Harvester 7 (18 page)

"Excuse me
Master, but are you alright?" the officer questioned with concern
and at that moment Maulik understood he must look a mess dotted
with burns and blisters.

"I'm fine, it
was an eventful trip," he grinned, "How are the L6's
adjusting?"

"It's strange,
they seemed completely lost and confused the first day, but since
we increased the oxygen they appear to be settling in very
well."

Maulik walked
to the wide window and stared down at the milling masses, "How many
did we get?" the hold looked cramped and full.

"Twenty
thousand," replied the duty officer, "I know you specified only ten
thousand but the scans revealed that they varied slightly from
continent to continent, not a huge variation but significant, we
used our judgement Master, it seemed to make sense to preserve
samples of every variation."

Maulik smiled,
"You did right, good job, how many losses so far?"

"They appear
to be very tough, only minimal losses, and that was only because a
group attacked the science officers when they entered to take
samples."

"And their
foodstuff?"

"They are
omnivores, they eat everything offered so far, we have stored some
of the indigenous L3's and L4's for their consumption on the trip
back, and taken on millions of litres of water, they actually drink
it." he added with disgust, Maulik rubbed his hands absent
mindedly,

"I've seen
enough water to last me a lifetime." he whispered.

"They look
very similar to the Watu from up here," Maulik joked, "Maybe a
little taller, and much less hair, but very similar, they could
almost be distant cousins." instantly he regretted the thought, if
what Go'an had told him about multiple planets being seeded with
the same genetic building blocks the moral consequences could be
far reaching.

"This is a
different system to ours." he convinced himself, yet the similarity
lingered in his mind, "No, were not related." he laughed weakly to
himself.

***

"You won't
have heard the news," chatted Relik over the day meal, he had been
following news events fervently.

"So tell me,"
replied Maulik as he placed his fingers on the fresh meat and
savoured the different but exquisite flavour, quite unlike anything
else he had ever tasted before,

"It's very
exciting, we've joined a Federation, the news came in this morning,
just imagine, an alliance between us, the Watu, the Su'al and some
race called the Diurian's, I think that's what they're called, who
would have believed it, us and the Watu working together, when
Go'an was on-board I never believed we would ever join with
them."

"That's what
the invasion was all about." replied Maulik dreamily as he
continued to savour the meat.

"Yeah, well
here is something you don't know, Go'an survived the assassination
attempt."

"What
attempt?" Maulik lifted his fingers and paid close attention.

"His private
transport was hit by missiles, a terrorist attack, Na'ta his
brother died instantly and the rumour started that Go'an was dead
too, then suddenly there he is, large as life dressed in some kind
of exoskeleton."

"That would
explain the lack of contact." realised Maulik, his head had been
silent for so long he was beginning to forget about Go'an's
constant prying, and the exoskeleton could only be from one source,
but how had the Diurians arrived on Watuma so quickly?

"It seems the
Kressa are not the only secret about to be revealed." he
thought.

"Yeah, that's
what caused the attempt, so it's rumoured," added Relik, "Since the
Kressa wiped out half of the Su'al population everyone is saying
the missile was fired in retaliation."

"What do you
mean? The Kressa attacked the Su'al?"

"Not just the
fighters, they took out the support ships, females and hatchlings,
everyone, I know that Kressa of yours is pretty amazing, but you
have to be careful Master, they spare nothing."

"Are you
listening to this?" he signalled Salyna on a private link.

"I don't
believe it," she stated with passion, "You know what I'm like
Maulik, when I'm aroused I need to hunt and kill, but not the
defenceless, there has to be a mistake."

"Or different
programming." added Maulik.

"That's also
possible, it has to be something like that, we wouldn't attack prey
that couldn't fight back, our safety protocols wouldn't permit such
actions."

"It's a
mystery" acknowledged Maulik.

"A mystery I
need to get to the bottom of." she growled and severed the
link.

"When will the
harvest be complete?" Maulik returned to safer ground.

"Tomorrow."
replied the lieutenant as he slipped a dripping strip of tender
flesh into his digestive pouch and sighed.

"The northern
half of the continent was more infested than we projected
initially, but by this time tomorrow every single one of the L6's
will have been cleared, there are just some small isolated pockets
left now in the far north."

"And the
southern continent?"

"Clear," Relik
replied, "It didn't take very long, there wasn't the density."

"Harvesters 12
and 16 arrive in a few weeks, we transmitted the data so they are
already re-configuring their collectors, within the next couple of
months the planet will be clear of the infestation."

Maulik
replaced his fingers on the meat, "This is amazing," he sighed, "Do
we know what it's called?"

Relik picked
up his small data tablet and tapped the screen,

"Yeah, they
had some form of rudimentary archive system, let me just check what
they called themselves... here we go." he smiled as the information
flashed up.

"They called
themselves...

Human."

And so ends
the introduction to the Rise of the Kressa Trilogy.

