Five months ago, humanity and a coalition of aliens defeat the serpentine Vinkere at the Battle of the Blue Star. Unfortunately, a few scattered remnants remained, and now they have emerged from hiding. Following a string of attacks on human worlds, Captain Simon Marston and the intrepid crew of the starship Pericles pursue the enemy to a dangerous and remote region of space to find out why the aliens are congregating there.
The resurgent Vinkere threat could not come at a worse time. With their forty-year armistice about to expire, the Draxilans, a race of empire-building giants, have once again set their sights on the Human Interstellar Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, the rest of the galaxy is slowly winning the war against the Kalavat Plague and its twisted, animal-like victims. Torina Jadus, Minister of Medicine and Health, leaves her home in the Republic of Tuulan Vee for Arjen, home of the Arretrian crown prince. Her mission to help combat the Kalavat Plague outbreak in Arretrian space has another agenda: to convince the proud Arretrians to join them in the looming war which threatens to engulf not just the Human Commonwealth but the Republic she loves so dearly.
Five months ago, humanity and a coalition of aliens defeat the serpentine Vinkere at the Battle of the Blue Star. Unfortunately, a few scattered remnants remained, and now they have emerged from hiding. Following a string of attacks on human worlds, Captain Simon Marston and the intrepid crew of the starship Pericles pursue the enemy to a dangerous and remote region of space to find out why the aliens are congregating there.
The resurgent Vinkere threat could not come at a worse time. With their forty-year armistice about to expire, the Draxilans, a race of empire-building giants, have once again set their sights on the Human Interstellar Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, the rest of the galaxy is slowly winning the war against the Kalavat Plague and its twisted, animal-like victims. Torina Jadus, Minister of Medicine and Health, leaves her home in the Republic of Tuulan Vee for Arjen, home of the Arretrian crown prince. Her mission to help combat the Kalavat Plague outbreak in Arretrian space has another agenda: to convince the proud Arretrians to join them in the looming war which threatens to engulf not just the Human Commonwealth but the Republic she loves so dearly.
December 3, 2438 / Mighty Shield Nebula / Unclaimed Space
The Imperial Draxilan Warship Inferno and its sister ships pushed deeper into the nebula. The energy shields protecting them from the superheated gases flared a dull red, giving the vessels a sinister glow. The warships advanced stubbornly, fighting the powerful gravitational currents that surged against them like waves breaking over the bows of the sea-going vessels that had once traversed the oceans of their home world.
On the bridge of the Inferno, Centurion Vedrik gripped the armrests of his command chair, feeling the deck roll beneath his boots as another gravitational current washed over them, as though the nebula itself was trying to resist the invaders. “How much further?” he demanded.
“We should reach the target at any moment,” the navigator said, although Vedrik noted the uncertainty in his voice. Sensors were almost useless within the nebula, and the crew were forced to make their best guesses.
The centurion squinted at the viewscreen, waiting for the moment when their target became visible. The Draxilan’s natural ability to see infrared light gave the nebula a reddish-orange appearance, although he knew to other, inferior species with more limited vision it would appear white.
Another gravitational swell rolled over the ship, causing everyone inside to brace themselves. The turbulence threatened to scatter their formation, but the five ships pressed on, towards the heart of the nebula and their prize.
Vedrik knew that no Draxilan ship had ever travelled so deep into a nebula. Why would they? The interstellar clouds were dangerous. The gases occluded all but short-range sensors, and the gravitational currents that bound them could easily buffet a ship off-course, or even break it apart. This particular cloud, a planetary nebula, was relatively young by astronomical standards. It was still hot, and the superheated gases threatened to overwhelm their shields and cook everyone inside. Despite the danger, Vedrik’s superiors had believed the risk was acceptable, and so had he. That was why he had volunteered his force for this mission.
Their destination was a recently abandoned Vinkere listening post near the center of the nebula. News that other species in the Locality had discovered hidden Vinkere bases in their space had prompted the Empire to conduct a search of its own territory. They had found none. However, expanding their search to the surrounding space had revealed a Vinkere base in the Mighty Shield Nebula. Although not technically within the boundaries of the Draxilan Empire, it was within what they considered their realm of influence.
