Hunter Legacy 9: Hero at the Gates (24 page)

"How?" asked Walter. "That
ship disappeared centuries ago, thought lost with all hands."

I didn’t get a chance to answer him.

"Channel opening," said Jane.

"Overlay the HUD," I told her,
turning, and taking a quick step back to be standing in front of my chair.

The screen which popped up showed an
Explorer ship Bridge, identical to Enterprise's, only fully operational, with a
full Bridge crew at their posts. They were all dressed in an antiquated
uniform, which only Explorer crews had ever worn.

A man and woman stood in front of the
Captain's chair, the woman being the only one in civvies.

There was a pause as both Bridge's people
checked to see who was watching them.

"Welcome home, Admiral Hunter," said
the man.

"Glad to be home, Captain
Hunter," I replied.

Heads turned towards me in surprise, most
especially the twins, Aline, and Miriam, but I ignored them.

"Happy standard birthday Jon,"
said the woman.

"Thanks Mum," I said.

The surprise around me became shock.

"The Keeper is waiting," said my
father impatiently. "You're late. Are you coming?"

"Right behind you Dad."

Galactica was already turning, and we were
gaining on her rapidly.

The channel closed.

I returned to my chair, and steadfastly
refused to meet anyone's eyes.

"Jane, can you detect a jump
point?"

"Confirmed."

"Damn it!" exclaimed Eric. "Now
I know why you've never let anyone in here to check for jump points."

"Yes, and no, Eric. Had I let you in
here while I was down spine, you still wouldn't have found it."

"Why not?"

"It’s a cyclical jump point."

"What's that?" asked Dick.

"I didn’t think there were any,"
said Slice. "At least, we’ve never found one."

"You've never known what to look
for," I said. "Now you will. This jump point is only here for five
days each standard year."

"You hid it using Outback's isolation
policy?" demanded Walter.

"We did," said David. "It’s
the best kept secret, ever."

"Jon," said Amanda. "We're
at another Gate, aren't we?"

"Indeed. Fitting I think. A Gateway at
each end of the spine."

"To where?"

Galactica jumped. We'd almost caught up
with her.

I nodded to Jane, and a minute later we
jumped.

The stars changed completely. Ahead of us
was Galactica, heading towards a planet. The HUD updated with the new system as
Jane received a data burst from Galactica.

The nav map shrank to a single system.

I turned to everyone again.

"Welcome to Gaia."

The Hunter Legacy began in a modest
house in Australian suburbia, in 1969. Over more than 600 years, events shape
the Galaxy Jon Hunter eventually finds himself in.

Thirteen doesn’t like Humans very much,
but it falls to him to protect a Legacy, and to guide Destiny.

Here is some of the backstory, in this Interlude
set of short stories, first begun with the release of 1969, bringing the backstory
and events of Parts One and Two of The Hunter Legacy, into focus for the
beginning of Part Three.

The
Long Road to Gaia.

The
Hunter Legacy, Book Ten.

An
interlude novel of short stories,

between
Parts Two and Three

of
The Hunter Legacy.

Jonathon Hunter

will return

in

Home is where the Hero is.

The
Hunter Legacy, Book Eleven.

Once again, a big thank you for Helen
Ellis, my sounding board, ear that listens, and experience which talks.

Thanks also go to
Elliott Webber,
for the graphic design of BigMother, for the cover.
Also
thanks to Egosoft, for allowing me to use photos from their games, to make the
cover of this book.

I’ve had a lot of fun writing this novel.
There is still a lot of story to come, and I invite you to come along for the
full journey with me.

If you have enjoyed this novel, I hope you
will take the time to leave a review on the Amazon site. All reviews are
greatly appreciated, as they help assist purchasing decisions by other readers.
Sales and reviews will help me to focus on the next book in the series, which
impacts how fast the next installment is released.

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         Thank you.

These Kindle eBooks can be found on

Timothy Ellis’
Kindle Author page
.

These links can also be found at
TimothyEllisAuthor.com
.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HRTTIJG