Chris Hechtl's Blog, page 45

Sitrep

Well!
    I'm enjoying the odd weather... well mostly. I love rain, and getting it is what Socal needs desperately. Getting it as thundershowers though... and down here... not so much. I'm not thrilled about the muggy humidity, but I love the rain. Just love it.
Except when it comes with lightning and I have to shut my PC down. Just in case. :P

   Anyway... I followed Rick's advice and reshot the cover of Stepping Stones. In so doing it messed my PC up. (I'm to lazy to see if I mentioned that before) I ended up replacing my liquid cooling with a much more powerful set up (H100i which has my CPU at 8C right now!!!) as well as a new graphics card and 16 gig of 1866mhz memory. Very cool. So my PC is now ever so slightly faster... and a lot more cooler.
It rendered the new scene components without breaking a sweat or setting an alarm off. Very nice.


   Here we are tighter in on the action. You can't see as much of the habitat as I had intended, but it has some nicer action. Even if you can see Giz's booty a little too well. Oh well. LOL

   The betas are still working on Stepping Stones... I haven't heard a sitrep from them in a week. From what I understand, life keeps getting in the way so it is plodding along. :)

   In other news, the family has gone off on their cruise (I don't do vacations. I haven't had one in 25+ years. My 'time off' is when they all go and get out of my hair so I can work in peace and quiet. Besides, I have the cats.) I have been plugging away at The First A.I. War  pretty well. I've gotten the first 10 chapters roughed out. It's looking like it is going to be a bigger book than the anthology. (Which is what I wanted) Chapter 12 is done, 11 I'm tripping over, 14 is half done, and there are tons of material tucked into the other chapters and acts. 156 pages so far. With the weather the way it is, it is tough to get my 10 pages a day in. (and I am super sticky right now, which isn't fun) I will hopefully get the majority of the book finished before the family returns. (Fingers crossed)

   Speaking of storm... when it really hit yesterday I shut down early and broke out Tin Men by Christopher Golden. (I love to read when it rains out) I devoured it before bedtime. It is an... interesting book and close to what I'm working on, so it keeps me in the mindset. A bit one dimensional on combat, (focusing on the robots without considering intel, UAV's fighters, or other things) myoptic on a few things, (really? a plutonium powered soldier running around in the middle east? You think this is a good thing??)  but it had some really good action sequences. Some good character development, and a couple good twists. I like that he pointed out that America acting as a self appointed sheriff hell bent on keeping the peace would backfire. The breakdown of civilization... not bad though I've got plenty of questions on it. (for instance, why doesn't anyone else try to figure out a way to fix things??) It is also set up for a sequel.
   If we get more rain (they are predicting it for the afternoon) today and tomorrow (yeah!) I'll try to get my 10 in beforehand then shut down for another book or 2. Or catch up on The Last Ship and Falling Skies. Or watch Ex Machina or Chappie or Hurlock.... :)

 I hope everyone else is having a fun summer!



   EDIT: PS, I forgot to mention something. For those of you wondering about Lil Red, she is okay. She's blond now, with a red streak down her back. She is finally growing, which is a good thing... except when she tackles the boys. lol     We tried to get her fixed again (for the 4rth time)... even while she was in heat. The vet kicked her back to us 6 hours later without doing the procedure. Supposedly she had a minor sinus infection? She passed her preop just fine but they found mucus in her tube when they hooked her up. She's fine, but dad left me with a horny, frisky, SHAVED, blond pussy running around the house.  Why couldn't it have been of the human variety???

-and now you know why I'm single. lol

171 pages, time to keep trucking! Woot Woot!!
 

Jory

I received an email this morning from Jory's sister stating he was in a bad fall. Apparently Mike was also notified as well.

Jory was involved in a horrible work accident earlier today when he was repairing brick on a 4 story building when the scaffolding system caved in and collapsed to the ground with my brother on it. if that wasn't enough the new brick on the plank landed on him.

He will be unconscious for awhile, possibly permanently because of the damage to his head. He is currently in Intensive care for trauma.

An update:

As an update.  He is out of surgery for the damage to the back of his head. The surgery was a success and they had awoken him useing medication to gauge how much was lost and at this point they believe he will not suffer from any lasting brain damage. Now that the critical injuries have been treated they will work on mending both broken legs and his broken right arm. He is currently in a medically induced coma but can be awoken easily. 

My hopes and prayers go out to him and his family in this trying time. Hopefully he will pull through.

