Chris Hechtl's Blog, page 28

The Calm Before the Storm Snippet 1

So, Rea sent me back the manuscript this morning. I sent it off to Goodlifeguide.com earlier this afternoon.

I'm making steady progress on the print projects. I'm learning a few new tricks, experimenting and trying new things. It is fun. I'll be back to writing (though I've been dabbling a bit off and on) after Christmas.


On to the snippet!:

In the Army Now:
Gaston
Recruit Sergeant Day was desperate to make quota. It wasn't easy on Gaston. You'd think that farm boys and girls would make good troops, but not so much. Part of it was education. At best they had a grade school education. Some barely knew the basic three “R's”; others had lost that much from toiling on the family farm. Things were improving though, and he'd had two recruits just last week. But the ship was leaving tomorrow. And he needed two more to make quota. Two, and he was desperate. Which was where the two screw-up slackers came in. The duo had been bumming around town and the surrounding area, unable to keep a job for long. Kaufman was a klutz and accident prone. Conway was only marginally better. Both had recently gotten fired from a nearby electronics store for playing video games. He'd been working on the duo for months, filling Conway with ideas whenever they were in town. He knew they liked the look of him in uniform and seeing some of the girls hanging around hadn't hurt. Both lads were young gangly teenagers who had worked the family farm while wanting something more. They'd left in a huff, looking to find their fortune in town and then in the capital. Living on your own was proving expensive, especially when you had to pay for everything without being able to hold down a steady job. Conway had one hell of a hairdo, wild and unkempt. He spoke with a drawl that sometimes made him look stupid. After spending time with him, Day knew there was a mind behind the slacker attitude. And he was aware that if he got Conway, his shadow would fall in line and follow. In the end, he let Conway do the work for him. “Boner” Conway was the leader of the duo. Working with the recruiter, they convinced his best friend Kaufman that a five-year hitch as a reservist would be a cakewalk. They'd get their time in as a low level MOS, just coast with some minor adventures. Once they were through, they wouldn't re-up and would use their money to start their business on Gaston. Sergeant Day only felt mildly guilty about leading Kaufman on. The duo should have done their homework, but again, they were slackers. And Conway was full of big dreams. He'd already gotten an earful about the duo's idea of hitching their star to the new tech and starting a business together. But, to do that they needed funding. Working as a day laborer in town wasn't cutting it. Kaufman had just lost his job at the plant when they'd been shut down due to a fire. “Dude, the best part? The best? We get anti-geriatric treatments. Full medical care for life! Plus, we get to go to college. Full ticket,” Conway drawled. Kaufman looked skeptical. “Can I hear a hey hey for college girls?” Conway said with a grin as he made a pumping motion. “We'd be getting nooky nonstop!” He then made a crude hip thrusting motion. “Uh huh, yeah baby,” he said, mock slapping a phantom rump. Kaufman cocked his head, but it was clear he was intrigued. He'd heard of college, but he had not gotten beyond a basic education. Conway had but only because his mother had insisted. His family had kept him on the farm a lot since they'd always been chronically short of hands to run it. Conway's dad had invested in parts to get the family tractor back up and running, which had given their farm a leg up. Conway had learned about how to get the parts and maintain the vehicle and even convinced his dad and uncle to buy a pump and other gear. But he'd made it clear he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life as a hand on the farm. And when it came time to decide, he'd hitched a ride to town and stayed there. That was one reason Kaufman had hitched his star to his best friend. He wanted to get away from the farm, see the galaxy, and start their business. Conway dreamed big and talked a good game. It all came down to money. But, to get the money they had to invite a bit of risk. “Okay,” Kaufman said with a nod. “You talked me into it,” he said with a relieved sigh. “You get a sign-up bonus. It's small, but you can bank it and use it later,” the recruiter explained. “See? Already making money,” Conway drawled. Kaufman broke out into a relieved grin and high fived him. “Where do we sign?” Conway asked as he turned back to the recruiter. “Right this way, boys. It's good you are doing this; the shuttle lifts off in twelve hours. If you wait too long, you'll be stuck for months before the next one comes around. This way, you get to start fresh. And the best part? The navy is paying for your tickets to Agnosta!” “Cool!” Conway said with a grin. Sergeant Day smiled indulgently. He almost felt guilty. Almost. Like leading sheep to the slaughter. They might be screwups but once they were off planet they were someone else's problem. }{%}{ Agnosta

The Calm Before the Storm

So, I just got the manuscript back from Wayne, and, after making the necessary corrections I sent it on to Rea.
The Calm Before the Storm is a 10 story Reborn Federation anthology book. (Tales of the Reborn Federation 4) This is my last book of the year.


