Her response was a single word: “How?”

  “He was murdered,” Julian’s son said.

  Lancelot’s four shoulders rose in unison as she took in a deep breath. Already towering over everyone else, she reared up on her back legs. When her weight came forward again, her front boots cracked the stone of the courtyard.

  “Who killed him?”

  A middle-aged man, muscular and hulking, moved slightly away from Talbot and toward her. Instead of legs, the man hovered over the ground by a disc of energy that was attached to the bottom of his torso. He was also missing one of his original arms. In its place was a metal shoulder, elbow, and fingers, with energy streaming between them. What little was left of the man was enough for her to see he might have be the strongest and most imposing human she had ever come across.

  “It was me,” the man said softly, his eyelids heavy, almost closed.

  The man saw the way all four of Lancelot’s weapons pointed at him. And yet he remained where he was, closer to her than anyone else. His hands stayed at his side.

  “Do you know how easy it would be for me to kill you?”

  “I’ve seen enough death,” the man replied miserably as he hovered closer to her.

  A representative, a few steps further away, said, “Hector, get back. We need you.”

  The man they called Hector seemed not to hear this.

  “I killed Julian,” he said again, looking at Lancelot. Then, hovering forward on his energy disk until his stomach was an inch away from the tip of her vibro lances, he added, “I’ve seen enough death to last a thousand lifetimes.”

  Her grip tightened on all of her weapons. She had killed to protect others. She had killed to defend her honor. She had killed as a favor. Now, she killed to put someone out of their misery.

  Bracing her back legs, she drove her upper body forward. One of the vibro lances punctured the man’s stomach. The other went through his heart. The man let out an involuntary sigh. His hands clenched into fists, then relaxed again. The soldiers behind her raised their weapons but she paid them no attention.

  The light in the man’s eyes began to fade. In his final moment, the sadness on his face disappeared and he smiled slightly.

  “Portia?” he said, his eyes seeing something other than Lancelot and the people in the courtyard. His voice trailed off to a whisper in the wind. “Portia, is that you?”

  His eyes closed. He let out a final breath. A moment later, the lances still through his heart and stomach, the man’s head slumped forward.

  Lancelot thumbed the lances to deactivate. The pair of energy weapons shot back into the handles. Anyone else who had been impaled by her weapons would have collapsed to the ground. The man they called Hector, even though he was dead, continued to hover in place and would keep doing so until someone turned off his energy transport.

  She turned and faced the soldiers who were aiming their blasters at her. None of them fired but nor did they retreat.

  “The choice is yours,” she told them. “Have you seen enough death as well, or would you like to embrace it the way he did? I can offer you either option.”

  Each soldier saw in front of them someone twice their size, with not just one Meursault but two. Someone in heavy armor while they weren’t even in space armor, let alone CAB suits.

  “Lower your weapons,” the son of Julian Reiser said.

  When she turned to face him, she realized he had given the order to the soldiers around the courtyard rather than to her. The command was obeyed by all of them. The young man took a step toward her.

  “My father is dead but I’m still here. What can I do?”

  Behind him, a pair of representatives, still staring at Hector’s dead body, yelled at the guards to kill the trespasser.

  “You murdered the only man worthy of leading us,” one of them yelled at her.

  The other said, “Now who will lead us against the Hannibal?”

  The air left Lancelot’s lungs. Without the Carthagen suit stabilizing her, she might have stumbled backward.

  “The Hannibal?” she muttered.

  The heavier of the two representatives said, “They’re a race of aliens past the Cartha—”

  “I know what they are,” she said, her voice booming.

  The young man in front of her said, “They’re headed toward Edsall Dark. We think they mean to destroy the Round Table. We currently have a fleet of ships confronting them two sectors away.”

  “If you ever want to see any of the people on those ships again, you’ll call them off.”

  The young Reiser shook his head. “It’s too late. The battle has already begun.”

  Her voice dropped. She was thinking of getting back to her ship and leaving the planet.

  “Then they’re already dead,” she said. “And so is everyone here when they arrive.”

  120

  Each time the portals were reset, it took the Round Table fighters less time to get past the first two layers and see glimpses of the Juggernaut. Three more Helljets and two more Thunderbolts and Llyushin fighters had been destroyed but these were chalked up to bad luck as they had been passing through portals at the exact same moment the Hannibal reset them, thus cutting the fighters in half.