Stepping Stones

Sitrep:
   The first draft was sent off to Jory to read a couple of weeks ago. He had finals last week, so hopefully he survived them and can get his notes and stuff back to me this week. I know the other betas are stirring, starting to take interest. :)

    I've been poking at Pirates Rage and The First A.I. War for a bit now. I made the cover of Stepping Stones...and sent it out to be critiqued by the Betas. Some negative feedback got me to try to reshoot the cover... and it overheated my PC. (serious panic there for a bit, since I hadn't done a backup in a while!) There is damage but I got a lot of it sorted out. But there is permanent damage, my PC temps are hot even while idle now. (even with liquid cooling and all the fans I've got running inside it) I can't and won't try to render again. Not until I figure something else out.

   It also means I'm 1: Stuck with the cover I finished, like it or not. And 2: I can't do 3D stuff until the heat breaks which won't be until September if I'm lucky. :P and 3: I have to shut down when it gets too hot in my room. (it is 85 now even with the AC on, which is pushing things) So, that is going to put a crimp on my productivity for a while.
I guess I'll get caught up on reading my books. I've got a ton, including Minion Mike's 2 to read. :)

Here is the Stepping Stones cover First Draft:

   The cover is from one of the short stories and takes place in the Axial 1 space colony. (an Oniell cylinder) The content is 95% from Daz with buildings from Stonemason, various stuff from other vendors, etc. The clouds are from a texture pack I got from a 3D site. The ground is from the web.

   The book is short. (currently under 250 pages) I had shot for 300. Revisions and additions might change that number a bit. At least I hope so. I'm already considering adding 2 stories. There are 15 total so far.

    That's it for now, I'm going to go back to poking at AI War before I have to shut down... or the family invades to go swimming again. Don't get sunburn folks!

Jethro 4 Recruiting Drive goes live in 5...4...3...2...

Ayeyup, it's happening as I write this. I just finished uploading it. (I seriously need to invest the time into looking into Smashwords, Apple, and Google again)
Anyway, it has been uploaded, I had expected to release another snippet or two beforehand... oops? Anyway, enjoy.

Jethro McClintock had a rough time in Pyrax.
It hadn't been the pleasant homecoming some had imagined. Far from it. He and the remainder of his squad had returned home with Firefly's convoy in triumph, sure. They had garnered in a wave of changes to Pyrax and the navy.
But as he had wrestled with personal changes including the A.I. Bast that Fleet Admiral Irons had fully awoken within him assassins from his past had struck. They hadn't killed him, but they had killed some near him, friends and family near and dear to his heart.
Now he has to contend with the grief and move on. Ship out to Agnosta as planned, and from there, wherever the corps needed him. But his new assignment wasn't without some risks, he had a target on his back. But would he be willing to risk it all for another great adventure? And if so, could he balance the call of duty with the call of his heart?

As soon as it goes live on Amazon and B&N I will post the links here.

Wow! It already has on Amazon. Thank you Bengt Thuree for pointing it out:
http://www.amazon.com/Recruiting-Drive-Jethro-Goes-War-ebook/dp/B00YBE1CGW/ref=sr_1_10?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432690842&sr=1-10&keywords=jethro

And...B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/recruiting-drive-chris-hechtl/1122001339?ean=2940151273145&itm=1&usri=2940151273145

Woot Woot! :)

Jethro 4 Recruiting Drive Snippet 1

Well, since Mike commented on my blog about the snippet going out on FB, I figured it's time to post it here. :)

Oh, if you are interested, (which I am) Mike Kotcher (Minion Mike on the FB group, also Lieutenant Mike in the Wandering Engineer universe) has released a sequel to his Samir in Argos series.
 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WS6203Y/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3BVT4C3L8P9IZ&coliid=IDSB05TCM8EQI

Very cool. I plan on picking up my copy when I get through my backlog.

