by Auburn Seal
“What if we wake the other Morgan?” Levra asked the man she’d begun to hope was really Gunnar. Nobody had dared to untie him, though. And he didn’t ask to be uncuffed.
Gunnar nodded. “Assuming she hasn’t been wakened since they put her in the cryo-chamber, one of her last memories will be saying goodbye to me and asking me to protect the mission. If it’s her, the original Morgan, she’ll remember that, but she won’t remember what the mission is. And she won’t remember anything after that.”
Levra and Morgan looked at each other again, and Levra recognized her own questions in Morgan's eyes.
Levra nodded and so did Morgan. “No time like the present, I guess.”
Morgan turned and pressed some buttons on the cry-chamber that held either her clone or the one she was cloned after. “We should be able to ask her in about thirty minutes.”
“Levra.” Gunnar broke the awkward silence. “Baby, talk to me. Are you okay? What’s happened since I, well, since we last spoke?”
Levra shook her head. “When was that exactly? You went silent in oh-eight, and I didn’t hear from you again until ten. Or that’s when the other guy showed up, I guess. Now it’s twelve after arrival.”
“Four years? Do you remember that conversation we had when I was in Altius? We were getting ready to descend to Tortia to check out that planet, remember?”
She nodded. “I remember.”
“That conversation was four days ago for me, Lev. Remember we talked about our song and how we were going to dance to it when I got back on-planet?”
Her eyes started to fill with tears. She remembered very well. “Frank Sinatra,” she whispered.
Gunnar smiled, the smile she knew, the smile she loved. “Yep. Ask me what song it was?”
“What song, Gunnar?” Her words were barely audible.
“Witchcraft.”
She walked tentatively toward his bed. It was him. She was pretty sure it was him. Gunnar had finally come home after all these years.
She took the key from the crewman and undid Gunnar’s cuffs, sitting next to him on the bed.
“I think there is only one way for me to know if it’s you.”
“And there’s only one thing I want to do right now, so we should be in luck.”
Levra leaned in and gently touched her lips to Gunnar’s, hoping for the familiar warmth and tenderness Gunnar always showed her. And there it was.
The moment their lips met, she knew it was him.
Gunnar was home. The nightmare was over.
CHAPTER 21
Watcher Bay Outpost, Rasia, New Eden
October 19, 12 AA
When the supply ship set down two days later, the crew had their stories straight.
Gunnar, the real Gunnar, spoke to the ship’s captain with Levra present.
“We suffered significant losses, Captain. After the ship left, lighting struck several of our cargo crates and also a nearby tree. Unfortunately, many of our crew did not survive the initial landing, including Ana Chekhov when a tree fell on her and killed her instantly. Doctor Sanchez did everything he could to save her and the other victims of the storm but to no avail.”
The captain looked shocked. “I’m so sorry we had to leave as quickly as we did. Maybe if we had stayed longer . . .”
Gunnar slapped him on the back. “I don’t believe it would have mattered, Don. And you were right to get the ship and the ship’s crew out of harm’s way. Fortunately, there were no other casualties. It could have been much worse.”
“I’d like to send one of my officers back with you to New Seattle. She’ll need to report our losses in person.”
“Of course, Commander.” He looked at his watch. “We’ll depart on the hour.”
“Very good. She’ll be ready.”
Once the ship was unloaded of all its supplies, it was time for Levra and Gunnar to say goodbye to Morgan. The clone version of her, anyway.
When they’d awoken Morgan’s clone, it turned out it was the real Morgan, just as it had been the real Gunnar lying in that cryo-chamber. Gunnar and Levra had no problem dispensing with all the other clones, once they were verified to be clones, but Levra couldn’t bring herself to terminate the clone who had helped her. If it hadn’t been for Clone Morgan, she’d never have found the real Gunnar. The original Morgan, once awakened and briefed, had agreed with Gunnar’s plan. The clone Morgan would travel to New Seattle, continuing to pass for the real Morgan Moore. Once she’d reported that the clone ring had been broken up and all clones destroyed, she would return to Watcher Bay. Or at least that’s what Abramov would think. Instead of returning, she would head back to the SS Northern Light under Gunnar’s orders and travel on to Altius. She would investigate the clone operation there and report back to Gunnar via a pre-arranged schedule.
