About the author:
Born in Virginia and raised in Georgia, Richard L. Wright grew up surrounded by people who taught him to dream and to create. As a child, he read everything he could get his hands on, especially science books and superhero comics. Tolkien and Heinlein introduced him to the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. In the pages of 1960’s Analog magazines, he fell in love with Telzey Amberdon, a new kind a sci-fi heroine who didn’t rely on feminine wiles or need a man to rescue her - she was simply good at what she did. These qualities formed his early perception of women. He also preferred brunettes over blondes, but that’s just common sense.
In his youth, Richard explored many paths for his life: oceanographer, photographer, veterinarian, bio-engineer. At Georgia Tech, he discovered a talent for communicating with machines and went on to become an award-winning software developer. Still, he wanted to create stories like the ones that had inspired him. While trying his hand at filmmaking, he found writing stories was more satisfying than filming them. Plus, it took a village to shoot a film, while he could write a novel all by himself in his underwear.
Richard currently lives in Atlanta with his LadyWife, who he tries to make laugh every day. He doesn’t have a cat, something that the cat who practically lives at their house has failed to grasp.
Sneak Peek:
Before you go, here’s a sample from Book 2 of the Starforce Saga:
Solace Rising
Cassie’s eyes narrowed. This opponent had surprised her, but she wouldn’t underestimate him again. The fight was too important, not just to her and Nate, but to the ones they were trying to protect. Fortunately, she had a secret weapon, one that specifically targeted this monster’s weakness.
“Senator, the reason we’re here today is to establish a cooperative working relationship between the team we’re going to build and your agency. We didn’t come here for your permission to form that team. We don’t need your permission. Our First Amendment rights to freedom of association aren’t subject to your committee’s whims.”
Nate reached up to cover his microphone with one hand and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Wham. Got him right in the Constitution.”
Cassie felt one corner of her lips curl up despite the tight control she was exerting. Her adversary was squirming, and that was hard not to enjoy.
“Why, uh, no. That is, uh…” Senator Len Jacobs’ eyes flicked to the cameras that lined the hearing room. His tongue licked at the sweat beading his upper lip. The “distinguished gentleman from North Carolina” was now the one in the hot seat.
Cassie had initially resisted Nate’s strategy - that all their dealings with the Exohuman Affairs Committee be in open, public sessions. Even after nearly a year as the public face of the movement to emancipate the world’s exohumans, she still hated being in front of a crowd. But Nate had stood his ground on that point, and she was glad of it. He’d had his share of their backroom deals and secret agendas. Now, the cameras and spectators served as armor against MAC’s old habits. The Supreme Court’s deliberations on the constitutionality of the Exohuman Control Act of 1920 now stretched into its second month, and public perception was foremost in the minds of political animals like Jacobs. No matter how strongly-held their beliefs that exos were a threat, none of them wanted to end up on the wrong side of history. More important, they couldn’t afford to find themselves on the wrong side of public opinion.
“Dr. Whelan, I think what the Chairman meant to say,” began the senior senator from Utah, “was that this group, team, whatever you call it, that you and Guardian 175 want to build - it raises some concerns. Normal humans are subject to oversight when they attempt to form armed militias and other paramilitary organizations. Exohumans aren’t exempt from that kind of regulation.”
Cassie felt Nate stiffen beside her. She laid a restraining hand on his arm, though the gesture was purely symbolic. If the strongest man on the planet wanted to punch out the most obnoxious group of elected officials in the country, there wasn’t a whole lot she could do to stop him. She cut her eyes in his direction to make sure he was staying put, then leaned in close to her microphone.
“That,” she said through clenched teeth, “is a gross mischaracterization of our plan, the kind of thing I might expect from extremist, anti-exo bigots like the Army of Man, not from a United States senator. And speaking of the Army of Man – a group that actually describes itself as an armed militia – I don’t recall any attempts to regulate them. None.”
There. Chew on that, she fumed internally. Just for effect, she mentally eased the controls in her bracers, allowing a trickle of white-fire energy to coalesce in the palms of her hands. Not that she would ever use the destructive side of her powers to harm these assholes, but maybe they needed a reminder of what her anger could do.
“Furthermore,” she continued, “My teammate has a name, Senator. Your continued use of the dehumanizing Guardian designation is beyond offensive.”
“I, uh, I mean…” the Utah senator sputtered. An aide leaned in and covered the microphone with her hand, whispering furiously in his ear. The senator nodded and leaned forward into the mic. “Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions for this witness.”
Suddenly, all the committee members seemed absorbed in paperwork or conferring with their staff. It seemed none of them had come prepared for this kind of fight. A young senator from Minnesota signaled for Jacobs’ permission to speak, and Cassie’s empathic senses detected a wash of relief from the chairman as he waved the young man to take the floor.
“Dr. Whelan,” he began, a warm smile settling over his face. “I, for one, appreciate what you and Mr. Gorman are trying to accomplish. Improving relations between humans and exohumans is a noble goal, and I support you in that. And, however flawed the Guardian Program may have been, it did show the value of having exohumans in emergency and law-enforcement roles. But we can’t ignore the fact that, just like with humans, there are bad actors among the exohuman population. History has shown us that a single bad exohuman can wreak havoc and working in concert they can be devastating. And while we acknowledge Mr. Gorman’s long history of selfless and heroic service, you both need to remember that long before the extremist exohuman attack on 9/11, this country lived in terror that the Nazi Tötenjägers might cross the Atlantic and strike here at home. The idea of exos working as a team reawakens those fears.”
Unlike the rest of the Exohuman Affairs Committee members, Cassie sensed sincerity from this man. Maybe this one senator could be the key to turning this confrontation into cooperation.
