Brian K. Larson's Blog: Author, Brian K. Larson Blog, page 5

The Beat Goes On...

Greetings one and all,

Another great week in the history of Secret of the Crystal. Tuesday was the official release date for the first installment in this series.  What an exciting time this is indeed. My dream of becoming a published author came to fruition this week. Living the dream hasn't been more of a reality as it was this week, but it still feels surreal. As time goes on, it will sink in.

Editing phase has completed with book 2 The Forge. Many struggles over the last two weeks making the changes and catching all of those errors. Many thanks to my beta reader group who helped me discover errors that the editing team had missed. It took longer than expected, but I feel it is very good and should be mostly error free. As with any book, there're bound to be errors. With mine, there may be more that usual, just bear with me on them and if anyone does find a problem, bring to my attention so I can get er fixed.

One of the things that make is difficult for me is my struggle with dyslexia. I may be able to cope with it, but I still live with it each and every day.  One example is during the editing phase, I would read a section that was marked by my beta readers. I had to sometimes read it several times before I 'saw' the error, whether it be a missing word, words in the wrong order or just plane the wrong word. I would read it correctly in my mind, even out loud. When I did finally see it, the light comes on and I can see it. 

Some of the common mistakes I make when writing is using her instead of his. Using is, instead of his, or by for my.  These seem like simple easy to find mistakes, but really they are the hardest for me to see. P's, b's, and q's are always being mixed up, in fact, pretty much any letter with a tail on it.

It is a daily struggle, but I try learning new skills everyday and strive to become better.

In addition to the editing on book 2 being complete, I also have 15 illustrations thanks to Larkin Livesay, Jr. with Livesay GRAFIX.  Another batch of great pics that help convey the story, and certainly convey some great emotions on a few. I'll be posting them, or maybe just a few to tease with, later today...

Well, its been awhile, but I'm going to knock out a chapter or two this weekend on book IV, Forgotten Legacy. Also be sure to visit Goodreads online and join my "Ask Brian Larson" discussion, where I'll be answering questions from readers.

From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthor

Two Days until Release Day!!

Well, the time is finally here for my first official book release. June 4th is a day that I've been waiting three months to arrive. Nearly a year since I was accepted by the publisher and a little more than two years since I began writing Secret of the Crystal.

This has been an exciting road. This journey has been full of rewards as well as surprises and I'm sure there will be many more in the days ahead.

First of all, I want to thank my family and friends for supporting me in this endeavor. The fan base has exceptionally supportive and shown great interest in this first installment.

The Goodreads giveaway is up to 206 and I have opened this up to the UK and Canada. Hurry for your place in the contest as it ends on June 4th.

I will also be giving away free eBook download codes to some lucky winners that I will pick at random from Goodreads and Twitter on release day.

Check out the Amazon site at http://amzn.com/1625105576 this Tuesday and download instantly for your reading enjoyment.

Stay tuned for more updates all week as we celebrate this momentous occasion.

From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthor

Two Days until Release Day!!

Well, the time is finally here for my first official book release. June 4th is a day that I've been waiting three months to arrive.  Nearly a year since I was accepted by the publisher and a little more than two years since I began writing Secret of the Crystal.

This has been an exciting road. This journey has been full of rewards as well as surprises and I'm sure there will be many more in the days ahead. 

First of all, I want to thank my family and friends for supporting me in this endeavor. The fan base has exceptionally supportive and shown great interest in this first installment. 

The Goodreads giveaway is up to 206 and I have opened this up to the UK and Canada. Hurry for your place in the contest as it ends on June 4th.

I will also be giving away free eBook download codes to some lucky winners that I will pick at random from Goodreads and Twitter on release day.

Check out the Amazon site at http://amzn.com/1625105576 this Tuesday and download instantly for your reading enjoyment.

Stay tuned for more updates all week as we celebrate this momentous occasion. 

From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthor


  

Secret of the Crystal Series Update

Greetings one and all,

There are many milestones to talk about this week. June is quickly approaching and enthusiasm is growing as we near book 1's release date.

The GoodReads giveaway will also end on June 4th where two lucky winners will receive a copy of Secret of the Crystal, and if they so choose, I will autograph those copies and personalize them for the recipient. 

