by Cameron, TR
“Admiral, Commanders. You are dismissed. You should head out for an evening of entertainment, secure in the knowledge that your food and bar tab will be picked up by Admiral Matthias.” Matthias looked shocked, but then laughed and nodded in agreement.
* * *
Later that night, the three officers were ensconced in a quiet corner of a darkened restaurant, bottles of wine and liquor joining the debris of an excellent meal in the center of their table.
“Where do we go from here?” Cross asked. Kate shook her head and pointed at Okoye, ceding the response to him.
“We go forward, just like always. I join the admiralty and try to make them see sense a little more often. Every now and again, when I’m bored, maybe I’ll take the Rio out for a spin.” The thought of what that would do to the pretentious leader of the Rio was good for one more round of laughter. “Cross, you’ll go back to being a steadily improving commander in charge of the DC.”
Cross wisely did not respond, but raised his glass in a toast to his mentor.
“Kate, have they told you what you will be doing?”
Kate, more than a little tipsy, pointed at Okoye. “Shouldn’t you already know that, sir, Admiral, sir?” Another round of laughter ensued as she made the universal sign for zipping her lips.
“Fair enough, Kate, fair enough. Now a toast to the two of you: sail safely until our voyages bring us together again.”
“Aye to that, sir,” Kate said. Cross grinned and toasted. At this moment, despite the mistakes he’d made and the looming threat of alien invasion, he was exactly where he wanted to be.
Chapter Forty-Six
A week later, Cross walked onto the bridge of the Washington, DC for the first time as its official commander. It had taken all his willpower to stay away, but he would’ve just been in the way of the repair crews, and didn’t want to start his tenure by being a pain in the ass. He meandered through the space, watching the crew—his crew—work through their checklists to verify that their stations were ready for departure. His circle eventually brought him to the captain’s chair, and he sat down in it, toying with the displays built into the arms, assessing the upgrades that had been made to the venerable ship.
“Commander,” the communication officer said, “starbase traffic control sends their compliments. We are cleared to launch in ninety minutes on our assigned vector.”
“Thank you, Fitzpatrick. It’ll be good to get underway. Too much shore leave is… detrimental to one’s health.” The bridge crew laughed, having heard the stories of an intoxicated Cross picking a fight with a Marine gunnery sergeant. No charges were filed, and the combatants shook hands and shared a drink in the end, but for a while there it seemed pretty vicious. Or so the bystanders said.
To Cross, it had been just one more night of good clean fun. He was confident his opponent felt the same.
The normal flow of his work was broken some time later. “Incoming message from Captain Dima Petryaev, Commander.”
“On screen.”
Dima appeared on the display, his ever-present cup of tea in hand, and the bridge of his ship looking undamaged behind him. “Commander Cross, congratulations on your promotion.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“You will be happy to know the AAN admiralty has agreed with our assessment, and has decided in its infinite wisdom that perhaps a truce between our peoples would be in order, at least until the alien threat is dealt with.”
Cross laughed. “Who did you have to blackmail to make that happen?”
Dima beamed in return. “Only about forty percent of them. The rest either saw the rationale behind it, or realized they could somehow increase their own power by making that decision.”
Cross shook his head. “Our people have more in common than I thought, Dima.”
“Indeed, Commander, they certainly do.”
“Is that a new piece of insignia on your collar, sir?”
Dima looked theatrically shocked and peered down to check. “Oh, that. They added to my burden of command by giving me twelve ships to control, rather than just the one.”
“Congratulations are in order for you, then, as well.”
“I figure this is my penance for escaping the confines of my carefully crafted orders.”
“Whatever it is, Captain, your people couldn’t have a finer man in charge of them. I wish them and you very well.”
“And I the same to you and yours, Commander Cross. Petryaev out.”
Finally, the time was at hand. His crew was at their stations, and Cross gave the commands to uncouple from the station and back out of their berth. As he felt the ship move under him, the reality of it hit him. He had finally gotten everything he wanted, command of the Washington, and—
His executive officer burst out of the lift, walked over, and buckled in. Leaning forward, Commander Kate Flynn said the scariest thing he’d ever heard her say, “Probes have found the what looks like the main Xroeshyn fleet in the sector that the AAN suggested we reconnoiter. There’s a lot of them. And they’ve started moving.”
This is the end of Trespassers. The Chaos Shift Cycle continues in Book 2, Defenders, available October 2017. A sample is available after the Author’s Notes.
Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a review and check out the next page to discover how to get more of Cross and Kate for free!
Want More Fantastic Science Fiction Action and Adventure for Free? Join the Readers’ Group and get Suicide Run as a thank you!
Visit www.trcameron.com/Trespassers to download it for free!
Thom’s Trespassers Notes: 22 August 2017
Thank you for buying this book. Thank you for reading this book. Thank you for reading these notes. Seriously. Thank you.
It’s taken a little over a year to get this from concept to completion. I’m not going to lie and say it was easy, or that it was always fun. But in the aggregate? It was an amazing experience.
I started an entirely different book, then took a left turn when I heard Cross, Kate, Dima, and Kraada whispering at me. Kate and Kraada, in particular, became favorites as I was writing.
I had several of the story’s events planned, but the tunnel blockers came out of nowhere, as did the spiders and Jo the mongoose. I think my favorite bits just happened. Which is too cool.
Books 2 and 3 are already written, and will be ready, assuming my fantastic editors meet their deadlines, in October and November. I’m hoping 4 and 5 will hit in December and January, but I have some extra demands on my time with the school year beginning, so i’m not confident guaranteeing it.
I encourage you to join the reader’s group mentioned on the page before this. Suicide Run is big fun, and I hope to provide more exclusive content and opportunities to those who join me for the rest of this wild ride.
If Books 1-5 of this series prove popular, I have another 3-5 that are banging around trying to get out of my head. If they don’t, I’ve got an awesome Urban Fantasy Thriller series burbling in the background.
Please, please, please: if you enjoyed this book and have read this far, would you take another couple of minutes and leave a quick review on Amazon? It can literally mean the difference between success or failure of the series.
Finally, I’d love to connect with you! You can find me on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to mention me on Twitter to catch my attention - that feed goes by ludicrously quickly.
My daughter Dylan has been quoting Jojo Siwa at me lately, so i’ll leave you with that quote, which sums up my author journey so far:
“Dream. Believe. Achieve.”
Peace, Joy, and Good Fortune to you - So may it be. TRC.
Exclusive Defenders Preview
It was a lovely day to kill, or to be killed, Indraat Vray thought as she left the sunlight and marched into the Planetary Defense Center.
The building was unremarkable from the outside. Like all the buildings ringing the palace, it was restricted to a single visible story so as not to compete with the monolithic
elegance of the emperor’s home. Once initiated into its mysteries, however, officers of the Xroeshyn military soon became acquainted with its many underground layers of military might. Upon descent from the command information center via the open circular lift, they passed through floors housing the armory, the hangar, the barracks, the training levels, and more.
This was Indraat’s first time visiting the deepest level, a ritual chamber chiseled out of the planet’s bedrock. The ritual chamber where she herself would end, or would end another.
Indraat stepped forward to stand at attention before the supreme commander of the Xroeshyn military, Drovaa Jat. To her right, Captain Traan Aras of the Jade Breeze marched forward in time with her footsteps, presenting himself to the marshal.
Drovaa was resplendent in his ceremonial battle dress. His last command was in the Sapphire line of Floating Fortresses, so he wore a deep blue base, with black and silver armor pieces atop it. Medals shimmered on his chest and down each arm, recounting the tale of his achievements. He voiced the words to start the ritual, “Officers, will you set this argument aside? There is no need for bloodshed on this day.”
Indraat and Traan replied in unison, “I will not.”
Drovaa spoke again, “Are you then resolved to face one another in combat?”
Again, they answered as one, “I am.”
“Will you consent to having the matter settled with first blood?”
One final time, the two responded together, “I will not.”
Drovaa nodded. “It has been asked, and you have answered. You will now enter the lines of eight where one or both of you will join your ancestors. May the gods give righteous strength to the one who warrants it, and through that strength cast down the one who has failed them. So may it be.”
Indraat and Traan turned to face each other. Mutual hatred emanated from hard eyes and locked jaws. Each forced out the final words, one after the other, Indraat taking the lead as the challenger: “So may it be.”
The two combatants entered the octagon, crackling electrical barriers sparking into place upon their passage. Indraat moved to the challenger's corner, settling into a lotus position. She stilled her mind and concentrated on the battle to come. With a glance she caught the eyes of her uncle, Hierarch Kraada Tak, who was observing from a raised seat to the side of the marshal. He nodded to her, sharing a quiet confidence gained from their discussion of strategy over the game board the night before. Indraat was convinced that she was at least an even match with the captain of the Jade Breeze. More likely, she was his superior in hand-to-hand combat, as she was in ship-to-ship combat.
