Treacherous Fires of Civil Unrest

By Clayton L McNally

Galaxy on Fire is a series about and "Galactic Empire" that has fallen into three kingdoms from the treachery of three brothers. A once united kingdom has a legitimate ruler that has been raised outside of the kingdom, on Earth. As three brothers kill their fourth brother (the King) they discover that the royal seals and scepter have been sent to the rightful next in line for King. Three brothers send fleets to SOL to kill their nephews as well as Caspra to kill their nephews betrothed. Smaller fleets loyal to Lady Michelle's safety and to Prince Lee's safety must defend their charges against larger fleets. While the King may have been killed the Queen has been whisked away (drugged to sleep) with a fleet of her own.

Treacherous Fires of Civil Unrest (book name)
Galaxy on Fire (series name)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clayton L McNally
• Release date: Aug 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646696017

Clayton L McNally

I am a prior owner of a Karate School - East-West Karate of Granby CT. I am ranked at 4th Degree/Dan. I write military Sci Fi / Adventure stories. I have 2 books published in print. I stopped publishing in 2011, did not stop writing. My wife had been diagnosed with cancer and that was more important than publishing. Unfortunately, she passed away and I am trying to move into the digital world. That was our goal for September 2018. I delayed it for 1 year.My books are written so that young kids can read, no sex or bad language. The books are fun to read and even non Sci Fi people have told me they enjoyed reading them.

Book preview

Treacherous Fires of Civil Unrest

Galaxy on Fire

Clayton L. McNally

email: [e-mail]

web site: www.claytonlmcnally.com

web site: www.claytonlmcnally.org

Copyright © 2019 by Clayton L. McNally

978-1-64669-601-7 (eBook)

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Places, events, and situations in this story are purely fictional! Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

Dedications

I will forgo my customary dedications at this time.

My wife and best friend of 36 (married) years (close to 40 including dating) passed away on March 12, 2018, from Cancer. I will miss her very much and look forward to being with her again one day. Betsy was always the strength behind me to strive for more. She was/is and will always be my best friend and wife.

With her loss, I have also lost my editor. I have leased software that edits a book; if anything is discovered to be incorrect, please email me. There are no words I can say to acknowledge how much Betsy meant to me or means to me.

NOTE: My wife (Betsy) was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. At that time, I continued writing, just not publishing. My editor (Betsy) was unable to edit, fighting Cancer was much more important to us than publishing. We had planned to release digitally beginning in September 2018, but in her loss, I decided to wait until September 2019.

Fan Appreciation

For the many readers who have patiently waited for the Galaxy on Fire, thank you all very much. Thank you very much for the interest that allowed a move to digital to take place. I hope you enjoy the first copies of Galaxy on Fire; I look forward to any comments.

email: [e-mail]

web site: www.claytonlmcnally.com

web site: www.claytonlmcnally.org

God Bless you all!

Consider

People often tell you that when opportunity knocks, there are two doors. I believe there are three; Avoid it, Ignore it and Go for it. Which door would you choose?

Acknowledgment of Cover Art

When not designing or writing, Tatiana Vila can be found watching Documentaries, playing with her Mini Aussie, singing in the shower, and eating way too many chocolates. She speaks Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and loves to travel and meet new cultures. Her motto in life: let the mind run wild.

But what is so important about her motto you might wonder? Well, in the last five years, her motto has been her golden ticket to success. It has driven her to do what she loves. Her biggest passion is creating book covers. She's always been drawn to imagery, colors, and contrasts. A gripping book cover is what pushes her to pick up a book from a shelf and dive into its depths. And as you might know, she's not the only one. This is, in fact, human nature. We are visual human beings. That is why a professional book cover is so important. It's an author's card of presentation, and Tatiana Vila surely knows it!

Contact can be made through Clayton’s email.

Acknowledgment of Starship Art

I had the pleasure of working with an artist Rick Edmond on the Starship designs for Justice and Integrity. Both ships are featured in the Galaxy on Fire series, the first book in the series Treacherous Fires of Civil Unrest.

Rick Emond is a Connecticut native and entrepreneur specializing in Writing, Illustration and Concept Design for Comics/Graphic Novels, TV and Film. Rick began his career apprenticed to Comic illustrator Sal Trapani. During that time, Rick got his professional start tasked with inking and illustrating assignments on various Marvel and DC titles, among others.