The first book trailer was produced and the publisher is finalizing the copy to hi-res. I'll be updating my postings here and on YouTube once that version is available. 

Speaking of YouTube, I now have a channel created where I will be posting my book trailers as well as information about Dyslexia Awareness, and perhaps some author interviews.

The editied copy for book 2, The Forge, has be received from the publisher's editing department. I have gone through it and approved corrections. I have it out to a few readers for review to catch any of those annoying mistakes that are usually missed during editing. No book is ever published error free, but we do try to make it as good as possible.

Illustrations for The Forge are nearly complete and on schedule thanks again to Larkin Livesay Jr. of Livesay GRAFIX. Once I get all of the final copies, I'll set up a slide show on a new page.

Next month I will be able to start booking author signing events around my local community book stores. Stay tuned for locations and dates once we are past the release date.

Lots of things going on, the third in the series, Destiny, will soon enter the editing phase. Forgotten Legacy is nearly 30,000 words and is nearing 1/3 complete. Chapter 6 is almost complete and the story is developing very nicely. 

Thanks everyone for stopping by to catch up on my book news... nuff said for now... need to get back to writing and reviewing.

From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthor 

Countdown to June 4th - 15 Days ...

Greetings from the Author's chair.

Today marks another milestone in the history of Secret of the Crystal as we are 15 days from official release.

In celebration for this upcoming new release, I am entering in a major promotional campaign. The softcover that I have left in stock will sell for $15.99 and download cards for eBooks are included while supplies last.

I have signed up to give two book to some lucky winner on Goodreads.com

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Secret of the Crystal


by Brian K. Larson

Giveaway ends June 04, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win As you can see from the above live feed from Good Reads, there is interest. Click the link above an enter your chance to be selected by Good Reads as a lucky winner.

The two free copies will be autographed, if you so choose, and I will ship directly to your address ~ Good Luck! :-)

Tate Publishing will begin to schedule local book signing events in the Seattle and its suburbs in the coming weeks. I will be creating an "Events" tab on my site where you can find the locations and dates of where I will sign a copy for you. Stay tuned for more details on that.

I am receiving new illustrations from Larkin Livesay Jr. at LIVESAY GRAFIX for Secret of the Crystal II - The Forge. If you haven't seen the cover design, you can click here to see it. It's another awesome design full of mystery and intrigue. I'll be posting the slides for book 2 in the coming days. This second installment in this series will be finishing final editing later this month and enter into the layout phase. I should have a proof in hand late June or early July.

Book 3, Secret of the Crystal III - Destiny will be ready for release sooner than anticipated. Look for this shortly after book 2 this fall.

My latest work is well under way and weighs in at over 25,000 words. Secret of the Crystal IV - Forgotten Legacy will keep you on the edge of your seats as the Anunnaki struggle for survival following a catastrophic event. This devastation will change them forever.

I have concepts for books 5 & 6 under the same title, House of Sö’ and The Zelinite War which completes the second set of three.

Concepts are in place for book 7 but most of that I'll keep secret for now, but it will be subtitled "Brothers"

There are a lot of great things going on and my ride is only beginning. Like I say, Climb aboard and fasten your seat belts.

Well, its time to get back at it as the weekend is burning up. I will be finishing chapter 5 of Forgotten Legacy and starting 6.

Stay tuned for more updates as they develop.

From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthor

Countdown to June 4th - 15 Days...

Greetings from the Author's chair.

Today marks another milestone in the history of Secret of the Crystal as we are 15 days from official release. 

In celebration for this upcoming new release, I am entering in a major promotional campaign. The softcover that I have left in stock will sell for $15.99 and download cards for eBooks are included while supplies last. 

I have signed up to give two book to some lucky winner on Goodreads.com
  .goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layou... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(http://www.goodreads.com/images/layou... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; } Goodreads Book Giveaway Secret of the Crystal by Brian K. Larson

Giveaway ends June 04, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win As you can see from the above live feed from Good Reads, there is interest. Click the link above an enter your chance to be selected by Good Reads as a lucky winner.

The two free copies will be autographed, if you so choose, and I will ship directly to your address ~ Good Luck! :-)

Tate Publishing will begin to schedule local book signing events in the Seattle and its suburbs in the coming weeks. I will be creating an "Events" tab on my site where you can find the locations and dates of where I will sign a copy for you. Stay tuned for more details on that.

