Science Fiction Books Archives - Page 22 of 25

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire? #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 11/21/2018 Fallen Empires 6 Comments

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire?

"How can you not do this, Six? What if my family and the council members are in the same shape I was in? Trapped, helpless, and injured?"

"No, no, and no." Six sat cross-legged by the fire, filet knife in hand, scraping scales off a fish. The fire sparked as the scales hit. "I'm not looking for your people. Look," he gestured at him with the knife, "you promised not to kill me. Not them. And to clarify, when it comes down to who ain't killing who, I promised not to kill you. Them? They're another story."

A hint of heat tingled against Pietas's face, and then a deeper warmth. Were his empathic senses returning, or was that the fire? "You are afraid." It sounded more accusatory than he'd intended.

Six glared at him. "Of course I am! You think I'm an idiot? I'm the only human on Sempervia. You know what a bunch of Ultras are gonna do if a human walks into camp? Nope." He spread his hands, the dead fish flopping as he did. "Not going. You get better, and I'll go with you, but I ain't going alone."

"I can't believe you."

"Sorry to disappoint." In one slice, he split the fish and then gutted it. He tossed the guts into the flames.

"You evince no sorrow whatsoever."

Six speared him with a dark look. "Evince? That some Naro swear word?"

"It's standard Etymis everyone speaks, ghost. It means to express. Empaths read the emotions that others evince."

"Fine. I don't evince any sorrow. Not one bit sorry about not taking on such a harebrained mission. Look what happened to the last one I accepted." He threaded the fish onto a long stick and set it over the coals' heat. "I might be dead, but I'm an animated dead, thank you. I intend to stay that way."

Pietas shut his eyes, jaws clenched. If he could heal faster by focusing anger, he'd have shot straight to good-as-new.

While Six worked on a second fish, Pietas considered what other tacks to try. The ghost was all about duty. "I'm accustomed to obedience from my men."

Six's mouth twisted into a wry grin. "Two things I'm starting to regret right now." He did not continue.

Pietas prompted him. "Such as?"

"One, that I didn't go AWOL when I heard about the mission to capture you."

Curiosity won over, and he broke the silence. "And the second?"

"That you got your voice back."

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“I do believe in ghosts” — these ghosts are real #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 10/24/2018 Fallen Empires 14 Comments

In Lights Out, a story in the Expanding Universe (Vol 4), you're asked to believe in ghosts of a different kind. These ghosts are special ops soldiers resurrected to fight an enemy that is immortal.

I do believe in ghosts!

Twenty-four hours later, healed and at attention, Tornahdo endured a tongue-lashing by no less than the Ghost Corps Colonial Armada Commandant General. What a mouthful for such a tiny person. He wouldn't have thought he'd rated an officer of her rank.

If a general had thousands to command, why was she slapping around a master sergeant? In the regular army, they'd berated him at the lowest level of incompetence. And what was his sin? Getting killed in battle. If you came back to life, why was that wrong?

Plus, if a soldier sacrificed himself saving a platoon, you didn't write him up. You bestowed a medal.

Treat the regular army like this and that whole death-and-rebirth thing was never going to catch on.

While the general droned on about the expense of rebirths and the protocol for ghosts, he counted bullet holes in the fence outside the window. Sixty plus on one panel. Over forty on another. Wasted firepower. Probably a human.

Ultras tended not to miss.

"Are you listening to me, Master Sergeant?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Repeat what I said."

Tornahdo spat it back.

Clasping hands behind her, the general paced. "You were inducted into the corps and promoted because you had the highest rating from a commanding officer I'd ever seen in the regular army. Now that I've reviewed your record, I'm wondering if he inflated your value to get you out of his unit."

He'd wondered the same thing.

"You've been written up for insubordination three times. What is your problem with authority?"

"Ma'am, I have no problem with authority." Imbeciles, yes, but that was another story.

"The death and rebirth of a ghost means the salvation of mankind. Isn't that why you enlisted?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"The purloined blood of an Ultra runs in your veins. Do not take it for granted. It costs the corps a fortune. Do not forget."

Not likely. The corps reminded him daily.

The word purloined hadn't been used in his hearing before. Now that he thought about it, how did they get the Ultra blood infusing his body? Were captives volunteering?