  The mechs were no longer attacking. Instead, they were a diversion, sneaking through portals when targeted, frustrating the pilots who were chasing them. While all of this was going on, the Juggernaut continued toward its ultimate goal.

  The ring of Round Table flagships curved in a semi circle, starting on one side of the enemy ship, wrapping around to the front, and ending on the other side of the mighty vessel. Diagonally to Desttro’s left were a Solar Carrier and Athens Destroyer. Diagonally to his right were an Athens Destroyer and a Havoc Gunship.

  “Sir, a squadron of Llyushin fighters has gotten past the third tier of portals,” a lieutenant said from behind Desttro.

  “Is there a fourth layer?”

  “No, sir. They have a clear shot at the Juggernaut.”

  “Tell them they can fire at will.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The order was relayed from the Hellship to the fighters out in the battlefield. A moment later, the first report came back.

  “L3 says four proton torpedoes struck the Juggernaut. It doesn’t look like there was significant damage, though.”

  Desttro nodded and continued looking at the viewport, watching the part of the battle he could see with his own eyes rather than the holographic version of the entire battle that was floating in the middle of the command deck. The dull grey mech appeared out of a portal for a moment, was targeted by four Thunderbolts, then vanished back into the energy field.

  The same lieutenant opened his mouth to provide Desttro with another report. Before he could say anything, the officer in charge of shield systems shouted, “Juggernaut’s weapons systems are powering up.” Then, barely any pause, “They’re firing!”

  Every portal on the right side of the Juggernaut flashed off for a split second. Four thick blasts of laser engulfed the Athens Destroyer and Solar Carrier to Desttro’s side. Those shots were followed a split second later by another four blasts. The Hannibal portals reignited. The entire counter attack had taken less than two seconds.

  An ensign said, “Getting reports from the two flagships, sir. Looks like the initial blasts disabled the ships’ shields. The second set of blasts caused extensive structural damage.”

  This last part was obvious to anyone looking out the viewport. Both flagships had been torn apart. Both had gaping holes in the front center of the vessel that no doubt penetrated far into the ship’s inner core. A section of the Solar Carrier, roughly ten stories tall and a thousand feet long, broke apart. The Athens Destroyer became engulfed in a chain reaction of internal explosions. As far as the battle was concerned, both flagships were gone. There might be a few survivors on both vessels but not many.

  The thing that didn’t make sense to Desttro was that he guessed the Hannibal didn’t need a direct line of sight in order to unleash their cannons. They knew exactly which portal they could fire into in order for the blast to ultimately appear from one of the outer energy fields and for it to hit the Round Table ships. He guessed it was either some version of honor they possessed or a tactic designed to break the spirit of the enemy which had made them lower their shields for the instant it took for the attack to occur.

  Seeing the damage that had been incurred, Desttro ordered all flagships to back away as fast as possible. He didn’t plan on retreating, just wanted to get his fleet away before suffering more losses and so he had a chance to plan another attack. The ships couldn’t respond fast enough, though.

  On the far side of the battlefield, hundreds of Hannibal portals vanished. Streaks of thick laser engulfed two more flagships. One was Brigadier Churnoff’s HC Ballistic Cruiser. The other was Brigadier Endger’s Athens Destroyer. Both exploded into many pieces. In an instant, the Hannibal portals on that side of the battlefield burst back into life.

  “Get us away. Get the fleet away now.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  All across space, the flagships’ thrusters glowed as the vessels began to turn and move away from the embargo they had formed. The next set of Hannibal blasts destroyed a Flying Fortress and another HC Ballistic Cruiser. Part of what made the attack so maddening was that Desttro couldn’t see the blasts until it was too late. At least with traditional enemies, he could see where the ships’ cannons were pointed, observe the glow of energy, and know who was being targeted and when they would be hit. Now, he had no way of knowing if he would die next or someone else. More explosions appeared on the far side of the Juggernaut. He knew they could mean only one thing.

  An ensign called out, “Captain Trock’s Solar Carrier and Colonel Noshin’s Havoc Gunship, sir. They’re both gone.”

  The Hellship and the other remaining flagships were turning as fast as the lumbering giants would allow. It felt as if it were taking forever. Another Athens Destroyer and another Solar Carrier were torn apart by streams of laser that ripped holes through their frames and core systems. Both were littered with internal explosions until they broke into pieces. Each streak of laser shooting from the Juggernaut was so thick that it incinerated a dozen of the Round Table’s fighters that were unlucky enough to be flying through the region of space in front of the decimated flagships.