I am receiving new illustrations from Larkin Livesay Jr. at LIVESAY GRAFIX for Secret of the Crystal II - The Forge. If you haven't seen the cover design, you can click here to see it. It's another awesome design full of mystery and intrigue. I'll be posting the slides for book 2 in the coming days.  This second installment in this series will be finishing final editing later this month and enter into the layout phase. I should have a proof in hand late June or early July. 

Book 3, Secret of the Crystal III - Destiny will be ready for release sooner than anticipated. Look for this shortly after book 2 this fall.

My latest work is well under way and weighs in at over 25,000 words. Secret of the Crystal IV - Forgotten Legacy will keep you on the edge of your seats as the Anunnaki struggle for survival following a catastrophic event. This devastation will change them forever.

I have concepts for books 5 & 6 under the same title, House of Sö’ and The Zelinite War which completes the second set of three.

Concepts are in place for book 7 but most of that I'll keep secret for now, but it will be subtitled "Brothers"

There are a lot of great things going on and my ride is only beginning. Like I say, Climb aboard and fasten your seat belts. 

Well, its time to get back at it as the weekend is burning up. I will be finishing chapter 5 of Forgotten Legacy and starting 6. 

Stay tuned for more updates as they develop.

From the Author's Chair,
Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthor

New Release 17 Days Out!!

Secret of the Crystal by Brian K. Larson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you are looking for a hot off the press SciFi adventure, you’ll not want to miss this epic time travel series that spans the hands of time and multiple worlds. Join our hero in discovering the "Secret of the Crystal"



View all my reviews

Good Reads Give A Way

Please check out the good reads give-a-way, you could win an autographed copy of Secret of the Crystal.

Hurry, contest ends June 4th.

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

Forgotten Legacy Teaser

Greetings from the Author's Chair.

Today I wanted to share a few paragraphs to my latest work in the forth installment of Secret of the Crystal series - Forgotten Legacy.

Please enjoy this teaser. Also just note there is only 1 spoiler and that is who is the ship's captain of the Luna Aura; the one character from for the first set of three books.

Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthur

Please Enjoy!!


“Ten minutes sir.” The com officer replied. “Sir, we are receiving a priority signal from the high council… its Ran’Damon.”

“Put it on the mains” Roth’stavous ordered. “This is the Luna Aura, go ahead.”

“We can’t reverse the reaction at the weapons complex… you were right son. The power injectors fused and the planets core energy is being fed straight into the arrays… both of them.”

“Get out of there father, now!”

“It’s too late my son. The quakes that have taken out every ship on the surface, damaged beyond the ability to take off; we’re stranded. You need to return and pick us up.”

Roth’stavous looked over at his XO with dismay, both knowing there was no time for a rescue. They had their own concerns that they may not make it out in time as it was.

“Father…” That’s all Roth’stavous could muster to say at the moment. He held his closed fist up to his lips holding back his emotion the best he could, “…I am sorry…” he said pausing as he choked back his tears, “…I love you.” And then abruptly cut the channel.

There was an eerie quiet that fell on every member of the bridge crew as the com channel was terminated. Holding his composure the best he could, he instructed the helm to fire up the ion drives and make orbit.

“Aye sir,” the helm responded quietly, “Ion drives are powering up.”

“Punch it!” Roth’stavous ordered.

The Luna Aura roared with thunder as it headed into the upper atmosphere, its ion drives extending outward to full capacity.

Below the crew could see the mountainous regions fade and shrink with the every moment the ship raised in altitude. Lava spewed with billowing smoke and ash of ancient and once dormant volcanoes. Huge rocks plunged outward from the surface creating new formations and the oceans boiled with steam.

With only minutes before the Seismoacoustic weapons arrays would fire, the Luna Aura made low orbit.

“Helm, get us out and away from the planet as fast as the ship will take us.” Roth’stavous ordered as he sat on the edge of his chair, “Com, time?”

“One minute until the weapons discharge.”

“Contact the rest of the fleet that made it and have them rendezvous at the following coordinates.” Roth’stavous said punching the coordinates at his chair’s console.