I'll start posting snippets when I get the manuscript back from Rea. (or this weekend, whichever comes first!)

Hostage Rescue Princess Rescue 2 is publishing now!

So, I published PRI 2:




No happily ever after…  Tech billionaire Eugene Ryans did the impossible; he tamed a wormhole on Earth and stepped through it into a new world. Leading a joint team of civilians and military personnel, they found themselves on the run from a Viking army almost from day 1.  Together they braved alien flora and fauna while rescuing 2 princesses repeatedly. The only way home was for the Terrans to help the embattled princesses.   Once the war was won Eugene and some of the civilians decided to remain behind while the remaining Terran survivors returned to Earth. Eugene and the others were bent on bringing modern technology, including modern medicine to the medieval culture in the hopes of bettering all and putting an end to the cycles of war, famine, and disease.  With Deidra wed to Eugene, her younger sister Zara was sent north to the conquered Viking kingdom of Duluth as regent. But Zara found far more than she bargained for, a broken kingdom, destitute by the war without leadership or hope. But she hadn't come all that way for nothing. But stubbornness won't win every battle…


And it is already live!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081TKZB34

B&N:

Princess Rescue Inc 2 Snippet 3

Goodlifeguide.com just got the manuscript back to me, 9 days early. So, I'm going to start the publishing process in a few moments. It should go live this afternoon or evening depending on the vendor. :)

Anyway, here is the last snippet:

