C.S. Garrand's Blog: Humanity's Leap
December 4, 2024
The Architect, Book Two of HL
Released a bit earlier than scheduled. The Audiobook for Species Seventeen is in production (can't wait to hear the talented Patricia Santomasso bring it to life), and should be done this month.
Now I have to figure out how to advertise this stuff and get engagement. Hard to believe its only been less than two months!
Head on over to CSGarrand.com for news and content. Thanks for reading!
-CS
Now I have to figure out how to advertise this stuff and get engagement. Hard to believe its only been less than two months!
Head on over to CSGarrand.com for news and content. Thanks for reading!
-CS
November 8, 2024
Interdiction of the Cairo - Dixon's Tale
The following short story was posted on csgarrand.com
Feel free to hop over for the full story and subscribe for more updates on the characters of Humanity's Leap. This blog formatting isn't ideal, so if you want to read it here, please forgive the formatting medium.
Copryright 2024, csgarrand publishing, all rights reserved.
--------------
“Your bet, sergeant.” Specialist Collins nodded in the direction of Sergeant Leonard Dixon, holding two cards over her dwindling pile of chips. Dixon glanced up from his own cards, but was quick enough to see Collins’ eyes dart left to Ensign Charnesky and back again. Charnesky had nothing, and no real prospects for anything. He checked the first time and then only grudgingly matched a small bet from Dixon on the second time around. Dixon had an ace and an eight, and there were two cards in the center of the table facing up – a three and an ace. He was going for the dead man’s hand and pretty sure Collins was bluffing. She always covered her chips with her cards whenever she was betting on a hope and prayer.
“Personal correspondence from Sarah Dixon received,” Felix, his artificial assistant, told him through his implant. Felix was the artificial assistant of everyone aboard the UHS frigate Morningstar, as was standard doctrine for all Hegemony naval ships whether they be ocean-going or star-faring. Dixon thought about stepping away from the table, but he’d catch all sorts of shit for doing it.
“Put it in the queue, Felix,” Dixon told the AI. Felix would store the message for him to review later. He reached for his chips. “You’re not running me out of this, Collins. I used to be a card-carrying member of the E4 mafia, so I know how you guys operate.”
Collins pressed her lips together but did not smile. “Whatever you say, sir.”
Lance Corporal Duffy was dealing, but he had already gone out. He reached for and turned the next card over. Another ace.
Even better, thought Dixon. Collins again flicked her gaze to Ensign Charnesky and back, waiting for Dixon to make a bet. Dixon tossed a few chips into the pile. A sizable bet.
Charnesky barely waited until they hit the table before exhaling and throwing his cards down on to the table. “I’m out.” Collins pursed her lips, staring hard at Dixon, who was looking back at her.
Just as Collins began to reach for her chips, a klaxon blared throughout the lounge. “All crew to actions stations and secure for hard maneuvers.” Dixon tilted his head towards the ceiling, and then over to Lance Corporal Duffy, who was staring back at him.
“Felix, secure the table until we get back,” Dixon said to the room. The AI was listening, and immediately placed a red holographic barrier around the table. Above the center of it floated text that read “LOCKED”. No one would be able to touch the table or anything on it without being recorded and reported to the four players.
“Sergeant,” came the voice of Lieutenant Bondevik through Dixon’s implant.
“Sir,” Dixon replied, heading toward the exit of the lounge with Duffy behind him.
“Sergeant, we’re interdicting a Continental class transport – the Cairo. Thirty-two minutes to intercept,” the Lieutenant was saying. “Need you to take Bravo Team to airlock 3C on deck 3 in twenty-five. Prep for full EVA with hostile breach action. Sergeant Mallory is taking the rest of First Squad over on the Pony.” The “Pony” was slang for the F-62 Dark Horse assault craft sitting in Morningstar’s main hangar.
“Understood, sir,” Dixon said, picking up his pace. Duffy could not hear the sergeant’s conversation over the private link, but he sensed the urgency and matched his CO’s pace. “What’s our infiltration option?”
“Sending the schematic now,” the Lieutenant replied. “You’ll be positioned right above their cargo bay. Two-hundred-meter crossing, hack the maintenance access you’ll find below the dorsal thruster manifold. Intel says you should be able to fit through with your JEMAS.”
