As I wrote at the end of this book:
I saw Star Trek TOS when it was originally broadcast in living color on NBC (specifically, The Doomsday Machine). I experienced 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big theater screen during its first release. I practically absorbed the Heinlein juvenile books through my skin as I evolved to read his adult books, as well as Shelley/Niven/Clarke/McCaffrey and so many others.
Science Fiction is huge for me for many reasons.
Fast forward to the Twenty-First Century and I finally sat down to dabble with my first love. I learned a secret that writing Sci-Fi is not that difficult when you:
Put people first.
Respect everyone: the characters, the plot, and most especially the readers.
Use simplistic technology.
Don’t overexplain.
Everything must make some kind of sense.
The Sci-Fi purists will probably howl over the technology thing, but I firmly believe that Star Trek TNG technobabble and similar works are not pure science fiction. It’s the writer substituting Deus ex Machina for plot and character development. I found at the end, however, that I couldn’t completely escape putting the Gods in my Machines in the third book. Guess that makes me a real Sci-Fi writer.
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The Serving Salvation series has been called “a grand space‑opera oeuvre, blending political drama, character relationships, and human survival themes.” One reviewer noted that it has “many fascinating and diverse characters with several sub-plots, including political intrigue, sociological upheaval and even a little romance,” while another said, “[The novels] bring out the nature of humans as they try and place themselves into the different classes of humanity, some wanting to do their best and others who are the type of people trying to control an outcome, and everyone in-between. The writing and dialogue are good as well as the mysteries and murder to solve, spies are everywhere it seems.” If you enjoy character-rich sci‑fi with layered political intrigue, you’ll likely find the Serving Salvation trilogy compelling.
This series has been compared to “Battlestar Galactica,” “The Expanse,” and “The Ark.” Tropes: Post-apocalyptic, Politics, Religion, Murder, Romance.
Chapter One of Serving Salvation Book One is here, and you can buy Book One on Amazon for 99¢. The other Books Ones of my five series are also available on Amazon for 99¢ (e-books only). Here’s the link.
Chapter One of Serving Salvation Book Two is here.
All of the books are in our online bookstore and the major platforms. Have a look at them here.
in our online bookstore, as well as on Amazon, Apple, B&N, Google, and Kobo.
Chapter One of Serving Salvation Book One is here, and you can buy Book One on Amazon for 99¢. The other Books Ones of my five series are also available on Amazon for 99¢ (e-books only). Here’s the link.
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Kathy
“What the hell is going on? And turn off that damn noise,” Captain Devereaux barked.
“Aye, aye, sir. Captain on the bridge.” First Officer Kathy Bettencourt was already reaching to silence the braying alarm from her station when the Captain entered the bridge, buttoning his collar as he sat in the captain’s chair. “We’re still working on the cause.”
“Not that I don’t know every damn nut and bolt on my ship and every stinking noise it makes, but what the hell was that alarm?”
“We’re under attack.”
“What?”
She waved him down. “The ship’s sensors picked up an external energy discharge and interpreted it as an attack on the ship.”
“Bridge, the Engineer is online,” a voice called from the speaker on the ceiling.
“Good morning, Engineer,” Charles said. “To repeat myself, what the hell is going on?”
“Captain, this is Comm. We were in the process of inserting communications and navigation satellites around New Earth and the Moon when we lost contact with the P1 satellite approaching the Moon. We have no comm at all.”
“Captain, this is Sensors. We’re playing back video, and it appears an energy beam near the polar south end of the Moon took out the satellite. The beam came within our proximity and activated the attack alarm. We’re sending the video to the bridge screen in a few seconds.”
“Engineer, tell me your team has already pulled back the rest of the satellites,” Charles said, his voice urgent.
“Yes, sir. The watch officer gave the command when she saw what happened. They may run out of fuel, but it’ll be no problem to pick them up.”
“That’s problem number five hundred. We’re working on problem number one. Is the ship in danger of being hit by that energy beam?”
“We haven’t activated that beam from our current Lagrange point. We’re thinking we’re safe, Captain.”
Charles shook his head, his voice harsh. “We’re not paid to guess. If that beam destroyed a satellite from its source on the Moon, it wouldn’t take much more energy to reach Salvation and breach the Ring.”
Kathy understood his emotions. Thousands of Passengers lived in the Ring, and few would have time to reach emergency stations if the Ring were breached and opened to space.
“Give us fifteen more minutes to assess, sir,” the Engineer said.
“Do it. Bridge out.” He turned to Gemma and Damion at their stations. “Helm, prepare systems to leave our position. Notify the Back that we may need the impellers. Navigator, plot a course to the far side of Jupiter. Pick a place that keeps Jupiter between us and the inner planets.” He turned to Kathy. “First Officer, set Condition Zeta throughout the ship. Close all doors and hatches. Shut down the tram except for urgent and emergency transport.”
