by Tim Marquitz
“Unfortunately, this was the first battle in the coming war.” Her words were met with stoic silence. “Our dear captain back there—” she gestured in the general direction the crew had taken the enemy commanders “—has reached out to his people and made it clear Krawlas harbors a means to an end in their war against their Federation enemy. They will not simply leave us be or pass us by. And though we have no knowledge of when the alien’s call for assistance might be answered, we can be absolutely certain it will be. They will come for us, but we will be ready this time, prepared.”
Lina came over, holding up the control cube she’d scavenged from the Monger. Taj gestured to the device.
“This thing contains a clone of every database aboard the enemy destroyer, to include technical specs and communication protocols. With it, we have the means to face our enemy on even terms. That is,” she said, letting her words drag out into sobering pause, “if you’re willing to fight.”
The crowd roared, and Taj grinned in response to their enthusiasm.
Let them come, she thought. We’ll be ready.
Epilogue
Taj stared out at the shell of the newly reborn Culvert City and smiled. As different as it looked, still, there was no mistaking it as anything but home.
She watched as her people flitted about, working here and there in their efforts to rebuild their day to day lives. It was a satisfying view, seeing everyone doing their part to remake Furlorian society.
Even more satisfying was what Taj couldn’t see.
With the grudging help of Captain Vort and Commander Dard, and the continued expansion of knowledge gained by Lina’s efforts with the control cube, the Furlorians were becoming more than prepared.
They’d learned to manipulate the Toradium-42 to refuel the Paradigm, readying it for travel once more. They’d also scavenged a number of operational weapons from the wreck of the Monger, transferring those to the Paradigm to provide her with the barest of defensive capabilities.
Taj grinned, picturing the great old ship in the sky once more. It had been so long since she’d seen it.
But there was more to Taj’s smile than nostalgia. The Toradium-42 had several uses, and she and her people were in the process of making the most of its properties, readying for the inevitable day when more Wyyvan invaders would descend upon Krawlas in an attempt to subjugate and lay waste to the Furlorian people.
To their dismay, they’d find a far different enemy standing against them this time.
Author Notes - Tim Marquitz
Written June 19, 2018
Thanks for picking up my first foray into the Kurtherian Gambit Universe, Age of Expansion. You’re the reason I get to do what I love every day, and I appreciate every moment of it. Looking forward to sharing this adventure with you and can’t wait to hear your thoughts. Thank you!
Thanks to Craig Martelle and Michael Anderle for giving me the opportunity to run amok in their playground. And thanks to all the folks at LMBPN for making this a great experience.
Special thanks go out to the LMBPN Beta Readers and the JIT team. You guys rock.
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
July 29, 2018
(Craig Martelle, standing in – this message was approved by MA)
Woohoo! You’re still reading because you are awesome! We wouldn’t be anywhere without fans, those good people who buy our books or borrow them through Kindle Unlimited and read them. You are the absolute best. Thank you. If you can also drop us a review on Amazon, that is icing on the virtual cake.
Michael and I talked about these author notes as he asked me to write them on his behalf since he is swamped with other stuff. I said no problem at all, even after a back and forth of cursing that ended with “Ass.”
I don’t even know what we were talking about at that point, but it sure as hell wasn’t Enemy of my Enemy, which is an outstanding addition to the Kurtherian Gambit Universe.
I met Tim Marquitz online well over two years ago. Tim introduced me to Monique who signed me as part of a traditional publishing contract. I went on to write four books with Permuted Press. Tim was heavy into his Demon Squad series and if you haven’t read that, you need to get on that right away. I knew he would be a great fit for this universe, so I begged him over a long period to come on board. It only cost us a Ferrari delivered to his house and the passenger seat filled with cash to get him to write this series.
Okay. There was no Ferrari. I can hear Michael now – “Why are you talking about a Ferrari? Old dudes can’t get into them. It’s like sitting on the ground. How about a nice Bentley?” I digress.
Tim writes great characters with a passion for life. He makes them three dimensional and makes the reader care about them. There is no higher testimonial for an author. Anything well-described loses luster if we don’t care about the characters.
Welcome aboard, Tim! This is going to be a great ride. I love your characters and your story and think that the fans will, too. Your fans will become our fans and we hope that ours become yours.
Tim came to Vegas last year for the 20Books Vegas 2017 conference. I’d like to think he had a great time, talking with a wide variety of other authors and most importantly, he got to spend time with Michael and me. We clicked because he’s a professional, just like us.