Surely not. Their hatred of mankind was legendary.

What did it matter? Ultras were the enemy. They deserved no mercy.

Lights Out

Part of the anthology The Expanding Universe 4: Space Adventure, Alien Contact and Military Science Fiction, edited by Craig Martelle

He can save mankind. After he does one important thing. Die.
Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You'll live forever, they said. You'll save mankind, they said. They didn't say that to do it, first he had to die.
When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he's assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.
He's facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.
Do they expect him to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead and this mission is codenamed "Lights Out." No, there's more to this than he can see.
To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time--somehow--find a way to keep himself alive...

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Blinding flash of light: his enemy peered down #SpaceOpera #SciFi

Kayelle Allen 10/17/2018 Fallen Empires

Facing Blinding Flash of Light

The infernal, cheerful whistling began again. Pietas tried in vain to escape the sound. Shackled at the ankles, hands bound behind him, he remained flat on his back. There were no comfort choices inside his pod.

No. Not his pod. He would never claim such a place.

The prison pod. The nightmare pod. A casket for the living.

Would that whistling never end?

Whoever guarded him whistled, night and day. He must have lips made of steel. How a human kept that up day after day was beyond him. Or perhaps... Did an Ultra guard him? Had one of his people come to free him?

Pietas opened his mouth to call out, and clamped it shut.

If it were one of his people, he needed to wait for them to act. They would do so when the time was right. For now, he suffered bouts of agony as feeling returned to his hands and then left in repeating cycles. His metabolism healed him, but brought pain. He focused on that, accepted the pain, welcomed it, and examined every step of its journey through his body. What one understood, one could bear.

An Ultra does not seek to escape pain. If one inflicts pain, one must bear it. Pain must be borne. Pain is a warrior's ally.

He hovered in a nightmare-filled, windowless, endless monotony of thirst and hunger.

Punctuated with unending lilts of bouncy, alert, happy, chipper whistling.

At first, he'd welcomed the sound. The rising and falling notes broke the tedium of everlasting darkness. It stopped for brief periods, but began again soon after.

He'd considered calling out and asking them to stop. He had gone so far as to open his mouth. But asking implied weakness. He acknowledged no tool of torture.

Beg mercy from humans? Never.

This was not stasis. Stasis meant cessation of thought. Of emotion. A dreamless kind of sleep. The end of awareness. A not-time.

They'd frozen his people in these pods, but they'd imprisoned him.

Or perhaps his blood ran so hot, no human force could freeze him.

The tune changed.

For the love of all that's holy, will you shut up!

Blessed silence fell. But then a blinding flash of light blared in his face like a blast of horns.

What fresh perdition was this? They'd tortured him with darkness. Now they'd torture him with light?

Pietas tried to force his eyes open, to face the torture, but after so long in darkness, the light stabbed his eyes. He twisted his head to avoid it.

"You-- you're awake?" The startled voice hovered close, muffled by the pod. "Security! Security! Prisoner Six-Six-Six is out of stasis! I say again, Prisoner Six-Six-Six is out of stasis!"

The alarm in the male voice gave Pietas a measure of pride. Even imprisoned, he engendered fear. They had taken away his name, and given him a number that among humans meant a demonic beast.

Let the legend of Pietas--by name or by number--bring fear straight into the heart of man. No... let it bring terror.

His eyes adjusted to the light, and he focused on the face hovering over the small window above him.

Was that...Ghost Six?

When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that's the problem. He's not.

Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped inside their pods and it's up to Pietas to free them. He can't release one at a time. It's all or nothing. Over five hundred thousand hungry, thirsty, homeless immortals will call on him for rescue and he has no way to answer.

Universal book link http://books2read.com/u/3R1kev

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The galaxy will never be safe for humans #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 10/10/2018 Fallen Empires 4 Comments

His people permit him no choice. He must attend insipid peace talks on Enderium Six and what's worse, be polite. To humans.

In this scene, Pietas has been betrayed and trapped, and now they're coercing him to enter a lifepod.

Humans!

The leaders of his people gathered in sleep around Pietas, sealed inside their curved, steel stasis tubes.

