deanhenegar

War Core 4, Chapter 24.

Chapter 24.

Hugh thought they had dealt with the monster rather quickly, but apparently, they didn’t get the first kill this time. The GCA didn’t say who the lucky winner was, probably to keep other cores from gaining intel on each other’s accomplishments. Once they figured out its fighting style, the Hydra hadn’t been that difficult an opponent. If that pilot hadn’t spotted the monster’s attack on the forward operating base, they might have fared poorly against its healin...

War Core Wednesday, War Core 4, Chapter 23.

Chapter 23.

The upgrades to the fortifications, the addition of several automated turrets, and the construction of the add-ons for each factory delayed the start of Hugh’s port facility. He only had eleven minutes before the next wave when his drones began their work. It started with a small pier built near the bunkers, but it was positioned off to the side where it wouldn’t interfere with the bunkers’ line of sight on any invading forces. To Hugh’s surprise, the sea factory i...

War Core 4, Chapter 22.

Chapter 22.

“Do you have enough firepower?” Hugh asked as Tran’s infantry, supported by a pair of main battle mechs, gathered in the jungle near the cave entrance that they had found earlier. A half dozen of the giant millipede mechs still lingered around the area, but they had no idea what might be inside.

“Three squads should give us enough, but if not, we’ll just fall back under cover of the big guns,” Tran replied. The main battle mechs wouldn’t fit inside the ...

War Core 4, Chapter 21.

Chapter 21.

More and more of the monster mech emerged from the sea as it approached the beach. Its body looked similar to a seal if a seal had a maw filled with teeth for a head and a score of giant tentacles that fired beams of energy. The rows of teeth constantly moved around inside the mouth, and any mech that it bit would be torn up like it was in a giant garbage disposal. Its body looked heavily armored and Hugh couldn’t see any obvious weak spots on the mech. The metal alloy i...

War Core 4, Chapter 20.

Chapter 20.

“Hugh, do we have any idea where the attack will come from?” Cartwright asked.

“No, but given the bunker placement, I’m thinking they’ll hit us from the sea. Since the other cores have been fighting for a little while, this won’t be the first wave, so it could be a tough fight,” Hugh said.

“I’ll get some patrols out, so we can see if anything is pushing through the jungle toward us,” Tran offered.

“Good call, Cartwright, we’ll have...

War Core 4, Chapter 19.

Chapter 19.

“Everyone pull back to the command post, we’ll make our stand there,” Hugh ordered.

“We’ve got about five minutes before they hit, can you finish getting my infantry upgraded?” Tran asked.

When the command post had upgraded to tier four, the barracks had as well. All the new infantry mechs coming off the line were tier four, but many had been out on patrol and hadn’t had the time to return and get upgraded by a construction drone. Hugh hadn’t wa...

War Core 4, Chapter 18

Chapter 18.

Your core has been connected to the command post.

Hugh looked around the area as the last bits of his carrier unfolded and joined the command post. It was already activating and building its construction drones. To Hugh’s surprise, the 20mm cannon from the carrier was now mounted in an armored turret on the roof of his command post. The missile launcher was still there, mounted on a concrete pad next to the command post.

Before digging into h...

War Core 4, Chapter 17.

Chapter 17.

Hugh’s gunboats spread out in front of the carrier, giving the larger ship more room to maneuver. The shoreline was approaching rapidly and he could now make out three concrete bunkers guarding the beach area. A spot further inland near the tree line was highlighted as his command post deployment zone. At the deployment zone were three more structures, but it was too far for him to get an idea of what they were.

A pair of missiles streaked out from two of the bunke...

War Core Wednesday, War Core 4, Chapter 16.

Chapter 16.

Hugh wasn’t sure what to expect. He knew the final stage of the trial was supposed to be something similar to a normal battle, but so far, the GCA hadn’t given him much in the way of details. There wasn’t even a war core anywhere aboard the escape pod he was on. When Hugh thought about the war core, the seat he was strapped into began to retract into the floor of the escape pod. When it stopped, Hugh found himself in a small supply room that would normally be used to...

