The Princess of Caldris

By Dante D'Anthony

Clairissa Maggio, archaeological log. 3983, New Galen Ruins.
The Arcturian O’Neal station is a testament to that culture’s space engineering. Fifty kilometers long, the station had apparently been the largest settlement in system, and directed high energy farming from a solar panel array. The array, of some note in archaeological architectural circles for some time, remains still, in various conditions, a matrix of panels encompassing a full inner orbit of the star, its Herculean scale remains impressive; one more testament to the greatness of the ancients and that era. No modern array equals it size in any of the Republics and Kingdoms, save Imperial CCCE of course.
Yet the O’Neal station was not the only find, and from here luck turns to legend; a Sunrider war frigate is lodged in the side. It is a timely find as well. The two-artifact menagerie’s decaying orbit would reach a soft cloud corona sometime in the near future, and with the hull breach, caused by that long ago Sunrider impact, not even the hard shielded O’Neal Station could shelter the plethora of artifacts inside.
Apparently, the Sunrider had careened into the hull of the O’Neal. The Sunrider’s Stasis Shields had flashed on and off, moving through the O’Neal first like butter, the ragged ultra-steel against ragged ultra-steel. Back and forth, again and again in a matter of seconds. The interlocked ultra-steel then held like a stinger, while the entire atmospherics on the interior of the O’Neal bled out furiously to space, rushing over the sleek black and silver lines of the frigate.
We’re not sure why the other environmental habitat compartments in the O’Neal Station were breached, nor, at the end of the expedition, what was the predication of the welded CCCE Cyborg pilot’s plunge into the station. Further examination will surely provide the answers. The breech safeguards should have preserved them. We have found no intact environmental compartments yet.
Conceivably, in a colony station of this size and sophistication, biome environment compartments could still contain living forests. Fauna and ecosystems thriving, unseen by human eyes for centuries, the life support still servicing away soft rains and light.
Now that would be all the stars in a jewel box, aye! Ha! My Archaeological Avarice is showing!
Kunisada has taken a strong dislike to the frigate, an almost obsessive aversion, even for a head of expedition security. “The greatest technologies of an era, mostly unmatched and forgotten,” he said grimly with his thousand-yard stare, “all in the service of death. Feels like death still abides here.
Great Space Ghost, what the technological systems on that Sunrider will be worth to the reverse engineering departments of numerous corporate interests...”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dante D'Anthony
• Release date: Aug 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301773978

Dante D'Anthony

From South Buffalo New York. Producer, writer, artist. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4873327/Currently heading up the launch of the “Pandoran Age Chronicles” franchise and the “Magnificent Raiders of Dimension War 1” feature film. D’Anthony has worked in Finance, NYSE Licensed broker with AG Edwards. He has worked in Commercial finance and project development in Miami with $70M in assets under management as the personal assistant to the owners at DCA International Real Estate and several high end Design, Architectural, and Development firms working on numbers of projects from conception through all aspects of Design Development, Financing, and Project management. In 2003 he won the Florida Communities Trust Grant ($6M) with his designs for parks in Southwest Ranches Florida. He has owned and managed two art publishing companies that have published art on clothing with national retailer accounts while maintaining ongoing bricks and mortar galleries. His current venture (a full animated studio launch) with a major Hollywood Producer involved includes a complete matrix of a feature film and merchandising franchise and a full console video game. Education: Undergraduate work at SUNY Buffalo, across from the venerable Albright Knox, Bachelor of Science in Design 1985 with a Concentration in Urban & Environmental Design. Included were seminars in Urban Planning and Design, and studios Interior Des, minor in Art History. At FIU in Miami graduate level Coursework in Fine Art & Special Education (continuing certification for Florida Department of Education) included figure drawing studies under the noted Richard Duncan. Additional Graduate Work in Architecture, Florida Atlantic University School of Architecture. NYSE Series 7 broker License, A.G. Edwards And Associates. U.S. Army reserves Corporal.

Book preview

The Princess of Caldris.

The Pandoran Age Chronicles Book 1

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Copyright © 2013

Dante D’Anthony

All rights reserved.

Neil Thacker

For Joe Mellor

Acknowledgments 4

Prelude 5

II 27

All the stars in a jewel box. 27

III 34

Flyboys and Archaeologist girls. 34

IV 49

Fort Oort 49

V 55

Hangar 3 55

VI 63

The Eberhardt 63

VII 70

Eberhardt to Langley Stay 70

VII 74

Langley Stay, Void's End 74

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge Joe Mosey

and Donna Mellor

Kai Bogushchewski

Prelude

Clairissa Maggio, archaeological log. 3983, New Galen Ruins.

