“What is it?” he asked roughly.
Sansar pushed the door open and entered his stateroom. A Tri-V monitor on his desk was paused in a replay, just prior to when Paka shot Alexis. Blue Sky! Was he really sitting here watching that over and over?
“Sure, c’mon in,” Nigel muttered sarcastically, closing the door behind her. “Obviously, I wanted visitors. That’s why I said to go the fuck away.”
“I—” Sansar hiccupped. “I had a vision…of Alexis.”
Nigel waved a hand in the direction of the monitor. “I did, too. And then that bitch Paka fucking shot her. Just like I’m going to fucking do to her. Maybe once in each knee…a couple in each arm…she’s going to be a long time dying. A long time.” He stared at the monitor replaying his revenge in his mind. “Just when I’d finally begun to trust those fuckers, too…”
“Nigel,” Sansar said. She hiccupped again, then continued, “I don’t think Alexis is dead.”
“What?” Nigel roared, turning on her. “Did you hit your head and forget about everything that happened? She’s dead! That bitch Paka shot her.” He waved at the monitor again, and it caught his attention. He stared at the screen for a moment then muttered, “No, on second thought, shooting Paka is too good…I need something better…”
“No,” Sansar said. “I just had a vision of her.”
“A vision? A vision of what? Her grave?”
“No, I had a vision of her, sitting in her command chair in the CIC of Pegasus. I know this was in the future, and I am sure she is still alive.”
“Really?” Nigel asked. “How do you know? How do you know this isn’t just something you’re hoping for so much that you make yourself see it as true?”
“I don’t know, I guess,” Sansar said, “but I feel it more strongly than anything I’ve ever felt before. Alexis is alive!”
“Are you sure?” Nigel asked, a little hope coming to his eyes.
“More sure than I’ve ever been in my life.”
Nigel pushed off the table and wrapped his arms around Sansar. “Thank you! Thank you for coming! But…but…how do you know it’s in the future? How do you know you weren’t just seeing something from the past?”
“Because she was bouncing your son on her knee.”
# # # # #
About Chris Kennedy
A bestselling Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and publisher, Chris Kennedy is a former naval aviator and elementary school principal. Chris’ stories include the Theogony and Codex Regius science fiction trilogies, and stories in the Four Horsemen military sci-fi series. Get his free book, Shattered Crucible, at his website, http://chriskennedypublishing.com.
Chris is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores. Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations, and he is publishing fifteen authors under various imprints of his Chris Kennedy Publishing small press.
Chris lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is the holder of a doctorate in educational leadership. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/chriskennedypublishing.biz.
About Mark Wandrey
Located in rural Tennessee, Mark Wandrey has been creating new worlds since he was old enough to write. After penning countless short stories, he realized novels were his real calling and hasn’t looked back since. A lifetime of diverse jobs, extensive travels, and living in most areas of the country have uniquely equipped him with experiences to color his stories in ways many find engaging and thought provoking. Now a bestselling author, he has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
Sign up on his mailing list and get free stuff and updates! http://www.worldmaker.us/news-flash-sign-up-page/
Caution – Worlds Under Construction
* * * * *
Titles by Chris Kennedy
Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle – Available Now
Occupied Seattle – Available Now
Janissaries: Book One of The Theogony – Available Now
When the Gods Aren’t Gods: Book Two of The Theogony – Available Now
Terra Stands Alone: Book Three of The Theogony – Available Now
Can’t Look Back: Book One of the War for Dominance – Available Now
The Search for Gram: Book One of the Codex Regius – Available Now
Beyond the Shroud of the Universe: Book Two of the Codex Regius – Available Now
The Dark Star War: Book Three of the Codex Regius – Available Now
Self-Publishing for Profit – Available Now
Leadership from the Darkside – Available Now
Asbaran Solutions – Available Now
The Golden Horde – Available Now
Alpha Contracts – Available Now
A Fistful of Credits – Available Now
For a Few Credits More – Available Now
The Good, The Bad, And The Merc – Available Now
A Fiery Sunset – Available now
* * * * *
Titles by Mark Wandrey
Cartwright’s Cavaliers
Winged Hussars
A Fistful of Credits
For a Few Credits More
The Good, the Bad, and the Merc
Alpha Contracts
A Fiery Sunset
Earth Song: Overture
Earth Song: Sonata in Orionis
Earth Song: The Lost Aria
A Time to Die
A Time to Run
* * * * *
Connect with Chris Kennedy Online
Website: http://chriskennedypublishing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriskennedypublishing.biz
Twitter: @ChrisKennedy110
Instagram: chris.kennedy12
Connect with Mark Wandrey Online
Website: http://www.worldmaker.us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007479075705
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Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy:
Salvage Title
___________________
Kevin Steverson
Now Available from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “Salvage Title:”
A steady beeping brought Harmon back to the present. Clip’s program had succeeded in unlocking the container. “Right on!” Clip exclaimed. He was always using expressions hundreds or more years out of style. “Let’s see what we have; I hope this one isn’t empty, too.” Last month they’d come across a smaller vault, but it had been empty.
