The Xenon Advantage

By Susanne Marie Knight

New Science Fiction Romance!

OUT OF HER ELEMENT
Naressa, a native of the Earth colony on Alpheratz 3, is chosen at the last minute be the communications officer on an exploratory mission to a planet in the Southern Cross sector. Her hidden ability to receive and translate alien thoughts is the reason for this decision. Now aboard the Nautilus, she's met with hostility... and something else... by Kurt Stone, the starship's CO who is annoyed that she replaced his on-again-off-again lover. She also receives messages from a powerful... and amorous alien leader, Mavolian, telling her to "come to him." Naressa has no interest in forming a love connection with anyone, however Mavolian is determined and Kurt is smitten by her. Will she be able to give up her freedom for the boundaries of love?

OUT OF HIS ELEMENT
Years ago, Kurt Stone left the endless routine of his homestead in the Greater Dakotas for the excitement and danger of interstellar space. He excels at his job and pursues his goal of obtaining a captaincy. On a treacherous mission to explore a uninhabited planet, Acrux 4--a twin of Earth--he meets an unusual female, Naressa, native to an Earth colony that has an excessive amount of the element Xenon in its atmosphere. As it turns out, Acrux 4 also is abundant in Xenon. As Kurt fights his attraction to her, he has to endure watching as the powerful alien leader, Mavolian, makes a play for Naressa. Can Kurt set his jealously aside and convince her to be with him for always?

Praise for THE XENON ADVANTAGE
* Ms. Knight poses an interesting dilemma in THE XENON ADVANTAGE, her latest science fiction romance novel. A prosperous Earth is determined to expand to other planets. A near-duplicate, uninhabited world is discovered, and SolSpace sends an exploratory ship, the Nautilus, to pave the way for future colonization. But wait, is the planet truly without intelligent lifeforms? Is SolSpace secretly aware that the planet is inhabited, and sends a starship anyway? What about the ship's crew, do they know what awaits them on Acrux 4? The intrepid Nautilus crew must deal with gut-wrenching wormholes and powerful, hostile aliens, in addition to circumventing the differences between Earth natives and Earth colonies around the solar system, as well as a telepathic native from an Earth colony on the distant planet Alpheratz 3--Naressa. Far from her distant home for the first time, Naressa has her hands full dealing with an amorous alien leader and a jealous Earth commander, along with the trials and tribulations of life aboard a tin can ship. Definitely a 5 star read!--Twist On Romance Reviews

* 5 Stars! What in the world is a Xenon Advantage and how can I get it? The easiest way is to read THE XENON ADVANTAGE and enjoy your journey into the vast expanse of interstellar space. Be sure to wear your "blocking cap" to ensure complete privacy! I loved watching our heroine, Naressa, learn how to not only handle her crewmates' inappropriate thoughts when she doesn't have her blocking cap on, but also how she grows into the mature woman she's destined to become. A thoroughly enjoyable read!--Decatur Reviews.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susanne Marie Knight
• Release date: Jan 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215127179

Susanne Marie Knight

Award-winning author and seven time EPPIE / EPIC eBook Award Finalist Susanne Marie Knight specializes in Romance Writing with a Twist! She is multi-published with books, short stories, and articles in such diverse genres as Regency, science fiction, mystery, paranormal, suspense, time-travel, fantasy, and contemporary romance. Originally from New York, Susanne lives in the Pacific Northwest, by way of Okinawa, Montana, Alabama, and Florida. Along with her husband and the spirit of her feisty Siamese cat, she enjoys the area's beautiful ponderosa pine trees and wide, open spaces--a perfect environment for writing. For more information about Susanne, visit her website at www.susanneknight.com.

Book preview

Prologue

Crux Star System, Conjunct To The Cosmic Nebula

Magnificence, intoned the First Protector. His internal essence glimmered as a sign of respect. May the stars shine on you! Important information has just been received from Central Cortex Control. Magnificence, it is how you have wisely predicted.

Mavolian Crutar A, First Sovereign of the Mysterious Light, took the First Protector’s adulation for granted. It was his right, his entitlement.

Explain, First Protector. Which of my predictions have come to pass?

About the intruders, Magnificence. About that grotesque capsule despoiling our planet. The one originating from across the vast expanse of the galaxy. The First Protector shimmered with emotion. It is confirmed. The feeble enclave of those who call themselves Terrans are proceeding in a most rudimentary conveyance toward our honored star. Central Cortex Control has plotted the course. These beings’ preposterous attempt to, as they phrase it, ‘colonize’ our world and as well as plunder our resources will soon be imminent.

