by Josh Kilen
The black Malogan bubble fighters closed in on the Tiberius.
Ryanis told Shaker to buckle up as he swung the ship wildly to the left. The Malogan fighters tried to keep up, but their engines weren't nearly as powerful. Ryanis looped down and back around to come in behind the fighters and Shaker took them out with the quantum cannons.
With no more ships nearby, they were able to survey the battle. Shaker studied the monitors, "Looks like the Martosis forces know what they're doing. They're focusing all of their fire power on the main Malogan Command cruiser. If a Malogan flagship goes down, the rest of their forces usually retreat."
Ryanis smiled at Shaker, "See, isn't this more fun than hauling cargo?"
Shaker sighed as Ryanis pushed the engines to maximum, streaking into battle.
Malogans are the most feared species in the known galaxy but from everything that Ryanis had heard they weren’t this powerful. At least not powerful enough to assault such an advanced world. It seemed his information was incorrect.
As Ryanis sped through the battle zone, Shaker fended off the bubble fighters. The ship bolted toward the Malogan command cruiser, a huge black cylinder hanging in space. The skin of the enemy ship looked smooth, only interrupted by the intermittent launch of more fighters.
Ryanis positioned the Tiberius for firing and Shaker set the Quantum cannon for maximum power. The light blue blast pierced the command ship's hull and they saw a small explosion as they raced across the length of the cruiser.
Ryanis laughed, "That got their attention."
"Bubble fighters right behind us," Shaker growled, "And they're gaining."
Ryanis banked hard and skimmed the very surface of the command carrier, hovering inches above the smooth black surface. The bubble fighters struggled to keep up and several crashed into the cruiser's hull.
The Tiberius pulled away and prepared to make another attack run. Ryanis looked off to the side toward the planet, "Looks like more ships are landing, it's all out invasion. Never seen the Malogans quite this aggressive. Must be something down there they really want."
Shaker nodded but kept his eyes on the monitors, "Ryanis, there are too many fighters in the attack path. We'll have to circle around."
"Nonsense," Ryanis said with smirk, and gunned the engine while performing a high speed loop maneuver. The Tiberius went up and around, then swooped underneath the cruiser rocketing towards the unprotected belly. Shaker fired at maximum strength again.
The blast was blindingly bright as a fire ball erupted from the hull. The Tiberius headed strait for the cruiser, but Ryanis pulled away just in time, barely touching the hull. The loud scraping sound and Shaker's worried look reminded Ryanis to be more careful next time.
The alarms went off again, this time it was a constant ringing. Shaker quickly went to the scanners, "Two frigates on either side of us, they're locked on!" he said.
The scanners showed two red dots moving closer, then two yellow dots appeared moving even faster. The alarm turned into a screech.
"Two Ship-Ripper missiles coming right at us, from both sides." Shaker said as he stared in horror at the monitor.
Do Sean Ryanis and Shaker survive? Find Out! Buy Sean Ryanis & The Impossible Chase
Preview of The Superhero Chronicles: Birth of Moonlight
Episode 1
Billy watched as the fist quickly approached his face. The impact knocked his head back and he heard the sickening crunch of bone from the bully’s fist against his jaw. After that, everything went completely dark. When he came to, Billy was on the floor staring up at the Vice Principal, Mr. Davis.
Mr. Davis did not look happy.
Reaching down to help Billy up, Mr. Davis shook his head. "Getting into more trouble I see." Billy’s head felt woozy and he had a hard time standing up straight as the school hallway spun all around him.
"No Mr. Davis, I was trying to stop Rick from picking on Jasper, the new kid."
Mr. Davis looked at Billy sternly, "That's not what I heard, in fact no one was willing to say that you didn't start the fight. You'll have to come with me. We need to call your parents." Mr. Davis supported Billy as they walked to the main office.
"Not again," Billy said to himself. He looked up at Mr. Davis and said aloud, "Honestly, I was just trying to help. Rick and his friends were going to pummel him."
But Mr. Davis didn't say anything else as they made their way slowly through the hallway.