Over the years, he became involved in the creation and illustration/design for many top Role Playing and Collectible Card Game companies, including Wizards of the Coast’s, Magic the Gathering.

Rick was chosen to be part of a team of talented illustrators that developed an online comic series for LNL Partners, to create motion comic art for a William Shatner’s: Man O War as well as, POW/ Stan Lee's published project titled: God Woke. He has served as an illustrator and visual concept developer for VR Press on their live-action Web and Comics series Venus Rises" and created several issues of Big Stick Comics.

Contact can be made through Clayton’s email.

Contacting the Author

Clayton L. McNally enjoys contact from readers of his first series Galactic Star Force and hopes to receive more from the new series Galaxy on Fire, as well as a future series Vampiric Wars. You can contact him through his email:

email: [e-mail]

web site: www.claytonlmcnally.com

web site: www.claytonlmcnally.org

Send emails and images. Pictures help establish a connection to make it easier to have a conversation with people. If you have starships, aliens (evil or good) drawings to offer for no fees, they might get included in future books and include acknowledgment of the artist within each edition of the series.

Should you wish to make contact with either the Cover Artist or the Starship Artist, please contact Clayton L. McNally, and he will pass along any inquiries.

Please allow time for response.

Table of Contents

Ship Descriptions

Faster-Than-Light Speeds

Prologue - Peace Doesn’t Always Last Forever

Chapter 1 - Discovered, Flight for Life

Chapter 2 - Earth, Home for a Prince

Chapter 3 - Border Incursions

Chapter 4 - Battle Wing, In Name Only

Chapter 5 - No Mercy

Chapter 6 - Drive to the Throne

Chapter 7 - Faith Can Light the Way

Chapter 8 - Earth, One Nation Not all Under God

Chapter 9 - Dinner and a Theater

Chapter 10 - A Mother’s Anger

About the Author

Galaxy on Fire Ship Categories

Note: There are two different fleets of Galaxy on Fire. The first fleet is used by the Galactic Kingdom - the center of the Milky Way. The second fleet is built in SOL by Galactic Kingdom scientist sent with the Prince/King in the new ‘League of Star Systems ‘the League,"’ a combination of a Monarchy and a Republic.

Galaxy on Fire Ship Duties

General - Each type of ship, from the smaller frigate to the largest Super Dreadnaught, mounts massive energy weapons; FhracTLs (long-distance frequency, harmonic, resonating, accentuated, continuous modulating sonic beam), PulseFhracTLs (short distance, machine gun-like with a heavy concentration of modulating sonic pulses), and a Laser Point-defense system (rapid-fire system to track and destroy incoming missiles or torpedoes). Each ship carries multiple Orb launchers and powerful laser banks. The actual numbers on each are classified and increase by the size of the vessel.

Dreadnaught, Battleships, and Battle Cruiser: Their primary mission is waging war. Super heavy hulls designed to take a lot of weapons fire. Generally, not used for diplomatic purposes unless an impression is needed to be made.

Heavy Cruiser, Cruiser, and Light Cruiser: Their primary mission is to support exploration and the Diplomatic Corp, but they would also have to support waging war. Large hulls designed to take a lot of weapons fire, but not as much as the ‘Battle’ ready ships. Generally, not sent into areas of known aggression unless as a support ship or part of a small fleet.

Destroyers and Frigates: Their primary mission is to support scouting and escort duties and support the Diplomatic Corp. They would also have to support waging war. They each had lighter hulls designed to take a limited amount of weapons fire, not as much as the Cruiser class of ships, but could dish out a lot of weapons fire.

Carriers, Light Carriers, and Fast Attack Carriers: Their primary mission is to support battles, but from a safe distance with a constant guard of escort ships - destroyers, frigates, and cruisers. They would also have to support waging war. Light to moderate hulls designed to take a limited amount of weapons fire, but not intended to be in the middle of a battle. Due to the nature of their fighters and bombers and the damage they could inflict on the enemy, carriers would often be the target of choice by enemy warships.

Justice

Justice is a prototype super dreadnaught. The unique nature of this ship is in the Artificial Intelligence that becomes complete when Prince/King Lee is augmented and bio-neurally linked to the vessel.