Terrans. Yes, indeed.

Restless, Mavolian Crutar A purposely swept his form over the polished mineral floors in his House of Crutar. "I knew this would be so. I intuited it. As soon as those creatures sent that invasive capsule to investigate our noble planet, it was obvious that once the capsule returned to their home world, they would attempt to invade our shores, en force, en masse, ad nauseum. We have lured them in, First Protector. Make no mistake about that."

The First Protector trembled with unease. What shall we do about this infestation, Magnificence, once it arrives to pollute our shores?

What we always do, First Protector. We transform ourselves. Yes, we will demean ourselves by changing into those Terrans’ savage forms, lull them into a relaxed stance so they will not be suspicious of us, and then we will offer our Xenon Advantage in all its glory.

Mavolian glanced at the beautiful blue glow of Xenon now zigzagging back and forth from the Xenon devices. These electrical discharges were pervasive on the main world of the Crux Star System. The light was everything. The light enabled life.

Some creatures will be selected for the honor of serving us in whatever way we deem suitable, Mavolian pronounced. Others will become nutritious fodder for our most noble planet.

The First Protector’s radiance suddenly brightened. Yes, Magnificence. Yes, that is brilliant. Those intruders do not stand a chance.

Indeed, Mavolian repeated.

With your permission, I go to inform our Cloud, Magnificence. After the First Protector flickered his lights, he left the House of Crutar.

Now Mavolian was alone with his thoughts. He practiced forming a fleshy edge extending from one of the orifices adorning his face. He lifted those edges in imitation of a Terran smile.

Then he nodded. I look forward to... wearing a Human disguise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One

Aboard: The Space Faring Nautilus

Destination: Alpha Crucis,

brightest star in the Southern Cross constellation

Kurt Stone, the Chief of Operations (CO) of the Space Faring Nautilus, stood on the Command Deck Five, Operations Area, looking out the viewport at the plains of Mare Tranquillitatis where the ship was docked. He watched as the assigned crewmembers left the Luna Base spaceport to either trudge or leap over the dusty basalt basin where the Nautilus stood erect and waiting. The crew would then queue up in line at the base of the ship for their turn to board the vessel.

The crew were all dressed in their awkward bug suits, of course, carrying their own oxygen, sunshields, and thermal protection. Some members he could identify by their outward form: for example, Zand, first in line from the colony on Pallas, the second largest asteroid in the belt between Mars and Jupiter. No one could miss Zand’s overly large, teardrop-shaped head. The breadth of his stocky shoulders indicated that his spacesuit had been custom made.

Zand was one helluva security grunt--guard, soldier, warrior.

Oddly enough, Zand also was an excellent cook, which was fortunate. Double duties were a necessity on a small exploratory ship like the Nautilus. All the crew had multiple jobs. In addition to being the CO, Kurt also served as geologist, or in this case, xenologist, and backup astro-engineer.

He checked off Zand’s name on the personnel list.

Who else could Kurt identify? Yeah, approaching the ship’s entry door was Denton Brever, chief astro-engineer and also surveyor for this exploratory mission. Brever had a swagger that couldn’t be missed. Brawny, hefty, and densely compact, he hailed from the kill-or-be-killed atmosphere so pervasive to the Martian colony carved out in Hellas Planita.

Most of the other crewmembers looked as anonymous and featureless as blasted robots. Two slight figures advertised that they were females. With a troop of fourteen, four happened to be females, and one of those was Kurt’s previous love interest, Wilda Carr.

Smirking, he licked his lips. Yeah, love had nothing to do with what he felt for Wilda Carr. Lust was more accurate. He looked forward to renewing his acquaintance with the delectable Wilda on this far-flung assignment.

Jacques Leroy, Captain of the Nautilus and also biologist, walked onto the Command Deck and clapped a strong hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

"Kurt, mon ami, I am very glad to have you aboard on this particular trip."

The Captain, an able-bodied man of over fifty, had been at home in space for nearly thirty years. If anyone knew the ins and outs of a galactic assignment, it was Jac. He wore his command uniform well. His shoulders broad, his belly flat, his legs strong with bulked up quadriceps muscles.

All the uniforms worn inside the Nautilus were identical except for the number of bands around the edge of the dark sleeves. As Captain, Jac had five.

Kurt could boast of four.