Anyway, on to the snippet:

ACT I


Chapter 1

Gunnery Sergeant Jethro McClintock, black NeoPanther and Recon Marine recovered in rehabilitation rapidly once the medics had discharged him from the security suite in the hospital complex of the Naval Annex. He was puzzled by the changes in his body. He was also puzzled over the nanites in his body and how they had allowed him to survive his most recent brush with death. Not many managed to suck vacuum and live to tell of the experience he thought. Not that it had been enjoyable, not at all. It had been an act of defiance and desperation, breaching the airlock to kill his opponents in the machine shop. But it had damn near killed him in the process.While he slept his A.I. Bast had reshaped his implants. He tried to talk to the A.I. but she hadn't spoken to him again. He wondered if she would, or if it would take his being in his armored suit to do so. She kept it nearby, an ever present guardian of his person. A reminder that he needed such protection, something he didn't want to think about but had to if he was going to survive for long.Many also didn't live long with a 'fatwa', a kill on sight order from the Shadow League hanging over their heads like a sword of Damocles.  She refused to tell him what she was doing; only flashing her eyes redly at him when he became insistent. He had strange cravings for food from time to time, and odd substances that would ordinarily turn his stomach. He wasn't certain if it was all a part of the healing process or Bast at work.Bast was a legacy from his past, a piece of his heritage like his flat black suit of powered combat armor. The most powerful and sophisticated suit in the Federation's arsenal, possibly the only Cadre suit left in existence. Bast was a part of the suit as much as a part of him. He was still coming to terms with all its implications.For months she had seemed like a black and gold cat on his HUD, quiet and reserved. She'd seemed young, a kitten, but as she had 'grown' she'd matured more and more into a Neofeline shape. Not that she showed it much. She wanted him in the suit as much as possible, which wasn't possible while he had been stuck in his bed.She'd even locked him in the damn suit when he'd finally agreed. It had taken a direct command from Captain Logan for her to reluctantly let him back out. He'd started to get claustrophobic in the suit too, something she perhaps had recognized. But she was still not talking much, he thought, eying her image for a moment.When she did communicate it was more of a sense of feelings and impressions, not much dialog. She had spoken once but had refused to speak again despite his entreaties to do so. She would vocalize, like when he insisted on coming to the memorial, but not in words.He'd given up on pressing her for the moment. Today belonged to someone else he thought darkly. He finally had to deal with the Matriarch's death and the small part he'd played in it. She had been executed as a ploy, a simple thing to piss him off enough to allow Miss Persephone the opportunity to get inside his head and make him screw up. It had almost worked.She was dead. He wasn't. He shook himself slightly, getting a handle on his rising ire.Another problem was coming to his attention more and more, dealing with the vacuum of the Matriarch's untimely death. She had been the last Neo clan leader in the star system. Now everyone who had been near her, who had looked to her for guidance and aid was scrambling for a rudder. Some had tried to latch onto Jethro at the memorial despite the heavy security detail at the formal gathering. For once he was glad they were around.He was glad that the press had been excluded. Oh Knox was there, but he was there as a friend to the Matriarch; not as a reporter. The human occasionally smiled politely to those who noted his presence and looked him up and then moved on. Jethro nodded to him in passing. Knox was dressed in a conservative business suit of charcoal gray. His wife had been in attendance at one point but had been called away. Jethro's enhanced hearing had picked up their conversation easily. The wife hadn't been at all happy about being in the presence of so many neo predators. Tough for her he thought with a slight sniff of disdain.During the memorial Jethro found out the Matriarch had also been helping many of the alien species in the star system. Many were there at the memorial or had sent representatives. The Alien-Neo tax had been repealed but no one was ready to forgive or forget quite easily or soon, he noted. He caught smatterings of talk about forming a lobby or continuing the exodus out of the star system from time to time.He tried his best to handle it. He gave a few curt nods to those who approached him but he felt on edge. It wasn't just him; even Bast was watching everyone with narrowed suspicious eyes. He wanted to instinctively trust those attending the memorial in uniform but even they had his fur rising instinctively. All but his old friends like Valenko and Hurranna.The bear hadn't stayed long; he'd popped in then had to pop right back out. Duty called, Jethro thought, proud that his friend had gotten promoted to O-5 Captain Senior Grade and was the ranking Marine officer in the star system. He had his work cut out for him though, Colonel Forth had resented the Navy's insistence on running Marine officers from ROTC and college to the academy without going to boot camp as tradition as his principles dictated. He had turned Pyrax into a dumping ground of half trained screw ups, malcontents, and those who had risen through the ranks past their abilities. Now Horatio needed to get his house in order before turning it over to the new administration. So the