“Understood, sir,” Dixon repeated. “Resistance?”
“Intel thinks we’re dealing with ten to twelve pirates, lightly armed,” Bondevik explained. “Hegemony’s been looking for the Cairo for a couple of months now. We think she’s been running untraceable, untaxable cargo between Europa and Mars. We got lucky when the CSA called in a ship running dark inside their traffic zone. Maybe they were making a transfer with someone in the asteroid belt, or maybe they were just dumb and got too close to Ceres, but the CSA tagged them, and we were tasked to check ‘em out. Looks like we caught up to them before they could make Europa.”
“Got it. What’s our objective after infil?” Dixon had just rounded the corner to the onboard barracks, entering Bravo Team’s locker area. The other two marines from Bravo Team, PFCs Kofi Okimbo and Andre Laurent were already in skin suits, assembling their JEMAS armor. Apparently, Duffy had sent them a heads up.
“Primary is to secure main computer access if possible, get us the nav data and flight logs so we can see where the Cairo has been, and who they deal with. Once that’s done, help Alpha and Charlie mop up what resistance remains.”
Dixon grunted. “Mallory is a distraction,” he concluded.
“Yep,” the Lieutenant replied. “He’s gonna keep the lady busy while you get your hands up her skirt and cop a feel.”
“Alright, sir,” Dixon said. “Anything thing else I should know?”
“Yeah,” Bondevik hesitated, and Dixon took note of the pause. “Spacewalk is gonna be a bit hazardous. The Cairo stopped on our orders, but she did so within the radiation envelope of Io, so you’re gonna need to make the transit pretty quickly. Your JEMAS will provide some protection, but there’s a lot of rads out there. Doc says you’ll have twelve to fourteen minutes before you need to be concerned.”
“Wonderful,” Dixon noted, saying the word verbally as well. His tone earned him a concerned expression from Lance Corporal Duffy.
“Good luck, Sergeant. I’ll patch you in to the squad channel once you’re in the airlock.” Lieutenant Bondevik disconnected the link.
“What do we got, sergeant?” Duffy asked him. Okimbo and Laurent stopped assembling their armor. Okimbo turned toward Dixon, and Laurent stood up. Okimbo’s massive frame, even outside his JEMAS suit towered over the smaller Marine beside him. Dixon thought back to what the LT said about being able to fit into the maintenance access on Cairo and wondered if the intel group had considered Okimbo’s size when they suggested the action. If the large Namibian could make it through, the rest of them should fit easily.
“Interdiction,” Dixon told the others, walking over to his locker and undressing. “Continental transport vessel. We do infiltration while Alpha and Charlie break and enter. We got twenty minutes to get to an airlock on deck three.”
Inside the large locker was the exoskeleton of his Jupiter Enhanced Modular Armor System, Mark Three. As the name indicated, the JEMAS suit had to be assembled by fitting its pieces together over a skintight bio-suit into interlocking sections. Once each section was locked in place, they would go active, drawing power from the central battery core located in the chest plate. It was bulky, but it protected a marine from anything up to an 8.5-millimeter round. The JEMAS Mark Two was easier to move about in, but it also wasn’t rated for vacuum. UEH Marines operating in space always wore the Mark Three.
(please head on over to csgarrand.com for the rest of the story)
Feel free to hop over for the full story and subscribe for more updates on the characters of Humanity's Leap. This blog formatting isn't ideal, so if you want to read it here, please forgive the formatting medium.
Copryright 2024, csgarrand publishing, all rights reserved.
--------------
“Your bet, sergeant.” Specialist Collins nodded in the direction of Sergeant Leonard Dixon, holding two cards over her dwindling pile of chips. Dixon glanced up from his own cards, but was quick enough to see Collins’ eyes dart left to Ensign Charnesky and back again. Charnesky had nothing, and no real prospects for anything. He checked the first time and then only grudgingly matched a small bet from Dixon on the second time around. Dixon had an ace and an eight, and there were two cards in the center of the table facing up – a three and an ace. He was going for the dead man’s hand and pretty sure Collins was bluffing. She always covered her chips with her cards whenever she was betting on a hope and prayer.
“Personal correspondence from Sarah Dixon received,” Felix, his artificial assistant, told him through his implant. Felix was the artificial assistant of everyone aboard the UHS frigate Morningstar, as was standard doctrine for all Hegemony naval ships whether they be ocean-going or star-faring. Dixon thought about stepping away from the table, but he’d catch all sorts of shit for doing it.
