Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels Archives - Page 33 of 42

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."

Read more →

The panther tribe claimed his ferocity as their own. Bringer of Chaos #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 11/07/2018 Fallen Empires 6 Comments

Tribe

Pietas had taken two steps when multiple voices cried out a warning: "Behind you!"

His father came at him with another knife. Pietas threw up an arm to defend himself.

A black tornado swept between them.

Pietas stood stock still, unable to process what he was seeing.

The panther had leaped into the fray, fangs bared. Mahikos fell beneath the bloodthirsty onslaught of snarling animal fury.

Six pulled Pietas away. "He was going to stab you in the back! That cat came out of nowhere!"

Hardly nowhere. The cat had tracked him since day one.

Watch. Scout. Guard. Keep. Care. Safe. Duty.

Pietas understood now.

Growling, the panther gripped his father's throat in its powerful jaws, but didn't complete the bite. Waiting. Listening.

Through their connection, Pietas understood. It awaited the kill command.

Pietas opened his mouth to give the order.

"No!" Helia screamed. "Stop!"

He hesitated.

The Council had gathered. No one moved. No one interfered.

The panther yelped, twitched, and then went limp.

His father pushed the animal off him, revealing a knife protruding from the cat's chest. He stood, staggering. The cat's dark blood drenched the front of his once-white uniform. Mahikos covered the puncture wounds on his neck.

Armand and Philippe closed in on him and gripped his arms.

The panther's green eyes closed as Pietas knelt beside the animal. He stroked the sleek black fur of its chest, its jaw, traced one finger around the rounded ears. The cat's lifeblood oozed from its wound. Forgive me! I should have let you eat him.

Battle wounds in Ultras, Pietas understood. He'd never treated an animal. If he removed the knife, the bleeding might worsen. Hasten death. One did not mercy kill a fellow Ultra. They healed.

Ultras took no prisoners. He'd dispatched suffering humans. Why torture an enemy close to death? After what traitors done to him, however, he'd rethink that in the future.

Pietas could not bring himself to kill someone so loyal. He rested his hand on its chest, felt breath leave the body. This beautiful animal had died for no reason other than to save him.

A rumbling growl surrounded him. From the dark, eyes flashed green and gold.

"Pi!" Six called to him. "Leave the cat. I think they want you to back away."

Unmoving, he opened himself the way he had earlier. He'd felt the presence of the other panthers but had not recognized then who and what they were. An impression thrummed between him and the cats, teasing his senses. Unspoken, as present as the background hum of a powerful ship. A shared energy.

Pietas gave himself over to them and they drew him in, welcoming his presence, accepting his nature, claiming his ferocity.

More than brotherhood. More than soldiers. More than family.

Tribe.

Read more →

“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...

Read more →

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

Read more →

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."

Read more →

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.

Read more →

Ghosts have no name #SciFi #SpaceOpera Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire #MFRWhooks

Kayelle Allen 09/26/2018 Fallen Empires 4 Comments

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. A dead human soldier who'd been resurrected and enhanced with Ultra blood. A "ghost." 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.

Staggering, he swore in Spanish. "Find another name for me."

"Tell me your mortal name then."

"You know I can't." Six scratched his cheek. "Ghosts have no name. Gotta protect my family. If your kind knew who they were, they'd slaughter them. You wouldn't, but them?"

Now they were getting somewhere. "So you do trust me?"

"Pi, there's more honor in your left big toe than your entire race combined." He tipped up the canteen but then paused. "No offense."

"None taken. But we're stranded, my friend. Unless a miracle happens, by the time we get off this world, your family will be long dead." He added, "No offense."

Six finished his drink and plugged the canteen. "None taken. Sorry. Can't do it." He lifted the strap back over his head and settled it onto his shoulder, the canteen at his back. "Seriously, Pi, your people hear you call me you-know-what, it'll give away I was Ghost Corps. If they do, we both know what they'll do to me."

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

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 in their pods and it's up to Pietas to rescue them.

A human abandoned with him has become a trusted friend. But before Pietas can save his people, he must reconcile them to the human and take back command from a ruthless enemy he's fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father.

Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever...

Universal book link https://books2read.com/u/bpW7Kg

Read more →

The Spike by Nathan Mutch @Nathan_Mutch #SpaceOpera #SciFi

Kayelle Allen 09/24/2018 New Book 2 Comments

Please tell us three things you'd like us to know.

One.

It seems like forever ago that I decided I was going to write a novel. It also seems like it was only yesterday. That's how life works sometimes.

I was willing to give it a shot. I'd write on Tuesdays and Thursdays to begin with. I didn't know what I was doing—I'd written short pieces before, but never a full-length novel. The project gathered steam with every writing session, and before I knew it, I had a book. The Unity was published, and I immediately began work on the second book. I built the universe for my characters while I was also building a family.

Two.

It wasn't until I wrote The Spike that I truly appreciated universe building in fiction.

A character is born.

The universe is born.

The universe is broken down and reordered to suit the character.

Few things survive the reordering of the universe, so the character is reborn.

Repeat as needed.

It seems like only yesterday that I decided to write books and, in doing so, reordered my own universe.

I'm glad I survived.

Three.

The Spike is a story about the human mind. It's about the lengths a person will go to uncover the truth, but more so, it's about the addictive quality of that search.

Ultimately, we can never know why we decide against one thing in favor of another.

Is it desire or attraction?

Is it a chemically predetermined path in our synapses?

The truth beckons to us. It invigorates like the thrill of mortal danger.

The truth is a drug.

Here's an excerpt from The Spike:

"This part of the country seems to have all hell for a basement, and the only trap door appears to be Medicine Hat."

