The Clone Betrayal Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Epigraph

  PART I - THE WORKINGS OF WAR

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  PART II - THE BATTLE FOR TERRANEAU

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  PART III - THE RISE OF THE SCUTUM-CRUX FLEET

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  PART IV - AND THEN THERE WAS WAR

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  EPILOGUE

  AUTHOR’S NOTES

  AUTHOR’S ADDENDUM

  AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER FROM NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  NEW IN HARDCOVER

  PRAISE FOR

  Steven L. Kent

  THE CLONE ELITE

  “If you enjoy military science fiction, then this is the book for you . . . fast paced and hard-hitting. Punches, bullets, and nuclear bombs are not held back. The characters face hard choices and don’t regret them after they are made.”

  —SFRevu

  THE CLONE ALLIANCE

  “Offers up stunning battle sequences, intriguing moral quandaries, and plenty of unexpected revelations . . . [a] fast-paced military SF book with plenty of well-scripted action and adventure, [and] a sympathetic narrator.”

  —SF Site

  ROGUE CLONE

  “Exciting space battles [and] haunting, quiet moments after war has taken its toll . . . Military SF fans looking for stories that combine mystery, action, espionage, politics, and some thoughtful doses of humanism in exploring their not entirely human characters would do well to add Steven L. Kent to their reading lists.”

  —SF Reviews.net

  THE CLONE REPUBLIC

  “A solid debut. Harris is an honest, engaging protagonist and thoughtful narrator, and Kent’s clean, transparent prose fits well with both the main character and the story’s themes . . . Kent is a skillful storyteller, and the book entertains throughout.”

  —Sci Fi Weekly

  “The first sentence gets you immediately . . . From there, the action begins fast and furious, with dark musings, lavish battle scenes, and complex characterizations . . . The Clone Republic feature[s] taut writing and a truly imaginative plot full of introspection and philosophizing.”

  —The Village Voice

  “A character-driven epic that understands that the best war stories are really antiwar stories . . . a smartly conceived adventure.”

  —SF Reviews.net

  Ace Books by Steven L . Kent

  THE CLONE REPUBLIC

  ROGUE CLONE

  THE CLONE ALLIANCE

  THE CLONE ELITE

  THE CLONE BETRAYAL

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  THE CLONE BETRAYAL

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Ace mass-market edition / November 2009

  Copyright © 2009 by Steven L. Kent.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form

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  eISBN : 978-1-101-14892-1

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  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  In 2001, I became acquainted with one of the world’s last Renaissance men, an American who speaks Portuguese like a Brazilian, plays the piano like a concert pianist, and knows how to frame his own home. When the retention pond beside his house became choked, he hopped into a Bobcat and dug it out. When I asked him how he learned to operate heavy equipment, he responded, “It really isn’t that hard.” He said the same thing when he finished restoring a classic Austin Healey: “It really wasn’t that hard.”

  John Thorpe’s long list of skills goes well beyond carpentry, auto restoration, music, linguistics, landscaping, and driving a backhoe; it also extends to human renewal. I know this for a fact. My entire family has benefited from his talents.

  Here’s to you, J.T.

  We have a wretched, motley crew in the Fleet. The Marines, the refuse of every regiment, and the seamen, few of them ever wet with s
alt water.

  —Benedict Arnold

  SIX EVENTS THAT SHAPED HISTORY: A Unified Authority Time Line

  2010 TO 2018 DECLINE OF THE U.S. ECONOMY

  Following the examples of Chevrolet, Oracle, IBM, and ConAgra Foods, Microsoft moves its headquarters from the United States to Shanghai. Microsoft executives maintain that their company has long been a global corporation and remains dedicated to the United States; but with its burgeoning economy, China has become Microsoft’s most important market.

  Even though Toyota and Hyundai increase manufacturing activities in the United States—because of the favorable cheap labor conditions—the U.S. economy becomes dependent on the shipping of raw materials and farm goods.