Tim has a beard. It’s long and white. He may be a wizard. I can’t be sure.
There is more to come. This is the first in a three-book arc that could easily be ten books. The first three covers are by Tom Edwards, who has done about twenty covers for me. I couldn’t be happier to get Tom’s work on some KGU stories. The fans deserve the best and Tom is.
Tom doesn’t have a beard. And he’s English, so you can tell him apart from Tim and me. He’s also a bit younger than us old guys. Once again, I digress.
Tim Marquitz. Author extraordinaire. On board the KGU train, adding momentum to an already great bunch of series. Well done, Tim! I look forward to your second and third books.
Semper Fi, my friends, or as Michael would say, Ad Aeternitatem.
Craig Martelle
Books By Tim Marquitz
Also Available from Tim Marquitz
The Demon Squad Series
From Hell (Novella)
DS1 - Armageddon Bound
DS2 - Resurrection
Betrayal (Intro short to At the Gates)
DS3 - At the Gates
DS4 - Echoes of the Past
DS5 - Beyond the Veil
DS6 - The Best of Enemies
DS7 - Exit Wounds
DS8 - Collateral Damage
DS9 – Aftermath
DS10 – Institutionalized
To Hell and Back - A Demon Squad Collection (books 1-3)
The Blood War Trilogy
Dawn of War
Embers of an Age
Requiem
Clandestine Daze Series
Eyes Deep (novella)
Influx
Standalone Fantasy
Dirge
Witch Bane
War God Rising
Sci-fi
Excalibur
Dead West
Those Poor, Poor Bastards
The Ten Thousand Things
Omnibus 1
Horror
Prey
Serial
Skulls
Heir to the Blood Throne: Inheritance
Collections
Tales of Magic and Misery
Non-Fiction
Memoirs of a Machine – w/John MACHINE Lober
Grunt Style: The Blue Collar Guide to Writing Genre Fiction
Anthologies
Blackguards (Ragnarok Publications)
Unbound (Grim Oak Press)
SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest (Cohesion Press)
SNAFU: Hunters (Cohesion Press)
SNAFU: Future Warfare (Cohesion Press)
SNAFU: Black Ops (Cohesion Press)
In the Shadow of the Towers (Night Shade)
Neverland’s L
ibrary (Ragnarok Publications)
At Hell’s Gates 1&3 (Charity)
American Nightmare (Kraken Press)
Corrupts Absolutely? (Ragnarok Publications)
Widowmakers (Charity)
That Hoodoo Voodoo, That You Do (Ragnarok Publications)
Books By Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
All LMBPN Audiobooks are Available at Audible.com and iTunes
To see all LMBPN audiobooks, including those written by Michael Anderle please visit:
www.lmbpn.com/audible
Books By Craig Martelle
Craig Martelle’s other books (listed by series)
Terry Henry Walton Chronicles (co-written with Michael Anderle) – a post-apocalyptic paranormal adventure
Gateway to the Universe (co-written with Justin Sloan & Michael Anderle) – this book transitions the characters from the Terry Henry Walton Chronicles to The Bad Company
The Bad Company (co-written with Michael Anderle) – a military science fiction space opera
End Times Alaska (also available in audio) – a Permuted Press publication – a post-apocalyptic survivalist adventure
The Free Trader – a Young Adult Science Fiction Action Adventure
Cygnus Space Opera – A Young Adult Space Opera (set in the Free Trader universe)
Darklanding (co-written with Scott Moon) – a Space Western
Rick Banik – Spy & Terrorism Action Adventure
Become a Successful Indie Author – a non-fiction work
Connect with The Authors
About Tim Marquitz
Tim Marquitz is the author of the Demon Squad series, the Blood War Trilogy, co-author of the Dead West series, as well as several standalone books, and numerous anthology appearances. Tim also collaborated on Memoirs of a MACHINE, the story of MMA pioneer John Machine Lober.
Website: www.tmarquitz.com
Follow Tim on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe to Tim’s newsletter and get up to date information on new releases as well as an Excalibur prequel story (exciting sci-fi) and Dawn of War, the first novel in the Blood War Trilogy (Epic Fantasy)!
http://www.tmarquitz.com/contact
Michael Anderle Social
Website: http://kurtherianbooks.com/
Email List: http://kurtherianbooks.com/email-list/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TheKurtherianGambitBooks/