Safely in Mr. Davis' office, Billy slumped down in the chair across from the large desk as the Vice Principal calmly sat down behind it. He considered Billy carefully, "Billy, I want to believe you, but this is the third time in three months. I think that you should consider backing off. If there is any bullying going on in this school, the administration will take care of it. You need to let us do our job."
Billy wanted to laugh at that, but he knew it would only make matters worse. Every kid knew that Rick and his gang of bullies ran the school, but the Principal and his staff didn't do anything to stop them. No one was willing to say anything against them. No one except Billy that is.
"I'm sorry Mr. Davis, I know it's your job but if I see someone in trouble I can't help it, I have to help." Billy stared down at his feet dangling off the tall chair he sat on.
Pity crossed Mr. Davis' eyes and he glanced over at the phone, "Maybe we don't need to call you parents, this time. But if I see or hear of you getting into any more fights, I'll have no choice but to suspend you. Got it?" Billy nodded his head.
A simple nod wasn't good enough for Mr. Davis, "Billy, do you understand me?"
"Yes Mr. Davis, I understand."
Mr. Davis looked happy and began writing on the small white tablet next to his phone, "Excellent. Here's a hall pass to get back to class. Now, I don't want to see you in my office again, Okay?"
Billy took the note and shoved it in his pocket. "Yes Sir, thank you Mr. Davis." And he headed back to class.
He knew he was going to have a nasty bruise later, so Billy was thankful that the fight had only been one punch. But no matter what Mr. Davis said, Billy felt good that he stood up to the bully squad. Rick and his thug friends couldn't intimidate him, even if they had the rest of school running scared.
As he walked through the hall to his next class, English, Billy took a deep breath. Rick and all his goons were in the class too. He opened the door and the teacher was sitting at his desk while the rest of the class was busy writing. "Oh no," he thought, "I hope it's not a quiz or something."
His English teacher, Mr. Marconni looked up and Billy immediately saw disapproval on the teacher's face. He walked up and silently handed the hall pass to Mr. Marconni. The teacher looked at the note and then back up at Billy, saying out loud, "I see you've been fighting again." All the kids heads popped up and Rick smiled wickedly.
"Billy, I don't care if Mr. Davis gave you a pass, I won't condone this sort of behavior from my students. You get a zero on the quiz today, and I want you to think about how to improve your behavior. Now go sit down." Mr. Marconni pointed to the open seat in the back of the class. Billy walked past all the other kids, some snickering, some whispering, and he slumped down in his seat. Unfortunately it was just behind Rick and his posse.
Billy heard Rick whisper to him. "You're not gonna get away with what you did today. Me and the guys are comin' for you next." and Rick turned to give him an evil smile.
Billy laid his head on the desk. How could this day get any worse?
Episode 2
The class bell rang and Billy left the classroom, his head drooping low. He walked to his locker slowly. He was dreading the last period because he knew that right after school got out he was done for.
Waiting at his locker, as always during this time of day, was his best friend Grace. She and Billy had been best friends since they were little kids and she was the kind of girl that would rather punch you in the arm then act all weird and girly. He knew Grace would be able to get him out of this predicament; she was pretty smart.
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When Billy came to the locker Grace was staring at his bruised eye, "I heard something about a kid getting picked on in the halls, shoulda figured you were involved somehow." Billy saw that she was worried about him.
"I'm fine, just Rick and his goons, the were picking on Jasper and, well, you know me..." Grace just nodded her head, she knew Billy very well. In fact, his willingness to stand up for people in need was what she liked most about him.
Billy continued, "Now, they want to beat me up after school. I don't know what to do."
Grace looked up to the ceiling, thinking really hard. Then she snapped her fingers, as a huge smile came to her face. She told Billy, "I got it, meet me in the girls bathroom five minutes before the last bell. See ya there," and she ran away as the bell rang.
Billy hurried to his science class, but for the rest of class couldn't pay attention to anything the teacher said. He was distracted by thoughts of being beaten to a pulp, but he was also curious to see what Grace had in mind.