Commander Colton still needed to be found and brought to justice. If everyone at Abramov thought the cloning operation was done, it was possible Colton would surface again. That’s where they pinned their hopes today. Clone Morgan would leave for Altius and never return to New Eden. That’s the only way they could guarantee her safety. If it was discovered she was a clone, she’d be terminated, regardless of the role she’d played here at Watcher Bay.
Only the real Morgan, Gunnar, and Levra would know one clone was allowed to remain alive.
Levra hugged Clone Morgan and whispered in her ear, “You’ll always be Morgan to me. Thank you, my friend. I owe you everything.”
Levra swallowed her tears, refusing to give in to the sadness. She watched as Morgan boarded the Horizon, and then she watched the craft take off and shoot into the atmosphere.
CHAPTER 22
Watcher Bay Outpost, Rasia, New Eden
Founder’s Day, October 31, 12 AA
Levra Shield sat on the stage next to Gunnar and Enric at Watcher Bay Outpost. Officer Moore—the real Morgan—and Bria, Vildana’s mother, stood at the podium together and shook hands.
Now it was her turn.
Officer Moore spoke into the microphone and addressed the crowd. “It is with great pleasure I give you the founder of Watcher Bay, Levra Shield.”
Levra stood and shook the officer’s hand, and then Bria and Veld’s hands. Then everyone took a seat behind Levra, except Bria. Together, the two women turned and faced the crowd.
It was a mix of the original crew of Founders from New Seattle and Ddaerans from Glanmorr. Mera and Alena sat in the front row. Levra smiled at them warmly and Alena waved back. Levra noted the translator on the left side of the stage. There couldn’t be a language barrier today. It was too important.
Levra looked around and smiled warmly at the rest in attendance at today’s Founder’s Day celebration.
“Thank you for your warm welcome. To the Ddaerans from Glanmorr in attendance here today, I’d like to thank you for your kindness upon our arrival in your home. You welcomed my family into your community as though we were long lost relatives. My son is alive because of your boundless compassion. As we celebrate the establishment of a neighboring Founder community—Watcher Bay—it is with a bright hope for the future for the merging of our two worlds that we can forever remain brothers and sisters, unified in purpose.”
She raised a ceremonial wooden bowl and drank from it, then offered it to Bria who raised it to her lips as well. She set the bowl down on the platform, and the two women raised their joined hands. Levra spoke to both the Ddaerans and the Founders again, her voice rough with emotion.
“The Watch continues.”
Cheers went up among those in attendance. Levra spoke with pride and confidence.
“We will watch out for you, our new neighbors, as we embark on the journey of community together. We will aspire to be worthy of your friendship and to offer you the same shelter and protection you offered us in our time of need.”
More cheers, followed by a standing ovation.
“Welcome to Watcher Bay. May the Watch never cease.”
The crowd rose to their feet and app
lauded her words. She hugged Bria, and they waved to the audience together. The two matriarchs left the platform to sit on a skiff with Vildana, Alena, Mera, Enric and Gunnar. Together they would ride in the first transport in the inaugural Founder’s Day parade.
Levra looked out on the crowd of friendly faces and smiled. She saw Enric’s bright eyes, watched as he leaned against his father. They were reunited. Levra reached for the coin that hung from her neck and stroked it, feeling especially close to her sister in this moment. The people she loved most surrounded her and she felt whole.
She was finally home.
