Enigma: A Far From Home Novel
Page 13
Cessqa only encountered three crew members on her way there. All of them, she dispatched effortlessly and with cool detachment.
Luckily there were not more before she reached the Walkway and left the Defiant at an incredibly fast run. Already six had died by her hand.
60.
“Captain on the bridge,” Commander Greene announced as Jessica hurried to the command chair.
“Status report,” she said. “Tell me about the alarm.”
Commander Chang shook her head as she checked her screen. “It doesn’t make sense. Apparently someone has run the length of the Walkway toward the Amarax. But we did a head count, twice. Everyone is aboard.”
“So somebody has left the Defiant?” King asked.
“Yes,” Chang said.
“Commander,” Jessica said, turning to Commander Greene. “Bring up the security footage. Let’s see if we can spot who entered the Walkway.”
“Aye,” Greene said. “Working on it.”
The front viewscreen changed from a view of the Amarax to show the small airlock in the Defiant‘s nose section. A grey-coloured figure bounded past the camera, en-route for the Walkway. There could be no mistake.
“Cessqa!” Jessica said. She quickly called through to the medical bay. “Doctor Clayton! Anyone!”
There was no reply.
“I’m on my way,” Commander Greene said as he left the bridge at a sprint.
“Security to the medical bay,” Olivia Rayne said over the ship’s comm. system. “Repeat, security to the medical bay at once.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Jessica said, regaining her composure. The thought of something happening to Dr. Clayton down there . . .
She pushed it away. As always. As she had to do. As she’d always been able to do.
“The Amarax, any change?” she asked.
Chang shook her head. “None.”
“Would you like me to go to yellow alert, Captain? Activate the plating?” Lieutenant Jackson asked her.
“Not yet,” King said.
Hold your horses, she thought.
* * *
Dr. Clayton rushed into the medical bay to find Commander Greene standing over the inert form of Nurse Munoz. He’d seen his fair share of death; it was a given that he might face it on a daily basis. It came with the job, and he’d grown accustomed to dealing with it.
But it was very hard to remain composed and professional when the recently deceased was a colleague. Someone you liked. And the good Doctor could not contain his grief.
“Why?” he asked in a hoarse voice as he got down on his knees next to Munoz.
“I don’t know, Doc,” Greene said. “We’ll try to get some answers. I don’t see how she broke her restraints.”
Clayton looked down at Frank’s sleeping face, and tears filled his eyes. “I never expected…” He lowered his head.
“I’ll get her,” Commander Greene told him. “I promise you, I will get her for this.”
Clayton looked up. “He was a good man, Commander. There was no need for this.”
“No there wasn’t, Doc. And I’ll see to it she gets what’s coming to her. Whoever or whatever she is, I’ll make sure she answers for what she’s done here.”
* * *
Lieutenant Kyle Banks spun about. “I’m reading a change in altitude,” he said.
“Is the Amarax moving?” Jessica asked incredulously.
He checked the readouts on the helm station again. “Aye. And we’re losing speed, falling toward its front face.”
“Disengage the Walkway and back off!” King ordered.
“Aye!” Banks sounded back. His hands flew across the console, fingers keying controls like an expert pianist. Within seconds the Walkway had been jettisoned and the Defiant was tearing away from the oncoming Amarax.
“Red alert!” King ordered and buckled the safety harness on the captain’s chair. “Charge the hull plating and hold off at one thousand kilometres. Get us some distance. I want every instrument trained on that vessel . . .”
“Aye!”
Jessica stared dead ahead at the mysterious craft before them and wondered just what it was they had woken from a thousand years of slumber. The giant black cylinder headed away from NA-45 and she knew that even thought she’d issued an order to the contrary, there would only be one thing to do: pursue.
“Dollar was right. We’ve opened Pandora’s box,” she whispered, barely audible in the hustle and bustle of the bridge.
“Amarax gaining speed,” Chang reported.
“Banks, scrap my original order. There’s only one option here. Execute a pursuit course. Do what you have to do to keep up,” she ordered. “Close the gap.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
The comm. unit came to life.
“Bridge, this is Commander Greene,” his voice heavy with sadness. “They’re all dead.”
Jessica’s jaw set with anger. She stared dead ahead at the behemoth attempting to leave them behind. “Understood, Commander. Return to the bridge.”
“Yes, Captain.”
The channel closed.
We opened Pandora’s box, Jessica thought. By the looks of things, we weren’t the first. In either case, it’s now our responsibility to close it again… and at what cost? How many more will die before I put an end to this?