“Aye sir,” his com officer acknowledged.

“Helm, what’s our position?” The XO shouted.

“We have reached a higher orbit now.”

“Thirty seconds!”

“There are still a lot of ships coming up from the surface!” the navigation officer added.”

“Those poor bastards won’t make it.” the XO said.

The crew could see two very bright flashes emanating from the surface of the planet that lasted for several seconds. They could only surmise that the two weapons arrays fired at the completion of its spooling of the core energy and then had shot the Seismoacoustic blast toward each other’s faction.

The resulting discharge blew a hole into the protective layer of the planet atmosphere causing its air to begin venting into space. The entire planet shook in its current orbit causing the gravitation pull on the Luna Aura to increase.

“Sir” the navigation officer exclaimed, “The computers are recalculating trying to compensate for the latest detected wobble in the planets orbit.”

“Helm” Roth’stavous began with a much calmer tone than before, “Roll on our current axis ninety degrees to the starboard and adjust pitch as needed to keep us the farthest distance from the planet.”

“Aye sir” the helm acknowledged. The pilot turned as ordered and placed the Astra on their horizon with the Luna Aura’s stem twenty degrees positive pitch.

“Engage the Trionic Armor Plating,” Galiagasi added to the captain’s command.

“TAP is online sir!” the engineer acknowledged.

The ship shuttered and quivered beneath their feet and the crew nervously looked over at each other.

“Compensating for the planetary movement beneath us with inertial dampeners,” the helm reported, “Trimming ten percent. We should smooth out momentarily.”

Just before the helmsman finished his sentence the Luna Aura dropped violently several thousand feet in the matter of three seconds. The resulting G force was enough to knock out most of the crew. Fortunately the ships helmsman, Sol’dien, had been trained to recover from these orbital events, but none he had ever experienced were this severe. He held his breath and squeezed his legs and abdomen with all his strength. He felt like he might black out, but he kept his composure and concentrated on the flight controls.

There were only two others that were able to keep from passing out momentarily from the intense gravity being forced on the ship and that was Tormelej’, the ships tactical officer and Renzic, the ships engineer. Both were able to maintain power to the ship while Renzic got up from the safety of his chair and came to the side of the helmsman.

He stood over Sol’dien with this hand grabbing the back of his chair to help keep him from falling to the ground. Tormelej’ looked over the flight console to verify they were maintaining current attitude. He wanted to be there in case Sol’dien did pass out; he could take over the flight controls in any event and prevent them from reentry into the atmosphere. He knew as well as anyone that if they did, they’d be doomed like the rest that were being left behind.

Tormelej’ had been in military for the better part of his adult life. He had built his body and muscles with his buddies in the corps and was very fit. He followed Sol’dien in squeezing this last breath and flexing the muscles in this legs and abdomen to prevent blood from accumulating there. That was the main reason for this very important exercise. By keeping the blood from settling there and pushing it back out to the brain and the bodies’ extremities, they would not lose consciousness. They called this exercise the anti-G straining maneuver, or AGSM, and had become required training to pilot star ships as well as for the captain and XO. However, it was only voluntary for tactical and navigation officers and other crew.

The captain and Galiagasi soon regained unconsciousness from the momentary blackout, regardless of their training. Roth’stavous and his XO were both in top physical condition but were unable to perform a successful AGSM. This showed the tenacity of the Helm and Roth’stavous was glad to have these men at their posts.

“Focus the TAP shields to the lower side and to the very most aft section.” Roth’stavous said after the ringing in his ears disappeared. Then he motioned to the helm as if that made a difference in his next command, “Sol’ pull us up ninety degrees and fire all thrusters!”

“Sir the computer is not responding, were losing altitude quickly.” The helmsman shouted.

“Switching to manual controls!” Roth’stavous ordered. He reached over to the console on the arm of his chair and pressed a sequence of buttons. With the ping of each key press, the panel sounded a tone. The computer opened a panel on the opposite side of the captain’s chair and swung and arm that swivel up to Roth’stavous’s hand. The device looked very much like a sophisticated joy stick with a hand grip and finger and thumb buttons. He pressed another series of keys on the control pad and the computer acknowledged with another set of monotone sounds. “Helm, transfer ship control on my mark.”

