The question was, would he take everyone else with him?
“Doing this for the Coalition,” Rogers suddenly said, for the first time volunteering information that wasn’t along the lines of, “stand up, shut up, and do as I say.”
Park’s brow clunked down. “What are you talking about?”
Rogers looked up suddenly, almost as if he’d been speaking to himself and hadn’t expected Park to answer. “The end,” Rogers added.
Park’s stomach shifted. “What?”
“The end the Admirals,” he spat, “are allowing to plow down on us. The end that is coming from every direction. The end that is seeping through the cracks in our security. The end that has been foretold for hundreds of thousands of years. The end that the Force will bring,” he added.
Park couldn’t control his expression. He just hoped that the exact pale hue to his cheeks was hidden by blood loss. “The Force?” he asked innocently.
Rogers clenched his teeth and shook his head. “Don’t move,” he went back to saying as he leveled the gun at Park.
Rogers shifted to the side and started rapping his hand on an apparently innocent looking section of wall plating.
Before Park could wonder if Rogers had completely lost his mind, the wall plating popped off with a pneumatic hiss.
Rogers made no attempt to catch the plating as it tumbled and clanged against the metal floor.
It revealed a hollowed-out section of the bulkhead, and inside was a metal box.
Park knew what it was as soon as Rogers reached inside, grabbed the box, pulled it out, and let it fall to his feet.
Armor. Space armor – long-range if Park was any guess.
Seriously sophisticated stuff.
Rogers wasn’t being careless as he allowed the armor box to clang onto the floor by his feet. He was activating it. And in a second, it started to open, the metal shifting out like the petals of a flower. Then, with a metal clang and a snap, it reached out, grabbed hold of Rogers’ ankle, and started to climb up his body.
Within several seconds, it had manufactured a full set of long-range armor.
Park’s original assessment had been correct, too – this armor was sophisticated.
Was that Rogers’ plan? To head out into space?
He would need more.
He had more.
The armor had been smart enough to grow over Rogers’ hand without jeopardizing his grip on his gun. Now it was in place, it would also give Rogers the advantage of being able to completely shift his attention while keeping his aim on Park. The armor, after all, could pair to the gun and fire whenever Rogers needed.
Rogers reached a hand into that same hollowed-out section of wall and brought something out.
It was a large box, and even though it was relatively nondescript, Park’s stomach sank.
His gut told him it was a heck of a lot more than a chunk of metal. Sure enough, as Rogers brought it around and slammed it over his arm, it shifted, encasing his arm in a second.
It revealed a sophisticated screen which Rogers typed two things into.
Then he took a step back and faced Park. “Sorry, Lieutenant. I read your record; you’re a good man. If we’d had the time, we would have invited you to join the cause. But there’s no time. And unfortunately, considering the entire galaxy is on the line, you will have to make the final sacrifice.”
Park swallowed. “You say this is for the whole galaxy. Then save the ship. Take me, but save the ship.”
“I’ll only take this deck with me,” Rogers answered.
Park’s stomach sank. His heart practically broke.
Rogers spread his hand wide and shifted it to the side.
Park felt something move behind him, and he jerked back just in time to see something appear over the door.
It had been hidden by a sophisticated hologram.
And what was it?
A massive bomb. One with a high enough yield to take out the whole deck.
Park jerked away.
Rogers brought his hand up. He settled it over the large device that had grown around his wrist.
He saw Park staring at it.
“A transporter. One more than strong enough to get me off this ship and to safety. Lieutenant,” Rogers actually snapped a salute, “the galaxy will thank you for making the final sacrifice.”
Rogers brought his hand down. At the same time, the bomb behind Park activated, the entire door vibrating as the thing armed.
He had seconds.
Seconds to live.
This would be Park’s end.
Rogers’ finger reached toward his transporter. He didn’t get the chance to press it.
Something emerged from the wall.
In a flash. In a spark. In a goddamn blast of divine intervention.
Vira.
She reached forward and clamped her cast-iron grip over Rogers’ hand, holding it in place. “Park will not make the final sacrifice today,” she said.
And Vira, the Spacer, wrenched the transport device off Rogers’ wrist.
Park had just a moment for his heart to open, for relief to wash through him. Then the bomb behind him vibrated.
They were not out of trouble yet.
The end of Vira Episode One. Vira Episode Two is currently available.
Please note that this is the seventh installment in the Galactic Coalition Academy universe. The sixth installment – Ava – occurs at the same chronological time as Vira and follows the Artaxan conflict from another point of view. Ava is currently available.
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Do you want to read more complete sci-fi space operas by Odette C. Bell?
Ouroboros
Not all of us are born equal. Some exceed every expectation and excel in every task. Some of us can't even get out of bed in the morning.
Such is life for Cadet Nida Harper. She's universally known as the worst recruit in the Academy. It's not for want of trying; she's just cursed with universal bad luck. Every accident that could happen, does happen.
So it's no surprise when she winds up unconscious on a field mission. It is a surprise when the dreams start. Visions of stars falling from the heavens and civilizations crumbling to dust.
The only silver lining comes in golden boy Lucas Stone. The hero of the Academy, he takes an interest in her. But he'll have to act fast to stop what will happen next....
In Episode One, you are thrust into a sprawling sci-fi adventure that throws you across the galaxy and far through time. Lucas and Nida are pitted against brutal space pirates, mysterious powers, and the greatest enemy of all - the unknown.
All four installments of the Ouroboros series are currently available, so start the journey today....
Check out Ouroboros here.