Capable of destroying a planet with its weapons arrays, it utilizes four flight modes:

Justice

Justice - Side view

Copyright 2019 - Clayton L. McNally

Artist - Richard Emond

Justice - Top view

Copyright 2019 - Clayton L. McNally

Artist - Richard Emond

Integrity

Integrity is a prototyped, super-heavy carrier. The unusual nature of this ship (when built) will be in the Artificial Intelligence that becomes complete when Lady Michelle is augmented and bio-neurally linked to the vessel.

Capable of bringing to a battle hundreds of fighters and bombers and its weapons, it could equal the firepower of a battleship class warship. It utilizes four flight modes:

Integrity

Integrity - Side view

Copyright 2019 - Clayton L. McNally

Artist - Richard Emond

Integrity - Top view

Copyright 2019 - Clayton L. McNally

Artist - Richard Emond

Faster-Than-Light, TransFTLStream and Fold Speeds

Prologue - Peace Doesn’t Always Last Forever

The Galactic Kingdom had lasted for over one thousand years, but only the last two hundred and fifty years saw relative peace and substantial prosperity. Spanning over a thousand star systems, the Kingdom had tens of thousands of habited planets. Many beings of different species lived in harmony within the Kingdom.

It had lasted partially from how it was ruled, much like a republic with a monarchy at the helm. The sovereignty could override any legislation but rarely did so. The ‘Lords System,’ which included a representative of the King and Queen, had an equal say in the legislative process. Since the royal family was part of the legal process, it became complicated - but not impossible - for the King or Queen by birth to override legislation.

For the last two hundred and fifty years, the ruling family had always settled on having one child - a male. The early years of the Kingdom were blighted with insurgent uprisings from a brother, a sister, or even from multiple siblings that otherwise wouldn’t inherit the throne. Practicality finally won out, and they set the tradition of one male child only. With the technology available, it was always engineered for the Royals to have a male. In family planning of this nature, the goal was merely to carry on the royal family name.

For over two hundred years, the royal family had ruled the Kingdom justly and in peace. The King and Queen were highly thought of throughout the known universe. King Randolph’s rule was characterized by justice for all citizens, no matter their position in the Kingdom. He had ruled the Kingdom for over thirty years, and with the Queen, they had one child.

Prince Lee was the only child in line for the throne; unfortunately, his uncles were waiting in the wings for their inherent right to be King. Michelle was the royal ward and betrothed to the future King. In all likelihood, she would one day become Queen or hold some other high and worthy position. Ascension didn’t always please all parties, and some would do anything to alter the rise to power.

King Randolph and Queen Suzanne had done their part in planning as previous monarchs had, but King Randolph’s parents - King Janson and Queen Regina - had an unforeseen set of events take place and four boys were delivered. The reasonable balance for succession was not in jeopardy as the firstborn male - Randolph - was now the current King, but unfortunately, the other Princes saw the fate of their births as an injustice. Each felt they had a legitimate right to the throne, and if an opportunity presented itself, they might jump at it.

Each of King Randolph’s three brothers had been provided for, and each was a territorial lord. As such, they exerted influence in all matters for several star systems and countless billions of people in their regions - tens of billions of people when their regions of the Kingdom were looked at. Each was wealthy beyond most citizens of the realm, but they longed for the power of the King. In the ordinary events of life, each should have been content with his position and wealth.

Three brothers were the crown Princes and heirs to the throne of the Galactic Kingdom, but only if both Lee and King Randolph were to die. Each had thought long of a more significant role for themselves. Petty pride had entered lives long ago, driving each brother to plot for more. There had been times when one of the three younger brothers had deliberately, although secretly, caused pain to the first heir Randolph.

Francis - the first and next in line was devious - but carefully discreet in his attempts. He relished the thought that one day, the Kingdom would be his at all costs.

Rothchild, the middle of the three, was just crazy in his desire. He was merely insane, and none of the brothers trusted his motives regarding anything.

The youngest was Reginald, of the three, the most content with his position, as long as he had his wealth and power. He was the timid one of the three and could be led down any path.

King Randolph and Queen Suzanne had watched the plotting of the three Princes for many years and early on decided to send their heir off-planet for safety reasons and instruction. Tradition had always done so for the heirs at least for the last two hundred years, but circumstances now called for it more than ever. The King and Queen had foiled many plots in the years, leading up to having children and uncovered more after their child was born.