“Put it in the queue, Felix,” Dixon told the AI. Felix would store the message for him to review later. He reached for his chips. “You’re not running me out of this, Collins. I used to be a card-carrying member of the E4 mafia, so I know how you guys operate.”
Collins pressed her lips together but did not smile. “Whatever you say, sir.”
Lance Corporal Duffy was dealing, but he had already gone out. He reached for and turned the next card over. Another ace.
Even better, thought Dixon. Collins again flicked her gaze to Ensign Charnesky and back, waiting for Dixon to make a bet. Dixon tossed a few chips into the pile. A sizable bet.
Charnesky barely waited until they hit the table before exhaling and throwing his cards down on to the table. “I’m out.” Collins pursed her lips, staring hard at Dixon, who was looking back at her.
Just as Collins began to reach for her chips, a klaxon blared throughout the lounge. “All crew to actions stations and secure for hard maneuvers.” Dixon tilted his head towards the ceiling, and then over to Lance Corporal Duffy, who was staring back at him.
“Felix, secure the table until we get back,” Dixon said to the room. The AI was listening, and immediately placed a red holographic barrier around the table. Above the center of it floated text that read “LOCKED”. No one would be able to touch the table or anything on it without being recorded and reported to the four players.
“Sergeant,” came the voice of Lieutenant Bondevik through Dixon’s implant.
“Sir,” Dixon replied, heading toward the exit of the lounge with Duffy behind him.
“Sergeant, we’re interdicting a Continental class transport – the Cairo. Thirty-two minutes to intercept,” the Lieutenant was saying. “Need you to take Bravo Team to airlock 3C on deck 3 in twenty-five. Prep for full EVA with hostile breach action. Sergeant Mallory is taking the rest of First Squad over on the Pony.” The “Pony” was slang for the F-62 Dark Horse assault craft sitting in Morningstar’s main hangar.
“Understood, sir,” Dixon said, picking up his pace. Duffy could not hear the sergeant’s conversation over the private link, but he sensed the urgency and matched his CO’s pace. “What’s our infiltration option?”
“Sending the schematic now,” the Lieutenant replied. “You’ll be positioned right above their cargo bay. Two-hundred-meter crossing, hack the maintenance access you’ll find below the dorsal thruster manifold. Intel says you should be able to fit through with your JEMAS.”
“Understood, sir,” Dixon repeated. “Resistance?”
“Intel thinks we’re dealing with ten to twelve pirates, lightly armed,” Bondevik explained. “Hegemony’s been looking for the Cairo for a couple of months now. We think she’s been running untraceable, untaxable cargo between Europa and Mars. We got lucky when the CSA called in a ship running dark inside their traffic zone. Maybe they were making a transfer with someone in the asteroid belt, or maybe they were just dumb and got too close to Ceres, but the CSA tagged them, and we were tasked to check ‘em out. Looks like we caught up to them before they could make Europa.”
“Got it. What’s our objective after infil?” Dixon had just rounded the corner to the onboard barracks, entering Bravo Team’s locker area. The other two marines from Bravo Team, PFCs Kofi Okimbo and Andre Laurent were already in skin suits, assembling their JEMAS armor. Apparently, Duffy had sent them a heads up.
“Primary is to secure main computer access if possible, get us the nav data and flight logs so we can see where the Cairo has been, and who they deal with. Once that’s done, help Alpha and Charlie mop up what resistance remains.”
Dixon grunted. “Mallory is a distraction,” he concluded.
“Yep,” the Lieutenant replied. “He’s gonna keep the lady busy while you get your hands up her skirt and cop a feel.”
“Alright, sir,” Dixon said. “Anything thing else I should know?”
“Yeah,” Bondevik hesitated, and Dixon took note of the pause. “Spacewalk is gonna be a bit hazardous. The Cairo stopped on our orders, but she did so within the radiation envelope of Io, so you’re gonna need to make the transit pretty quickly. Your JEMAS will provide some protection, but there’s a lot of rads out there. Doc says you’ll have twelve to fourteen minutes before you need to be concerned.”