Colonel had saddled Valenko with the house cleaning. Jethro wished he could be of more help, not simply handling admin duties for the bear. He hated that he was still on light duty pending full medical clearance. Clearance that was dragging its feet as usual. And since JAG and military intelligence was also involved... he fought to keep his tail still. He also kept himself sternly in check. Snarling or exposing his claws wasn't wise in this group he reminded himself.There were speeches from various people, and even a couple local celebrities in attendance. M'wvekii was there, but she was swamped by people so he couldn't talk to his aunt like he would have liked. She did look good in her sarong. Serene, composed, and very much grieving for the Matriarch. The Neopanther did his best to stay in the shadows away from the worst of the grievers and chest beaters as well as the celebrities and the cluster of hanger-ons that followed them around.M'wvekii took charge of the memorial as master of ceremonies. She kept everyone brief and on topic. She guided them through a tour of the Matriarch's long life and her good deeds and then asked that they all remember her wisdom and do their best to follow in her footsteps. Jethro nodded when her eyes fell on him. The leopardess nodded back and flicked her ears once to him.Near the end of the memorial a pair of representatives of a clan of cat changelings came to him. “I'm sorry about your loss Gunnery Sergeant... McClintock,” the female said, lashing her tail. He nodded politely. Cat changelings were an odd bunch. They had a mostly human body but a feline mods like heads, ears, eyes, claws, and tails. The mods were a variety, some had blended human and animal features, others were more cat than human. Sometimes they interbred with true Neos but many kept to themselves in tight knit clans. He was fairly certain Doctor Thornby was aware of how inbred they were. They moved with lithe grace like a cat but they looked... wrong. “She will be missed,” the female said, turning to the Matriarch's portrait. He glanced at her profile. She was a tawny brown but with short fur on her body and a full head of long tresses on her head. She wore a black gown with a silk wrap. A black collar was around her throat with a tiny silver bell attached at the center under her chin. He recognized it, it was a common sight among some Neocats and dogs. The females loved the bell for some odd reason.“That she will be,” Jethro said softly. He'd missed Hrris's memorial. That bothered him. He was grateful that someone had dug out a small picture of the neolion and had put it next to his grandmother. “And Hrris too. They didn't deserve that sort of death,” he said.“No one does,” the female said, looking at the smaller portrait and then away. She sniffled.Jethro's eyes went vacant as he remembered his grandmother. She hadn't been truly related to him by blood but he had loved her as a grandmother anyway. Many of the Neos and apparently many of the other people here had done the same. He wondered how many had been raised by the elderly Neolioness. Quite a few, he thought, eyes briefly touching on a familiar lynx shape wending its way through the crowd before he looked away.“They got them though. Or I heard you did,” the female said, interrupting his thoughts.“Oh yes. Yes I did. Hrriss was with me actually, they... well, I can't talk about it,” he said lamely as Bast hissed softly on his HUD. He flicked his ears. “Open investigation,” he said when the female eyed him.She nodded. “Look Gunny... can I call you Gunny?” He flicked his ears and nodded slightly. She seemed relieved for some reason. “Look Gunny, we need... we need your help. Ordinarily I wouldn't dream of bothering you at this delicate time but...” she flicked her hands and ears.Her partner growled softly. He looked at the male. He had the look of a domestic with his tuxedo coat of black and white. But his ears weren't on the top of his head they were on the sides and shaped more like a humans. He eyed the panther then looked away. “She was helping us,” the tomcat rumbled.“Yes. Which has left us rudderless at a critical moment. She mentioned your name and said you were helping to fund people like us who wish to emigrate but can't.”“I see. Are you being forced to stay?” Jethro asked.“Oh no, it's not that,” the female replied with a shake of her head.“Far from it. They'd love to turf us all out,” the tom growled softly. His growl alerted a few people nearby. They looked up or turned their ears to their conversation. He looked around and then shook himself slightly.“We... we could use all the help we can get. We've got kits. They deserve a better future than here...” the female said, touching Jethro's arm imploringly.“I don't know what I can do. I'll see if I can talk to someone. See if I can help that way. I can't make any promises though,” Jethro said.The female's startlingly bright blue eyes searched his for a moment then she nodded. Her upper lip twitched as if she was twitching her nonexistent whiskers. “Thank you.”“No promises,” the tom echoed in annoyance.“We'll take what aid we can,” the female said with a tart rejoinder over her shoulder to her companion. The tom grunted. The female smiled a tight lipped smile to Jethro and then adjusted her wrap. “I heard Agnosta is nice.”“It is that. The quickest way to get there is either to sign on to the Marines or get in with a military contractor,” Jethro said thoughtfully. He eyed the tom. He looked like he could serve but from his expression he had no interest. He put him firmly out of mind.“Barring that, you could get a ride if someone was attached to you. You could get transport as a military dependent of someone being transferred there or through the system to elsewhere,” Jethro offered.