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    Ghost In The Machine
    Ghost In The Machine
    Ghost In The Machine
    Ebook120 pages1 hour

    Ghost In The Machine

    By K.H. Koehler

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Goliath Is Here

    Utilizing their great cybeasts, the unstoppable Xirian army has conquered a thousand worlds in the galaxy, subjugating or destroying the inhabitants in the process. Now The War Master has ordered a Level 7 cybeast to be created.
    The beast: Goliath. The target: Earth.
    Xara is only a scientist, more at home in a lab than a battlefield. She is just barely keeping her life together when the alien attack commences and the Xirians unleash their full fury on the planet.

    As she watches Goliath’s devastating initial attack, she forms a plan--a plan that might actually stop the cybeast and save the human race, but it will take a combination of courage, treason, and ingenuity to carry it out...

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherApokrupha LLC
    Release dateFeb 15, 2017
    ISBN9781370201761
    Ghost In The Machine

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      Book preview

      Ghost In The Machine - K.H. Koehler

      K.H. Koehler

      Kaiju Revisited #3

      Published by Apokrupha

      Cover Art by Chris Enterline

      chrisenterlineart.com

      copyright, 2017

      apokrupha.com

      * * *

      Prologue

      Now

      The President of the United States was a neat, middle-aged woman close to Xara’s age. She wore a pinstriped suit and a dour expression as she stood at the pulpit before the Presidential Seal saying, "My fellow Americans, we are facing one of the direst moments in the history of this great country. In fact, what we are facing will affect not just our nation, but also the world. We are standing toe-to-toe with a monumental challenge this night, but I say to you that I have faith. I have faith that we will not simply lie down and accept this is the end.

      We, and the nations that stand with us, will fight these invaders down to the last man, if need be. Free people did not simply accept the invasion of Napoleon or Hitler. They did not put their weapons down when foreign forces marched into their nations. They fought back. This situation is no different, and we will tackle this challenge head on as we have always done.

      Sitting on her stool in her lab, Xara watched the Presidential Address on her computer. She rubbed her bandaged hand, rubbed it again. Then she smiled.

      She liked this woman. She liked the way she commanded her followers to rise up against adversity, challenge…certain annihilation. In many ways, she reminded Xara of her favorite science professor at university, the way the woman had commanded a room. The way she had inspired Xara to do her best—to do better than her best.

      In many ways, they were similar. They were sisters. Though they had never met, and surely never would.

      Xara’s mind was a melee of hope and horror and preparation for the things to come, but despite all this—despite the monumental task set before her—her heart was strangely calm, and she found that odd. She felt as if nothing could touch her in these last moments. She was protected. Destined.

      She had been born for this. And she would die for it.

      While the American people rallied around their leader, crying, praying and screaming for deliverance, the President did her best to assure them of imminent victory. She said they would overcome. Because, really, what other choice did they have?

      None. As I have none. Xara stood up, slipped off her lab coat, and walked with grace and determination to the door of the lab. The door irised open and she stepped through it, determined to meet her destiny head on.

      Chapter One

      Then

      The cybeast was arachnid in appearance, the original creature having eight legs and a hard, nearly impenetrable carapace. However, Xara and her assistant Odiah had upgraded and improved on its design in a number of different ways. For instance, Xara had attached a pair of grasping pedipalps, as well as a long tail with a spike at the end of it, turning its spider-like appearance into something that more resembled a gigantic scorpion. A bio-engineer by trade, she had also improved the shell by using compressed space titanium and had outfitted the creature with multiple rotating missiles and maser cannons, as well as the usual armament of sonic and subatomic auto-guns.

      The result was a magnificent beast worthy of a war.

      Xara pointed all these upgrades out to her commanding officer Mal and his retinue while the group stood together on the launch platform of Xara’s vast laboratory. The cybeast, dubbed Serket (after a Scorpion goddess myth from ancient Egypt), crouched upon the platform, looking like an oversized armored tank.

      Mal said very little. Once in a while, his mouth would wriggle this way or that, or he would rub his chin, but that was all the reaction Xara would get out of him. Xara tried not to let it erode her confidence in her work too badly.

      Mal was notorious for his taciturn assessments. A high-ranking military officer, he was not subjected to the same protocols as the Bioengineering Team. He seldom attended public functions, and he seemed to have no interests outside of the military. He was a big man who seemed naturally sewn into his dark uniform. His dark, mechanical eyes were calculating, yet strangely empty, and regardless of the situation, he never raised his voice above a loud whisper. Yet, despite his seeming everyday calm, she had seen his subordinates tremble before him. As head of military operations, and a veteran of multiple wars, he held some in awe and terrified the rest.

      Once upon a time, Xara had been one of those who lived in awe of the man. These days, however, she was more inclined to avoid him. He was her handler, her boss, the one person upon whom her entire future depended. If Mal didn’t like her design, if he didn’t approve it and refused her an opportunity to revise it, she might be retired and a new, younger bioengineer brought in to replace her.

      Finally, after about ten straight minutes of explaining, Xara simply stopped speaking and clutched her tablet to her lab coat as she waited to see what happened to her design and her career. Mal had said maybe three words since stepping into the lab. At this point, she wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.

      Mal turned and looked the creature over from top to bottom, taking his time. His eyes never missed a trick.

      When he turned his attention back on Xara, she felt her stomach bottom out. He looked strangely angry or that was all she was seeing in his face. It was hard to tell. It isn’t the design I requested, he said, which was true. She had taken certain liberties where his request was concerned. Then the unhappy line of his mouth evened out. But, as it turns out, this is the design that we need. Excellent job, Xara. We launch at sixteen-hundred.

      Xara let out her breath, almost dizzy with relief. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding it for so long. T-thank you, Mal, she wound up saying to his retreating back. He was already crossing the lab and heading for the door. Will I be seeing the next commission? she called, her heart thudding nervously against her strangely achy ribcage, but Mal never looked back. It would be nice to know because, without work, her rations would likely be drastically cut—but, at the same time, she didn’t want to push her luck.

      Mal was almost to the door when Odiah suddenly came to life. He’d been perched on what the two of them had dubbed the crow’s nest, a tall tower where Odiah, a talented bioengineer and AI expert, often did adjustments on the cybeasts, particularly when there were compatibility issues with the AI ghosts they installed. A tall, rangy boy with sharp features and large, expressive eyes, he stood up and cleared his throat for attention.

      He’d been up there to help keep the cybeast calm while Mal inspected it, but now he spoke. Xara asked you a question.

      That stopped Mal in his tracks and made him turn with soldiery precision. What did you say?

      Xara felt her heart thud once, hard, inside her, in response. Odiah stepped up on a small, floating platform he’d brought with him and rode it to the lab floor. His eyes, usually so kind and compassionate, were keen and narrow, and Xara suddenly had a sinking feeling about this.

      She started forward, but Odiah on his floater reached Mal and his men before Xara could take even one step forward. Xara asked you a question…sir, Odiah repeated, adding the address only at the last minute. Odiah had no love for Mal. When they were alone together, Odiah refused to use his name,

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