Broken
Special Commander Joshua Cook has a secret, she’s sure of it. He’s the Coalition’s latest golden boy, but she knows he has a past that’s far from sparkling.
Ready to find out what his secret is, she isn’t ready for the man himself. Josh is the rudest, meanest, crudest Coalition officer she’s come across. She’s about to give up when the unthinkable occurs – they get stuck on a desert planet far from help.
They’ve got to rely on each other to survive. Which is harder than it sounds ….
Broken is the continuation of the Galactic Coalition Academy universe. A four-episode space opera, it charts romance, action, and humour on an adventure through the galaxy. It is complete, and all four episodes are currently available.
Check out Broken here.
Axira
She is different. Powerful. A soldier of centuries.
For 450 years she was enslaved to one of the masters of the Kore sects. She was forced to fight in endless battles. War, destruction, desolation – all wrought by her.
But then she escapes. Seeking revenge on her master, she turns to the only group powerful enough to he
lp her – the Coalition.
She joins the Academy. It should be easy. It isn’t. She rapidly finds out that despite her raw power, she needs more to become an effective recruit.
But now is not the time for failure. There is a spy on Academy grounds – a spy who is tearing the Coalition’s intelligence to shreds. She finds herself drawn into the hunt. A hunt she will not lose. For she is Axira, the most powerful spacer in the Milky Way ….
Axira is a four-episode miniseries. It is complete, and all four episodes are currently available. A space opera with plenty of action and adventure, and just a dash of romance, it is the third instalment in the Galactic Coalition Academy series.
Check out Ava here.
The Lost Star
Some are born into responsibility. Some seek it out.
And some turn from it.
Ava is a priestess of Avixa, a powerful being with a powerful destiny to keep her people on the true and righteous path.
Yet it is a destiny she does not want. To flee it, she joins the Coalition Academy. But her past cannot so easily be left behind. When she joins the newest ship in the fleet, a series of unfortunate accidents befall her.
Soon she finds herself thrust into a secret war. One that will span the entire Milky Way. Yet she is not alone. The unpredictable Hunter McClane is by her side. Together they must find out what’s at stake before it’s too late.
….
The Lost Star is a four-part serialization that plunges you into a sprawling sci-fi adventure that charts the galaxy. Ava and Hunter are pitted against a shadowy conspiracy, slave traders, and ultimately a legend that threatens everything and everyone….
Check out The Lost Star here.
Fractured Mind
Sarah's been plagued with strange dreams her whole life. Except there's one problem - they aren't dreams. Everyone thinks she's mad - and none more so than the strapping Lieutenant Karax.
He's convinced she should be kicked out of the Academy.
There's one problem: Sarah isn't mad. In fact, she holds the key to one of the most powerful technologies in the Milky Way. If Karax can't find out what's going on, Earth will fall. And if he can't find a way to save Sarah, everyone will lose…
….
Fractured Mind is a thrilling four-part serialization that takes you on a breakneck battle for planet Earth. Join Sarah and Karax as they struggle against bounty hunters, mercenaries, and, ultimately, time itself.
Check out Fractured Mind here.
Ghost of Mind
Would you run? If you were the last of your kind, if you knew getting caught could thrust the universe into war, wouldn't you slip into the shadows and disappear too?
Hiding is Alice’s only option. It always has been.
Then he comes along. Commander John Doe, the head of a new mission into one of the most dangerous areas of space. A chance encounter thrusts them together on the barren wasteland of Orion Minor. Then the chase begins.
Alice cannot allow herself to slip into the hands of the Union, but John Doe will stop at nothing to find out who she is.
In Episode One of Ghost of Mind, the hunt begins.
Check out Ghost of Mind here.
Betrothed
Sometimes destiny can no longer wait ….
Annie Carter is new to the future. Born 400 years in the past, she was cryogenically frozen after a serious illness, only to wake up to a new world.
One that has a plan for her.
Annie is not normal. She has an ability – one that could condemn the very universe.
People will kill to get to her.
There is one man who can keep her safe. But to get to him, she must battle her way through assassins, armies, and friends.
The stakes could not be higher, for they are everything.
….
Betrothed is a five-part sci fi series. It is complete, and all five episodes are currently available. A space opera packed with adventure, action, and romance, it is sure to please fans of Odette C. Bell’s A Plain Jane and The Betwixt.
Check out Betrothed here.
Shattered Destiny
She’s a loner. Always has been. She’s fought to survive, tooth and nail.
He’s a prince of the Arterian Royal Family – the greatest power in the galaxy.
They shouldn’t meet. Their paths should never intersect. But they do.
Because the Milky Way is on the verge of total war once more. Together, they can save everyone. If they are torn apart, all will fall….
…
A six-episode serialization, Shattered Destiny: A Galactic Adventure takes you on a break-neck journey through strange alien worlds, vast star systems, and a galaxy of secrets. Packed full of action, intrigue, and romance, it’s sure to please fans of the original Betrothed series.
Check out Shattered Destiny here.
The Crucible
She’s been on the run for two years now. Two years of pain and anguish. She’s the greatest weapon the Alliance Star Forces has ever produced. A telekinetic warrior with the power to win wars.
He’s a lieutenant commander, the son of one of the Alliance’s most decorated admirals. He’s never questioned his loyalty for the Alliance.
Until now.
A series of calamitous events throw them together on a quest that will lead right into the heart of the galaxy’s darkest secrets.
….
The Crucible is a six-part thrilling sci-fi adventure. It is complete, and all six episodes are currently available. It is sure to please fans of Odette C. Bell’s Ghost of Mind and Axira.
Check out The Crucible here.
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