Third Player Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Ripping Logo

  INTRODUCTION

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFETEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  EPILOGUE

  Copyright © 2018 Warren James Palmer

  Jacket Cover Design: Copyright Warren James Palmer

  Introduction illustrations: Copyright Neil Stuart Lawson

  All other illustrations: Copyright Brian Hughes

  Published by Ripping Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1 899884 00 9

  First Edition Printed 1995

  INTRODUCTION

  Introduction 2018

  I was a bit cynical about publishing the ‘Dyason’ series again. After all, it’s been twenty three years since the original books were first published. How would it fair in a very different world? Well, I decided to carefully read and edit the original manuscripts and over this period I came to a conclusion - the younger me did good…

  I see why the ‘Dyason’ series became a bit of a cult classic. Surprisingly perhaps, the ‘good vs evil’ story, comes across as a bit of ‘light relief’ in our modern, complex and confusing world.

  After a prolonged break (to raise a family), I’m delighted to be back in the ‘Ripping’ saddle! As my younger self once said, ‘Put your feet up, grab a beer and enjoy a ‘Ripping' story!’

  Warren James Palmer

  2018

  Note to younger self : Three kids sonny - not 2.2…. But you’re still flying - so not all bad… Lost your hair though…

  Introduction 1995

  As a kid I was fed a diet of pulp fiction, war comics, Star Trek and Biggles. They obviously had quite an effect on me because here I am in my thirtieth year and I'm still a pulp fiction addict. I also find it hard to come to terms with the idea that I should have a steady job, mortgage, 2.2 kids, wife and semi-detached. Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against any of these things. It's just that I'd rather be flying! I guess I'm a bit sad like that.

  Anyway, this book is nothing but pure adventure, a ‘Ripping Yarn'. All the technical stuff is loosely based on current scientific thinking, but then current scientific thinking seems to be based on the philosophy of ‘Yeah, well it could happen!’ So that doesn't mean much — I mean what with quantum physics and all … Sorry I'm rambling again.

  I hope you'll enjoy this book and will go on to read others in the series. I've got lots more adventures for Moss, Jenson, Myrddin and the gang, to come yet! I also hope you'll support what ‘Ripping' stands for — books for anyone who believes life's too short not to fill it to the brim with adventure!

  So put your feet up, grab a beer and enjoy a ‘Ripping' story!

  Cheers

  Warren James Palmer

  1995

  PROLOGUE

  EXTRACTS FROM THE INTERACTIVE ENCYCLOPEDIA OMEGA 2153. Version 5.02 UNITED NATIONS/WORLD DEFENCE FORCE

  By the year 2040 the United Nations World Defence Force was the single largest armed force on the planet Earth. The spread of multinational corporations and the removal of all trading barriers across the planet, had led to a period of economic and political stability. The wars of the 20th century, which were largely a result of disputes over political boundaries and the distribution of raw materials, were a thing of the past. This worldwide political stability was reinforced by the WDF network of orbital laser defence platforms. These defence platforms were able to track and destroy tanks, aircraft and missiles anywhere on the planet, regardless of weather. It was this orbital defence network that finally put an end to territorial disputes. Unfortunately, the laser platforms were no defence to the Dyason invasion of March 15th 2045.

  IMPERIAL DYASON INVASION OF EARTH

  In a blitzkrieg attack the 'Dome' ships of the Imperial navy destroyed all the WDF space platforms in the first few minutes of the war, along with all military communication and navigation satellites. Within a few short weeks the United Nations were forced to capitulate. Given complete control of the 'high ground’ that was space, the Dyason dropped asteroids on the cities of Earth, pulverizing them and killing millions. The United Nations leader lean Paul Ricard officially surrendered and ordered the disbandment of the WDF on April 3rd 2045.

  However, as the Dyason occupation forces set about enslaving humanity, not all the members of the WDF were happy to handover their weapons, and spend the rest of their lives in prison camps. Resistance units were formed across the planet and began hit and run operations against the Dyason occupation forces. One of these units was run by ex- WDF pilot Paul Jenson. Together with his sidekick Han Sandpiper, Squadron Leader Jenson set about unifying the various factions of the resistance under one command. However, it wasn’t until nearly two years after the invasion that the resistance became an effective fighting force.

  IMPERIAL DOME CRUISERS

  Built from very heavy armoured plating, the vessels used in the invasion of Earth by the Imperial Navy, did not possess hyperspace-drive. They relied on the worm-hole in the space-time continuum, for passage from Dyason to Earth. The worm-hole that connected the two star-systems allowed passage between the Dyason home-world and Earth, in a reasonable period of time. When the worm-hole became unstable in 2047 the Imperial Navy attempted to use human telepaths to artificially open up new worm-holes. The results of these experiments were catastrophic. The Dome vessels were crude, but efficient in construction. Their method of propulsion was unique, if hazardous. Small pellets of radioactive material were released in thermonuclear explosions beneath the massive base plates of the cruisers, which resulted in gargantuan thrust.The Imperial fleet was largely destroyed in the final conflict with Excalibur, in the battle for liberation.