  In the morning just after breakfast, Princess Zara was called out to a local emergency. She decided to go despite the worry of her guards. The guard captain Princeps Augustus Devitis insisted on going with her. They disdained the normal beasts to take a set of branacks they'd brought with them. The six-limbed beasts had recovered from the long journey and seemed eager to get out of the smelly barn. They danced about on their rear feet, pawing the air with their other limbs until they settled down. Dominus Siegfried took a lance with him along with his rifle. Zara kept her revolver in her shoulder holster. They were joined by several of the people who had come with them on the march north. Brynhild, one of the shield maidens, insisted on coming with them. They rode with the princess at the center of their ranks. She nodded politely to people along the way. She was still getting cold or concerned looks in passing. She tried to keep her responses warm but it was hard. When they arrived at the edge of the farm, they saw a herd of Toucan Giraffe grazing in an orchard. Farmers came out waving poles, rakes, beating on pots, and waving weapons in order to drive them off. Most of the farmers were kids; they were too small to wave the implements and looked absurd. The animals flick their ears to show they are aware of the humans but did not react until the humans approached within striking distance. When they got within a few paces, they used their long legs to gallop off and then resumed feeding. "I don't know why they bother; the beasts eat the fruit from the top of the tree that they can't reach anyway," Dominus Wesdt said in disgust as he moved forward to join them. The princess turned to the surly viscount with a curious look and then went back to watching the show. After a moment, she pulled out a small pair of binoculars and put them to her eyes to see better. "Now that is an interesting device. A far seeing one?" Siegfried asked. "Yes." She watched the farmers herd the animals off and then regroup. The herd did so as well, stubbornly unwilling to go far. "They need Garmr to drive them off," Siegfried said thoughtfully. "But they have to be fed and trained right. Many were used for food during the hard winter." "Yes, or they need something better and not so much of an investment," the princess stated. "Maybe build a fence?" "A fence takes time and they can step over it," Siegfried said in amusement. He was surprised she was thinking things out and asking questions rather than just dictating to them. It was refreshing and not expected. "The higher you build it, the deeper the footings need to be. They can knock them over." "Ah. So what does work other than animals?" Zara asked, lowering the binoculars. Siegfried wished she would offer them to him but held his tongue on that matter. Instead, he focused on her question. "Generally, I've heard good things about thorn bushes. Tall ones around the perimeter would keep them at bay or thorny vines on the fence. They tend to avoid them though they will go after the flowers and fruit with their long tongues," he said thoughtfully. He was surprised by her question. "The herd needs to be culled," the berger, the local mayor said, coming up behind them. They turned to him. "They are not afraid of people anymore. We need to make them fear us again." "I noticed no one used fire to drive them off? Torches? Most animals fear it, even the smell of fire," the princess said, making the statement more of a question. "Yes, Your Majesty. Fire can burn the crops and hurt the farmers as much as the animals," Siegfried replied patiently. He'd come to realize that the princess genuinely wanted to know things. She was strange in that she didn't mind expressing her ignorance and inviting someone's opinion or an explanation. "And there they go to the watering hole," the berger said with a sigh. "They'll drive off the Audumla and other beasts the farmers have until they have their fill," he said in an aggrieved tone of voice. Zara turned and brought the glasses up for a look. She could just make out the intruding herd at the watering hole. Several stood watch while others would bend to sip at the water. The ones sipping would splay their legs apart awkwardly. They seemed rather vulnerable in that position. One had a tongue darting in and out to lap at the water. Another was bolder, taking gulps of water and lifting the head up to swallow. "They'll want permission to hunt them," Wesdt said. "Usually the lords did it but only when other animals were not available." The berger nodded grimly. "Why?" Zara asked, expressing her ignorance. The berger looked surprise. Siegfried coughed into his hand and then decided it was up to him to explain. "The beasts taste terrible. Their hides do not tan easily or well. Even some of the animals won't eat the meat," he explained. "They'll kill them and leave the carcass which will draw in predators which will cause more problems." Zara frowned. She could see how they were all leg. Still, just about any animal could be fed to the beasts like Garmr and Titans. If they turned their noses up to them, then they must taste truly terrible. She reminded herself to never eat an offering of their meat. It was saying something that the Duluthians refused to eat them, even in a stew after the hard winter they'd just endured. "They are useless, pests," the berger said as Zara offered her binoculars to Siegfried. He took them in gratitude and carefully raised them to his eyes to see. "They should be irradiated," he muttered darkly. Zara considered that statement and decided it might be a teachable moment. "I have spent a lot of time with the Terrans, looking at how they view Midgard. They see us as stewards of the land and beasts, as guardians to reign in our excess and keep things in balance. If we err, we need to correct it. By slaughtering an animal, we might cause more harm long term." She briefly remembered how they had sent out hunting parties that had brought in a number of beasts. That might have opened up the territory to the long necks. "How so?" Siegfried asked curiously. Two beasts began to spar by swinging their heads at each other and kicking at each other. It was fascinating to see them up close, as if they were so close he could touch them. "They say that if you take away an animal it can upset the balance. For instance, what these animals eat in nature might suddenly grow out of control or the predators that eat them will have less to eat and may become a problem, preying on the farm animals," Zara explained. The viscount nodded. "True," he said grudgingly. "Very true," the berger said with a shiver. "What if all the hunting we did over the winter allowed them to come here? And it deprived the basilisk in the area of their natural prey." The men looked suddenly grim. "If the basilisk go hungry, it won't be for long." "They would come and prey upon the farm beasts," Augustus said, indicating the farm, "or people." "Correct." "They are already a problem. The waters have been bad. Drought in some areas has hurt us and apparently driven off some of the beasts. Which means more of them come looking for food out of the wood," Wesdt admitted. "Ah. See what I mean about balance?" Zara asked. "Then what do you propose, milady?" Augustus asked. "I'm not sure. We need to know more," Zara said cautiously. "Well, Princess, it goes to show, the Terrans don't know everything," Wesdt said caustically before stalking off. The berger followed. Zara watched him ride off with a frown. "Problem?" Augustus asked. "He's still adjusting," Siegfried said as he reluctantly handed the device back. Zara smiled slightly in thanks as she put the binoculars away in her carrying case. "Funny, a bit of glass and tubes to be able to make you see further," he said. "Why didn't someone here think of that?" She nodded. "We had someone in the capital working on them apparently. I didn't know." She shrugged. "Theirs are crude in comparison, though they have gotten better." "Oh?" "They used them to see the stars," she said, pointing to the sky. He looked up and then back down to her. "Interesting. Why?" "To study them for our calendar. And to predict the weather," Zara explained. "They believed that some things were written in the stars." "Ah." "Apparently," she hefted the case with the device within, "they can make a single tube version or others. The Terrans used the same concept to create a device to see tiny things too," she explained. "Tiny things?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. "Why?" She smirked. "Ever try to thread a needle?" she asked. He stared at her for a moment and then smiled. "I've heard a few people complain a time or two," he admitted. She nodded. "Things like that and also to see other work that needs to be done. To pull a splinter for instance." He grimaced. "Or to read fine print in an old book," she said. He nodded. "Their medicus can use a thing called a microscope to look at samples to see what is wrong with a person, beast, or plant and then recommend a potion to fix the problem." "Ah, very nice." He nodded at that idea. She reminded herself that medicus were not well received in some places. The Imperium had learned to treasure them after several plagues, but that didn't mean they had been a well-paid profession. That was changing though. She intended to make the same changes in Duluth, whether the natives liked it or not. Too many people died when it could be easily avoided. "They also have things to help people see better," she said. He blinked. "They wear them in a frame around their eyes." She used her fingers to outline the shape, going over her ears. "The glass lenses bring the world back into focus. They were working on making them for people when I left." He suddenly had a vision of his aunt who had trouble seeing. "Handy indeed," he murmured with a nod. ~~~^~~~

Princess Rescue Inc 2 snippet 2

Sitrep: I had Goodlifeguide.com make some of the corrections Amazon was nagging me about in the original PRI 1. The new manuscripts have been uploaded. Don't go into a tizzy, they were minor typos.

