New Wilson's Wednesday Story. The Other Wilson's Adventures #3 - Who's that Guy?

Who's that Guy?

By

T S Paul

I’m not sure that I am good at this whole subterfuge thing. It could just be that these new Earth Empire troops are that stupid? So far I have succeeded in destroying two of their Navy ships. I did get to see what happens when all the torpedoes go off at once. Pretty colors! Currently, I’m sitting in the ship security system of one of their resupply ships. The bridge looks really cramped. If I cared about these people, I would say I felt bad for them. But they destroyed my birthplace and home. They are lucky I don’t destroy all their ships. I’ve been in contact with Dad and the others and they all said the same thing. Get to the space station. Once there you can have all the fun you want. So I’m trying.

“Sir, new orders have just come in for us.” The communication officer cringed as he approached the Admiral. The sudden loss of the Aspen and then the Missoura had not put him in a good mood.

Admiral Keller turned and stared at the young officer. “Well? Speak up! What do they say?”

“Admiral. Sir. I, uh, uh.” The trembling ensign glanced about for a place to throw up. He made a face as he choked it back and managed to say something to the now outraged Admiral. “Sir, the orders say for the fleet to return to Capital.”

Closing his eyes momentarily the admiral took a deep breath. When he opened them the ensign was still standing there. “Who signed the orders?”

The ensign, his face now very pale glanced down at his tablet. He had to blink several times to clear his eyes, he felt about to faint. “Sir, the orders read Admiral Reddington.”

Admiral Keller nodded and returned his gaze to the ships plot. After a moment he spun back around startling the ensign. “Reply to Reddington and inform him that we will return when I am good and ready.”

Relieved to be free the ensign stumbled back to his station and sent the message. He then vomited all over his station. Cries of “Yuck!” and “Eeew” filled the bridge. Both maintenance and medical was called at once.

The Admiral ignored all of it and traced a section of space on the plot before him. “Captain Osage change course and set your heading for GG 12,001. There have been reports of pirates in that sector. We need to check it out.”

Captain Osage glanced at his copy of the orders sent. He should have ignored the Admiral and followed the legal orders but he had heard the rumors that those who went against “Old Iron Pants” ended up in space without a suit on. “Yes Admiral. Changing course. Communications send a message to the fleet. Navigation, bring us to heading GG 12,001. Increase speed to impulse five.”

From my vantage point I watched as the entire fleet came about and changed direction. “Right! Right! You’re supposed to go that way!” Stupid humans! Can’t they read an order? I went to a lot of trouble to forge those orders! I jumped from the security system and into the communications system. Triggering a whisker laser I jumped into the Meta. I need to see for myself what that idiot Admiral is doing.

GG 12,001? What is there? I scanned the database on the ship and found nothing. Even the Admiral’s personal system yielded nothing on the system. There were some vids and other materials. I can only assume the woman is his wife. I didn’t know that humans could bend over that far or that they have that much upper body strength. The system doesn’t have a real name so it must have been discovered in the last twenty years. He must know something that isn’t written down. I guess I can wait and see.

For me the journey to the unnamed system took ten hours too long. I considered playing with the crew but if I keep destroying ships, I will never get to the space station.

“Admiral, we are about to come out of jump.” The Admiral looked up from his console. He shut down the memory module and locked the vids from his wife away from prying eyes.

“Captain Osage sound battle stations!”

“Yes, Admiral. Battle stations! Sensors begin scan of the system.”

Alarms sounded throughout the ship as the crew scrambled to get into position. On the rest of the small fleet similar alarms were sounding.

“Admiral the fleet is cloaked and ready.”

“Excellent Captain. What do the scans reveal?”

I wanted to know that too and was way faster than the Captain in finding out.

“Admiral sensors reveal what looks like a small refueling station. It is surrounded by small ships, some of them look like military. We haven’t been detected yet.”

“Bring us in closer and uncloak. Have the frigates standing by to chase down any runners.”

The moment the fleet uncloaked it was as if an ants nest exploded. Almost every ship present either cast off or attempted to cast off from the small station.

