Corruption Read online

  CORRUPTION

  DEUS VULT, BOOK 1

  TONNIE JOHNSON

  Corruption: Deus Vult Book 1 Copyright © 2019 by Tonnie Johnson. All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For news and updates please sign up to my mailing list at:

  https://www.tonniejohnson.com/

  GALAXY MAP: LOCAL CLUSTER

  CONTENTS

  GALAXY MAP: LOCAL CLUSTER

  CHAPTER ONE: THEON

  CHAPTER TWO: THEON

  CHAPTER THREE: THE PROJECT

  CHAPTER FOUR: NANA

  CHAPTER FIVE: NANA

  CHAPTER SIX: THEON

  CHAPTER SEVEN: THEON

  CHAPTER EIGHT: THEON

  CHAPTER NINE: THEON

  CHAPTER TEN: THEON

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: THEON

  CHAPTER TWELVE: NANA

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THEON

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THEON

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THEON

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: NANA

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: NANA

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THEON

  CHAPTER NINETEEN: THEON

  CHAPTER TWENTY: THEON

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THEON

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: NANA

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: THEON

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: NANA

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THEON

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: THEON

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: NANA

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THEON

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: THEON

  CHAPTER THIRTY: THEON

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: THEON

  CHAPTER THRITY-TWO: THEON

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: THEON

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: THEON

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: THEON

  CHAPTER THIRY-SIX: NANA

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: NANA

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: NANA

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: NANA

  CHAPTER FORTY: THEON

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: THEON

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: NANA

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: NANA

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: THEON

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: THEON

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: THEON

  SPECIAL THANKS & OTHER INFO

  CHAPTER ONE: THEON

  June 9th, 2163 8:00 pm New York Standard Time

  Kratos Station: Aeon Corp Training Base (Between Earth and Luna)

  Nothing would have felt better to me than to feel his jaw give way and shatter to the power of my blows. Did I go easy out of pity or fear? And what did I fear? Was it the other man who stumbled across from me wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, his steely blue eyes full of malice that I had gotten one over on him? Or was it his father? That larger-than-life figure of dread who loomed over us all like an omnipotent shadow.

  I wanted to hit him harder and harder until my fists entered his body like a bullet, tear his eyes out, and watch him scream. I wanted to take his severed head and walk right into that piece of shit’s office and toss it on his desk just to see if he had enough human emotion to cry about it.

  A woman’s faint moaning call took me by surprise and for some unexplained reason, the warmth drained from me leaving only the sharp spasms of a wintery chill.

  My breath left me forcing me to stumble away from my opponent. I needed to gain some control over myself or everything I worked hard for would die. Should I just run away? To hell with them if they laugh at my back. I was here for a purpose and that purpose would die if they kicked from this new military program before I even finished basic.

  My muscles tensed but contracted when the air traveled through the split skin. The warm liquid flowed from the wound causing me to wipe at it with my hand. I recalled everything leading to the fight. Zaidan, the shining prince of Kratos with the blonde brush cut and jaw carved from stone had done what he always did, which was single me out for tormenting until the two of us were exchanging blows in some dark corner of this station. How did this tiresome routine begin?

  On the first day of orientation when Zaidan had incorrectly stated something, what was it again? Goddammit I couldn’t even recall what it was he had said or the question, but I had corrected him. Ugh, I wish I had just kept my mouth shut. That single moment defined my entire Bootcamp experience. If I had known Zaidan was such an ass about being corrected I never would have said anything at all.

  But anyway, this incident began when I walked into the local convenience store to grab a few of those prepackaged sushi containers to bring home for a quick late-night snack before lockdown. Lo-and-behold, Zaidan and his two flunkies Jonas and Rickson had the same idea.

  It didn’t take long before Zaidan was talking shit with the two lackeys behind him giggling like two school girls. I was too tired to give a damn; I was just going to pay for my meal and leave when Zaidan had said something disparaging about my mother being a slumming whore and that’s when my fists found his face.

  We tumbled from the doors of the shop and onto the makeshift street and Zaidan gave as good as he was getting. But a knife in his hands was something I would have remembered.

  No, it wasn’t Zaidan with the knife but one of his friends, Rickson, that hotheaded piece of shit who followed Zaidan about like a sycophant. He always seemed to take being called a flunky the hardest, because it was the truth. But to bring a knife to what was a one vs one fight was just uncalled for.

  “Get out of my way!” Zaidan pushed Rickson back causing the bloody knife to clank on the pavement. “Did I give you permission to interfere?” He pressed his finger to the other’s chest.

  “But--!”

  “I can take care of him myself.” Zaidan stepped back and turned to finish what I started.

  “Come on your royal highness, show me what you’re made of.” I taunted ready for the fight to continue.