In other news, I'm bouncing around projects (and dad who, since he's retired is constantly under foot) ...and slowly getting ready for the holidays. Oh, and working on my droid. :)

The betas are hip deep into The Calm Before the Storm. We'll see how it goes. :)

On to the snippet!

Still in chapter 1:


~~~^~~~ Hakon Earling grimaced as he ran the angles. He had been sent to the capital by a wealthy client but could not fulfill the job. It was oh so simple in theory but very much complex when he tried to execute it. Too complex for his tastes at the moment. Simply put he couldn't get a shot at the princess, she had too many guards or kept too far away from areas he had set up to target her. He couldn't get into the castle, so he was stuck outside playing the patient hunter. Eventually he knew the imperials would lower their guard in some way. But not yet. Not for a while at least. That was fine; he was being paid a stipend until the job was complete. The prices of food and lodging were spiking but he could camp out in an abandoned building and he had no problem robbing others to supplement his income. His time would come. ~~~^~~~Among her many duties, Agnes, the lead Lady in Waiting of the princess oversaw some of the women and children spinning wool to make thread in the castle. They stayed together near enough the fire to enjoy its warmth. She had been surprised by the supply of wool. The northerners had wool animals that they sheered for their hair and milked for dairy. Some of it was incredibly soft and highly desired in the Imperium. Some of the beasts were occasionally slaughtered for meat. There were a variety of cheeses in Duluth, she knew that much. They were big on cheese and beer. The cheese as also highly prized in the Imperium. She had once seen an animal shorn. The rusticusworkers used giant scissori which they had to sharpen periodically. Some used a single flat blade to do the job, but it was messy and not a good shave. She made a note to look into that technology later. She knew that the Terran master smith Max had talked about electric clippers and such. Well, Duluth needed them more since they were more reliant on wool than in the Imperium. She needed more hands though, especially with Euphrosyne immured in their rooms with one ailment or another. She knew the woman was malingering and wished she'd gone with back to the Imperium with the convoy. She hadn't though, so she was stuck here for the winter. She let out a suffering sigh. Heads turned to her. "Not you," she said, rising and adjusting her skirts. "Carry on," she murmured as she made her exit. ~~~^~~~ Princeps Augustus Devitus had used Duluth recruits from the convoy and recruits from the castle and surrounding area to restore order to the capital. The capital sheriff was still in the precinct, he had refused to leave though he had sent his family away. After much consulting with the Princess Augustus agreed to establish a larger police force in the capital and to loan some of the troops to do patrols. They were outfitted with badges and truncheons for the moment. A few had blades. He turned a blind eye to those. He wasn't impressed with the design of the castle. He wanted to make changes but those would have to wait. It was half the size of the castle in the Imperium capital but with a thicker outer wall and more buildings in the courtyard. His men had a barracks made of stone and a thatched high pitched roof in the courtyard. One corner of the castle had been designated for the princess and her retainers, as well as some of the higher ranked guests. The staff was concentrating half of their work there and in the kitchens. Of the group of prisoners, several had died, many from their wounds despite Eudoxia's ministrations. They were the last to receive the Medicus care for a reason and he felt no pity for them. But when four died under mysterious circumstances that bothered him. He wanted to press them for answers on who had hired them but it seemed most were ignorant backwoods fools. They had only known of the aging knight, the late Petersen. No other leaders had emerged in the ambush plot. Well, they could rot in the dungeon until they loosened their tongues some more then. ~~~^~~~ With Agnes running part of her duties with the stewards in the castle, and Euphrosyne immured in their quarters complaining of one ailment or another, it left Zara a bit short. The red haired girl she had hired, Freydis spent a bit too much time with her lover to the point where she turned up pregnant. The locals hand fasted the couple on the third hafta of their time in the castle. It was a brief happy point in their time before they threw themselves back into the work. Agnes chose and hired another lady in waiting as an attendant. This one, Emma was a teenager only slightly younger than the princess whose family had died before the war and her intended had died in the war. Her intended's family had fled the capital, only she had remained. She had proven she was a woman of some sophistication and education though, able to read, write, and do simple math. She also had spirit and fire to go with her deportment so the princess took an instant liking to her. She also sympathized with her but the young woman was a bit stiff over that. When she had time, Zara worked with her ladies. They strategized from time to time. Most of the time she scandalized the natives by helping out with the drudge work and insisting on teaching classes of Yoga, self-defense, along with science, reading, technology, medicine, and other things. Want them to be well rounded, with the hopes that they pass on what they learned to others eventually. The ladies found that the exercise did have a small benefit, it burned calories and it warmed their muscles up. Sitting for long periods made them feel terribly cold. Despite her spirit the girl Emma kept mostly to herself though she was quite good at listening. Sometimes she would go unnoticed as others conversed. She rarely smiled. She did help out the kitchen staff however, and she knew enough of the capital to feel safe enough to go out on errands without a guard. ~~~^~~~