“Contact the Amarax whichever way you can,” King ordered. “Tell them — tell her —. she has committed an act of war against the Terran Union. Stand down and prepare to be boarded.”
Rayne nodded and set to work. Around Jessica, the bridge was suspended in deep red light the colour of blood. An emergency klaxon whined somewhere. The crew manned their stations with determination and focus.
Up ahead, gaining speed at a tremendous rate, a cold-hearted nemesis from another age headed out into space to continue her people’s sinister work…
THE ADVENTURE
CONTINUES
WITH
Nemesis: A Far From Home Novel
Afterword
I really thought I was done with Far From Home. That’s the truth. As I sat down to finish the series, writing episodes 10, 11 and 12 in one hit, I was glad to be wrapping things up. I told my editor, Laurie, just that. But I couldn’t quite say good-bye to the Defiant and Captain Jessica King. And the way I’d designed the finale was to essentially reset the series back to the beginning – with the odd change here and there.
So do you continue straight after the end of the series? Or a while after? I settled on the latter and decided that the next instalment of the Far From Home series would take place a whole year later. The Defiant has just returned from a 12-month exploratory mission, and Jess is hit with investigating a strange ship (that staple of Sci-Fi: the Big Dumb Object). I thought it was a good way of continuing the series, and pushing it in a new direction. Of course, you can’t dismiss what’s happened beforehand. Hence why I’ve dealt with the aftermath, if you will, of the series. You can’t ignore the events of Far From Home 1-12. All of that has to inform what comes next: Enigma.
This is the same ship, the same crew – but as I noted above, there are a few changes here and there due to what they experienced in their 12 month mission, and the video Jessica’s alternate self left her at the end of Far From Home 12: Endgame. I hope I addressed a lot of it satisfactorily.
I owe a massive debt of gratitude to all the readers (thousands and thousands of them – who’d have thought it?) who have read and enjoyed the Far From Home series. When I started writing it as a serial, I never once thought it would take off the way it did. I certainly didn’t imagine that when I put together Far From Home: The Complete Series, that it would hit the Top 10 in the chart on only its third day – and stay there.
As much as writing a serial can be a frustrating (and sometimes disheartening) venture in ways a lot of people won’t understand until they’ve tried it, I think it’s something all independent writers should have a go at. What better way to build an audience of readers, waiti
ng for your next work, than to involve them in a novel as it takes shape? By posting Far From Home in twelve episodes, I gradually found my readership. It may have taken a year, but it was well worth it. Many of those readers have continued to make contact with me over time, something for which I’m very grateful. However, if you were to ask me if I’d do it again, I’d say yes – but only with five or six episodes. I didn’t realise quite what I’d let myself in for when I declared I’d be writing twelve and had only written the first three…
It’s been quite a ride, that’s for sure. We’ve come a long way, you and I, with Jessica King and her heroic crew. And I have a multitude of stories I’m looking forward to telling with them.
Until the next one my friends,
Tony Healey
Brighton, UK
September 20 – November 8 2013
About Tony Healey
Tony Healey is a best-selling independent author. In 2011, his fiction was published in an anthology alongside Harlan Ellison and Alan Dean Foster.
In 2012 he saw his sci-fi serial FAR FROM HOME become a best-selling sensation, with each instalment hitting the Top 100 in its category. He also published DARK VISIONS, a collection of his horror fiction.
2013 saw the publication of DEAD PRETTY, a crime novella that has received rave reviews. He also collaborated with best-selling author Bernard Schaffer on a crossover project written in two parts.
Tony Healey is a born and bred Brightonian. He is married and has three daughters.
For the latest on Tony’s various projects, visit his site www.tonyhealey.com
THE STARS MY REDEMPTION
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Abe has spent his entire life among the cold, hard swirl of the stars. He’s been a bounty hunter, an assassin, a pirate, a drug runner. He has a talent for unsavoury occupations. Now an opportunity for change falls at his feet, and Abe must decide whether to continue living the life of a rogue or embrace the prospect of redemption . . .
Praise for THE STARS MY REDEMPTION
“. . . loads of fun, reads at a blistering pace. Abe’s a galactic criminal who wanders from score to score leaving a bloody trail of human and alien carcasses, but there’s a stubborn crumb of humanity left inside of him. This is the story of how he rediscovers that lost part of himself. The action sequences remind me of Robert E. Howard. Abe would fit in well with Conan the Barbarian and Solomon Kane.”
