G.S. Jennsen's Blog, page 3

How are you enjoying The Thief? (plus a surprise below)

I supposed I asked the second question first, didn’t I? First, have you picked up THE THIEF yet? If not, you can get it from your favorite retailer now.

Get THE THIEF in ebook or print

Second, if you have picked the book up, I certainly hope you are enjoying it! Let me know. What are readers saying so far?

“I read while eating, while parenting, while relaxing. Couldn't take my hands off of it.” 

“A spine-tingling adventure across space in visceral, emotional, and adrenaline-pumping style.”

“I zipped through this book because it was so much fun to read and then when I was finished, wished it would have continued on to another adventure. I would love to see Eren and Nyx re-appear in another story.”

If you’re so inclined, don’t forget to leave a review at Amazon, the retailer where you purchased it, or on Goodreads. Nothing fancy is required - just a few words go a long way. I greatly appreciate it.

Now, about that surprise. :)

The final (for now) novel in the Cosmic Shores series will be titled THE UNIVERSE WITHIN, and it will star Alex and Caleb in their own standaone adventure. I'm so excited to be returning to my first loves and most favorite of my favorites. I'm almost as excited for the plot I've noodled out for them and the fascinating new alien species they're set to get all tangled up with, the Elakri. In fact, I'm so excited about it, I've already written a short story prequel to the book - but more on that in a later update.

For now, here's a brief, temporary blurb that will suffice until I've written enough of the book to craft a more detailed description:

Thousands of years ago, the Elakri were a galaxy-spanning civilization—until they were forced to hide themselves away in the folds of space to escape an unstoppable foe. But what was once their salvation soon became their prison.

Alex Solovy and Caleb Marano hunt the cosmos for signs of an ancient enemy’s return. When they detect a breach in the fabric of space, however, they discover something wholly unexpected: a people lost in time and space, who have forgotten all they once were. Returning the Elakri to their proper place among the stars seems the least they can do, but first they have to survive a strange and dangerous world where none of the usual rules apply.

THE UNIVERSE WITHIN will be out next year, but you can pre-order it today in ebook, paperback and hardback:

PREORDER THE UNIVERSE WITHIN

Finally, a question for you. I'm having great fun taking a break from the universe-threatening peril that dominated earlier books to galavant around the cosmos with some of Amaranthe's most dynamic characters, and I hope you are, too. But who do you miss most from the main cast? Who can you not wait to get back to and find out how they've been doing in the three years since Duality? Hit 'reply' and let me know!

THE THIEF Is Here

It’s time to tag along with Eren as he follows a hunch one afternoon and wanders off, lands 135 megaparsecs from Concord space, meets a perplexing species as old as the Anadens, and gets tangled up in a nefarious murder mystery - and that’s just the first day. THE THIEF is now available at all retailers in ebook, paperback and hardback!

GET THE THIEF

If you pre-ordered the ebook, it should be waiting for you right now on your ereader device or app. (Note: if you pre-ordered directly from my web store, you should have an email from BookFunnel with a link to download your book; if not, go to my.bookfunnel.com and login with the email you used to pre-order.)

You can get the paperback and hardback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble’s website and many other online bookstores, or you can order a signed copy directly from me.

Audiobook listeners: Pyper Down has already started recording! If you want to listen to the chapters as she records them, you can join my Buy Me A Coffee (Concord level).

* A stand-alone adventure set in the Amaranthe universe *

The Hesgyr are thieves. “Scavengers,” to hear their victims tell it; “repurposers” by their own reckoning.

As Chief of Intelligence for Non-Anaden Affairs, Eren Savitas’ job is to protect the Advocacy from all manner of alien threats: sabotage, assassination, insurgency and, way down the list, theft. So when he spots a Hesgyr running off with valuable technology, he follows the alien home—and discovers a civilization unlike any he’s ever encountered.

Yes, the Hesgyr are thieves. But they are also being hunted. Systematically exterminated by an insidious enemy they can’t see, touch or find. Eren finds himself drawn ever deeper into the Hesgyr’s fascinating yet labyrinthine world as he races against time to solve the mystery of the deadly attacks. What he discovers is a complex web of loyalties and betrayals, of grudges and grievances millennia old—and beneath it all, a secret that may hold the key to the survival of more than one civilization.

