In this section, I'm pleased to introduce a couple of members of Clan Deram. They won't make much of an impact on Book One, but you'll see much more of them later in the series.
Nobek Selt stepped off his shuttle ahead of the rest of his team to find his Imdiko clanmate waiting for him in the spyship’s bay. “A welcoming party for me, Doc? You’re too kind.”
Hadlez chuckled, rendering a beautiful, boyish face more so. “Command staff has been called in for a meeting. The shuttle bay was on my way, so I thought I’d swing by. We can walk together.”
Selt felt a warmth he wouldn’t show in front of his fellow Nobeks, just as Hadlez wouldn’t embarrass him by saying out loud he’d missed him during his mission. So much so, he’d shown up to grab an extra minute or two of reunion. “It was only five days.”
“Was that all? I guess it’s as Nath says: time flies when you’re having fun.”
Hadlez’s joke brought an instant of tension. Ever alert, the ship’s head doctor caught it. “Selt?”
“No, it’s nothing. I’m tired is all. Come on, Doc, put the scanner away.” He tried to fend off the instrument Hadlez waved in front of him.
“Talk, or I’ll send you to Medical for a full workup.”
“I just had a lightheaded moment shortly before we were called back to the ship.”
“Lightheaded?”
“Like walking in a dream?” A member of the team waiting to be dismissed, Dramok Ridret, spoke up.
“Yeah. Kind of hazy and disconnected,” Selt agreed. “Sorry, team. I didn’t mean to keep you hanging around. Dismissed.”
“Not so fast.” Hadlez’s scanner inspected Ridret, then each man in turn. He frowned, shaking back waist-length black hair. “Did everyone have this issue?”
The five men glanced at each other, answering in the affirmative.
“We were in Bi’isil labs. We might have been exposed to something odd. What’s your scanner say?” Selt asked.
“Little of note. You all have lower-than-usual blood sugar. You can go, but eat within the hour.” Hadlez put his scanner in its pouch on his belt as the team bowed and hurried away. “You’ve been skipping meals?”
“Like you said, time flies when you’re having fun. Let’s get to the meeting before the captain comes looking for us.” Selt made it a priority to not piss Kila off. His infamous grin hid a brute of a Nobek. He was almost as terrifying as Piras.
“The order to eat applies to you too.”
“Got it covered.” Selt pulled a ration pouch from his belt and squeezed its bland contents into his mouth as they strode from the bay.
“Anything interesting to report?” His duty done as far as treating crewmen, Hadlez was eager for gossip. He loved hearing the latest intel ahead of anyone else. The serious doctor transformed to a mischievous boy when good chatter was to be had.
“We saw some anomalous reports coming in from Sector C again. Unreadable to me, no doubt coded messages.”
“Ah, the mysterious Sector C lab. I take it the scientists erased these reports as soon as they read them?”
“Naturally. But we have copies of the notes and our targets’ replies. Also coded.” Selt sighed as they traveled the beige-walled corridor and its banks of computers. “It was a given they’d restart covert experiments and studies. Erasing the entirety their former research and them having to endure regular Galactic Council inspections was merely an obstacle. They’re taking up their evil ways again.”
“The sort of evil that puts the rest of the known universe in danger.” Hadlez offered him a sympathetic wince. “It isn’t Bi’is attempting to misbehave putting a frown on your face.”
Selt chuckled and combed his fingers through his shoulder-length curls. He wished he’d had an opportunity to clean up before reporting to Admiral Piras and Captain Kila. He was a rough, tough Nobek, but even a warrior wanted a shower and clean uniform after five days. “I’ll be glad to hand over what’s usually a boring posting to another crew, but yeah, I’m kind of miffed we won’t be the ones to catch the little gray bastards up to no good.”
“Think of the compensation, though. Our next deployment promises to be exciting, in another fashion.”
Selt’s good humor was restored in an instant. “The new Earth. Hopefully soon to be heavily populated by lonely Earther Mataras.”
“Worth giving up stringing up Bi’isils?”
“Most definitely.”
* * * *
A new planet. A new enemy. Is the end coming for the Kalquorian Empire?
In the aftermath of the Kalquorian civil war and the defeat of the Bi’is invasion fleet, the empire has enjoyed peace. A new Earth has been born. A Kalquorian leads the Galactic Council of Planets. An era of harmony seems assured.
However, new dangers arrive on the horizon. Governor Stacy Nichols finds herself at odds with powerful opponents who want Earth II to return to the old ways that led to the demise of their original planet. They’ll do anything to stop her, especially when they discover her newfound romance with Clan Rihep of Kalquor.
After five years and a terrifying encounter with an unknown entity, Clan Piras is finally leaving their spy duties in Bi’is space. Now they must face enemies closer to home: the families of those they sacrificed while on a secret mission during the Kalquorian civil war.
A new threat to the
existence of Kalquor and the entire Galactic Council of Planets arrives in the
midst of these challenges, a dark menace unlike anything faced before. One
young, inexperienced spyship ensign is all that stands between the galaxy and
utter destruction. Can he warn the empire in time…or is it already too late?
Dark Empire 1: Shadows Approach releases August 4. Pre-order now at Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, and print.
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