He inclined his head to his Captain. And I you, sir. I’m glad you requested me for your second-in-command on this mission.

"Save the sirs, s’il vous plait, mon ami. Jac rubbed on his short salt and pepper beard. As you know, this will be an exploratory mission, investigating the planetary conditions of Alpha Crucis 4, better known as Acrux 4. As our probe to this planet informed us, Acrux 4 has a similar to Earth atmosphere, gravity, temperature, rotational axis with seasons, and radiation. Virtually identical. Almost a twin. As for lifeforms, that is yet to be discovered."

Acrux 4 has lifeforms. No doubt about that. And the Nautilus will discover them. Kurt assured his Captain. Yeah, the space scuttlebutt is that this trip will cover the farthest distance Man has ever embarked upon... to date, anyway. Covering over 321 light-years.

He quirked a smile. I could use a substantial bonus in pay.

Indeed. I, as well. Jac clenched his hands behind his uniformed back. "However, a feeling of unease settles upon me, Kurt. It is not the distance involved, nor the length of time we must travel through those disruptive wormholes. Being sucked through wormholes isn’t the most relaxing way to travel, n’est ce pas? Isn’t that so?"

Kurt shrugged. Truthfully, we’re only talking about two black holes, and two months, give or take a day.

"C’est vrai. This is true but... Jac paced around the navy blue carpeted floor. I am responsible for this ship and its safe and efficient operation. And that includes responsibility for our crew. But I-I do not know...

Jac seemed to be lost in thought.

Kurt glanced at the viewport again and saw that the first robot-looking crewmember had been cleared to board. After clearing, each member would head up to the Command Deck Five to report for duty. After that, assignments for crew quarters would be given.

He turned back to the Captain. What is it that troubles you, Jac?

Using the palm of his hand, Jac thumped on his heart. There is something SolSpace is not telling me. I will reveal to you why I think this way. I--

Zand, sans spacesuit but in his uniform, barreled his way onto the Command Deck and into the Operations Area. He stood like a human boulder in front of the Captain.

Zand, sirs, reporting for duty. He saluted.

The man’s unusually shaped head and his elf-like ears attested to the fact that he was a type of hybrid. The big question here was, what type? Personally, Kurt’s money was on some kind of troll.

Both Jac and Kurt returned the salute. As part of the security team, i.e., grunts, Zand’s quarters were on Deck Three. Two crewmembers or grunts were assigned to a room that contained two bunk beds. Living space on this sleek ship was limited; so three tiny rooms housed all six grunts.

There were no bands on the edges of his sleeves to indicate rank. None of the grunts had them.

Kurt handed over a passkey. You’ll be in 3A.

Who’s my roomie? Zand raised his dark unibrow and tilted his strangely shaped head.

Checking the roster, Kurt struggled not to smile. You room with Donnelly.

As Donnelly was the only female guard on this assignment, and came from the colony on the twelfth largest asteroid in Sol’s system, Juno, Zand was a fortunate man, indeed. As far as Kurt knew, Juno inhabitants seemed to be gifted with strong sexual proclivities.

Ho! the man/troll exclaimed. Somebody up there likes me, right?

As Kurt hadn’t been the officer to assign rooms, he just shrugged.

Zand left with a skip in his step--a rather odd sight to see--and Denton Brever took his place. He nudged his large chin in the Captain and Kurt’s direction.

Hey. Checkin’ in here.

Brever, chief astro-engineer and surveyor, was a terse and tense sort of fellow. With Kurt’s background in engineering, he’d often worked with the man. Brever was third-in-command, after Kurt.

He was also an aggressive Martian transplant.

Good to see you, Denton. Jac shook hands. "Alors, why don’t you get settled? In an hour’s time, we shall meet in the Conference Lounge before departure."

Kurt handed over the passkey. You’re in 4B.

Brever nodded, then turned to leave. Interestingly enough, he didn’t ask about his suite mate.

Officers had better accommodations than the grunts. All eight had their own rooms on Deck Four with a shared washroom in between two rooms. On the Nautilus, that meant four duplex suites. Each room opened up to a common living area for all, with which to socialize and decompress after getting off work shifts.

Kurt was sharing a bathroom with Wilda Carr. They’d be sharing more, as well.

Next in were two officers. The first was Enid Vassar, a medical doctor with a specialty in bacteriology. Enid was from here, from Luna, and as such, she looked far younger than her forty-four years. Moon natives always did. Her uniform had two bands on the edges of the sleeves.

