Artifice

by S. H. Jucha

  “Expansion, as in conquering other federacy races?” Alex asked, seeking clarification.

  “Most definitely,” Sargut replied, “but they might choose to pass the federacy’s bounds. Artifice will have informed them of you, where you originated. Human worlds could be their targets.”

  Alex and Julien shared a glance, but barks from the Dischnya caught their attention.

  A small bot, traveling at speed on two wheels, raced down the pathway. It slipped past the Dischnya vanguard before the warriors could take aim, and it headed straight for the small group sitting on the mound. The bot’s forearms, ending in scissor-like appendages, stretched forward in anticipation of skewering a biological.

  Alex stood to take the attack. When the bot was only meters from him, an avatar momentarily blotted Talus’ starlight. Z had landed with both feet on the bot, which was now no more than crushed metal, ceramic, and circuitry.

  “That’s our cue. We’re leaving,” Alex announced loudly and sent simultaneously. As they made for the travelers, he kept Renée beside him. The SADEs and the Dischnya provided rear support.

  Alex sent.

  Julien asked.

  Alex replied.

  — Alex and company will return in Sojourn. —

  Glossary

  Chistorlans

  Gramab doma Farla-Hesta – Female monarch

  Herrick – AI champion, prepared to contest Artifice

  Lipsit doma Draga – Female astronomy scientist

  Miftra ona Grata – Male observatory head

  Tittra ona Hagra – Male AI development head

  Dischnya

  Dassata – Peacemaker, Alex’s Dischnya name

  Dischnya – Intelligent species in Omnian system

  Hessan – Squad leader under Homsaff’s command

  Homsaff – Queen of Mawas Soma nest, commander of Dischnya forces

  Pussiro – Wasat commander

  Simlan – Squad leader under Homsaff’s command

  Tawas Soma – Pussiro’s nest

  Wasat – Warrior commander

  Federacy

  Artifice – Digital entity

  Faustus – Digital entity, adjunct of Artifice, originally identified as AR-13145

  Nua’ll – Collective occupying the comm spheres and the great spheres

  Harakens

  Jupiter – SADE directing the observatory platform

  Mutter – SADE who has collected classical Earth music

  Méridiens

  Chandra Khatri – Cargo shuttle pilot

  Descartes – SADE, Trident senior captain

  Tindleson – Méridien freighter captain

  New Terrans

  Alphons Jagielski – Trident commodore

  Jessup Thornton – Trident captain

  Omnian Sisterhood

  Miriamal – Aboard Freedom

  Miriamelle – Aboard the Dark Whispers, Sargut’s battleship

  Miriamette – Aboard Franz Cohen’s traveler

  Miriamtess – Aboard Chandra Khatri’s cargo shuttle

  Omnians

  Alain de Long – Twin and crèche-mate to Étienne, Trident captain, partner of Tatia Tachenko

  Alex Racine – Partner of Renée de Guirnon, Dassata

  Allora – SADE absorbed by Miranda

  Beryl – Lead SADE of scout ship

  Bethley – Scout ship SADE, teamed with Killian

  Cedric – Z’s New Terran avatar

  Claude Dupuis – Engineering tech, program manager for SADE avatars

  Cordelia – SADE, partner of Julien, admiral, captains the Freedom

  Darius Gaumata – Trident admiral

  Deirdre Canaan – Trident admiral

  Ellie Thompson – Trident admiral

  Emile Billings – Biochemist

  Étienne de Long – Twin and crèche-mate to Alain, Trident captain, partner of Ellie Thompson

  Franz Cohen – Fighter command rear admiral, partner of Reiko Shimada

  Frederica – Miranda’s New Terran avatar

  Genoa – Lead SADE of scout ship

  Julien – SADE, partner of Cordelia

  Killian – Plaid-skinned SADE, friend of Vivian, lead of scout ship Vivian’s Mirror

  Linn – Lead SADE of scout ship

  Luther – Comms SADE

  Mickey Brandon – Engineer, partner of Pia Sabine

  Miranda Leyton – SADE, partner of Z

  Miriam – Engineering SADE

  Myron McTavish – Commandant of the Dischnya military academy

  Pia Sabine – Head of medical suite aboard the Freedom, partner of Mickey Brandon

  Reiko Shimada – Admiral of the Tridents, partner of Franz Cohen

  Renée de Guirnon – Partner of Alex Racine

  Svetlana Valenko – Trident admiral

  Tatia Tachenko – Fleet admiral, former Terran Security Forces major, partner of Alain de Long

