Command Decision (Project Gliese 581g #1)
Command Decision:
Project Gliese 581g
Book 1
By S.E. Smith
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you to my sister and best friend, Linda, who not only encouraged me to write, but who also read the manuscript. Also to my other friends who believe in me: Julie, Debbie, Sally, Jolanda, and Narelle. The girls that keep me going!
—S.E. Smith
Montana Publishing
Science Fiction
Command Decision: Gliese 581g Book 1
Copyright © 2016 by Susan E. Smith
First E-Book Published April 2016
Cover Design by Melody Simmons
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author.
All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations are strictly coincidental.
Summary: An unlikely Navy commander is given a new mission in space, one that he might not return from.
ISBN: 978-1-942562-71-9 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-942562-72-6 (eBook)
Published in the United States by Montana Publishing.
{1. Science Fiction Romance. – Fiction. 2. Science Fiction – Fiction. 3. Fantasy – Fiction. 4. Romance – Fiction.}
www.montanapublishinghouse.com
Synopsis
In a world gone crazy, it is often the humans who are at fault, seeking answers to questions we are not yet ready to understand...
Lieutenant Commander Joshua Manson’s focus was on his career which has taken him to many places; just not the one he has always dreamed of going – into space. His sometimes controversial methods during missions gives him the reputation of being a soldier who doesn’t always play by the rules.
A summons to Washington, D.C., after a
challenging mission, leaves him questioning if he’ll have a career at all; but once there, Josh is surprised when he is offered the chance of a lifetime, to command a mission in space to investigate an unknown object. The more he learns, the more determined he is to lead
it, even if it means a one way ticket.
Cassa de Rola’s family has lived for centuries in the quiet valley where they farm. Her family has tried to remain untouched by the growing unrest between the intergalactic military forces fighting for control over their planet. All of that changes when an unusual object falls from the sky and Cassa finds a strange male in the container. She knows that taking him in will endanger the lives of everyone close to her, but she can’t leave him defenseless. Now, the
military forces on both sides
want to discover the origins of the container and its missing contents.
When
the fight between the Legion and the Gallant Order escalates to all-out war,
a new rebel leader emerges from the stars that will change the galaxy, and Cassa’s life, forever
.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Twenty Years earlier:
Kennedy Space Center: Florida
Joshua Manson stood on the stands across from the launch pad in stunned disbelief. His gaze was frozen on the sky above him. Tears suddenly burned his eyes. They weren’t caused by the brilliant sun or the chilled wind trying to cut through his jacket, though. No, the burning in them had to do with the unusual trail that followed the liftoff that was supposed to take his dad into space for the last time.
At almost eighteen, he and his dad might have had the occasional clash of wills; well, maybe more than an occasional one, but the fact remained that he had never missed one of his dad’s launches. Even the fight they had last night over whether Josh should finish college before enlisting in the military hadn’t prevented him from coming to silently support his father.
His dad wanted him to finish his degree first, and then join the Navy. Josh wanted to enlist in the Army at the same time as his best friend, Ashton Haze, so they could still do things together. It had been a stupid fight.
Josh really didn’t know what even started it. It was like a red flag had flashed in front of his face when his dad started talking on the phone last night. He had argued with his dad about everything. Now, he wished he could take back his angry words; words he hadn’t really meant. Pain pierced him at the thought. He stared at the sky with a growing sense that his mind was playing tricks on him.
“I’m so sorry,” a voice whispered behind him.
Josh remained stunned, nodding his head in acceptance of the sympathy even though the words couldn’t penetrate what his mind was acknowledging. The Space Shuttle was gone, exploding in a fiery ball leaving spiraling ice crystal contrails in its wake as it fell into the ocean below. The sounds of crying echoed around him.
He jerked when he felt a hand on his arm. Blinking in an effort to focus, he saw a staff member of NASA security standing beside him, a grim expression on the man’s face. The man said something, but Josh’s mind couldn’t decipher what he was saying. It wasn’t until the man repeated his request that Josh nodded in understanding.
“Follow me.”
Josh moved numbly down the narrow steps of the bleachers, his gaze darting to the fading remnants of the shuttle’s last path. Other family members of the crew were being guided to a large bus. He waited as several people entered ahead of him before he climbed the steps, almost choking on the heat inside the bus.
Sliding into a vacant seat, he stared out of the tinted windows. His father was gone. The last member of his family. He was alone in the world except for his best friend, Ash. His gaze jerked down when he felt his cell phone buzz. He flipped the top and looked at it, recognizing Ash’s phone number. Pressing the connect button, he held it to his ear.
“Is it true, man?” Ash asked in a slightly husky tone.
“Yes,” Josh replied in a tight voice.
“I’m sorry,” Ash finally replied with a sigh. “I’m here for you.”
“I know,” Josh muttered, looking down so he didn’t see the long line of cars and the people standing around talking about what just happened. “Thanks.”
“I mean it,” Ash said bluntly.
“I know,” Josh replied, closing his eyes. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“’Kay,” Ash said. “Hang in there.”
Josh pushed the red button. He could feel the reaction of shock hit him like a rogue wave. Opening his eyes, he stared out at the launch pad’s skeletal tower standing in the distance. His dad loved being an astronaut. He had once told Josh that there was nothing like seeing the earth from above to give you an appreciation for just how alone and isolated we were in the vastness of space. Right now, that space felt big, scary, and lonely to Josh.
“Goodbye,” Josh murmured when the first wave of real grief hit him. “Aw, shit. I love you, dad. I hope you knew that. I love you,” he choked out, closing his eyes when a fierce wave of pain swept through him.
Chapter 1
Ten Years later:
Outside Flagstaff, Arizona:
“Dad, do you need anything else?” Julia Marksdale asked as she stepped into the Observatory.
“No, thank you. I have everything I need at the moment,” Harry Marksdale replied in an absent-minded voice.
Julia shook her head and sighed. For the last week, her father had been distracted. She chuckled when she saw that he had placed the remains of his sandwich in his coffee cup by mistake instead of on the plate. He was bent forward over the computer in front of him, studying it with a frown.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, walking forward to stand behind him.
Julia watched as her father rubbed a hand down his face and leaned back to gaze up at her through blurry eyes. He shook his head and released a tired sigh. She reached out and touched his shoulder when he closed his eyes for a moment.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted in a tired voice, slowly opening his eyes to look up at her. “It could be nothing. I need to take more photographs and check them.”
“Are you still studying the Gliese system?” Julia asked, pulling a small, metal, folding chair closer to the table where several different computers were hooked up.
“Yes,” Harry replied as he gave Julia a distracted smile before he turned to study her for a moment. “You look so much like your mother when she was your age.”
Julia resisted the urge to roll her eyes like she used to do when she was a teenager. He had been saying things like that more frequently. She was beginning to think that the lack of sleep was making him a touch loopy.
At twenty-two, she was used to being the one to take care of him. Her mother left them when she was ten. Living in the desert outside of Flagstaff, Arizona was not the place her mother - Carry Marksdale wanted to spend the rest of her life. The fact that her father spent more time gazing at the stars than he did at his wife didn’t help matters. When her mom gave her the choice of going or staying, Julia stayed. She loved the desert and the stars as much as her dad. In the end, she suspected her mother was relieved, because the only time Julia ever heard from her mom was on her birthday.