  GULAG

  The cloned son of the Emperor Nimue, Gulag was a mentally unstable psychopath. He was responsible for building the fortified wall around the city of London, and for the genocide within that city’s ghetto’s. Gulag was the only known example of a Dyason telepath, at that time. He was killed in a mental battle with Moss Pendragon, on board Excalibur, during the battle of liberation.

  MOSS PENDRAGON

  Born Moss Paterson in London in 2029, his family were killed during the occupation by Security Leader Gulag. Moss survived in the ghetto's of London by using his emerging paranormal talents, to steal food and supplies from the Dyason occupied West End of London. He became a member of the resistance, and was instrumental in resurrecting Excalibur from caverns buried deep below the ancient monument of Stonehenge. His actions during the occupation, and the battle of liberation made him a worldwide hero.

  EXCALIBUR

  Discovered in caverns below Stonehenge, the starship Excalibur was built by an unknown ancient race, several millennia before humans walked across the surface of the Earth. Excalibur was restored to space-worthiness by Moss, Sqn Ldr Jenson, Flt Lt Sandpiper, Myrddin and the Brabazon twins. The ship was then launched against the Imperial fleet during the battle for liberation. The data-banks on board Excalibur later allowed the WDF to develop hyperspace drive, and immediately advanced human technology by several hundred years.

  MYRDDIN

  Born several centuries bef
ore Christ, Myrddin has been known by many names during his lifetime. Merlin is the most common of these names. His little understood Paranormal powers stop him from ageing, and he has been instrumental in the development of many human civilisations. Moss Pendragon is believed to have been a direct-line descendant of Myrddin, although there is no proof of this. He was responsible for leading the young Moss to the caverns below Stonehenge.

  NIMUE

  The twin sister of Myrddin. Nimue was forced into another space-time continuum by Myrddin, after the battle that killed King Arthur in ancient England. She later emerged

  on the planet Dyason, and set about creating an empire under the puppet king Alorne. Nimue kept her identity secret from the people of Dyason. The Imperial invasion of Earth was her revenge for being expelled from her home-world by Myrddin. Given the title Envoy, Nimue created Gulag from an experimental cloning technique.

  LUKE AND JOSH BRABAZON

  Telepathic twins and scientists. Luke Brabazon was forced to work on the Dyason experiments into artificially creating worm-holes by telepathic means. Josh Brabazon

  was instrumental in making Excalibur space-worthy. Luke Brabazon was killed by Gulag during the battle of liberation.

  JENNIFER HAMlLTON-SMlTH

  Later to become the consort of Moss Pendragon, Jennifer was rescued by him from a slave-labour factory, building prototype Imperial space cruisers. A competent telepath, she fought with the resistance in the battle of liberation, and later joined the World Defence Force.

  INSPECTOR HILLMEAD

  A detective with the Caranak police force, Hillmead was recruited by Nimue to investigate subversion within the Imperial Forces. His subsequent investigations revealed an underground movement fighting to overthrow the emperor and bring about environmental changes.

  His discovery of documents which proved the Dyason atmosphere was failing after years of heavy pollution, helped bring the military junta down.

  Hillmead was part of the group which abducted the emperor and took him to the central Caranak television studio. After a battle between the citizens of Caranak and troops loyal to the envoy Nimue, Hillmead was elected leader of the Democratic Front.

  LIEUTENANT SHALOK

  The young lieutenant was assigned to observe Hillmead and his investigations, by Nimue. The attractive young woman was persuaded by the evidence the police inspector found, to transfer he loyalties to the embryonic Democratic Front.

  She later became Hillmead's lover and deputy leader of the democracy movement.

  COLMARRIE

  Leader of the mutant rebels, fighting from the Southern wastelands of Dyason. Tall and powerful, the amazonian woman was unusual for a native Dyason, in so far as, she was a competent operant.

  These skills and others, were attributed to her mutations, caused by the radioactive isotopes which polluted the deserts of Dyason.

  Colmarrie was lost on board Dominator, along with Gulag, Brabazon and the rest of the ship's crew.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The skies broiled in anger, lightning flashed across the vale. Gone forever were the pink skies and white cumulus clouds that had, until so recently, been the norm above the once gentle community. The twin suns of Heligsion had been blanked out by the mass of smoke and debris that rose from the vast fields of burning crops. The landscape, now lit only by the reflection of the flames, was a scene of destruction worse than any vision of hell.

  Fillip stood up to his ankles in the mud that lay in the bottom of the trench, so scared that the single bolt-action rifle he held in a death grip, shook violently. He peered intently over the lip of the trench, past the barbed wire and huge shell-holes filled with stagnant water, and the remains of mutilated bodies. His attention focused on the distant enemy trenches, just visible as a dark smudge on the horizon. That was where the evil horde would emerge to begin their assault on this, the last line of defence. He was painfully aware that the men and women who crouched like him, behind the network of trenches were all that stood between the people of Heligsion and their complete extinction.