War Core 4, Chapter 15.

Chapter 15.

Hugh waited for another few hours, his security drones kept up their watch over the entrance while the maintenance drone worked on things inside. It finished repairs to the damaged turret and rebuilt the front door and windows of the security office. After that, Hugh had it repair the damaged security drone while the others cycled through to recharge their power supplies to full.

Occasionally, one of the drones would pick off an infected that made itself visible for ...

War Core Wednesday! War Core 4, Chapter 14.

Chapter 14.

Hugh became more and more concerned as the pounding on the reinforced door to the security office continued. While it wasn’t on the verge of breaking down, he could see that the door rattled a bit more in its frame which would only hasten its eventual failure. A quick check of the console revealed that the automated defenses were almost ready to go.

“Check the status of the door’s integrity,” Hugh ordered his little repair drone.

“Work order accepted,...

Weekly Schedule.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and you're recovering from too much fun. This week is a busy one, with the kids still out of school, and a short trip planned with my wife, so writing time will be limited. 

We'll still have a War Core Wednesday, but I don't think I'll have time for more than one chapter. 

There is also a special announcement I'm going to make once the last few details are hammered out. 

Stay safe and thank you all for your support la...

War Core Wednesday! War Core 4, chapter 13.

Chapter 13.

Now that Hugh was satisfied the door wasn’t going to somehow unlock and open on its own, he took a look at the interior of the security office. It was an odd setup. The rear of the station was like a small warehouse, and several office cubicles were up near the door front. A pair of holding cells, both empty, were placed along the back wall. Along the sides of the room were a total of twelve cradles, each with a security drone similar to the one Hugh had lost, save for b...

War Core Wednesday, War Core 4, Chapter 12.

I'll be taking a few days off for Christmas with the family, I hope you all have a great holiday! War Core will be back next Wednesday with Chapter 13, and I hope to have a special announcement to make at that time.

Chapter 12.

This station was from somewhere outside of Hugh’s universe and as far as he was concerned, wherever it came from could have it back anytime they wanted. Well, they could have it back once he got off of it. As for getting off the station, he tried to dig...

War Core 4, Chapter 11.

Chapter 11.

Hssim took off at a slow jog, not because he was worried about tiring everyone out, but more because he was looking for the best route through the throng of infected. The things were spread thick around the station offices. As they moved closer, the signs of combat were seen, divots burned by laser weapons, bloodstains, and various broken furniture and displays. A small restaurant nearby was the most damaged, with even parts of the walls torn apart, and with a higher conce...

War Core Wednesay...on Tuesday? War Core 3, Chapter 10.

Tomorrow's going to be a busy one so I may not get a chance to post, so I figured I'd get you the chapter a day early.

Chapter 10.

“We’re in the docking arm, we need to get to the station proper. Keep your eyes peeled for any information on the station layout. If this was a civilian station, they probably have some way to give the guests directions,” Hugh said as they got into formation and proceeded toward the station itself.

The boarding arm didn’t appear damaged...

War Core 3, Chapter 9.

Chapter 9.

The others were still digging into their rewards and purchasing things using their contribution points. Just like before, nobody was keen on telling what they had bought or received as a reward. It was strange, since sharing that information might mean a better chance at survival, but it seemed they all still held some fear of each other. Hugh pondered his options, eventually deciding on a plan for how to spend his contribution points.

First off, he couldn’t resist ...

Limitless Seas 2 is out today on Audible!

I have a few free codes for the US/UK. If anyone would like one, just leave a comment below and which country you're in. 

War Core Wednesday! War Core 3, Chapter 8.

How do you think Hugh should spend his contribution points? Leave a comment with your picks.

Chapter 8.

“Hugh, cover the hatchway that we came through, the rest of us will cover the center and the crew will cover the last one,” Hssim ordered. The Ssath tapped something on the command console and the surviving turret slewed over to cover the hatchway that his team was defending. There were still ten crewmembers left and even though they had slow-charging laser pistols, they w...

War Core 3, Chapter 7.

Chapter 7.

Your time in the safe zone is ending, prepare for the next stage of your challenge.