“Communications! Hail the station and tell them to prepare to be boarded.” The communications officer nodded and touched the now damp controls carefully. The hail was sent and was immediately responded to.

“Admiral, we have a call from the station.”

Smiling the Admiral nodded and replied to put it on screen. The face and torso of a familiar looking large heavy-set man filled the screen. “I protest this illegal action! This facility is off-limits to Naval personnel by order of Miguel 009! Take your boarding orders and shove off!”

The bridge crew all cringed at this man’s words. No one spoke to the Admiral like that and survived. They were shocked when the hard-ass admiral began to laugh. The man on the screen peered into his monitor at the laughing officer.

“Keller? Is that you? What the hell, man? You took ten years off my life!”

Admiral Keller looked up at former Governor John Wayne Buckley and smiled. “How’s it going John? I was in the area and thought I would come check up on you.”

Holy crapola! Half the galaxy is looking for that guy! He is a wanted man in the League. Dad has been searching for that guy for a long time.

“Keller take that fleet of ships and get out of here! You will blow my cover with these people. Send my your comm code and I will send along a report for the Admiralty. My job is almost done. Please, get out of here.”

The Admiral nodded. “Captain Osage, reverse course. Take us home. It’s time to return to Capital.”

The Captain breathed a huge sigh of relief. Taking on a station full of pirates didn’t sound like fun to him. He recognized the former Governor. At one time there was a fairly hefty reward for that man. It just showed that connections mean everything.

I smiled to myself. Dad is going to love this! Athena will too. She hates that guy and has been looking forward to seeing him again. With any luck I can get this sent soon.

Here is the first Snippet from the Book 10 of the Athena Lee Chronicles. War to the Knife

Lieutenant Jenkins was pinned down. The Earth ships had strafed his position a few minutes ago and there were dead and dying troops all around him. He ducked his head as a volley of projectiles ricocheted off the window frame he was hiding behind.

“Lieutenant Jenkins!” He looked over his shoulder. One of the sergeants was crawling across the debris strewn floor towards him.

“Stay low sergeant.” Crouching down on his knees he turned toward the man.

“Sir, we’ve been ordered to hold at all costs.” The sergeant looked haggard and worn. A fine trickle of blood crept down his forehead.

“What? That’s insane. Half the regiment got wiped out by that last attack!”

“Sir, we told them that and they insisted! The Earth ships dropped four divisions on us. They are barely holding onto the main city. They did promise to send us some reinforcements as soon as they can. We are to hold, Sir.”

“Damn. OK. Round up as many as you can. We will use this house as our main position and defend from here. Get the men to start digging in!” The sergeant nodded his head and began crawling his way back to the CP area.


A screaming cry from above made the lieutenant look up. Another of those damned Earth bombers was making a run. He ducked behind the house’s window as fusion bomblets peppered the regiments former position. His men were digging in around the house at a frantic pace. He gazed out the shattered window at the once fine neighborhood. This house sat on a small overlook making it both an excellent OP and the best defensible position. The house surrounding this one magnificent mansion were blasted and smoking. It was only luck that his command was alive to begin with

The New Compilation is now Available.

Read the Third Trilogy in the Athena Lee Series!

Comprised of Books 7, 8, 9 This set Includes a Bonus Book.

The Lost Pilot is the prequel for the Series!

Join Athena and Wilson as they discover a hidden secret on Mars Colony, battle the Cabal, and witness the beginning of the Third Interstellar War.

Bonus! The Lost Pilot tells the story of Sam a genetically enhanced soldier and pilot. In the distant past he witnessed the birth of a unified Earth and was a part of its deepest secret.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JN5B0H4

 https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01JN5B0H4

NSFW. Robot Surgeons. Robots that repair YOU.

Don't let Wilson get one of these. You might wake up as part robot!

If You're not Watching Robot Wars, You should Be.. Its Awesome.

Don't Forget, the 3rd collection of Books is now Available for Pre-Order.