He folded his arms. "Feast your eyes, vultures." He lifted his chin. "You think to imprison me? You think to bring me down like a hunted animal?" He indicated the other life-pods. "I will not cower before you. I will not bow. I will not kneel. I will not serve. I will never submit. Humans were made to be ruled, not by my people, but by me."

The silhouettes above him contrasted with the bright light behind them. One by one, they slipped away, until one remained.

"Fighting us accomplishes nothing." The disembodied voice echoed in the chamber. "Enter the pod, Pietas, or we'll siphon the air. You'll die."

"I'll revive. I've died countless times. I do not fear death. Death fears me."

"So be it. Since you're so set on dying, have it your way. I told you if you didn't cooperate, I would detonate the bombs within the hostages you took aboard your ship. See for yourself."

On the opposite wall, an image of his ship sparkled into life, and a bloom of light filled the screen. A mass of debris shot in all directions.

"Your crew has ceased to exist."

"That image is a farce. You would not dare to destroy the council's flagship, and you will not destroy the council. You are cowards. You lock us away in a barren room and threaten our people. This is why humans do not deserve freedom. You are worthless, miserable liars."

"Believe me, your crew is quite dead. The universe is a safer place for it."

"Untrue. It will never be safe for humans. Especially for you."

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Take from an enemy? A human? Never. #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 10/03/2018 Fallen Empires 8 Comments

Take from an enemy...

In this scene from Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, the not-quite-human Six offers water to the immortal king.

Six slid their canteen off over his head and held it out to Pietas.

Accepting anything from a human, an altered one at that, had violated every instinct at first. To take from an enemy, yes. Always. Let one give you something as if you needed it? Admit a weakness before an enemy?

Never.

But this was Six.

Pietas took it.

Ultras could go days without water, but they consumed it when they had it. He wiped one dusty hand across his mouth. The satisfaction of assuaged thirst never failed to please. What simple things in life brought pleasure! In captivity, he'd dreamed of even a drop to cool his tongue. He'd sworn he'd never take water for granted again.

Six had offered it to their companions during the climb, but the entire lot refused anything a mortal's lips had touched. Yes, Six was a quasi-immortal, but to the others, that gave him even less status.

Pietas wavered on few things, but on this? Should he call the man human, mortal, quasi-immortal, or ghost? He'd elected to choose as the mood struck. But one in particular annoyed Six.

"Thanks, ghost." He thrust the canteen against Six's chest.

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Define Stress: Not being allowed to throttle an idiot #Humor #MFRWhooks #SciFi

Kayelle Allen 09/19/2018 Fallen Empires 6 Comments

In this scene, Tornahdo has been chewed out for something that in the regular army would have gotten him a commendation. Even a medal. But Ghost Corps is not regular. Not one bit. He sits down to have a drink and calm himself down, but one thought leads to another.

Tornahdo's family believed him missing in action. He couldn't go out in public. Ghosts got call signs, not new identities. He'd earned his by the way he fought, which, according to those who'd been resurrected with him, was a tornado.

"No, he's Hispanic-Terran," one had said. "He'd pronounce it different. We'll call him Tornahdo."

To which he'd offered a sweeping bow. "Sí. Gracias."

If taken prisoner, the enemy wouldn't find out who his family was, or who other ghosts were. Like any cover story, the more you lived it, accepted and believed it, the more solid it became. He was Tornahdo. Every minute. Every day. Right now, he fought the urge to kick into full tornahdo rage and slam through a certain officer's quarters. On his desk, his former commander had a framed quote, hand-stitched by his wife.

"Stress: the body's reaction to not being allowed to throttle an idiot."

How many times had the man shouted that Tornahdo was stressing him out? More than he cared to admit.

But today, he knew exactly what that quote meant.

Lights Out by Kayelle Allen

He can save mankind. After he does one important thing. Die.
Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You'll live forever, they said. You'll save mankind, they said. They didn't say that to do it, first he had to die.
When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he's assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.
He's facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.
Do they expect him to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead and this mission is codenamed "Lights Out." No, there's more to this than he can see.
To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time--somehow--find a way to keep himself alive...
Lights Out is in the Science Fiction/Space Opera anthology The Expanding Universe Vol 4, edited by Craig Martelle out Sept 17, 2018
https://kayelleallen.com/lights-out-save-mankind/

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REDIRECT What if today was Lights Out? The Expanding Universe #SpaceOpera #SciFi #Military

Kayelle Allen 09/17/2018 Science Fiction Books

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Tell yourself it is only fable, if that will help you sleep #SciFi #MFRWhooks #SpaceOpera

Kayelle Allen 08/01/2018 Fallen Empires 9 Comments

Fable: A deliberately false or improbable account, a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events.

