THE RISE OF THE STORM WARRIOR

Rise of the Storm Warrior

The Storm Planet Series

by

M. Garnet

Chapter One

Standing at the side of the cave's opening, one step forward and dropping into the water meant death. Tainer had strong thoughts as he looked down into the deep disturbed water to see the submerged ship's underwater lights. His ride was approaching, but there was still time to think about his life and this cave.

Any cave had strong meanings to Tainer. On most worlds in the civilized universe, if you were born in a cave, life would be hard—and it would be a desperate struggle to survive. In this world, often called the Storm Planet, but really Gigas Vnee, to be born in a cave was a blessing.

This world was unusually rich, and with controlled population growth, every child had enough food, schooling from age ten to eighteen, and free health care. If they needed housing in the rare cases due to missing parents, there were very comfortable homes of no more than four children in a state-controlled setting.

The cost for all adults, were six years after reaching age twenty, that they had to join or enlist in something that contributed back to the world and its people. The list was endless and consisted of just going on to further studies that would be instrumental in the upkeep or development of their world.

The young adult could study engineering, go on to be medics, continue with robotics, enlist in the military, help with education or child care, study any of the sciences, or even delve into the politics of this world.

During those six years of contribution work, a person could change their minds and slip over into one of the other divisions. At the end of their term, they can quit and live on the generous but limited dole. Or they can continue in whatever field they have found themselves drawn to, and all their advanced schooling or training is covered. Life in the Storm Planet caves was not like that on most planets where you could construct buildings and plant fields and have poor and rich.

The cliffs' sharp walls that surrounded the cave went straight up between twelve to fourteen hundred feet or over four hundred meters. The sheer walls were taller than that of a lot of the high structures built on other worlds. Most sections of the hard surfaces that were seen spearing up through the deep oceans were scoured by winds and rain and oceans that had dissolved all the softer material eons ago. As the softer material has been blasted away, incredible caves have developed, and when the first creatures crawled out of the sea, it was on the edge of a cave.

Part of what made this planet different was the fact that there were these tall points of leftover heavy stone edifices protruding from the oceans. Several things had made this planet unusual, like the mostly igneous rock that was prevalent.

There are large connected oceans that are moved by the three moons, two that are just specks in the sky and one that is so close that it sometimes makes a person feel like they could just reach up and touch it. This system's balance works to create an atmosphere that allows life but constant unusual storms across the surface.

Now Tainer turned and looked at the city built into the opening of this one cave if you could still call this development a cave. This settlement was Metra and had a population of three hundred and ninety thousand.

If it had looked like a cave at one time, now what was seen were balconies, windows from apartments with stairs and elevators, all modern structures. The size was amazing, with a landing field for small ships and flyers and many moving vehicles on many levels.

Yet if one went high enough or deep enough behind the metal frames, there was still the mother world, the base of each cave. The real reason for life on this planet, the strange type of mining that brought wealth and protection. It was pulling the threads of targent.

Small long glowing roots that had the ability to give a spaceship the capability to jump through space from one place to another, doing away with hunting for Faster Than Light travel. The only place in the active universe that produced this power came from the caves deep in Gigas Vnee.

To date, on every planet with science, the root or its ability has not been able to be duplicated. It is a freak of nature, the same as its protector, the living essence that survived. The one twin of the Dessnue, who had passed beyond human understanding, but existed to shield this one small world from greedy aggressors.

A man who had started out as the present Queen's husband and a twin brother who shared the gentle rule of the Storm planet until wars had forced experiments and changes.

Shaking his head, Tainer turned to the side to find the elevator that would take him down to a lower level. Once the sub got through a water screen, it would be in a room where the water was discharged. But he was going to the landing field for a shuttle.

That brought his mind to the other part of the items in his memory, not the cave but his life in caves. His mother was beautiful and passed her looks onto him that meant, as a child, he was spoiled wherever he went. He was taller than most, with curly thick black hair and deep blue eyes surrounded by thick lashes. His unknown father gave him his height and some impressive talents that he was still testing and understanding.

