Release date: November 28, 2016
Subgenre: Science fiction anthology
About The Newcomer:
The world is nothing but a dry husk of itself. Jacob Heinlein has
lost his home, everyone he knew, and hope. While on a journey to
the mythical ocean, an unforgiving sun beating down on him, Jacob
finds himself in a town with a source of fresh, clean water.
However, there is a “Tithe” to pay for the privilege of staying.
In “Exodus”, the orphaned children of Old Earth are scattered
across the solar system, protected from the darkness by god-like
beings fashioned from lost technologies. But something has changed.
Ancient rules have been broken, and after centuries of isolation
one of these beings approaches Mars with overtly hostile intent. A
defence must be marshalled, and the coming conflagration could
result in the destruction of one of the last bastions of man.
Humanity had aimed for the stars and a glorious future in space.
The alien’s arrival had tarnished that shiny dream. Now the first
AIs are fully coming online, even while the government tries to
block their use, and humanity is once again looking to the future.
“First Bonding” tells of the illegally-created level 8 AI known as
Genghis, and his reactions to an alien attack.
In “Ice Dreamer”, lab technician Prussis has dreamed all her life
of reviving someone from the past. Whilst no-one understands why
she keeps trying, she works long hours defrosting heads. In
her latest attempt, what happens is the last thing she expects.
Then in “The Nanny”, the first natural birth in over two hundred
years brings a new life to Cardea’s family. Despite the risks, she
and her husband are determined to raise a family the old fashioned
way. But social habits die hard.
The war with a forgotten conqueror has been over for decades, but
that doesn’t mean the Earth has recovered. Life in the American
Midwest is only getting more dangerous. His town besieged by
hunter-killer drones left over from the conflict, gifted high
school senior Daniel Bell would give his “Right Hand” to make the
Army believe that the machines are somehow not being harmed by
their operations.
“What Make is Your Cat?” welcomes you to London-Atlantis where,
after the tsunami, your cat has higher social status and earning
power than you do, and evolution is an elite, designer trend you
can’t afford to join.
Three-month-old Clem faces his first day of “Kaxian Duty” with
anxiety. He is keen to find out what his assignment will be, but
runs into distractions on the way to headquarters. Training will be
hard. Mistakes will be punished. Oh, and his tail has a mind of its
own, which doesn’t help matters any.
Ary had known he was destined to be a starship captain his whole
life. After all, his mother was Captain Sandy and his father was
the guy who was supposed to be Fleet Admiral. However, the prospect
of attending the Spaceforce Academy was daunting. Enough to make
Ary question his future. In his first few weeks there will be quite
a few “Lessons Learned”.
Bounty hunter Braillen takes a new job on “The Humra” to get close
to her mark. When the crew discover her identity she is whisked in
front of the captain. She must face her nightmares if she wants to
finish the job and realise her deepest desire.
New captains take command in a variety of situations. Sometimes the
passage isn’t an easy one. In “The Hawk of Destiny’s Fist”, Asarik Leah is sent to replace ShipLord Till and lead his
InquiryShip on a dangerous new mission. Tradition demands she
proves herself fit to take his place.
And in our last story, newly-promoted Commander Olivia Johnson is
posted to the destroyer “Repulse”. Most of the officers are dead
and the remaining crewmembers are exhausted. Johnson must step up
to the mark and lead them back into battle despite her personal
misgivings.
Excerpt:
“Two minutes to docking.”
Commander Olivia Johnson relished another few seconds rest, then
opened her eyes and leant forward to peer into the shuttle’s
cockpit. “Thank you, Lieutenant. It’s been a smooth flight.”
The pilot raised his hand in thanks.
Johnson opened up a translucent window in her inner vision, and
scrolled through the standing orders she had written for her new
command.
I hope Captain Jeffries won’t mind that I’ve borrowed most of his.
“Do you think it will be bad... Ma’am?”
Johnson closed the text window and focused on the sub-lieutenant
strapped into the seat on the opposite side of the hold. She’d only
been vaguely aware of his presence since they’d left Conqueror. He must have been about sixteen, with close-cropped hair and no
hint of stubble on his chin. Fresh out of Command School.
“Repulse took heavy damage,” she said. “I don’t expect it will be pretty.”
The young man frowned.
“They’ll have cleared away the bodies by now,” Johnson said,
guessing his worry. “And the badly injured have been moved to other
ships.”
“What happened?”
She queried his ID and a brief summary of his record appeared,
floating beside his head.
“They volunteered to go in advance of the task force and nose
around. When they found the Republican fleet bugging out, they
realised the ships of the line wouldn’t arrive in time to catch
them and decided to do some damage on their own.” Johnson paused
and studied the boy’s face. “To put it simply, Mr. Hanke, the Repulse is a plucky little bulldog that bit off more than it could chew.”
#
“Welcome aboard the Repulse, Ma’am.”
Johnson returned the salute from the grime-streaked marine
corporal, and stepped aboard. The airlock hatch closed with a dull
clank. Seconds later, the Electronic Interface System grown into
her brain supplied her transfer orders to the ship’s network, and
status reports flooded her awareness.
“I’m sorry none of the officers are here to meet you,” the marine
continued, falling into step beside her. “Those who are left are
too busy supervising the refit.”
Johnson sighed internally, keeping her face and body neutral.
“Understood. If you’d show me the way to the bridge, I’m sure the
sub-lieutenant here will find his own way to his quarters...”
She’d memorised the layout on the shuttle trip over, but cycles of
battle damage and repair often lead to changes.
I don’t think I’ve ever served on a ship where the plans matched
reality.
Johnson followed the corporal through the ship, pausing
occasionally to exchange encouraging words with crewmembers they
met. It was impossible to miss the mixture of fatigue and pride on
their faces. At one intersection, Johnson stopped to examine a
recent patch on the wall, tapping a few places and scratching at
the edges.
Very nicely done.
Her guide stopped by a ladder recessed into the wall. “Sorry,
Ma’am, but the lift’s not been cleared by engineering yet.”
“Not a problem, Corporal. Two floors, isn’t it?”
He nodded as she grabbed hold of a rung. “At least they got the
floor hatches responding to EIS again. Hand cranking them was
getting rather tedious.”
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About the Authors:
This anthology was edited by Alasdair Shaw and includes stories by the following authors:
- James S. Aaron
- J. Naomi Ay
- Griffin Carmichael
- Cindy Carroll
- Richard Crawford
- Tom Germann
- Jonathan C. Gillespie
- J.J. Green
- Laura Greenwood
- Alec Hutson
- Cherise Kelley
- Alasdair Shaw
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