“I see,” the female said, adjusting her shift. “I wish we could take notes,” she said, smiling slightly to Jethro.“The only other way to go is to pay for passage. Since the military is sending ships back and forth twice a week now I believe the ticket price has dropped considerably,” Jethro said. Bast flashed the credit cost on his HUD, and then put up the cost from a month ago. “It's dropped by nearly half since last month,” he offered.“I didn't know that,” the female said, lightly stroking his arm with her fingertips. He looked down and noted that her claws were more like fingernails than feline claws. She also had long human like fingers and hands. When she realized he was looking she stopped and dropped her hand with a mew.“We really must be going,” the tom growled from behind her, taking her by the arm. Jethro opened his mouth to object but the female just smiled slightly to him.“Another time perhaps,” she purred.“You'd better not Marishka,” the tom growled, just loud enough for Jethro to overhear. “Behave,” he growled warningly.“He knows I love to see him jealous,” the female purred with a light tinkly laugh as she let him pull her away. Jethro sniffed in appreciation, finally realizing she was using some sort of perfume or something else.“You could also work your passage,” Jethro said lamely, loud enough for them and others near to overhear. She turned and wiggled her fingers in a goodbye.Hurranna saw him talking with them and came over to his side as one by one the changelings left. “They finally decided to shit and get off the pot?” She asked near the panther's elbow, nodding her chin to the departing female.“What's that supposed to mean?” Jethro asked; turning and looking down to the Neolynx. She was dressed as he was, in her formal Marine dress blues.Hurranna flicked her ears in a shrug. “Oh the usual, shit or get off the pot. Figure it out. I've heard of them. Tom, Dick, Harry, Mariska and the others. They can afford to get here for the funeral but can't afford to leave the star system.” She shook her head in disgust. “The matriarch was after them to leave their colony. Now they want to do so and want transport. Plus money to help set them up wherever they end up.”Jethro groaned. “Oh lovely. I'm not a bank!” He growled. Apparently because he helped out people some of them saw him as a target, an easy mark to go to with a sob story. He shook his head, fighting to keep his temper in check. “But they don't need it! They can stay!”“Exactly,” the lynx said in a dust dry response. “It's not your problem,” Hurranna insisted. “Nor ours. They made their beds, let them lie in it. They were offered help before but they dragged their feet.”“No, we can help them,” Jethro insisted. “If they want help, we can do it. It's what she would have wanted us to do.”Hurranna winced. “You would say that.”“Well, it's true. And you know it,” he said. She snorted. “Okay, genius, how?”“'I'll think of something,” Jethro said with his own ear flick. “We've got time now.”“True.”“Are you still stuck in...” Hurranna grimaced. “Crap. I've got to go. That was my implants,” she grimaced as she wolfed down a replicated tuna snack she'd picked up from the hors d'oeuvres table nearby. She chased that down with a slug of water. “We'll catch up later. I've got another day of leave coming to me next week.”“Count on it. See you soon,” he said. She nodded and left at a trot for the nearest exit. He watched her go.He toyed with the thought of using military transport to get the group out. In theory he or another Marine could marry someone like Mariska. They would then get the free pass to Agnosta or whatever posting he ended up at, then they could get a no fault divorce on the other end and wash their hands over the whole affair. He wouldn't take advantage of her, though he wasn't sure he could deny her charms if she turned... insistent let's say, he thought with a grin. Bast eyed him on his HUD with disfavor. Obviously she was getting something from that train of thought. He let it die a natural death.Another method was to get them in and out one at a time under military transport as someone interested in joining up. He didn't like that idea though, it was tantamount to unlawful in his eyes so he set the thought aside right away. Then he had another thought. How could he get them and others to the annex in the first place? They obviously couldn't go to the annex itself, they didn't have clearance. But they had to get here... he frowned thoughtfully as his mind raced. Mariska and her partner had obviously gotten here, so they could make it this far. But a group? Stage them through a nearby colony before they got to Anvil... Would that work? “Mariska, where have I heard your name before,” he murmured. Silently Bast put up an ad for him to look at. His eyes scanned it. The female had traveled to Anvil after being offered a job on the station to replace Hrriss. She had accepted when she had heard the Neo/Alien law had been in the process of being nullified. “She's got enough money then. One month, maybe two at her job and she'd have enough for a ticket off of Anvil to Agnosta. Or money to get her friends and family to Anvil in small groups,” he growled softly. According to the footnote in the article the female had held out for more perks until Anvil's administration had started to shop for someone else. Jethro shook his head. He wasn't sure where Bast had dug that little tidbit up.“She's obviously looking a gift horse in the mouth,” he said. Bast nodded. “And trying to take advantage of me. Thanks for watching my back,” he said to her. She flicked her ears and then went back to watching the crowd as it slowly dispersed.<(>~^~<(>