  Bottoming out as the world’s twelfth largest economy behind China, Korea, India, Cuba, the European Economic Community, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Israel, and Unincorporated France, the United States government focuses on maintaining its position as the world’s only remaining military superpower.

  JANUARY 3, 2026 INTRODUCTION OF BROADCAST PHYSICS

  Armadillo Aerospace announces the discovery of broadcast physics, a new technology capable of translating matter into data waves that can be transmitted to any location instantaneously. This opens the way for pangalactic exploration without time dilation and the dangers of light-speed travel.

  By the end of 2030, the United States creates the first-ever fleet of self-broadcasting ships, a scientific fleet designed to locate planets for colonization. When initial scouting reports suggest that the rest of the galaxy is uninhabited, politicians fire up public sentiment with talk about “manifest destiny” and spreading humanity across space.

  The discovery of broadcast physics leads to the creation of the Broadcast Network—a galactic superhighway consisting of satellite dishes that send and receive ships across the galaxy. The Broadcast Network ushers in the age of galactic expansion.

  JULY 4, 2110 RUSSIA AND KOREA SIGN A PACT WITH THE UNITED STATES

  With the growth of its space-based economy, the United States reclaims its spot as the wealthiest nation on Earth. Russia and Korea become the first nations to sign the IGTA (Intergalactic Trade Accord), a treaty created by the United States that opens the way for nations to become self-governing American territories and enjoy full partnership in the space-based economy.

  Hoping to consolidate its position as the sole nation colonizing space, the United States issues an open invitation for all nations to join the IGTA. Several nations, most notably China and Afghanistan, refuse to sign the IGTA, which leads to a minor world war, in which the final holdouts are coerced into signing the treaty.

  More than 80 percent of the world’s population is eventually sent to establish colonies throughout the galaxy.

  JULY 4, 2250 TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF THE UNITED STATES

  In an effort to demonstrate that the IGTA is a unilateral entity rather than an extension of the United States, the organization changes its name to “The Unified Authority.”

  Deemed inadequate for governing the galactic expansion, the U.S. Constitution is replaced by a new manifesto merging principles from the Constitution with concepts from Plato’s Republic. In accordance with Plato’s ideals, society is broken into three strata—citizenry, defense, and governance.

  With forty self-sustaining colonies across the galaxy, Earth becomes the political center of the republic. The eastern sea-board of the United States becomes an ever-growing capital city populated by a political class—families appointed to run the government in perpetuity.

  Earth also becomes home to the military class. After some experimentation, the Unified Authority adopts an all-clone conscription model to fulfill its growing need for soldiers. Clone farms euphemistically known as “orphanages” are established around Earth. These orphanages produce more than a million cloned recruits per year.

  The military does not commission clone officers. Officers are drafted from the ruling class. When the children of politicians are drummed out of school or deemed unsuitable for politics, they are sent to officer-candidate school in Australia.

  2452 TO 2512 UPRISING IN THE GALACTIC EYE

  On October 29, 2452, a date later known as “the new Black Tuesday,” a fleet of scientific exploration ships vanishes in the “galactic eye” region of the Norma Arm.

  Fearing an alien attack, the U.A. Senate calls for the creation of the Galactic Central Fleet, a self-broadcasting armada. Work on the Galactic Central Fleet is completed in 2455 and the fleet travels to the Inner Curve, where it vanishes as well.

  Having authorized the development of a top secret line of cloned soldiers called “Liberators,” the Linear Committee—the executive branch of the U.A. government—approves sending an invasion force into the Galactic Eye to attack all hostile threats. The Liberators discover a human colony led by Morgan Atkins, a powerful senator who disappeared with the Galactic Central Fleet. The Liberators overthrow the colony, but Atkins and many of his followers escape in G.C. Fleet ships.

  Over the next fifty years, a religious cult known as the Morgan Atkins Believers—“Mogats”—spreads across the 180 colonized planets, preaching independence from Unified Authority government.