  So this is it? Desttro thought. Is this how it ends?

  None of the four mechs had been seen since the Juggernaut started firing, and he realized the four merchants of death had offered a comparatively formal and calculating punishment compared to the instant annihilation offered by the Juggernaut. The mechs, as deadly as they were, at least gave the ships near them a final chance to change their minds and retreat. Once the main Hannibal ship fired, no vessel under Round Table rule could possibly hope to survive. The fact that the invaders had waited so long to unleash their cannons meant only one thing: the Hannibal had ignored them as long as their patience had held out. That tolerance was apparently over.

  His Hellship was still turning, still attempting to get away. Out the side viewport, Desstro saw another Athens Destroyer enveloped in blasts before breaking into three large chunks, each of which was filled with explosions.

  When the next blasts appeared, they struck Desttro’s Hellship. The initial explosions racked the floors beneath the command deck. He lived long enough to see parts of his vessel drift off into space. Then he too died, along with the rest of the fleet he had been in charge of.

  A minute later, the last Round Table flagship was no more. As it exploded into pieces, the hundreds of portals disappeared, returning to nothing more than small capsules that made their way back to the Juggernaut.

  With no more enemies in front of them, the Hannibal continued toward Edsall Dark.

  The adventure concludes in Book 6 of the Space Lore saga…

  Avalon

  The Round Table is on the brink of civil war. Meanwhile, the Hannibal and their enormous Juggernaut continue their march across space. Nothing can stop them.

  It’s up to Lancelot to do what no one else can: defeat the approaching enemy once and for all. But to do so she will have to unite a band of the galaxy’s most feared warriors, all of whom want to kill each other.

  In the final installment of the Space Lore saga, every answer will be given, including the origins or the Word, the Excalibur vessels, Avalon, and much more.

  Available in November!

  Acknowledgments

  As always, I am indebted to many people for their support: Jodie McFadden, for her constant encouragement and optimism; my parents and brother for their support; and everyone on GoodReads and in the BJJ and MMA communities who read my other novels and recommended them to their friends. That is the only way that books like mine have the chance to be successful, and I’m grateful for their support.

  I would also like to thank all of the artists who were willing to devote their time and creative energy to designing the characters and places described in this book. Ever since I first saw Ralph McQuarrie’s sketches for the aliens and ships in the original Star Wars trilogy, I’ve wanted to create a world where artists could bring to life the concepts described throughout the adventure. Thank you to Tim, Azimuth, Leila, Jason, Molly, and Loic for doing just that.

  Want to receive updates on my future books? Sign up for my newsletter at: http://chrisdietzel.com/mailing_list/

  About the Author

  Chris graduated from Western Maryland College (McDaniel College). He currently lives in Florida. His dream is to write the same kind of stories that have inspired him over the years.

  His short stories have been published in Foliate Oak, Temenos, and Down in the Dirt. His novels have been featured on the Authors on the Air radio network, become Amazon Science Fiction Best Sellers, been required reading at the university level, and have been turned into amazing audiobooks produced by Podium Publishing.

  About the Artists

  Tim Barton – Tim is a digital artist known for his stunning and colorful space artwork. He does his work in Adobe Photoshop and creates 3D scenes in Terragen. His full gallery of artwork can be viewed at http://www.cosmicspark.deviantart.com.

  Molly Evans – Molly majored in art history and studio art at the University of Maryland. She specializes in painting and illustration. Her inspirations are the concepts of the female identity as well as the places she has traveled around the world. Her website is: http://mollyevansart.weebly.com/

  Leila ElManfaa – Leila is a self-taught artist specializing in melancholic and moody designs. She was inspired by the old masters, particularly Renaissance, Baroque, and pre-Raphaelites. Nearly all of her work ties somewhere into stories and fairytales that she has read. Her website is: https://bethaleil.deviantart.com.

  Azimuth - Azimuth is currently an art student at the university level. He is interested in concept art and game design. His website is: http://theazimuth.deviantart.com/

  Jason Pennock - Jason is a self taught artist. He has no formal training but has always liked to spend his time drawing. Like many who are self taught, he started by copying artwork he enjoyed. He almost exclusively draws in black and white.

  Loic Denoual – Loic is a concept artist and illustrator from France. He is a self-taught digital illustrator. His website is: https://grimdor.artstation.com/

 

 

  Chris Dietzel, The Sword In The Stone

 

 

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