  Zaidan charged once more, and we traded more blows until the flashing lights from the flying police drones threw us off.

  “Come on, Zaidan! Let’s go!” Jonas pulled at the blond urging him to run.

  We scattered like mice when the kitchen light flicked on but there was no way in hell, I would escape with them. I broke away from the group, running up the wall of a nearby building, and leaping over the fence rolling on the ground. Nothing would happen to that rich bastard if he got caught but I couldn’t afford to have a blemish on my record. The least amount of attention focused on me the better.

  I ran into one of the empty soon to be street stalls and dove for the floor to avoid the aerial drone which flew passed.

  This place was Kratos station, the first space so-called commercial space station created to hold thousands of residents split off into six districts all coming together to serve a purpose. You had the business district, civilian residential which was essentially the suburbs, the downtown market, the entertainment hub which was just the red-light district, science and research district, and the newest addition, the military district. Home of Aeon Corp’s paramilitary division. In fact, it was seven districts if you counted the hidden pirate’s cove, Krato Station’s best-kept secret was that they were harboring pirates, allowing them to trade their stolen cargo at several of the “unused” docks.

  Aeon Corp’s hidden motto was that they weren’t an army while also being an army.

&nbs
p; Even though the station could house over two hundred thousand residents, it only just contained five thousand. There were some shops opened for business, some citizens who walked their dogs through the residential blocks.

  Overall, the thought of living in space was still very much a novelty, and with mankind still in recovery from world war three on Earth along with the interplanetary war picking up pace up here, few people could afford to make the move. If you couldn’t find a way up here either through nepotism, work, a business loan or the military then you weren’t getting up here. However, there were also other more underhanded ways such as joining one of the pirate crews or bounty hunters which advertised openly on Earth and the extranet.

  CHAPTER TWO: THEON

  Islipped my ID card into the machine and waited for the door to buzz me in.

  “Welcome home, Theon Shadd.” The computerized voice spoke over the intercom of my small apartment.

  They gave these near thimble-sized living spaces to all trainees undergoing Bootcamp. A place about the size of a small walk-in closet. Only a narrow door separated the toilet from the bedroom and they tucked away the shower in the corner. One apartment for one recruit, the perks of being first to try something out, that’s what the director had told us. One day the military would convert these beds to bunks. Imagine sharing this small space with another man, farting and hearing each other take a shit. It was enough to make me shudder.

  “Chief Anderson?!” To my surprise, the older dark-skinned man had somehow entered my room and seemed to have been there for some time judging by the glass of water I didn’t put on the table. His name was Anderson or Chief Anderson as he made sure none of us recruits forgot to call him. The clash between my private life and my life as a recruit was discombobulating, I wasn’t used to seeing any of the instructors outside of the base and did he own any other clothes besides his uniform?

  “Don’t give me that crap about how you would have kicked my ass just now.” Anderson looked me over and I already knew he was going to address the state of my disheveled appearance. “Zaidan again?” He gestured at the blood on my shoulder and the bruises forming at my jaw.

  “Such insight.” I ran my fingers through my black hair. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful toward him, being here was making it hard to tell friend from foe. Actually, I wanted no friends and no connections here but Anderson never gave up on me and I knew that allowing him in, just a little, would screw me up in some way in the end.

  One stern fatherly look from him was enough to let me know I had fucked up. I straightened myself into a rigged stick and stared straight in front of me right out the small slit window into the artificial night sky. “Yes, sir!”

  “At ease, recruit.”

  “Yes, sir.” I opened my fridge and pulled out an ice pack I kept on reserve. “So, may I ask why you’re here?”

  “I came to deliver good news but now I see you might need a good swift kick in the ass instead.”

  “He started it first.”

  “And you’re determined to finish it.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You grew up in the slums of New Cali, I heard that place is a garbage dump.”

  “It certainly smelled like one.” I reached for the first aid kit on the top shelf and began applying an alcohol pad to the wound before sealing it with a second skin bandage which forced the wound close like stitches. Nice and clean.

  “I bet you never thought in a million years you would see space. Now look at you, up here, you can see the moon a few clicks away in certain sections of the station and be mesmerized by the glow of our planet in another. Forty years ago, only trained astronauts were allowed onboard this station and the occasional wealthy tourist. Now anyone with enough balls and a desire to build something greater than themselves are welcomed and you will ruin that because you can’t let go of your thuggish ways.”

  “I can’t believe you’re lecturing me about thuggish behavior. You already know Zaidan started it, go lecture him.”

  “Zaidan is the son of one of the largest corporations in the Fractured States. This station, everything we have is his, and he’s the reason the Fractured States are even in this fight. One day all of it will belong to the man you were punching in the face.”

  “So, I should just allow some asshole to say whatever he wants because of his daddy?

