Coles Odyssey Omega: Enter the Bandits

The very first installment to be released to the public, "Cole's Odyssey Omega: Enter the Bandits" is Book 1 in the Omega trilogy, covering chapters 1-12. It is also known as "CO:EB"

Act.0
Dale, Burt, Sam, Kyle are all members of the rebellion(self righteous terrorists), and are tasked with the retrieval of Alexander(the unofficial ex-head of Gambbi). Shortly after infiltrating the base, Sam is killed, Dale and Kyle are taken prisoner, and Burt hides. Kyle breaks free while being transported, and sneaks off into the vents. Dale however, has to wait for rescue from Burt. Once freed, the two head to the cottage in the middle of the compound where Alexander is suspected to be. And though they don't find Alexander, they do find a secret passage that leads to an underground base. At the same time, Kyle is in the ventilation of the underground base, and spots Alexander. Hearing a PA system announce a party, Dale and Burt go to investigate. The party, which is being attended by the scientists and staff that work the underground base, is then slaughtered by Gambbi guards. Dale and Burt intervene, which results in Burt's death. Then, from seemingly out of nowhere, Kyle is spotted by Dale running after Alexander. Joining the pursuit, Dale and Kyle are led to the chamber housing the 'Fail Safe Capsule'. It is activated, but malfunctions after Dale shoots several of the terminals. the building starts to come apart, an both Kyle and Alexander are killed. Dale is then left alone and witnesses 'the beginning' before being 'separated'.

Act.1: Birth by Amnesia
Cole(Omega) drearily wakes up from a crash, cause unknown, and is taken to the Mudstick hotel to regain his strength. Waking up the next day, Cole(Omega) meets Dan his rescuer. From there he learns about the world that he is 'trapped in', and promises to repay his debt, by helping Dan capture a grinder. Returning to Dan's house, Cole spots a plunk and realizes that 'he's not in Kansas anymore'.

Cole(Omega) is woken up early and taken to the local gun builder, Tar, who immediately takes a disliking to Cole(Omega), and holds him at gunpoint. Surprising everyone in the room, Cole(Omega) snatches the gun and turns it back around on Tar. Now the proud owner of a small arsenal, Cole and Dan head the the 'jungle strip' to catch a grinder. Things don't go quote as planned, thanks to a greedy 'passer by', and the two are chased through the jungle strip. In the end they escape, if only barely, and drive home, with a captured grinder in toe.

After capturing the creature, Cole(Omega) goes to a wedding where he meets the bride and groom Bee and Guy. There he also meets Trace who he flirts with in a rather pathetic fashion. She tells him that she is a guard in New Order, and shows interest in him. Cole(Omega) tries to show off his talent with a handgun, but on route to a 'natural shooting range' they discover a buried building. Venturing inside Cole(Omega) meets 'The Spectator', who 'warns' him that something bad might happen. While trying to escape, the two fall down to the bottom of the building and lose contentious. Upon waking they must fight their way out of the building through a hive of 'wall-riders'. Upon escape, Trace decides that Cole(Omega) is worth the chance, and takes him to New Order to become a guard.

Act.2: Learning to Walk
On his first official day in New Order, the town is 'attacked' by Cole(Alpha). With both Coles being twins, Cole(Omega) is classified as a Bandit spy, and is locked up. Being sprung by Trace's begrudging brother Lucas, Cole escapes the neutral zone and heads to Charmer. In Charmer, Cole(Omega) saves a escort(prostitute) from a larger man. Later in a local 'eatery', the man attacks Cole(Omega), but is gunned down by passer's by, who think that he is the 'Rhino Rider'.

The next day the two head back to Mudstick where everyone they know, lives. Once there, Cole(Omega) and Trace encounter a woman named Julie, who claims to be Cole(Omega)'s wife; producing startlingly believable evidence. Falling for the trap, Cole(Omega) follows her back to 'her house' and is kidnapped shortly after discovering her deception. At the same time Trace calls her brother Lucas for help; explaining the situation for her flawed point of view. Eventually discovering the deception thanks to some help from Guy and Bee, Trace rescues her partner, and the two make up; not out.

The next day, to repay the debt they owe Bee and Guy for allowing them to share their house, Cole(Omega) and Trace venture into the Ancient Jungle, to find a part that Dan needs to repair his latest vehicle. There they split up and Cole(Omega) is attacked by a gang of ferocious cats... However, he shows quick thinking and leadership skills, and both himself and Bee get out alive. With the other group having already located the part, Cole(Omega)'s group heads back to the vehicle and waits. While waiting, Bee is snagged by a swoop, and is carried off to the nest deeper in the city. With no hope of saving her, the group must leave her for dead. Arriving back in Mudstick with minutes to spare the group are attacked by Bandits, who are looking for Dan. In the fight Guy is wounded and Cole(Omega) and Trace are forced to leave him behind when they flee to Dan's house, where they meet Ivy(Dan's sister in law) who was there looking for Sam.