The Thief is a humorous, pulse-pounding sci-fi adventure about alien culture clashes, the flaws and foibles that transcend species, and the satisfaction that comes from breaking all the rules to save the day.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Thief Is Almost Here, Plus MisCon Schedule & More

Have you preordered THE THIEF yet? It will be here in two short weeks! Grab it now, and it will be waiting for you on your ereader on May 31st (also, note that if you want a signed paperback or hardback in a timely fashion, place your preorder now, as I’ll be ordering fulfillment copies in the next few days).

PREORDER THE THIEF

To whet your appetite, here’s a juicy teaser excerpt from the book:

As we near The Thief’s release, I want to draw your attention to a new option for saving money on my books. Amazon Kindle gets all the attention, but Google Play has really upped their game when it comes to ebooks (and audiobooks!) lately. If you buy my books through Google Play, you can (1) get a bundle discount by purchasing 3 or more books at a time or (2) subscribe to the series and never have to worry about ordering the next book again (while also getting a discount). You can subscribe to the individual novels here, the collections here, and the audiobooks here (there’s a link to just purchase a bundle right under the subscription button).

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Do you live in the Inland Northwest or Western Montana? Come to MisCon next weekend in Missoula for 4 days of SFF panels, books, games, cosplay, shopping and all-around fun. Here's my schedule for the weekend - come hang with me!

More info: https://www.miscon.org/

Big News: The Thief Has a Release Date

…In which Eren follows a hunch one afternoon and wanders off, lands 135 megaparsecs from Concord space, meets a perplexing species as old as the Anadens, and gets tangled up in a nefarious murder mystery - and that’s just the first day. Bar fights and explosions are also rumored to occur, because where Eren wanders, chaos usually follows. Mr. Jennsen, first reader and relentless truth teller, has proclaimed The Thief “the most fun book” I’ve ever written. Considering that was my goal, I’m pretty stoked to see if you all agree with him.

THE THIEF will be released on *** FRIDAY, MAY 31st *** in ebook, hardback and paperback. You can order the ebook from your favorite retailer right now:

PREORDER THE THIEF

Want a signed, personalized hardback or paperback? Pre-order one today! Note, pre-ordering is the only way to get a signed hardback.

PREORDER A SIGNED COPY

Want to listen to the audiobook as Pyper Down records it? Sign up for my “Buy Me A Coffee” program (Concord level):

Buy Me A Coffee

The Thief takes place three years after the end of Duality (and more or less concurrently with Medusa Falling). It’s a fun, fast-paced adventure (that clocks in under 100k words!) and is intended to be a new entry point for readers - so if you have someone you’ve been trying to convince to read the Amaranthe novels, this is an excellent opportunity to get them hooked.

* A stand-alone adventure set in the Amaranthe universe *

The Hesgyr are thieves. “Scavengers,” to hear their victims tell it; “repurposers” by their own reckoning.

As Chief of Intelligence for Non-Anaden Affairs, Eren Savitas’ job is to protect the Advocacy from all manner of alien threats: sabotage, assassination, insurgency and, way down the list, theft. So when he spots a Hesgyr running off with valuable technology, he follows the alien home—and discovers a civilization unlike any he’s ever encountered.

Yes, the Hesgyr are thieves. But they are also being hunted. Systematically exterminated by an insidious enemy they can’t see, touch or find. Eren finds himself drawn ever deeper into the Hesgyr’s fascinating yet labyrinthine world as he races against time to solve the mystery of the deadly attacks. What he discovers is a complex web of loyalties and betrayals, of grudges and grievances millennia old—and beneath it all, a secret that may hold the key to the survival of more than one civilization.

The Thief is a humorous, pulse-pounding sci-fi adventure about alien culture clashes, the flaws and foibles that transcend species, and the satisfaction that comes from breaking all the rules to save the day.

Time Flies When You’re Saving the Universe

Ten years ago today, I hit the ‘publish’ button on Starshine and unleashed Alex upon an unsuspecting public.

At the time, I had no idea the impact this one act was going to have - on my life, on hers, on the multiverses of Amaranthe. But in the years that followed, a story about a starship pilot with dark red hair that came to me in the shower one morning (you’ve all heard that story by now) became so, so much more. Over the course of 2,227,818 words(!), 20 novels and 10 short stories, it has transformed into an epic tale of humanity (and our allies) putting aside our squabbles to rise above our deepest fears and come together to do what we must to survive, then thrive.