“The story grabs you right from the outset. It is fast paced and enjoyable. It is written in the style of Star Trek/Star Wars that lets you feel for the characters without getting swamped with the technology… was well worth reading.”
“Story telling that is compelling and ultra-readable. Don’t expect to sleep till you have finished this book. Be ready to be addicted.”
FAR FROM HOME: VOLUME I
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The first three instalments in the smash hit FAR FROM HOME series, collected into one volume. Serves as a great entry point to the series.”
Praise for the FAR FROM HOME series
“There are so many characters and story lines to be pursued! I also LOVE that the author included so many strong female main roles and leaders. That is the future after all, equality! It’s an excellent read and I strongly recommend the series in the 3 book volume forms because you will always want more! It’s all good in the space neighbourhood.”
“Fun to read. Far from Home would make an excellent TV series or mini-series special. The stories by Tony Healey, I’ve so far read, have what I refer to as ‘soul’ in them, being more than just words on paper or in e-books.”
“An excellent book, Enjoyed it from start to finish. LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THE REST OF THIS SERIES. You go! TONY HEALEY!”
“. . . very easy to get into and it pulls you in so you don’t want to stop reading. If you enjoy Star Trek and other science fiction adventures, you’ll enjoy this great adventure with Jessica and her crew. You’ll never want to put it down… trust me.”
“As a former nuclear submarine officer in the US Navy, I was immediately transported back to my time on subs during the cold war years. Since retiring from both the Navy and Navy supporting civilian contractors, I have been reading numerous sci-fi novels. I rank Far From Home as an extremely entertaining story… the action makes sense and time travel is possibly believable. THANKS SO MUCH!!!”
“I really enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to the rest of the series. It’s great to see a female commander and the action and characters really had a nice balance. Reminded me of some of my favourite sci-fi and that’s a good thing! I definitely recommend for fans of Battlestar and Star Trek.”
DARK VISIONS
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3 Dark Stories . . .
3 Dark Insights Into Human Nature…
3 Dark Visions…
In BURIAL, a DARK secret buried out in the woods is let loose…
In DARK ORB, the secrets of this life are unearthed from the cold, DARK ground…
In ABC, the DARK mystery of a small seaside town is unleashed…
Praise for the stories in DARK VISIONS
“. . . easily digestible and enjoyable for readers who don’t normally tread inside the genre. In fact, it’s a quite touching story. It’s a piece of well-written fiction that carefully weaves in actual reported events on record from the 1960s. I won’t spoil any of that, but for you conspiracy theory chasing cryptozoologists, I’m sure I don’t even need to.”
“. . . a suspenseful thriller written in a style that reminded me a bit of Poe. Healey is quickly assembling an impressive collection of horror stories that hearken back to the days gone by of classic storytelling. He writes with the panache of an author beyond his years. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.”
DEAD PRETTY
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Brighton, 1985—Christmas
‘tis the season . . . to die
Clementine is young, beautiful. The wife of a rich businessman. And she wants her husband killed. It’s meant to be a simple hit. But when it comes to murder, nothing is ever simple…
DEAD PRETTY is the explosive debut of man-for-hire COLBY JONES, written by the author of the best-selling series FAR FROM HOME
Praise for DEAD PRETTY
“Tony Healey has no fear. He’s not content to colour inside the lines, and writes compelling stories no matter which genre he selects. Tony is a brilliant Sci-Fi writer, but he can tackle any setting and still command your attention. This novella is the debut of Colby Jones, an anti-hero with traces of a conscience. I like Colby because despite his dealings on the other side of the law, it’s not hard to find him relatable. His motives are not unlike an average person. His means to an end are in a grey moral area, but his goals are so earnest that you can’t help but cheer him on. All of Tony’s work is well-written and enjoyable to read, but this is a good primer for readers that don’t like science-fiction. Once you get a feel for Tony’s endearing style, you’ll want to see how he applies it to other genres.”
“This is a damn good first attempt at hardboiled criminal fare. I really enjoyed it…”
“Anti-hero Colby Jones is a fella that maybe you should steer well clear of, but you actually find yourself overlooking his ‘misdemeanours’. He’s your average man, which is why I think you can relate to him, but he’s pretty ruthless too. When he takes a job, he sees it through, right to the very end. This was a great read and I really liked the author’s writing style. I was pulled in from the first page and proceeded to fly through the book. It’s a novella with a good storyline and with lots going on…”
More From Tony Healey:
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