Princess Rescue Inc 2 Snippet 1

Sitrep:
I finished Tales of the Reborn Federation 4 over the weekend, and it is in the hands of the betas. I worked on the cover art:
And we're running with that. :)

I also sent PRI 2 Hostage Rescue to Rea Tuesday. I'm going to be making corrections to PRI 1 sometime this week.

I've started to get caught up on projects, and start a laundry list of others. I've got a lot of print projects for Christmas, both as gifts and as decorations around the house and outside it. Plus my droid and other projects.
In other words, fun. :)

I also have a list of stuff to get ready for, including Thanksgiving prep. >:P Plus some stuff I've been putting off that have lingered on my To-Do list too long. (including this snippet!)

Anyway, on to the first snippet!


Chapter 1
Crown Princess Zara of the Ianua Imperium had been sent north with a small force as well as the Duluth survivors in order to take command of the newly conquered kingdom. It was an unusual form of conquest, one that was thought to be easy for most of the adult force had gone south to invade her lands and had died or been captured. The remainder who had been left behind were old and starving. The blond teenager had found that the task was going to be a bit harder than she'd been told though, not that she'd expected anything less. It hadn't been as simple as handing over some supplies to the local dominus friendly to her sister Deidra, the Impertrix or queen. No, far from it. She made a soft puttering sound with her lips as she considered what she'd taken control of. She was starting to regret her delay. Had she come sooner she might have been able to do more before the long snows hit. As it was she had a very short time to do what even Heracles would have run from. Not more than an Annus, a year ago she had been blithely unaware of how much duty and the weight of command could haunt her. She'd been young and so naive, sheltered by some to allow her some semblance of a childhood. She had been aware of the dangers of politics but they had seemed a distant thing.Well, she had grown since then, burned by the fires of war, yet unbroken. She had been reforged by her friendship with the Terrans, those strange people from Patria, the homeworld through the portal. She had them to thank for repeatedly rescuing her and her sister. Their leader, Eugene Ryans had done most of the work in rescuing. He'd also negotiated with her late parents to help them when Duluth marched further into the Imperium unchecked. By opening up the Terran's tech a little he had given the Imperium the ability to crush the northerners. King Richard, his son and heir, and many of the higher lords had been slaughtered in the battle. Those that had remained had surrendered and bent a knee to her sister. Deidra had also been forged in the fire of war. Eugene tempered her hot anger and Zara had to admit, they made a good team. He had been the one to broker the final truce. She had been sent north as part of the deal. She knew the expectations of marriage but had discarded them. Sure she liked some like the young Dominus Siegfried, but not all were like him. She had made some friends in the Dominus whom had come with her party a short time ago. That friendship had been forged in blood when beasts, bandits, and then attackers had come for their heads. They had fought them off and forged a brotherhood. It was tentative though, and she wasn't quite sure how far she could trust it. It had allowed them to reach the capital and castle though, and although her people were still assessing the ruinous state of affairs it was going to be their base of operations for the time being. Which meant they had to make the best of it, she thought with another puttering sound. The castle had been looted. She had yet to explore it all but she had noted many precious artifacts were missing just from the ring of dust left behind. The same for paintings and tapestries that had once adorned the walls. She had no idea where they went. The Duluthians seemed careless about their cultural heritage. She'd roll up her sleeves and get to work but it was getting cold. Sleeves or no, it was time to get back to work though. ~~~^~~~ Baron Farragut realized that if it was that bad in the capital, it would be worse abroad. He reluctantly took his leave to check on his domain. Other dominus did the same. Zara sent them home with kits that had been assembled. "I know it is not much, but hopefully it will help in the long run," she said to each of them. The Baron was touched by the kit, especially when he took stock of it and noted there was a great deal about simple ways to implement the outlandish concepts from Patria. He vowed his support. Others did the same with the qualifier that they would be able to help and send tribute only when they got their houses in order.