Mom would not share any information about the man who had put the seed in her. What the big secret was all about made Tainer sure that it was something to be ashamed about; so finally, he just quit asking and moved on to his own life.

Being pampered by his mother and spoiled by all the rest, Tainer became a lazy boy. Why work for what was easy to obtain. His teachers knew he was capable of top scores, but he only worked hard enough to get an average. He was pretty, not handsome even as he grew older, just too pretty. The girls flocked to him, and even the boys and then the men chose to be his friends. But he found most of them were false friends.

The girls began to cling to him, not because they wanted him, but because they wanted to be with all his friends. Then one time, he tied a girl up, not to be into strange things, but to be able to have control and leave her when he was done. He sent a friend to release her later after he went onto his next school assignment. Her humiliation prevented her from contacting him again.

That trick worked for a while until he ran into a female who enjoyed the idea. She called it kinky and came back for more. He refused and moved on to others and his mediocre grades in the last of his school. Then it was time for his tithe.

By this time, he was used to getting by on his looks and what was free on the Storm Planet. He was not good at making decisions because he was looking for the easiest thing to do that would get him through his commitment.

He remembered sitting in the graduation office with thirty other young men; he tossed a small rock from hand to hand. He had wondered how they had divided up the thousands of people who had reached this point on the planet and put them into groups.

The rock began to get hot as Tainer tossed it, which reminded him to be careful to hide one of his strange tricks. His lazy grades were not good enough to get him into the higher schools, so he listened to what the military recruiter was describing.

As he listened, it seemed there were different divisions, and one was just guarding. Not guarding prisoners, but guarding the miners. That would get Tainer into different parts of the world and maybe even reach the top of the different plateaus.

Hiding the hot stone, he talked to the recruiter to make sure that he could get into the Guards Division, and he thought he had found the perfect spot for a lazy, pretty young man. Life was full of surprises.

For some reason Tainer smiled, as he saw himself in a uniform that would make him look good and standing around in a dark corner, waiting for a break. It should be six easy years and then out and on the dole. But people change, some for worse and some for the better.

After a couple of months of training and then being assigned with a small group up in the back of a new mining site in his own metro cave, he was on guard duty. That meant leaning against a stone wall deep in a crevice while a rough crew worked deeper in the cut to pull out the glowing roots.

Being observant, he had learned that the miners were able to pull out several useful ores around the areas where the threads developed. The threads were rare, but the other minerals were plentiful, and nothing was wasted on this world.

The small explosion didn't surprise the guards, as one happened every so often while the miners bore into the crevice. But the screams and yells for help were unusual, and the guys standing by Tainer turned and ran toward the dust and cries.

There was no doubt that he was the last to follow the rest into the smoke and debris. Rocks were still tumbling down, and since he was so tall, he could see over the other guards. To give him credit, he didn't hesitate, even with more rocks tumbling down into the crevice.

Reflex took over and he could see that, where his fellow guards were helping to pull some workers out, the real problem was the rocks that were continuing to fall. Stepping over injured crew and helpers, he threw up his hands, and he allowed the heat that he always controlled to release.

Chapter Two

Waiting as the elevator took him down several levels to the area where the shuttles docked, his mind was still on that day that changed his life.

Tainer had played with his ability to control the heat that he could create. He knew that others either didn't have the talent, or they also kept it hidden. Children learned that it was important not to be different, and his pretty-boy appearance made him stand out enough. He was not going to let his mother or others know about the heat in his control.

Still, as he got older, he played with it more and more. He was always in secret places or behind the buildings, next to the rock walls where no one would see him. He was six years old when he found out that they lived in a cave. Not a little hole in the ground, but a giant rift in a body of the hard rock of this world.

