Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller by Brandon Ellis (easy to read books for adults list txt) 📕

the gun between the Kelhoon’s eyes. “And because so, this is what happens.” The weapon recoiled and the Kelhoon jerked. His head sank to the floor, his eyes cold as death. A thin trail of smoke billowed from his forehead to the ceiling.

The Kelhoon warriors moved away, their guns trained on Slade.

Slade leaned into his radio unit. “Okbak, your troops aren’t obeying. Please get them in line. Out.”

A message from Okbak was relayed into the tiny, gold radio devices each Kelhoon wore behind their ears. The warriors lowered their weapons and lined up, ready to take as many orders as Slade wanted to dish out.

Craig put on his mask.

It reminded Slade he had one on as well. And it bugged him like hell. He threw it on the floor and shot a bullet through it. “Oops, I accidentally made a mess.”

“God, you’re like a child.” Craig charged forward and the Kelhoon warriors split into two lines, allowing the president a clear path to a door’s control panel. He held his fingers just above the numbers. “Are we ready?”

“Ready.” Slade slipped a rifle over his back, hanging it by a strap over his shoulder. “Time to knock some heads, gentlemen. Or, I mean, gentle-hoon.”

The door opened and the Kelhoon filed out. One stopped and shot at someone. A second later, a woman screamed.

“It has begun,” said Craig.

Slade followed the Kelhoon out of the room and into the hallway. A couple warriors peeled off their formation and chowed down on the newly-dead body.

Slade never looked back. The Kelhoon were disgusting. Plus, he was on the war path.

Craig trailed Slade. They marched around a corner. Several more shots rang out. A man squealed, twirling around, a smoky hole through is chest. He fell, dead before hitting the floor. Three Kelhoon fell upon him, their jaws slobbering and teeth glistening.

More gunfire, more bodies hitting the floor; this time, someone Slade knew well. He hurried over to the dead politician and shielded the guy from the slathering Kelhoon. “Stop and get into defensive position.” He bent down, examining the man. He bit his lip. “Sorry, Rossy. At least you didn’t see it coming.” He closed the politician’s eyes, then stood, thumbing over his shoulder at Ross. “Less shooting, more marching. We have a mission. Keep your eyes on the prize.”

The gold radio devices translated his pep talk.

They pushed through a few doors and into a stairwell.

Slade took his first step on the cement stairs, ready to climb several levels. “Up these steps boys. We’ll be going three floors up.”

The Kelhoon nodded, pushing Slade out of the way to get to their destination first. The starship’s alarm system went off, sending an earsplitting bell throughout the stairwell.

“Faster than I expected,” said Slade. “Too quick, too early.” He charged up the stairs.

A rubber bullet zipped past Slade. Slade fell against a Kelhoon and spun out of the way, pulling out his weapon, shooting a few random slugs up the stairwell.

Another blast came from above and the lead Kelhoon caught it in his chest, falling backward, toppling down the stairs until it hit another warrior.

Slade back peddled, moving himself behind a wall of tall, green lizard soldier.

Kahkooooj!

A blast sunk into the landing just above. The landing cracked, then another blast penetrated the landing, buffeting it upward, the cement crumbling off its foundation, cracking off the walls and stairs, and dropping it onto the landing below it. The air was blanketed with a thick, gray fog.

“Don’t move,” yelled a Space Marine. “The doors you came through are now blocked. You leave through those doors and Marine’s will blast you to smithereens. Rubber bullets don’t only hurt, at the speed they have their weapons turned up, they’re deadly. And you won’t make it up the stairs so don’t even try.”

It was true. There was no way up as the landing was gone, creating a massive gap between the stairs. They were trapped and Slade was essentially blind, not able to see any enemy Marines through the concrete steps above.

“Don’t surrender, warriors,” ordered Slade.

They gave him a nod, waiting for more orders. The odds of victory were slim, but Slade was a betting man and he bet heavily on himself. They were going to go down swinging or get out by the skin of their damned teeth.

Slade pointed at the most heavily armored Kelhoon. “Your name?”

“Guvka.”

“Okay, Guvka. I need you to climb.”

Guvka dipped his head, understanding that his life would be given for the benefit of the others. An honor they thought highly of in their culture.

He pulled out a dagger and eyed his friends. They all nodded in agreement, then grunted a few words.

Guvka tapped on his dagger’s hilt and punched in a timer. Not only a dagger, inside the hilt held a small explosive.

“How long?” asked Slade.

The warriors held out three fingers.

“Thirty seconds?” Slade narrowed his eyes. “Get going.”

Guvka pressed his blade tip against his chest, away from his heart, and crinkled his nose. He shoved the dagger into his chest, slipping the blade through his muscles and between his ribs, yelping loudly.

He took a deep breath, his pupils pulsing, hands shaking. He hissed, sinking the dagger in deeper, enough so it could not possibly come loose and fall down the stairs.

The explosive beeped; twenty seconds remaining.

He held up his rifle and leaped for the wall, pushing off the moment his feet touched and jumped the gap between the stairways, disappearing from Slade’s view.

Shots fired and Space Marines screamed orders. A thump and Slade knew Guvka was dead, then everything went quiet.

“Your friend is dead, now surrender or the rest of you will follow,” explained a Marine on the next landing up. “We will give you five minutes to think about it.”

“We don’t need five minutes,” responded Slade. He winked at Craig. “We’ll be up in a minute. We’re disarming now.”

Slade closed his eyes and plugged his ears, bent at the knees and crouched.

Bapoom!

The bomb went off and more chunks of concrete fell from the steps above, covering Craig