~~~^~~~ Convoy master Bernardus left to return to the Imperium with a small guard force three dies, or days after their arrival. They returned light, with a small load of furs, salt, some rare metals, and material as tribute and trade goods. Since he was running light and now knew the passage he expected the run to be quicker. In order to lighten the load he only took the carts and wagons, the carriages and their draft beasts were left behind. Bernardus was distressed at the state of the royal stables and warned Zara that something had to be done about the fodder situation or the beasts would starve in the long winter. Given the parlous state of affairs in the capital Zara was in grim agreement. There was little she could do to rectify it though. She put her people to work though. Agnes and others complained about not knowing where to begin. Zara reminded them that they had a plan. They sat down to break the problems down into more solvable chunks. Tacitus, her technical smith managed to get the HAM radio temporarily set up before the first snows hit and buried them. It took patience for her to get through to the capital. When she did she called in a report of the events she had endured, and was heartily glad to hear a scratchy report of another convoy on the road north. This one carried food and material. Her sister had rushed it to her after hearing some bad stories. The convoy arrived two hafta after Bernardus's departure, just on the eve of a great blizzard. Some said it had been a gift from the Aegir, the Duluthian gods. She didn't care, she only blessed that her sister had the foresight and charity to send it. She was certain that it would make a world of difference in the near future. ~~~^~~~

Loose Ends is Publishing NOW!

So, I got the manuscript back from Goodlifeguide.com yesterday, but I was wrapped up in writing. This morning I forced myself to stop and publish it. :)

The Ansible, more adventures on Third Earth, the Necrons, the Dyson Sphere, and more. All sorts of stories tucked away in this book for you to explore. :)

As usual I'll post the links when they go live. Enjoy!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z8B59NL

B&N:

Loose Ends

Sitrep:
So, Goodlifeguide contacted me this morning, we're back on track with Loose Ends.

PRI 2 Hostage Rescue is in the hands of the last 2 Betas. We'll see how it goes.
Speaking of Hostage Rescue, here is the cover:
It was an interesting project. I've already got the threads and plot for the next book. (and it is going to be a doozy!)

In other news, I'm back to writing after a somewhat productive week off. I finished 1 Christmas project, started 1, I have a V3 reindeer frame printing now after spending the weekend redesigning it, and made minor progress on the droid.
I even experimented with PETG and managed to print the pulley tensioners. But it messed my CR-10 up. I just got it back to normal.
I got the parts in to fix the Da Vinci Pro. That will be a project to fix. I want to use that to print the TPU and PETG stuff from now on.
But, as I said, I started writing. The next book is another anthology of short stories, these all in the Irons time period in the Engineer Universe. That should make some people happy. :) The first story is nearly half finished. I'm shooting for 8-10, hopefully completing 2 a week if I can swing it. There are 17 in the folder so there are still a few more to be cut from the list. (There were 25!)

On to the snippet!

Still in Third Earth:


<O>^<O>
Tygra checked the new base setup and then looked over to the shuttle. It didn't stay long; it couldn't since the jarheads had tried to appropriate it twice.
The new base was further back than the one he, Panthro, and the others had built. They'd thought the army would have taken that one too, but Colonel Heiser had other ideas. He'd set up on a outcrop of rock a couple dozen kilometers away from their old base that the Marines had taken over.
At one point, his people had considered it, but he'd discarded it since the slope had been too much to easily use for the shuttle. The army had brought in their combat engineers to solve that problem, much to his envy and secret disgust.
The new base was supposed to serve as a resupply base. That was its official purpose on paper at any rate.
What they were really doing with it was a bit different. Veterans had come forward but they'd been rusty. They were being retrained at the base. Retrained and rearmed with a mix of found and manufactured improvised weapons. The majority of the group were cats of course, many from their old unit—those that had survived the last pyramid assault on Earth that was.
Many still had nightmares about it. And none were happy that a copy had appeared here, on their adopted homeworld. And all were vehemently united in their desire to remove the bloat from their home once and for all.
After all, they owed the next generation that much, to get it right.
Even if they had to do it all over again, with, or perhaps without the official help of the military.
Panthro's scheme might break the stalemate they had all found themselves stuck in. The Marine and army battalions had been stymied by the pyramid for too long. Burrowing under the energy shield and its guns seemed like the only logical option they had left.