Going behind the apartment complexes to hide from a couple of kids, he found an alley he had never been in that led to an area with no buildings. Running a small hand on the cold surface, he could feel his fingers warm where he touched. He slowed down and watched as his fingers turned the spot where he held one finger to a different color and then get brighter and brighter.

The glow did not hurt him, but it lit up the dark narrow area he was in, and he could smell a strange odor. He pulled back his finger but continued to point it as heat poured from him to that spot. Finally, there were drops of hot lava coming down from the bright area, which scared him. He pulled his hand back, making a fist. He went upward, toward the forbidden top of the cliff.

His small legs finally got tired, and for the first time, he sat down and slid on his bottom most of the way back past the place where he had melted rock. Tainer was in his first year of school and ten years old when he got to the top and smelled air that was fresh and blowing hard.

By this time, he had many secrets, and he was good at keeping them all to himself. He liked school, as it got him away from the apartment where his mother napped, without having to tell her some excuse. Besides, with his pretty-boy looks, no one asked him about secrets; they just wanted to be his friend.

School was interesting, and he read and listened, but he didn't turn in all of his work because his mind was on something else. So he missed many classes, as he made his way up behind the metal and man-made structures to the low, broad trees and shrubs that had found a way to survive the great storms.

Once he found the way to the surface, the only thing of interest in school was lessons that covered space and what was beyond the caves. When he saw the moon rise so close, he was no longer impressed with the tall apartment levels stacked on top of each other and the vehicles passing over the bridges. He was eleven.

Witnessing the first real death storm from a corner of a baffle that was set on top of a cliff, he was bored with the history lessons and wanted to know the world outside. He was thirteen. Oh, he absorbed everything that school offered. He just felt it a waste of time to fill in all those answers on the test or turn in all the work you were expected to do at home.

Frustrating his teachers was a great game. Learning about his planet was life. Keeping all of it a secret was his goal. Then in the last couple of years of school, there were the stories of the wars and the greedy outsiders who wanted and needed the one thing that brought in so much wealth to this planet.

In his young teen mind, things began to make sense. His world was different, and he was different. Which took him to his careless act as a new soldier to help someone. It was an act that changed his life, an act that put him on a new path that he had never imagined.

It took hours for rescue teams to reach and pull out all of the workers. The guards were also ordered to the medical sector on the bottom floor for a checkup. They all sat around drinking a special liquid and congratulating each other.

At the end of a long day, they were sent back to their bunks to get clean and a good night's sleep. The next morning Tainer had finished his shower and was dressed and putting on his boots when the sergeant came into the room.

"Tainer." The bark from the older man was loud as everyone looked up. With a frown, Tainer pushed the last closer on his boot and stood.

"Here."

"Report to Shuttle Seven out on the landing bay." The sergeant turned and left through the door that was always open.

"What's that about?" One of the other men looked over and asked, as all eyes were on Tainer.

Shrugging, Tainer took off after the sergeant. "Hey, Sarge. Wait. What is this all about?" His long legs let him catch up with the man giving out orders.

The man didn't stop as he looked at information on a floating pad. "Don't know and don't care. I just follow orders, and so will you. Now get your ass over to the landing field." It was obvious the conversation was done.

Standing in the hall as others moved around him, Tainer had no option but to turn and find an elevator to go all the way down to the first main level.

Off to one side, with barriers preventing standard vehicles or walking personnel, was the landing field. Here sat several ships of different sizes. Some were for just travel over the planet, and there was a couple meant for space travel. Tainer went over to the closest entry cubicle.

The two guards inside were like him, so they were serving out their duty.

"I'm to report to Shuttle Seven." Tainer held out his usual military ID.

"The small one near the opening. Be careful getting over there." The man answering leaned out and pointed to the wide opening of the cave. Not that one would call this a beginning of a cave—it was just a section of the broken cliff that looked out onto the ocean.

Ducking under the wing of a large ship that had lots of workers crawling over and under it, Tainer jogged across the big flat area that had lines painted on the smooth flat landing area. This flat section was immense, and it took as long to get across to the Shuttle as one of the marches his sergeant loved to run them on early before breakfast.

