Last Man Standing (Rod Quasar Book 1)

Rod Quasar: Last Man Standing Nick Noble Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Nick Noble All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Cover design by White Rabbit Geometry. Contents Rod Quasar: Last Man Standing Blurb 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 Rod Quasar: Last Man Standing Blurb As soon as I open my eyes, I know that something’s wrong. The last thing I remember was being cryogenically frozen, but now I was in a strange room, surrounded by advanced technology I had never seen before. My confusion only grew as I explored this new world - a future that was nothing like I ever could have imagined. It didn't take long for me to learn that humanity was extinct, and that I was now in the hands of a stunning AI, a siren with camouflaging powers, and a monster girl who happens to be a great engineer - beings that are as fascinating as they are strange. These creatures have managed to build their own society, but it isn’t a safe one. Marauding space pirates are a constant threat, seeking to capture and exploit these new forms of life for their own gain. As I learn more about this world, I realize that I had a new family - the women who took me in. They need my help, and I’m more than willing to provide it. I’m a veteran, after all, and I know how to protect those I cared about. If it was just about the girls, I could get used to living here. But the girls are constantly in danger–and the longer I’m here, the more I realize I would do anything to protect them. I need to take charge of this dreadnought and learn how to navigate this strange, new alien world. These space pirates might be ruthless, but they are no match for my determination. Humanity might be extinct–but I’m only just getting started. one The universe does not agree with my sense of climatic endings. There was nothing left for me on Earth, and I thought it was time I made my way off the planet. But even though I was ready to book it off-world as soon as the ink was dry, it ended up taking two weeks before I actually climbed into a cryo pod and left Earth behind. Most of that time was spent processing my paperwork, signing a bunch of contracts that basically forfeited what few remaining rights I still had as a Union citizen and allowed me to be shipped off-world to help colonize some distant planet with a dumb name that was just a bunch of letters and numbers. Once the last signature was in place, I became Colonist 3857-Epsilon. My fate was sealed. Physical examinations, identity checks, full-body tattoo removal (which stung, but not as much as being cheated on) and a bunch of steroid and vaccine injections to prepare me for life in space later, I finally got brought in for the final step. Waiting for me in a clean room were three technicians in lab coats. Situated in the exact center of the room was this crazy high-tech sarcophagus that I recognized from all the briefing material I’d been reading and watching for the past two weeks. They still explained it all to me like I was a child. This cryo pod would keep my body in a state of suspended animation for the duration of the colony ship’s construction and eventual journey out across the stars. As I slept, the pod would make subtle alterations to my body and mind to prepare for the life I’d be living as a settler. We were going to a world with higher gravity and a few other quirks that meant I’d need to be a bit more sturdy than I was here on Earth. Upon our colony ship’s arrival, I would be awakened in a new frontier and given a role to help kickstart the next stage in human evolution. More than likely I’d end up joining a construction crew building our very first settlement. They told me it was a great honor. To me, it was just a way off this dumb planet that didn’t involve eating a bullet. But hey, to each their own. I stripped down to nothing but a form-fitting pair of underwear and laid down on the cold metal of the cryo pod. The lid closed shut over me and frost started forming around the edges of the glass, sealing me in. My breath came out as a puff of hot steam. A quiet hiss of pressurized gas released into the pod and frost started spreading much, much faster across the glass canopy. This was it. The point of no return. “Count backwards from ten,” one of the techs instructed me. Ten. Nine. Eight. Sev-seven… 685,472 years later. My first breath brought with it a curiously tangy scent, like citrus. Like a cleaning product or something. From the pre-mission briefings I was told the chemicals they used to wake us up from cryo sleep might leave a strange taste in our mouths to fight the nausea of coming back awake after untold years in suspended animation. I didn’t have much time to process that thought as the rest of my senses kicked in. Muffled voices and the clang of boots on metal floors reached