Harmon stepped up and wedged his hands into the small opening the door had made when it disengaged the locks. There wasn’t enough power in the small cells Clip used to open it any further. He put his weight into it, and the door opened enough for them to get inside. Before they went in, Harmon placed a piece of pipe in the doorway so it couldn’t close and lock on them, baking them alive before anyone realized they were missing.
Daylight shone in through the doorway, and they both froze in place; the weapons vault was full. In it were two racks of rifles, stacked on top of each other. One held twenty magnetic kinetic rifles, and the other held some type of laser rifle. There was a rack of pistols of various types. There were three cases of flechette grenades and one of thermite. There were cases of ammunition and power clips for the rifles and pistols, and all the weapons looked to be in good shape, even if they were of a strange design and clearly not made in this system. Harmon couldn’t tell what
system they had been made in, but he could tell what they were.
There were three upright containers on one side and three more against the back wall that looked like lockers. Five of the containers were not locked, so Clip opened them. The first three each held two sets of light battle armor that looked like it was designed for a humanoid race with four arms. The helmets looked like the ones Harmon had worn at the academy, but they were a little long in the face. The next container held a heavy battle suit—one that could be sealed against vacuum. It was also designed for a being with four arms. All the armor showed signs of wear, with scuffed helmets. The fifth container held shelves with three sizes of power cells on them. The largest power cells—four of them—were big enough to run a mech.
Harmon tried to force the handle open on the last container, thinking it may have gotten stuck over time, but it was locked and all he did was hurt his hand. The vault seemed like it had been closed for years.
Clip laughed and said, “That won’t work. It’s not age or metal fatigue keeping the door closed. Look at this stuff. It may be old, but it has been sealed in for years. It’s all in great shape.”
“Well, work some of your tech magic then, ‘Puter Boy,” Harmon said, shaking out his hand.
Clip pulled out a small laser pen and went to work on the container. It took another ten minutes, but finally he was through to the locking mechanism. It didn’t take long after that to get it open.
Inside, there were two items—an eight-inch cube on a shelf that looked like a hard drive or a computer and the large power cell it was connected to. Harmon reached for it, but Clip grabbed his arm.
“Don’t! Let me check it before you move it. It’s hooked up to that power cell for a reason. I want to know why.”
Harmon shrugged. “Okay, but I don’t see any lights; it has probably been dead for years.”
Clip took a sensor reader out of his kit, one of the many tools he had improved. He checked the cell and the device. There was a faint amount of power running to it that barely registered on his screen. There were several ports on the back along with the slot where the power cell was hooked in. He checked to make sure the connections were tight, he then carried the two devices to the hovercraft.
Clip then called Rinto’s personal comm from the communicator in the hovercraft. When Rinto answered, Clip looked at Harmon and winked. “Hey boss, we found some stuff worth a hovercraft full of credit…probably two. Can we have it?” he asked.
* * * * *
Get “Salvage Title” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8Q3HBV.
Find out more about Kevin Steverson and “Salvage Title” at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/kevin-steverson/.
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Earth Song Cycle:
Overture
___________________
Mark Wandrey
Available Now from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from Overture:
Prologue
May 21st
Dawn was still an hour away as Mindy Channely opened the roof access and stared in surprise at the crowd already assembled there. “Authorized Personnel Only” was printed in bold red letters on the door through which she and her husband, Jake, slipped onto the wide roof.
