“Good luck,” Dan said. “And call if you need us. We will come.”
He reached out his hand to the Naga Warlord.
Garul stared at the outstretched hand only a moment, and then offered his own clawed fingers to Dan, shaking his hand. The emotions around that simple handshake swirled through the Human, and he guessed perhaps the Naga as well. Each had been the prisoner of the other - and the captor. Each of them had done his best to serve the interests of his race but ultimately discovered that only by coming together as allies could they best help their people.
And, once they had crossed that boundary, they’d discovered something else. Respect for one another. Even, perhaps, the beginning of a friendship. Dan hoped that might be the case, anyway. He found himself liking Garul despite their checkered past.
“Fare well, Human. We will call if they strike, or if we learn more about our mutual foe. Likewise - if the Kkiktchikut threaten your world, call the Naga. We will not soon forget the lives you lost defending us,” Garul said. Then he turned and boarded the shuttle.
Dan hurried off the platform, and the shuttle blasted away, exiting from the ship. Garul was off to whatever awaited him next. He was a good leader. Dan had a feeling that he would rise high in whatever was left of the Naga command structure. They would need a strong hand to guide them through the rest of this crisis.
As he made his way back toward the bridge, Ensign Scott called him on his earbud.
“Incoming message from the Satori, sir,” Scott said.
“I’m almost to the bridge. Be right there,” Dan replied.
He hurried his steps a bit. Beth had taken off just a few hours ago after some hasty repairs to the Satori. It had taken three days to cobble her ship together well enough that it could survive a couple of jumps. The Satori would need some significant yard work once it got back to Earth.
But Andy and Charline were stranded on Dust, and Beth wanted to retrieve them as quickly as possible. It hadn’t been long, just a few days. They should be all right, but the fact that she was back so rapidly rather than returning with the would-be colonists to Earth worried Dan. He reached the bridge.
“Put her on, please,” he said.
“Dan, thank god,” Beth said. Her voice sounded tight and strained.
“What’s wrong? Did you find them?” Dan asked.
“We reached Dust all right. But they’re gone, Dan. We landed the ship near where we set them down. There were signs of a major battle. Huge footprints, ammunition casings, wreckage from explosions,” Beth said. “We searched the area and found dozens of dead Kkiktchikut, the armored ones, not the ones native to Dust.”
Shit. That was bad news. Their friends had been down there, and the Kkiktchikut had come. They’d fought back, and if they’d killed dozens of the enemy that was remarkable. But it seemed hard to believe they’d killed them all.
“Any sign of humans at all?” Dan asked.
“We found a few graves dug, with little markers and names on top. No one we knew,” Beth said. “Way fewer graves than there were people left behind.”
“Where are they, then?” Dan asked. He could hear the pain in her voice about leaving crew behind. There had been no choice. That didn’t make it any better for her.
“I don’t know. We’re going back to take another look. I came here because it was closer than Earth and we could make the jump sooner. But as soon as we recharge the wormhole drive I want to go back and do a complete search while you report back to home,” Beth said.
Earth had only two of the quantum communicators. One was aboard the Independence, the other aboard the Constitution back in Earth’s orbit. Once the Bugs were gone Dan had been able to use the system to update the US government about what had happened, and the severity of the new threat. They hadn’t been thrilled about the Kkiktchikut or their planet-killing gun. Dan was worried that some officials might choose not to believe it at all, even once they saw the evidence of the weapon’s power.
And now Beth wanted to head out into the void on her own again. Part of him wanted to tell her no, to order her home. But he was never one for giving orders that he knew someone wasn’t going to follow. Beth knew what she had to do. Her mind was already made up. He could worry about her, but he wasn’t going to change her mind.
“All right. Go find our people, then head back to Earth as quickly as you can. And Beth - if you can’t find them, come home. Andy and Charline are smart. If they’ve gotten themselves into trouble, have a little faith that they can get themselves back out of it again.”
“I’ll see you at home as soon as I can,” Beth said vaguely.
Dan smiled. He knew that meant she wasn’t going to return home until she found the missing people, or was forced to give up by running out of supplies. Beth signed off, and Dan sat down in his chair on the bridge. It rocked a little bit now. The ship’s damage had jarred one of the bolts securing it to the floor a little loose, so that it jiggled as he shifted his weight. Dan sighed. So many repairs to make still, most of which would have to wait until they were back at Earth. For a first run, the Independence had been put through the wringer. But it had passed with flying colors.
At a great cost. Half of his crew was dead, lost to protect a world whose name most of them couldn’t even pronounce. Dan felt the loss of each crew member almost personally, every time he thought about it. He’d been able to put it from his head during the fighting, but after? He’d visited the long rows of dead crew and Marines in body bags, sealed for delivery home. There had been others lost without any hope of recovering the bodies, like their pilots. Of the twenty who had shipped out, only four survived. Captain Larsen himself had gone down during the final minutes of the battle.
A lot more people, Human and Naga alike, were going to die before this battle was over. He was going to have to find a way to get used to the cost of battle, but for the moment it gave a bitter note to the sweetness of their victory.
“Break from orbit please, Ensign Scott. Set a hyperspace course. We’re going home.”
Kevin’s Notes
And we’re back! Another episode of the ongoing Satori saga, and this one is the biggest yet. I’ve had some folks asking me to write longer novels, which means it takes a little longer to get them out; but if that’s what people would prefer to read, I’m all for it.
There was some confusion about how Ashes of War was released. In short: a lot of people were confused because it was listed as book one of a new series: “Satori’s War”. I’ve fixed that. Ashes of War is now book seven of the overall series, and this one is book eight.
The series will have at least twelve books. After that? We shall see. I’ve got several other series I would like to work on as well, but I might extend the Satori tales. Let me know what you’d like to see next. You can always reach me via Facebook or email.
Thanks to everyone who helped with the re-launch of books one, two, and three from this series. The new versions are live as of this writing (except book three, Deep Waters, which is uploaded and will go live November 15th - so it’s probably already there as you’re reading this).
The new versions are a LOT better than the old ones. The first book, Ad Astra, in particular had a heavy rewrite. It clocked in as a novella before, in terms of word count. It’s a full novel now. The other two books also saw significant expansions during the rewrite.
Nothing from the plot of these three books was changed, though. If you’ve already read them in the old version, you won’t need to re-read them in the new “author’s preferred edition” unless you’d like to. Of course, if you choose to check out the new version, I think you’ll be thrilled! The books are much improved.
Lots more coming down the pipe. Make sure to check out the Valhalla Online series, since we’ll be seeing some of those characters showing up in another science fiction series very soon. I think you’ll get a kick out of the tie-in and how the two worlds blend together.
Thanks for reading both the book AND these notes! Rem
ember that I’m always glad to hear from readers, so drop me a line any time.
Kevin
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About the Author
When not practicing hobbies which include sailing, constructing medieval armor, and swinging swords at his friends, Kevin McLaughlin can usually be found in his Boston home. Kevin’s award-winning short fiction is now available in digital form at all major ebook retailers. His urban fantasies “By Darkness Revealed” and “Ashes Ascendant” are available in ebook and print. His latest stories, the “STARSHIP” series and “King of the Dead” serial, are ongoing.
I love hearing from readers!
www.kevinomclaughlin.com
[email protected]
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