Act.3: Immersion
Cole(Omega) and Trace go back into Mudstick to try and find Guy. There they meet the local gun post owner Cid(Guy's employer), who tells them that Guy has been captured. He also tells them where he is and gives them the opportunity to save him. Feeling obligated for the sake of Bee's death(an event they both blame themselves for), Cole(Omega) and Trace break him out, and sneak him back to the gun post. Once Cid is sure that he can trust them, he fills them in on the plan to siege Mudstick, and then sends them off to meet up with Dan; who is in hiding just outside of Papa Town. By the time they arrive however, Dan lets them know that Sam has been captured by Bandits, and that he has no intention of leaving her behind.

Having sent Dan back the night earlier on a night transport, Cole(Omega) and Trace arrive back in Mudstick in early noon. There, they are tasked with rescuing Bec and Jim(the local garage owners) from the Bandits, with the help of a disgruntled Guy. Saving Bec and Jim they escape the Bandits in the jungle strip. After returning and briefly meeting with Cid, Bec and Jim refuse to help in the siege, and flee to Velo. With Trace wounded, Cole(Omega) is sent to pick up extra firearms from Tar. After arriving Cole is attacked by Kier, the leader of the Bandits, but is left alive; and stranded. With Guy already having been sent to pick up Cole(Omega), they are able to make it back to Mudstick before dark, if only just barely.

The siege commences and Cole(Omega), Trace, and Dan (Guy having run ahead on a suicidal spree) find themselves at the back next to the arena, when they run into Lark(Kier's son) and his squad, who are holding Sam hostage. After rescuing Sam, Dan takes after the survivors, and Cole(Omega) takes after him; Trace staying behind to watch Sam. After killing all but two, Dan is calmed down and runs back to Sam to find that Bee is in fact alive, and now a part of their group. Bee demands that they go after Guy, but is denied help once Cid, through the use of the neutral zone's PA system, informs them that the siege is lost. lying to Bee and telling her that Guy was told to retreat back to his house should this happen, the group retreat up into the Mudstick mountain.

Act.4: Adoption
The group discusses what to do at Guy's house the next morning, with the final decision being that Dan will help find those in 'Dan's Family', Ivy will take Sam to live with her, and Cole(Omega), Trace, and Bee will search for Guy. During their search Cole(Omega) and Trace meet Lefty who gives them a 'beacon', and tells them to take it to Sames Row. Hoping to find Guy there, they leave, finding transport via a stranger with 'extra space'. The stranger however, turns out to be insane and kidnaps them alongside a man named Golan. With the help of Golan, the group breaks from their bindings, and escapes to Sames Row, after killing the man.

Not long after arriving in Sames Row, Trace and Cole(Omega) are taken prisoner by Dart(the leader of Sames Row), under the advice of her lover, Leck (Cid's right hand man). While they are in prison they fight and break off their relationship; the 'moment' to breath' allowing all of their problems to spill out at once. At the same time Guy is saved by Tony (the Bandit medic) and tasked with killing Lark. Also at the same time, Lefty breaks out Cid. Tony catches them in the act and hands them over to Guy, who decides to leave the neutral zone with them; Tony stays to deal with Lark.

After making it into Sames Row, Cid orders Leck to let Cole(Omega) and Trace go free. Once free, they meet up with Dan who, like all citizens of Mudstick, was forced out of the neutral zone by the Bandits. With Mudstick now only housing Bandits, Cid decides to activate a beacon. Guy is told about Bee's survival, and is over joyed, spending most of the night talking to her. The next day Bee is greeted at the garage by Trace, while Guy is woken up and brought to the entrance by Cole(Omega). While they travel, both groups talk, which results in Trace and Cole(Omega) getting back together, and becoming physical for the first time. Now evening, and Mudstick now an outpost for the Bandits exclusively, Cid calls everyone to a nearby hill, Cid destroys Mudstick, and, declares war on New Order, which is now under the control of Trace's brother Lucas. Trace is upset, but has few options.

Epilogue
Cole enters into an 'oath of brotherhood' with Dan and Guy.