When he reached the proper ship, he stopped and slowly approached, as the guards here were not what he was used to seeing from his group. First, they were not dressed in the dirty green color of the uniforms that regular soldiers wore. These colors were a dark grey with a touch of gold trim on the sleeves and bands down the outside of the legs.

Also, they held long weapons and immediately pointed them at him as he held up his hands.

"I am to report to this shuttle. Private Tainer, and here is my ID." He held up the small piece of chip.

While one guard held a weapon pointed at him, the other approached and checked his chip. Tainer had to wonder what the hell was going on with these two. Was there something worth a lot of funds on this shuttle that they were guarding?

Satisfied, the guards indicated he should enter, so he soon found a seat inside a standard ship. He didn't see anything unusual, and after waiting only a short time, the two guards who entered took seats, and it looked like it was only the three as guests.

From the fact that the guards sat as far away from him as possible and no words were spoken, Tainer didn't ask any questions. He figured he would get answers at the end of the ride.

Everyone knew what and where the Royal Home was located. It wasn't the most extensive cave, but it had the most expansive entrance at the bottom. This allowed the big spaceships to land or the great shuttles from freighters that came to trade. There were five landing fields with lights and towers to control the heavy traffic.

Not able to see any of this from the enclosed cabin, Tainer was gawking as he stepped from the shuttle. He knew immediately where he was, but not why. Another soldier in the grey uniform walked up.

"Private Tainer, please follow me. I have a ride for us over here."

It was a small floater that would go anywhere. Tainer got in beside the man and just looked around. There was so much to see, at first all the large ships and the landing area. Then he looked up at the apartments and offices built up against the inside. Here he also saw outsiders and many soldiers, both in the odd green of his uniform and the grey of his escort.

It took twenty minutes of elevators and hallways for the escort to finally announce that they had reached their destination.

"You are to enter that room. I would advise you to be on your best formalities." The man pointed without getting off the ride.

Standing up beside the cart, Tainer looked at the double door. "What is this all about?"

"I was just told to meet you at the shuttle and bring you here. Good luck." With that, the ride began to move, and Tainer stood in the hall, watching the little ride disappear around a corner.

Looking at the door, he noticed the tiny floating camera above. Someone was watching the hall and him, so he might as well go in to see what this trip was about.

Deciding to take the guide's first words as a good idea, he did a quick knock on the floor. A deep voice inside said one word. "Enter."

Chapter Three

Looking at the people in the room, Tainer knew he was in trouble, but he wasn't sure what kind and why. The room set up was very strange. First, there was a window wall on one side, and it was dark, meaning someone was behind it watching into the room, but he could not see who was behind that opaque glass.

A couple of guards in the grey and gold uniforms stood very quietly with long weapons across their chests. There was a long table with a couple of chairs, and sitting at one end was a man. He was in a uniform with enough medals and buttons that he had to be above any officer that Tainer had ever seen.

But the scary one was the tall male, all in black, leaning against one end of the window wall. He had a cape and hood that hid his face and body. There was no movement, even as he breathed… if he breathed.

"Sit down, Private Tainer. I am Commander Baloko of Her Imperial Army."

Tainer had learned early to avoid officers. He was still a lazy young man, and officers had a habit of giving jobs to who they passed in hallways. But to be in front of such an important man, Tainer knew something was wrong.

"Private, tell me about your parents?" The Commander looked over at one of the guards and nodded. The man went to a second door and opened it. In the grey and gold uniform, a young woman came in and laid a pad and several chips down in front of the Commander on the table.

"Sir?" Tainer said the word as a question.

"Your parents. What do you know about them?"

Sitting straight in front of this well-known man, Tainer was confused. "Sir, my mother is Magna DeArmond. Until I went to serve by tenure, I lived with her at Apt. 324, Sector 12, Level 245, Designated Warm 30 Plus."