The End
Between Mountain and Sea, Caelestis Series
Coming of Age, YA & Adult
Author: Louisa Locke
http://www.paradisichronicles.com/explore-the-books/caelestis-series/
Butler’s Brother
YA & Adult
Author: Ashley Angelly
http://www.paradisichronicles.com/explore-the-books/butlers-brother/
Erase Me Not
Romance, YA & Adult
Author: Sarah Woodbury
http://www.paradisichronicles.com/explore-the-books/erase-me-not/
First Watch
Adult only, Adventure Mystery
Author: Auburn Seal
http://www.paradisichronicles.com/explore-the-books/watcher-bay-series/
Light the Way, Loves Light Series
Clean for Tweens & Teens, fun for Adults
Author: Roslyn McFarland
http://www.paradisichronicles.com/explore-the-books/loves-light-series/
Paradisi Escape, Paradisi Exodus Series
Adult, okay for Teens
Author: Tristan James
http://www.paradisichronicles.com/explore-the-books/paradisi-exodus-series/
Saber and Science, Tenebra Triangle Series
Adult, okay for Teens
Author: Andy R. Bunch
http://www.paradisichronicles.com/explore-the-books/tenebra-series/

CHAPTER 1: DOWNS AND UPS
Outpost Security Head Quarters-Office of Constable James Paladini
1 hour to Impact
Down, and up. “Ninety-nine,” Paladini exhailed through his teeth as he rose from his squat.
Down and up, “One Hundred.”
Finished with his afternoon calisthenics, Constable James Paladini moved from the corner of his spacious but sparsely furnished office to the wall with it’s locked cabinet full of heavy bolters. He removed his saber from his belt and placed it carefully back on the display mount where it stayed whenever he sat behind his desk.
Paladini didn’t remove any of the rest of his charcoal-colored, ballistic security armor. Even back on New Eden he’d have warn full armor and his saber when working out, in order to remain accustomed to the weight and feel of it, but Paladini always wore full battle dress instead of his officer’s uniform since coming to Tenebra. It started with wariness at the remote mining planet’s reputation for disregarding law and order and now, in the middle of his second tour he kept doing it to compensate for the lower gravity. It also helped seal his reputation.
Paladini moved his chair aside and leaned forward, bracing his six foot five inch frame on his compudesk. Before him lay a digital mountain of reports. Each line on the screen built into the desk represented a file he needed to review and sign off on, or worse, fill out personally. The screen contained only what had come in today, so Paladini gestured over the screen to reprioritized the most urgent files to the top. The screen filled with lines highlighted in red, some with exclamation points after their titles and some blinking angrily.
Paladini grimaced and fumbled blindly for his chair so he could begin work, but was interrupted by a chime at his door. He glanced up from the paperwork he promised himself he’d finish and identified the outline of his Executive Officer through the frosted plaz-steel of his office door by his slender build and textbook straight stance.
The outgoing Constable, who left in disgrace, warned Paladini that Declyn was somehow responsible for his demise.
“I can’t prove it,” warned the former Constable, “but I know he screwed me over.”
Despite that, Paladini liked the young XO he’d inherited. Lieutenant Declyn boasted a record setting eight tours with Outpost station, Tenebra, and so far, was the only other security officer, besidesPaladini, with good posture and regard for doing things by the book.
Paladini hoped to any god who’d listen that he would not be here another six tours, the nine New Eden months he’d been here already grated on him like bad boots. He suppressed a shutter and gestured for the front door to open.
The doors slid silently to the side and Paladini took in the appearance of his executive office as he entered and stood at parade rest.
Lt. Declyn’s short, normally spiky hair swept back in an uncharacteristic manor, and a nano-band held a cut on his forehead shut while tiny nanites worked to close the wound.
“I take it he resisted,” said Paladini, by way of acknowledgement.
“He did, sir,” replied Declyn. “You’d think six-to-one odds would have convinced even a Dwarf to come quietly. I guess some people never heard about living to fight another day.”
