Updates

The third Draft of Seph – Divine Reflections is well under way. Notes from the beta readers have been compiled, sorted, and reviewed, and the manuscript is currently undergoing its final polish before being sent to a copy editor for further review.  A huge thank you to everyone who has been a part of this process, and to the team which continues to work behind the scenes at making this story into the best possible book that it can be.

Now to keep things rolling, I am attaching the first half of the current prologue to this post. In addition I will be making an increased effort to roll out additional information about the setting, races and worlds around which the story takes place, so please subscribe to the website, and/or, follow us on Facebook to stay up to date.

Photo by John Fowler on Unsplash

Streaks of light danced across the projected surface of the Shade’s hologram as the Andarin system populated the view field.

“Envelope closed.” Megnah, the ship’s navigator confirmed.

“Thanks sis. Land us on Jomar.” Re’akke pressed the intercom button on the side of the command chair. “Captain, we have arrived.”

There was a chirp followed by a brief crackle of static. “Thank you, I shall join you shortly.” The com chirped again before falling silent.

Inhaling Re’akke pushed himself out of the command chair, moving to his position at the tactical station, and turning on the projected display.

The Adarin system was newly excavated, and terraforming efforts had only recently begun on its most ideal worlds for support life. As such, large harvesters blasted across the space between its other worlds, carting mined resources back to Adarin prime. Jomar, the only established civilian space port in the system, would have plenty of antimatter on hand to refuel the ship’s archaic engine.

“Okay Meg, I got clearance for pad three.” Said Chloe, who was currently manning the communications terminal.

“Got it.”

The air in the room seemed to get colder as the door to the captain’s private quarters opened without a sound. The sensation seemed to accompany the man wherever he went, leaving the tips of your fingers and toes feeling numb.

His bright red eyes, highlighted like tiny flames against his obsidian skin, watched the holographic projection of the ships as Mehnah carefully brought it down onto the landing platform. On Re’akke’s display, visible waves could be seen spreading across it as the artificial gravity was activated on the bay.

“Re’akke, I want you to come along this time, go get Fetu, and meet me at the hatch.”

He felt a smile twist the corner of his lip upward. “On it.”

The primary purpose of this stop was to refuel. Something that they did not need to do very often. However, on their last mission, they had gotten into a pretty nasty entanglement with a swarm of space dwelling monsters, which had eaten into a large chunk of their supply. But, it was also an opportunity to land a new client. In a system under active terraforming, there would be plenty of start-up corporations owners, looking to make their mark on the galaxy, and willing to pay out to any mercenary willing to help.

He dropped into the chute leading down to the crew deck skipping the last couple of rungs on the ladder. Then found Fetu, already putting on his uniform in the cramped corridor of the crew’s sleeping area, made to seem even smaller by the man’s hulking frame.

As Fetu slid into his undershirt, Re’akke found himself staring once again at the white scar like streaks on his skin. Unlike, Re’akke and his sister, Fetu was only half Drak’or and while their skin was lighter than the captains, Fetu’s ash grey was almost pale in comparison. The mixing of fingalin blood had left him caught somewhere between the two races, without fins, but with long ears and a bald head.

“I expected you would still be asleep.” Re’akke said.

Fetu shrugged. “I felt the gravity turn on, and figured The captain would be calling on me soon.”

Re’akke smiled. “You’re not wrong, he sent me to get you, said to meet him at the hatch.”

Fetu pulled on his uniform jacket, then slapped him on the shoulder. “It’s about time he lets you come along.”

As promised The Captain was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp, arguing about refueling fees with a vaguely humanoid robot.

Re’akke descended the ramp, looking up at the stars through the open roof of the landing bay. As they reached the bottom, The captain and the android apparently came to an agreement, and the robot sped off disappearing into a hatch leading between bays. The captain turned to face them, tossing his head towards the port entrance, red eyes glowing under the shadow of his hood.