“Aye, aye, sir. Send the Passengers to their cabins?” Kathy asked.
Charles thought for a moment. “Yes. Tell them it’s not a drill.” He pushed a button on his desk panel to open a channel. “Your Holiness, this is the Captain.”
“Good morning, Captain. What was that horrible alarm?”
“Sir, it would take too long to explain, and you and I have no time. I am ordering all Passengers to their cabins for the duration. Your office will receive the usual pushback, but please assure them this is no drill and that I am ordering this action for their safety. Tell them any messages sent to the bridge from the Ring will be ignored.”
“Understood, Captain. I see complaints coming over the tubes already. I am pointing at my assistants as we speak and telling them to enact your orders and to deal with the complaints. Do you have an idea how long we will be enclosed?”
“The Engineer and her team are checking things out. As soon as I know, you will know.”
“Thank you, Captain. I appreciate the warning, and we will get people into their safe places. I will be in my cabin next time we need to talk.” The Pope closed the channel.
Kathy understood the Pope’s words. Unlike the Crew in the Front and the Engineers in the Back, Passengers took a maximum level of comfort in their daily lives while tolerating minimal oversight and direction. To be ordered to do anything by a distant voice from the Front of the ship would be abhorrent to their basic nature.
You’d think that after transitioning the Oort cloud, the Passengers would be less of a headache when it came to letting us protect them, but they keep pushing us on every little detail about Landing, including not leaving the ship, she thought.
“Captain,” Gemma said from the helm, “the engine spaces report that we can move in a few minutes. Sooner if you need an emergency start like we did during Transition.”
“Tell them to follow their routine ignition sequence, Helm. We haven’t decided if we’re moving yet.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Got us a new home, Navigator?”
Damion turned from his screen. “Yes, sir. We can park it on the far side of Jupiter by tomorrow, but we’ll have to maintain our station with thrusters and the impellers to keep Jupiter between us and the rest of the system.”
“Good to know. Thank you.” He pushed a button. “Engineer, unless you have something concrete, we’re moving to a new home.”
“Sir, we’re still playing back our tapes and videos. The short version for now is that the destroyed comm satellite was the first one to approach the Moon and go below its equator. When it crossed the line and got within”—Joro paused—“about a hundred miles off the surface, an energy source appeared on the Moon. A minute later, the satellite was destroyed by an energy beam.”
Kathy tensed as the Engineer paused again. “For what it’s worth, the energy spectrum in the beam is very close to the energy spectrum we hit during Transition, so we’re guessing we activated another dormant defense system.”
“I don’t like that guessing part, Engineer, but the rest of the information is interesting. Did we have satellites approaching the north side of the Moon within that distance of a hundred miles?”
“Yes, sir. Two. One of them was orbiting fairly close to the surface before we recalled them. They were not fired upon.”
“So if there’s a north defense station, it’s broken.”
“Your guess is as good as ours, Captain.”
“Recommendation, Engineer?”
“No choice, sir, in my opinion. We have no defensive systems or shields to protect us from those kinds of energy weapons, and we don’t need more surprises.”
Charles turned to Kathy. “First Officer?”
“Concur, sir. It will make mapping and surveying the inner planets more difficult and time consuming, but we can’t do either if we’re dead or if the ship is blasted open.”
“Thank you. I agree with you both.” He pushed his screen. “All hands, this is the Captain. For reasons that will be explained later, we are leaving our station at this Lagrange point. Prepare for ship movement. Maintain Condition Zeta. Remain where you are until the all-clear is sounded. Thank you.” He closed the channel. “Helm, when the engine spaces signal green, take us out.”
“Aye, sir. I have green lights now. Engaging the impellers.”
Kathy silently sighed. After thousands of years and so many sacrifices, Salvation was moving away from its new home and, in a way, its future. She couldn’t help but wonder when or if they would return.
Charles answered her silent question, speaking to the Moon on the main screen. “We’ll be back, you big bastard. We’ve sacrificed too much to let you get in our way.” He took a deep breath. “Helm, steady as she goes.”
“Aye, sir.”
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Cassidy Carson and JT Hume (“CC & JT”) are independent writers, publishers, and co-owners of Two Moore Books, LLC out of Carson City, Nevada, USA. Our growing book catalog can be found on our bookstore and the major platforms. Our podcast mission for “The CC and JT Amateur Hour,” is to “help writers write.” We received the 2024 Women in Podcasting Award in the “Best Authors and Books Podcast” category from the Women Podcasters Network. We also support “The Nevada Author Network” with the Sierra Arts Foundation out of Reno, Nevada.
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