Family across Space

By Stephen Brandon

A preindustrial group of humans are forced to flee their planet of birth to escape a natural disaster. They use forbidden technology from the past.
The new wilderness planet has its own challenges. The technicians claim it's uninhabited. Some of the people from settlement disappear. Hunters find ruins and then traces of other humans.
What they don't know is that there is an interstellar civilization observing them, and interfering at times. Rubin looks for years after his wife's mother disappears. Then Rubin and Zarola disappear. Can they assimilate into the interstellar federation?
Rubin's daughter explores the wilderness across the river for years looking for traces of her parents until she is taken.
The skills of not so civilized humans are useful to a very civilized, highly technical, planet spanning federation. Especially their ability to fight, spy, and wage war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Brandon
• Release date: Jan 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370756964

Stephen Brandon

I've loved westerns and science fiction since I picked up my first book at the public library. I've been writing on my computer for years. I never planned on any of my stories being published, just to be read by myself, family, and friends. The base journal is on forty spreadsheets with links to about a thousand files of short one day paragraphs plus other stories. {My claim to fame, written by someone else. Thanks.} "As an earthbound retiree, Stephen writes mostly science fiction and short stories. He is a voracious reader and has written for a few years, publishing his stories on Smashwords."

Book preview

Family across Space

by Stephen Brandon

Copyright 2017 by Stephen Brandon

Published by Stephen Brandon at Smashwords

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Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Author's Note

This book is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, incidents, and dialogue are from the authors imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or other persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Real and fictional locations are used for background only.

This story came to me as I was waking up on a Saturday morning in August. Wouldn't you know it, everything conspired against me sitting down in front of my computer until that evening. I managed to get two chapters down before the evening passed. I vaguely remembered more interesting parts, but just didn't have time that night to type them up. Maybe I should have typed them up before typing the dull first two chapters.

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Table of Contents ~(ToC)~

Authors Note

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 The Gate

Chapter 2 The Ruins

Chapter 3 Staff

Chapter 4 Tracks

Chapter 5 Hunters Outpost

Chapter 6 Abram's new Home

Chapter 7 The Farmers Cabin

Chapter 8 Symbolism

Chapter 9 The Room

Chapter 10 The Visitor

Chapter 11 The Rescue

Chapter 12 The Hospital

Chapter 13 Bending the Rules

Chapter 14 Frenzy

Chapter 15 Lidia Mae

Chapter 16 Pirate or Spy

Chapter 17 Warning

Chapter 18 Repast

Chapter 19 Innocent youth

Chapter 20 Unknown

Chapter 21 Dinner out

Chapter 22 The Estate

Chapter 23 A War

About Stephen Brandon

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Acknowledgments

My wife has put up with me for over forty six years. Without her support and love, I don't know who, what, or where I would be. I thank her from the bottom of my heart, and dedicate my books to her!

I also acknowledge the efforts of all the teachers I had and the librarians. The writers of all the books I've read, also deserve credit.

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Chapter 1 The Gate

Mother there is a visitor at the gate. He request to see you.

Take him to the visitors house and tell him he can see your father when he returns.

But Mother, he says it is important, and he has fathers helmet.

Son, that means your father is either injured or dead, arm two servants, we will meet him in the courtyard. Have your sister gather all the children and prepare to go out the back way if we need to. Have the cook come here immediately.

Yes Mother.

As they approached the stranger standing in the courtyard, he stood calmly in his dust covered robes. Just before she got within arms reach, he dropped to one knee and held out her husbands helmet. In a soft voice he said, Mother Malone, I've talked to your husband. He sent me with his helmet and a note.

She reached out and took the helmet. Tucked inside was a piece of parchment. Pulling it out she read;

Sugar Plum

This is to introduce Joseph. Danger is on its way quickly! Follow his instructions no matter how impossible they sound. His friend and I are on our way to save the village.

Henri

"Joseph, evidently you've convinced my husband that danger is nearby. What are your instructions.?

Mother Malone, you need to gather everyone and instruct them to grab a small bag that they can carry with several sets of clothing including sturdy sandals. Your attendants from the village should gather baskets of food for three days, tools, and weapons. Everyone should be here in the courtyard in less than an hour prepared to depart.

