Birth of a Star

By Wayne Meyers

Aldrea, the feisty daughter of a Quenterian scientist, agrees to accompany her parents on a routine mission with mixed emotions. It was better than another resort vacation, but lacks the adventure and excitement she craves. So when her father is taken prisoner by a deranged Radical agent on a deserted planet, Aldrea doesn't think twice--she goes after them.

But time is running out. With the greatest discovery in Quenterian history in the balance, Aldrea must rescue herself first before the prize they seek kills them all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wayne Meyers
• Release date: Jul 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463326435

Wayne Meyers

Wayne discovered his love for writing at ten years old when he wrote a story about the flowers from his bed sheets coming to life. With a voracious appetite for science-fiction and fantasy, it was only natural he turned his pen toward these genres, creating bold new worlds filled with exciting, interesting characters doing incredible things. In addition to reading and writing science fiction and fantasy, Wayne enjoys spending time with his family, walking, helping aspiring authors, and volunteering in his community. His latest favorite show is “Lost in Space”, and if you play one of the Marvel Universe movies there’s a good chance he’ll stop what he’s doing to watch. A Brooklyn native, Wayne currently lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania with his family and cats, realizing his dreams one story at a time. He’d love to hear from you at WayneMeyers.com, where you can find his social media links and sign up for his mailing list. His next story is just around the corner!

Book preview

Birth of a Star

Wayne Meyers

Copyright © 2017 Wayne Meyers

https://WayneMeyers.com

[e-mail]

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN: 9780463326435

Smashwords Edition, 2018

Cover design by Y. Nikolova: Twitter:@AmmoniaCovers

Edits/Proofreading by Rosie McCaffrey

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Dedication

To Barbara, my wife: you are amazing!

Thank you for your patience, your support, and your love.

Chapter One

Aldrea’s cheeks hurt from smiling, but she did not care. If anything, the pain made her grin harder because it reminded her why she was so happy.

Don’t be afraid; long-range transitional displacement is a bit different than the short-range jumps you’re used to. You’re going to feel out of sorts at first.

I will be fine, Mother, really. Aldrea snuggled deeper into her cushioned seat, too excited to heed her mother’s advice. She was going on a real observation mission, and to a seedling world! It was more than she had hoped for during her educational intermission period. Her father had hinted at another boring vacation on Juplor 3, as if that had not gotten old ages ago. A planet filled with amusement parks and virtual reality theaters seemed so lame now that she was an adult herself—practically—so it made better sense to become engaged in more mature activities.

Mind your mother, Shimsee. It always put Aldrea at ease when her father used her childhood nickname, even when he was communicating telepathically from a different part of the ship. You’ll understand very soon. Now, take slow, deep breaths, and try not to stand up too fast. It shouldn’t take long to get used to the sensation.

Aldrea rolled her eyes toward the outer view screens on her right, so her mother could not see, while maintaining a respectful telepathic tone. "Yes, Father."

Torinthia sat to Aldrea’s left, but her father was up in the control room with the Mission Commander—a tall, stern man named Karll who frightened her—and the flight crew. Although artificial intelligence managed everything on the ship, there was always an engineer and navigator on board to keep an eye on the computers, and the Mission Commander to keep an eye on the flight crew. It was his responsibility to ensure the Observers could safely conduct and accomplish their mission. Her father, Caldabrad, was the Senior Observation Commander in charge of a small staff of junior personnel.

Aldrea and her mother sat in the common deck, where the tall, pole-mounted seats moved about the floor based upon the purpose of the room at any particular time. During meals, the middle floor rose to serve as a large table with sufficient room for the entire crew to sit around, and the chairs slid into place about its circumference. For exercising sessions, the chairs rolled back against the walls so they were out of the way. If not in use, they simply dropped into the floor and remained secure for the journey.

For a long-range transitional displacement jump, like this one, the chairs lined up in rows facing forward, right-aligned against the bank of view screens. There were two seats per row, and three rows. Aldrea and her mother were seated in the last row. Junior members of the Observation Team occupied the other seats, with the flight crew stationed at the control deck located above and in front of this one. As the Observation Commander of this mission, her father sat up there with them instead of with his staff. Having his wife and daughter accompany him did not allow a change in protocol, though Aldrea knew he had considered doing so regardless.

On the left wall, a bank of appliances for food storage, preparation, dispensing, and recycling lined up neatly, casting an eerie glow of green and red status lights as the ship’s illumination system dimmed in preparation for departure.

For the first time since her father had mentioned his intentions to take her along, Aldrea felt a little nervous about transitional displacement, the means to cross vast distances much faster than light itself could travel. This would be her first time, and she had heard it might be a little … uncomfortable. She reached out telepathically to both her parents for distraction.

"When we get back can I have a fuzzy culdrone?"

Her father’s amused reply: A fuzzy what?

Aldrea shot him the visual image of a small, adorable biped, about knee high, with