  ‘Hold firm boy,’ he felt the gentle but commanding thought of the ‘old sweat’ standing to his left. The scarred and battered looking corporal was a veteran from the first battles against the devil creatures, over five seasons ago. It never ceased to amaze Fillip that the ex-farmer, from the southern communities, had survived until now. ‘They’ll be up and at us any moment now son. Then you won’t have time to feel scared. Just remember what’s at stake here—we have to protect that abbey on top of the hill. No matter what happens to us!’

  Fillip turned to look at the veteran who spoke to him like his father. A the star shell rose into the tumultuous sky, he swore he saw, by the harsh light of the magnesium flare, a single tear cut a path across his scarred cheek. Fillip thought about the abbey standing on top of the hill like an oasis of good, surrounded by evil. It stood resolute, a symbol of defiance against the hordes that strove to tear down, one by one, the huge stones of the building that had stood there protecting the monoliths of God since the dawn of civilisation. His resolve hardened and his arms stopped shaking. The corporal knew that they were all going to die in the final onslaught, but his tears were not for himself, but for the loss of everything he had fought so hard for. However, Fillip knew there was one last hope for the people of Heligsion, and it was this last, only hope for the future, that he would willingly die for.

  From the distant trenches came the most appalling sound—a deep beating, clacking, like iron bars smashing against brittle bone. Then in the light of magnesium flares, Fillip saw the hordes rise from their trenches and march across no-man’s land toward him. The devil-creatures were low and squat, standing no more than half a man’s height off the ground. The armoured shell that protected the main body sprouted six multi-jointed legs, that moved in a bizarre combination, to propel the devil-creatures. The large oval-shaped heads swiveled from side to side, as the creatures looked for prey with their twin multi-lensed eyes, their mandibles dripping and gnashing in anticipation of a meal of fresh meat. The dreadful sound came from the clashing of the huge pair of claws each devil-creature held aloft. A few of the devils clumsily carried rifles taken from their prey, in awkward ancillary claws, but the majority carried no weapons at all. Except, that is, for the horrific stinging tail which they carried high over their bodies, ready to strike.

  ‘This is it my children!’ the strong voice of the high priestess Dauphne entered his mind, broadcasting to Fillip and all the remaining defenders. ‘The devil’s-horde assault us for the final time! We face insurmountable odds, but the salvation of our race is nearly at hand. Your job, my children, is to keep the horde at bay until our salvation is complete. Don’t let the death of all our people go in vain!’

  Machine-gun fire rattled out from all around Fillip and the front row of the devil-creatures staggered and fell, only to be trampled upon, and replaced by the mass behind them. A barrage of shells exploded among the advancing creatures, obliterating them in their hundreds, maybe thousands, but still they continued their inevitable advance, mindless of their own huge casualties. Fillip took aim and squeezed the trigger of his rifle. He hit one of the devils in the eye, and it let out a horrific scream, waving its claws violently in the air. Another creature came up from behind, grabbed the wounded demon and swept it to one side.

  There was a screaming whistle, and from the nozzles of huge flame-throwers leapt jets of fire toward the advancing horde. The front line of devil-creatures was instantly cremated, their armoured shells cracking and exploding in the heat. But two could play at that game… From somewhere at the rear of the advancing horde, a barrage of magnesium shells was fired at the defenders. Fillip instinctively ducked, but the shells missed his section of trenches. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the intensely bright incendiaries devour the men and women on his right. He shut his mind to the horrifying mental screams and cries for help; there was nothing he could do for them.

  Yet another mass of devil-cre
atures advanced over the cremated bodies of those that fell before them, oblivious to their fate. These creatures were like automaton, they had no concept of pain or death. Their existence had but one purpose—to devour the people of Heligsion. Fillip desperately pulled on the bolt of his crudely made rifle and fired round after round at the advancing horde, but it wasn’t enough. As soon as they killed some of the creatures, they were replaced by a dozen more.

  ‘Stand fast my children!’ the high priestess called out desperately to the minds of her defenders. ‘Our salvation is nearly at hand. We must hold off the evil horde for just a while longer. Stand fast!’

  It was all right for her to say that, she wasn’t down here in the midst of the slaughter, Fillip thought to himself, and immediately felt guilty for feeling such unworthy thoughts. But he didn’t get the chance to consider anything else, the devil-creatures were upon them.

  With a deafening roar, the creatures reached the lip of the defenders’ trenches and reached down with their claws to swipe at the last few people of Heligsion. Fillip ducked and ran for the rear trench, urged on by the veteran corporal. They just made it, but there were many behind them who weren’t so lucky. Once more, Fillip had to shut his mind to the mental screams of those being ripped apart by merciless mandibles.

  An officer reached for the emergency stop-cock and pulled the cord which sent thousands of gallons of oil into the now over-run forward trenches. With a whoosh, the oil was ignited, incinerating both devil-creatures and unfortunate surviving Heligsion alike. The air was filled with the stench of burning flesh, and billowing black smoke. Tears filled Fillip’s eyes, which he angrily wiped away as he raised his rifle over the parapet, peering into the flames and smoke, looking for the inevitable next wave of devils.