Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Azure Spider Publications
Publication Date: October 31, 2018
Publisher: Azure Spider Publications
Publication Date: October 31, 2018
As refugees in a vast sprawling empire, mankind must find and fight for a new homeland after Earth's destruction. Plains of Exodus chronicles this epic struggle.
Mankindís first contact with an extraterrestrial species didnít exactly go well. The inadvertent destruction of the Earth saw a call go out to the vast and ancient empire for help. Despite the quick response to this plea for aid, the remnants of humanity find themselves refugees in an overcrowded galaxy and at the mercy of an empire whose existence predates mankindís own existence.
Unwanted and unwelcome, humanity languishes in a dozen massive colony ships around an energy poor star.
As a young smuggler Jonah Mctier is one of those fortunate few who has access to this millennia old realm, and it is he who after fleeing a triad of imperial cruisers discovers the answer to mankindís dilemma.
In desperation Jonah finds refuge in a parsecs deep dust cloud where he discovers not only a habitable and empty planetary system but one of the most sought after resources in the Milky Way: a spatial conduit. Except this is no ordinary conduit.
Exploitation of this unique and unknown type of spatial gateway offers an alternative to the slow but inevitable descent into extinction for the children of Adam. Key to this bright future is the need to keep their phenomenal find a secret from the resource hungry empire who would take this discovery for themselves and themselves alone.
To complicate matters Jonah discovers that there is more than one of these gateways, and for humanity to be successful in their quest mankind must hold and eventually destroy all of these rare portals.
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Excerpt
Jonah was about to ask something when Baby said, “Sensors detect a large decrease in cloud density. We are two minutes from system encounter.”
Then, like passing through a curtain, the ship broke free of the cloud and into clear space. Surprise and delight filled Jonah at the sight of the solitary yellow star on the screen, but it was short-lived.
He saw it then—the shockingly black tear in the fabric of space, massive and oh so dark. And way too close. For just a moment he had time to feel terror and wonder before all hell broke loose.
Everything happened at once. The soft music died under the ululating wail of alarms as Sontule shifted violently around him. The ship’s inertial dampers tried to compensate for the vicious acceleration but failed, and without warning the chair’s automatic restraints shot out and pinned him close, surrounding his torso and legs in a gelatinous hold.
The viewscreen pulsed bright white and froze. Before Jonah could react the screen returned to normal, leaving only the four corners of the arced glass to pulse brightly. Sontule had taken control, shutting him out of the command loop.
He let it. This had happened twice before, and both times he’d found himself grateful for the intervention by the ship’s alien AI.
The nearby sun disappeared abruptly from the screen, and Jonah felt Sontule wrench about—her dual drives whining in protest. A second set of flexible probes surged about his head and neck as the ship accelerated rapidly, hurling him deep into the embrace of the protective chair.
Damn. What the heck was going on? Sweat trickled down his ribs, dampening his bodysuit, and he stared at the rapidly racing data-stream, trying to understand what was happening.
The crimson symbols told him nothing more than he already knew: that he and Sontule had been caught in the grip of a very powerful gravity source, one Baby had identified as a system. Except that system was still half a light-year away and too far to have any influence on them.
And that rip in space. He had heard the ancient stories, the fantastic legends, and he wondered. It was impossible, but what else could it be? Whatever it was it was most likely the reason they had lost contact with the slivers.
Artificial gravity disappeared, and only the chair’s tight restraints stopped him from being torn free from where he sat and sent to slam against one of the bulkheads—protective field or no protective field.
Fear as he had never known it filled him, sending adrenalin racing through his body. Something was controlling the ship, something was tearing at them, dragging them close.
Jonah heard a sound he’d never heard before—a deep groaning moan as if the very fabric of the vessel was being torn apart.
The manic acceleration continued and he was forced deeper and deeper into the chair. His breath caught when the control cabin’s lights flickered and went out, but he fought the panic—trusting to the craft’s AI to see them safe.
And Sontule was fighting back—her artificial mind sending all available power to the engines in an attempt to escape the gravity well.
The entire ship vibrated madly, and the muscles and skin on Jonah’s face stretched and grimaced at the rapid changes in acceleration. Nothing in the past five years had prepared him for this, and he felt terrified and helpless. The sensors offered only gibberish, and nothing was visible on the curved screen but the gray space with its background of luminescent yellow gas streamers.
Tour Schedule
November 19 - December 1, 2018
Visit each tour stop daily and discover more features, excerpts, reviews, interviews, fun facts and more! For more information, visit the Plains of Exodus Book Page at Book Unleashed.
About Robert J. Burnett
After crisscrossing the country on more than one occasion, Robert J. Burnett and his wife Louise are currently living in northern British Colombia where they hope each day that they wonít be burnt up in the massive fires ravaging the province. Coming a close second to these fears are the worries about being eaten by bears. Mosquitoes scare him too.
Robís favourite religion is Christianity, but heís never met a druid or a pagan he didnít like. That said, he doesnít like them if theyíre smelly. Same with bears.
His fondest wish is to be abducted by aliens and taken to their home-world where he will miraculously return to his mid-twenties and be given super powers.
His music likes could be said to be a bit eclectic, ranging from classical to Celtic, especially those composed by non-smelly druids or pagans.
Voted in high school as most likely to lose all his teeth before sixty, he can proudly state that this has not happened as he still retains twelve. It is this ferocious smile, he believes, that scare off most bears.
Today he lives a productive life of non-work, listening to Ancient Astronaut and Hangar 51 shows, a hobby he has cultivated in his expectation of being abducted and taken off-planet. At least he wonít lose his job for failing to show up for work.
As a father to four sons, Rob fervently hopes that all his children will breed and produce offspring who in their turn will support him in his dotage.
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