With the
galaxy facing the ultimate threat as the Reapers return, a
continued battle of wills takes place between the four reluctant
allies and throughout the continuation the double dealing and
deceit intensifies as hidden agendas are revealed, but all
differences must be put aside to deal with the more urgent Drakan
invasion plans revealed by Salyna.

Watch out for
part one of The Rise of the Kressa, due out soon.

Dear
reader,

Thank you for taking time to read
Harvester 7
. If you enjoyed it,
please consider telling your friends or posting a short review.
Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much
appreciated.

An unlikely Hero. A Sword of Power.
A race against time.

Long before the dawn of man, peace
reigned in the world. True evil did not exist. Or so it was
thought, for the ancient evil had been defeated long before. But
even the wisest can make mistakes, for a new darkness from the
north began to spread across the land, insidiously, secretly, a
dark and terrifying leader rising from the ashes.
Gondell Lenzen had never considered himself special or important,
an ordinary Gnome, leading an ordinary life. Yet, a hidden and long
forgotten family heritage drew young Gondell into a chain of events
that would bring the free world to the brink of disaster.
As the forces of darkness mass against the armies of the Guild,
only the legendary Keeper can bring certain victory. A fact that
both sides know well.
The Keeper became the key.
A small team of misfits may prove to be the free worlds only hope
as they struggle against the greatest odds to snatch Gondell, the
Keeper of legend, from the clutches of the Dark Lord and his
minions. An unlikely group. Elf, Ogre, Dwarf and Nymph partner with
a Ghul, a desert demon in a desperate race. A race that they cannot
afford to lose.
Gondell's Quest. An epic adventure into the world as it was before
the rise of man. A story that races from deep and inhospitable
deserts to the frozen lands of the north, from the high seas to the
highest mountain peaks. A titanic struggle between the forces of
good and evil. A story of friendships forged and loyalty won,
strategies revealed, deception, fear and doom.

Reviews for Gondell's
Quest.

The epic story of an unsuspecting
hero, dragged into a battle that all thought had been already been
won.

Believable and heart warming
characters that will develop into friends.

A rich and beautifully described
world, filled with mythical beings.

The story grips you from the first
page.

***

As a rule, I
usually tend to judge all epic fantasy type books against the lord
of the rings, which is really quite unfair I know, but that's just
me. Sometimes I'm surprised, but more often disappointed! Gondell's
Quest is certainly no disappointment, the exact opposite.
Yes it's a long book, and this is only half of the story! But once
you start, you find yourself carried to another world, a world
before mankind screwed things up so effectively.
The character selection is wonderful, usually it's just elves and
dwarves, not the case in this book. I really love the nymph
Fiorina... and after reading this, I really wish that they actually
existed ha-ha.
I don't intend to give too much away, all that I will say is this,
if you have read and enjoyed the lord of the rings books, then you
have to try Gondell's Quest.
Personally, I can't wait for the concluding part.

***

When in the mood for an epic fantasy read, I expect to be
taken away, absorbing every detail as if I were there. I love a
lengthy well-written adventure, the kind that you simply can't put
down even though you have things you should be doing. Everyone
loves a good adventure and Gondell's Quest delivered and then
some.
First, I love Gondell. He is a
predictable little gnome, content to go about his life fishing and
living a quiet life, never expecting his existence to be of
importance to anyone. It is his desire for fish that leads him down
a path he didn't expect. Gondell is surprised to learn, via a
naughty little fairy, that he is the keeper--the key to winning an
impending war.
It was nice that the hero in this
story is a gnome and not the usual elf or fairy and there were
several different creatures that were new to me. The Guild, an
unlikely combination of Elf, Ogre, Dwarf and Nymph partner with a
Ghul, and race to rescue Gondell from the clutches of the dark Lord
as they struggle to maintain good over evil.
The character development is
impeccable and gives the reader insight into the characters
intentions, emotions and thoughts. You won't get spoilers from
me...you just have to read to find out.
Overall I give this book an easy
five stars, for many reasons: the story and character development
were on par with what I expect from an epic fantasy--to be
engrossed in every aspect of the adventure, the story-line was
extremely well-written and professionally presented, and even
though it was a long read, the mystery kept me turning the page and
left me wanting for more. This book had me from the second I
previewed it and it is representative of such great adventures as
what Tolkien brought to us. It is exactly the type of read you
would snuggle up with on a cold winter night and I will most likely
read this book again and again. I look forward to reading the
second part of Gondell's Quest and learning how it all plays
out.

***

Gondell's Quest explores a world before human dominance, a
world of mythological and magical creatures, and introduces a few
new surprising champions. No-longer is the battle between good and
evil restricted to elves and goblins, dwarves and orcs. Wonderfully
deep and descriptive, the author develops and captures the emotions
and feelings of the characters, their joy and despair, fear and
courage, their strengths and frailties. This is a lengthy book to
be sure, but that is the greatest joy because despite the hefty
word count, it will leave you wanting
more.
Editorial Review

***

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