Hugh took one last moment to confirm his gear was in place as the announcement appeared. His wounds had healed during the remaining time they had spent inside the safe zone, and it appeared that some sleep did accelerate the healing process for him. Their entire team was up and armed, none of them quite sure what they would their next test would be.

Everyone had ...

War Core Wednesday! War Core 4, Chapter 7.

Chapter 7.

Hugh woke from a deep sleep with a dull pain throbbing in his side. The face of a monster hovered over him as he opened his eyes, causing Hugh to shriek and scramble across the floor. It took a moment to remember where he was and what was going on. A soft rumble from Blaylock and a hissing yip from the Ssath must have been what passed for a derisive chuckle from the two species. Neither respected anything other than strength, and his recent actions didn’t exactly exude st...

The War Core 3 ebook is out today!

War core 3 is out today. If you've enjoyed the story, please consider leaving a review. Early reviews really do help with the Amazon algorithm.  

Thank you all for your support!

War Core 4, Chapter 6.

Chapter 6.

The party pushed through the lightly forested area, moving toward the objective that only Hssim could see. They ran into more groups of the four-armed aliens as they progressed, each a small hunting party of four or five individuals. Hugh tried to join in and assist as much as possible with his knife, not willing to expend any of his precious ammo unless the threat was dire. He had a few rounds left, and it was his only equalizer against his more powerful companions. Even w...

War Core Wednesday! War Core 4, Chapter 5.

Chapter 5.

The group stood there confused as the ceiling of the compartment they were in opened and the walls retracted into the ground. From what Hssim had told them, Hugh and the others were expecting a fight inside different compartments of a large structure. Instead of what they expected, the room opened into a hilly, forested area with strange trees that gave off a faint green glow. A system prompt appeared to explain a bit more about the challenge they were facing.

2022-11-23 17:09:19 +0000 UTC View Post

War Core 4, Chapter 4.

I've decided focus more on War Core rather than Limitless Seas for the time being, but I will post a bit of both.

Chapter 4.

Normally, Hugh would be treated to the view of his consciousness traveling through the universe to his newest destination. This time, the trip was made in darkness. He got a sense of movement, but nothing to indicate where he was heading and no information on the world that he would arrive in. Whether this was some form of GCA operational security or furth...

War Core Friday! War Core 4, Chapter 3.

I'm back in the land of the living, and I hope to catch up on some writing this weekend. I'll post anything I finish.


Chapter 3.

Hugh led Hssim toward a kiosk near the restaurant. It was in a public area, so he shouldn’t have any issues with the Ssath trying to pull something shady. He logged into the terminal, waving Hssim back so the dino wasn’t looking over his shoulder. It was unsettling enough to have the Ssath standing behind him, and he didn’t also need Hssim br...

Update to the update.

Looks like I'm fighting off pneumonia, so it might be a few more days before I'm able to get back to writing. 

Sorry for the delays, and I'll pack in some extra chapters once I'm back to work.  

Update.

Hi everyone, I wanted to give an update on this week. My kids brought home the crud from school, and we're all sick with high fevers. I can't write much this week other than promo posts on social media for the Cat Core audio, but I'll try to get some extra chapters out for you next week. 

Limitless Seas, Chapter 5.

Chapter 5.

Before digging into the new abilities, Larson left his cabin and flagged down one of the sailors on watch, ordering him to gather the officers and Lord Buxton. They were likely scattered about the town and fortress, working to get things in order. While he waited, Larson dug into his new abilities.

Larson, Buccaneer Captain, Level 7.

Experience toward your next level: 0%.

Magic Affinity: Water.

2022-11-07 20:24:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Limitless Seas, Chapter 4.

Chapter 4.

Larson walked out of the dungeon and found himself looking at a late afternoon overcast sky. Time inside the dungeon was always a bit off and you could never tell if just a few moments or several hours had passed while being inside. The activity was picking up around the fort, and several sailors and marines were keeping watch over the harbor entrance and the sea around them. Being at the top of a plateau, the fortress gave a commanding view and unless shielded by magic of ...