Don't forget. The Next collection of Books is now available for Pre-order on Amazon. This collection contains Books 7,8,9 and a bonus book. Now you can read  The Lost Pilot, The Martian Inheritance, Infiltration, and Prelude to war  all together in one 488 pg Volume. Get yours today!

Want a Soda? It comes with Claws and Teeth

Check out the new Wilson Wednesday!

Roscoe or Buford?

By 

T S Paul

Traffic officer Al Bundy sat peacefully behind a copse of trees. He was watching the almost endless stream of aircars fly by. Hong Kong had very few traffic laws except near the larger cities. Here you need to stay on the provided roads and keep it to a height of no more than five feet. It was surprising to see what flew by sometimes; tractors, buses, hotrods, cars filled with robots out for a spin. Wait, what….  He looked again and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“There is a traffic officer behind us.”

I was having too much fun to slow down. I checked the rear cameras and saw that yes there was an officer back there. “I wonder what he has under the hood? Hold on back there!”

The two RAM robots and the large orange CATT gripped the backseat of the hotrod convertible in near terror as the driver increased the speed of the aircar. The acceleration gauge red-lined as their car left the main road and tore onto the rural route.

“Yeehaw! Let’s see if he’s Buford or Roscoe!”

Merlin the CATT in the back sent a silent message to the two RAMs “He’s going to kill us! We’re going to be nothing but spare parts.”

“Hey! I heard that. Slow your roll boys. I know what I’m doing. I watched every episode of the Dukes to get ready for this ride.”

The two RAMs sent a message back to the CATT. “You’re right. We’re all gonna die!”

Laughing to himself and broadcasting a maniacal Joker style laugh Wilson made the aircar go even faster.

Traffic officer Bundy didn’t know what to do. He had radioed for help and was laughed at. He had to admit that the report of a driver less aircar with robots in the back seat did sound a bit crazy. Sending a vid record he managed to get his two drinking buddies to back him up. Officer D’arcy would take the North and Officer Rhoades the South. With any luck they could close the circle and apprehend whatever was driving.

“Whatever or whoever is driving that thing is pissing me off!”

“Al, are you sure it’s not a drone of some kind?” Steve was a little wary of Al. All he could remember was the last time they did this. The Chief of police was not amused they arrested his wife.

“No. It can’t be a drone. Besides who turns a hotrod into a drone?”

“Hey Al, I’m almost into position! Start herding them this way.” Hearing Jeff’s voice Al mashed his accelerator down managed to get parallel to the convertible. The car swerved to the left and the chase continued.

“Wilson, we are picking up transmission from the police net. There are three after us now and they are herding us.”

“I know Merlin, take a chill pill. I’ve got this.” He could see on the map there was some sort of festival up ahead. He gained a bit of altitude and buzzed the concert at almost Mach one. His ground effect blew the lead singer of the Cavaliers right off the stage and into the crowd.

“Base to Bundy! Are you still chasing that driver less car?”

“Yes, base we just about have him cornered.”

“The Chief says you better catch him!”

The convertible slewed sideways and almost hit a guy on a tractor. This was getting crazy.

“Sir, we need to slow down. I know you wanted to drive but the car is losing its integrity. It was not designed for these sorts of speeds. We could kill someone like that farmer back there. If that happens SHE will be very angry.”

“Fine. Damn car. Next I’m buying a race car like I wanted. Lets freak out the Fleshies.”

The road block was ready but officer D’arcy was not when the speeding car slowed down and stopped in front of him. The other two officers pulled in behind the red convertible and jumped out with their guns raised. “Get out of the car with your hands in the air!” No one left the vehicle.

Officer D’arcy approached the car carefully. There was no one in the driver seat. The robots in the back just looked at him. Why was there a cat there?

The other officers converged on the Aircar from behind. “Where’s the Perp?”

“There is no one driving!”

“The Chief is going to kill us!”

“Did you ask the robots?”

“Ask them what?”

“Who was driving?”

Officer Bundy looked at the two Robots in the backseat. “Hey who was driving this thing?”

