Alex took off at a run for a lift to reach the city-ship’s bridge, with Julien striding smoothly beside him. On the way up, he confirmed with Tatia that the fleet’s ships had followed orders.
<There were subtle orientations toward the black ship, Alex,> Tatia sent, <but no change in station.>
Alex couldn’t fault that reaction by the captains. They were responsible for the lives aboard their ships. He reached the bridge, where Cordelia displayed the fleet’s position and that of the black ship.
Tatia arrived right behind Alex, breathing as hard as him.
“Why do these things happen when we’re farthest from the bridge?” Tatia said between gasps of breaths.
“Status,” Alex asked Cordelia.
“No change, Alex,” Cordelia replied. She wanted to comment that if an update was necessary, she would have notified them, and, as their leaders, it might be better not to exert themselves in such a drastic fashion. But, she kept her thoughts to herself.
“Details of the ship,” Tatia requested.
The holo-vid image shifted to a closeup of the enormous alien battleship. Despite the lack of perspective, it obviously dwarfed the fleet’s Tridents. Moreover, its sleek design and matte-black hull gave it a sinister appearance.
“Telemetry puts the length of the ship at approximately one point five kilometers,” Cordelia reported. “If those hull ports indeed house armament, the Freedom is greatly outmatched in firepower.”
“Black space,” Tatia muttered.
Alex was thinking of how to establish communication with the aliens, when Miriamal linked with him.
<On the bridge speakers, Miriamal,> Alex sent.
The bridge audience heard Miriamal say, “Alex, the alien ship has hailed us. They’re repeating a sentence.”
“In their language?” Alex asked.
“Negative. In our language,” Miriamal replied.
Alex glanced at Julien, who grinned. The SADEs had been correct in their conjecture that Artifice had shared information about humans with its defenders. The question was: What did the aliens intend to do with that information?
“Transfer the aliens’ communication to the bridge,” Alex ordered.
“We wish to speak to the human called Alex,” the Freedom’s bridge audience heard over the speakers. The cadence and style of the communication indicated a translation device was involved.
Alex took a deep breath, and, in his best command voice, he replied, “This is Alex.”
“We have been seeking you, Alex. We wish to converse with you. There is much to share,” the stilted voice said.
— Alex and company will return in Artifice. —
Glossary
Dischnya
Dischnya – Intelligent species in Omnian system
Hessan – Squad leader under Homsaff’s command
Homsaff – Heir to the Mawas Soma nest
Neffess – Nyslara’s heir
Nyslara – Queen of Tawas Soma nest
Pussiro – Wasat commander and Nyslara’s mate
Sawa – Celus-4, Dischnya home world
Sawa Messa – Celus-5, Dischnya’s second world, now called Omnia
Simlan – Squad leader under Homsaff’s command
Soma – Term for Dischnya
Wasat – Warrior commander
Dischnya Language
Dassata – Peacemaker, Alex’s Dischnya name
Ené – Pronunciation of Renée
Federation
Artifice – Digital entity
Faustus – Digital entity, adjunct of Artifice, originally identified as AR-13145
Nua’ll – Occupy the comm spheres and the great spheres
Harakens
Edouard Manet – Trident commodore, partner of Miko Tanaka
Jupiter – SADE directing the observatory platform, original ID Theodosius
Miko Tanaka – Trident commodore, partner of Edouard Manet
Sheila Reynard – Fleet admiral
Teague – Alex and Renée’s son
Terese Lechaux – Haraken president
Tomas Monti – Partner of Terese Lechaux
Méridiens
Confederation Council – Supreme ruling body of the Méridiens
Darse Lemoyne – House Leader
Descartes – Trident senior captain, SADE
Essie Cormack – Traveler lieutenant, wing person to Maurice Defray
Gino Diamanté – Council Leader, partner of Katrina Pasko
Independents – Confederation outcasts, exiled on Libre and Daelon, rescued by Alex Racine
Katrina Pasko – House Leader, partner of Gino Diamanté
Mahima Ganesh – Ex-Council Leader
Maurice Defray – Captain and flight commander of OS Liberator fighters
Merman – Trident senior captain, volunteers to protect the drones
Shannon Brixton – House Leader
Tindleson – Méridien freighter captain
New Terrans
Alphons Jagielski – Trident commodore, flagship is NT Arthur McMorris
Anthony Tripping – Admiral killed pursuing a Nua’ll sphere
Bart Fillister – Trident training captain
Bertram Hardingsgale – Captain of the Rover, a passenger liner
Caspar Manfred – Trident captain
Clayton Downing – Usurper of the New Terran presidency
Cyndi Voorhees – Trident captain
Drew Stevens – Trident captain
Hanklin – Trident captain
Harold Grumley – President
Lem Ulam – Captain of the New Terra, a colony ship
Maria Gonzalez – Minister of Defense
Nata (nah-ta) – Cloned New Terra girl
Oliver – Méridien SADE in service to Maria Gonzalez
Ude (u as in you) – Cloned New Terra boy
Ollassa/Vinians
Life Giver – A progenitor of the plant people
Mist Monitor – Mesa Control crew
Scarlet Mandator – Commander
Omnian Sisters
Miriamal – Aboard Freedom
Miriamette – Aboard a Trident
Miriamopus – Aboard Our People
Miriamus – Aboard traveler, monitoring Faustus
Omnians
Alain de Long – Twin and crèche-mate to Étienne, Trident captain, partner of Tatia Tachenko
Alex Racine – Partner of Renée de Guirnon, Star Hunter First, Dassata
Ben Diaz – Known as Little Ben and Rainmaker, mining expert
Beryl – Lead SADE of scout ship
Bethley – Scout ship SADE, teamed with Killian
Boris Gorenko – Ex-Earther, professor, medical expert
Cedric Broussard – Z’s New Terran avatar
Charlene – Etoya’s staffer
Claude Dupuis – Engineering tech, program manager for SADE avatars
Cordelia – SADE, partner of Julien, rear admiral, captains the Freedom
Darius Gaumata – Trident rear admiral, flagship is OS Prosecutor
Deter – Lead SADE of scout ship
Edmas – Young engineer sent to Sol, partner of Jodlyne
Ellie Thompson – Trident rear admiral, flagship is OS Redemption
Emile Billings – Biochemist
Étienne de Long –Twin and crèche-mate to Alain, Trident captain, partner of Ellie Thompson
Etoya Chambling – Crèche administrator rescued from Daelon
Franz Cohen – Fighter command rear admiral, partner of Reiko Shimada
Frederica – Miranda’s New Terran avatar
Genoa – Lead SADE of scout ship
Gerling – Team leader, recovers the bodies of the wild ones
Hector – SADE, captains the Our People, partner of Trixie
Janine – Emile Billing’s wife
Jodlyne – Engineer, partner of Edmas
Julien – SADE, partner of Cordelia
Killian – Plaid-skinned SADE, friend of Vivian, lead of sco
ut ship Vivian’s Mirror
Linn – Lead SADE of scout ship
Luther – Comms SADE
Mickey Brandon – Engineer, partner of Pia Sabine
Mincie – Emile Billing’s daughter
Miranda Leyton – SADE, partner of Z
Miriam – Engineering SADE
Myron McTavish – Commandant of the Dischnya military academy
Nema – Ex-Earther, professor
Olawale Wombo – Ex-Earther, professor sent to Sol
Pia Sabine – Head of medical suite aboard the Freedom, partner of Mickey Brandon
Priita Ranta – Ex-Earther, professor
Reiko Shimada – Fleet vice admiral of the Tridents, partner of Franz Cohen
Renée de Guirnon – Partner of Alex Racine
Storen – Ex-Earther, professor, xenobiologist
Svetlana Valenko – Trident rear admiral, flagship is OS Liberator
Tatia Tachenko – Fleet admiral, ex-Terran Security Forces major, partner of Alain de Long
Trium – Scout ship SADE, teamed with Killian
Trixie –SADE, partner of Hector, Omnian representative
Verina – Lead SADE of scout ship
Vivian – Teenager, an Independent from Daelon, dance partner with Killian
Yoram Penzig – Ex-Earther, professor
Yumi Tanaka – Lieutenant, pilot of the OS Redemption
Z – SADE, partner of Miranda
Swei Swee
First – Leader of the Swei Swee hives
People – Manner in which the Swei Swee refer to their collective
Star Hunter First – Swei Swee name for Alex Racine
Wave Skimmer – Hive Leader, called the First
Places, Things, and Enemies
Banisher – Mickey’s small vessel for removing probes
Central Exchange – Haraken financial system
Confederation – Collection of Méridien worlds
Dagger – Original New Terran fighter
Espero – Capital city of Haraken
Flits – Single-person, anti-grav-drive flyers
Government House – New Terran president’s residence
Idona Station – Sol station at the crossroads to the far belt and inner worlds
Omnia Ships – Business owned by Alex Racine and others
Prima – New Terra’s capital city
SADE – Self-aware digital entity, artificial intelligence being
Shadows – Spider-like constructs create by Z
Swei Swee – Six-legged, ocean-going, sentients
TSF – Terran Security Forces
United Earth – Previous government body ruling Sol
Planets, Colonies, Moons, and Stars
Bellamonde – Site of the Méridien’s naval academy
Celus – Star of the planet Omnia
Celus-5 – Home world of the Dischnya and Swei Swee species
Daelon – Moon orbiting sixth planet of an unnamed system, last colony of the Independents
Haraken – New name of Cetus colony in Hellébore system, home of the Harakens
Libre – Planet invaded by Nua’ll, Alex Racine rescued Independents
Méridien – Home world of Confederation
New Terra – Home world of New Terrans, fourth planet outward of Oistos
Oistos – Star of the planet New Terra, Alex Racine’s home world
Ollassa – Vinians’ home world
Omnia – World settled by the Dischnya, Swei Swee, SADEs, and humans
Sawa – Celus fourth planet outward, Dischnya’s home world
Sol – Star of the Earthers
Vinium – System named by Killian when his scout ship was captured
Ships and Stations
Freedom – Alex’s primary city-ship
Il Piacere – House Diamanté passenger liner
Last Stand – Haraken carrier
New Terra – Earth colony ship
No Retreat – Haraken carrier
NT Arthur McMorris – Alphons Jagielski’s Trident
OS Deliverance – Deirdre Canaan’s flagship Trident
OS Liberator – Svetlana Valenko’s flagship Trident
OS Prosecutor – Darius Gaumata’s flagship Trident
OS Redemption – Ellie Thompson’s flagship Trident
Our People – Second city-ship
Outward Bound – Alex’s explorer-tug at New Terra
Rêveur – Alex’s passenger liner
Rover – New Terran passenger liner
Sardi-Tallen Orbital Platform – Omnia’s premier ship construction and passenger station
Scout ships – Small vessels crewed by SADEs
Sojourn – Haraken explorer ship
Stardust – Freighter used as repair platform
Travelers – Shuttles and fighters
Trident – Omnian tri-hulled, beam-armed warship
Vivian’s Mirror – Killian’s scout ship
My Books
Nua’ll, the eleventh novel in the Silver Ships series, is available in e-book, softcover, and audiobook versions. Please visit my website, http://scottjucha.com, for publication locations and dates. You may register at my website to receive e-mail updates on the progress of my upcoming novels.
Pyreans Series
Empaths
Messinants
Jatouche (forthcoming)
The Silver Ships Series
The Silver Ships
Libre
Méridien
Haraken
Sol
Espero
Allora
Celus-5
Omnia
Vinium
Nua’ll
Artifice (forthcoming)
The Author
From my early years to the present, books have been a refuge. They’ve fueled my imagination. I’ve traveled to faraway places and met aliens with Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Herbert, and Le Guin. I’ve explored historical events with Michener and Clavell, and I played spy with Ludlum and Fleming.
There’s no doubt that the early sci-fi masters influenced the writing of my first two series, The Silver Ships and Pyreans. I crafted my stories to give readers intimate views of my characters, who wrestle with the challenges of living in space and inhabiting alien worlds.
Life is rarely easy for these characters, who encounter aliens and calamities, but they persist and flourish. I revel in examining humankind’s will to survive. Not everyone plays fair or exhibits concern for other beings, but that’s another aspect of humans and aliens that I investigate.
My stories offer hope for humans today about what they might accomplish tomorrow far from our home world. Throughout my books, humans exhibit a will to persevere, without detriment to the vast majority of others.
Readers have been generous with their comments, which they’ve left on Amazon and Goodreads for others to review. I truly enjoy what I do, and I’m pleased to read how my stories have positively affected many readers’ lives.
If you’ve read my books, please consider posting a review on Amazon and Goodreads for every book, even a short one. Reviews attract other readers and are a great help to indie authors, such as me.
The Silver Ships novels have reached Amazon’s coveted #1 and #2 Best-Selling Sci-Fi book, multiple times, in the science fiction categories of first contact, space opera, and alien invasion.