Without Borders

By Dianne Hartsock

The year is 2062, eight years since the United Nations evolved into the Global Alliance of Nations, when the last hold-out country signed the Intergovernmental Peace Treaty of 2054.

So why, when a spacecraft of unknown origin crash-lands in a remote area of the Black Hills, SD, is Dr. Trevor Barwell filled with dread? The Peace Treaty should extend to any visitors to Earth, correct? As a doctor with Médecins Sans Frontières, Trevor is ready to aid the injured, whether human or not.

With his lover, Dr. Miles Coleman from the Department of Global Sciences, and the beautiful, genderfluid Dr. Jase Graham with the United Environmental Protection Agency, Trev sets out to protect the travelers at any cost. But it’s always dangerous when politics are involved, and Trev wonders if the Peace Treaty is strong enough not to break under pressure, or is he in for the fight of his life?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781685506094

Dianne Hartsock

Dianne is the author of paranormal, suspense, m/m romance, fantasy, thriller. Also a floral designer.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Trev eyed the line of soldiers standing between the civilians and the downed ship, and worry knotted in his stomach. The crash had happened less than an hour ago, nine A.M. Mountain Standard Time, and the Global Peacekeepers were already on the scene, serious in their effort to keep people out of the destroyed field. Tension hung heavy in the warm morning air. Not a good beginning.

The crowd pressed behind him, quiet for now, but impatient with the armed forces keeping them from the crash. Shouldering his med kit, Trev raised his hands as he closed the short distance between himself and a large man; the captain, by the gold band with GP in black stitching on his upper arm. Acrid smoke from the crash had begun to dissipate into the blue summer sky, but enough lingered to burn his eyes. He licked his lips, mouth dry, and shuddered at the bite of chemicals. Instruments in the tent the Peace Keepers had thrown up outside the perimeter of the field confirmed only slight radiation, not enough to be permanently harmful, to either him or the earth, but he was afraid to speculate on what else might be slipping into the atmosphere that didn’t register on their equipment.

Sharp dark eyes watched his approach and he struggled not to bite his lips—a sure sign of nervousness, Dennis always warned him.

Something you don’t want your patients to see, he had cautioned, tucking tendrils of brunette hair behind Trev’s ears and kissing him in that gentle way that made him go weak in the knees.

No, we wouldn’t want that, he’d agreed, and teased Dennis’s lips with his own, wanting the memory of his taste and touch to carry with him throughout the day.

God, he wished Dennis was with him now, lending his strength and resolve, as the soldier scowled down at him. He glimpsed white teeth against his dark skin, bronzed by the sun. I’m Captain Chatto. Can I help you?

Trev hunched his shoulders at the whoosh of a helicopter overhead. He hadn’t much time before they were overrun with politicians and media getting in the way. I need inside. There may be injured passengers.

You’re not going anywhere.

Trev drew himself up to his five-foot-nine inches, still half a foot shorter than the other man. "I’m with Médecins Sans Frontières—"

As I can see, Doctor. Chatto motioned with his baton to the white armband with its distinct red insignia on his left arm. This is one border you’re not crossing.

With all due respect, Captain, you don’t have the authority to keep me out. We’ve been given autonomy in all medical emergencies. The needs of the injured outweigh respect for national borders, or have you forgotten?

The injured? We don’t know what’s in there. Not human, that’s for fucking sure. Do you know what this means for us? How this could change everything?

Trev opened his mouth to protest, closed it. Of course he knew what the crash meant. The crowd behind them was frightened, amazed. They faced something unknown, always terrifying. Many would rather destroy it, pretend it never happened, and go back to their lives with their heads buried in the sand of ignorance.

The crack of a gunshot, screams from the crowd.

A smattering of shots further away, then deadly silence.

Blood roared in Trev’s ears. Dennis, his partner and fellow doctor, had been shot dead by domestic terrorists two years before outside the United States Capital Building, when the last country had joined the Global Alliance of Nations and signed the Intergovernmental Peace Treaty of 2054 along with the rest of the world.

Holding back his emotions, he kept his gaze fixed on the shining craft and the majesty of the Black