The last bell couldn't come fast enough. With ten minutes to go, Billy raised his hand and asked to go to the bathroom.
The Teacher looked surprised, "I think you can wait 10 minutes Billy, put your hand down."
Billy made his best ‘I have to pee REALLY bad’ face, "I'm sorry but I have to go really bad, like REALLY bad." Billy figured that no teacher wanted to a student to pee in their class.
He was right.
His science teacher sighed, "Fine, go, just be quick." Billy grabbed his books and raced out of the class. After a quick stop at his locker to get his bag, he made his way to the girl's bathroom. He knocked on the door softly, but didn't hear anything. Suddenly a deep voice behind him said, "What do you think you're doing?" Billy's heart sank as he turned around.
Grace giggled at his shocked expression. "I do a pretty good Mr. Davis huh?" Billy blew out a deep breath and lightly punched her in the arm, which she returned. Billy noticed that she had a pile of clothes in her arms.
"Come on in," she told him as she pushed her way into the bathroom. Stiffly, Billy walked into the girl's bathroom for the first time ever. Once inside, he noticed right away that it smelled better and was a lot cleaner than the boys bathroom. He thought it was pretty unfair that the janitors would clean the girl's bathroom but not the boys.
Grace shoved the clothes at Billy, "Here you go, put these on." Billy took the clothes and looked at them. They were kind of ratty, but clean and they didn't have stains. "What are these for?" he asked.
Grace rolled her eyes, "Disguise, duh? You gotta sneak by Rick somehow." Billy put on the pants and a hoody over his regular clothes. When he saw himself in the mirror, he looked a lot different.
"Do you think it will work?" he asked. Grace just shrugged her shoulders, "Don't know, but it's better than nothing. Don't worry, you don't look anything like yourself." Just then the last bell rang; it was time to leave school.
Both Billy and Grace took a deep breath and Billy pulled the hood over his head. As they walked out of the bathroom, they made sure no one was looking in their direction. They made it to the front door of the school and Grace tugged on Billy's arm, "OK, you walk ahead and I'll be behind you, if I whistle then it means they spotted you somehow and you need to run." Billy just nodded.
They walked casually onto the main street and Grace noticed that Billy was taking a different route home than usual. "Good job," she thought to herself. She put some distance between Billy and herself so it wouldn’t be too obvious that she was following.
Minutes later she heard footsteps behind her. Rick and his goons passed right by Grace, and she started to whistle loudly. She just hoped Billy could hear her. He did, and turned to look. When he saw Rick, Billy took off in a sprint. Rick and his buddies were not far behind. Grace yelled out, "Run Billy! Faster!" as she tried to follow. "How did Rick know where Billy was?" she thought to herself.
The Bullies were starting to gain on Billy, who was moving as quickly as he could. He knew it was only a matter of time before they caught him so he tried to lose his pursuers. At an intersection, Billy ran into the road, right in the middle of traffic. A red pick up truck came to a screeching halt right in front of Billy as the driver leaned out shouting, "What do you think you’re doing?!"
Rick and his bully friends stopped on the corner and smiled at Billy, there was no where to run now.
Just then, the red truck shot forward, as a much larger freight truck slammed into the back of it. The freight truck tipped to the side, and barrels of steaming, bubbling liquid tipped over onto the road.
Right on top of Billy.
What happens to Billy? Find out! Buy The Superhero Chronicles: Birth of Moonlight
Preview of The Lost Princess in Winter’s Grip
Episode 1
The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and everything was right with the world. Annabeth strolled across the village square with a slight skip in her step, swinging a basket at her side. The smile on her face said that she loved her life and she was very content.
Her family was not the wealthiest in the village, in fact they didn't have much money at all. But they were well well respected and what they lacked in money they made up for in love.
Annabeth's mother sent her out for the weekly groceries. The day was beautiful and Annabeth was happy to help.
Annabeth lived in a small cottage at the edge of town. Her father made a living as a handyman, doing odd jobs around town. If anyone in the village needed something fixed, they went to her father. Unfortunately he was a little too good at his job, because when he fixed something it always stayed fixed.