The centurion regarded the local star map on his monitor. The nebula bordered an area of space known as the White Passage, a resource-rich area named for its great number of large, white stars. Forty years earlier it had been a battleground between the Draxilan Empire and the Human Interstellar Commonwealth. Since the end of that war, the insectoid Kithel had colonized parts of the region, although given the devastation the Kalavat Plague had wrought on their species, they were considered a negligible threat. The tribes of the Iganti were focused inward as a new leader sought to consolidate her rule over the home world, and the Human Commonwealth was licking its wounds in the wake of the Vinkere Invasion. With their enemies otherwise distracted, the Draxilans were able to operate almost unchecked within the Passage.
Vedrik was about to have the navigator check their progress again when suddenly the turbulence subsided. They were still deep within the nebula, less than one astronomical unit from the neutron star at its heart, but they had entered an open space where powerful deflector satellites kept the superheated gas and gravity currents at bay.
The satellites had been built by an advanced race of would-be conquerors from beyond the Locality: the Vinkere. Their recently abandoned base was the Draxilans’ target. It included an inert, ring-shaped wormhole gateway, which hovered like a dark halo at the center of the space. Beside it, and almost as important, was a smaller station with powerful dishes that allowed the Vinkere to monitor subspace communications across dozens of light-years.
The Inferno’s sensor operations officer confirmed what the probes had told them earlier: the base was deserted. The Vinkere had intended their withdrawal to be temporary; just long enough to smash the allied fleet that had attacked them in their home territory. Unfortunately for them, the Vinkere had lost that battle, and were now confined to the Carina Nebula, unable to harm the people of the Locality ever again. That left their bases and advanced technology ripe for the taking.
There were no Vinkere ships present, however the automated defense platforms that ringed the wormhole station responded immediately to the arrival of the Draxilans. Weapons turrets pivoted to face the encroaching ships, and opened fire.
The Inferno shuddered again, this time from the impact of missiles against its shields. “Return fire!” Vedrik ordered. The warships under his command unleashed the full fury of their weapons on the Vinkere defense platforms.
Vedrik’s force consisted of some of the most powerful warships in the Imperial Navy, yet even they found themselves sustaining heavy damage. Two warships were destroyed before the last of the automated weapons platforms exploded in a bright flash.
“Did the gateway or the listening post sustain any damage?” Vedrik asked his sensor operations officer.
“Negative,” she replied, “They appear to be intact.”
“Order the Executor to secure the wormhole gateway,” Vedrik commanded, “And have our own troops assemble in the hangar bay. We will take control of the listening post.”
Amid growls of approval, Vedrik turned and left the bridge. He fully intended to be aboard the first transport to dock with the listening post.
Twenty minutes later, two troop transports rose from the hangar deck of the Inferno and crossed the short distance to the listening post. While the second hovered nearby, Vedrik’s transport docked with the Vinkere space station. It only took a few minutes for the breacher to burn a hole through the airlock. As soon as the cutout fell away, Vedrik’s soldiers flooded through the opening into the Vinkere station. Every troop here was Draxilan, handpicked by Vedrik. They couldn’t let any of the technology fall into the hands of lesser species.
The corridor they found themselves in was comprised of the same blue-gray metal alloy as the station’s exterior. The room was dark except for dim, white emergency lights running in thin strips along the walls.
Ostensibly to lead by example, but in reality, hoping to receive credit for whatever they found, Centurion Vedrik led his forces down the corridor. The ceiling was only three meters high, so Vedrik and his troops had to stoop slightly. Soon, they came to a set of heavy double doors. Given their location near the center of the station, there was only one thing the doors could be protecting.
“The command center is beyond these doors,” Vedrik said confidently. “I want a tech specialist working on that control panel, and a welding team on standby.”
While Vedrik’s soldiers spread out and searched the adjacent rooms, a specialist in alien technologies got to work on the doors’ control panel. The centurion was about to lose patience when after forty minutes, the tech specialist exclaimed, “I did it!” and the doors opened. Hefting his rifle, Vedrik ducked his head through the door and stepped into the room beyond. His soldiers fanned out behind him. The command center was a large, square room with a five-meter-high ceiling. All the control terminals appeared to be in standby mode, operating on minimal power.
“Centurion, look at this!”
Vedrik strode briskly across the room. The soldier that had called him was standing in front of a large, hollow machine. To the centurion’s eye it looked like a sarcophagus. It was much too small to accommodate a Draxilan, a species which averaged nine to thirteen feet tall, but a Vinkere could probably fit comfortably inside.
