by Nick Braker
Magnus nodded.
“We need to talk,” Mira said.
“About?”
“The Aliri and a Cortian woman named, Ckilra. They helped us destroy the Kron’s home world,” Mira said. “I need to know what you meant by an alliance with the Kron.”
“The Aliri aren’t helping us. I’ve come to learn the truth that they’re the true enemy.”
“What?” Mira said. “That does not make sense. I thought you were trying to destroy Kron, too. I thought all your actions were just a way to save our lives, some ruse you were playing to keep us alive and still destroy Kron. I could not determine your plan but I know—”
“Wait,” Magnus said. “Cortian? Ckilra was Cortian?”
“That is what she told us,” Mira said.
It made sense. He had no idea how Ckilra had managed it but he knew why she had done it and it explained a great deal. Ckilra had infiltrated Kron posing as one of their people, probably decades ago. Dear god, he understood her. She wanted revenge for what the Kron had done to her people. Ckilra had to be blind to the Aliri being a part of orchestrating the entire effort. She had unknowingly lived a lie for her entire life, plotting her revenge against the wrong people.
“She gave us coordinates to enter Kron’s space,” Mira said, “shared with us how the Aliri were helping by pulling a portion of the Kron fleet away from their home world and even assured us the Aliri would contact Earth and warn them not to open the portal for our return.”
“Why would the Aliri need—”
“Sorry,” Mira said, “as you can imagine. It has been a long and grueling ordeal. I should have mentioned that the Kron planted bad information in our ship’s system. We were able to use a wormhole to get here but they made sure that when Earth opens the portal for our return trip that a dwarf blue star would be in that exact position. It will destroy Earth if Grep opens it.”
“The Kron planted bad information?” Magnus asked.
“Who else would do such a thing?” Mira questioned.
Magnus stood. His face turned red and his fists clenched.
“Mira, the Aliri did it,” he said. “Do you trust me?”
“Without a doubt, Magnus,” Mira said softly, her cheeks flushing. “I will never doubt you again.”
“Then I’m going to need your help soon. I’ll be back later tonight.”
Magnus walked out, heading for the bridge. Every step he took, as he thought about what the Aliri had done and were doing, fueled his anger. They planned to let Earth destroy itself. They couldn’t get their hands dirty with the job themselves. Why not let us do it for them?
Alestron, his name is Alestron.
Magnus understood Katerra now. The Aliri were vermin and Magnus’ species didn’t fit their mold. Decades of planning on their part had nearly wiped out an entire race of beings. They had succeeded in destroying that race’s planet. If it weren’t for Katerra’s foresight, her people would have died on Kron. Magnus entered the bridge.
“Kada,” Magnus said. “How long until we reach Earth?”
Kada stepped down, yielding the command chair to Magnus. “Approximately one year, two months and eight days.”
“You have an Omarii projection device on board, correct?”
“Of course,” Kada replied.
“Prepare for a projection to Earth,” Magnus ordered. “We’re going to warn them, let them know who the real enemy is.”
Kada smiled. Magnus knew what she was thinking. Finally.
“And after that?” she asked, still grinning.
Magnus strode resolutely toward the command chair, easing himself into it. “We’re going to war, Kada. Fuck the Aliri.”
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
An insanely rewarding effort, Galactic Satori Chronicles - Book 2 plunged us deeper into the lives of our reluctant heroes. As an author, it is ‘normal’ for your characters to come alive and start talking to you. I have experienced frustrating moments as they vie to be heard while I’m moving through my daily life. Magnus pushed back every time I started a scene where he had responsibility because death always lurked too close. I couldn’t fault him for that but I needed a hero for the story. I got the impression he didn’t care what I thought. Brock wanted a mandatory weekly party as part of his WSO employee compensation package. I agreed with him on this one. You? Grep wanted to be left alone since 99.99999894% of the population were a waste of his time. Don’t worry, Seph scolded him later for his comment. He received an effective attitude adjustment... big time. Mira broke down and revealed her inner core. It shocked the hell out of me. You cannot imagine the things she tells me. Finally, I miss those that have fallen.
This year differed from previous years as my family and job required more from me. Looking back, writing the book gave me solace as I labored to complete another large book. For those who are authors, the industry has guidelines for us. One of them is that science fiction novels should generally be 80k to 120k words. I broke the 120k barrier by 666 words according to my word count.
And, I forgot to tell you that, at publishing time for Book 1, Magnus’ name appeared 666 times during the story. Coincidence? Hell no! In hindsight, it was probably Mira’s doing.
One last thing. Would you review me on Amazon, Goodreads, and any other appropriate site? There is nothing better you can do for a new author than to give him/her a five-star rating; oops, I meant rating. I blame Mira.
I can be reached at www.nickbraker.net or on Facebook at @NickBrakerAuthor or on Twitter at @GalacticSatori.
Paul can be reached at www.paulehicks.net.
If you like science fiction with some erotic scenes, look up the Essence series, too.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Braker is known to keep things close to his chest, but he’ll talk your ear off about his love of science fiction and his plans for his space saga, the Galactic Satori Chronicles.
Braker has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Evansville. In school, he was also president of the chess club.
Braker is a table-tennis player, 5K runner, role-playing gamer, convention fanatic, and Risk expert. He never loses! You might find him writing his next science-fiction epic, building a personal computer from scratch, or attending conventions like Gen Con, Dragon Con, LibertyCon, and MegaCon.
Paul E. Hicks is an IT manager and tae kwon do instructor. He received his bachelor’s degrees in computer science and mathematics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Hicks enjoys spending time with his wife and son.