Closing her eyes and expanding her senses, she felt the cool moisture of the deep chamber where it contacted her skin. She heard the breathing of the audience. The room was packed to capacity with officers of the Xroeshyn fleet and crew members of the Jade Breeze and Ruby Rain, here to witness the outcome of her charges of cowardice against Captain Traan for his premature flight from the last battle against the trespassers. She felt the comforting weight of her weapons as her fingers located each in turn: the short swords positioned for a downward draw along her ribs, the daggers in their thigh sheaves, the punch daggers strapped to each forearm, the throwing knives sheathed around her belt, the last resort stilettos tucked into each high boot.
She stood, revolving through a full turn as she flowed from the ground, seeming to take flight as her wings spread and her arms reached to the sky. One deep inhalation, followed by a long, drawn out exhalation, and her eyes snapped open. She looked across the arena at her opponent.
He wore dark green armor that covered his torso and select spots on his arms and legs. Underneath, a layer of lighter green blended with black textured material that Indraat's practiced eye judged resistant to blades. His neck exhibited a metal band too large to be a necklace and too narrow to be a collar. Paired longswords that had claimed the lives of many adversaries in the past wove through an expert sequence of movements as Traan warmed up for the battle to come.
Indraat wore black leather, accented with crimson representing the Ruby Rain and reinforced with lightweight metal bars in key locations. The former would offer her some defense against slashing attacks, and the latter would provide more as long as she positioned her blocks with impeccable technique. She traded passive protection against stabbing thrusts and crushing blows for maneuverability. Her combat style relied on her skill, her speed, and her intellect. She knew it would be sufficient to crush the arrogant coward facing her. Her mind held no room for thoughts of failure.
At the chime of the eighth minute, Traan settled into his ready position, with one curved longsword held high and pointed in her direction while the other was held low in defense. She nodded, clapped her palms together, and drew her short swords, spinning them through a rapid pattern to loosen her wrists. They were perfectly balanced and newly sharpened. Blood-red runes were etched into the center of each blade. These heirlooms had been carried by generations of military officers in her family, and they had earned the names with which they were decorated: Honor and Bleed. With a patronizing sneer that was the initial blow in the psychological battle, she spread her arms wide in an invitation for Traan to make the first physical assault.
* * *
Book 2 of the Chaos Shift Cycle is available for preorder! Preorder Defenders Here!
Acknowledgments
Family, friends, and coworkers: thank you for bearing with me during this process. You are appreciated.
Most memorable comment, from Todd: “It ended and I still wanted more, so that was irritating.” It’s good to know that I can always count on my friends for support.
Editing: Tracey and Charlotte, you do great work.
Cover: Deranged Doctor Designs, who have been fantastic at dealing with a clueless new author.
Parting comment:
Dylan: “Is your book like Harry Potter?”
Me: “No.”
Dylan: “I probably won’t read it then.”
Thanks, kid.
About the Author
TR Cameron is an emerging author of Science Fiction Adventure. By day, he teaches things to people. By night, he writes and edits and tries to be a decent partner and parent.
Once upon a time, he played World of Warcraft far too much, and remembers the days when Molten Core was everything. When he finds time to play now, story-heavy games are always at the top of his list.
His personal favorite authors range from Douglas Adams to David Weber, Anne Bishop to Jacqueline Carey to CJ Cherryh, Matthew Woodring Stover to Stephen R. Donaldson.
You can find him here:
www.trcameron.com
[email protected]
Facebook
Twitter
Also by TR Cameron
The Chaos Shift Cycle:
Trespassers (Book 1)
Defenders (Preorder here - Forthcoming October 2017)
Protectors (Book 3 - Forthcoming November 2017)
Deliverers (Book 4 - Forthcoming)
Victors (Book 5 - Forthcoming)
* * *
The Suicide Run (Stories from the Chaos Shift Cycle 1)
This book (Trespassers) is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author’s imagination.
Copyright © 2017 by TR Cameron
Cover copyright © 2017 by TR Cameron
All rights reserved, because piracy sucks. Unless it’s space pirates. Space pirates are awesome.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The Chaos Shift Cycle and all that happens within it are copyright 2017 by TR Cameron.