The Hyperspace War snippet 1

Sitrep:
Okay, I'm down to 1 story left in the next book, an anthology of Founding of the Federation stories.
I recently sent the last full manuscript of that series to Rea Friday.

In other news, my landlord passed away suddenly, so we're scrambling to figure out what is going on with our home. Fun. That may interrupt my writing plans in the future for I don't know how long. :P

I actually finished the cover before releasing The Gaia Project but decided to sit on it. :)

The ships are from CGtrader.com. They are all the same high poly ship, I just played with them a bit.
The planet I bought from CGtrader.com or Daz3D, I forgot where. I retextured it.

Anyway, on to the snippet!

Chapter 1

Esby's World Psi Sector

 

Kenny Minogue had been more worried about his mother finding out he had gotten into her secret stash of sugar cookies over the light in the sky. But as the 7 year old started to pick up on the distress of the adults he started to bite his lip and realize something big was going on.

“What is it?” he asked, looking at his mother. She seemed to fret over what to say, another thing he'd noticed.

He was smart for his age, a product of the medical advances of the time though he didn't quite understand all of that fully. What he did understand was that he read at the high school level and was taking a college history class.

His parents were both teachers, they certainly kept him busy with homework. That kept him out of trouble most of the time and away from the bullies who were out in the growing town and who had a thing for picking on the kids related to teachers.

“Nothing honey,” she finally said. Her voice was foggy with tears. She came over and hugged him and then looked up to the window.

“Is it the light in the sky?” he asked, turning to the ship lights. Night had fallen and the sky was aglow, not just from the stars but also the glowing ships as they came up over the horizon. Big ships, very big.

“In a way,” she said gently.

“We should tell him,” his father said.

“What good will it do?” his mother asked with a sniffle. She started to sob. Instinctively Kenny's throat tightened up and he began to snuffle. Whatever was distressing his mom had to be bad.

“I think he knows something's up,” his father rumbled as he wrapped his arm around them both.

“Come on,” his mother said after a long moment. “Why don't we go read your favorite story,” she said. “And we'll break out the sugar cookies.”

“I already had a few,” he admitted.

His father chuckled. “I know, I cleaned up the sugar on the counter,” he said.

The boy trembled in trepidation. “Hiding your own evidence no doubt,” his mother accused, glowering at them both. She couldn't quite scowl though, and she looked sad. “Go get ready for bed,” she urged, stroking his hair. “I'll get the cookie jar.”

“The whole thing?” Kenny asked, eyes wide.

“Something tells me a belly ache tomorrow is going to be the least of our concerns,” his father said cryptically as they went to his room.

)=+=(

Governor Decker looked balefully out to the night sky and the glowing ships as they made what he assumed was their final run. He knew what was coming, everyone did. He'd sent everything he could, every scrap of information to every satellite in orbit or throughout the star system. His IT people had programmed the satellites in orbit to go out on a ballistic course and then run silent, silent electronic witnesses to the destruction that was about to come to their world.

There was nowhere to run. He could hear the sounds of breaking things, yells, and screams in the street. The panic was dying down as people went through the various stages of death. Acceptance was last and he knew someone somewhere should add acceptance but resentment to the order. Not that he cared.

He took a long swig from the bottle and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The rotgut wasn't as good as genuine Kentucky shine but it was the best his planet had yet to produce. It was one of their prime exports.

Not that anything like that mattered anymore. Nor the bills, their planetary mortgage, or any of that.

“Some day we're going to find a way to pay you back for this you bastards,” he snarled, fists clenching before he turned and threw the bottle to smash into the wall behind him. He'd never given into his impulse to destroy something when he was enraged until now. It felt... good but useless he thought.

He turned and considered the glass and instinctively he wanted to clean it up. When he checked himself he had to laugh. It was a bitter honest laugh, one fraught with grief over what would never be.

He wiped at his eyes in time to see his wife in the doorway. The kids were nearby, all scared. He turned back when a bright something flickered in his peripheral vision, then back and huddled with them. “Don't look,” he urged as energy tore at them and the wind howled. Blinding heat and light consumed them and they knew no more.

)=+=(