The tech specialist joined them, eyeing the alien device with an expert eye.
“It could be a medical pod or a hibernation chamber,” he suggested.
“Can you determine when it was last used?” Vedrik asked. They hadn’t detected any life signs on the station, but it was better to be certain. He was about to order someone to find the light switch when a brief movement in his peripheral vision caused him to swing his head around and focus on a bank of computer terminals near the far wall. His eyes settled on the heat source he had assumed was the bank of computers. But the heat source had moved. He was sure of it.
“Secure that area,” he ordered a squad of soldiers. Rifles raised, the four soldiers warily approached the computer bank. They had almost reach it when a serpent-like figure rose sinuously from behind it. Vedrik was shocked to see its infrared profile turning a deep orange, changing from the dull purple of the background. He recognized it as a Vinkere, a species capable of manipulating their own heat signatures. Its fangs glinted in the torchlight as it aimed a large, shoulder-mounted weapon at the nearest Draxilan and fired.
A red energy bolt struck the unfortunate soldier in the chest, and he collapsed. The other three raised their rifles to fire, but their bullets appeared to have no effect on the Vinkere, who fired back, killing two more of them with its oversized cannon in quick succession.
Vedrik noticed a faint blue glow surrounded the Vinkere, causing bullets to ping harmlessly off it. “It has an energy shield!” he hollered. “Target the weapon!”
The Vinkere’s large, angular head swung in his direction. Yellow, slitted eyes fixed on Vedrik as the alien adjusted its weapon to fire at him. Vedrik just had time to drop to the floor behind the hibernation chamber as the energy bolts whizzed overhead, missing him by inches. The tech specialist wasn’t so lucky, and collapsed, a sizzling hole in his chest.
Concentrated fire from some of Vedrik’s remaining soldiers managed to disable the Vinkere’s weapon; it sparked and stopped firing. Undeterred, the Vinkere slithered over the computer bank it had been using for cover and lunged at the nearest Draxilan soldier with almost supernatural speed. The alien swung it’s broken weapon like a club; there was a dull crunch as the weapon connected with the soldier’s knee. He fell forward, and the Vinkere abruptly silenced his cry of pain.
“Eliminate the target!” Vedrik screamed at his remaining soldiers. He raised his rifle again and fired. The bullets failed to penetrate the energy shield, but the blue glow dimmed, giving the centurion hope that they were weakening it.
The Vinkere had been disarmed, but it was far from defenseless. Like a coiled spring it lunged at the nearest pair of Draxilan soldiers, landing in their midst and lashing out with its powerful tail and four, muscular arms ending in sharp claws. The remaining soldiers backed away, maintaining fire until the Vinkere’s energy field finally flickered, and died. One of the soldiers within arms’ reach was dead, and the second was wounded. The serpentine alien looked around wildly for its next target. It hissed menacingly.
The Draxilan centurion gestured for his soldiers to hold their fire. “Your shield is gone. Surrender, and I will spare your life,” Vedrik called to the Vinkere. No doubt the Empire’s interrogators would be able to extract valuable information from it.
The Vinkere fixed him with an evil stare. “I am Ss’Velix, appointed by Supreme Commander Zithla as guardian of this station. Your efforts to seize our technology have failed.” With a clawed hand she held up a remote control.
“If you intend to call for help, you should know that there’s nobody left to receive your signal,” Vedrik said smugly. “Your people were defeated. Supreme Commander Zithla is dead. Surrender, or you will be too.”
“Zithla may have been defeated by inferior aliens, but I will not be,” Ss’Velix said defiantly. She pressed the remote control, and one of the screens behind her came to life. “Defeat is temporary. Our dominion shall encompass the stars!”
“Kill it,” Vedrik ordered, and his soldiers fired at the unshielded Vinkere. The alien’s shriek died abruptly as she collapsed to the ground, dead, forked tongue hanging out between scaly lips.
Silence reigned for several moments. Vedrik stepped carefully over the body of the technology specialist. “Find out what the Vinkere activated,” he snapped, and his soldiers cautiously approached the computer Ss’Velix had remotely activated.
A rumble shook the station. “What was that?” Vedrik demanded, but his soldiers looked at him uncertainly. A light on his headset flashed, indicating an incoming call from the Inferno.
