Diaspora

By Michael D. Britton

Joshua Gray, an explorer forced to become a soldier, may be the only person who can save the human race from utter destruction at the hands of an intractable alien enemy that claims a right of return to Earth. Gray forms a friendship with a leader of the long-dispersed q-Chek - a bond forged through suffering and painful choices. Together, the two blur the lines of loyalty and sacrifice in their desperate quest for peace . . . peace at a price.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Intelligent Life Books
• Release date: Sep 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465850959

Michael D. Britton

Michael D. Britton has been writing professionally for 25 years, including heading up marketing departments, working in huge private corporations, writing for government entities, supporting non-profit healthcare systems, sprinting with tiny tech start-ups, freelancing, and a producing TV news broadcasts in the 90s. His short fiction has received ten honorable mentions in the Writers of the Future contest, among other recognition; and his novels have advanced through multiple rounds of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in various years. His list of indie-published fiction titles exceeds 65 and keeps increasing. Learn more at www.michaeldbritton.com.

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Diaspora

by

Michael D. Britton

* * * *

Copyright 2011 by Michael D. Britton

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The screaming finally stopped.

The silence that replaced it brought both relief and sorrow for Captain Joshua Gray as he sat strapped to a chair in the pitch-black room. The silence meant that Commander Cho was free of the pain – that they couldn’t hurt him anymore.

It also meant Cho was dead.

Gray listened carefully through the wall, and heard Cho’s body get dragged away. He heard the murmuring voices of their captors – their torturers – but could not make out the words. They spoke loudly enough, but since they’d forcibly removed Gray’s autotran from his ear canal, he couldn’t understand a word of their guttural alien language.

He’d lost track of the time since their ship had been literally swallowed by the q’Chek vessel and the crew taken hostage. It felt like about six days, but Gray couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t be sure of anything right now – his body ached, he’d been given no food, and he’d been kept in the dark since he’d regained consciousness. He only knew his next door neighbor had been Commander Cho because they’d had a chance to speak to each other through the wall before the interrogations had begun.

If that’s what they really were. For all Gray knew, the q’Chek just enjoyed inflicting pain. It’s not like the prisoners could understand what the q’Chek were saying after they pulled the autotrans. None of it made any sense to Gray – it all just seemed random and sadistic. And there was no end in sight – no end other than the quiet release of death that Cho had just received.

Gray had given up on trying to escape a while ago. He still had every intention of getting out of there, but he knew he’d have to wait for the right opportunity, because right now they had him locked down tighter than his first United Earth Astrionics uniform.

Back when he joined UEA, fifteen years ago, he never dreamed he’d wind up in a situation like this. Space exploration was always dangerous, but when the first advance contingent of q’Chek fighting vessels first came along six years ago, it became war.

UEA quickly transformed from a purely scientific organization to a military branch. The q’Chek were aggressive and impossible to reason with - all attempts at negotiation fell flat. So UEA became Earth’s defense agency and people like Gray made a career change from galactic explorer to soldier – all without even changing ships. Gray’s vessel, the Magellan, was retrofitted with weaponry and beefed-up shielding, but he retained command of the ship and even had the same crew. UEA convinced the global government that it would be best to keep the crews together for efficiency and strength of command structure.

And so Gray waited.

It wasn’t long after Cho had been killed that the q’Chek entered his room. He still couldn’t see anything, since these aliens seemed to function in complete darkness, but he could hear them – their shuffling footsteps, their insect-like vocal clicks and bestial grunts, their raspy breathing. He could tell there were at least two of them in the room, and heard them flank him. He heard and felt them slice through his restraints, and suddenly he was in