Apollos Thorne

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 23

I came face to face with my hard limitations those first few days of our training. I was not Aeneus Raptis, and neither did I have rank D psionics. In free fall, there was a speed I could pull out of. Anything more than that was impossible. Once I learned to make myself as aerodynamic as possible, I could reach terminal velocity, or 120 miles per hour, in less than a quarter mile. Going beyond that was quite possible. Controlling exactly how fast I was going was tricky. When Mel and I had pra...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 22

The very next day, the news was released. Several more people including the Real Major Jeff Wright had unlocked rank D psionics. And by several, I mean dozens. The Forefathers, Brendon Black’s battalion, could now put together a full squad of rank D users. Lethal Accord was behind in numbers by just a few as were The Burden Bearers.

It was just like our time back in Freedom. Once people started unlocking their psionics, it happened in mass. Destiny reassured me that this wouldn’t be...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 21

The screen went dark momentarily. We all thought it was over.

Mr. Rachet muttered, “Are they going to let battalions use artillery or something? The Manticores aren’t far from the bases… How many of the battalions won’t pass the first stage?”

It was Kline that said it. “The vast majority.”

When Mia was about to say something, the black screen was suddenly covered with additional information.

Bonus Objectives

A bonus point will be rewarded for the fo...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 20

What does a man do when he sees no way forward against impossible odds. He takes ice cream to a Krato to tick him off. It had worked before. Why wouldn’t it work again? Except, instead of the fury I was expecting, Aeneus Raptis sighed.

“Just say it,” the Ekseliksi said. “What is it you want from me?”

I began to explain the impossible odds Prodos was facing when he interrupted me.

Crossing his arms behind his back where he hovered on the platform across from me, Aen...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 19

The next day with the Combat Development Team gathered around, I asked, “Besides coming up with unique ways to defeat a squad with rank D psionic users, what would it look like if Prodos put together its own squad? Who would you include, and would it be able to make a difference?”

From Cornelius and Harrison to Vector and Drool to everyone from Prodos’s original core group minus an Ekseliksi Princess and her secret entourage, everyone was quite as they seriously considered it.

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 18

Author's note:
What I was planning for this next section I ended up scrapping. To be honest, it just didn't add anything to the story. It's not something I usually like to do, but even the conclusion was blah, so here we are. Back to it.

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Mel and I spent about an hour with Timur, making it an early dinner. Destiny broke down his current placement and ability as we left the diner.

“He placed 4,612 in the 400-meter race. He’s quick on his feet, but his size limits ...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 17

I was having breakfast on the last day of the convention with Kline, Mel, Barrell, and Hwan when it was announced. We were inhaling large amounts of eggs and bacon in the Deltas Room. Everyone’s military issued headset went off at the same time.

Before I could even read the message, Destiny purple orb appeared in the middle of the table with a miniature version of the blond AI in military garb. She crossed her arms, reporting, “It’s exactly what we thought. They’ve chosen two ev...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 16

That first night was interesting. There were several people in the Champions Room that stayed up late chatting. Brendon Black wasn’t the only person that thought I didn’t deserve a top 100 spot. However, I was viewed more like a professional athlete, but I’d also just rescued my mother from a group of terrorists in a very public manner. So I didn’t exactly belong, but no one minded my presence or excluded me from the conversations.

Destiny insisted that I stay put even though I ...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 15

It didn’t surprise me when Barrell had us return to the guy that added extra thick padding to ballistic armor. He’d never even been a football player, but he liked to hit things with his shoulder.

As for the rest of us, we all spent a little on stuff we didn’t need. Some of us more than others.

One thing that I didn’t know about Kline was that he was into collecting war memorabilia. And we’re not talking about augmented versions, but the real thing. Specifically, he had ...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 14

One thought above all flooded my mind. Were these people insane? Did they not know we were dangerous? Hadn’t they seen the clips of what I’d done? Of course, they had.