As for her companion, he was Sam Planter, a serious fellow from Earth. His areas of expertise were ecology, botany, and zoology. He was only thirty-four, but truthfully, he looked older than Enid. Then again, maybe his exceedingly dark complexion actually hid his features. As a science officer, he also had two bands on his uniform, but one was gold while the other was black.

They were both in suite 4D, and frankly it looked as if they couldn’t wait to see their accommodations... to put it politely. Yeah, they left in a hurry.

After Kurt checked off their names on his list, he turned to Jac. I doubt if we’ll be seeing much of the doctor and Planter while we’re en route to Acrux 4.

"Eh bien. They are blessed, those two. When in love, you must make the most of your time together."

Kurt snorted. I doubt it’s love. Maybe Planter has a mommy complex.

Mon ami. Jac shook his head.

Anyway, no worries, Jac. I’m going to be just as preoccupied with my suite mate Wilda.

My friend, I must--

A roar of voices interrupted the tranquil atmosphere on the Command Deck. In walked the rest of the grunts--five--even though they were supposed to enter one at a time.

But that was typical of grunts: make a splash and then secure the area.

Donnelly set a foot inside the Operations Area amidst the multi-colored, blinking lights from the internal status displays. She was an attractive female with long auburn tresses trussed up in a neat bun. Slender but not slight, muscular but not unsightly, she could hold her own against the four fellow guards now surrounding her: Operstand, Gabhill, Ingrant, and Tobble.

Kurt knew about her job proficiency for a fact. He’d seen her in military action. He’d also had the pleasure of personally sampling her one-on-one. She was, after all, a native of the Juno colony.

Operstand, a very strapping guy, was unusual in that he grew up in the Human colony based on the main asteroid belt’s largest dwarf planet, Ceres. Ceres was rich in highly reflective salt water residue, and because of that the scent of brine was pervasive. Perhaps brine was actually part of his blood.

Kurt sniffed the air. Yeah, he could smell the salt even now.

Gabhill and Ingrant, both from the Martian Hellas colony, had fought their way out of that hellhole. Both were as different as night and day. Gabhill had a sleaze factor attached to his appearance. Ingrant looked like a dark angel with his prematurely grey head of hair.

As for the last grunt, Tobble...

Well, Tobble grew up on Juno. Donnelly and navigator Rolla Jaharte did as well. Kurt wasn’t aware of the scuttlebutt about Jaharte, but Tobble and Donnelly... hmmn, enough said about them.

As the grunts stampeded their way out of the Command Deck presumably heading for their quarters, Security Officer Fist Maroon entered at the same time, slapping heads with his firm hand as he passed his team. Not only was Maroon the Nautilus’ security officer, but he also was the intel officer as well. His uniform sleeves had three bands at the edge, one black, one gold, and one green.

Maroon also came from the Martian Hellas colony. If there was one truism about this pit-into-hell place, it was that its natives were hard. Harder than diamonds, harder than Martian lyzite.

Maroon’s suite mate was astro-engineer/surveyor Denton Brever, also from Mars.

Kurt shook off his unease. That particular pairing might be too explosive to work. He put a question mark on his personnel list.

Nodding, Maroon then left for 4B.

For the moment there were no additional sounds echoing around the close walls of the Operations Area.

Kurt glanced down at his list. Only two people left. Officers Rolla Jaharte and... He rubbed his hands together. ... Wilda Carr.

Jac’s lined forehead crinkled. Kurt, old friend, I need to tell you--

Hi there, Captain, CO! Golly, it’s so good to be here. In bounced Rolla Jaharte, the Nautilus’ cheerful navigator and biochemist.

Her uniform sported one band at the edge of her sleeves, but hers was in gold. Her kinky black hair flew about untamed, her wide smile genuine, and her mocha complexion glowed with internal happiness.

A person couldn’t help but smile back at Rolla Jaharte. She not only was a force of nature, she also interpreted star charts like no one else he knew. She was constantly in demand around SolSpace. In addition, she came from Juno.

Juno. Kurt grinned. As yet, he hadn’t had the pleasure of taking her to bed.

There’d be no need for that, however. Not with Wilda Carr onboard.

Jaharte took her passkey for 4C, waved, and then jiggled her way out of the Command Deck.

Kurt watched the woman’s butt sway as she walked. In truth though, he wasn’t interested. The next crewmember through the doors would be the last. Only Wilda would do for him.

He heard sounds coming from the corridor. Closer... closer... Hell, his dick