  “Hell, yes you should. One day, you may have to take orders from him.” He folded his arms giving me the full disappointed dad lecture. “You are one of my top students and I believe you can go far, take advantage while everything is new. The places you will go to will be extraordinary. But if we kick you all because you ticked off some rich kid then where will you be? In that garbage bin called New Cali, looking up at the star that is this station.”

  I wanted to argue; it was in my nature to fight back but what could I say? I hated the imbalance of power, but what could I do about it? It isn’t like I would have been the first to have issues with authority. “I hear you.”

  “Do you?”

  “Loud and clear, Chief Anderson.”

  “Good.” He replied not very convinced. “Now for my good news.”

  I opened the small fridge and took out a glass bottle of water, nothing plastic was allowed on board the station. “Want something to drink?”

  “No, I won’t be staying long.” Anderson uncrossed his arms and headed toward the door. “After Battle Stations, you’ll be assigned your final combat class, unit, and ship. I’ve already put in a good word for you to join the HMS Celestas under my command.”

  “HMS? Who’s the royalty…. Wait…what? Your command? I thought you would just be an instructor.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I had a good time with you kids but I didn’t come all the way up here to teach. I want to command my own vessel; Go out there and bring back that crystal and then use it to colonize a distant planet. Maybe even find some aliens.” He stretched his arms wide then dropped them with a grin on his rough dark features. “But we won’t be the only ones out there, we’ll have opposition.” His voice turned grim. “Which is why I’ve been given permission to start my own commander’s program. A sort of fast track promotion for the best and brightest among us.”

  “The war,” I grumbled. “I thought it wasn’t that bad, but if you guys are promoting people straight out of boot camp then…”

  “When we first came up here, we had close to fifteen thousand soldiers, trained on Earth and ready to fight. We lost a third of that already plus two commanders and about three captains. One was an old friend I had convinced to join me up here rather than reenlist in the Fractured State’s forces.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Anderson nodded. “I want the best, with you in my little makeshift command program I will promote you to commander after we monitor your performance in the field.”

  “So, straight from battle stations into a real battle. Can’t wait.”

  “Get some sleep, be up at 0500 and ready to go. None of the other recruits know about your promotion or even how bad the war has gotten now; it’s taking place so far away from us we figured we’d let them enjoy being among the stars for a little while so keep it hush-hush.”

  “Yes, Chief Anderson.”

  I plopped on the bed and heaved a sigh after the man left my space.

  The small silver oval locket was just where I had left it, inside of the alarm I had taken apart. This was my first liability but I couldn’t bring myself to part with it. It helped guide and fuel my every action and now I needed it as a reminder to stay the course. Inside, my parents stared back at me.

  “I’m sorry for fighting. I won’t ever jeopardize my place here for a bunch of trivial bullshit again.” I felt homesick for the slow waterfalls and beautiful blue seas, I tried to remember the sunlight on my mother’s black hair and the way my father smiled right before joining us. My memories were so vague it was ticking me off. Not even the last words by brother spoke to me came to mind. Time was running out on me. The eagernes
s to get started made me jittery and restless.

  And my rumbling stomach didn’t help matters at all. My little run-in with Zaidan and pals prevented me from buying dinner and there was nothing left to do but take a shower and sleep through the hunger.

  The water was hot just as I liked it. It was a small luxury, and I was gonna milk it for as long as I could. Didn’t seem like it would last very long when the heat of the water dissipated and fast turned icy cold.

  A deep feminine moan startled me and I flung the steam coated door opened, the cool air inside the room hitting my wet flesh. No no no, not here, not now…. I stood still as prey when sensing a predator, the shower beat against the surface of the tiled floor. If I listened hard enough…I could hear…her.

  A sigh, slow and languid breathing, the sounds of a voice distant and muffled in the dark calling to me.

  I closed my eyes to get my bearings and something flashed in my mind, a massive worm, leaving thick trails of white slime as it slithered across the black floor and I almost broke my ankle getting to the bed. My body threatening to fall into one of its unruly fits. I opened the alarm to grab my second liability, my small bottle of medicine and the injection tool.

  That rollercoaster dropping feeling taking hold, the hairs on the back of my neck stood like a soldier at attention. An invisible hand gripped my heart and squeezed.

  “No, not again!” I breathed into the palm of my hands. No one was in my room but me. I had forgotten her, pushed her into the smallest corner of my thoughts, why was she resurfacing again? I swallowed hard and placed my hand on the glass and watched the water cascade down and inside was a man, not my reflection but long hair as black as the void itself and eyes the color of the glowing moon. A tear escaped beyond my control.

  CHAPTER THREE: THE PROJECT

  June 7th, 2163 9:00 am New York Standard Time

  Martian Orbital Station: Xing Axia Corporation