Some time in the history of their civilization, the caves had been given names or designations. History never recorded precisely how the characters were elected or chosen, but after eons, the citizens now were stuck with each cave's strange titles. Warm 30 Plus was the one that Magna said she lived in when she gave birth to Tainer. His earliest memories were of the various apartments with his mother in that Designation.

"And your father?" The man asked the question without looking up as he brought up something on the pad that Tainer could not see.

"Unknown, sir."

In the corner, the dark figure pulled out a large knife and began to play with it, tossing it back and forth between his hands.

"We have your blood from school and military. We have run some tests. There are some interesting results. It seems to be off-world." The Commander did not look up as he spoke. "You also have some talents you have been keeping quiet about; why is that?"

Keeping his face without emotions and not moving in the seat, Tainer let only his eyes move. "I'm not sure what you mean, sir."

The Commander turned the pad around and slid it across the table to let Tainer see a shot of the rift with the rocks falling. Tainer stood with a small burst of fire coming from his hand to heat a rock over the heads of the trapped workers. He had to wonder what camera caught that shot.

"Private, do you know what Assassin means?"

Refusing to move or react, Tainer felt he had to answer. "I know the definition they gave us in school. Someone who kills a famous or important person, usually for political reasons or in exchange for money."

The Commander sighed. "You have a great mind that you hide from your teachers and now your officers. Along with that, you are hiding your talents."

Still hiding his feelings, with that straight face, Tainer felt he had to answer. "I don't know exactly what you mean, sir."

Suddenly there was a movement almost too fast to see, and the knife was coming past the Commander's shoulder and at Tainer. With a reflex, he just reached up and caught it before it hit him in the chest.

After he sat with the knife, the only people in the room who didn't move were Tainer and the dark figure that had thrown it. The Commander now ducked down, and the two guards raised their weapons, one stepping forward and one going down on a knee.

With a sigh, the Commander rose and held one hand to stop the guards from shooting. "So young Tainer, the owner of that knife has agreed to escort you to a place where your talents can be expanded. For one year, you will go under rigorous training.

After that, you will return here to help us protect our world. Perhaps we will find the true man who hides under the mask you put on for people."

"Sir," Tainer laid the knife down on the table. "Do I have a choice in this enterprise?"

"Yes, the two guards will take you out and throw you off the edge into the ocean. Now follow Bogdan and begin your new life."

The man in black rose and crossed the room, claiming the knife and making it disappear into his clothes as he headed to the door. The guards had taken their straight position, and one of them opened the latch. Looking around, Tainer decided to follow.

The choice was distasteful, a cold dip in the deadly ocean or behind the heels of a knife-throwing unknown male off to the unseen.

He found out that he was being sent off for punishment. The first part of the trip was pure excitement. They entered a small spaceship. Although off-world ships came and went from the Storm World, very few citizens of Gigas Vnee ever had the chance to travel into the deep dark among the stars.

The tall male in the dark clothes said nothing—no matter how insistent were the questions that Tainer rained down at his back. The man that the Commander had named as Bogdan stood in the small opening to the bridge, watching the pilot and the helper.

Tainer did see the moons as never before since the ship went out past them. Then the grabber engine used the power from the targent thread, and there was a jump. This is what the Storm Planet had given to the rest of the worlds. The power that could be harnessed to send ships and humans faster than light speed, from one point to another.

It was a very rare root that gave off a radiation that could be encapsulated and then attached to anything that needed force and control. It was so small, no longer than a grown man's arm and about the thickness of a finger. Yet something had happened in the development of the Storm Planet to force power into the thread.

On other worlds, the planets created oil or coal or uranium, all due to the earth's action and what had developed over eons. A strange root emerged on this one small, mistreated world with extra moons and hard rock islands and great oceans. So rare and so coveted that wars and kingdoms had fought and failed in trying to claim, to mine the treasure.