“Captain, the wormhole gateway just exploded!” came the anxious report. “The Executor’s soldiers are gone—”
“And we will be too if we don’t figure out how to stop the self-destruct!” Vedrik interrupted. A faint rumble, barely audible at first, continued to build in intensity. Knowing he might only have seconds to act, Vedrik aimed his rifle at the glowing computer monitor and fired. There was a shower of sparks and the screen went dead.
The room seemed eerily quiet in the silence that followed. Vedrik and his soldiers looked around warily. They were still here. The station hadn’t exploded.
“Sir, we had detected a build-up in the station’s reactor, but it appears to have subsided,” reported the sensor operations officer on the Inferno.
Vedrik regarded the bodies of his dead soldiers, and the alien corpse in the middle of the room. He nudged it with his boot. “The listening post is secure,” he informed the Inferno. “Prepare to send over engineering teams.”
The loss of the wormhole gateway was a great disappointment. The Draxilans had planned to reverse engineer its wormhole-generating technology. If they could travel across space using wormholes like the Ankari, the Imperial Navy would be unstoppable. The imperator would not be pleased. Vedrik would have to portray the events of today so that the blame for the destruction of the gateway fell on others. His sensor operations officer, perhaps; she had detected the energy build-up in the gateway and failed to act promptly.
Vedrik would also make sure to emphasize the role he played in the success of their mission, particularly in seizing the Vinkere listening post and defeating its protector. With its advanced technology, the listening post was capable of intercepting and translating subspace communications over a large area. It would grant the Draxilans an advantage over their adversaries. Vedrik’s official report would adequately convey his own bravery and quick-thinking.
A subordinate approached Vedrik. “Commander. The Vinkere managed to broadcast a message over subspace. It terminated when you destroyed the computer.”
“What did it say?” Vedrik demanded.
“It was just one word, Centurion: ‘Converge.’”
Vedrik mulled it over. Converge where? Here? Caution demanded he prepare for a retaliatory strike, just in case. He didn’t want to dwell too much on the possible Vinkere threat, however. Long-term plans were finally coming to fruition. After decades of waiting, the Draxilan Empire was on the cusp of a new golden age, reinvigorated by the imperator’s proclamation: expansion by any means. The Empire’s war machines were coming alive again, and the Imperial Navy was mobilizing. There were none in the Locality who could oppose them. Any who tried would soon meet their end.
Justin Caleb returns us to the year 2438 with his second book in the Locality Adventures series. And man, is this book another home run! As with the first book, I could not put down this action-packed story. Run, do not walk to purchase and read this five-star book!
As a forty-year peace treaty between the Vinkere and the Draxilans ends and the Locality struggles to overcome the infectious Kalavat Plague, the Draxilans see an opening to enslave those from the Commonwealth and control the Locality once and for all. The Storm Nebula follows Minster Jadus and Captain Marston in a race against time to use every resource and ally at their disposal to bring a stop of the Draxilans and protect their homes.
Justin continues to impress with his ability to cultivate deeply complex stories, involving futuristic worlds, technologies, characters, and threats to civilization. It is evident that these stories have been meticulously planned out in an impressive world-building effort. Readers will also appreciate the time and effort Justin takes to absorb us into each of the scenes, describing in vivid detail any item, action, character, or species that is unfamiliar. Some of my favorite scenes involve the way Justin describes locations like Arjen, the hive of the Ancient One, the Kithel Queen, and of Unity Station. As a reader, scenes like these allow you to see the sight and smell the smells.
In addition to the high-quality worldbuilding and scene cultivation, Justin continues to excel in character development and providing real-world dialogue between characters. Often, characters seem different between books – Perhaps they’ve acquired a slightly different voice or tone. That is not the case with the Storm Nebula – the characters thoughts, feelings, and dialogue feel genuine and relatable. And, more importantly, each character introduced throughout the book has a purpose. There are no fluff characters – Each contributes to the Locality Adventures storyline in a meaningful and complex way.
Collectively, Justin’s ability as an author to develop a complex futuristic universe and then immerse the reader into the story complete with heroes, villains, and threats to civilization make him one of the best science fiction writers around! I will keep my fingers crossed for a third book in the Locality Adventure series soon!
Thanks to Reedsy and Justin Caleb for the opportunity to review this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.