Dark Empire: Secret War - Chapter One, Scene Three

 

Admiral Tranis and Rear Admiral Hobato are far from being on the same page.

* * * *

Kalquor

“But sir—” Tranis began a protest.

Rear Admiral Hobato held his hand up for silence. “I know how it appeared, but there have been no reports of trouble from our station orbiting Earth. No sign these Darks arrived there on Captain Kila’s vessel. I see no cause for alarm.”

He didn’t bother looking at Tranis as he spoke. The younger officer fought off a wave of anger to be summarily dismissed. It wasn’t as if Hobato spoke condescendingly. He simply wasn’t taking the situation seriously.

“I showed the same signs of those who’d been overcome by the Darks. The low blood sugar, absence of memory for a certain amount of time. Identical symptoms.”

“They are also symptoms of inadequate rest and eating.” Hobato finally gazed at him, his purple, slit-pupiled eyes meeting Tranis’. It was a friendly look, perhaps even paternal, but there was a flatness behind it, devoid of warmth. Tranis had witnessed too much of the emptiness there as of late.

Hobato’s lack of real concern when it came to the Darks baffled Tranis. Bi’is had been wiped out. Tranis had little sympathy for a race determined to destroy the Kalquorian Empire in its not-so-distant past, but it was still a horrifying final chapter. Bi’isils had been technologically advanced, a culture existing for nearly a million years. That they’d been eradicated so suddenly was terrifying.

 “We have to know for sure,” he insisted through gritted teeth.

“How do you propose to do so? You’ve been subjected to every test the fleet can think of. Your Matara, a biogeneticist, acknowledged as among the best by her peers, has also run tests. Did she find anything amiss?”

“No, but it doesn’t mean—”

“We can’t cause a panic in the empire over a possibility for which we have no evidence, Admiral Tranis. If we do, we’ll be inundated by those promoting conspiracy and invasion theories. We’ll be accused of promoting them ourselves. The fleet needs to present hard facts rather than theories. Right now, theories are all we have.”

“The extermination of the entire Bi’isil population isn’t a theory, sir.”

“What proof do we have these ‘Darks’ did it? We only have the brief appearance of an unknown species and a traumatized ensign’s confused account of alien takeovers.” Hobato shook his head. “Bi’is was cut off from the rest of the Galactic Council of Planets after their attempt to destroy the Kalquorian Empire. They suffered horribly for their crime, deservedly so, but given how rigid and ritualistic their society was, would it be out of the question they’d decide to self-destruct?”

“Every last one of them? It’s impossible.” Tranis couldn’t believe he’d suggest it.

“It’s what we have proof of, however. Mass destruction, wholesale murder, then suicide by the perpetrators. How different is it from the course the original Earth’s leaders took?”

Tranis couldn’t find a clear argument for him, despite the two worlds Kalquor had warred against on separate occasions having taken different courses to annihilation.

“We have to be sure. A Galactic Council inspection team was on Bi’is just prior to its people dying.”

“I spoke to Secretary-General Mereta this morning. I’ve known him for decades, and he was the same as ever. If he’d noticed anything off, he would have told me.” Hobato continued to give Tranis his kind but blank regard. “We’ll continue to monitor the situation. If something comes up warranting real concern, we’ll act at once. For now, it’s all we can do. Dismissed, Admiral.”

“Sir—”

“Dismissed.”

* * * *

Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, print

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

Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, print

 

Dark Empire: Secret War - Chapter One, Scene Two

 

Dramok Ilid's troubles are over...or are they?

* * * *

Captain Kila’s spyship

Ilid opened his eyes, grateful to escape sleep and its horrors. He discovered greater terror awaiting him in the waking world.

The Darks were everywhere, surrounding the sleeping mat in his quarters aboard Captain Kila’s spyship. Their shadow tentacles slithered across the sheets covering him, reaching for him.

How do you see us? We will open your skull. We will cut your brain to pieces to find out, slice it and dice it until we know the secret.

Ilid screamed, pushing at tentacles his hands passed through, kicking at and through them as well. He screamed as they crawled onto the mat, as they scuttled toward his head where they’d claim control and hurt him…

He screamed and woke up for real, flailing violently to escape the tangle of sweat-drenched sheets. He fell off the bed, landing on his ass on the narrow strip of floor between sleeping mat and wall.

His gaze flew over the room, which he kept fully illuminated as he slept, so when he woke there wouldn’t be shadows to frighten him. Unfortunately, his nightmares provided plenty of darkness.

The instant Ilid recognized there were no Darks in his stark, undecorated room, it was safe to let tears blur his vision. It was safe to cry the tears he should have been ashamed of, he, an adult Dramok.

He consoled himself no one was there to witness his shame, Darks or Kalquorians. He hadn’t admitted to the nightly bouts of childish weeping to the psychologist on board the spyship. Only the nightmares, which refused to grant him peace.

He was beginning to believe the hell in his mind would never be over. He hadn’t escaped the Darks. Not truly.

Once the storm of sobbing ended, Ilid dragged himself to his feet and dressed in his black fleet uniform. He had given the time a cursory glance and knew it was early yet, but he’d never get back to sleep. He didn’t want to, though he’d been forbidden stim tabs to combat the two or three hours he was unable to avoid succumbing to each night…more when his exhaustion caught up to him after a week of sleep denial.

Being fully dressed helped his mindset. It meant facing his nightmares was over for a little while. Coffee, the weak but still lovely Earther drink he used in place of stim tabs, would complete the transition. Until his daily therapy session, he’d be able to pretend he was recovering from his ill-fated trip to the planet Bi’is.

Glancing outside the ship, viewing the vast panorama of constellations on an endless field of black space, also helped. Ilid found comfort in no sign of Bi’is, a world now as dead as those on the ship he’d served aboard. He hadn’t yet really thought about an entire society being erased in a matter of days. His mind was already buckling under the strain of nearly being eradicated too. Adding the deaths of billions of others was more than he could cope with, so his brain, in a supreme act of self-preservation, refused to truly note the event.

The psychologist on board the ship that had rescued him, the sole survivor of its twin vessel, told him it was perfectly normal to do so. “They’re beyond saving, Ilid. You aren’t. You have to concentrate on yourself and not feel guilty for doing so.”

He looked at the metal frame on the wall. He could have left it on to spot space at a glance, but its comfort often turned to another source of terror. Yes, it was wonderful to no longer see he was in orbit around Bi’is, but it was awful when he thought of what lurked among the stars. Out there existed an unbelievable entity. It had sent its emissaries to torture him, take over his shipmates, and kill the residents of an entire planet.

It was out there. Somewhere.

But not here. “Vid, show exterior view.”

He very nearly screamed at the planet that appeared, filling the vid transmission. Ilid staggered back several steps before he realized it wasn’t Bi’is.

It was Kalquor and its green-tinged seas and greener lands. Kalquor and its five orbiting moons. Kalquor, where Captain Kila was dropping him off before the spyship moved on to its next destination.

Ilid was home at last. Safe at last.

He reached a trembling hand to the vid, as if he could stroke the beautiful world itself.

* * * *

Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, print

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

Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, print