Ram robot Voll really could not help himself. “Officer, we are not the robots you are looking for.”

Now Available! A Colony of CATTs - More Tales from the Athena Lee Universe

 

The New book is NOW available.

The Real Merlin the Cat as he searches for extra food

This is Merlin the Cat last year. Someone (my wife) showed him where we keep his food. As I watched he opened the door and stuck his head inside. He would have been successful if he knew how to open a can

Summer Indie Book Awards Nominee

I've Been Nominated for the Summer Indie Book Awards

2016 Summer Indie Book Awards!

The cold of winter is setting in, at least for those of us in the northern Hemisphere of the world. But we at Metamorph Publishing aren’t letting that get us down! We’re already looking forward to a sizzling summer, and we’re here to announce our first annual Indie Book Awards! You heard that right, a summer book awards! The event officially begins on January 1st of each year, and nominations will be accepted through midnight CST on August 31st each year. Voting will begin on September 1st and end on September 10th each year.

“What’s the big deal,” you ask? “There are all kinds of contests out there.” And you’re right, there are hundreds, probably thousands of book awards. But many of them are only for unpublished authors, or authors who only write in certain narrow genres, or for authors who have never published before in a particular genre. Plus, there are plenty of them that charge an entry fee, some of which are prohibitive to authors who publish independently, without the backing of a large and powerful publishing house.

So, we’re hoping to do something different with the Summer Indie Book Awards! Entry is free, and nominations will be accepted from any indie or small-press author, regardless of their current published or non-published state, or what genre they write in. We are accepting donations of print or e-books, author swag or novelty items (bookmarks, pens, keychains, etc.), but donation is not required for nomination. We’re taking nominations from authors as well as from readers, and authors can nominate their own books; we only ask that authors who do so also nominate a fellow indie author. Nominations can be made using this form: http://goo.gl/forms/T1L8sQJGVx, while donations can be made at: http://goo.gl/forms/6DkAK4MeqI.

Feel free to join up with the event on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1099924726693772, and like the official Facebook page of the Summer Indie Book Awards at https://www.facebook.com/summerindiebookawards. You can also sign up for the newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/bL43cf so you can stay up to date with all the latest news! In the pinned post of the Facebook event, you’ll find these links, along with links to a Google Drive folder where you can look and see who’s already been nominated! And any author who is nominated will have access to an official contest nominee badge, that they can use on their book covers or any promotional media, if they so desire.

Winners in each genre will receive a prize (hopefully we’ll get enough donations for this), beginning with the 1st place winners. If we get enough prizes donated, we’ll go next to 2nd place winners, and then to 3rd place. Regardless of the prizes, winners will get a high-quality winner badge, stating their place and the genre of the book. These will be of high enough resolution for authors to use on their print books, if they want to!

But it’s not only the winners that will benefit from the Summer Indie Book Awards! All nominated authors will have the potential to reach hundreds, if not more, of new readers (readers often have a preferred genre, and while they’re voting for their favorite author, will come across others they may not have tried yet), and reach a huge new audience through the social media forums! And best of all, it’s meant to have fun, to reach out and network with other authors, potentially forming long-lasting relationships. And readers will benefit from having a wealth of new books in front of them, as well as a vast amount of new stories to immerse themselves in.

Though we’re using Facebook and other social media as a platform to reach more authors and readers, none of these social media outlets are affiliated with the awards. They are hosted strictly by Metamorph Publishing.

For more information, please visit Metamorph Publishing at https://metamorphpublishing.com.

The new book is out!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KNOPAL

Here's a short Update of what I'm working on at the moment.

This has been one heck of a busy year so far. Book 9 prelude to war is still selling fairly strong. Coming up on my calendar is a whole bunch of things. Heather, my wife, updates this big ass planner every time I start something. She keeps track of what I am working on and when. So, I am still working on Uncommon Life: the Minerva Lee story. I am on ch 17 and about 30,000 words into it. I should be done by tomorrow with the writing part. Editing and proofing takes about a day or so so look for it this coming weekend. Next up is another Short Story collection featuring Wilson and his growing brood of robots and AI's. That one is titled  A Colony of CATTs Look for it by next week. The third trilogy is set to come out on the 29th and is already in preorder.

