by Aaron Hubble
Kalu watched the others strapping into their seats. He walked toward the back of the ship. He wanted to check on the payload the ship was also carrying. Opening a heavily shielded door, Kalu looked in on a large stout cylinder. Angry, red decals warned of the payloads nuclear component.
Another insurance policy he hoped he wouldn’t need to use on HP-397. Kalu didn’t want to taint what was an otherwise pristine planet, but if R3 left him with no choice, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Focused clearly once again, Kalu took his seat. Once in orbit they would enter the stasis chambers. The trip would take considerably longer than that of the Unity 2. The prototype engine was far less powerful.
As the doors above them parted and the ship left the ground, a ray of light spread across the floor. He saw Campbell lying alone. The darkness of the cavern was a fitting resting place for a man with no vision, who couldn’t see the light Kalu’s plan would bring to humanity. Banishing the pompous North American from his mind, Kalu leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and let the hum of the engines lull him to sleep.
Stuff At The End Of The Book
After much delay, there it is.
Harbinger was completed in its original form in 2015, but there was something about it which just didn’t sit well. Too many point of view characters, wandering side plots, and unnecessary naval gazing. Once I had other writing commitments out of the way, I went at this story with an editorial meat cleaver. I cut away a load of words and excised the extra fat.
It was hard.
Originally, Mirala had a much greater role in the story. In fact, she went to Homa instead of Calier and rescued Berit. I wanted her medical knowledge in the hospital. It made sense. There was a subplot between Mirala and her husband. They have a strained relationship I wanted to explore. The problem was that Calier was getting lost in the story. He wasn’t the leader we all needed him to be. So, like the good man he is, he stepped up and took Mirala’s place in the story. It’s where he belongs anyway. Right in the middle of the action, even if he’s not totally ready for it.
Consequently we don’t get to know Mirala nearly as well. Maybe in the next book. Who knows where she’ll end up.
One more story left in the Farpointe Initiative. I’m looking forward to finishing it off. The preliminary outline is promising non-stop action. There are a lot of ends to tie up, but that’s what makes this fun.
On another note, if you didn’t know, I wrote a book in Nick Webb’s Legacy Fleet universe. It was a fanboy project, and I was honored to add to Nick’s ever expanding universe. If you’re a fan of the Legacy Fleet series you need to check out Tripoli. Very proud of the way this book turned out, and I think you’ll enjoy it. If you haven’t read Nick’s books you should still be able to get the gist of what’s going on. Or even better, read the first book in the Legacy Fleet series, Constitution, and then read my book. It will give you the context of the adventure and introduce you to a really great author.
As always, thank you for reading. Your support is worth more than a nebula full of stars to me. If you haven’t joined the Three Minutes to Neptune Crew, go ahead and do that now: http://www.aaronhubble.com. Lot’s of stuff going on and I often give away goodies to my subscribers. It’s worth it, trust me.
Live long and prosper, my friends.
Aaron Hubble
January 2017
About the Author
Aaron is a woodworker, turning big pieces of wood into smaller pieces of wood. All other times, he likes to let his mind roam the wide open spaces of the galaxy and write down the stories he sees in his head. Together with his wife Tracie (his first and most important reader) and two daughters, they live in Central Michigan.
Find out more at http://www.aaronhubble.com
Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
CHAPTER SIXTY
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Stuff At The End
About The Author