Troy - A Space Opera Colonization Adventure (Aeon 14: Building New Canaan Book 3)
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She was done. She’d made it under the lowest pole that night.
Marines were yelling their congratulations and pounding her back.
Erin threw up her arms. “I did it!”
Usef was beaming at her, his arms folded over his great chest.
“Did I win?” she asked him.
“You did.”
“Yay! I won! I won! Do I get a prize?”
“You do,” he said.
“Fantastic. What did I win?”
“Come on, Marines,” said Usef.
He moved toward her, and the rest of the crowd of brawny men and women closed in.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Erin asked.
Hands grabbed her arms and legs. She rose into the air, supported by ten or twelve pairs of arms. She was being carried toward the ocean.
“What are you doing?” Erin asked, though she had already guessed. “Oh, man,” she said resignedly just before she hit the water.
It was a good thing they spaced out vacations on Athens.
* * * * *
Tanis read the message again, and sat back in her chair, running a hand over her ponytail and tugging on it gently.
Angela didn’t reply, and Tanis rose from her desk, walking to the window looking out over Landfall.
Angela said after a moment.
Tanis wasn’t hopeful. She turned from the beautiful view of the planet she was trying to make into her home and walked back to her desk.
“Maybe.”
THE END
* * * * *
Troy is safe, and the picotech remains safely out of Myrrdan’s hands, but something is brewing on Athens that will create an opportunity that New Canaan’s enemies won’t be able to ignore.
Like they always say, if it’s going to happen, it’ll probably happen on Athens.
AFTERWORD
What a wonderful pleasure and privilege it’s been to return to the Aeon 14 universe. I’ve enjoyed following Erin, Martin, and Isa’s journey as they experienced living on Troy.
As I was writing the story, I stumbled across the word that describes our three main characters’ relationship: a throuple (as in a couple, but with three people), which was a fun discovery. I also had a lot of fun naming the throuple’s child. Jude wasn’t inspired by the famous Beatles song, however. I’ve always liked the name since reading Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure.
The octopuses’ garden was totally inspired by the Beatles song.
Inspiration for Lindsey’s marine park came from one of my favourite films, Local Hero, where a young marine biologist and possible mermaid dreams of creating just such a site.
The idea for the pinnacle on Troy’s parliament came from Taipei 101, which spent a few years as the world’s tallest building and is visible from nearly everywhere in Taiwan’s capital.
The Island of Aeolia is reminiscent of the Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs stories of expeditions to places cut off from the march of evolution, and the rainforest in the cave there is similar to the San Doong Cave in Vietnam. I’ve never been there but I’d love to go.
Now I’m looking forward to writing Athens, the final book in the Building New Canaan series. It’s going to be a wild ride.
J.J. Green
New Taipei City, 2018
THE BOOKS OF AEON 14
Keep up to date with what is releasing in Aeon 14 with the free Aeon 14 Reading Guide.
Origins of Destiny (The Age of Terra)
- Prequel: Storming the Norse Wind
- Prequel: Angel’s Rise: The Huntress (available on Patreon)
- Book 1: Tanis Richards: Shore Leave
- Book 2: Tanis Richards: Masquerade
- Book 3: Tanis Richards: Blackest Night
- Book 4: Tanis Richards: Kill Shot
The Intrepid Saga (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Outsystem
- Book 2: A Path in the Darkness
- Book 3: Building Victoria
- The Intrepid Saga Omnibus – Also contains Destiny Lost, book 1 of the Orion War series
- Destiny Rising – Special Author’s Extended Edition comprised of both Outsystem and A Path in the Darkness with over 100 pages of new content.