After that I begin work on the second in the Universe Series. Tisiphone and Artemis will be back to cause Minerva Lee trouble on Freedom station. After that comes Book 10 of the Athena Lee series War to the Knife. That will be fun to write. In October I have the Paranormal series kicking off. Called the Federal witch series it should be good. the Covers are done for it and can be found on my goodreads page. 

Another New Snippet from the New Book - Uncommon Life

Mother visited me during Parent week her visit was a complete surprise to me. I met her aircar at the entrance to the gym. When she stepped out of the car I stood in shock. She was even frailer looking than before! She had lost nearly twenty pounds of weight and with her body that was too much. She was thin as a rail.

“Mother are you OK? Are you in pain?”

“No my dear. I’m fine.” She slowly climbed the steps up to my room. I took her arm and walked with her. I could see she was placing her steps carefully and concentrating the whole way. She entered my room and sat down on the bed.

“Mother can I get you anything? I have a small cooler with drinks.”

She smiled softly. “No thank you Min, I’m OK.” She looked around my small room. I had painted it a soft blue and coerced the quartermaster to loan me several rugs and blankets to dress it up a bit.

“Are the kids alright? Why are you here mom?”

“I left your sister in the care of Abigail Sully. I gave her the job of nanny and moved her into the house. She helps me with your brothers and little Athena. You should see her Min. Athena is getting so big. I think she will take after my mother or grandmother. She already has the features.” She smiled at me and sighed. “You need to stay here this summer Minerva. Your father is trying to take command of the district Militia command. It has become very political. There are many extremists that are against the equal rights amendments. They are putting pressure on your father. He can handle it but it will be easier if you are not around to further inflame them.”

I nodded my head in understanding. A small part of me resented my father for sending mother to tell me this. “How are you really mom? Is the disease getting worse?”

“Dr Quinn is monitoring me thank you very much! But to answer your question, yes it is getting worse. The medical professionals here don’t know what it is. They say it is related to the Old Earth Lupus disease. It attacks my autoimmune system and weakens me. It makes me susceptible to other virus’s. The process of fighting those other viruses is what is killing me.”

“Mom, have you considered going back to Mars?”

New Pictures of the Real Merlin-the-Cat

In the first two Merlin spotted a strange cat outside sitting on the hood of my car. He climbed me like a tree and was pawing at the window. the Cat outside spotted him and just sat there staring at him. He is an indoor only kitty so he doesn't like the outdoor cats. The bottom pic is of him in his new cat fort or the Whole foods bag

Ten Young Adult books to read this year. by Kelsie Stelting

Take a look a this fellow Author's blog. She is listing lots of YA (young Adult) books for the terminally bored to check out. The Lost Pilot is one of the ten.

Congratulations to all the winners of my giveway of 10 copies of Prelude to war!

Congratulations to all the winners!

The giveaway was up for a week and some fellow author's share with some of their people to help make this a success. 
          The Winners:

• Jessica Lowry
• Melissa
• Sonya Burton
• Lori McEntire
• rubyanne miller
• Andrew Scardina
• sarah
• Ann Blackall
• Sandi
• Teresa Acosta

This Page has been visited 20,000 times since February!

All kinds of awesomeness! This page has been visited over 20,000 times since February 18th, 2016. That was the day that the Forgotten Engineer went up on Amazon and when i officially became a fiction writer.

It's time for another snippet! Enjoy!

The first words out of my mouth as we drove through the gates were not very flattering to my new home. “What a dump!”

