by Drew Wagar
‘Jim, speak to Coyote. You can trust him…’ she looked briefly at the monitor. ‘Don’t try to come after me…’ she paused. ‘Jim… I’m sorry I didn’t call you… You know I…’
The cockpit was abruptly lit by a flash of light. Jim saw Rebecca flung to one side as the stars behind the ship wheeled sickenly around. Alarms sounded on the recording and the cockpit was lit by red illumination.
‘Rebecca! No!’
He saw her close her eyes, bracing and tapping the eject buttons. A bulkhead shot down abruptly between the monitor and the rest of the cockpit. Dust and particles of debris spun in a maelstrom as the cockpit depressurised and the escape pod fired backwards and upwards from the deck of the Spectre.
Jim caught a brief view of the escape pod thrusting away in vain, the Thargoid warships behind the Spectre immediately swarming around it, ignoring the fleeing vessel. A moment later the spiralling rings of witch-space appeared and the video faded out abruptly.
Transmission Complete. Replay?
Jim slowly reached out and touched the darkened screen.
They’ve got her…
To be continued…
‘Finis’ – The final part of the Oolite Saga, will be available in time for Christmas 2011 at www.drewwagar.com
Author's Notes
I’d put Mutabilis to bed in late 2008 and felt I’d left the whole Oolite fan-fic thing behind. There were a lot more fan-fiction writers popping up and they were producing quality stuff that I was looking enviously at. I felt the ‘baton’ had been firmly passed. I said in Mutabilis that I never intended there to be a sequel for Status Quo, and to be completely honest, I had no intention of writing a sequel to Mutabilis either until I read a thread on the forum asking ‘wot are you writers up to?’.
In that thread a few contributors knocked some witty little segues together, crossing over various characters from various other fan-fic stories for a bit of fun. The idea of bringing together some of the best characters from the various stories and chucking them into an adventure together had huge appeal. I couldn’t resist. Folks were happy with the idea, so I set to work.
It also gave me the opportunity to tie up rather a lot of loose ends in Mutabilis which I wasn’t able to resolve due to time and length issues. What I rather grandly call the ‘Oolite Saga’ was never envisaged as a ‘Saga’ so each book has evolved from the previous one. Incursio and Finis have a stronger plan, but are ‘slaves’ to the earlier books in many ways.
The other side of the equation was the overall subject matter of this story. Status Quo’s purpose was to introduce the reader to the Oolite universe, Mutabilis allowed me to explore part of the Elite mythos – ‘Raxxla’. So what about Incursio? This time it’s the Thargoids that get the treatment.
Why the Thargoids? Simple really. In the original game and in Oolite, the Thargoids are simply alien invaders. They attack without provocation or apparent reason. I assume they were put in the original game to add a bit of spice and Oolite has faithfully recreated them. From a writer’s perspective they are a clichéd hack though. Big, bad, fearsome alien killing machines. Yawn. I can’t help asking the obvious questions. Why are they like that? Where do they come from? What happened to them to make them so warlike? What is their ultimate fate? Needless to say, this forms the underpinnings of Incursio and Finis. I’ve worked out what I think motivates the Thargoids – hope you like it!
The plot came together surprisingly easily and I started writing. It was huge fun, but as it evolved it became clear that in order to give the various characters enough ‘air time’ the story was going to be considerably longer than the previous two books, more than twice in fact.
So I gave up on it being a Trilogy and I’ve turned it into a four part-er. If you’ve downloaded this just after it’s been published that’s going to leave you on a cliff hanger for which I provide no apology whatsoever. The fourth part of this tale will be available late in 2011 – in time for Christmas. If you’re reading this after 2011, then you can go straight on to ‘Finis’ and find out what happens next.
I said in the notes for Mutabilis that I’m not a great fan of sequels, as they’re usually not as good as the original. According to my reviews, most people prefer Mutabilis to Status Quo – saying it’s the better story. I’ll have eventually provided three sequels by the time I’m done. I have a sneaking suspicion Incursio will turn out to be more popular than Mutabilis…
This all goes to show you shouldn’t pay any attention to what I say, as I clearly have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about.
Enjoy… and of course… Right on, Commanders!
Drew. (June 2011)
www.drewwagar.com
[email protected]
About the Author
Drew has written a series of novels and short stories for the 'Oolite' Universe, along with other contemporary ebooks. You can find them at his website below.
Connect with Drew:
Email: [email protected]
Drew's Website: http://www.drewwagar.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/drewwagar
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/drewwagar
Linked-in: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/drewwagar
From the same author on Feedbooks
Status Quo (Oolite Saga Part 1) (2006)
Part 1 of the Oolite Saga.
A brilliant scientist uncovers a terrifying plot to begin a galactic war. Aided by a talented, but reluctant and embittered combateer, he must stop the deployment of a super weapon he invented. A weapon so powerful it threatens to destroy entire worlds.
Schism (2007)
An Oolite Short Story - Lumbering through the depths of space are the Generation Ships; huge self contained transports driving between the stars at sublight speeds in the midst of thousand year journeys to populate new planets. After 30 generations, a staggering and devastating truth is revealed to the occupants of one such ship…
Ascension (2008)
A tale of what might happen when an example of sophisticated technology is suddenly thrust upon a backward culture steeped in religion. Ascension tells the story of a young woman alienated from her culture, and wondering if there is anything beyond the realm of her immediate experiences…
Nine (2008)
All seasoned space travellers know that there are only eight charts reachable by traditional Galactic Hyperspace jump drives. Does the ninth chart exist? Can it be reached? If so, what’s there? A story of one man’s quest to answer this enigmatic question. Is a slightly chilling tale of the ‘Ooniverse’…
Mutabilis (Oolite Saga Part 2) (2008)
Part 2 of the Oolite Saga, and sequel to Status Quo.
When a series of linked murders forces GalCop to outlaw the shadow organisation known as ‘The Dark Wheel’, a mysterious top secret document must be found in order to stave off a galactic conflict. The document contains a devastating secret; the key to domination, power and control. A secret as old as space itself, the location of the legendary planet ‘Raxxla’.
Replay (2009)
An Oolite Short Story - Difficult to describe even in summary without giving away the plot. It’s only three and a half pages long, so won’t take you long. Suffice to say, things aren’t always what they seem.
www.feedbooks.com
Food for the mind
Table of Contents
Part 1 - Incursio
Title
Licence
Thanks
Can you read?
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Author's Notes
About the Author
ding books on Archive.