“I would not have thought you would have wished him to accompany us,” Renée replied.
Eleven years in each other’s company, and Alex was still thinking the same thought, a strange but wonderful woman. Renée had taken his question and turned it upside down. They both knew Teague would remain on Haraken, but now they both knew Renée was leaving with Alex. He stood up, popping and rolling stiff muscles, and offered Renée a hand.
When Renée accepted Alex’s hand, she was quickly pulled off the couch and caught in his arms. She squealed with delight and tucked her head into Alex’s neck and was reminded of their first time together aboard the Rêveur, seemingly a lifetime ago. I could wish for more of these moments, if fortune and the Earthers will only allow it, she thought.
— Alex and friends will return in Sol. —
Glossary
Haraken
Ahmed Durak – Captain of the Money Maker
Alain de Long – Director of security, twin and crèche-mate to Alain, partner to Tatia Tachenko
Alex Racine – President of Haraken, partner to Renée de Guirnon, Star Hunter First (Swei Swee name)
Amelia – Close friend of Christie Racine
Angelina Monti – Assembly member, daughter of Tomas Monti
Asu Azasdau – Assembly member, captain
Avery Crosser – Last Stand deck commander
Benjamin Diaz – Pioneer, Minister of Mining, “Rainmaker,” Little Ben
Bibi Haraken – Assembly member
Cedric Broussard – Z’s New Terran avatar
Central Exchange – Haraken financial system
Christie Racine – Alex Racine’s sister
Claude Dupuis – Engineering tech, program manager for SADE avatars
Cordelia – SADE, Julien’s partner
Dane – SADE
Darius Gaumata – Fighter captain
Darrin Hesterly – New Terran TSF surgeon, who immigrated to Haraken, became CMO
Deirdre Canaan – Wing commander
Duggan Racine – Alex Racine’s father
Edouard Manet – Last Stand captain, partner of Miko Tanaka
Elizabeth – SADE
Ellie Thompson – Wing commander
Eloise Haraken – Fiona Haraken’s great-granddaughter
Eric Stroheim – Ambassador
Espero – Haraken city
Étienne de Long – Director of Security, twin and crèche-mate to Alain, partner to Ellie Thompson
First – Leader of the Swei Swee hives
Flits – Single person grav-drive flyers
Founding Day – Celebration of the founding of Haraken
Franz Cohen – Wing commander
Helmut – Z’s avatar
Hive Singer – Mutter singing to the Swei Swee in their language
House Alexander– Military House Alex and Renée created to offer credibility to their actions in the Confederation
José Cordova – Rêveur captain
Julien – SADE, Cordelia’s partner
Karl Schmidt – Captain, later manufactured flits with Hezekiah Cohen
Katie Racine – Alex Racine’s mother, Haraken Assembly member
Libran-X – Warhead
Lucia Bellardo – Wing commander
Michael “Mickey” Brandon – Senior engineer, partner to Pia Sabine
Miko Tanaka – No Retreat captain, sister to Hatsuto Tanaka, partner to Edouard Manet
Miranda Leyton – Z’s femme fatale avatar
Mutter – SADE, Hive Singer to the Swei Swee
Nua’ll – Aliens who imprisoned the Swei Swee
Pia Sabine – Assembly member, partner to Michael, “Mickey” Brandon
People – Manner in which the Swei Swee refer to their collective
Renée de Guirnon – First lady of Haraken, partner to Alex Racine
Rainmaker – Name for Benjamin Diaz, also called Little Ben
Rosette – SADE
Robert Dorian – Assembly member, commander of military pilot training school
Sean McCrery – Fighter captain
Shadow – Z’s spider, spying device
Star Hunter First – Swei Swee name for Alex Racine
Swei Swee – six-legged friendly alien
Svetlana Valenko – Wing commander
Tatia Tachenko – Admiral, ex-Terran Security Forces major, partner to Alain de Long
Teague – Six-year-old son of Alex and Renée
Terese Lechaux – Medical expert
Tomas Monti – Assembly speaker
Willem – SADE
Z – SADE
Méridien
Albert de Guirnon – Leader of House de Guirnon, brother of Renée
Assembly – Méridien government assembly of House Leaders
House – Organization of people headed by a Leader
Bartosz Rolek – House Leader, food production
Confederation – Collection of Méridien worlds
Confederation Hall – Government building housing the Council of Leaders
Council – Organization of Méridien Leaders
Con-Fed – Méridien language
Devon O’Shea – House Leader, terminals and planetside transportation
Didier – Le Jardin Orbital Platform SADE
Emilio Torres – House Leader, citizenry records
Esther – House Diamanté SADE
Gregorio – Il Piacere SADE
Gino Diamanté – House Leader, infrastructure and environmental services
Hector – House Ganesh SADE
Independents – Confederation outcasts, originally exiled to Libre, rescued by Alex Racine
Katarina Pasko – House Leader, implants
Le Jardin Orbital Platform – Platform above Méridien
Lemoyne – House Leader, Mahima Ganesh supporter
Lemuel Terminal – Shuttle terminal closest to Confederation Hall
Libre – Planet invaded, Alex Racine rescued people – Swei Swee now inhabit
Mahima Ganesh – Confederation Council Leader, House Leader, construction of commercial buildings
Oren Blumenthal – Le Jardin Orbital Platform director
Orso Quinlan – Lemuel Terminal manager
SADE – Self-aware digital entity, artificial intelligence being
Shannon Brixton – House Leader, SADEs
Teressi – House Leader, Mahima Ganesh supporter
Winston – Council SADE
New Terra
Clayton Downing – Former president of New Terra, convicted and imprisoned
Corona Mountains – New Terra
Darryl Jaya – Minister of Technology
Hailey Timmion – New Terran shuttle captain
Hatsuto Tanaka – Dagger pilot killed at New Terra, brother of Miko Tanaka
Hezekiah Cohen – Joaquin Station manager
Maria Gonzalez – New Terra president
Prima – New Terra capital city
Tara – voice on Alex Racine’s Outward Bound ship