Amaranthe is, above all, an optimistic vision that dares to believe humanity will prove to be both stronger and better than we believe ourselves to be - and that’s the story I was driven to tell when I started typing on a keyboard ten years plus nine months ago….

It was the summer of 2013, I had no idea my life was soon to change.

To be fair, it had already changed quite a bit. I’d walked away from a successful corporate legal career to seek a better life in the mountains of Colorado. I was doing freelance coding and editing work, desperately trying to reach a tiny fraction of the lofty heights of my former law firm salary.

And all I wanted to do was write.

I’d gotten back into fiction writing after a long absence from it about two years earlier, my creative tendencies having been nudged back to life by the imaginative worlds such video games as the Mass Effect trilogy, EVE Online and The Old Republic games offered. Now I started hearing whispers of a new manner of publishing and a new breed of writer: one who eschewed the old gatekeepers in New York and London and used the power of technology to share their books with the world—and the readers—directly. Already a computer geek, my ears perked up like a dog hearing the crinkle of a cheese wrapper, and a radical thought occurred to me: I could do this. The business and technical aspects of independent publishing, that was. I still had to write a book worth reading. So I got to work.

It took me nine months to write, edit and prepare Starshine for release. I was still doing freelance work as well, because bills, but all my creative energy and free time, I threw into the book.

I sold eight copies on release day. Of course, I’d given away the book for free to everyone who had subscribed to my website, which represented the sum total of my family, friends and existing readers from my fan fiction days, so, hey - eight brand new readers! Over the next ten days, I sold between two and six copies a day. Not half bad for a brand-new indie author no one had ever heard of, who had done everything from cover design to formatting to ‘marketing’ (lol) herself, but let’s not kid ourselves. The book wasn’t lighting the world on fire.

Then I woke up the morning of April 3rd (the day after my birthday) to discover I had sold 20 copies overnight. I was elated, of course, though I had no idea the reason for the dramatic uptick in sales (to this day, I still don’t). By noon it was 74, and Starshine was #19 on the Space Opera Bestsellers list. Mere presence on such lists increases sales as a book becomes far more visible to browsing shoppers, so sales were now feeding on themselves. By the time I went to bed that night, Starshine was #4 in Space Opera and in the Top 500 of all books on Amazon. 

Fast forward ten amazing years. Starshine has been read by over 300,000 people; twenty books on, so many of you are still here, as excited for the next adventure as you were for the first. I’ve heard from countless readers about how much the series has meant to them; I’ve made wonderful new friends and been enriched by their stories. I’ve had fantastic adventures myself (admittedly, many of these still happen in my own head). My life has changed, in the best ways possible, and it’s all because of you (with a small assist from Alex and Caleb and Miriam and Nika and their wonderful friends and families). Today, perhaps more than any other day, I’m so thankful to each and every one of you. Thank you for allowing me to write for a living, and for sharing this incredible universe with me.

Here’s to the next decade!

The Thief Cover Reveal, Plus the Best SciFi Sale of the Year

You’ve waited long enough to see this positively kick-ass cover for THE THIEF, haven’t you? I think so. I’ve also got an expanded blurb for you. I can’t wait for you all to come along for the ride as our favorite ex-anarch bites off more than he bargained for….

I’ll be announcing the official release date very soon (May/June), but you can pre-order the book today at your favorite retailer.

 * A stand-alone adventure set in the Amaranthe universe *

The Hesgyr are thieves. “Scavengers,” to hear their victims tell it; “repurposers” by their own reckoning.

As Chief of Intelligence for Non-Anaden Affairs, Eren Savitas’ job is to protect the Advocacy from all manner of alien threats: sabotage, assassination, insurgency and, way down the list, theft. So when he spots a Hesgyr running off with valuable technology, he follows the alien home—and discovers a civilization unlike any he’s ever encountered.

Yes, the Hesgyr are thieves. But they are also being hunted. Systematically exterminated by an insidious enemy they can’t see, touch or find. Eren finds himself drawn ever deeper into the Hesgyr’s fascinating yet labyrinthine world as he races against time to solve the mystery of the deadly attacks. What he discovers is a complex web of loyalties and betrayals, of grudges and grievances millennia old—and beneath it all, a secret that may hold the key to the survival of more than one civilization.