The Arcturian O'Neill station is a testament to that culture’s space engineering. Fifty kilometers long, the station had apparently been the largest settlement in system, and directed high energy farming from a solar panel array. The array, of some note in archaeological architectural circles for some time, remains still, in various conditions, a matrix of panels encompassing a full inner orbit of the star. Its Herculean scale remains impressive; one more testament to the greatness of the ancients and that era. No modern array equals it size in any of the Republics and Kingdoms, save Imperial CCCE of course.

Yet the O'Neill station was not the only find, and from here luck turns to legend. A Sunrider war frigate is lodged in the side. It is a timely find as well. The two-artifact menagerie’s decaying orbit would reach a soft cloud corona sometime in the near future, and with the hull breach, caused by that long ago Sunrider impact, not even the hard shielded O'Neill Station could shelter the plethora of artifacts inside.

Apparently, the Sunrider had careened into the hull of the O'Neill. The Sunrider’s Stasis Shields had flashed on and off, moving through the O'Neill first like butter, then like ragged ultra-steel against ragged ultra-steel. Back and forth, again and again in a matter of seconds. The interlocked ultra-steel then held like a stinger, while the entire atmospherics on the interior of the O'Neill bled out furiously to space, rushing over the sleek black and silver lines of the frigate.

We’re not sure why the other environmental habitat compartments in the O'Neill Station were breached, nor, at the end of the expedition, what was the predication of the welded CCCE Cyborg pilot’s plunge into the station. Further examination will surely provide the answers. The breech safeguards should have preserved them. We have found no intact environmental compartments yet.

Conceivably, in a colony station of this size and sophistication, biome environmental compartments could still contain living forests. Fauna and ecosystems thriving, unseen by human eyes for centuries, the life support still servicing away soft rains and light.

Now that would be all the stars in a jewel box, aye! Ha! My Archaeological Avarice is showing!

Kunisada has taken a strong dislike to the frigate, an almost obsessive aversion, even for a head of expedition security. The greatest technologies of an era, mostly unmatched and forgotten, he said grimly with his thousand yard stare, all in the service of death. Feels like death still abides here.

Great Space Ghost, what the technological systems on that Sunrider will be worth to the reverse engineering departments of numerous corporate interests...

I

Snakes in the Cradle.

My name is Winteroud Sole, and I am twelve standard Caldris years old. The name Winteroud was my father’s idea, an homage to my mother, who was not born on warm and wet Caldris, but on the far away world of Erial, which is always cold, and mostly gray and silver shot through. He and my Mother met in college, at the University world, Lux, a world of giant arboriforms called forests, where the Neo-Wrightians, the great architects and environmentalists, had settled and built their famous Schools.

I have never been to Erial, or Lux, but I have studied them both extensively on the hypercasts, and in the family computer libraries.

Today the Royal Security detectives came led by a giant, stoic man by the name of Odin Hammerstein, and questioned me at length. I could feel their eagerness to know all about me, for I am empathic which is a very special gift. My mind can sense things in the quanta, traces left by events. Mother was furious. Father was somewhat proud actually.

I think Officer Hammerstein is a good egg. I could feel Officer Hammerstein was deeply troubled over many things. A desperation has formed in his mind, and he believes I may be able to help him sort out his most current sleuthing.

He is probably right, although I fear he doesn’t understand that it may kill him if we untangle this particular mystery. Him and many others. In his mind I perceived a layering, a mentality of his military background that sees everything as a war. He was a Navy Ranger out in the Icy Oort Clouds before becoming a Royal Detective.

I have always been empathic. Caldris is known for producing an abnormal number of us. Some say it is the massive amounts of heavy metals in the planet. Others say it is how the metals interact with the complex fields which stream into the higher dimensions. I don’t know. I have always been this way and although my mind swarms with the impressions and feelings of others, I have not yet learned exactly what it means to be a human without empathic powers.

My Educator at the Empath school says, You will learn with time how they live their lives in solitary realities. There is a sadness about them, alone in their thoughts. But not now. Not yet. Now when you feel their thoughts and emotions across a room it seems you are one with them. It is not so, Winteroud. You share their reality, and they are immune to yours, and so it often is.

Officer Hammerstein is very sad. That much I could tell right away. He is a man with a mission, as they say. His mission has hit a "platinum wall, me boy, a platinum wall with heavy-duty military defense shielding wrapped around an enigma." More accurately, I realized the machinations