Thinking a second, Mother turned to the armed attendants and put out her hand. Give me your spears. Go and tell the cook, nurse, and housekeeper to come to the courtyard immediately. Then go to the barn and bring back all the hand carts.

When the cook ran into the courtyard, Mother turned and said, Everyone is leaving within the hour. Pack all the travel food in the storeroom in small bundles, and have them brought to the courtyard. Also what you need from the kitchen to prepare food.

What about my husband? the cook cried.

Henri is on his way to the village to get everyone there, so tell the others if they are worried about their children, husbands, or wives. Quickly now, we don't have much time.

After all the attendants left the court yard she turned to Joseph who was still on one knee and said, Stand up and explain exactly what is going on. I want all the details.

Ma-am, there is meteor headed for this valley, we only discovered it yesterday. At first we though it would crash in the western ocean. This mornings observations were more precise and appalling. Our leader made the decision to evacuate as many of the residents as possible. Unfortunately we only have enough room for the village people and those on your farm. We hope the hills surrounding this valley will shield the villages and farms outside the valley.

I don't understand how we can quickly get everyone out of the valley, and where is a safe area near here?

Ma-am, there is no completely safe area near here. Our leader decided to use some of the old technology to transport everyone to a safe area. You must realize that this will seem like magic to most of the people in this area. I will need your help to convince all your people to go through the gates.

If I remember correctly, the technology you are talking about is forbidden, because of the plagues explorers brought back.

Yes ma-am, it is on the forbidden list. However, if we don't use it, everyone will die! Our leader has picked a safe area for us. My people trust him with our lives and now ask you to trust him with your and your peoples lives.

Less than an hour later several men arrived at the gate and one approached Joseph. Sir, where shall we set up the gate?

Mother immediately said, Can you set it up just outside the main gate there? pointing toward the double doors that were open. Joseph, what will if feel like going through? I remember reading that it drove many people mad.

Ma-am, it will feel like you are being twisted inside out, but it only last a few seconds. We will need to explain that to your people so they won't panic like the livestock would. That is why we are only taking people.

A few minutes later Joseph said, It is time.

Mother turned and looked over her people in the courtyard and raised her hand. "Listen up everyone. Danger is upon us. To live we have to go through that gate. You will feel like you are being twisted inside out, but it will only last a little while. If you feel sick step to the side, but keep moving towards the hills.

The cavern was large and dark as they entered it. Everyone was tired and they were collapsing after walking so far. Jacob's people set up lanterns and started fires for cooking. Henri organized guards at the entrance to keep animals out.

When Jacob returned he suggested that Henri organize groups to go out in the morning to survey the area for a new village and farm. This planet, he said, never had people on it and the animals are wild and not afraid of man.

A year later the village was finished, and had a tall wood fence with four gates, that they closed at sundown. The farm house, storehouse, and first barn were within another tall wood fence. Each of the other barns and storehouses each had its own tall wood fence and a small keepers house. Only two men and one child had been killed by wild animals. Every adult carried a long knife, sword, spear, or bow and arrows. The wild animals started learning to avoiding the villagers and farmers.

Jacob's people had set up in the cavern. However over a dozen of them had been killed by animals. Very few of them armed themselves. Somehow the animals knew that they were much easier prey.

Henri and Jacob organized groups to go out and explore the land outside their valley.

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Chapter 2 The Ruins

Andrew and Chad, Henri's sons trained four young men from the village, and four from the technicians. Jacob monitored the training for several weeks and then left his son Abram to report to him when Andrew said the training was complete.

He visited the farm and talked to Henri about the expeditions. He also gave each of the boys a radio and taught them on how to use them. Jacob brought maps and instructed the boys on how to update them with terrain marks. One team would turn left, and one right after they left the valley entrance. They were to look for good water sources, good land to farm, mineral sources, and places easy to protect.

Chad's team turned left at the valley entrance and found a river in less than a day. Unable to cross they turned back toward the mountains and zigzagged back and forth until they found the entrance to another valley. It took two weeks to explore that valley. Hunting was good and they got careless. Wolves attacked because of the fresh meat left in the camp. They were lucky that no one was bitten or badly