Technical release
Act.0 - Feb 1st, 2015 Act.1 - Feb 14th, 2015 Act.2 - May 2nd, 2015

Official (expected) release
Act.0 - Jun 1st, 2015 Act.1 - Jun 8th, 2015 Act.2 - Jun 15th, 2015 Act.3 - Jun 22nd, 2015 Act.4 - May 4th, 2015 Digital Complete Edition - Jun 1st, 2015

Unused Intro
This intro was removed for three reasons: Be warned, the following is unedited, and may be a difficult read as such.
 * 1) Due to the massive amount of information being summarized into such a small section, it comes off as very armature and 'cliche'. and I, the author, did not want this to be the first thing people read.
 * 2) It was hardly necessary to the plot of Act. 0, much less the rest of the book.
 * 3) My editor did not approve of it being in the book, and I was forced to keep it out as part of a compromise. A compromise that kept Act.0 as a whole in.

Universe Introduction

In late 2010 Leon Harper was killed after falling to his death, mourned by few, and remembered by less. Contrary to popular belief, an ordinary man can’t change the world, but Leon Harper was no ordinary man; at least not at that point.

For better or worse, in our universe he was snuffed out at an early age, but as you should know, we aren't the only universe. We aren't the most important and we aren't the universe shown in this story.

Each universe is created not by choices as some would have you believe, but in second chances. Every time a person with great ambition dies before their dreams can be realized, they are given a chance to try again. If they accept this chance an identical universe is created for them.

In 2013 Leon Harper released a new clip on appliance simply named: “My Gambbi”. Its function was simple, to keep all usernames and passwords accessible at all times. It even came with a customization avatar to make it uniquely yours. On it’s own it was a novelty that very few cared about; the real profit was in the numerous patents it held.

With the introduction of the black net, the augmented reality we have all been waiting for, the following year. Three years later when the black net became fully implemented My Gambbi became a must; a sort of drivers license to the virtual world.

If you’re curious what the black net is, let me explain: The black net is a second vision of the world we live in. You walk into a mall, you see the ads, the people, and they see you. With the black net you experience the ads. You see who they want you to see, and they see who you most want to be.

Ads pop out at you based on your previous purchases and preferences. You can go to a friend’s house without ever leaving your home via an communal room built into every modern home. Blind people can see, cripples can fly, a world made digital.

So, I’m sure you can easily see how a product that keeps your identity yours is a must. Whenever a new ‘world changing’ way of life is implemented, laws are soon to follow; it happened with oil, it happened with space, and it happened to the Black Net. However, it didn't happen fast enough.

With an unofficial monopoly on the Black Net, My Gambbi® evolved from the number one virtual goods supplier into a political body. Normally something like this wouldn't be possible. The government would put a stop to it immediately. But the government is only as strong as it’s people; and its already restless people were suffering from both poverty and subliminal side effects.

In 2023 the war officially began. Later, in 2023 it officially ended. But wars never truly end as long as there are those who continue to fight.

The world was split, but not evenly. You were either a citizen who had to do your part to advance the Gambbi society, or a Rebel who had to fight the tyrannical rule of the Gambbi Corporation. Where the Gambbi Corporation had the advantage of resources and manpower, the Rebels had the advantage of no official homeland for Gambbi to assault.

In our universe Leon Harper died, and his dreams were wiped from the palate of existence. But in what I have named the Gambbi-verse, his ambition was realized and the world was changed.

But this isn't his story, it’s not the Gambbi Corporations story, and it’s not the Rebels story. This story doesn't start for another 30 years after a small team of four men and Leon’s son, Alexander, change the world yet again.

Non-Canon Cover
The cover for "Cole's Odyssey Omega Enter the Bandits", though official, is non-Canon. My artist Samantha Lee is very talented, and practically donated said talents to the project. Where this was very helpful and allowed a cover to be made with my lack of budject, corners had to be cut. Because of this the characters you see are not those in the book, but merely an artists interpretation; I like to think of them as 'look alikes' as some, like Trace, are very close to what she looks like.

Fun Facts
Both trilogies (Alpha and Omega) are actually written and edited in tandem. And as such the 2.5 giga bytes, and over 400 files made for the book, are meshed together, with very few being 'trilogy specific'.

When deciding which trilogy to write in, I will flip a coin, and if it lands on 'tails', I will write in Omega. As Cole(Omega) spends less time using his head, and is more concerned with getting some 'tail'.

Cole(Omega)'s real name is stated very early on in the book. As well, three other characters who make appearances have their real names stated.

The cover for "CO:EB" originally contained a mistake that, though easily missed, confused one 'beta-reader': Dan's truck had a windshield. I then had to contract my artist Evaleigh Bell, to fix said problem. Meaning that the front of Dan's truck is actually artwork made by another artist to mimic the original.

Though "CO:EB" and "CA:EB" have generally close chapter lengths, "CO:EB" has about an 'entire chapter worth of words' less, than "CA:EB".