The Thief is a humorous, pulse-pounding sci-fi adventure about alien culture clashes, the flaws and foibles that transcend species, and the satisfaction that comes from breaking all the rules to save the day.

Now I have another treat for you. I’ve teamed up with dozens of today’s most popular indie scifi authors to bring you an epic collection of over 100 novels, box sets and short stories, all for the low price of FREE - but only for the next two days (MARCH 15-16), so don’t dally. SCI-FI BOOK BLAST

An Akeso Christmas Tale & a Big Ebook Sale

Merriest of Christmases and Happiest of Holidays to you! I hope you are heading into a festive week full of friends, family and joy - and some much deserved reading time with great books, of course. ;)

A quick note: this is the first newsletter I’ve sent using a new system, so it might look a teensy bit different - not too much - and there could be some glitches. If you see anything wonky or run into any problems, hit “reply” and let me know.

Everyone seemed to get a kick out of the Halloween ghost story I shared, so I’ve written another little flash story - more on that in a second. First, I’m running a big sale on ebooks from my direct store. Now through January 1st, you can get 30% off every ebook you purchase directly from me. Use the coupon “HOLIDAY23” as many times as you want, for as many books as you like.

EBOOK SALE: HOLIDAY23

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Now, about that Christmas flash fiction. A VERY AKESO CHRISTMAS takes place a few months after Duality; as such, it does contain some spoilers for the Riven Worlds novels. As befitting a Christmas tale written by someone who grew up on the likes of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, it is heartwarming, a little silly, and terribly sappy!

I scribbled it out in about two hours earlier this week, and it’s only been edited for spelling errors. At fifteen hundred words (a shortish chapter in one of my books), it’s a super-quick read, and I hope it gets you in the holiday spirit as you go into this special week. Here’s a tiny excerpt from the story:

The house was decked in an extravaganza of greenery and shining balls and red bows and bright artificial stars; the two largest trees situated off the porch bore matching attire. “What is this?”

Alex appeared from Eren’s left as the wormhole faded away. “It’s Christmas.” She extended a hand to him. “Come inside.”

What in Athena’s name was ‘Christmas’? A quick query told him it was a Human holiday with religious roots that centered around gift-giving, decorating trees, singing carols, lighting things up, something about reindeer and…possibly snowball fights?

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A Very Akeso Christmas

A VERY AKESO CHRISTMAS

This story takes place a few months after the events of Duality (which means it includes some spoilers for the Riven Worlds novels).

Eren sat on the balcony with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. The air was filled with scents of clover and damp wood after an overnight rainfall. A trio of birds sang their usual morning melody overhead, and the muffled, rapid thumps of a cervinae chasing its prey echoed through the weald.

Another perfect day on Hirlas. In the weeks following the Rasu attack, various groups had bandied about adopting a new name for their awakened planet, but in the end none of them stuck. After all, Hirlas had always been alive for the Naraida and Volucri who called it home.

He sighed and sipped on his tea, trying to will the melancholy away. And failing.

The one-year anniversary of Cosime’s death had come and gone last week. He’d taken a few days off work for it, and hadn’t yet been able to convince himself to return. He’d been doing so well recently, too. But the arrival of the dark date had whacked him over the head and sent him into a proper tailspin of grief and despair, and now all he wanted to do was sulk for the next hundred years.

The telltale glow of a wormhole forming on the balcony gleamed against the high emerald leaves, and he forced himself to his feet to greet his unannounced and not particularly welcome guest.

A few seconds later, Caleb walked through wearing a friendly smile.

Eren couldn’t quite muster the same. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”

“We’d like for you to come over for dinner. Or, breakfast in your case, I suppose. Doesn’t really matter.”

“Thanks for the invite, mate, but I’m not feeling up to it today.”

“Which is exactly why you should come. Please? For us? You don’t have to stay long. We’ll understand.”

“Ahhh…fine. Okay.” Not long ago, Caleb had saved not just his and Felzeor’s lives, but the lives of millions of Hirlas’ inhabitants, so it was mostly a sense of duty that forced him to agree. “Let me change into something more appropriate—”

“Don’t worry about it. Just bring yourself.” Caleb gestured to the wormhole. “After you.”

He gathered up his meager strength and stepped through the wormhole onto…was this Akeso?

