The Promise

By Kyle Pratt

Do the spirits of the dead in space return home or drift forever between worlds? 

A young man will soon leave the planet of his birth with his wife and child, but his mother refuses to go unless they first visit an old war memorial. The visit stirs up more than old memories.

Kyle Pratt is an award winning and Amazon bestselling author of post-apocalyptic and science fiction thrillers. The Promise is the first story in what Kyle now calls the Final Duty universe. He wrote The Promise, a 5,000-word short story while deployed on USS Sterett (CG-31) in the western Pacific in the late 1980's. He says, "I think being on a ship helped set the feel of the flashback portion of the story."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Camden Cascade Publishing
• Release date: Mar 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781732896420

Kyle Pratt

Kyle Pratt is the bestselling author of speculative fiction. His latest novel, A Time to Endure is the second book in the Strengthen What Remains series after the bestseller Through Many Fires. Through Many Fires is the first book in a post-apocalyptic series released in paperback, Kindle and on Audible in August 2013. Within two weeks the novel appeared on the Kindle Science Fiction Post-Apocalyptic list, reaching #10, and reached #1 on the list on December 2, 2014. Through Many Fires has earned its way to the #1 spot on the Kindle Dystopian and Military list, and #39 on the Mystery, Thriller and Suspense list. Kyle grew up in the mountains of Colorado and earned an Associate in Arts degree from Mesa State College in Grand Junction.  When money for college ran low he enlisted in the United States Navy as a Cryptologic Technician. "I thought I would do four years and then use my veteran's benefits to go back to college," he once said. His first assignment was with a U.S. Navy unit at the Royal Air Force base in Edzell, Scotland. While on leave in Israel he met Lorraine from Plymouth, Devon, England and married her the next year.  Together they spent the remainder of his twenty year naval career traveling across the United States from Virginia to Hawaii and on to Guam, Japan and beyond. Even before he retired from the service he wrote short stories. In July of 2012 his debut novel, Titan Encounter, a science fiction space adventure, came out on Kindle and later in paperback. His second book, Final Duty - The Speculative Fiction Anthology, was released in January of 2013.  The anthology is regularly updated with new short stories and samples. Today, Kyle and Lorraine live on a small farm in Western Washington State.  Kyle believes the future of publishing is digital.  You can easily find and follow him online.

Book preview

The Promise

A short story in the Final Duty universe

By Kyle Pratt

The Promise

A short story in the Final Duty universe

By Kyle Pratt

Copyright © 2017 Kyle Pratt

All Rights Reserved

Edition 3.0 – September 2017

Editor: Barbara Blakey

Cover design: Micah Hansen

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, especially those on other planets, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

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The Promise

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The Promise

A young man will soon leave the planet of his birth with his wife and child, but his mother refuses to go unless they first visit an old war memorial. The visit stirs old memories and more.

The Promise began what I now call the Final Duty universe. I wrote the 5,000-word story while deployed on USS Sterett (CG-31) in the western Pacific in the late 1980’s. I think being on a ship helped set the feel of the flashback portion of the story.

The Promise includes a long flashback within the structure of the main story. Most publishers, literary agents, and instructors tell writers to avoid flashbacks, but I didn’t know that nearly thirty years ago when I