Darvin Splicers came from Ardesco, the mining planet closest to the sun, and had been genetically modified to withstand heavy gravity. Many people called them Dwarves since their short, muscular bodies resembled a mythical people from old Earth.
Paladini glanced down at the compudesk screen loaded with busywork. He’d trained alongside a few Darvin Splicers who left mining and joined the New Eden security patrol. Once you got past their obstinate nature they made loyal companions.
Without looking up Paladini nodded, “I’m surprised you didn’t take any of the AI security bots?”
“I took three,” said Declyn. “He used the first one to club the other two to bits.”
“Well,” Paladini opened a file marked urgent, “be sure to add resisting arrest to Sargent Clark’s charges.”
“But that along with selling Stim makes him eligible for 10 years at the super max.” Declyn looked a bit dismayed.
Paladini could understand Declyn’s concern for the Dwarf, but rules were rules. “I realize that Stim is a relatively harmless bio enhancer, but it’s potentially habit forming, and therefore controlled, and therefore we execute that control.”
Paladini went back to his paperwork. “Besides, he’s clearly dangerous.”
“If we hadn’t gone to arrest him for the Stim, he wouldn’t have resisted.” Declyn fingered the black “V”-shaped smart viewers stuck to his skin near the corner of his eyes.
Paladini caught the motion. “Those decorative sun shades aren’t exactly regulation.”
“They’re more than sun shades, sir,” Declyn defended. “The field they project also corrects my astigmatism. They’re a medical modification allowable under the uniform code of uniform dress.”
When Paladini harrumphed at the technicality, Declyn steered the conversation back to business and away from his flair for fashion. “The Dwarf, Clark, put three of our personnel in the medeco bay, and Harwong and Mancini are on long patrol still.”
“We’re technically understaffed.” Paladini tapped the signature line on the electronic document open on his virtual desktop, then with a flip on his hand, closed the document and opened another. “We only have four hours left in this shift. If nothing major happens we should be fine. I can’t call anyone back from liberty early because most of them are due in on the next lifter from New Eden.”
Declyn nodded and threw one last item onto Paladini’s already overburdened plate. “The crime prediction software finally produced a name. Some old scientist named Marlin. Do you want me to sit on it until next shift or take the rest of the duty officers to collect him?”
Paladini looked up and considered the dilemma. “Where is he now?”
“A club in the the Dark Quarters.”
Paladini incl
ined his head a few millimeters then quickly announced his decision. “Negative. Maintain high visibility of all available personnel. I will personally go retrieve this Marlin character and see to his re-education.”
“Alone?”
Paladini waved off his subordinate’s concern. “I should be able to handle one old man.”
As Declyn left the office, Paladini gestured over his desktop, sweeping the rest of the files into an auto-save folder where he’d find them the next time he got a chance. He was chronically behind on paperwork and needed to catch up before it affected his performance scores. On the other hand, he’d fought hard to be a testing location for the crime prediction software. He couldn’t lose his spot without a fight. The paperwork would have to wait.
Chapter 1
Lifter
Neyve
The Earth spun miles below, a somewhat tarnished marble in the sky. Looking out through the inches-thick clear windowpanes of the Solix Sky Elevator, the glimpses of space were surreal. No sign of floods, famine, and imminent threat of nuclear war from this vantage point. Neyve Colgan shook her head, wondering how a group of uber-elite astronaut wanna-be's thought they could avoid the tragedies inherently caused by basic human nature by relocating to another planetary system.
For three days, Neyve had been pent up in this metal box on the move, which really messed with her sense of time. Despite the Solix Sky Elevator being one of the coolest pieces of technology out there, it could still bore the pants off any teenager. Melancholy already, her brain spun through topic after unanswerable topic. Like why Uncle Dugal, her only remaining family member, didn’t warn her. Before arranging for her passage up the elevator to the Nautilus-11 Space Station, he’d made this trip a number of times Working on cutting edge ship technology and frequent trips above the planet were simple perks of being a top engineer, she supposed.