A broken man and a doctor determined to fix him.
* * * *
Kalquor
Degorsk smiled at the young man seated on a bench in the garden area of the fleet psychiatric hospital. Unsurprisingly, Dramok Ilid failed to smile back. His morose expression was a cloud among the spring greenery.
Degorsk bowed. “Ensign Ilid, I’m Dr. Degorsk, the psychiatrist assigned to your case. It’s a privilege to meet you.”
Ilid blinked at him. “A privilege?”
Degorsk detected the first of what was no doubt numerous issues following the hell Ilid had been through. “I’ve reviewed the story of your bravery in escaping and warning the empire about the Darks. You faced incredible odds. May I?” He motioned to the part of the bench left unoccupied.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Belatedly, Ilid stood and bowed. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“The pleasure is mine. Please, you don’t have to stand or call me sir. I’m an on-call consultant, no longer an official part of the fleet.” Degorsk settled next to him.
“Did you serve on a spyship? Or just here, putting broken men together again?”
Broken men. Issue number two. “I was part of a couple of destroyer crews as a medical doctor. I ended my career on a spyship, so I’ve had some experience similar to yours where such assignments are concerned.”
“Did you know a Dr. Umen?”
Ilid named the doctor from his former duty vessel. According to the report the young man had submitted, Umen been overcome by a Dark rider. Under its influence, he’d performed horrific experiments on Ilid and others.
“I wasn’t acquainted with him. I hope the fact I once held the same rank won’t disturb you.”
Ilid gazed at him. The Dramok’s face was young and vulnerable. Degorsk wondered if he’d looked so childlike and lost before his shipmates had been attacked or if his experiences had sapped the strength from him.
“You don’t look like him. You don’t talk like him either. I guess I’ll be okay around you.”
“I hope so. I want to help you.”
“You mean you’re ordered to help me.”
Degorsk gazed directly into the young man’s eyes, which kept skittering over the grounds, as if looking for something. “As I said, I’m no longer a formal member of the fleet. To be honest, I’m no fan of it. It nearly broke me, a long time ago. I don’t take orders from the chain of command. I’m here for you, not them.”
It was true. Tranis might have been an admiral, but Degorsk often contracted his services to the fleet at his Dramok’s request. He was recognized by many in the field for helping fleet personnel traumatized in the field of duty return to normal lives.
“If I told you I want to resign as soon as possible, you wouldn’t try to talk me out of it?”
“Ilid, I wouldn’t send you out on another ship if they paid me the empire’s entire fortune after what you’ve been through.” Degorsk offered a caring smile…because he did care for those who ended up needing him, at times to his own detriment. “The fleet agreed to release you as soon as their medical staff maps your brain in hopes of learning how you see the aliens who did this to you. I’ll personally give hell to anyone who tries to extend your service beyond the month it’ll take.”
“Getting out is all I want,” Ilid breathed, his shoulders releasing tension. “And the nightmares to stop. I’m so tired of being afraid.”
“Let’s get started
then.”
* * * *
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Time
is running out to halt the Darks’ march to the Kalquorian Empire’s
annihilation.
Finally home on Kalquor, Dramok Ilid is haunted by his encounter with the Darks, which he barely survived. His struggle far from over, Ilid’s sanity and the empire’s existence hang on a quickly unraveling thread. When he learns the Darks have arrived on Kalquor, even his family’s love may not be able to keep him from an unthinkable end.
On Earth II, head of planetary security Nobek Kuran’s hands are full: meeting his potential in-laws, training his replacement, and keeping tabs on a rogue lieutenant governor with a secret agenda. His troubles are only beginning when a deadly attack on those he loves drives him to the brink of murder. Meanwhile, spy Nobek Selt finds himself growing far too close to his subject, reporter Blythe Nelson. Does his clan dare to romance a woman devoted to uncovering the truth, including their secret activities on her world?
Having wiped out the entire Bi’is civilization, the Darks have seized control of the Galactic Council of Planets and attempt to bring the Kalquorian Empire to its knees. Clans Tranis and Piras are desperate to stop the enemy from destroying Kalquor and its allies. Can Hope Nath and Chief Engineer Lokmi capture a lethal enemy capable of passing through all known barriers?
Releasing January 26
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