Once someone came to him and told him that he would get more business if he just didn't do such a good job. But Annabeth's father would not compromise his values, "If I don't do my best," he would say, "then how can I look my daughter in the eye?"
He made enough to feed the family, but while they couldn't afford to go to the theaters or eat at the fancy restaurants, her family was happy to have each other. They made up plays and songs, acting them out by candle light after dinner. They played games and read the few books they were lucky enough to own. All in all, they were very happy.
Annabeth skipped up to the small, yellow front door of her cottage, "Mom I'm home," she sang as she opened the front door.
Her Mother looked up from the dishes she was washing, "Any trouble sweetie?"
Annabeth smiled, "Not a bit. Today was a beautiful day for a stroll. Where is father?"
Her mother sighed, "Out looking for new projects. God bless that man, he just works so hard."
A loud voice came from the door, "Did I hear someone talking about me?" Annabeth's father came in with a grin from ear to ear, "My two beautiful ladies. Look at you Annabeth, you're positively radiant."
Annabeth blushed and did a twirl for her father. He gave her a big hug and then went over to her mother for a big kiss. She giggled like a school girl as he tickled her a little bit. "Now you stop it," she said with a laugh,"Annabeth, help me with these dishes."
And that was Annabeth’s life. Not very exciting but it was nice and usually very happy.
Later that day, just as Annabeth was finishing with her chores, there was a loud banging on the door.
"Mom, there’s somebody at the door." Annabeth said.
"Well, go see who it is." Her mom shouted back.
Annabeth went to the door and looked out the peephole. She saw a smallish man standing there in fancy, regal clothes, looking rather impatient. Behind him was a large group of similarly dressed people. Annabeth backed up from the door and straightened out her handmade dress. When she thought she looked presentable enough, she opened the door.
The regal looking man smiled when he saw her, "Ah, yes, you must be Annabeth. Am I correct?"
"I am she. How may I be of service to you Sir?"
The regal man looked confused, "No, not at such. My name is Parcell, and I represent their Royal Majesties, the King and Queen. They wish to sp
eak with you."
Annabeth was astonished, "Me? Why would they wish to speak with me? I am but one of your Majesties’ humble subjects."
Parcell smiled, "Be that as it may, my masters have graced your home with their presence. Would you leave them standing out on the door like beggars?"
Annabeth noticed that in the large group behind Parcell stood two figures, taller and more beautiful than the rest.
Annabeth bowed, "Please forgive me your Highnesses, I had no idea you would be here. Our humble home is yours."
The Queen spoke with practiced grace and a honey tongue, "My dear child, of course you did not expect us. Please fetch your parents, we have much to discuss with them, and you." She and the King strode through the open door.
Annabeth's mother came into the room, "What is all this racket. Annabeth, who was at the door?" When she saw the Royal couple, she kneeled gracefully, "My apologies your royal Highnesses, I did not know you had come."
The King bellowed a deep and rich laugh, "Of course, but here we are. Please, stand. Where is your husband? The Queen and I must speak with you both."
Annabeth's mother looked over at her, "Dear, please fetch your father as quickly as you can. He's off in the woods working on one of his projects." Annabeth left without a word.
When they returned, the King and Queen and Annabeth's mother were silently standing in the living room. Her father bowed and said, "My Lords, you grace us with your presence. What can a humble tinkerer do to assist you today?"
The King looked grave, "You must have seen this day coming. You see, Annabeth is not your child. In fact, she is ours."
Episode 2
Annabeth's father briefly lost his composure, "What? How can that be? There must be some mistake!"
The King's eyes flashed, glowing with a ferocious intensity, "You dare to question the King? If I say this is so, then it is so. You are no one to question me."
Annabeth's father regained his bearing, "Of course your Highness, my deepest apologies. It was merely a shock. Everyone in the village knows my wife can't conceive a child so we thought it was a blessing Annabeth was left on our door step. We couldn't have known she was of such noble birth. If we had known, we would have returned her to you immediately of course."