Sol’dien quickly punched in the command and acknowledged his readiness to his captain.

“Now!” Roth’stavous shouted.

The Luna Aura shook violently as he pulled back on the control stick. The ships engineer, Renzic alerted the captain that the gravitational pull on the ship’s hull would tear them in two if they didn’t reduce the stress on the hull soon.

Roth’stavous gritted his teeth and continued to pull back on the yoke, “There is nothing like a little adenine in the morning to keep you pumped up now is there.”

The rest of the crew broke a smile as their captain attempted to lighten the moment of what was about to happen. “Might as well do it the ol’ fashioned way.” He said as he continued pulling the control stick back.

“Sir,” Ale’mera, the ships navigator announced, “the ships computer is back online.”

“Report!” the captain again commanded.

“Scanners are indicating the planet is fracturing… we do not have much time before we explode with Astra!” Ale’mera again shouted.

Forgotten Legacy Teaser

Greetings from the Author's Chair.

Today I wanted to share a few paragraphs to my latest work in the forth installment of Secret of the Crystal series - Forgotten Legacy.

Please enjoy this teaser. Also just note there is only 1 spoiler and that is who is the ship's captain of the Luna Aura; the one character from for the first set of three books.

Brian K. Larson
the #DyslexicAuthur

            “Ten minutes sir.” The com officer replied. “Sir, we are receiving a priority signal from the high council… its Ran’Damon.”

            “Put it on the mains” Roth’stavous ordered. “This is the Luna Aura, go ahead.”

            “We can’t reverse the reaction at the weapons complex… you were right son. The power injectors fused and the planets core energy is being fed straight into the arrays… both of them.”

            “Get out of there father, now!”

            “It’s too late my son. The quakes that have taken out every ship on the surface, damaged beyond the ability to take off; we’re stranded. You need to return and pick us up.”

            Roth’stavous looked over at his XO with dismay, both knowing there was no time for a rescue. They had their own concerns that they may not make it out in time as it was.

            “Father…” That’s all Roth’stavous could muster to say at the moment. He held his closed fist up to his lips holding back his emotion the best he could, “…I am sorry…” he said pausing as he choked back his tears, “…I love you.” And then abruptly cut the channel.

            There was an eerie quiet that fell on every member of the bridge crew as the com channel was terminated. Holding his composure the best he could, he instructed the helm to fire up the ion drives and make orbit.

            “Aye sir,” the helm responded quietly, “Ion drives are powering up.”

            “Punch it!” Roth’stavous ordered.

            The Luna Aura roared with thunder as it headed into the upper atmosphere, its ion drives extending outward to full capacity.

            Below the crew could see the mountainous regions fade and shrink with the every moment the ship raised in altitude. Lava spewed with billowing smoke and ash of ancient and once dormant volcanoes.  Huge rocks plunged outward from the surface creating new formations and the oceans boiled with steam.

            With only minutes before the Seismoacoustic weapons arrays would fire, the Luna Aura made low orbit.

            “Helm, get us out and away from the planet as fast as the ship will take us.” Roth’stavous ordered as he sat on the edge of his chair, “Com, time?”

            “One minute until the weapons discharge.”

            “Contact the rest of the fleet that made it and have them rendezvous at the following coordinates.” Roth’stavous said punching the coordinates at his chair’s console.

            “Aye sir,” his com officer acknowledged.

            “Helm, what’s our position?” The XO shouted.

            “We have reached a higher orbit now.”

            “Thirty seconds!”

            “There are still a lot of ships coming up from the surface!” the navigation officer added.”

            “Those poor bastards won’t make it.” the XO said.

            The crew could see two very bright flashes emanating from the surface of the planet that lasted for several seconds. They could only surmise that the two weapons arrays fired at the completion of its spooling of the core energy and then had shot the Seismoacoustic blast toward each other’s faction.

            The resulting discharge blew a hole into the protective layer of the planet atmosphere causing its air to begin venting into space. The entire planet shook in its current orbit causing the gravitation pull on the Luna Aura to increase.

            “Sir” the navigation officer exclaimed, “The computers are recalculating trying to compensate for the latest detected wobble in the planets orbit.”

            “Helm” Roth’stavous began with a much calmer tone than before, “Roll on our current axis ninety degrees to the starboard and adjust pitch as needed to keep us the farthest distance from the planet.”

            “Aye sir” the helm acknowledged. The pilot turned as ordered and placed the Astra on their horizon with the Luna Aura’s stem twenty degrees positive pitch.

            “Engage the Trionic Armor Plating,” Galiagasi added to the captain’s command.

            “TAP is online sir!” the engineer acknowledged.

            The ship shuttered and quivered beneath their feet and the crew nervously looked over at each other.

            “Compensating for the planetary movement beneath us with inertial dampeners,” the helm reported, “Trimming ten percent. We should smooth out momentarily.”

            Just before the helmsman finished his sentence the Luna Aura dropped violently several thousand feet in the matter of three seconds. The resulting G force was enough to knock out most of the crew. Fortunately the ships helmsman, Sol’dien, had been trained to recover from these orbital events, but none he had ever experienced were this severe. He held his breath and squeezed his legs and abdomen with all his strength. He felt like he might black out, but he kept his composure and concentrated on the flight controls.

            There were only two others that were able to keep from passing out momentarily from the intense gravity being forced on the ship and that was Tormelej’, the ships tactical officer and Renzic, the ships engineer. Both were able to maintain power to the ship while Renzic got up from the safety of his chair and came to the side of the helmsman.

            He stood over Sol’dien with this hand grabbing the back of his chair to help keep him from falling to the ground. Tormelej’ looked over the flight console to verify they were maintaining current attitude. He wanted to be there in case Sol’dien did pass out; he could take over the flight controls in any event and prevent them from reentry into the atmosphere. He knew as well as anyone that if they did, they’d be doomed like the rest that were being left behind.

            Tormelej’ had been in military for the better part of his adult life. He had built his body and muscles with his buddies in the corps and was very fit. He followed Sol’dien in squeezing this last breath and flexing the muscles in this legs and abdomen to prevent blood from accumulating there. That was the main reason for this very important exercise. By keeping the blood from settling there and pushing it back out to the brain and the bodies’ extremities, they would not lose consciousness. They called this exercise the anti-G straining maneuver, or AGSM, and had become required training to pilot star ships as well as for the captain and XO. However, it was only voluntary for tactical and navigation officers and other crew.

            The captain and Galiagasi soon regained unconsciousness from the momentary blackout, regardless of their training. Roth’stavous and his XO were both in top physical condition but were unable to perform a successful AGSM. This showed the tenacity of the Helm and Roth’stavous was glad to have these men at their posts.

“Focus the TAP shields to the lower side and to the very most aft section.” Roth’stavous said after the ringing in his ears disappeared. Then he motioned to the helm as if that made a difference in his next command, “Sol’ pull us up ninety degrees and fire all thrusters!”

“Sir the computer is not responding, were losing altitude quickly.” The helmsman shouted.

“Switching to manual controls!” Roth’stavous ordered. He reached over to the console on the arm of his chair and pressed a sequence of buttons. With the ping of each key press, the panel sounded a tone. The computer opened a panel on the opposite side of the captain’s chair and swung and arm that swivel up to Roth’stavous’s hand. The device looked very much like a sophisticated joy stick with a hand grip and finger and thumb buttons. He pressed another series of keys on the control pad and the computer acknowledged with another set of monotone sounds. “Helm, transfer ship control on my mark.”

Sol’dien quickly punched in the command and acknowledged his readiness to his captain.

“Now!” Roth’stavous shouted.  

The Luna Aura shook violently as he pulled back on the control stick. The ships engineer, Renzic alerted the captain that the gravitational pull on the ship’s hull would tear them in two if they didn’t reduce the stress on the hull soon.

Roth’stavous gritted his teeth and continued to pull back on the yoke, “There is nothing like a little adenine in the morning to keep you pumped up now is there.”

The rest of the crew broke a smile as their captain attempted to lighten the moment of what was about to happen. “Might as well do it the ol’ fashioned way.” He said as he continued pulling the control stick back.

“Sir,” Ale’mera, the ships navigator announced, “the ships computer is back online.”

“Report!” the captain again commanded.

“Scanners are indicating the planet is fracturing… we do not have much time before we explode with Astra!” Ale’mera again shouted.