em after they refused to submit and offered them the standard remedy: Rather than destroy the planet in a prolonged and senseless war, the natives should designate one city where the combatants would engage. Both parties would agree to abide by the results of the campaign. At first, it didn’t seem possible that a more primitive race could defeat a star-faring empire. But it was then pointed out that all the Humans would be sending into the battlefield would be a few thousand REVs and alien Ha’curn, while the natives could supply millions of fighters if they wished. It seemed like a win-win for the natives, especially since Bell promised to use only ground troops and no superior technology. Ahmed knew better.

  The city of Soleem was located in the gradual sloping highlands of the Ries Mountains, terraced on the slopes and overlooking the vast, fertile plains to the West. The mountains towered high above, with a narrow river valley snaking through the range formed by the flow of the ancient Ries River. A dam tamed the raging river a hundred and fifty years before, and now the river meandered through the lower third of the city to the south, forming some of the most expensive and sought-after real estate in the area. Here, stately manors lined the shores while some of Klaynor’s most prestigious companies and institutes of higher learning occupied huge campuses never too far from the riverbank.

  Nearly all civilians were gone from the area by now, anxious to leave before the start of hostilities with the invaders from the stars. First-Commander Wes Kinnett and his regiment had taken over one of the most luxurious resort complexes along the river. He was on the roof of the fourteen-story building, looking through a set of spyglasses at the city to the North. Shuttles had been landing in the central part of Soleem for over an hour, and Kinnett knew the Humans were moving in their so-called super-soldiers to counter the one million-plus Mal’em troops already in place. Kinnett was an experience combat officer, so he faced the enemy troop placements with a degree of skepticism.

  The Mal’em forces manned a line of bastions in South and North Soleem with the central region left open as a lure to the invaders. The Humans fell for the trap, moving most of their combat troops into that part of town. On cue, the vice would close, crushing the few thousand aliens in that part of the city. The simplicity of the plan made Kinnett nervous. The aliens were intelligent and skilled warriors; they had to know their tenuous position. However, they continued to pour into Central Saleem. Did they have such confidence in their super-soldiers? Did arrogance and overconfidence govern their actions? The First-Commander wasn’t sure.

  But on the other side of the equation, the Mal’em were fighting for their homeworld. They would not go quietly into the night. This battle was supposed to guide all other negotiations with the invaders. It would have been good to see the Humans in action before this. But the one saving grace Kinnett had was the knowledge that another million combat troops were on standby outside the city. Even if the first round of engagements went horribly wrong for the Mal’em, they would not give in. There was no time limit for the campaign and no limit as to the number of troops his people could employ. He sighed. Once the battle began, Kinnett would know better how to deploy his assets. He had the resources of an entire planet to draw from. Surely, victory would be theirs.

  And yet, the Humans had expanded this far from their homeworld of Earth using this tactic of limited engagements; they had to know their odds for victory. And still they came, and with only these things called REVs. Rumors of these warriors were rampant on Klaynor. Although the Mal’em had not developed star travel at the time of the alien contact, stories had filtered in since that momentous event. Kinnett and his people didn’t have much time to adapt to the idea of alien life beyond their homeworld before demands were being dictated and fatal decisions had to be made. Watching the fiery entry trails of the Human shuttles, Kinnett wondered if it might have been better to acquiesce to their demands. All the aliens wanted was for Klaynor to enter their Union. Perhaps that would not have been such an offensive alternative to what was about to happen in Soleem. But Kinnett was a soldier, tasked with defeating the enemy—and at all costs. The future engagement—for as long as it took—was a winner-take-all proposition. Therefore, the First-Commander would sacrifice every resource to assure victory for his people and his planet. Once the Humans knew the Mal’em would not readily submit to their demands, then perhaps negotiations could begin for a more equitable affiliation of the races. But at the moment, the invaders had to be repelled. And that would involve a complete defeat of the enemy in the city of Soleem.

  The Ha’curn had once been Earth’s enemy, siding with the evil Antaere toward the end of the thirty-year-long Human/Antaere War. However, they had been reluctant allies of the yellow-skinned bastards, forced to fight for them under threat of destruction of their homeworld, Falmoria-cra, through the
use of hundreds of powerful nuclear weapons buried in secure bunkers under the surface.

  After the defeat of the Antaere, the Ha’curn were free to choose their allies. Although Humans and Ha’curn would never be considered friends, the cat-like creatures decided to fight alongside the Humans as a means of satisfying their instinctual lust for battle. And they especially liked working with the REVs, who were more their equals in individual combat, although one would be hard-pressed to find a Ha’curn who would admit it. But recently, they’d grown tired of working directly with the Humans and now maintained a small fleet of their own in the Outer Reaches. They still performed operations with the Humans, answering to the same Combat Force Committee as the REVs, but with their own chain of command and engaging in separate missions during campaigns.

  From atop the rocky canyon wall overlooking the dam, the Ha’curn squad leader received the execute order. He anxiously fingered a switch on a datapad, and thunder and lightning suddenly erupted from the steep sides of the dam. Massive slabs of concrete broke away, followed instantly by torrents of water shooting out from the breaches. These singular points only lasted a few seconds before more of the structure came apart. Now a glimmering waterfall of crystal blue water poured through the dam, lit by the dual moons of Klaynor. Waves surged up rock walls farther down the canyon, stripping away everything in their path. It would take weeks to drain the lake completely, but by then, a third of the city of Soleem would be gone.