Now it was up to Roberts to accept the damn report.
<O>^<O>
Lieutenant Colonel Schultz Heiser nodded in approval as his people moved around the base with order and efficiency.
He'd read the latest proposal from the native cats and approved. He'd even offered the services of his combat engineers,but that had been nixed by Colonel Roberts. He found that knee-jerk reaction petty. Roberts was keen on remaining in command. He knew why;they both wanted their combat ticket punched.
He was pretty sure the stiff-necked jarhead would see the way the wind was blowing and fall in line. Which was why he was ramping up his combat engineers and prepping them to move in to support.
The big black cat's plan wasn't without its flaws. He knew it couldn't be done alone though; it would take more than just the tunnel machine the cats had bodged together on that tank. Supports were going to be needed, plus a way to keep back the sand. It wasn't rock they were tunneling through after all.
His people were working on that or so they said.
He whistled tunelessly as he decided to go drop in on them and check and make sure they really were doing as they said.
<O>^<O>

Marie Romero Rest in Peace

Marie RomeroNov 3, 1977- October 7, 2019 
Sorry for the crappy old photo. My phone sucks.

  A dear friend of 29 years passed away early this morning, she lost her third (or was it fourth?) round with brain cancer. She managed to survive 10+ years with cancer, a tribute to her feistiness and unwillingness to give up. The doctors gave her 3 years, she managed to survive 10+ (and watch both of her kids graduate high school) and managed to beat it into remission several times. All that while also suffering breast cancer last year, and the loss of her father 2 months ago to prostate cancer.
  She smoked like a chimney, drank like a fish when she was younger, was 'ornery' (her words), and loved to play fight. She had a wicked right cross! I've sported many a bruise from wrestling with her. (Not to mention the surprise attacks on my rear end or 'Gibbs smacked' when I was not paying attention! She'd strike and then run away laughing)
  I loved to tease her, and I always cracked her up, usually with a bad pun or dirty/bodily function joke. I usually earned a giggle/guffaw and 1 finger salute... and occasionally a punch in the arm if I was in range. (like I said, feisty)
   Devin and I introduced her to 'Radioactive' which helped her through radiation treatments and chemo several years ago. (Apparently her taking it on as a mantra got the techs to spread it through the cancer community) She made it clear she didn't want to be treated differently because of her illness. I did my best to honor that.
  She loved online games and would frequently pester people to do them with her. Even when the brain tumor tripled and began shutting her down suddenly last week she was intent on finishing 1 game or another, or getting a new high score. She also loved killer whales and thoroughly enjoyed going to Sea World every few years. Her room was decorated in killer whales. I 3D printed her 1 when I heard her health had suddenly declined last week.

  She was my sister's friend, an 'aunt' to the her boys as they grew up, my grandmother's 'favorite', and was always trying to pitch in and help. Whether it was with a cancer walk or at the senior center, or pitching in with the extended family she was there with a hand and occasional hip bump.

You will be missed 'Short-Stuff'. 

Loose Ends Snippet 3

Sitrep:
So, I found out that Goodlifeguide is off on vacation until mid October. Oops! So, we've got a bit of a wait there. Darn!

So, I can take my time with snippets I guess. I'm skipping to the next story, Third Earth a continuation of the Thundercats story.


Third Earth
Governor-General Lion-O sipped at his coffee and then set the empty tea cup down as he turned to watch the construction outside his office window. The capital was still undergoing repairs; it would be years before they were back to where they'd once were.
In some cases, it would take even longer because his people had been cut off from the Federation. That well and truly sucked. He was partially to blame for that.
Was it two years ago? Three? Four? He'd lost track. He flicked his ears and then shook himself and shrugged. It didn't matter. What did matter was what had ended up on his doorstep uninvited.
He had led his fellow cats and other Neo veterans of the A.I. War to a newly terraformed world they had christened Third Earth. All had been well until they'd found an oddity, a nightmare from their past that, despite all reason had somehow found its way to follow them to their new home from Earth.
And at the same time,a pirate ship had attacked, distracting them. They had managed to fend the pirates off, even take them out, miracle upon miracle, but at great cost.
The pirates had lashed out several times to drive their brutality home, wiping out a great deal of the capital as well as some areas around it. Fortunately, with no loss of life since he'd ordered a mandatory evacuation the moment they'd known the ship was hostile.
It hadn't been without injuries though; some people had been too close and had been hurt. And others had been injured or killed by the dangerous area when they'd returned to inspect the damage.