  Trium – Scout ship SADE, teamed with Killian

  Vivian – Teenager, dance partner with Killian

  Z – SADE, partner of Miranda

  Toralians

  Sargut – Male battleship commander, then senior commander, then grand commander

  Sugatar – Male battleship junior commander

  Suntred – Female fleet liaison

  Taralum – Female battleship senior commander

  Tormheth – Male subcommander

  Tranimus – Male fleet grand commander

  Places, Things, Friends, and Enemies

  Banisher – Mickey’s small vessel for destroying probes

  Ollassa – a sentient alien lifeform resembling a symbiotic collection of plant parts

  Omnia Ships – Business owned by Alex Racine and others

  SADE – Self-aware digital entity, artificial intelligence being

  Shadows – Spider-like constructs create by Z

  Swei Swee – Sentient alien lifeform inhabiting the oceans on several worlds

  United Earth – Previous government body ruling Sol

  Planets, Colonies, Moons, and Stars

  Confederation – Collection of Méridien worlds

  Haraken – Home world of the Harakens

  Méridien – Home world of the Confederation

  New Terra – Home world of the New Terrans

  Ollassa – Home world of the Ollassa/Vinians

  Omnia – World settled by the Dischnya, Swei Swee, SADEs, and humans

  Sawa Messa – Second world of the Dischnya, now called Omnia

  Sol – Star of the Earthers

  Talus – Toralian star

  Toral – Toralian home world

  Ships and Stations

  Dark Whispers – Sargut’s battleship

  Freedom – Alex’s primary city-ship

  Idona Station – Sol station at the crossroads to the far belt and inner worlds

  New Terra – Derelict Earth colony ship

  Our People – Second city-ship

  Scout ships – Small vessels crewed by SADEs

  Travelers – Shuttles and fighters

  Trident – Omnian tri-hulled, beam-armed warship

  Vivian’s Mirror – Killian’s scout ship

  My Books

  Artifice, the twelfth novel in the Silver Ships series, is available in e-book, softcover, and audiobook versions. Please visit my website, http://scottjucha.com, for publication dates and locations. You may register at my website to receive e-mail updates on the progress of my upcoming novels.

  Pyreans Series

  Empaths

  Messinants

  Jatouche

  Veklocks (forthcoming)

  The Silver Ships Series

  The Silver Ships

  Libre

  Méridien

  Haraken

  Sol

  Espero

  Allora

  Celus-5

  Omni
a

  Vinium

  Nua’ll

  Artifice

  Sojourn (forthcoming)

  The Author

  From my early years to the present, books have been a refuge. They’ve fueled my imagination. I’ve traveled to faraway places and met aliens with Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Herbert, and Le Guin. I’ve explored historical events with Michener and Clavell, and I played spy with Ludlum and Fleming.

  There’s no doubt that the early sci-fi masters influenced the writing of my first two series, The Silver Ships and Pyreans. I crafted my stories to give readers intimate views of my characters, who wrestle with the challenges of living in space and inhabiting alien worlds.

  Life is rarely easy for these characters, who encounter aliens and calamities, but they persist and flourish. I revel in examining humankind’s will to survive. Not everyone plays fair or exhibits concern for other beings, but that’s another aspect of humans and aliens that I investigate.

  My stories offer hope for humans today about what they might accomplish tomorrow far from our home world. Throughout my books, humans exhibit a will to persevere, without detriment to the vast majority of others.

  Readers have been generous with their comments, which they’ve left on Amazon and Goodreads for others to review. I truly enjoy what I do, and I’m pleased to read how my stories have positively affected many readers’ lives.

  If you’ve read my books, please consider posting a review on Amazon and Goodreads for every book, even a short one. Reviews attract other readers and are a great help to indie authors, such as me.

  The Silver Ships novels have reached Amazon’s coveted #1 and #2 Best-Selling Sci-Fi book, multiple times, in the science fiction categories of first contact, space opera, and alien invasion.