Starfang: Claw of the Clan

By Joyce Chng

Keen on avenging the death of her Pack-mate, Captain Francesca Ming Yue embarks on a hunt again to seek out her enemy, Yuen Leung, leader of the Amber Eyes. Torn within from her own desires and failure, Francesca has to play a dangerous game with the reptilian shishini. Can she trust them? With her clan at stake, the captain of Starfang has to tread carefully or place the lives of her ship and crew in jeopardy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Publishing
• Release date: Oct 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781094420790

Joyce Chng

Joyce Chng is a Chinese-Singaporean children's book author. Her work is regularly anthologized and she has a passion for steampunk, science fiction, and tales of transfiguration.

Book preview

Chapter One

The arrival of a Clan warship was normally a joyous occasion, as a tour of duty would take months up to a year. Its return would be followed with feasting and hunting. But for Starfang, there was no joy, no feasting. The warship was in mourning, the loss of an important member of the pack still keenly felt. An emptiness echoed on the bridge. Starfang was now in hunting mode, a predator on the trail of an elusive prey. Even a refit and refuel above Noah’s Ark would mean a delay. I itched to move on, to continue the hunt, the kill.

I will avenge you, Mariette.

I clenched my hands into fists, nails biting into skin, into flesh. The pain reminded me why I was still alive.

April’s gentle hand on my shoulder roused me from my depression. It also soothed me. I was glad to see her.

‘The Clan requests our presence on-planet,’ she said, her voice unusually tentative, as if she was trying to walk on egg shells or deal with an open wound. Was I the open wound? ‘Should we proceed with the docking?’

I looked hard into her face. Dark rings smudged her eyes. She too had sleepless nights.

‘Yes, we should,’ I said, attempting a smile. ‘A respite would do us some good.’

April nodded, a slight incline of her head. I saw her worry, the tension in her shoulders.

Will we find him? Will we find Yeung Leung? She seemed to be asking me. Will we?

A growl centred in my stomach and found its way up my throat. We will.

The dining hall was still decked in clan colours of gold and blood-red, the mahogany furniture gleaming with care. As I walked further in, servants flitted about the huge dining table, placing dishes and utensils on the smooth surface. I paused and stood at attention; protocol demanded I wait for my parents’ arrival.

While I waited, Aunt Gertrude weighed heavily on my mind.

Aunt Gertrude still remembered me. She insisted this time to be called Cloud, her hanzi name. She still lived in her prison box, the small enclosure far away from civilised homo sapien lupus. The scent had gotten stronger, more animal, less human. She was degenerating rapidly. Yet I saw it as a merciful ‘letting go’. I couldn’t watch her suffer anymore. The Grand Wolf, my grandfather, wouldn’t want it to continue. My mother wouldn’t, either.

‘I am still here,’ I had whispered through the small slit that constituted her only view of the outside world. ‘Me. Ming Yue. Francesca.’

A growl preceded a querulous ‘Francesca?’

‘Yes, I am Francesca.’

‘Leave me,’ Aunt Gertrude’s voice was low, gasping. ‘I am not myself today.’

I shuddered, hearing the wolf beneath the voice. I had also instinctively responded in kind: my hackles rose, my teeth bared. I forced myself to back away.

‘Ming Yue,’ the voice came again. ‘Call me Cloud. That’s my name. Yun.’

I bowed and knew that she would not be able to see my gesture. ‘Yes.’ My skin prickled. Sadness, leaden and uncomfortable, laced my bones.

It was the same uneasiness and sorrow that occupied my mind while I waited for my parents. This homecoming was grim. The hunt-urge pounded in my blood. I wanted to go back to the trail.

A rustle and a hint of cedar warned me that Mother had emerged from the inner hall. She was wearing her forest-green qi pao this time. Her black hair was slicked back, pinned to the ear with a bunch of jasmine flowers. I tilted my head to regard her more closely. Mother liked symbols. Jasmine flowers and forest green. Mother had pots of jasmine growing in her courtyard. The entire Clan compound was surrounded by forest.

Then Father joined her, a primal power centring on his being. He was tall and regal in his Clan uniform. He was clean-shaven, his hair dark and spotted with white.

I wanted to rush over and hug them. I had not shown them affection since I was a puppy. But restraint held me back.

‘Welcome back,’ Father intoned.

I saluted, fist on chest.

‘The hunt has been wanting this year,’ Mother said. Her eyes gleamed gold.

‘I will rectify that,’ I replied. ‘The hunt will be fruitful.’

They had served roast duck, smoked with fragrant wood over a slow fire. The soup sent tendrils of steam upwards: a thick consommé of fish maw and dried scallops. Pink-colored rice balls swam in sweet syrup in bowls of red and orange. Mother had cooked these traditional dishes to celebrate the end of the lunar year.

I ate sparingly. Instead my attention lingered on the paintings of ancestors on the walls. They sat or stood in court official wear, grim and unsmiling, always with a black wolf sprawled

Reviews for Starfang

[Nancy Amy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A strangely satisfying read. Enjoyed the female lead characters. Needs a copyeditor.