Blue Shift: A Starfall Chronicle

By Chris O'Connell

Commander Shen is a formidable elite alien warrior, but also something of a short-sighted hot-head. When tasked with the mission of recapturing a hijacked deep space prison transport, Shen's impulsive cowboy-like actions give multiple alien convicts the chance they need to escape to a little blue planet called Earth. Now, these very dangerous extraterrestrial fugitives are running around on Earth, doing God knows what to whoever they please, and no one can stop them, other than Shen, his android partner Seesix and a mysterious man in black known only as Mr. McGrath. However, things only get more complicated in this space opera when a young and eccentric UFO enthusiast named Catherine wanders into the alien crossfire.

Blue Shift cover art by Debby Wijaya

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris O'Connell
• Release date: Feb 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370522866

Chris O'Connell

Chris P. O’Connell is a southern California-based entertainment professional, world traveler, and former educator. His work includes contributions to several iconic Hollywood properties including, but not limited to, Spongebob Squarepants, Hawaii Five-0, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When not paying most of his bills with film and TV work, Chris stays busy as a self-published storyteller creating indie comic books and science fiction novellas.

Book preview

Blue Shift

A Starfall Chronicles

by

Chris P. O'Connell

www.starfallchronicles.com

The Starfall Chronicles Book 1: Blue Shift

ed. 2.01

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

This work is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This work may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

Copyright © 2015 Christopher P. O'Connell. All rights reserved. Including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author.

Cover illustration by Debby Wijaya.

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1: The Interrogation

CHAPTER 2: The Space Chase

CHAPTER 3: Larry's Coffee Shop

CHAPTER 4: Showdown at the Crystal Match Factory

CHAPTER 5: Consequences

PROLOGUE

It is a clear sunny morning in the District of Columbia. A mysterious, broad-shouldered, African-American man with a thick beard strode into the Oval Office escorted by a pale, skinny, young White House aide. He sports a long black coat and a dark blue fedora.

The President should be with you shortly, Mr. McGrath. Please wait here and have a seat, the young aide says politely to the powerfully built black man and gestures to one of the bright beige couches in the center of the office. Mr. McGrath nonchalantly walks over toward the seating area and surveys a bowl of fruit on a small oak table near the center of the room. He leans down and grabs an apple from the top of the bowl, polishes it with his sleeve, and then takes a big crisp bite. The aide, being fairly new to the White House and not yet sure who is and isn't allowed to take the fruit, gets a bit nervous. McGrath, who only appears to be in his early thirties, glares at the young aide with the intense piercing eyes of an unimpressed older man who's seen much more.

Thank you. You can go now, McGrath says to the aide in an ominous tone.

Um. Alright, the aide responds nervously. If you need anything while you wait, there's someone just outside this door.

The aide backs away and leaves. McGrath takes another crunchy bite of the apple and walks around the office, taking in the current decor.

The Oval Office in the west wing of The White House in Washington D. C. is the official working office of the President of the United States of America. It is intricately designed with inspiration majestically drawn from baroque and neoclassical artistic traditions and is typically redecorated to suit the tastes of each sitting President while retaining some mementos of past ones. It is a room that serves as a prestigious symbol of near-absolute political power to Americans, as well as to many other people around the planet. However, in spite of all this, Mr. McGrath is not remotely impressed. This is far from his first visit to the Oval Office, and as the current U.S. President will soon find out, McGrath does not have the same perspectives as most people when it comes to the role of political leaders in this world.

After making McGrath wait for twenty minutes, a door opens. The President 's voice can barely be heard in the hallway as he ordered three secret service agents to wait out here by the door, and I will call you if I need you. The President then clears his throat, composes himself and then walks into his office.

Hello, Mr. McGrath, the President says, walking briskly toward the man in black. McGrath does not respond, but slowly approaches the President. Smiling, the President extends his hand.

‘Here we go.’ McGrath cynically thinks to himself.

The two men shake hands.

The President gestures toward one of the beige couches much like his timid young aide did.

Please, have a seat, McGrath looks at the beige couch for a couple of seconds and then sits. The President sits down on the opposite couch facing him. The two men look at each other over the fruit bowl on the small wooden table. McGrath has a stone face and doesn't say a word; He just looks at the President with a piercing glare. The President being the seasoned politician he is, maintains a polite smile and doesn't let McGrath's tough demeanor get to him… yet.

I'm sorry to keep you waiting, the President says to McGrath halfheartedly, I understand we have quite an unusual situation on our hands.

He pauses and McGrath responds by raising an eyebrow and smirking, as if to say, ‘are you kidding me?’

The President continues, I understand that your people work very hard to protect the public from certain things they don't need to know about, but it isn't every day that a clandestine organization like yours feels the need take a national security agent into custody, let alone involve me personally in the matter. I'm sure you agree, going forward, we'll have to handle this so-called 'Ong-Kai matter' very delicately.

Deciding he's had enough, McGrath raises his open hand and says, No.

Excuse me? the President asks.

I said no, McGrath replies. We aren't going to do anything, he continues, As far as you're concerned, I am going to handle this mess and, as per agreements that have been in place since before you were born, your office is going to assist me in any way I see fit.

The President tilts his head in disbelief that he is being spoken to in this manner by someone other than the First Lady. Before he can interject, McGrath continues,

Let's drop all the pleasantries and be frank, McGrath says sharply, I know everything you know about the situation and more. Your people broke some very important rules, rules that keep this whole world safe, and your guys got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Now, you're going to take responsibility and make good on helping my people fix this matter.

The President quickly raises his own hand and says,

Now, just hold on one minute, You can't just come into this office and start barking at the President of the United States like that."

Mr. President, let's be clear, McGrath says, resisting the temptation to mock the President for referring to himself in the third person, You represent only one fairly corrupt government, that rules over just a portion of a single continent on this planet, and just like every other greedy human leader on this world, you either think you're ready to step out into the larger universe, or you're naive enough to think you can exploit forces you don't understand. Well, sir, I'm here to tell you that you are not.

Now see here! the President shoots back, now losing his cool, I don't know who you think you are, but I have a responsibility to ensure the security and prosperity of this country!

Well sir, you're not going to accomplish that by getting conned by an over-glorified gangster! McGrath responds condescendingly.

What do you mean by that? the President asks, taken off-guard.

When my people took your NSA agent into custody last night, he wasn't meeting with a representative of any legitimate party brokering advanced alien technology to the United States, McGrath answers coldly, Ong-Kai is a sneaky would-be warlord, and all he was offering you was a few trinkets that the top minds in this country are probably about five to ten years away from inventing already.

The President tries to maintain some composure. After a very brief pause he defensively says, Well regardless, this country has to claim any advantage it can, given the world's current social climate.

You don't get it, do you, sir?