Exiled to Perdition

Copyrighted Material Exiled to Perdition Copyright © 2023 by Variant Publications Book design and layout copyright © 2023 by JN Chaney This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from JN Chaney. www.jnchaney.com www.jonathanbrazee.com 1st Edition CONTENTS Don’t Miss Out Previously in Sentenced to War Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Glossary Nations, Independent Worlds, and Political Entities Within the Congress of Humanity Cast of Characters Acknowledgments Join the Conversation Connect with J.N. Chaney Connect with Jonathan P. Brazee About the Authors Don’t miss out on these exclusive perks: Instant access to free short stories from series like The Messenger, Starcaster, and more. Receive email updates for new releases and other news. Get notified when we run special deals on books and audiobooks. So, what are you waiting for? Enter your email address at the link below to stay in the loop. Click Here PREVIOUSLY IN SENTENCED TO WAR When humanity joined the other races, the tide began to turn against the Naxli. Humanity’s willingness to take it to the enemy was the impetus for a series of military victories. But the Naxli were not defeated. Anxious to regain the momentum, they devised a plan to inflict damage on what they deemed as the major human center of gravity. They launched an all-out assault upon the home system, and that pulled in a massive effort to reinforce Earth and the other planets. But the assault was a feint, designed for that reaction. With the might of the human military machine rushing to defend the home system, the other centers of gravity were left relatively undefended, including the MDS capital and Tau Ceti. Because of the notoriety the planet had received from the human press, they also hit Safe Harbor. There were fewer than two thousand Marines, which included Rev and the rest of the IBHU Marines, on the planet. Joined by the police, they had to create a delaying force to engage the Naxli until the return of a major military force to free Safe Harbor. Unable to stand toe-to-toe with the enemy, the defenders moved to guerilla tactics and hit the Naxli, then faded away into the mountains. During one battle in the Big Trees Provincial Park, Rev was separated from his unit. He collected a small force of humans and a Breel on the way to his rally point, hitting the Naxli several times. They were chased and pinned down in a mountain valley. While in a desperate battle, the human reinforcements started to arrive, and Naval gunfire decimated the attacking force. Safe Harbor was saved, but not all planets had the same outcome. Tau Ceti, home of the Rangers, was scoured. And the cost at home was severe. Rev’s family was lost. Some of the local population blamed the Marines for the invasion. Safe Harbor was hardly a major planet in the Union, and they felt that the press that kept building up the Marines there made them a target. Resentment against the Marines, and especially the IBHU, was growing. Humanity demanded retribution, however. And due to the sacrifice of a Hégémonie Liberté scout pilot, the Naxli home world had been located. The allied races did not want to attack, fearing the Naxli response. Humanity disagreed, and despite projected casualties in the tens of millions, they decided to attack. Rev’s battalion was part of the pre-D-Day force, securing one of the Naxli system’s defensive array nodules. Aided by the Genesians, they captured the nodule, seriously degrading the defenses. But then it was time for the invasion, where the first wave’s projected casualty rate was over ninety percent. But they never reached the planet. The Sia, who had always seemed to be observers, created a field around the planet that destroyed it. Numerous human ships were caught up in the blast and lost, and Rev’s landing craft was badly damaged. But they managed to repair some of the damage and kept themselves alive until they could be rescued. Other Naxli planets began to fall like dominoes, and the battalion returned to Safe Harbor, but a different home than they’d left. Humanity-first factions fought for power and influence with groups that now considered the Sia as higher beings, meant to cleanse the galaxy of the unworthy. Yet both groups agreed on one thing. All hyper-augments and the Genesians were blots on humanity and needed to be eliminated. Only “pure” humans could move forward. Some on the radical fringe advocated the culling of the hyper-augments, but a compromise was reached. All hyper-augments would be exiled. From the Marines, that meant the IBHUs. But with the exiles being given a mission of exploration and early warning of more races that could pose a threat to humankind, they needed a larger unit, and requests for volunteers went out. Tomiko volunteered, but as a resurrectee, having already been killed once, she was not qualified, and her request was refused. She was devastated and took the only option that she could see. Tomiko took manual control over a hover, extended her arm out of the window, and crashed it, less than two weeks before the exiles were to leave. But all conversion to IBHU Marines had ceased, and Tomiko was in no shape to undergo the procedure even if it would be approved. Rev was beside himself, but the dice were already thrown. With