–Rudyard Kipling

"We were born to die."

John McCormack knew a thing or two about death. He also knew a thing or two about when to keep his mouth shut. We were born to die—those were the words he spoke aloud just after closing the door to his last session with the military-appointed psychologist.

John recalled what the psychologist had said during their first session—that survivor's guilt was a natural consequence, especially since he alone had survived. No one could have foreseen that their brief exposure to the crashed alien ship would be fatal—that their hazmat suits would offer no protection.

"We were born to live our lives," the shrink had said. "The other Marines lived to serve. They died performing their duty."

John shambled away from the stuffy, claustrophobic office and stayed close to the corridor wall as if he might suddenly need it to steady himself. The faces of the fallen haunted him.

John spoke the words again. He spoke as if talking to his ghosts would somehow make them sympathetic.

"We were all born to die."

A strange but familiar voice rose up from his chaotic thoughts. It was so clear that it drowned out the memories, yet the voice itself was like a memory. As odd as it seemed to have a voice in his head that John felt didn't belong to him, what happened next was stranger still. His mind made the words his own.

"You are wrong, John. You were born for a specific purpose."

John nearly turned around and marched back into the psychologist's office. He was sure he had cracked, but the thought of dealing with a headshrinker again was a great weight pressing on his chest. He kept walking and took his ghosts with him.

***

Soon after John was granted separation from the Marine Corps, he found work at an off-world mining operation with the same company that had shot down the alien spaceship—an irony few of his fellow miners failed to point out. But John didn't require reminders. He remembered perfectly.

The alien ship had entered Earth's orbit undetected by every space observation network on the planet. GISEC, the Goryeo Inter-Korean Space Exploration Conglomerate, detected the ship with an automated orbital salvage and reclamation platform and mistook it for space junk. The AI on the platform decided the ship was a danger to nearby satellites and attempted to disintegrate it. If it wasn't for GISEC, the ship might have come and gone unnoticed.

Of all the places in the world, the falling ship's trajectory sent it hurtling toward downtown Medicine Hat. In the blink of an eye, the city was leveled. The city that was built on a giant gas field—the city with hell for a basement—was destroyed by a fireball from the heavens.

Nathan Mutch Social Media

Nathan Mutch's first novel, The Unity, is the first book of a planned three-part Science Fiction series. The second book in The Unity Empire Series, A Song for the Dead, was released June 2017.
His current projects include: A prequel to the Unity series about the origins of the Ash Stone character; two co-authored books; a stand-alone fantasy novel tentatively titled, Between Realms; and of course, the third installment of The Unity Empire Series.
The first of the two co-authored books is an experimental science fiction mind-bender written (so far) entirely by correspondence. The second co-authored book delves into the Fantasy genre.
Nathan Mutch currently lives in Northern Canada with his family.
Website https://nathanmutch.com

Read more →

Daughters of Ayor by David R Bernstein @drbauthor #SciFi #SpaceOpera

Kayelle Allen 09/21/2018 New Book 1 Comment

Please tell us three things you'd like us to know.

Originally this story was supposed to be a side story for a larger universe I’ve written, but it developed into its own concept. Now, I plan to build on this idea and turn it into a full series.

The hero in this story is a snarky science officer that is forced to command an irradiated ship with no crew. He gets a bit sarcastic due to his current lot in life!

Daughters of Ayor is actually a spin on the Daughters of Air from the Peter Pan books.

Read more →

Darkened Skies: Chancerian 3 by Drew Avera @drewavera #SciFi #SpaceOpera

Kayelle Allen 09/20/2018 New Book

Please tell us three things you'd like us to know.

Drew Avera joined the Navy at seventeen and has deployed four times in the last eighteen years. He is an Aviation Electricians Mate and has worked on F/A-18s for most of his career. His knowledge in naval aviation has found its way into several of his books.

He began his writing journey in 2012 and wrote his first book on his iPhone as he competed in National Novel Writing Month. That book was later published and was the first of many works by Drew.

Drew is also a musician and producer. He is currently writing and recording an album with his metal band, Obsolium. The first album, Empire of Dust, is a concept record about an alien invasion and potential destruction of mankind.

Drew Avera Social Media

Drew Avera has been a lot of things in life; a band geek, a comic book nerd, a pseudo rock star, an amateur artist, a Navy veteran, husband, and father. But beyond being a family man, his favorite is his role as the bestselling author of the space opera series, The Alorian Wars.
Getting his start with National Novel Writing Month 2012, the writing bug consumed him. Since publishing in 2013, Drew has written more than twenty books. His most notable works include The Dead Planet Series and The Alorian Wars. But there is plenty more on the way as he delves into new universes, always trying to find what ticks in his characters to bring them to life. Check out the worlds he's created by visiting his website.
Website www.drewavera.com

Read more →

Tag: Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

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

Heat: Empathy? Or was that the fire?

The panther tribe claimed his ferocity as their own. Bringer of Chaos #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Tribe

“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...

Ghosts have no name #SciFi #SpaceOpera Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire #MFRWhooks

Ghosts Have No Name

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

The Spike by Nathan Mutch @Nathan_Mutch #SpaceOpera #SciFi

Three Things About Nathan Mutch

The Spike by Nathan Mutch

Science Fiction by Nathan Mutch

Nathan Mutch Social Media

Daughters of Ayor by David R Bernstein @drbauthor #SciFi #SpaceOpera

Three Things About David R Bernstein

Science Fiction by David R Bernstein

David R Bernstein Social Media

Darkened Skies: Chancerian 3 by Drew Avera @drewavera #SciFi #SpaceOpera

Three Things About Drew Avera

Drew Avera Social Media