“I thought it might.”
“We’re so fortunate to be here. Thanks to you.”
“Me?” Kuchera furrowed his brow. “You’re the hero, not me. I was just along for the ride.”
“No. You had to reassure Nahanni that the secret of Nessh’uarin was safe, and then convince Fleet-keeper Sharra and Ambassador Halaffi to abort the battle.”
“That was easy compared to what you accomplished.”
Jade stared at the waves. “Maricic is still at large. The peace process is on hold indefinitely. In the meantime, I suppose the war will continue.”
“But there’s still a process. If not for you, there wouldn’t even be that. Koharski as the interim chief of staff seems to have had a change of heart. I think she’s sincere in wanting a genuine peace, not an armed truce.”
They resumed walking.
“Not to mention that the weapon was destroyed when the blast wave reached Covenant,” Kuchera continued.
“Thank God they only made the prototype and one operational version—which I’m sure they’d have used again. The secret is gone for good—I hope.”
“And with Gellner’s mental breakdown, the location of Nessh’uarin is safe with Emmers and us.”
Jade traced a toe in the sand.
“What’s bothering you?” Kuchera asked. “You’re not yourself today.”
“I…letdown, I suppose.”
Kuchera laughed. “You amaze me. You singlehandedly save the Gara’nesh homeworld, snatch peace from the brink of oblivion, Stalker’s put you in for promotion and wants to transfer you to Command—and you’re suffering letdown.”
Jade smiled at his recital. “Weird, huh?”
“Plus you’ve got me.”
Jade squeezed his hand. “Right.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve come to a decision, Troy.”
She could sense his sudden anxiety, although his tone remained light.
“And that is?”
She stopped again, and turned to face him, gazing into the hazel depths of his eyes. “The answer is that I’ve decided to stop feeling guilty about past relationships. I promise I won’t try to keep you out any longer. If you still want me, that is.”
His face split in a grin. He wrapped his arms about her, hugging her close. “After all we’ve been through together? Of course I do. Fassaneh has a nice sound to it.”
She laughed, a rich laugh that came from the depths of her being. She returned his embrace. “And if you really want to join the resistance—”
“I do.”
“I won’t hold back there, either. I’m sorry I ever suspected you…” Confessions—hard confessions—had come earlier, when she was still in regen.
“We’ll make quite the team. You won’t regret it,” he murmured through the tawny waves of her hair.
“I’d better not,” Jade felt her anxieties fade away into the happiness of the present. She balled her fist and raised it to his chin. “Don’t forget, I still outrank you—even more when my promotion becomes official.” She cuffed him playfully. “So if you ever hit me again—”
“I won’t,” he said, as their lips met.
And her feet touched down on yielding sand. She looked back at the face of the Greyling formation soaring behind her, and knew that her flight was over.
OTHER BOOKS BY ANDREW M. SEDDON
Red Planet Rising
(Crossway, 1995)
Imperial Legions
(Broadman & Holman, 2000)
Iron Scepter
(XLibris, 2001)
Saints Alive! Vol. I: Saints of Empire
(Bezalel Books, 2013)
Saints Alive! Vol. II: Celtic Paths
(Bezalel Books, 2014)
Ring of Time
(Splashdown Books, 2014)
The DeathCats of Asa’ican and Other Tales of a Space-Vet
(Splashdown Books, 2015)
The DeathCats of Asa’ican—by Andrew M. Seddon
Doc Hughes: A space-traveling exobiologist who relishes the challenge of caring for the galaxy’s most exotic life forms.
Victrix: A genetically enhanced German Shepherd whose intellect and telepathic ability make her more of an assistant than a pet.
Rex: The last of his kind, the alien skaggit is not always what he seems.
Join the team of WOLF—Wellness for Other Life Forms—as they confront the strange, the unknown, and the dangerous in adventures across the human-occupied galaxy.
Ring of Time
Tales of a Time-Traveling Historian in the Roman Empire—by Andrew M. Seddon
In the 27th century, humanity’s greatest technological achievement is the massive, star-powered Temporal Displacement Ring: a portal to the past. Professor Robert Cragg, reeling from his own personal losses, volunteers to be the first-ever time-traveling historian, fleeing into the shadow of the Roman Empire. Instead of dry, dusty bygones, he encounters real people. Commoners and nobility, sailors and businessmen, zealots and legionaries, druids, gladiators and philosophers all cross his path. The past, he finds, is not dead and gone, but very much alive... alive with wonder, fear, and, perhaps, love...
Mindstorm: Parley at Ologo—by Cindy Koepp
Thomas McCrady, a telepathic negotiator from Haidar Station in Earth orbit, is faced with his biggest challenge yet when he is sent to broker peace with only a rookie partner to help him. Worse, she's the doctor he blames for the death of his last partner.
Calla Geisman's telepathy is not the same as a standard Haidarian's. Some people think she's a waste of space. Some people want her dead. But she's assigned to go with Thomas to Ologo anyway, and must gain his respect before she can play her part in the war's end.
Mariah’s Dream—by Grace Bridges
Belfast, 2079.
How far would you chase hope?
What if you could change the world?
The green has gone from Mariah's Ireland. Every garden and field that was once lush with crops is now lifeless muck. And yet Mariah holds one seed...the seed of hope.
Together with Liam, her staunchest supporter, Naomi the biologist, Deborah, whose son sold out to the Senate, and Peter the farm boy, she sets out to make Ireland green again. That is Mariah's hope. It is Mariah's dream.
Mariah's dream will change everything
WWW.GRACEBRIDGES.KIWI
Splashdown Books
Ground-breaking science fiction, fantasy and paranormal since 2009.
For authors: Innovative hybrid imprint system. If approved, use the Splashdown brand while retaining all control of the publishing process. See our submissions page for details.
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Table of Contents
WREATHS OF EMPIRE
PROLOGUE
The Battle of Felton 114
July 31, 2542
ONE
AUGUST, 2553
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
EPILOGUE
Wreaths of Empire Page 32