Terran Security Forces (TSF) – New Terran system police force
William Drake – Minister of Space Exploration
United Earth (UE) and Earthers
African Union (AU) – Earther political system
African Western Coastal Pac – Earther political system
Antonio García – Reunion mission commander, UE speaker
Boris – Wombo’s friend, medical background
Dimitri Chofsky – Hand of Justice captain
Doultier – Fighter pilot, captain
European-Indian Enclave – Organization of nations that sent a colony ship to GL-137
Final Wars – Earth’s last series of conflicts in the 26th century
Francis Lumley – Reunion captain
Guide – Generic name for the controlling computer on United Earth ships
Hi
nnicky – Fighter pilot, captain
Jeffrey Hinsdale – Reunion master sergeant
Kyros Barbas – Reunion militia major
Laurent – Reunion comms officer, political appointee
Nema – Wombo’s friend
North American Confederation – Organization of nations that sent the colony ship New Terra to Cepheus
Olawale Wombo – Reunion lead science administrator
Patricio Bunaldi – Hand of Justice mission commander, UE high judge
Resource Wars – Nations and states fighting about dwindling resources
Priita Ranta – Wombo’s friend
Samara Theostin – Hand of Justice admiral
Shia Intifada –Fought with the African Union in the Third Union War
Storen – Wombo’s friend, xenobiologist
Supreme Tribunal – Earth’s highest political system
Third Union War – One of Earth’s wars
Yoram Penzig – Wombo’s friend, philosopher
Zhang Shin – Wombo’s assistant administrator, Reunion science administrator, political appointee
Planets, Colonies, Moons, and Stars
Arnos – System named for Libre star
Bevroren –Méridien outermost planet
Cepheus – Original star destination for the New Terra
Cetus – Last Confederation colony established, first colony attacked by the Nua’ll
Delacroix – Méridien next-to-last planet outward
GL-137– Planet circling the star, Mane, where an Earth colony ship was sent
Haraken – New name of Cetus colony in Hellébore system, home of the Harakens
Hellébore – Star of the planet Cetus, renamed Haraken
Libre – Independents’ ex-colony in Arno system, now home to the remaining Swei Swee hives
Mane – Original name of the home of the Méridien Confederation
Méridien – Home world of Confederation
New Terra – Home world of New Terrans, fourth planet outward of Oistos
Niomedes – New Terra fifth planet outward
Oistos – Star of the planet New Terra, Alex Racine’s home world
Seda – New Terra ninth and last planet outward, a gas giant with several moons
Sol – Star of solar system where Earth is located
Ships and Stations
Destiny – United Earth explorer ship, destroyed en route to target star
Freedom – Haraken city-ship
Hand of Justice – United Earth battleship
Il Piacere – Méridien House Diamanté premier liner
Joaquin Station – New Terra orbital station
Last Stand – Haraken carrier
Le Jardin Orbital Platform – Platform above Méridien
Lemuel Terminal – Shuttle terminal closest to Confederation Hall
Money Maker – Haraken freighter converted to carrier
New Terra – Ship that left Earth as a colony ship a millennium ago
No Retreat – Haraken carrier
Outward Bound – Explorer-tug owned by Alex Racine
Reunion – United Earth explorer ship
Rêveur – Haraken passenger liner
Travelers – Shuttles and fighters built by the Harakens based on the silver ships of the Swei Swee
Unsere Menschen – Haraken city-ship, translated as Our People
My Books
The Silver Ships series is available in e-book, softcover print, and audiobook versions. Please visit my website, http://scottjucha.com, for publication locations. You may also register at my website to receive email notification about the publish dates of my novels.
If you’ve been enjoying this series, please consider posting a review on Amazon, even a short one. Reviews attract other readers and help indie authors, such as myself.
Alex and friends will return in the upcoming novel Sol, A Silver Ships Novel.
The Silver Ships Series
The Silver Ships
Libre
Méridien
Haraken
Sol (forthcoming)
The Author
I have been enamored with fiction novels since the age of thirteen and long been a fan of great storytellers. I’ve lived in several countries overseas and in many of the US states, including Illinois, where I met my wonderful wife thirty-five years ago. My careers have spanned a variety of industries in the visual and scientific fields of photography, biology, film/video, software, and information technology (IT).
My first attempt at a novel, titled The Lure, was a crime drama centered on the modern-day surfacing of a 110-carat yellow diamond lost during the French Revolution. In 1980, in preparation for the book, I spent two wonderful weeks researching the Brazilian people, their language, and the religious customs of Candomblé. The day I returned from Rio de Janeiro, I had my first date with my wife-to-be, Peggy Giels.
During the past thirty-four years, I’ve outlined dozens of novels, but a busy career limited my efforts to complete any of them. Recently, I’ve chosen to make writing my primary focus. My first novel, The Silver Ships, was released in February 2015. This first installment in a sci-fi trilogy was quickly followed by books two and three, Libre and Méridien. Haraken, the fourth book in the series, has continued the exploits of Alex Racine and company, and begins a two-part story that will conclude in the following book, Sol.
I hope to continue to intrigue my readers with my stories as this is the most wonderful job I’ve ever had!
Table of Contents
Copyright
Acknowledgments
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Glossary
My Books
The Author