When the Chancellor of the Ultras, an immortal race, says he is coming for you, that’s a promise you can write in stone. In this foreward from the book, Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas, he lays out that promise. The twist of these words won’t become apparent until the end of book 3, Watch Your Six, but it has its beginnings here.

Fable, that’s all it is (from Pietas)

This book you hold is being presented as fiction, but it did happen. It is as real as the air you breathe. While this is not a first-person story, it follows my point of view.

I would never have allowed a human to know these things, but a friend persuaded me there can be no vengeance unless those in the wrong know what they did. When one has wronged another, one must face the consequences.

Having been persuaded to tell the story, I now allow it to be placed into your hands. I want you to know the truth. Why? Because other Ultras have hidden the truth. Buried it beneath fables and false retellings, as if you were a child unable to bear harsh reality. Unwilling to face the consequences of what your kind has done.

Above all, because I will not lie to you.

When I come for you, I want the satisfaction of seeing your regret for what your ancestors did to my kind. I want to see your fear, and taste your terror.

This is no horror story. It’s merely science fiction. Tell yourself it is only fable, if that will help you sleep. By all means, human, do sleep.

Read this, if you dare to know the truth.

Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas

A captive of the people he loathes, the immortal Pietas is left for dead on the planet Sempervia. Six, a human soldier who is abandoned with him, offers food and water. Is this man worthy of friendship? Or is this another trap?

Either way, Pietas must do the one thing he detests. Trust a human…

Universal book link https://books2read.com/u/4DovO7

JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.

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Sneak peek: Lights Out (a Ghost Corps story) #SpaceOpera #MFRWauthor #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 06/20/2018 Science Fiction Books 2 Comments

I just signed a contract for Lights Out, a new short story set in the Bringer of Chaos series, to appear in The Expanding Universe (#4) edited by Craig Martelle. It will be out by the end of September 2018. I loved the character Six in this series and thought it would be cool to show how he ended up guarding Pietas.

Sneak Peek at Lights Out

Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You’ll live forever, they said. You’ll save mankind, they said. They didn’t say that to do it, first you had to die.

When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he’s assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.

He’s facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the Ghost Corps exists.

Tornahdo and a team of ghosts must take out the man responsible for every war between humans and Ultras since the origin of the Ultra bloodline: the immortal king, Pietas.

If they succeed, the war is over.

If they don’t, the Ultras will rule mankind for another thousand years.

Pietas regenerates from every wound. He’s so fast, no human has ever laid a hand on him. As a precaution, they’re sending in Tornahdo’s squad only after evacuating the station and trapping the king in a chamber emptied of air. The immortal will have to fight in a vacuum.

So will Tornahdo and his crew.

Do they expect Tornahdo to win? Fat chance. He and his team are already dead men and this mission is codenamed “Lights Out.” No, there’s more to this than he can see.

To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time–somehow–find a way to keep himself alive…

[bctt tweet=”Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You’ll live forever, they said. You’ll save mankind, they said. They didn’t say that to do it, first you had to die. #SpaceOpera” username=”kayelleallen”]

Fans of the Bringer of Chaos series will know that “Tornahdo” ends up with the name Six, once he meets Pietas. But who was he before then? You’ll discover his story in Lights Out. Come by next Wednesday for a chance to read snippets from the first chapter. Want advance notice when this book is out? Enter your email here.

JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS
Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.

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Pietas: Embrace pain. Make it your lover. Make it your own #SciFi #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 05/02/2018 Fallen Empires 12 Comments

In this scene from the first book in the Bringer of Chaos books, fans of the Tarthian Empire series will recognize the origin of Peril. Pain and death have an intimate place there–and here.

Pain and death

Pietas must have fallen asleep, because he woke with a start. He took quick stock of himself and his surroundings. Black parachute cloth arched above him, flapping in a gentle breeze. The rain had stopped, and there was sun. A few scattered clouds. Still no movement in his extremities. Limited movement in his neck. No feeling anywhere. He tried speaking. Not even a croak.

