Sword of Minerva
Book 10 of The Guild Wars
By
Mark Wandrey
PUBLISHED BY: Seventh Seal Press
Copyright © 2021 Mark Wandrey
All Rights Reserved
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Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Gateway to Union”
and discover other titles by Mark Wandrey at:
http://worldmaker.us/
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Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Shattered Crucible”
and discover other titles by Seventh Seal Press at:
http://chriskennedypublishing.com/
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For a suggested reading order guide to the Four Horsemen universe, go to:
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/the-four-horsemen-books/4hu-suggested-reading-order/
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For a listing of all the Four Horsemen books, go to:
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/the-four-horsemen-books/
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Cover Design by Brenda Mihalko
Original Art by Ricky Ryan
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License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
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Here you’ll find the 1st chapter of the ongoing serial of Taiki Sato, former eccentric genius of the Winged Hussars, after he left the company. Along with resurrected merc Rick Culper, Sato has embarked on a journey to fill in the pieces of his shattered life. These events occur following A Pale Dawn and before the ending of the Guild Wars series.
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Contents
Part I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Part II
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Part III
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
About Mark Wandrey
Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy
Excerpt from Book One of the Singularity War
Excerpt from Devil Calls the Tune
Excerpt from Book One of the Mako Saga
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Part I
I dreamed a dream, and now that dream is gone from me.
Chapter One
Taiki Sato opened his eyes and blinked at the darkness. How long had they been in hyperspace? Time seemed to have no meaning for him, a common sensation since his pinplants had been modified more than a week ago. Adjusting was taking a while. Along with the modifications came a flood of memories, many of them still meaningless.
The inside of the module slowly came into focus. A tiny amount of light was always available from some of the instruments and apparatus which kept them alive. He shared a grand total of 36 cubic meters with his traveling companion. Rick Culper hadn’t moved since Sato fell asleep. Literally hadn’t moved, not so much as a millimeter. The shadow of the combat armor was only perceptible as an outline.
The slight whine and hum spoke of the life support equipment continuing their nonstop work. Of course, if they’d ceased to function while Sato dreamed, the dream would never have ended. He would have passed from dreamland to the beyond without waking. He wondered what Rick was dreaming about. He hoped it was more pleasant than his own dreams.
He found his slate by feel and brought it awake. The bright light of the thin computer was like a searchlight in the dark module. It might sound like a lot, 36 cubic meters. It had seemed like plenty when he’d conceived of his plot to leave the Winged Hussars. A Human could be comfortable in a space just 1 by 1 by 2 meters, a total of two cubic meters. Not luxuriant by any means, but comfortable. So 36 cubic meters was 16 times as much space, right?
Sato took in the sum of their living space. The Hussars’ standard Transpac container. Based on a 3.5 by 3.5 by 2.93–meter design dating back to some antiquated standard long since abandoned. A full third of it was taken up by life support, and another 10% by the combination kitchen/bathroom. This left about 20 cubic meters, with no windows or outside contact, for two people to live in for more than a week.
“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” Sato mumbled. The container had its own power source, and it was also fully shielded so no one could tell two people and a power source were inside, even if they were right up against it with a sensor. He’d made sure of it himself when he’d designed the stealth insertion container years ago. The Hussars’ marines had probably never considered one of their own would use it to sneak out of the system.
He’d never thought he’d in essence run away from his life, either. Taiki Sato had been the chief naval architect and innovator for the Winged Hussars’ technology group, euphemistically known as the Geek Squad. It was run by Kleena, but Sato had been the pure innovative force behind all their inventions.
The only problem with working for the Hussars was, he didn’t remember how he’d gotten there. The thought had never entered his mind, until shortly after the Keesius