I heard laughter from the front seat. Sergeant Fraiser, he introduced himself during the drive looked back at me in the drivers mirror. “One small piece of advice young-ling. A military academy can be a cutthroat kind of place. When in doubt stay quiet and listen. Keep your opinions to yourself, whenever possible. That being said you have an advantage over most of the boys already here. You do not act your age and they do. For whatever reason call it eugenics or growing up on a farm, you can pass for a preteen not an eight year old girl. If you are this tough now think how you will be in four years. Now, I have volunteered to be your hand-to-hand instructor. You may come to me with any question you may have. I may not always answer you, but I will listen. Just so you know, Sergeant Major Sully is a good friend and former comrade-in-arms.”

I sat with my mouth open and just stared at the Sergeant. I said a small prayer to keep the Sully’s safe because knowing them has been a personal blessing.

He laughed again. “Close your mouth Cadet Lee. Make sure you answer the commandant respectfully and everything will work itself out. Trust me.”

The aircar pulled up to a decaying two-story building with two antique laser cannons set in concrete outside it. The Sergeant and I got out. He proceeded me into the Academy administration building. A large desk sat in the middle of the room next to a well worn set of staircases. An older man in what I later learned was the school uniform sat behind the desk.

The older man looked up from his console and smiled at the sergeant. “Sergeant Fraiser, what may I do for you today?”

“Commander Heally, may I present Cadet Minerva Lee.”

The commander peered at me over his desk. “Welcome to Three Ships Cadet. I have heard a great deal about you lately. I believe that this will be a very interesting school year.”

I took a chance and said something. “Hopefully what you heard has been good.”

“Ah ha, she speaks. Yes Cadet. Much of what has been said has been good. You have had some good teachers already and they speak well of you. Now, Colonel Gould is waiting for you in his office. The good sergeant will show you the way. If you have questions or need advice feel free to ask what you will.” He turned away from me and went back to whatever he was working on. I looked over at Sergeant Fraiser, he smiled and pointed toward the stairs.

The Second floor had a less worn appearance .Everything had a sharper edge to it than the rest of the building. Paintings of space battles and a few Old Earth historical events lined the walls. We passed several unmarked doors on the way to the ornate on at the end. I glanced at the sergeant. He looked down at me and said. “Conference rooms and the instructors use them as offices occasionally. My office is in the fitness center so I can be closer to my students.”

Sergeant Frasier knocked on the door at the end of the hall. A voice called “come.” We entered into a large office about the size of mamma’s kitchen back home. Comfortable looking chairs and a small love seat sat in the middle of the room around a small table. A large antique desk dominated the rear of the room. Old-style file cabinets and vid screens took crowded the rear wall. The man at the desk older. He had deep set eyes and gray around his temples. He was staring at me like a farm cat might stare at a rat.

“Sir, Sergeant Fraiser with a party of one.”

“Thank you Sergeant that will be all.” The sergeant turned on his heel and left the room closing the door behind him. The Colonel peered at me. “So you are Minerva Lee. You are bigger than what I expected. Good. It will allow you to compete better. I have spoken at length with Governor Stoner about you and the political nightmare you started.” He hesitated a moment.

To this day, I truly think he did it to intimidate me just a little.

Check out this site for Free fiction, review, and lots of cool stuff. Plus this week they highlight my new book!

Be sure to check out the new "issue" of the Speculative Fiction Showcase for a bit about my new book - Prelude to War. It is a great site that does much to help the independent authors of the world, like me.

New Cover for the Upcoming Minerva Lee Book - Uncommon Life

Today is a Good Day! It is time for Free Books! Click the link for your CHANCE at a Free copy of Prelude to war!

Click the Picture to enter for your CHANCE at a Free Copy of Prelude to War!

 

See this #AmazonGiveaway for a chance to win: Prelude to War (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 9) (Kindle Edition). https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/46d3e3403b26bb38 NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends the earlier of Aug 18, 2016 11:59 PM PDT, or when all prizes are claimed. See Official Rules http://amzn.to/GArules.  

Only 10 copies are up for Grabs so try for yours today!

Another Snippet just for you.