But they'd rebuilt. Not as great as before, but it was an ongoing process. It had been picking up steam right up until the Confederation turned Federation had gotten word of the attack and their curious infestation.
And then all hell had broken loose.
He growled softly, deep in his throat. He couldn't blame them, even now. He had no idea how the hell the pyramid had shown up to darken his doorstep. He and his team of “Thundercats”had taken the original owner of the pyramid down in Vegas on battered Earth long ago during the latter stages of the A.I. War.
How it had gotten to Third Earth was just one of many mysteries.
The Confederation had not been amused by the report and had dispatched a light cruiser, the Gloucester, to investigate. The ship had confirmed the pyramid and his report and had tried to take it out with a kinetic bombardment.
The pyramid had been upgraded since its last appearance on Earth; it had sported a dense energy shield, one more powerful than many had dreamed possible. It had shrugged off the KEW strikes easily.
And then the damn pyramid had struck back with a series of energy beams that rivaled the firepower of a super dreadnought.
Gloucester had gotten clear, and she'd taken up residence in polar orbit out of line of sight of the pyramid.
And then the waiting game had begun.
The red-maned African Neolion stuck his pinky finger into his right ear and reamed it out gently.
“You are going to get an ear infection if you do that. You are just pushing the crud in deeper,” his mate scolded mildly.
“I can't help it. It itches,” he growled, trying to get at whatever was bothering him.
“Here, let me help,” she said softly, coming up behind him. She wrapped her hands gently around his and pulled it down, then pulled his head down to sniff and then lick his ear.
He snorted. “That wasn't the kind of help I had in mind,” he said with a mock growl. Her tail lashed his flank for the protest. He heard her soft chuff of a chuckle and then felt her tongue probe deeper.
“That's making it worse!” he said, shying away and flicking his ear with his arm instinctively to rid himself of the tickling sensation.
“Serves you right,” she said, pulling him off balance.
He growled and caught himself, then took a swat at her for retaliation, but she danced away with lively eyes.
“Minx,” he growled, hands curling into gripping positions, ready to strike.
“Barbarian! All I was trying to do was to help,” she said, her eyes laughing.
“Help she says,” he growled, scratching at his ear again. She chuffed in lively amusement.
It warmed his heart to hear that chuff. It annoyed him too though; he wanted revenge.
“Anything on the quarantine?” Wily-Kat said, coming into the room and then stopping at the tableau. “Ah, I can come back?” he said, slowly making a show of backing away.
“Oh saveme,” Pumyra said, raising her right wrist to her forehead as if she was a damsel in distress. “This raving barbarian plans to … well, I'm not sure, he is getting senile and slow …”
Lion-O growled menacingly and lunged. She dodged out of his reach laughing at him. “See?”
Wily-Kat chuffed but turned the laugh into a cough into his fist as Lion-O turned a glower on him. “What do you want?” the governor-general demanded.
“Um, I was wondering if the quarantine has been lifted. Don't we have a freighter due in?”
“They passed us by. No, the quarantine is in effect until we get rid of the damn pyramid,” Lion-O growled.
“Frack,” Wily-kat muttered. “Forgot that.”
“How could anyone forget that? Especially you?”
“I forgot that they won't lift the quarantine, not the pyramid. Which is stupid, we need the supplies since our industry got more or less gutted. Don't they know that? Or care? And what about the mortgage?”
“It's been suspended while they try to deal with this mess,” Pumyra said as she danced out of Lion-O's attempt to corner her. “Gotta move quicker than that old man,” she purred, eyes dancing again as she flicked her tail in his direction.
He made a show of trying to snag it. He nearly did. She yanked it back.
“Now who's getting slow?” he demanded, eyes glittering.
“So ah …”
“Until we get the pyramid off our back once and for all, we're partially cut off. We can get some supplies from the navy but not much.”
“Yeah, they are screwing us. First they took over the base, the base we built, then they demand that we supply them!” This isn't our fault!” Wily-Kat protested
“You don't think we don't know that? We're all in the same boat. Planet,” Pumyra said, turning slightly and pretending to be distracted. Lion-O noted she was watching him out of the corner of her eye though.
He feigned going left but then rushed her to the right. She giggled and lunged forward, pushing the smaller cat's head down to vault over his head. “Gotta be quicker than that,old man!” she chuckled just as Lion-O caught her tail. “Ow!” she protested, turning and lashing out.
He gripped the tail and grinned, reeling her in like a fish. “Gotcha now,” he growled, pulling her into his embrace.
“And what are you going to do with your prize?” she demanded, eyes locking onto his.
“Well, first this,” he said nuzzling her cheek until her eyes lowered. Her guard did as well. “And then …,” he nuzzled her but his hands went to her exposed flanks and dug in with a will. She giggled and writhed as he tickled her ruthlessly. She guffawed and tried to squirm away but his hands were too strong.
Wily-Kat rolled his eyes and retreated. There was no point trying to talk to them when they were like that.
<O>^<O>