“That’s true, Senator Mayron. But it’s also true that Allied exohumans – Seamaster, Red Harrier, and of course, Ironhorse - often worked as a group to fight those Axis exo teams. They called themselves the All-Star Force, and they were the best, most effective counter to the Tötenjägers. That is the tradition our group will honor.”
Mayron nodded his understanding. “I hope that proves true, Dr. Whelan. By the way, I understand you’ve chosen to honor another tradition – the use of codenames, like the great heroes of history. I must say the name ‘Solace’ suits you. I’m told Mr. Gorman is still in the process of selecting his own public symbolism, but I’m sure it will be equally inspirational. My final question for you today – a softball one, I promise: Have you given a name to this team of yours yet?”
Cassie exchanged glances with Nate. He smiled and nodded to her.
“Yes, senator. Our group will be known as Starforce.”
It was hard to say which made Cassie smile more - the thunderous applause that erupted from the gallery, or the shade of purple Chairman Jacobs’ face went as he tried to gavel order before admitting defeat and adjourning the session. Senator Mayron tried to conceal his grin, but when he caught Cassie’s eye, he flashed her a conspiratorial wink.
*
“Thank you both for meeting with me in private,” Mayron said, waving Cassie and Nate to sit together on a leather sofa. “Can I offer you something to
drink?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” Nate answered as he lowered himself to the couch, remembering to sweep his cape out of the way first. His new blue and gold uniform was a work in progress, but still looked loads better than the anonymous gray that he’d been forced to wear as a numbered Guardian. Cassie particularly enjoyed how the gold lining of the blue cape accentuated and outlined his muscular form. He placed the matching helmet, blue with mirrored gold for the visor, on the coffee table. Even though he no longer needed it to conceal the massive scars she’d healed, the technology aids he’d built into the helmet had proven hard for him to give up.
Cassie’s outfit was unchanged from Nate’s original design. Sleek, black body armor hugged her petite frame, with v-shaped gold wrapping her hips and forearms. The girdle projected a defensive field around her, while the bracers on her arms served to protect others by controlling her offensive powers against accidents. The powerful energy blasts she could generate drew strength from her Irish temper, so it was a good thing she had a bottle to keep that genie contained.
“It’s the least we could do, Senator,” Cassie said. “Your support was a welcome surprise today. Thank you.”
Mayron moved to pour himself a drink from a crystal decanter. “I hope you don’t mind if I indulge myself. It’s not every day I get to enjoy Jacobs getting some instant karma.” He raised his glass in salute. “Thank you for that.”
Nate snorted a laugh. “The look on his face… Totally worth the trip up here. If we weren’t about to fly home, I’d gladly join in that toast.”
“Mmph,” Mayron grunted as he finished his sip. “I know you’re both eager to get back to Atlanta, so I’ll get right to the point. I have a favor to ask.”
Well, fuck, Cassie sighed inwardly. I should have known his support would come at a price.
“What would that be, Senator?” Nate leaned forward, elbows on knees.
“Please,” Mayron said. “We’re away from the reporters and cameras. Please call me Paul. And I’m hoping that solving my problem will help you too. You’re building a team of exohumans, and I have one that could use some friends.”
“You have one?” Cassie said, eyes narrowing. “Are we talking about a prisoner?”
Mayron waved away the suggestion. “Oh, no. Nothing like that. She’s just… there. Alone. I’m told she Emerged in a small village way up north, practically in Canada, on a lake called Kobogama. It’s a small community, old-fashioned, religious - not exactly open to new things. She grew up there. A little over ten years ago, this young woman saved the town from a massive fire. The local minister started it to kill her, to ‘purge her soul of the exohuman demon inside’ or some such nonsense. Anyway, she stopped the fire, saved them all, and they treated her like crap afterwards. Even her own parents shunned her.”
“That’s awful,” Cassie said.
“Yeah,” Mayron agreed. “Like I said, old-fashioned. So, she took up residence on an island on the lake, all by herself. She’s been there ever since and she doesn’t like visitors, gets pretty fierce if anyone even approaches the island. Normally, I’d say the villagers owed her a little place to live, even if it is alone. Thing is, that lake is a tourist spot - big fishing camp, boat rentals, ice fishing in the winter. It’s how most of the town earns their living. But with her guarding her territory like that, nobody’s coming up there anymore. A decade later and that village is about to dry up and blow away.”
Cassie thought about her own Emergence, and how she had to hide what she had become to preserve her freedom. At least she had Nate, and Bill Walsh. She had GranDa then too. She couldn’t imagine how it would have felt if GranDa Riley had been repulsed by her, turned his back on her simply because she had undergone the random transformation that made her an exohuman.
“What is it you want us to do?” Nate asked. “Remove her?”
“Yeah, no,” Cassie said. “We’re not doing that. We’re not going to capture this woman and drag her away from her home, no matter how sad it may seem to us.”
“No, no,” the senator said. “Nothing like that. I just want you to talk to her. Show her that things are different in the outside world, that exos aren’t universally hated and feared. Maybe even recruit her to join your team?”
Nate sat back and crossed his arms. His eyes went distant as he went into his ‘analysis mode’ of thinking.
“We’re not building a home for wayward exos,” Cassie said. “We need heroes, people willing to protect and serve. We don’t know anything about this woman.”
Nate looked up. She sensed an emotional ‘click’ in him, something that she’d learned signified a decision. “We know that she saved a village, Cass. I think that’s enough to start a conversation.”
For more from Richard L. Wright, visit:
Web: www.WrightStuff.info
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Twitter: @StarforceSaga
Burden of Solace: Book 1 of the Starforce Saga Page 27