Under the same stretch of cloth, Six sat cross-legged, thumbing through a notebook. He glanced up, and set the notes aside. “You look better. You ready for water?”

Without waiting for a reply, Six brought him a tube, and held it while Pietas sipped.

“Good job. You didn’t choke this time. You look less shrunken. Let’s get some food in you and then we’ll both clean up.” He brought out another tube, broke off the cap, and held it for him. “Slow and steady. There we go. Good job.” He propped an elbow on one thigh, and held the tube while Pietas sipped the nutrient. “You had multiple fractures from the fall, but your bones set fine all by themselves. Your face was bad when I opened the pod. Nose all squished and off to the side. Jaw broken. Cheekbones crushed. Skull fractured. When you looked up at me…” He gave a long whistle. “All I saw was blackened skin against the black background of the pod, and two huge turquoise eyes staring.” He brushed away a glimmer of tears.

Were those tears…for him? Humans cried because of him. Not for him.

“Man, Pietas. I can’t believe how fast you’re healing. All your bones are where they belong. I wish I healed like you do.”

Pietas had wondered what it would be like to feel pain for more than a few minutes. To feel pain that didn’t end.

The pod had shown him that.

Was that what it felt like to be human? He’d learned long ago they feared pain. Would do anything to avoid it. To avoid death. Threaten torture and most humans caved. Most surrendered anything they knew as soon as they saw the first tool of torture. Some managed to withhold until they were injured. Most talked. Not all, but enough to make it worthwhile. He used torture if it shortened the wait for information, but never to be cruel. He had no compunctions about killing, but unless they threatened him or his mission, he had let humans live.

He wouldn’t do that anymore. After what they’d done to him, from now on, he’d make them beg for death.

On him, torture had no effect.

Pietas had taught himself, disciplined himself never to fear pain. To welcome it. Invite it. Embrace it. Make pain and death a regular part of his life. Whatever frightened him, he ran toward. Pain was joy. He conquered it. Made it his lover. Made it his own. Absorbed it into himself.

When you fear nothing, nothing is a threat.

Now? Did he fear pain now? Pietas mulled that. Well, he no longer had to wonder about pain that didn’t end. He’d experienced it.

Conquered it.

Did he want to repeat it?

Pietas finished the food, and took a long, satisfying breath of clean air.

Not if he could avoid it. But dying every day for a year would be a good exercise for his soldiers. If you survived that kind of peril, you’d survive anything. And no threat the enemy brought would be worse than what he could do to them.

He’d have to give that some serious thought. Maybe train them that way, one soldier at a time. Teach them to embrace death the way he did. An army of soldiers like that…the galaxy could not stop.

Pietas is also in books set in the Tarthian Empire and the Bringer of Chaos series including the Origin of Pietas, Forged in Fire, and Watch Your Six (in progress).

JOIN US FOR BOOKHOOKS

Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week for you the reader to discover current works in progress or previously published books by possibly new-to-you authors. Thank you for stopping by. Please say hello or leave a note in the comments.

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Category: Science Fiction Books

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire? #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire?

“I do believe in ghosts” — these ghosts are real #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

I do believe in ghosts!

Lights Out

Blinding flash of light: his enemy peered down #SpaceOpera #SciFi

The galaxy will never be safe for humans #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Humans!

Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas

Take from an enemy? A human? Never. #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Forged in Fire

Take from an enemy...

Define Stress: Not being allowed to throttle an idiot #Humor #MFRWhooks #SciFi

Define Stress? Working with idiots...

Lights Out by Kayelle Allen

REDIRECT What if today was Lights Out? The Expanding Universe #SpaceOpera #SciFi #Military

Tell yourself it is only fable, if that will help you sleep #SciFi #MFRWhooks #SpaceOpera

Fable, that’s all it is (from Pietas)

Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas

Sneak peek: Lights Out (a Ghost Corps story) #SpaceOpera #MFRWauthor #MFRWhooks

Sneak Peek at Lights Out

Pietas: Embrace pain. Make it your lover. Make it your own #SciFi #MFRWhooks

Pain and death