New Dawn (Divine War Book 1)

New Dawn

Magus Tor

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

T
he cruiser
Sanosis
skimmed
across the waves. Finally, the darkness of night was fading, and a soft golden glow from the first of Archeonis's suns was creeping across the deck of the ship. The woman on the foredeck let her hands relax at last as the first rays of warmth touched her, knuckles aching from gripping the railing.

She was Ausanne, princess of Britannia, tall, blonde, and with the kind of face that swam strangely between beauty and ugliness, depending on the light. It had been a long night, a very long night. She rolled her shoulders, easing the tightness in her muscles, her long red cape swirling around her. Inside metal-plated boots, her feet were sore, and her young cheeks were flushed with the cold sea wind. Not much longer now.

Ausanne moved a hand to her belt pocket, checking for the millionth time that it was still there. Her fingers pressed against the familiar shape of the data disk, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Closing her eyes, she turned her face into the wind and let the ocean spray calm her, licking salt from her lips as she smiled.

The disk. If what her spies had told her was correct, this disk contained plans for a weapon so powerful that it could destroy half of Archeonis with a single blast. So why was she smiling? Because up until just a few hours ago, the disk had been in the possession of the Supreme Emperor. And now it was hers.

Ah, the Emperor. She was a princess, she had met him, and her mind wandered back to a state dinner many moons ago when she had been a child and he had been the guest of honour. Hulking, that was the word for him. Big, hulking, and bear-like. But also crafty, intelligent, powerful, and mysterious. He was always wearing a mask, and stories had it that he had been enthroned more than a century before the Unification War. But there were some who believed that it was the mask, being passed from one successor to another, thus making him ‘immortal’.

The Supreme Emperor of Great China terrorised all the lands of Archeonis with an iron fist. And he had been unopposed, at least until recently.

Two months ago, the Supreme Emperor had demanded that the traditional tribute to Great China be increased tenfold. Britannia along with several of her allies, including Americani, Israelue, and the Tri-Alliance, had put her foot down against it. A strongly worded petition had been sent to the Supreme Emperor declaring that the tribute increase was unfair, unwarranted, and impossible for them to pay.

To everyone's surprise, the petition had been accepted equably, the request for the tribute increase withdrawn, and the matter seemingly settled. And for a few weeks, the politicians and statesmen of Britannia and her allies had celebrated. Perhaps the Supreme Emperor was not a tyrant after all. Perhaps he was a man who could be dealt with. A man who could be negotiated with. Even, dare they think it, a man who could be deposed if necessary.

And then the rumours of this weapon had begun to trickle down through the lands.

The people spoke of the weapon as though it was a dragon, fearsome, terrifying, but a legend. The politicians knew better. With a weapon like this, the Supreme Emperor would be free to do as he wished, and suddenly his calm acceptance of their petition seemed a lot more worrying than it had before.

Ausanne once more touched the data disk in her pocket. Still there. Getting it out of the palace had not been easy. But with the help of spies, her loyal crew, and her own royal status, it had been managed. Getting as far away as possible from Great China, where the Supreme Emperor had been residing, was proving to be more difficult.

She stroked the railing of the ship, feeling the salt-corroded metal under her fingers. The
Sanosis
had served her well. Sneaking through the Imperial Navy’s defences, Ausanne had made a snap decision to turn towards the Lawless Sea, rather than risk further pursuit by the Emperor's ships. But now she had other problems.

The route back to Britannia was longer through the Lawless Sea, and, well, it was called the Lawless Sea for a reason. Battle-hardened pirates determined to keep their smuggling routes and hideaways secret made sailing through the Lawless Sea no joke. Ausanne patted the railing of her ship. Yes, the
Sanosis
was armed to the teeth and had not one but two pulse cannons, but even so, she wouldn't fancy their chances if they had to face a pirate fleet.

Every now and again, one of the twelve island nations of Archeonis would dispatch their navy into the Lawless Sea to rid themselves of the threat of pirate raids, and not incidentally to gain a little treasure and a few valuable trade routes for themselves. And every single time, the island's navy would return with its tail between its legs, half-burned ships carrying the bodies of men that had been fished from the sea. No, Ausanne thought, she didn't fancy their chances at all.

So far they'd managed to avoid the pirate patrol boats under cover of a moonless night. But their luck couldn't last much longer, and it was a full two days sailing back to Britannia. And two nights. Nights that by the laws of astronomy couldn't possibly be as moonless and dark as the last had been. Ausanne sighed and patted her belt pocket again. But it was worth it. Softly stroking the railing of the ship, she closed her eyes and muttered a prayer to the God of Providence. She needed all the help that she could get.

She didn't even get the chance to finish her prayers before the alarm sounded. A shrill wail broke the peaceful dawn, interrupted by the robotic voice of the ship's security system.

“Alert! Alert! Unknown ship approaching. Bearing three hundred and forty-eight degrees. Alert! Alert!”

Ausanne squeezed her eyes more tightly closed for a split second, and her wrist communicator began flashing red and emitting a series of coded beeps.

“All hands to battle stations. Non-combatants to safety chambers. Alert! Alert!”

As the warning alarm faded into the night, Ausanne opened her eyes. And there, on the horizon, she saw it. A dark, sliding shadow. An unmistakable profile. A dreadnought. Her palms began to sweat; her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. A dreadnought could only be commanded by a Magi Lord, one who took orders directly from the Supreme Emperor himself. This was not good. Not good at all. She swallowed and could have laughed about her foolish fear of pirates. A dreadnought. The ship was approaching slowly, and she took a deep breath. Her hands and legs were shaking. Her ship was going to be cannon fodder. But she didn't want to give up her
Sanosis
, her crew, or her life without a fight.