A few people standing nearby took notice of their arrival. Most had no reaction, a few nodded, and a couple waved tentatively. Mindy looked over the skyline of Portland and instinctively oriented herself before glancing to the east. The sky had an unnatural glow that had been growing steadily for hours, and as they watched, scintillating streamers of blue, white, and green radiated over the mountains like a strange, concentrated aurora borealis.
“Ain’t no one missin’ this!” a drunk man slurred.
“We figured most people fled to the hills over the past week,” Jake replied.
“I guess we were wrong,” Mindy said.
“Might as well enjoy the show,” the guard said and offered them a huge, hand-rolled cigarette that didn’t smell like tobacco. She waved it off, and the two men shrugged before taking a puff.
“Here it comes!” someone yelled. Mindy looked to the east. There was a bright light coming over the Cascade Mountains, so intense it was like looking at a welder’s torch. Asteroid LM-245 hit the atmosphere at over 300 miles per second. It seemed to move faster and faster, from east to west, and the people lifted their hands to shield their eyes from the blinding light. It looked like a blazing comet or a science fiction laser blast.
“Maybe it will just pass over,” someone said in a voice full of hope.
Mindy shook her head. She’d studied the asteroid’s track many times.
In a matter of a few seconds, it shot by and fell toward the western horizon, disappearing below the mountains between Portland and the ocean. Out of view of the city, it slammed into the ocean.
The impact was unimaginable. The air around the hypersonic projectile turned to superheated plasma, creating a shockwave that generated 10 times the energy of the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated as it hit the ocean’s surface.
The kinetic energy was more than 1,000 megatons; however, the object didn’t slow as it flashed through a half mile of ocean and into the sea bed, then into the mantel, and beyond.
On the surface, the blast effect appeared as a thermal flash brighter than the sun. Everyone on the rooftop watched with wide-eyed terror as the Tualatin Mountains between Portland and the Pacific Ocean were outlined in blinding light. As the light began to dissipate, the outline of the mountains blurred as a dense bank of smoke climbed from the western range.
The flash had incinerated everything on the other side.
The physical blast, travelling much faster than any normal atmospheric shockwave, hit the mountains and tore them from the bedrock, adding them to the rolling wave of destruction traveling east at several thousand miles per hour. The people on the rooftops of Portland only had two seconds before the entire city was wiped away.
Ten seconds later, the asteroid reached the core of the planet, and another dozen seconds after that, the Earth’s fate was sealed.
* * * * *
Get “Overture” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077YMLRHM.
Find out more about Mark Wandrey and Earth Song: Overture at:
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/mark-wandrey/
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Kin Wars Saga:
Wraithkin
___________________
Jason Cordova
Available Now from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio Book
Excerpt from Wraithkin:
Prologue
The lifeless body of his fellow agent on the bed confirmed the undercover operation was thoroughly busted.
“Crap,” Agent Andrew Espinoza, Dominion Intelligence Bureau, said as he stepped fully into the dimly lit room and carefully made his way to the filthy bed in which his fellow agent lay. He turned away from the ruined body of his friend and scanned the room for any sign of danger. Seeing none, he quickly walked back out of the room to where the slaves he had rescued earlier were waiting.
“Okay, let’s keep quiet now,” he reminded them. “I’ll go first, and you follow me. I don’t think there are any more slavers in the warehouse. Understand?”
They all nodded. He offered them a smile of confidence, though he had lied. He knew there was one more slaver in the warehouse, hiding near the side exit they were about to use. He had a plan to deal with that person, however. First he had to get the slaves to safety.
He led the way, his pistol up and read
y as he guided the women through the dank and musty halls of the old, rundown building. It had been abandoned years before, and the slaver ring had managed to get it for a song. In fact, they had even qualified for a tax-exempt purchase due to the condition of the neighborhood around it. The local constable had wanted the property sold, and the slaver ring had stepped in and offered him a cut if he gave it to them. The constable had readily agreed, and the slavers had turned the warehouse into the processing plant for the sex slaves they sold throughout the Dominion. Andrew knew all this because he had been the one to help set up the purchase in the first place.
Now, though, he wished he had chosen another locale.
He stopped the following slaves as he came to the opening which led into one of the warehouse’s spacious storage areas. Beyond that lay their final destination, and he was dreading the confrontation with the last slaver. He checked his gun and grunted in surprise as he saw he had two fewer rounds left than he had thought. He shook his head and charged the pistol.