Updates

   Well, things are slowly progressing, despite some setbacks medically.
I was forced to take some time off, I've apparently gotten a bit too obsessed about writing, some other stuff, death of a friend, and the cat medical issues. My BP went through the roof. (200 over 110) But I've gotten back on track, or I'm trying to now.

Here is the cover of Jethro 4 Recruiting Drive. I did this right after I passed the book on to the betas.
   It is still in the hands of Joshua and Gord, so I haven't sent it to Rea yet as I planned last week. I'm going to give both fella's a poke this week and see if I can get a progress report and ETA out of them. :)

   In other news, since I had to take some time off, it didn't mean I hadn't abandoned working on Founding of the Federation short stories 1 Stepping Stones, it just meant I had to take it slower... I managed to get a few bits tucked in there, some in PR, some in J5, some in the first Reborn Federation short story book... and cleaned up a few future books up for later.

   I also modeled some more of the characters from J4 in Daz3D. I'll post them later. (you can see a few on the cover image above) A few like the characters for the air crew for the below ship will wait until I get around to modeling the ship itself...

   It has been hot here, (95!) so I've struggled to get back into writing. I'm currently considering working on modeling the Marine attack craft that is in J4 and a couple of the short stories. I call it the
"Bell-Ichim 222 Osprey Attack Craft" It will be my own version of this:    Mine will be a dedicated gunship along the vague lines of a famous TV helicopter... I bought a nurby/greeble pack to help the process along but I'm still stuck in the "OMG it's a lot of work" dithering phase. lol

   I'd like to get the characters, my notes, tech stuff, and models of the ships/craft together with Jory (and the star system maps he's working on) into the Wiki he started. Eventually. Hopefully. Maybe...sooner or later? :P

   I did get another short story for Stepping Stones done this week, and another almost finished. It is nearly 1/3rd finished. Hopefully I can pick up the pace this week.

...And I've just been informed I'm being dragged off to Dairy Queen to spend time with the family. Then they get to sit around and watch the race while I muddle through other things. :)

That's that for this! Until next time!

 

Battle Lines have been drawn... the countdown has begun!

    Okay, (deep breath, exhale...) we had a bit of a snafu, apparently the manuscript got lost in the mail. (email, seriously! Not kidding!) But I poked Goodlifeguide and we got it sorted out this morning. And then I got shanghaied by my family today so well, it's just been uploaded!
    So, it should be published within the next 12-36 hours. Keep an eye on Amazon/B&N for it. I'll try to check and when it does come up I'll post the links here.

This is what you are looking for:

EDIT: it is on Amazon. Thank you Daniel for pointing it out:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VZH4MKQ/

Here it is on B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121722448?ean=2940151523318

Description:

Fleet Admiral John Henry Irons mission to the secret Lemnos facility that changed his life was what some would call, a success. But he returned changed, he had lost one of his AI to rampancy after fighting an Xeno AI Wraith, and his greatest AI, his confidant Commander Sprite had chosen to leave him.
He didn't return to civilization alone however. He brought with him over a hundred precious sleepers, officers and enlisted personnel ready to help rebuild the Federation once more, along with petabytes of precious blueprints and data, designed by some of the greatest minds of the Federation.
But before they can begin to forge a new fleet they have to stop the rampaging Horathian Empire in it's tracks. Rear Admiral Amadeus White has been assigned to push the enemy back and keep them back while Admiral Irons and Subert work on building new ships. Admiral Subert has his own problems to deal with in Pyrax. He needs time, time to adjust, time to clean up the mess. Time to build more ships.
But the enemy within and without won't wait. Napoleon said it best, "You can ask me for anything but not time!"
The Battle Lines have been drawn!

