S E Sasaki - Amazing Grace: Book Three of the Grace Lord Series

AMAZING GRACE

Book Three of the Grace Lord Series

S.E. SASAKI

Oddoc Books

Copyright 2018 by S.E. Sasaki

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors imagination. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, events, or localities is entirely coincidental.

For more information about the author or the publisher, visit: www.sesasaki.com

Published by:

ODDOC BOOKS

P.O. Box 580,

Erin, Ontario, Canada,

N0B 1T0

978-0-9947905-6-9 (ebook)

978-0-9947905-5-2 (paperback)

978-0-9947905-4-5 (hardcover)

To Grace Sasaki, my mother,
the original Grace.

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Though Sasaki revisits numerous motifs, she pumps such joy and energy into her world that its impossible to fly past without visiting. Fresh intelligence, danger, and complexity await sci-fi fans.
Kirkus Reviews

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Grace Sasaki for being the indomitable spirit, passionate role model, and fierce lioness of a mother, who showed us we could be whatever we wanted to be, if we put our minds to it. She taught us never to show weakness, to never be afraid of hard work, and to believe in ourselves. Thank you, Mom, for putting up with us and for always being there, whenever we needed you.

Thank you to Mitsuru Sasaki, my father, who once said to me: Dont be the nurse, be the doctor. Dont be the secretary, be the boss. A very progressive piece of advice for a Japanese man to tell his daughter, even if that man was born in Canada. Thank you, Dad, for those words. I miss you every day.

A big thank you to my son, Daniel Sherrington, who is my chief marketer and assistant. Thank you to Emily Hall, who also helps with the marketing and promotion of my books. I am blessed to have such talented individuals helping me. Thank you to Christine Sherrington for being such an inspiration to me and for being so supportive.

Robert Runt, thank you for taking on the editing of Amazing Grace and for telling me the first draft could be so much better. Your advice has been invaluable and I feel very fortunate to have you as my editor. A big thank you to my advance readers: David Sherrington, Susan Elliott, Michael G. Fraser, Florence Holder, David Nelson, and Manfred Wendler for all of your valuable insights and sharp eyes! Any mistakes in this novel are mine and in spite of your hard work.

I would like to acknowledge the wonderful talent of Josip Romac Designs who creates the interesting covers for my books and to James Simmons who gave technical advice. I am grateful to JenEric Designs for the inner book design.

My thanks to the surgical staff of the Guelph General Hospital who keep me inspired, happy, and questionably sane. You all work so hard and I hope I capture some of the dedication and spirit that you show every day. As always, it is a great privilege to work with all of you.

Finally, last but never least, a huge thank you to my husband, David Sherrington, who is my first reader, my greatest fan, and my biggest cheerleader. Without you, David, I would not be writing. I am forever in your debt for your love, kindness, and support. You are my home, my earth, allowing me to reach for the stars. No writer is more blessed than I. Thank you for everything you do.

1. Kids

The first instant Damien Lamont realized his squad was in a shit storm was when the severed head of Private Manuel Kawaguchi crashed into his faceplate. The sudden impact snapped Damiens head back and coated his visor with blood and brains.

Get down! he bellowed into his comset, knowing that his warning was already too late.

Count in! he ordered, trying to be heard above the deafening roar of enemy fire.

Six of his squad, including Kawaguchi, did not respond. In the time it took to take a deep breath, he had lost half a dozen brave men and women. If luck was with them, their battlesuits would save their lives. No such luck for Kawaguchi. Something painful started to twist inside Damien, but he suppressed it. Hard. There was no time for emotion right now.

Hed been ordered to take his squad deep into the rainforest in search of the rebels. Damien and his platoon of genetically-modified, tiger-adapted marines had been stalking through dense forest and dripping mists in full battlesuit for hours. Most of the squad had complained about the suits. They wanted to hunt la tiger. Damien had insisted on the battle armour, because the suits would immediately convert into cryopods, if the soldiers were badly injured.

The rebels of Dais were extremely well armed. They had shielding which camouflaged their heat signatures from surveillance. This continent was almost all rainforest, but Conglomerate Intelligence had narrowed the location of the rebel headquarters down to a few possible sites. Damien had volunteered his squad to check out this area.

What had he been thinking?

Had they become complacent and careless on the long slog through this thick hot jungle? He could not dwell on that question now. While crawling on his belly over massive, tangled tree roots, orange-green moss, and putrid-smelling mud, brilliant flashes and rocking concussions shattered the air above his head.

His second-in-command, Corporal Delia Chase, was off to his right. He could see her firing a constant barrage of ion pulses towards a region about two hundred meters ahead. The boles of enormous, shaggy trees were exploding in splinters, as she sprayed the area with pulse rifle fire. Flames were now dancing up the huge trunks, igniting the great branches overhead. The undergrowth was lighting up, as well. Soon the entire forest would be ablaze. The rest of Damiens squad was now following Delias cue.

Dialling down the brightness and increasing the mag on his visor, Damien could see silhouettes racing through the flames. Aiming at them, he fired off a series of shots. A snarl of satisfaction escaped his throat as he watched a number of those bodies fall.

Laser fire, ionic pulses, and exploding projectiles were keeping most of his people pinned down. Damien unleashed his battle drones. Armed and aggressive, the drones would seek out and destroy the rebel shooters. They would also take on any enemy drones headed in their direction.

Lamont sought the positions of his soldiers. Their camouflaged battlesuits made them near invisible, but he could locate their suit beacons through his visor display. He clenched his fists and snarled. There were too many flashing red signals and too few green ones.

The remaining active members of his squad were responding to the attack with seeker rockets, ionized pulse rifle fire, smart bullets, and needle grenades. The rainforest was lighting up like fireworks. Drones were swooping and diving like crazed swallows, intercepting incoming artillery fire. Unfortunately, they were not stopping it all and Damien could hear screaming on all sides of him. Still, screaming was good. It meant the soldier was still alive and the battlesuit/cryopod had a chance to preserve the soldier.