“Colonel Brown,” Jack asked as Brown walked up the path to the workstation, “it’s good to see you’re still alive. Did we lose any more of our team members while you defended the Control Center?”
“Fortunately, no. And as much as I hate to admit it, we can thank Davidson for that. As much as I can’t stand that guy, I have to admit that he knows his way around that laser sword of his.” Brown hesitated before continuing. “Guardian… Jack, I mean, I wanted to let you know that we found Oakland’s body, back in the room with all those Ribiyar and the ball-tanks in it. I heard that you two had been friends a while back, and I thought you should know that we’re planning a memorial service for him, along with Fairchild, and the rest of the brave soldiers that gave their lives in the battle today. We will be giving him special recognition for the part he played to help us get to the Control Center.”
Jack closed his eyes as the grief of his friend came fresh to his mind. Opening his eyes, he nodded his thanks to Brown, grateful that his friend’s sacrifice would be honored, and remembered by the people that he helped save. “Thank you, Colonel. He deserves nothing less for what he did for us.”
Jack and the other officers in the room continued to talk for several minutes, discussing how the parts for the repairs will be distributed, which ships should be repaired first, and other matters, when Commander Hayley urgently spoke up, and asked the group to listen to what she discovered.
“Captain Rickman, I have been going through the Holding Facility’s database, looking for other bases we could attack, when I came across several reports that indicated that the Ribiyar have detected a military base hidden in Hawaii.”
“What?!” Captain Rickman exclaimed. “When do they plan to attack? Can we send in the Defender and the rest of our ships in time to stop them?”
“I am afraid it is too late for that, sir,” Commander Hayley replied soberly as she typed commands into the computer console, which the computer had translated from the Ribiyar langue into English so the operators could work the interface. The holographic display in the front of the room displayed an orbital view of earth. The image zoomed in closer and closer, until it showed a clear image of Hawaii. Or rather, what was left of it. Several of the officers in the room gasped in horror as they saw the smoldering remains of the islands that had comprised Hawaii. The few parts of the islands that hadn’t been blown apart by the Ribiyar were either in flames, or flooding as water rushed gushed over the fragments of dirt that had once comprised the islands.
“This footage is from two hours ago. The Ribiyar have cut the computer link that connected the Holding Facility to the rest of their fleet, and judging from the video, there wouldn’t have been anyone left to rescue if we had heard about it sooner. Still, we should have been there to do something.” Commander Hayley said, tormented and angered over the destruction caused by the Ribiyar’s crusade of conquest.
“What do we do now?” Jack asked, hoping that the officers had some idea of what action they could take.
“Now,” Captain Rickman said as he looked again to the display. Drawing strength from his will to fight against humanity’s biggest threat yet, he turned to face the other officers in the room. “Now, we find a way to hurt the Ribiyar like never before, and put a stop to them. For good.”
The trilogy continues with book two: Genocide
Coming sometime in the future
Whenever that will be
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While I was writing this book, I knew that I would need a lot of characters to introduce, since the military was going to be involved, and I would need to put officers in the appropriate places on the ships and installations I used. So, I asked some people if they wanted to be in the book, and I used some of the ideas they gave me to create the some of the characters throughout the story. To recognize their contribution, I have decided to introduce the people who played as various members of the ‘cast’ in the book. Thanks for your help guys. Without you, the characters you played, such as Blitz and Victor Davidson, would likely never have been born, and my characters wouldn’t feel as real as they do without you guys. Thanks a bunch!
Carli Way as Carley Lace of the U.S.S. Pocahontas.
Evan Mitchel as E.V.A.N., Evan Adler, and, of course, Blitz.
Jim Fox as Captain Jim Syvon of the U.S.S. Thunderfox.
Zach Bedwell as Captain John Whitefield of the U.S.S. Ocean-Walker.
Daven Dyal as Colonel Vern Brown.
Drew Dyal as Larry “Beef” Rogers.
Delton Dyal as Lieutenant Johnny Fairchild.
Chris Nicholas as Major Buck Aru.
Seth Tiebout as Lieutenant Commander Simon Owen Stone.
Seth Krouse as Victor Davidson, AKA the Dark Serpent. Thanks for letting me use your ideas for him.
Addie Freeman as Doctor Sadie McGriffen.
Berakah Cook as Chief Gabrielle Lexton.
Maddux Wilson as Captain Max River of the Tsunami.
Grace Wilson as Captain Grace Gold of the U.S.S. Un-Holstered.
Lastly, Michael Mishoe as (I’ll let you try to figure that out yourself. Good luck with that.)
Thanks again guys, and I apologize if I left anyone out in the role call.
Thank you, dad, for suggesting that I should write down the daydreams I have about this series and taking time to teach me the things in life, such as cars and lawnmowers, that I have no idea about that will help in the future. It may take a few years, or decade’s, but hopefully I will finally complete my task.
Thank you, mom, for reading some of the earlier chapters of the book, even though you aren’t much into sci-fi, and thank you for putting up with us while we watch through the seasons of Star Trek while we eat the meals you often make for us. Thanks for all the mom stuff you do behind the scenes that I don’t know about.
Thank you, my sister Emily, for being there to talk to about my wild ideas, and be there to make me laugh, even if you don’t always get the ideas that I have. I’ve really liked what I’ve read of what you’ve got written of your book, and I hope that it, and the other future works, take off with success, and that your acting career takes off brilliantly.
Thank you, Seth Tiebout, for being an awesome friend and being there for me. It’s really awesome to have your interest in my series, when so few take the time to let me talk about it, and even fewer that let me go into deep detail like I do with you. Your support is very much valued, especially since I know you aren’t as much into the sci-fi world as I am. Thanks a million bro.
Thank you, Dale Kirkpatrick, for the time you spent to go through my book, and helping me find my many, many mistakes I made in the writing process. It was definitely very helpful for me. And also, I wanted to thank his son Casey Kirkpatrick for the work he did for the cover picture. It really was awesome work, great job on it man. Thank you for the time you guys spent volunteering to help me out for free. It was a huge blessing for sure you guys!
And thank you Jesus, for giving me the imagination I need for this book, and all that come after it, and for sending Your Son to die for us. Yours is the ultimate story that mine can never compare to.
And real quick, I’d like to take a moment to speak to the dreamers out there reading this book. You guys provide so much for this world, whether it’s through art, writing, construction, fashion design, work and jobs, and tons more. Know that you don’t have to be famous people like Gene Roddenberry and Picasso to make a difference.
I’m not a famous person. I’m just the guy walking past you on the street, serving your food, living my life. But here I am, writing novels.
Never let anyone tell you that you can’t be who God made you to be. Use the gifts you’ve been given, change the world, and continue dreaming the impossible.
And then, make it possible.
About the author
Michael Mishoe is a true sci-fi fan at heart,
enjoying many TV series such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who. A heavy reader as well, he enjoys and has spent countless hours in the company of series such as Richard Paul Evans’ Michael Vey and The Mindwar Trilogy from Andrew Kalavan. He lives in Cookeville, Tennessee, with his parents, sister, and dog. Whenever he's able to break away from life, he's caught up in the massive worlds of the mind's eye.
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