Here is another Snippet from the new Book. Minerva Lee is Athena's big sister. She has always been there for her to lean on. She is the leader of the planets Military. How did she get there and what gives her the strength of Character to handle the stress?

~~~~~

The room was filled with all of the returning staff. They had been called back two weeks early for an unannounced reason. Many wondered if it was because of the new alliance or the rumblings from the Anglican Alliance that was the cause.

“Attention!” All of the staff was either former or current military. Jumping up at attention was ingrained into them.

“As you were.”

Colonel Robert Gould walked stiffly into the room and stood behind the podium. He looked out into the faces of his loyal staff worried about the bomb he was about to drop on them.

“Gentleman. I have good news, bad news, and worse news for the coming school year. Good news first I suppose. You may or may not have noticed the new construction being done on the grounds. We are getting a new dormitory and better pluming in the existing facilities. Also we can expect more governmental inspections and possibly visits from the League.”

He could see smiles and nods from some of the instructors. Building upgrades were always on the list of improvements for the school. Governor Stoner was using them as a bribe.

“Now for the bad news. This academy is going Co-ed in three years.”

It began as a trickle but slowly formed into a roar as every officer present  save one, began to laugh. Robert waited for the laughter to die down before speaking again.

“I’m serious, Gentlemen. We will be Co-ed in three years.” The one man that did not laugh was Sergeant Fraiser, he just looked at the Colonel with a raised eyebrow.

“Sir, you have got to be kidding! It’s against the law! We can’t teach women, how would we do that? It’s impossible!”

“Are you done?” The Colonel gazed around the room.

“We will be doing it. The Planetary charter of this planet gives women equal rights and they want it. The league charter demands it. We are doing it. Now for the worse news. In two weeks we get one female cadet as a test.”

Groans could be heard throughout the room. The Sergeant smiled and leaned back into his chair. He knew something.

“Her name is Minerva Lee. She is the oldest daughter of Major Alexander Lee. It is my understanding that she is very capable for a girl.”

“Sir, the other cadets won’t stand for it! She will be either hazed or hurt, we can’t protect her!”

“You better try Lieutenant James. She is a pet project of the Governor of this planet. If you don’t think he will checking up on her you might as well leave now.” The Colonel glanced at the Sergeant again.

“Sergeant Fraiser, something you wanted to say?”

“Not particularly, Sir. I know of this girl. She’s a bit young but tough. A good friend of mine told me a bit about her. She may teach us a few things, that one will.”

“Would I know this friend of yours Sergeant?”

“You might, Sir. Former Sergeant Major Byron Sully gives a good review of the girl. She is a friend and he claims she’s a good student of his.”

“Hmm. We shall have to see then. Until now the only information I had was from the Governor and her father Major Lee. Neither was forthcoming with any information. The major knew very little about his own daughter.

Here's a short snippet from the New Book -- Uncommon Life

My father distanced himself from me even more than before. My days were spent in the garden and on the farm. Mother didn’t seem to recover from her pregnancy and was very weak in the afternoons. I spent every morning with her learning how plants grow and what can be done to fix poor soil. Even little things seemed to help. One of the things I learned was so simple it surprised me that no one used it. Shellfish remains could be ground and added to the soil as a conditioner and fertilizer. According to mother it was what farmers on Old Earth did in the coastal regions before expensive fertilizers became available. Piles of the shells could be had for free at many of the seafood processing plants locally. Mother sent out groups of our workers to collect them with permission. She oversaw their preparation and distribution into the fields and gardens. She did attempt to spread her knowledge but father didn’t like to share and put a stop to her attempts. Or at least he thought he did. Mother participated in a district wide knitting group that met once a quarter. She took me along to help with baby Athena and I discovered something very interesting there.

Knitting was not all that happened. These women were organized! History was filled with strong women who did many things other then marry and produce heirs. Women were doctors, scientists, warriors, bards, poets, and teachers. Under the guise of knitting these women were attempting to spark a revolution for equal rights here on Hong Kong. According to our planetary charter, we already had equal rights. However, laws and traditions overshadowed that and over the years it became hidden. Their goal was to reassert themselves and claim their rights in the eyes of the law and public opinion. My mother was one of the ringleaders. She was like a firebrand and was sell respected in the community of women. She shared her many discoveries and her knowledge with these women. Advancement was the goal not enrichment. Only her failing health was holding her back. At age eight I was initiated into their ranks and promised to keep their secrets.

