HMCS Nokomis: Prelude to War: The Symbiot-Series, #18

By Michel Weatherall

The 13th novelette of The Refuse Chronicles.

We return to the R'lyeh Quarantine Fleet, with the A.I. Sentinel at its control. Secrets are revealed - fallout of The Event of Necropolis. But will their knowledge be too late?

The final installment before The Refuse Chronicle's conclusion, "Convergence".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michel Weatherall
• Release date: Sep 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781988253183

Michel Weatherall

Michel Weatherall is a native of Ottawa, has lived in Europe and Germany and travelled extensively. With over 30 years in the print/publishing industry, self-publishing was a natural step to his company, Broken Keys Publishing. He has published 6 novels and 2 collections of poetry. Other work include Sun & Moon, Purgation, This Burden I Bear, Eleven's Silent Promise, Rupture and the essays The Doctrine of Fear and Ebook Revolution? all appearing in Ariel Chart's online journey as well as a theological essay (“The Voice of Sophia”) in American theologian Thomas Jay Oord's "The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence" (2015) Weatherall's current books in print are, The Symbiot 30th Anniversary, The Nadia Edition,  Necropolis,  The Refuse Chronicles,  Symphonies of Horror: Inspirational Tales by H.P. Lovecraft: The Symbiot Appendum, Ngaro's Sojourney,  A Dark Corner of My Soul (poetry), Sun & Moon (poetry), His publishing company, Broken Keys Publishing has 2 anthologies: Thin Places: The Ottawan Anthology, & Love & Catastrophē Poetrē. Honours and Awards include Winner of the 2020 - 2021 Faces of Ottawa Awards for Best Author Finalist of the 2022 Faces of Ottawa Awards for Best Author Winner of the 2020-2022 Faces of Ottawa Awards for Best Publisher 2021Best of the Net Award Nominee (for Poetry: Purgation) 2020-21 Parliamentary Poet Laureate Nominee 2020 Best of the Net Award Nominee (Poetry: This Burden I Bear) 2019 Pushcart Prize Nominee (for Poetry) 2019 FEBE Award Nominee for Creative Arts Finalist for the Faces of Ottawa Award for Best Author 2019  2019 CPACT Awards Nominee for Entertainment Excellence (Arts) 2019 CPACT Awards Nominee for Small Business Excellence (Broken Keys Publishing) Finalist for the Faces of Ottawa Award for Best Author 2018

Book preview

The Nokomis

Canadian Sea King

Eastern New Zealand Seaboard

Unknown Location

Weeks earlier.

––––––––

He was exhausted. His head kept bobbing as he repeatedly drifted off to sleep, only the shoulder seat-belt stopping him from falling on the floor.

He startled awake again as his head lulled. Looking out the windows he could see it was raining over the ocean.

Raining? Frank jokingly thought to himself. More like piss-pouring!

The thick gray overcast sky was dropping a veritable deluge of precipitation, the barrage from the rainstorm pelting against the helicopter’s windows and fuselage. He couldn’t hear the rain nor the roaring of the Sea King’s 62 foot blades. His headphones blocked out nearly all sound, a tinny voice of a machine droning in his ears.  He had long since stopping paying attention to the dossier updates.

He looked at his watch. He had been in this massive helicopter for nearly an hour and a half now.

He had been misinformed when he received his orders from the UNCGSC. Catch a flight to New Zealand and report to their National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research ship, the RV Tangaroa.

The flight to Wellington, New Zealand was nearly 24 hours in itself! The RV Tangaroa wasn’t in port. It was out to sea – significantly out to sea. Another hour aboard a silver bullet-shaped passenger helicopter took him to the 230 foot research vessel. The UNCGSC had misinformed him. Deliberately, he now realized.

Awaiting him was a Canadian Sea King. Over 50 feet long, the Sea King was a behemoth of a helicopter. Naval. Military. That was when he began to feel sick to his stomach. It didn’t make sense. What were the Canadians doing this far out?

He looked at his watch. He had been airborne