Awarded Silver Honorable Mention in Volume 40 1st Quarter of L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest
Smuggling is a dangerous business and Reese Daniels has the score of a lifetime within his grasp; however, getting shot down on one of Uranus' moons wasn't in his plan. Stranded and on the run in the middle of an alien invasion, Reese must work with a group of Marine cadets to escape a grisly fate.
Awarded Silver Honorable Mention in Volume 40 1st Quarter of L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest
Smuggling is a dangerous business and Reese Daniels has the score of a lifetime within his grasp; however, getting shot down on one of Uranus' moons wasn't in his plan. Stranded and on the run in the middle of an alien invasion, Reese must work with a group of Marine cadets to escape a grisly fate.
Ariel 6 Colony
Monday, August 1
Earth Year 2140
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A wise person warned me. âYou keep trying to catch that tiger by the tail and youâre going to get bit.â I didnât listen.
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âCome on baby!â I pulled on my shipâs controls, desperate to level my descent. Every alarm on my console sounded, except the one I needed. The moonâs icy blue and gray horizon filled my view port, a rocky ridge in the distance. Uncertain of my altitude, I did a quick calculation in my head, counted to three and triggered the emergency landing thrusters.
Rapid deceleration propelled me into my harness, straps tightening in places I wish they hadnât and drove breath from my lungs. My ship buckled with the strain, her nose drifting to port. Focusing through the discomfort, I adjusted the thruster controls.
A decompression alarm sounded. I froze, panic gripping my heart in a vise. In the orbital firefight, I didnât have time to secure my environment suitâs helmet. I glanced at the console. Only the cargo bay flashed red, and I choked down some relief.
Heavy thumps rattled the bay. Pieces of secured cargo had broken free, tossed against the hull by escaping atmosphere. Each blow threatened to throw the ship further off-line. The nose returned to center as the ground met my shipâs underbelly. Crackling ice grated her hull. She rose in a deflection glide, her engines no longer providing thrust.
My easing panic escalated to terror in a microsecond, triggering my mind with a host of hideous death images. I had no breath to scream.
The horizon tilted and a flash of impact filled the cockpit. Arms quaking, my hands held the controls in a white knuckled grip, willing the ship not to tumble. Metal tore in the frightening skid as I prayed to whoever might listen for this ordeal to end. I lost track of the seconds until she came to rest.
Sparks flittered in the cockpit. Smoke puffed, but no fire. âYes!â I pumped my fists. âI knew you could do it, girl!â
Dangling in my harness, I wiped my stinging eyes and unbuckled my restraints, crashing to the cockpitâs floor. I struggled to hands and knees. âAny landing you can crawl away from,â I groaned. I found my helmet. It took a few tugs, but I freed it from its prison under the co-pilot seat. I stood and secured it to my environment suit.
Fingerling cracks in the view port drew my attention, but didnât hold it; however, the mountainous ridge filled with long shards of ice and rock less than thirty meters away did. I shivered, âThat was too close.â
A gentle vibration hummed in the floor, building slowly and expanding to the seats and console.
Not good!
I snatched an emergency supply pack and sidearm from the wall and knelt behind my seat. My precious cargo, a hardened metallic cylinder magnetically coupled to the floor, had survived the crash. I pressed a button to release the moorings, grabbed its tether and hustled to the airlock.
Above the airlock door, the stenciled words âAdventure and Gloryâ stood boldâmy grandfatherâs stories raved about them. âThe skyâs the limit,â his favorite catch phrase fell from my lips as I triggered the inner door and stepped inside.
As a kid, I left his home knowing one day I could make the score of a lifetime, punch my last ticket at the dirty jobâs office and all my cares in the world would fade away. Yeah, pretty sweet isnât it. Damn right it is! Today was that day for me. Well, right until I tried to land on this godforsaken moonâŚthen it all went to hell. The airlock cycled, the outer door opened to a field of ice, and I sprinted to the ridge like a madman.
The nameâs Reese Daniels. Iâve held lots of titles over the years: smuggler, illicit man of acquisition, a handful of people might have called me a criminal, but that was a harsh label. Iâm an entrepreneurâoften many of my customersâ last resort, but every one of them knew I got the job done.
Reese Daniels is having a bad day in this sci/fi adventure novelette. The space smugglerâs plans to nab the score of his career go up in smoke when he flies straight into an alien invasion in this action-packed space adventure.
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The main character, Reese Daniels, smuggles reminders of life back on earth that are âtoo difficult or expensiveâ to ship through normal channels. So he makes a mint delivering cargo off the books. As in, smuggling. Think Han Solo.
Daniels risks his neck burning through space to provide a better life for his kid sister Gracie Mae and their aunt, who are living on earth. His latest "cargo runâ is going swimmingly until heâs shot down on Ariel, one of Uranusâs moons. Daniels is rescued by some Marine cadets. They canât figure out what the aliens want because they canât communicate with them. Are the âbugsâ after resources, or something else?
This is a fun read and a high energy adventure story set in earth year 2140. Itâs a little Star Wars. A little Star Trek. A little Independence Day. A bit Men in Black.
The writing is solid and effectively conveys emotions like anger and fear without overpowering the action scenes. And there's plenty of action in this adrenaline rush: Firefights, exploding airlocks, cannon fire, an alien invasion and air assaults, and a destroyed colony. Â A little more development of Reeseâs sister Gracie would be a nice addition. The door is left open for another installment with additional action and further character development.
The cover art will capture readersâ attention and successfully launch them into this high-flying sci fi adventure. A little over fifty pages, this is a quick and easy read. Some of the dialogue may get confusing for some readers. In places it's like everyone is talking over everyone else. The characters could also use some additional fleshing out. But this is a novelette, not a full-length novel.
Overall, this action-packed story is an enjoyable read that will appeal to sci/fi fans. I wish there was more of it. I wouldâve rated it higher if it was longer. Hopefully a sequel is forthcoming.Â
My Rating: 3.5