The only thing I could do was hold myself back. It wouldn’t even take a psionic bolt. An Othisi push with a little too much energy from too close could seriously injure a person. To give my psionics something to do, I activated my inner walls. It was like going into defensive mode without anyone knowing.

Peter...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 13

Author Note: To answer those that have asked, I've had some delays because of issues with the cover art. Without a cover, I can't publish, so I've been focused on trying to get it remedies in a timely manner. The Gathering of Guilds mini-arc should be released this coming week.

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Having a million psionic users off-base at one of the largest convention centers in the world was an insane idea by itself. The addition of a Military Expo which would allow non-psionic users to be pr...

Underworld - The Succubi - Audiobook is live!

Graham Halstead is back with Underworld - The Succubi.

Synopsis:

Elorion's eyes are opened as he visits the succubi capital.

Are they monsters? Victims of an ancient magic? Or are they just misunderstood?

War is coming. Lilith's human experiment is finally revealed. What will El and Aeris do when face to face with the real players of the Underworld?

Cheers!

Get it here!

2025-04-22 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 12

It was announced the morning before the Gathering of the Guilds that no charges would be pressed against me. Certain videos were leaked on the meta like my reaction the moment I found out, my trip through the city to reach my mom, then me leaping from one building to another before crashing through to the room my mom was being held in. At least the carnage that followed was mostly kept under wraps.

The one exception was the video of me bursting through the wall instead of using the door...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 11

Lex stormed across the room and jabbed his finger in Peter’s face. “You did this. She’s pregnant.”

Peter fell back into his seat and sighed. “Remove the fertilized egg without her knowledge and have it put in stasis.”

“Are you insane? This has gone far enough. The only reasonable action is to destroy the embryo. We’re already guilty of treason just allowing this to continue, and you want to secure evidence against us?”

“What do you think will happen if Vi...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 10

Author note: Sorry for the chapter delay. I've gone back and forth many times as to whether this is the direction I want to take Lucius's character development and finally decided to go with it.

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Weeks passed, training continued. Aeneus continued to kill me daily, but he added instruction here and there. Looking past the bubbles, Destiny’s training sim allowed for me to face the same attack a thousand times in a row and experiment as I did. Dodging what the Krato threw at ...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 9

When Victoria and I came together that night, I only briefly mentioned Mel’s desire to hook me up with a blind date.

“You should go,” she insisted.

I objected.

“How exactly are people to believe we aren’t together when they see you live like your married?”

I mockingly replied, “How exactly are people to believe we aren’t together when they see you live like your married?”

“I’ve set up a pattern of life so that it’s expected. You’re the o...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 8

As I waited for everyone to show up for our Combat Development Team meeting, I went over in my head the many times Krato had swooped in from above. His speed, mastery of angles, and the almost unlimited number of possibilities the Ekseliksi’s movement ability allowed for in the right environment left me dazzled. I would’ve likely cheered him on if each of his approaches hadn’t left me limbless or dead.

“You’re not supposed to be happy about dying over forty times in less than ...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 7

“Was that really necessary?” Peter asked.

Aeneus Raptis had descended after severing the boy’s head from his body and returned to hovering a few inches off the ground. The unopened tub of ice cream appeared in his hand. He began to undo the seal as he answered, “What could be more necessary? Are you afraid it might discourage him?”

“No.”

Flicking through a few screens with his finger, he found what he was looking for and summoned a spoon into the artificial wor...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 6

When I ported into Fort Prodos, I recalled the virtual blueprints Victoria and Peter had overlayed on the environment here through the Meta. So much had changed. Most of all, our win in the quarterly event brought with it simulation points, or SP. Enough for them to finally finish Fort Prodos’s foundation.

Unlike the first week of Vanguard when the system installed anything they purchased instantly, that was no longer an option. A second fusion reactor was already being built. Much of...

Audiobook Preorder: Underworld - Book 8

Audiobook Preorder!

The Succubi

Underworld, Book 8

Narrated by Graham Halstead

Coming Apr 22!

Get it!