Battle Lines Snippet 4

    For those of you who don't know, Rhea has BL and will be finishing it sometime this week. As soon as she does, and as soon as I process it, I'll be shooting it off to Goodlifeguide.com for final formatting...
Okay, here it is...:


Chapter 2
 Convoy 8b arrived in Agnosta in a chain of light explosions. To some it looked like a freight train of ships coming in, all neatly in line with the escorting frigates and destroyer Mary Apple on their flanks. The static discharge and rippling of space time as they exited hyperspace was eye searing.The convoy carried more than a cargo of precious equipment and recruits however. Newly promoted Rear Admiral Phil Subert was among the passengers.He had recovered from his injuries and was ready to get to work. They were planning a brief stay in the star system however. The 6 freighters, 1 transport, and 3 warships passed on their IFF and greetings to the picket force and orbital fortresses protecting the jump point zone and then lumbered in toward the blue and green orb.Some of the passengers would be getting off Admiral Subert reminded himself. All of the 943 Marine enlisted recruits as well as some of the Marine sleepers from Lemnos. There was a single lonely Army officer, newly promoted Captain Poon Yee. He would be joining them on Agnosta. Captain Yee had come up through artillery but was the only army officer they had. Admiral Irons had put him in charge of rebuilding the army using the Marine base and training as his initial template. It was a daunting task, one Captain Poon seemed unsure about.There was some concern about the division of resources. The Marines were the traditional spearhead of the Federation ground forces. Unlike the Army they were multitaskers, handling many different jobs and roles beyond the ever visible guards that the public saw or dealt with. They had their own air arm as well as special forces. They were light on artillery and armor however. They were the ones who were sent in to board ships or stations or to form a beachhead on a planet. Then the Army came in to consolidate the beachhead and then move inward to take over a planet.Normally a smart native population surrendered once a hostile force had control of their orbitals. That wasn't always the case however, so invasions became a necessity. Even the threat of one could force a capitulation and eventually surrender. But once a world was captured you had to deal with its sometimes restive and unruly population. Terrorism, IEDs, and other common ground threats had to be dealt with.The Army would be needed to garrison captured worlds, sure, but not for some time to come. They of course needed to get the ball rolling on recruiting and training the forces, but with the Marines needing the lion share of the warm bodies to handle ship, station, and invasion forces the Captain had offered to transfer his commission to the Marines. Admiral Irons had asked him to stay the course for the time being. They could always fold the army forces into the Marine corps if it didn't work out. 233 recruits who had expressed a desire to join the army were in the convoy with him. Colonel Forth's people had already polled the Marine records for officers and enlisted who had expressed a desire to join the army. Two ensigns in the star system had come forward right away, both were descendants of army officers, or so they said.One noncom and 1 enlisted had expressed an interest but were elsewhere. Sergeant Snorkle and Private Bailey had on record that they were descendants of Army personnel. Both had expressed repeated interest in a transfer but both were on their way to Protodon with Admiral White.It would take time, at least 48 hours, to unload once they were in orbit. The convoy ships would then be refueled and reloaded with returning freight and passengers and then sent on out once more.Admiral Subert, 6 precious ansible cores, along with all the material destined for the Pyrax shipyard and ships were destined for Pyrax. Ships like Tris and 779 made regular runs between Pyrax and Agonsta but they could only carry so much per load. The loads had to be prioritized for shipment. Some things like drives and reactors had priority over others. It was a given that the admiral and the ansibles would be on the first flight.Admiral Subert had 2 members on his staff. He was lucky, both were sleepers. Amadeus didn't have any or so he'd heard. Saul was shaping up well. Ensign, no, Lieutenant Junior Grade Roman Taylor. The young man was one of two doctors in the sleepers. He was good though the admiral was fairly confident the gangly man would come into his own once they were in Pyrax. For the time being he left the lad alone to his 'research.'He'd tried to get his hands on newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Yan Li Wong. The raven was a genius with ships, he'd be a great asset running the yard. But John had been adamant, the raven had been immured in Antigua digging into the problems with the downloads from Lemnos while also helping Commander Sindri with the yard expansion projects. He shook his head. He knew he couldn't have his way all the time, but that sucked.Phil wasn't certain of Lieutenant Colonel Forth. He was a character, of that he was certain. A quiet man, but apparently the jarheads worshiped him. They'd had a bit of friction over ansible discussions. Nothing major, but enough to let the visiting flag officer know that the Colonel was both stubborn and used to seeing things his way.He wasn't too keen about how presumptive some of the officers were. Some like Forth hadn't been trained, hell, they hadn't gone to an academy, college... he shook his head. But John was right, it was a chicken and the egg sort of thing. He'd needed officers and noncoms to train the following generation. They had caught up, or so he said. Phil wasn't so sure. He had noted a lot of point failures in some of the people John had so much faith in. It was time someone did something about it. Which was what he intended once he got to Pyrax and took over.It bothered him that a jumped up yeoman and engineering tech was a captain in charge of the yard and the entire star system. What had John been thinking? He shook his head. One of the first things he did once they were off the jump point and in transit across the system was to order 1 corvette to go to B-452c, strip the satellites there and remain on station in the empty cross roads system until the next convoy passed through. They would return after 2 months and be replaced by another ship. The picket commander was not happy about the orders but she took on fuel and stores and then moved out within an hour of receiving them.Admiral Subert made certain the lieutenant, nor others, called Admiral Irons behind his back to complain or try to jump his command. Once the corvette was gone he returned to the anticipated tour of the facilities.The naval base in orbit was simple, a complex of warehouses and housing facilities to handle the load of people and material passing through the star system. Warehouse stations were under construction at the B-452c jump point but they had only just been started. Once they were up and running along with a tank farm convoy ships would be able to make the turn around right on the jump point, unload and reload in a day and then return to B-452c.Shipping the material that way was a bit of a pain, after all they had to load and unload in Agnosta. They also had a bit of a bottleneck with the ships coming and going from Pyrax to Agnosta. Apparently Captain Logan had gotten a leg up on the process by stockpiling material in Agnosta's orbital warehouses but the ships were barely keeping ahead of the demand. Admiral Subert made a note to do something about that when he got to Pyrax.He was amused by the orbital training facilities for the Marines. They had towed an asteroid into orbit, hollowed out caverns in it in order to use it as a space training facility. Airlocks and structures were attached to the surface in various places. It was crude but effective. He nodded in approval.

