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    The Sentinel
    The Sentinel
    The Sentinel
    Ebook72 pages43 minutes

    The Sentinel

    By Eden Winters

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Since the day he was dropped off at a Federation camp by parents who used him to gain political favor, cybernetic killing machine Soldier Fourteen existed only to carry out his orders. But when commanded to kill a baby girl, he defies his commander and deserts the Federation, seeking a place in the universe for himself and the defenseless innocent he’s promised to protect.

    This short story also appears in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" anthology volume 12.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEden Winters
    Release dateFeb 2, 2014
    ISBN9781497703704
    The Sentinel

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    • 5/5
      What an absolutely brilliant story. For me, this is exactly what I look for in good science fiction, well, one possible successful combination of many: great technology, its effect on humans, and showing the consequences of us learning to deal with it or how to defeat it. And in this case, the whole process is driven by emerging emotions and a dedication to love and family that I loved to watch develop and blossom. It is rare to find such a truly epic story in only fifty-three pages, but Eden managed it perfectly. The fascinating characters and amazing storyline swept me away and held me spellbound to the last page.

      Fourteen is a soldier. He has no name, other than the number he is given for each assignment, and his only loyalty is supposed to be his commanding officer and the Federation that took him from his parents at a young age and indoctrinated him. They need soldiers to keep colonist rebels in line since any hint at independence is squashed ruthlessly. Following orders is all he does, and the constant data and communication stream fed into his brain by implants is all he knows. Until one day they fail, and he has to learn to think for himself. The process of how that happens, and what he discovers was fascinating to follow. His humanity emerges again bit by bit, and the newborn girl he rescued from being shot pays a huge part in that.

      Connell is a colonist on the planet Fourteen ends up on once he flees the Federation. He's a great guy, scared to death of the soldier in his exosuit, but tolerant enough to give him the benefit of the doubt when he sees he rescued a baby girl. Connell's emerging feelings confuse him at first, but as soon as he figures Fourteen is interested, he becomes unstoppable. The life they share is beautiful, and the only real problem is that Fourteen doesn’t age (due to his solar-powered suit and cybernetic implants). Even that obstacle can be overcome, but you'll have to read the story to find out the details.

      If you like brilliant imagination and very creative science fiction that takes you to a time far, far away from ours, if you enjoy reading about the blurring of the lines between man and machine, and if you're looking for a read filled with emotion, great insights, and a wonderful love story, then you will probably like this free short story as much as I did. It's one of the best science fiction books I have read so far this year.

    Book preview

    The Sentinel - Eden Winters

    For readers who cheer on lonely souls, hoping they’ll find their happy ever after.

    The Sentinel

    Eden Winters

    Chapter One

    Move out, but avoid the caves, the commander warned, the communication resonating through the soldier’s frontal lobe implants. They’re lined with crystals that block our signals.

    Soldier Fourteen nodded, snapping the last section of his body armor into place. Prickles raced across his skin, tiny filaments piercing his epidermis, digging in deep to meld suit to body. Properly geared, he joined his brothers on the field. Simple orders today, eradicate the colonists who refused the Federation’s demands. Laser fire peppered the air, mixed with screams and pleading. The acrid scent of burned flesh seared his nostrils, but Fourteen ignored the cries of the rebels with their primitive weapons, carrying out his orders with single-minded determination― capture able-bodied youths and destroy any others. His implanted com-link shrieked a steady stream of banter into his mind: officers’ instructions, his brothers-in-arms’ triumphant shouts as they lay waste to the colonists. Stupid colonists, withholding rightful due.

    Through the villages they swarmed, skirting the caves to maintain signal. Beep, beep, beep, beep! An alarm shrilled in his ears. He ducked and rolled. Fire blazed through his side. Curled on the ground, he lay perfectly still. A scream and the high-pitched whine of a particle discharge spoke of another soldier’s shot in his defense. Take that, you rebel!

    Covered for the moment, Fourteen requested, Damage?

    Primitive projectile weapon, came the diagnosis from his suit. Point of entry: C7 and C8 joints. Over his left ribs, then, in the vulnerable area between armored plates that allowed flexible movement. A very lucky shot for the rebel. Topical lesions. Exit point C15 and C16 joints, the diagnostic program continued. Circuitry damage in section... The coordinates streaming through his visor stuttered and went out. Fourteen raised his weapon, but his robed assailant ducked into the cave. Fuck that! Signal or no signal, he’d go in. No one shot him and got away.

    Fourteen struggled to his feet. Diagnostic!

    Communications circuits malfunctioning, the tinny voice of the suit transponder replied. Attempting repairs, maintain position.

    Oh, hell no! Not until he took out the bastard who’d clipped him. Even as he watched, the scratch on his skin sealed and the suit mended itself back together. He shuffled past the mouth of the cave. Silence. For the first time since his parents dropped him off at the Federation recruitment camp, no voices rang in his head, no orders overrode his own thought processes. Only eerie silence.

    He’d thought his own thoughts once, back before they’d shoved a com-link into his head, hooked him into a processor, and relieved him of that responsibility. Back then he’d had a family, a name... Fourteen slammed the door on the memory, a memory he’d believed scrubbed from his mind forever. Must be the crystalline interference his CO spoke of.

    A series of electric impulses throbbed through his connection with his armor. Yes, though it didn’t possess a brain of its own, his suit calmly reminded him that he wasn’t alone and probably never would be—not for long, anyway. The sharp bite of a medical filament on his left glute followed, delivering medication and promising sweet relief. The pain vanished; adrenaline leveling out, his heart rate normalizing, and tension melting away. Bless the Federation and their miracle drugs, delivered in perfect doses for each situation. The suit/soldier units proved well-nigh impervious: he’d seen near-corpses continue battling. Drugs, circuitry, programming, and nothing to lose made for one hell of a soldier.

    Sweeping one arm back and forth while seeking a target with unaided vision, he probed his now pain-free injured side with his fingers before venturing farther into the cave. Engage sensors, he intoned, wondering how much the suit had managed to repair itself. A stream of numbers filled his periphery, faded and incomplete in some cases: temperature, Federation time. Life forms. An infrared beam emitted from his visor. There! Weapon! The suit selected a tight-beam laser―useful in confined spaces with possible ricochet factor. The tingling at his fingertips told him armed and ready. Making use of the shadows, he advanced on a huddled form on the floor, the tips of his mitt aimed and ready to fire. But first, what did the enemy look like, the foolish one who’d defy the government?

    Two life form signatures appeared in his vision feed, one weak, one strong. He eased forward, ready to duck if necessary. A thin river of red seeped from beneath a gauzily wrapped form. A rebel? Without armor? What was this flimsy garment the thing wore?

    A pale face stared up at him, lips moving, making incomprehensible sounds. He tapped into his com’s translator and waited while the program shifted through the being’s garbled speech. Mercy, he finally heard. And, Please. The light in the creature’s eyes faded, its last breath wasted on a final Please.

    Mission completed, Fourteen checked his side again, preparing to leave the cave. Wait! What about the second signal? Maybe this thing was only a decoy. He searched the

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