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Succubi-Audiobook/B0F1ZGJ516

Synopsis:

Elorion's eyes are opened as he visits the succubi capital.

Are they monsters? Victims of an ancien...

Audiobook Update

Underworld - The Succubi audio book will be released approximately April 22nd. The preorder should be out soon. I'll do a big update when its ready.

Cheers!

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 5

I stood in a giant cube. The whole simulated cube within a cube thing at first had me thinking it was a joke, but Destiny floated before me like some life-sized fairy without wings and glared down at me. This wasn’t her dressed in her military ballistic suit, but neither was it the young playful version that had raised me. This was the adult version. Her blond hair was back in a ponytail and wore metallic pink plate armor as if she were some fantasy princess.

“So this is how you ima...

Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 32

What Path was best for the Tower’s first and foremost News organization? The argument continued between Jared and his peers, but he thought for sure his invisibility path was among the best if not outright the superior to all the rest. It was true that teleporters and flyers had an advantage at running away, but he didn’t need to run.

The most incredible thing about tower journalism was that no camera or equipment was needed. You just had to be in the vicinity to witness the event a...

Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 31

Mitch Travis waited for the last day to make his move. He’d remained on the outskirts of the command group throughout the training camp, but I’d been sure to introduce him to everyone even though he did what he always did and remained in the background. He wasn’t like Silvester Hitchens who led with the weight of his personality and zeal. For the last month, he’d chosen when to approach the others one on one. This was the first time he requested to speak with all of us. Despite remain...

Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 30

Just as on the first day of training camp, everyone had gathered around the boxing ring where Nathan was standing. He took one final look at his new status.

Status

Name: Nathaniel Kane

Age: 19

Cultivation: First Stage of the Blood Realm (Consolidating)

Focus: Body (Toughness)

Talent: S

Physique: C

Strength: C

Agility: C

Stamina: C+

Energy: F+

Spirit: G+

Shaking his head, he remembered back to how his physique hadn�...

Body Cultivating Hurts - Chapter 29

Nathan swelled with tension as Jun’s bokken slammed into the muscles on the side of his neck. It wasn’t as bad as taking a knock to the head and seeing stars, but the pain was sharp and made his muscles knot. The kendo master’s movements were flawless. A slash with almost identical force bit into the other side of his neck.

It wasn’t over. The blows remained even. One after another, they battered him. This wasn’t punishment. Jun was just returning the favor. Nathan couldn’t ...

Update

I'm not big into giving big life updates since that's not why you're here, but my dad's in the hospital due to a fall. I've been out of town, and we're not sure when he's going to be discharged. I'll be uploading some chapters today I had intended on releasing from Body Cultivating Hurts while I was working on Codename just to give you guys some content.

Cheers!

Body Cultivation Hurts - Chapter 28

Author Note: I plan on releasing this book later this year. For those of you who read the chapters over a year ago now, the long term plan is to have several characters in the Heaven's Laws universe that eventually meet up in a Avengers style mash up.

I've been sitting on a few chapters in this series, writing it off and on. It's not the main book I'm writing now, but I feel its a good time to start releasing some of what I have. After Codename, we'll be jumping into Heaven's Laws book...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 4

Porting into our sim withing a sim, Victoria was waiting. She wrapped her arms around me the moment she saw me. She had a new favorite place to pinch me under my shirt on the side of the ribs.

The moment I felt her hand, I let it happen, but not without running my fingers over her hair down her back.

She melted, purring like a kitten.

“How was work today?” I asked.

She snorted as she leaned into me. “My company rebelled under my leadership. I will have to impleme...

Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 3

Note: This one could've been a few chapters, but I tied it into one to save you from anymore cliffhangers.

Cheers!

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“Prodos is already making a move,” Bolt said with too much volume due to his excitement.

Drumming his fingers against the table, Rachet straightened himself and informed, “Major Lucius Edwards is right. They can’t lose this event or Vanguard is over for them. With some of the original Genesis participants beginning to unlock rank D psionics...