Snow covered the ground in every direction and hung in ivory dollops from the tree limbs, where Akeso-birds fluttered about stringing silver garland from limb to limb. The stream running in front of the house had frozen into a meandering ice rink, and the night air glittered with pinpricks of red and green light. He shook his head, confused. He’d never seen snow on Akeso before.

Ahead, the house was decked in an extravaganza of greenery and shining balls and red bows and bright artificial stars; the two largest trees situated off the porch bore matching attire.

“What is this?”

Alex appeared from his left as the wormhole faded away. “It’s Christmas.” She extended a hand to him. “Come inside.”

What in Athena’s name was ‘Christmas’? A quick query told him it was a Human holiday with religious roots that centered around gift-giving, decorating trees, singing carols, lighting things up, something about reindeer and…possibly snowball fights?

In the nearby meadow, Kennedy’s two kids were engaged in a high-pitched battle of dueling snowballs, pelting each other over and over in the face and chest as they drew from ever-growing piles of perfectly formed balls of snow. Because Akeso was creating the weaponry for them; as each ball was retrieved and thrown, a new spot of snow rolled itself up into an orb and deposited itself in the stack.

He chuckled in unexpected delight and stooped down to scoop up a handful of snow, which he packed into a haphazard ball. “It’s not as geometrically perfect as Akeso’s creations, but….” He drew his arm back and lobbed it gently into the back of Jonas’ head.

Both kids spun in surprise, then ran over, stumbling through the powdery snow and cackling. Braelyn slammed into his legs, arms wide. “Come play with us! Be on my team!”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Eren’s going to come inside and say hello to everyone first.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Everyone?”

She flashed him a grin. “I told you—it’s Christmas. Kiddos, fresh cookies will be ready in about five minutes. Don’t miss them.”

“We won’t!” Jonas palmed a new snowball Akeso had served up for him and pelted his sister in the head, then ran off, her hot on his tail.

Caleb opened the front door, and a deluge of delightful aromas washed over Eren. Cinnamon and nutmeg and apple spice and definitely cookies baking rode a wave of warmth and chatter.

David Solovy stood in the kitchen wearing a bright green apron and two oven mitts decorated in red holly. He reached in the oven and removed a pan full of chocolate-crusted cookies, then picked one up and held it out to Eren. “Be my guinea pig and try it. Are they ready?”

“Uh….” He took the cookie hesitantly, as he wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of baked treats, and bit into it. His mouth filled with warm, melting, sugar-laden gooey goodness, and he moaned in pleasure. “Unph-huphf.”

“Skazochnaya! Alex, grab me a plate, will you?”

Caleb tilted his head toward the living room, and Eren followed. A roaring fire decorated the corner of the room, with old-fashioned lit candles lining the mantle. His eyes scanned those gathered there with interest. All the usual suspects—Kennedy and Noah, Mia and Malcolm, Isabela and Marlee, as well as Valkyrie and Thomas sporting their Human-like dolls—were gathered together in small groups, chatting and laughing. Miriam sat on the couch talking to Richard and Will; an open box sat on her lap, shiny, torn paper dangling off of it.

They wore slacks and sweaters and even a touch of silk here and there, and he suddenly felt horribly underdressed in his linen knickers and plain knit shirt.  Why hadn’t Caleb let him change clothes? Possibly because he’d likely have used it as an excuse to beg off the invitation?

“Oh, good, you made it.” He turned toward the familiar but unexpected voice, and Corradeo clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m not certain precisely what’s going on here, but it’s all simply delightful.” He handed Eren a steaming mug. “Try this. It’s mulled cider with cinnamon and a dash of rum. When you drink it, you believe you will never be cold again.”

“If you insist.” He took a small sip from the mug, and had to agree. Heat spread through his chest and into his limbs…and, in the sappiest of all metaphors, began to warm his heart. A smile lit his face, all the way to his eyes. He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been, and how being alone had made his sorrow so much worse.

Then a dash of panic descended, and he laid his free hand on Caleb’s arm. “I don’t have any gifts. If you’d warned me—”

“Don’t be silly.” Alex materialized at his side. “Christmas isn’t about gifts. It’s about being with family.” She reached onto the plate she held balanced on one palm and offered him a cookie. “Fancy another one?”

