Desolation Among the Stars: Captains of Circumstance, #1

By Christie Wright

This is not the end. 

 

Leland never expected to find himself captain of the Circumstance. 

 

He never expected the crew to become a family forged in the fires of a war that would leave desolation in its wake. 

 

And he never expected to have to tell them they would never again be able to return home. 

 

But if there is one thing he has learned, it is that by working together, his crew can survive anything. Because they have already been through hell, and they are strong enough to find hope in the desolation among the stars. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christie Wright
• Release date: Sep 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223941316

Book preview

Chapter 1: After Salvation

The war had started for a thousand reasons, and it went by a thousand names as it tore across the universe, only coming to a stop when those whose anger burned brightest burned out. Only then were those who sought peace able to bring the warring factions to the table to come to a truce. 

By then the cost of continuing far outweighed anything anyone could stand to gain through further bloodshed. Whole planets had been destroyed, sending what remained of the militaries to settle on what remained of their colonies. 

One of those home worlds had belonged to the Saceak. They had protected their planet from invasion by seeding the atmosphere with a nano-virus that they carefully crafted to be hostile to anyone that was not Saceak. 

Their home world was destroyed. The nano-virus was not. 

The other home worlds went under quarantine as a precaution, as well as any habited colonies. All that remained were the scattered mercy ships who had ensured that any stragglers were informed of the peace. 

The Circumstance was one of those ships, and they had all been called to the recently renamed Salvation station on the edge of Rizell space. The last of the peace treaties had been signed there, and once the nano-virus had been discovered it was studied there. 

Given the study, the station itself was kept under strict quarantine, leaving the ships to orbit within reach of the repair and supply drones. 

The crew of the Circumstance had been waiting nervously as the captain, Leland McGowan, sat in private conference with the Rizell and the other captains, discussing the situation. The tension grew with each passing hour. 

They knew how to handle themselves in war. They were comfortable facing impossible odds and almost certain death. They had to be, serving on a ship like this. 

Mercy ships came to help in the aftermath of the fighting, helping get the survivors to safety and sometimes ferrying word of what had happened to those outside of the system. Often, they had to traverse war zones in the midst of battle, making them targets of opportunity and sometimes, intent. 

This was something else entirely, and until they knew the shape of it, they would not be able to rest easily. 

The officers kept the crew busy while the captain conversed, ensuring that the ship was ready for whatever orders came down. 

When Leland finally emerged from the conference room and stepped onto the bridge, they snapped to attention. 

Has our new cargo been secured? he asked, crossing between the control panels and the additional seating that was bolted to the floor. The seats that went with the control panels, two of which were occupied, could be moved around on tracks or locked down as needed.

We haven’t had a chance to inspect it yet, but it has been secured, First Mate Alana Clive answered from her seat in front of the navigation panel. Keeping the ship drifting in place was not difficult, but they kept someone on the panel in case they needed to maneuver quickly.

It was inspected before delivery, but a second inspection would not hurt. Have them run a decontamination over it first.

On it. Renee glanced briefly up from her screen before returning to her work, passing the order on to one of her engineers.

What are our orders, Captain? Alana prodded. Her eyes flicked from the controls to him and back again, filled with a mix of concentration and concern.

He looked at her and the words caught in his throat. He knew what needed to be said, but he could not yet formulate the words. So, he tried futilely to clear his throat and slid into his well-worn captain’s chair, typing in the code to request control. Alana quickly granted it, and he could feel her eyes on him as he began entering coordinates into the navigational system. 

Even Renee was now eyeing him curiously as he started to slowly turn the ship from where it had been facing the station, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat as the station slowly disappeared from view. In the distance they could see a few other ships preparing to leave as well, which only made Alana and Renee more curious. 

Once the computer indicated that the Circumstance was lined up with their destination, he stopped the turn and hit the throttle, boosting the engines. 

Alana cleared her throat. Leland. Talk to us. What did the Rizell say?

They were unable to find a way to contain the spread of the nano-virus. Can you send an alert to muster the crew in the mess hall in two hours’ time? I have an announcement I need to make, and I am going to need some time to figure out how to make it.

May I suggest out loud, sir? Renee said.

Leland could not help but laugh at her deadpan delivery, cracking the tension that had been building in his chest. Renee leaned back in her chair, shifting to keep her cloth wrapped wrench from digging into her side.

I will take your suggestion under consideration.

Or you could just skip that step and let Alana do it, Renee continued. And you can just stand stoically in the background. 

I would like to get the downlow on the situation first before I agree to anything, Alana protested, sticking her tongue out at Renee. The two came from different worlds but at times they acted like sisters, including the occasional bout of petty bickering. They also enjoyed ganging up on Leland at times, which he felt they were close to doing right now.  

I do think this news will be taken better if you are the one to deliver it, Alana. It’s not as bad as some may fear, but it is still not good news.

So, it's bittersweet news, Renee suggested. Leland nodded, throat tightening once more. 

Alright, out with it then, Alana demanded, passing the controls to Renee and turning her full attention to Leland. What aren’t you saying?

Leland

Sometimes, I wonder what my life would have been like had things gone according to plan. 

When I was little, I was supposed to become a doctor. Everyone expected it and I thought I wanted it. 

Unfortunately, medicine and biology ended up being the bane of my existence, so that dream was quickly dashed. I ended up bouncing from job to job, trying to find something that made me even a little bit happy. Something that my family could be proud of. 

Then one day my cousin offered me a job piloting his cargo ship. I had some experience flying smaller transport ships from planet to planet, so it was not too far out of my wheelhouse. I am fairly sure he did it out of a mix of pity for me and a need to find someone on short notice. He didn't intend it to be a long-term job, but it turned out I was pretty good at it. Even better, I loved it.  I loved getting to travel among the stars, directing a hunk of metal through flying rocks and getting to see stars that only those who fly get to see. 

What was supposed to be a short-term job turned into the start of a promising career. And then the war started. 

I had been so young, full of hope and wonder when the Nefriz Syndicates invaded our system and started taking planets one by one. While other captains gladly got involved for a substantial increase in profit, smuggling weapons for both sides, I refused. The money was not worth my integrity. I had no intention of joining a war between corporations that I honestly had no ties to. I captained a merchant ship. It was not my job and not my business.  I also did not think the war would last very long. 

Then slowly but surely the universe started chipping things away as I did my damndest to keep my crew out of the fighting. And then, when that was no longer possible, to keep them alive. 

Until one day an unexpected part of the war came knocking on my door, and I found myself getting involved in one