And the news is official...

     I had blood work done earlier this month (H1ac was 5.6!!) and I finally got the good news in official capacity.

    I came back from the doctor's elated this morning, he made it official and took me OFF the diabetic list! I am no longer considered diabetic. I have NOT been taking meds for over a year and my H1ac has been 5.7 or below this entire time, which proved my point. He said Pre-diabetic yes, but NOT diabetic. Very cool. I'll take that and keep working on it and other things. :D

     Oh, I've been making some small progress on the Jethro 4 Recruiting Drive cover. I am hoping to get a lot more done tomorrow (maybe, if dad being home doesn't destroy my plans) ... I got the uniform from www.Poseraddict.com this morning, so now I just need to put the pieces together and work on Jethro's fruit salad and other stuff...

      I watched Halo Nightfall last night. It was... meh. I didn't know what to expect. Cool in some small ways, but I wish they'd thrown that money at the Spartan Ops and gone whole hog that way instead. It would have been stellar there, with a lot more scope and room to play.
     I've always wanted to do a 3D movie/game for my books. (for instance Afraid of the Dark was geared for a 3D game) I know some animators use game engines for animation. (Terminator Salvation did it) I'm curious on how well it works and renders time wise. It'd be wicked to play in the Federation universe... or oh, Bootstrap with the aliens and dinosaurs... For now, just a dream. I still can't get around to the wiki or website! lol Still....

      Anyway... I know, daydreaming. :) ... I know I owe another snippet. I'll post it tomorrow or later this evening if I remember.... or send it to Minion Mike first since Jory's busy reading Jethro 4. :)

Multiverse 2 Launches in 3...2...1....

    Hi! Wow! I just got the email from Goodlifeguide.com with the final manuscript so I immediately ran over to Amazon and B&N and published it! It should go live anytime in the next 24-48 hours.
When they go live I will post the links.

Description:
    11 short stories of Fantasy, Science Fiction and somewhere in between. From genetic engineering to sweeping space drama, to the whimsical Santa Brigade. Here is a second collection of short stories from various universes including 4 new Federation stories!

The stories are:
Virus (mix drama sorta scifi)Fantasy:
ElementalsScifi:
Survival
Penance
The Santa Brigade
The Pack (aka Who done it)
Last Assault of the EmperorFounding Fed stories:
Island of Moreau
Bumper and Boomer
The Good Ship USFP Lollipop
Lewis and Clarke (the story that was supposed to be at the end of Ghosts from the Past)

      In other news, I got to the end of act 2 of Jethro 4 Recruiting Drive Friday then dropped the ball by a distraction for the past um, quite a few days now. (wince, I can hear the screams now) I will hopefully get back to it um... sometime tomorrow (maybe? double wince!) or Thursday.The really annoying thing is the distraction blew up in my face and turned into a lot of wasted time and effort on my part. Sigh. Anyway, Enjoy MV 2!