“Yes…thank you.” He absently took it from her, his mind glitching over her use of the word ‘family.’ Did she mean to say…? Suddenly overwhelmed with an irrational swell of emotion and gratitude, he spread his arms wide and did his best to wrap Alex, Caleb and Corradeo all up in a giant hug. “Thank you.”

“We’re glad you’re here.” Alex gave him a peck on the cheek before disentangling from his ridiculous hug. “More cookies to deliver.”

A shout erupted from Braelyn as she bolted into the room. “Come quick! You have to see!” As quickly as she’d arrived, she vanished back out the front door.

Caleb arched an eyebrow and gestured grandly toward the entry. “It seems we have to see.”

Everyone filed outside into the cold night air, plates and mugs in hand.

Above the frozen stream, just beyond the tree tops, a dance of lights soared across the sky. They took the shape of…Eren tilted his head curiously. Reindeer, pulling a sleigh. The outline of a rotund man with a long, flowing beard wearing a fur-lined coat held the reins atop the sleigh.

“It’s Santa, it’s Santa!” The kids sang in unison.

Eren nudged Alex. “That isn’t Mesme, is it? It can’t be. Mesme would never engage in frivolity.”

“Oh, but it would. I just had to ask sweetly.”

“Yes, Mesme was so blown away by the once-in-a-lifetime occurrence of Alex being sweet, it was completely disarmed and had no choice but to agree to a performance.” Caleb kissed Alex atop the head, then draped an arm over Eren’s shoulder and raised his voice above the joyous din. “Merry Christmas, everyone.”

A Halloween Ghost Story, Audio Shorts, and a Great SciFi Sale

Happy Halloween! I’ve got a fun—I mean spooky—bit of flash fiction for you today starring Nika and Dashiel. But first….

Ever been curious about my audiobooks and all the fuss over Pyper Down, but not ready to commit to Audible or another audio app? Good news - I've put all the Amaranthe short stories up on my YouTube page, where you can listen to them for FREE.

You know you already fall down YouTube rabbit holes all the time - might as well fall down this one. Listen to them all here: https://www.youtube.com/@gs_jennsen

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I’ve also got a giant collection of over 100 free or discounted scifi and fantasy books for you. Find them all here: SciFi & Fantasy Book Bazaar

Now, about that Halloween flash fiction. GHOSTS OF PROELE takes place three years after Duality, but prior to future books starring Nika and Dashiel. That said, you don’t need to have read Duality or any of the Riven Worlds books to enjoy the story (it is a little spoilery if you haven’t yet read Asterion Noir). I scribbled it out in about an hour last week, and it’s only been edited for spelling errors. At a thousand words, it’s a super-quick read. I hope you enjoy it!

GHOSTS OF PROELE

Proele.

The word whispered through her dream, carried along by an eerie, haunted wind. Wisps of fog obscured any details of where she was, but everywhere she turned, there was only the word.

Proele.

Nika awoke with a start. Silvery moonlight drifted into the bedroom, and she turned to see Dashiel sleeping peacefully beside her.

Taking care not to disturb him, she eased out of bed and tip-toed to the kitchen, where she poured a cup of coffee and took it over to the windows looking down upon Mirai One.

Proele. She knew the word, though not from where.

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~ Image credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

Ghosts of Proele

GHOSTS OF PROELE

This story takes place three years after DUALITY, but prior to future books in which Nika and Dashiel will appear.

Proele.

The word whispered through her dream, carried along by an eerie, haunted wind. Wisps of fog obscured any details of where she was, but everywhere she turned, there was only the word.

Proele.

Nika awoke with a start. Silvery moonlight drifted into the bedroom, and she turned to see Dashiel sleeping peacefully beside her.

Taking care not to disturb him, she eased out of bed and tip-toed to the kitchen, where she poured a cup of coffee and took it over to the windows looking down upon Mirai One.

Proele. She knew the word, though not from where. It took only a fraction of a second to delve the history banks and she had her answer, though not her ‘why.’ Proele was the name they’d given to the planetoid where, near the end of their two-century-long Exodus away from the Anaden Empire, they’d first discovered kyoseil. Though the rock wasn’t fit for habitation, they’d paused there for several weeks while a team set up a camp on the surface to extract and study the mineral. After loading up sizeable samples in the holds of their generation ships, they’d continued their journey, and only after settling on Synra had the first experiments integrating kyoseil into their biosynthetic bodies began.