The Orion War
- Books 1-3 Omnibus (includes Ignite the Stars anthology)
- Book 1: Destiny Lost
- Book 2: New Canaan
- Book 3: Orion Rising
- Book 4: The Scipio Alliance
- Book 5: Attack on Thebes
- Book 6: War on a Thousand Fronts
- Book 7: Precipice of Darkness
- Book 8: Airtha Ascendancy
- Book 9: The Orion Front (2019)
- Book 10: Starfire (2019)
- Book 11: Race Across Spacetime (2019)
- Book 12: Return to Sol (2019)
Tales of the Orion War
- Book 1: Set the Galaxy on Fire
- Book 2: Ignite the Stars
- Book 3: Burn the Galaxy to Ash (2019)
Perilous Alliance (Age of the Orion War – w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 1-3 Omnibus: Crisis in Silstrand
- Book 1: Close Proximity
- Book 2: Strike Vector
- Book 3: Collision Course
- Book 4: Impact Imminent
- Book 5: Critical Inertia
- Book 6: Impulse Shock
Rika’s Marauders (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1-3 Omnibus: Rika Activated
- Prequel: Rika Mechanized
- Book 1: Rika Outcast
- Book 2: Rika Redeemed
- Book 3: Rika Triumphant
- Book 4: Rika Commander
- Book 5: Rika Infiltrator
- Book 6: Rika Unleashed
- Book 7: Rika Conqueror
Non-Aeon 14 Anthologies with Rika stories
- Bob’s Bar Volume 2
- Backblast Area Clear
The Genevian Queen (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: Rika Rising (2019)
- Book 2: Rika Coronated (2019)
- Book 3: Rika Reigns (2019)
Perseus Gate (Age of the Orion War)
Season 1: Orion Space
- Episode 1: The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star
- Episode 2: The World at the Edge of Space
- Episode 3: The Dance on the Moons of Serenity
- Episode 4: The Last Bastion of Star City
- Episode 5: The Toll Road Between the Stars
- Episode 6: The Final Stroll on Perseus’s Arm
- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: The Trail Through the Stars
- Eps 4-6 Omnibus: The Path Amongst the Clouds
Season 2: Inner Stars
- Episode 1: A Meeting of Bodies and Minds
- Episode 2: A Deception and a Promise Kept
- Episode 3: A Surreptitious Rescue of Friends and Foes
- Episode 4: A Victory and a Crushing Defeat
- Episode 5: A Trial and the Tribulations (2019)
- Episod
e 6: A Deal and a True Story Told (2019)
- Episode 7: A New Empire and An Old Ally (2019)
- Eps 1-3 Omnibus: A Siege and a Salvation from Enemies
The Warlord (Before the Age of the Orion War)
- Books 1-3 Omnibus: The Warlord of Midditerra
- Book 1: The Woman Without a World
- Book 2: The Woman Who Seized an Empire
- Book 3: The Woman Who Lost Everything
The Sentience Wars: Origins (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)
- Books 1-3 Omnibus: Lyssa’s Rise
- Book 1: Lyssa’s Dream
- Book 2: Lyssa’s Run
- Book 3: Lyssa’s Flight
- Book 4: Lyssa’s Call
- Book 5: Lyssa’s Flame
Legends of the Sentience Wars (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/James S. Aaron)
- Volume 1: The Proteus Bridge
- Volume 2: Vesta Burning
Enfield Genesis (Age of the Sentience Wars – w/Lisa Richman)
- Book 1: Alpha Centauri
- Book 2: Proxima Centauri
- Book 3: Tau Ceti
- Book 4: Epsilon Eridani (2019)
Hand’s Assassin (Age of the Orion War – w/T.G. Ayer)
- Book 1: Death Dealer
- Book 2: Death Mark (2019)
Machete System Bounty Hunter (Age of the Orion War – w/Zen DiPietro)
- Book 1: Hired Gun
- Book 2: Gunning for Trouble
- Book 3: With Guns Blazing
Vexa Legacy (Age of the FTL Wars – w/Andrew Gates)
- Book 1: Seas of the Red Star
Building New Canaan (Age of the Orion War – w/J.J. Green)
- Book 1: Carthage
- Book 2: Tyre
- Book 3: Troy
- Book 4: Athens
Fennington Station Murder Mysteries (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: Whole Latte Death (w/Chris J. Pike)
- Book 2: Cocoa Crush (w/Chris J. Pike)
The Empire (Age of the Orion War)
- Book 1: The Empress and the Ambassador (2019)
- Book 2: Consort of the Scorpion Empress (2019)
- Book 3: By the Empress’s Command (2019)
The Sol Dissolution (The Age of Terra)
- Book 1: Venusian Uprising (2019)
- Book 2: Scattered Disk (2019)
- Book 3: Jovian Offensive (2019)
- Book 4: Fall of Terra (2019)
OTHER BOOKS BY J.J. GREEN
Shadows of the Void
- Book 1: Generation
- Book 2: Stranded
- Book 3: Dawn
- Book 4: Shadowrise
- Book 5: Underworld
- Book 6: Burned
- Book 7: Trapped
- Book 8: Mars Born
- Book 9: Shadow Battle
- Book 10: Shadow War
Star Mage Saga
- Book 1: Daughter of Discord
- Book 2: Dark Mage Rises
- Book 3: Wildfire and Steel (Winter 2018)
Space Colony One
- Book 1: The Concordia Deception
- Book 2: The Fila Epiphany
- Book 3: The Scythian Crisis
Carrie Hatchett, Space Adventurer
- Book 1: Mission Improbable
- Book 2: Passage to Paradise
- Book 3: Transgalactic Antics
- Book 4: Wrong Side of Time
- Book 5: Carrie’s Calamity
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
J.J. Green was born in London's East End within range of the sound of the church bells of St. Mary Le Bow, Cheapside, which makes her a bona fide Cockney. She first left the U.K. as a young adult and has lived in Australia and Laos. She currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan, with her family and a black cat called Black Cat. When she isn’t writing, she entertains the locals with her efforts to learn Mandarin.
Find out about her latest shenanigans at her website: www.jjgreenauthor.com
* * * * *
Michael Cooper likes to think of himself as a jack-of-all-trades (and hopes to become master of a few). When not writing, he can be found writing software, working in his shop at his latest carpentry project, or likely reading a book.
He shares his home with a precocious young girl, his wonderful wife (who also writes), two cats, a never-ending list of things he would like to build, and ideas…
Find out what’s coming next at www.aeon14.com