  In 2510, spurred on by the growing Morgan Atkins movement, four of the six galactic arms declare independence from Unified Authority governance.

  On March 28, 2512, the combined forces of the Confederate Arms Treaty Organization and the Morgan Atkins Believers defeat the Earth Fleet and destroy the Broadcast Network, effectively cutting the government off from its loyal colonies and Navy.

  Believing they have crippled the Unified Authority, the Mogats then turn on their Confederate Arms allies in an attempt to take control of the renovated Galactic Central Fleet. The Confederates manage to hold on to approximately fifty ships and join forces with the Unified Authority, leaving the Mogats with more than four hundred self-broadcasting ships, the most powerful attack force in the galaxy.

  Under U.A. leadership, the combined forces stage a counterattack on the Mogat home world destroying the entire Mogat Navy and leaving no survivors on the planet.

  2514 TO 2515 AVATARI INVASION

  At the heart of Morgan Atkins’s doctrine was a claim that aliens he referred to as “Space Angels” planned to invade the Milky Way. The U.A. government, however, dismisses Atkins as a crackpot, ignoring warnings of alien sightings during the invasion of the Mogat home world.

  In 2514, an alien force enters the outer region of the Scutum-Crux Arm conquering U.A.-held planets. As they attack, the aliens wrap their “ion curtain” around the outer atmosphere of the planet, creating an impenetrable barrier that cuts off all contact.

  In a matter of two years, the aliens spread throughout the galaxy, occupying only planets deemed habitable by U.A. scientists. The Unified Authority has lost 178 of its 180 populated planets when it makes a final stand on New Copenhagen.

  During this battle, U.A. scientists unravel the secrets of the aliens’ tachyon-based technology, enabling the U.A. Marines to preserve Earth and New Copenhagen.

  PROLOGUE

  Earthdate: October 16, A.D. 2516

  Location: Terraneau

  Galactic Position: Scutum-Crux Arm

  With the ion curtain sealed around it, Terraneau looked more like a small star than a living planet. Before this mission, I had never gotten a firsthand look at a “sleeved” planet from the outside. From space, it looked like it might have been plated with white gold.

  I could not see so much as a trace of the land or water through that ion layer. With the curtain around it, the planet was as featureless as a ball bearing.

  Until four years ago, Terraneau was the capital planet of the Scutum-Crux Arm. Of the 180 populated worlds, this rock had the fifth largest population—1.2 billion people. But Terraneau was an early casualty of the Avatari invasion. The aliens wrapped their ion curtain around the planet, and no one had heard anything since. At least they had not heard anything until one month ago
, and they didn’t hear much then.

  We still didn’t know if we would find survivors behind the curtain. We might find the planet covered with alien soldiers. We might find a hollow ball populated only by alien miners. The only message we received from the planet was brief—just the words “Go away.”

  “I have a fix on the target zone,” the pilot told me. We sat watching the planet from the cockpit of a military transport. We had to use computers to calculate the location of the target zone on the planet; the ion curtain rendered our sensors useless.

  Kelly Thomer, the third man in the cockpit, asked, “Do you think that was what New Copenhagen looked like from outside, sir?”

  He and I had fought together on New Copenhagen, a planet not much different than Terraneau. The aliens “sleeved” the planet with their ion curtain, cutting us off from the rest of the universe. Once the curtain was up, no ships could enter or leave the atmosphere. The ion curtain disassembled light waves and absorbed energy. The aliens who created the curtain also used its tachyon particles as building blocks for creating an army of remotely controlled soldiers.

  That was their strategy, isolate and attack. First the aliens wrapped the planet in their ion curtain, then they invaded.

  “I’ve never thought about it,” I said. When pedestrians were hit by a car, did they wonder what the accident might have looked like from across the street? Did shark-attack victims wonder what the attack looked like from shore?

  “Captain, what if the aliens are still down there?” the pilot asked.