She wondered. Had Magnus Forchelle known as he stood on the planetoid’s surface what he had found?

Proele.

She jumped in surprise. She wasn’t dreaming any longer, was she? She pinched herself. No, she was not. Yet the ghostly voice had echoed anew in her mind nonetheless.

She sighed, sending ripples through the steaming coffee held at her lips. It appeared she was going to Proele.

*

 Nika and Dashiel stepped out of the wormhole onto the planetoid. A pale gray crumble of rocks almost as fine as sand coated the uneven landscape. In every direction, the surface had been upended, and haphazard valleys, mounds and crevices marred the horizon. Asterions had returned here millennia ago to strip the planetoid of every ounce of kyoseil in the drive to sate their ravenous appetite for the mineral—back when they didn’t understand how it was not merely incredibly ancient, but alive.

“We wrecked this place good and proper.” Her voice echoed inside her helmet and was swallowed up by the emptiness surrounding her.

“True.” Dashiel’s voice rang tinny and hollow. “But something tells me it wasn’t much of a scenic vista to begin with.”

“No.” The planetoid exhibited a slow, wobbly orbital pattern, and to their left a sulfur glow from the distant sun peeked over a mound of upturned rock. Shadows raced into the crevices—and in the corner of her eye light glinted off something. She started walking that way.

“Where are you going?”

“There’s something over here.”

“Nika, there’s nothing left.”

“Maybe someone left a tool behind.” The ground sloped down into a shallow bowl, and she slipped and slid down the bank toward the lowest point.

The light glinted again as the sun rose higher behind them, and she dropped to her knees and began pushing away the top layer of sand.

At the center of a jagged hole sat a perfect specimen of pure kyoseil. Amber threads with hints of opalescence threaded in on themselves like an intricately woven knot.

Dashiel knelt beside her. “Impossible. We wouldn’t have left a chunk this large behind. Not back then.”

“Maybe it’s spent millennia traveling up from the mantle to the surface.”

“Kyoseil isn’t usually much for the traveling, but maybe.”

She worked around its edges until she’d dislodged it from its cradle, then cupped it in her hands. The prodigious kyoseil in her body hummed with excitement, as if reuniting with a long-lost friend.

This was what she was here for. But why?

She set the sample back down and began detaching one of her gloves from her suit.

“Nika, what are you doing?”

“I need to touch it. I’ll be fine for a minute or so.” Asterion bodies were designed to withstand the brutality of space for short periods.

Icy daggers burnt her exposed skin, and she quickly picked up the kyoseil—

“Drayden, come look at this!” The ghost of Magnus Forchelle motioned excitedly with his ethereal gloved hand, and a spectral form working at a screen above a large piece of machinery hurried over.

“What do you have?”

“I’m not certain.” Ghost Magnus knelt and scooped up a handful of the sand-like material covering the chalky surface, then stood. Within it, tiny golden strands gleamed like brilliant stardust.

“Huh. That doesn’t resemble any of the minerals or crystals we’ve identified so far.”

“I know it doesn’t.” Ghost Magnus brought his cupped hands close to his face, his head tilting. “It’s beautiful. I wonder if perhaps we’ve discovered a new element, out here amidst the endless sea of black.”

“How did you find it? I don’t see any other samples in the area.”

“I was scanning the horizon, and I spotted what resembled a flickering of lights in the air over in this direction. As I got closer, the lights dissipated. I looked down, and there it was.”

“I don’t see any lights.”

“Neither do I. It must have been a trick of the eye. Let’s get this back to the camp and see if we can learn what we’ve found.” Ghost Magnus kept his hands carefully surrounding his prize as he trailed the other spectre back to their camp.

Behind him, in the shadow of a boulder canted askew and half-buried in the surface, a cluster of blue-white lights swirled languidly for a moment, then was gone.

Nika dropped the kyoseil to the ground and stumbled to her feet.

Dashiel’s hand grasped her arm. “Are you okay? What happened?”

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “I saw the camp. Magnus Forchelle and others working.” She hurriedly reattached the glove over her throbbing, damaged skin, then grabbed his hands in hers. “Dashiel, why was there a Kat on Proele when we discovered kyoseil?”

***

~ Image Credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona