“Expansion, as in conquering other federacy races?” Alex asked, seeking clarification.
“Most definitely,” Sargut replied, “but they might choose to pass the federacy’s bounds. Artifice will have informed them of you, where you originated. Human worlds could be their targets.”
Alex and Julien shared a glance, but barks from the Dischnya caught their attention.
A small bot, traveling at speed on two wheels, raced down the pathway. It slipped past the Dischnya vanguard before the warriors could take aim, and it headed straight for the small group sitting on the mound. The bot’s forearms, ending in scissor-like appendages, stretched forward in anticipation of skewering a biological.
Alex stood to take the attack. When the bot was only meters from him, an avatar momentarily blotted Talus’ starlight. Z had landed with both feet on the bot, which was now no more than crushed metal, ceramic, and circuitry.
“That’s our cue. We’re leaving,” Alex announced loudly and sent simultaneously. As they made for the travelers, he kept Renée beside him. The SADEs and the Dischnya provided rear support.
<Julien, I believe we’ll be staying a little longer at Talus,> Alex sent.
<Time enough for the new society to field a squadron or two of Tridents?> Julien asked.
<At least,> Alex replied.
— Alex and company will return in Sojourn. —
Glossary
Chistorlans
Gramab doma Farla-Hesta – Female monarch
Herrick – AI champion, prepared to contest Artifice
Lipsit doma Draga – Female astronomy scientist
Miftra ona Grata – Male observatory head
Tittra ona Hagra – Male AI development head
Dischnya
Dassata – Peacemaker, Alex’s Dischnya name
Dischnya – Intelligent species in Omnian system
Hessan – Squad leader under Homsaff’s command
Homsaff – Queen of Mawas Soma nest, commander of Dischnya forces
Pussiro – Wasat commander
Simlan – Squad leader under Homsaff’s command
Tawas Soma – Pussiro’s nest
Wasat – Warrior commander
Federacy
Artifice – Digital entity
Faustus – Digital entity, adjunct of Artifice, originally identified as AR-13145
Nua’ll – Collective occupying the comm spheres and the great spheres
Harakens
Jupiter – SADE directing the observatory platform
Mutter – SADE who has collected classical Earth music
Méridiens
Chandra Khatri – Cargo shuttle pilot
Descartes – SADE, Trident senior captain
Tindleson – Méridien freighter captain
Alphons Jagielski – Trident commodore
Jessup Thornton – Trident captain
Omnian Sisterhood
Miriamal – Aboard Freedom
Miriamelle – Aboard the Dark Whispers, Sargut’s battleship
Miriamette – Aboard Franz Cohen’s traveler
Miriamtess – Aboard Chandra Khatri’s cargo shuttle
Omnians
Alain de Long – Twin and crèche-mate to Étienne, Trident captain, partner of Tatia Tachenko
Alex Racine – Partner of Renée de Guirnon, Dassata
Allora – SADE absorbed by Miranda
Beryl – Lead SADE of scout ship
Bethley – Scout ship SADE, teamed with Killian
Cedric – Z’s New Terran avatar
Claude Dupuis – Engineering tech, program manager for SADE avatars
Cordelia – SADE, partner of Julien, admiral, captains the Freedom
Darius Gaumata – Trident admiral
Deirdre Canaan – Trident admiral
Ellie Thompson – Trident admiral
Emile Billings – Biochemist
Étienne de Long – Twin and crèche-mate to Alain, Trident captain, partner of Ellie Thompson
Franz Cohen – Fighter command rear admiral, partner of Reiko Shimada
Frederica – Miranda’s New Terran avatar
Genoa – Lead SADE of scout ship
Julien – SADE, partner of Cordelia
Killian – Plaid-skinned SADE, friend of Vivian, lead of scout ship Vivian’s Mirror
Linn – Lead SADE of scout ship
Luther – Comms SADE
Mickey Brandon – Engineer, partner of Pia Sabine
Miranda Leyton – SADE, partner of Z
Miriam – Engineering SADE
Myron McTavish – Commandant of the Dischnya military academy
Pia Sabine – Head of medical suite aboard the Freedom, partner of Mickey Brandon
Reiko Shimada – Admiral of the Tridents, partner of Franz Cohen
Renée de Guirnon – Partner of Alex Racine
Svetlana Valenko – Trident admiral
Trium – Scout ship SADE, teamed with Killian
Vivian – Teenager, dance partner with Killian
Z – SADE, partner of Miranda
Toralians
Sargut – Male battleship commander, then senior commander, then grand commander
Sugatar – Male battleship junior commander
Suntred – Female fleet liaison
Taralum – Female battleship senior commander
Tormheth – Male subcommander
Tranimus – Male fleet grand commander
Places, Things, Friends, and Enemies
Banisher – Mickey’s small vessel for destroying probes
Ollassa – a sentient alien lifeform resembling a symbiotic collection of plant parts
Omnia Ships – Business owned by Alex Racine and others
SADE – Self-aware digital entity, artificial intelligence being
Shadows – Spider-like constructs create by Z
Swei Swee – Sentient alien lifeform inhabiting the oceans on several worlds
United Earth – Previous government body ruling Sol
Planets, Colonies, Moons, and Stars
Confederation – Collection of Méridien worlds
Haraken – Home world of the Harakens
Méridien – Home world of the Confederation
New Terra – Home world of the New Terrans
Ollassa – Home world of the Ollassa/Vinians
Omnia – World settled by the Dischnya, Swei Swee, SADEs, and humans
Sawa Messa – Second world of the Dischnya, now called Omnia
Sol – Star of the Earthers
Talus – Toralian star
Toral – Toralian home world
Ships and Stations
Dark Whispers – Sargut’s battleship
Freedom – Alex’s primary city-ship
Idona Station – Sol station at the crossroads to the far belt and inner worlds
New Terra – Derelict Earth colony ship
Our People – Second city-ship
Scout ships – Small vessels crewed by SADEs
Trident – Omnian tri-hulled, beam-armed warship
Vivian’s Mirror – Killian’s scout ship
My Books
Artifice, the twelfth novel in the Silver Ships series, is available in e-book, softcover, and audiobook versions. Please visit my website, http://scottjucha.com, for publication dates and locations. You may register at my website to receive e-mail updates on the progress of my upcoming novels.
Pyreans Series
Empaths
Messinants
Jatouche
Veklocks (forthcoming)
The Silver Ships Series
The Silver Ships
Libre
Méridien
Haraken
Sol
Espero
Allora
Celus-5
Omni
a
Vinium
Nua’ll
Artifice
Sojourn (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.