Starship Victory: The Chasm in Space: Starship Victory, #7

By Joey Peters

After a disastrous mission gone wrong acting commander Colonel Hayes must put some old ghosts to bed. To do that she leads the Starship Victory through a smoldering chasm in the strata of space time itself and into the Underside.

The Underside is an area of the galaxy cut off from the rest of civilization. A war is brewing between the remnants of the Gamar Star Empire and the Church of Rand. Colonel Hayes doesn't want to get involved in this smoldering conflict, at least until she discovers that the family of the Victory's former commander still might be alive somewhere.

Can the Starship Victory tip the cosmic scales and bring order to the chasm in space? Can the Victory rescue the diaspora of space refugees?

Find out in the seventh episode of the Starship Victory saga!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Studio Tacolicious
• Release date: Feb 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781501417818

Joey Peters

Joey Peters is a writer, cartoonist and beauty contest champion. His comics have appeared in “In a Single Bound”, “Leftovers of the Living Dead”, the Boston Phoenix, and all across the internet. He is probably most well known for his reimaginings of public domain superheroes, most particularly Stardust the Super-Wizard. His other prose works include the “Starship Victory” series and “Moonlit Massacres”. Joey lives in Boston with his wife, Donna.

Book preview

The Chasm in Space

Agatha Dart awoke when the Science Ship Carl Sagan began shuddering. The floor rattled and something deep inside the ship creaked ominously. She looked out the portal into the night.

Out in the black Susanoo looked at the tattered remnants of the Gods of Death. A smile stretched across his lips and he tightened his fingers over the handle of his katana. The battle seemed to be over. His allies escaped into the darkness to fight another battle.

Itzpapalotl pulled herself forward. Her fellow gods were defeated, their flesh rent by the shockwave of Thor’s suicide. She, however, wore no flesh. But the blood of the others ached against her naked bones.

She was the only survivor—the only one left. Susanoo charged her and drew his blade. Itzpapalotl slid her hands up into hyperspace and extracted two glistening black machetes.

Agatha’s mother stumbled into the room. Alarm klaxons rang out impossibly loud. Garish red lights filled the room. Her mother grabbed Agatha and dragged her out into the hall.

What’s going on? she shouted.

Smoke and fog poured into the hall from the air vents. It stank of burned plastic and sweating steel.

Mommy! cried Agatha.

We need to get to the escape pods. We need to get out of here, said her mother, and she dragged her down through the ship.

The storm god moved faster than Itzpapalotl and swung his katana dangerously close to her skeletal form—but this was all part of her plan. She swung one machete up and caught the katana from the side.

But the storm god’s flawless blade slid through the machete as if it were never there.

Mommy—mommy! cried Agatha.

But her mother ignored her. There was too much business. Too much chaos. The crew of the Science Ship Carl Sagan bolted through the decks, either trying to hold the ship together or to escape.

A panicked group of ensigns swarmed into an escape pod in front of them. The door slid shut. Agatha watched their pod disappear into the blackness of space.

Next, her mother dragged her onto the next escape pod. It locked shut behind them.

But daddy— said Agatha.

Her mother pulled her close and patted her head.

He’ll be fine, sweetie. He’s got to keep the ship running long enough for the rest of us to get away.

Her mother pressed her hard against the back wall and ran the strap around her shoulders and