Usually, an heir would be shipped off to a very distant planet. In this manner, he or she would be allowed to grow up with others in a safe environment. Heirs, if more than one, would be sent to different worlds under the highest security. Only the King, Queen, and each young ward’s security team knew of the children’s locations. For security reasons, Prince Lee and his betrothed Lady Michelle would be placed in homes on far distant planets that weren’t officially members of the Kingdom. They hid the heir and his betrothed on newly - discovered planets that contained human life genetically similar to the royal family’s species.

Chapter 1 - Discovered, Flight for Life

As the thief is ashamed when he is discovered, so shall all houses have their sin and shame seen.

Michelle sat in the middle of the bleachers in her assigned seat along with three hundred other graduating students. Many speeches by University dignitaries and a few public officials took a toll on the patience of students and guests. All of the rhetoric from the speakers gave Michelle time to gaze out on the audience.

Nearly a thousand people had come to watch the formalities, and she wondered how many she might know. Of course, she had made many great friends at college, and she did know their families, but certainly not all. She swept her gaze slowly moving back-and-forth, looking for familiar faces.

On one of her visual glances over the guests, she caught a glimpse of a man she had seen many times during her life, although she didn’t know who he was. Whatever she did, he was usually present and often not alone. She had told her parents about this man on several occasions, but nothing ever came of it. They always brushed it off as her imagination. But there was still that feeling in her stomach that this man might be important to her how she didn’t know. She felt a link to him and a few others she had come to recognize that we're always with him.

Commencement speeches were droning on when a laser shot was fired from the audience into the graduating seniors. Laser guns weren’t supposed to exist; science didn’t have the technology to create them, at least not on Caspra. The shot rang nearly true to hitting Michelle in the chest, but her good fortune of learning to her right to speak to her best friend had saved her life. Unfortunately, the young man behind her took the full force of the laser directly into the stomach. His commencement had formally ended with that shot. Life wasn’t supposed to be a risk at a small graduation ceremony.

The audience broke into uncontrolled hysteria and started running in every direction, any place leading away from the energy beam. Students were clamoring to get off of the bleachers and to seek safety with their families. The audience itself was mostly fleeing the scene, and parents were attempting to locate their graduating kids. Still, other people from the audience hadn’t moved; they were also armed and appeared to be searching for the moving mass of people for potential assailants.

Michelle and her friend ducked for cover on the flooring between their seat and the next seat. Once no further blast came, and the burning smell and intense heat dissipated, she began peeking over the top of the seat in front, looking over the people making their way down the bleachers. Her eyes surveyed the stampede of people moving violently away from the bleachers, and she watched, horrified, as some people were being trampled over by others. The shooter was no longer visible in the audience. Michelle wasn’t specifically looking for him, but not seeing further shots kept him hidden. She suspected he was on the move, where to was the question?

Fear was rampant today, and screams filled the air. Both Michelle and her friend Laura were terrified; their graduation ceremony was indeed not what they planned or envisioned.

What was that? Laura asked her friend Michelle. Carefully she looked at the young man who had just died. The wounds he had received were too high for anyone to survive. Michelle, that shot would have hit you in the chest and killed you if you hadn’t leaned over to me.

I know. Why would anyone want to shoot me? Michelle asked out loud. Caution was her ally at this moment as she continued to peer over the running people, not even knowing what or who she was looking for. She hadn’t seen the person fire at her, not even from where he had fired the shot. I’m not wealthy or anybody of importance.

What kind of gunfire was that? Laura asked, still a quiver of fear resounding in her voice. She was excited, and she had begun talking rapidly out of fear. Michelle knew guns and rifles; they were on hand in her house because her father was a hunter. This was unlike any weapon she had ever seen.

I don’t know, but we better get out of here, Michelle responded to her friend. It looked like someone was trying to kill her, but that didn’t make any sense to her. There was nothing in her life or her family’s life to warrant her being killed. Her life was taking a horrible turn, and she was at a loss as to why. She wasn’t even in control of the direction. Her morning had begun like a nice joy ride, but now it felt like a train careening out of control.

Michelle and Laura started to stand, and as they did, three men came running up the bleachers toward them. All of the men had guns drawn and had stopped less than twenty feet away to aim them at the girls. Michelle suddenly felt even more fear, and Laura had frozen. Dazed but still partially alert, she quickly pushed on her friend to get them both out of the line of sight of