Wrenching herself away from the railing, tearing her eyes from the hypnotising sight of the oncoming dreadnought, she fled towards the door to the inner deck. Just as she was reaching for the door scanner, a brief flash of light caught the corner of her eye. A pulse cannon shot. She fumbled, trying to open the pressure lock that hadn't been released because the scanner couldn't read her sweaty hand. The light grew stronger, blinding her as it closed in, and still she grasped uselessly at the lock, waving her hand again and again over the scanner.

“God, help me!” she cried, breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

She shut her eyes against the glare and could almost feel the warmth of it on her skin. And then, to her sobbing, desperate relief, her plea was answered. The door swung open, a hand appearing out of the darkness to grasp her arm, pull her inside, and slam the door tightly shut behind her. Even as the door closed, the cannon shot hit the ship, swaying the vessel from side to side, making the lights flicker. But the strong scent of ozone told her that the ship's plasma shields had done their job; the shot was blocked. She shivered at the thought of what would have happened to her, caught in the sheen of the plasma, if she had still been outside.

“What the hell were you doing out there?”

She shook her head, unable to speak yet, unable to even pull rank on Dan, his voice sharp with anger. He was her personal bodyguard, and she knew that the anger was fear, really.

“You trying to get yourself killed? Eh?”

Deep breaths had calmed her fear a little, and adrenaline began pumping into her veins. “Er... no, no. I just wanted a little fresh air. I stepped out for a few minutes, and then the alarms went off.”

He grunted, irritated. And despite herself, Ausanne bit back a smile. He took his job very seriously and had been with her since she was a small child. She was rarely allowed to roam alone, and even as she'd sneaked out of her cabin earlier, she'd known that Dan would be mad when he found out what she'd done. And he always found out.

“Sorry, Princess,” he said, thinking that he could cheerfully throttle Ausanne at times.

He loved the little princess and always had. But she was more than a handful. She had her own mind and her own will, and it was going to lead her into trouble one of these days. Well, if being fired on by a dreadnought wasn't trouble enough.

Ausanne gave him a sharp nod, then softened it with a smile.

“You need to get into a safety chamber,” he said, more gently. “The plasma shield charge won't last much longer. Come.”

He held out a hand, but as Ausanne reached for it, the ship once again rocked violently. Dan grabbed her by the wrist.

“This way.”

Dan pulled her through the narrow corridors, pressing them both against walls as crew members dashed past them. The
Sanosis
vibrated as her own pulse cannons charged, and Ausanne felt the ground tremble under her feet. A quick change of pressure made her ears ring.

“Brace for a cannon hit,” Dan yelled, pulling her to the deck.

He covered the princess as much as he could with his own body, as he'd been trained to do, and felt her shaking beneath him.
God dammit
, he thought. There was no way of escaping this. No way could he save her. In the pit of his stomach, he felt the deep weight of failure. He could not protect his princess. As the pulse struck the ship, it tilted acutely to port, and Dan's fingers scrabbled to get purchase on the smooth floor to stop both of them from sliding into a wall. And then there was blackness. The ship was instantly silent, until a soft hum began, growing louder and louder until, with a flicker, the emergency lights came on.

Ausanne pushed Dan off her.

“We go to the bridge,” she said firmly.

Dan gave her a hard, cold stare before nodding. She was right. The ship had just suffered a full-on cannon shot, which meant her shields were down. They needed to know what was going on, and frankly, though he kept the thought to himself, he didn't think that a safety chamber was going to be of much use anymore. Springing to his feet, he pulled Ausanne up, and the two began running, turning onto the main corridor of the ship.

Ausanne ran full-force against the bridge door, jolting it open in one movement; and as she stepped over the sill and into the large cabin, she was struck by the cool, poised calm inside compared to the rushing chaos outside. The captain looked up from his screen and pulled himself to attention, saluting.

With an airy wave, Ausanne dismissed his formality. “What's the situation?” she asked quickly.

Captain Gundro pursed his lips. “Dead shot,” he said. “Straight into the main engine. We've lost shields, weapons, and thrusters—all are offline. The enemy is no longer firing.”

“Just as well since we have no shields,” said Ausanne, acidly.

“I assume they're preparing to board us, Princess.”

Ausanne nodded and noticed that Gundro looked almost excited by the prospect of a close-quarters battle on his ship. Her ship, she reminded herself. She wondered briefly if he'd been a pirate at some point. Such skills could come in handy right now. From the large bridge screen, she could see the shadow of the dreadnought creeping closer to the ship. Her ship. Like a giant spider, the dreadnought looked predatory, hungry. No. She would not let them take the
Sanosis
. Her ship.

“Stall them, Captain,” she ordered, turning back to Gundro. “For as long as you can. Understand?”

He gave a brisk nod and picked up his comm. “All hands to battle stations, and prepare for boarding. We will repel with lethal force. We will not surrender. Repeat. We will not surrender.”

Even through the thick walls of the bridge, Ausanne could hear the raucous cheers that greeted the captain's announcement, and her heart quivered with pride. These men were her men, and every last one of them was ready to lay down his life for Britannia. She drew herself up to her full height and sent one last prayer up to the God of Providence. A prayer not for herself but for her men.

Dan exchanged a grin with the captain. Both were fighting men, and both knew that this battle would be lost. But the enemy would pay with their blood and pay dearly. Old hands, they nodded at each other, saying in their movements what they wouldn't say with words. May your God go with you. May your death be fast. May you take many of the bastards with you as you depart.