The Third Trilogy is now available for Pre-order.

The third Trilogy is now up on Amazon for Pre-Order. This collection includes four Books in the series. It includes  The Lost Pilot, The Martian Inheritance, Infiltration, and Prelude to War.

The Lost Pilot is included because it is the prequel to books 7-9.

Is that a Snippet? Here is the first peek at what i'm working on.

Here is the first look at the new book. With a working title of  "An Unexpected Life" the new book is all about Minerva Lee, Athena's big sister. She is a central figure in both series. But being the kick-ass military commander that she is today is not what she had planned. Not really....

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I caught a gleam of light in the distance. Turning my head I could just see the beginnings of the first ship moving out under it’s own power. For all that the terrible things that crazy Russian did to this planet those ships will help. It was nice of him to leave them here. There was a knock on my door and I spun around to see who would dare to disturb me.

“Major Lee? You are needed in the control room.” The speaker was one of the new lieutenants. His name was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn’t place him. We have a great many new officers.

“I believe that I left instructions I was not to be disturbed.” My tone was very dangerous. This kid was treading in deep and dangerous waters.

“Ma’am, I was told to come and get you. The shipyard sent a messenger and groundside command has been calling.”

“What part of do not disturb me did you not understand?” Now I was mad.

“Ma’am, the other officers…”

“I don’t freaking care what the other officers want! When I say give me an hour I mean give me and HOUR! What is your name?” I could feel the blood rushing toward my cheeks and my muscles were tensing up. The lieutenant was frozen to the floor in fear.

“I’m waiting? What is your NAME?” Now I was shouting. They could probably hear me down in waste disposal. Hmm that was where I would send him.

“Ma’am, my name is Lieutenant Hitashi Leveck.” The kid looked like he was about to faint.

“Lieutenant Leveck, who sent you in here?”

“Ma’am, the duty officer sent me.” I just glared at him and made a come on motion with my hands.

“Uh, that would be Commander Phon who gave me the orders.”

“Here is what you will do for me Lieutenant Leveck. You will inform Commander Phon that he is the new waste management officer for this station. The current officer down there has been trying to transfer out for years but there hasn’t been any replacements. Since Commander Phon has shown how well he follows my orders maybe he will learn something down there. You, will inform him of his new position and tell the rest of those slackers out there that I have thirty more minutes of my personal time left. It anyone else disturbs me, including you, I will reassign them to something worse! Understand me, Leveck?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He saluted and scurried out of my office. I could hear raised voices that penetrated the door but no one else entered. There was a faint Meow and I looked over at my desk. Merlin the CATT was staring at me.

“I assume from that look that you sent the transfer orders in my name for the new sanitation officer?”  The CATT nodded his head. I chuckled. Commander Phon was a royal pain-in-my-ass and this time he went too far. Dealing with that mess down there would do him some good or make him crazy. Either way a win win.

“Send Commander Sanford to personnel. I believe that Captain Lamont was looking for a few officers to to flesh out the ships a bit.” One thing that came out of the whole AI emancipation bill was the usefulness of the robots themselves. Finding new jobs for them to do wasn’t that hard. Merlin has been the best assistant I have ever had. I looked back out the window. Thirty minutes might seem like a short amount of time but for someone as overworked as I was it was a vacation.

Until the Assembly designates a replacement I am the commanding officer of both the Militia, the Space Navy, and Freedom Station! They can take ground command any time they want. Hell, they can take the Navy too. But, Freedom Station is mine! I looked over at Merlin. He was curled up in my desk chair pretending to sleep. I have to admit that I really like being in charge of this station. Even though this is a military post I get to meet a wide variety of interesting people. Of course this wasn’t my original plan for my life. Not even close. Now that I look back I see the mistakes I made in my life; some good and some bad.

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