“Wonderful,” Dixon noted, saying the word verbally as well. His tone earned him a concerned expression from Lance Corporal Duffy.
“Good luck, Sergeant. I’ll patch you in to the squad channel once you’re in the airlock.” Lieutenant Bondevik disconnected the link.
“What do we got, sergeant?” Duffy asked him. Okimbo and Laurent stopped assembling their armor. Okimbo turned toward Dixon, and Laurent stood up. Okimbo’s massive frame, even outside his JEMAS suit towered over the smaller Marine beside him. Dixon thought back to what the LT said about being able to fit into the maintenance access on Cairo and wondered if the intel group had considered Okimbo’s size when they suggested the action. If the large Namibian could make it through, the rest of them should fit easily.
“Interdiction,” Dixon told the others, walking over to his locker and undressing. “Continental transport vessel. We do infiltration while Alpha and Charlie break and enter. We got twenty minutes to get to an airlock on deck three.”
Inside the large locker was the exoskeleton of his Jupiter Enhanced Modular Armor System, Mark Three. As the name indicated, the JEMAS suit had to be assembled by fitting its pieces together over a skintight bio-suit into interlocking sections. Once each section was locked in place, they would go active, drawing power from the central battery core located in the chest plate. It was bulky, but it protected a marine from anything up to an 8.5-millimeter round. The JEMAS Mark Two was easier to move about in, but it also wasn’t rated for vacuum. UEH Marines operating in space always wore the Mark Three.
(please head on over to csgarrand.com for the rest of the story)
November 3, 2024
The Architect - released around the holidays...
The amazing Daniel Pyle, the artist who did Species Seventeen did it again with Book 2, entitled The Architect. Set for release around the holidays.
I had originally written the two books as one, and was told by an editor “You’re not Brandon Sanderson, or George R.R. Martin.” Having never claimed anything even close to that, what he was trying to tell me was that my 800 or so page book was really two books, not one.
At that point, the challenge became how to split the books in order to not just drop the story in mid read and then pick up in a second book. Lots of work went into that, but I like where it landed.
For those beta readers who have helped me with book 2, you might recognize the “Facility” on Ross 627-6D1 in the picture.
-CS
I had originally written the two books as one, and was told by an editor “You’re not Brandon Sanderson, or George R.R. Martin.” Having never claimed anything even close to that, what he was trying to tell me was that my 800 or so page book was really two books, not one.
At that point, the challenge became how to split the books in order to not just drop the story in mid read and then pick up in a second book. Lots of work went into that, but I like where it landed.
For those beta readers who have helped me with book 2, you might recognize the “Facility” on Ross 627-6D1 in the picture.
-CS
Species Seventeen - Audio Book
I’ve signed with the wonderfully talented Patricia Santomasso for the up-and-coming audio version of Species Seventeen that will start production in the beginning of December. The audition process was quite interesting, as 25 different narrators participated to get the role, with many of them having amazing voices, accents and the abilities to convey what I was looking for.
After a final round, Patricia just had the best CAIPARR out of the group. I had always envisioned CAIPARR having a slight British accent to her voice, but once I heard Patricia’s rendition, I was hooked. If you’d like to see what other work she has done, click her photo to the left to get a full list of all her Audible work. This book will also be released on Audible, and she has agreed to stay with me for the series (an important consideration when choosing a narrator).
As this is my first experience going through the audiobook creation process, I found Patricia’s knowledge and guidance a big plus in the choosing to partner with her on the project. I say “partner with her”, but she’s the one doing all the work!
I’m looking forward to hearing what she creates. There’s an element of the surreal in listening to an audiobook that you wrote that someone else is narrating.
-CS
After a final round, Patricia just had the best CAIPARR out of the group. I had always envisioned CAIPARR having a slight British accent to her voice, but once I heard Patricia’s rendition, I was hooked. If you’d like to see what other work she has done, click her photo to the left to get a full list of all her Audible work. This book will also be released on Audible, and she has agreed to stay with me for the series (an important consideration when choosing a narrator).
As this is my first experience going through the audiobook creation process, I found Patricia’s knowledge and guidance a big plus in the choosing to partner with her on the project. I say “partner with her”, but she’s the one doing all the work!
I’m looking forward to hearing what she creates. There’s an element of the surreal in listening to an audiobook that you wrote that someone else is narrating.
-CS
