Arrival
Table of Contents
Synopsis
Praise for Gun Brooke’s Fiction
By the Author
Acknowledgments
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Epilogue
About the Author
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Arrival
The spaceship Pathfinder arrives at its destination, Gemocon, the new homeworld for the Oconodian/Gemosian people. Commander Pamas Seclan has spent the journey incognito amid the civilians. Traumatized by years of captivity, she is both apprehensive and eager to locate her now grownup children.
Darmiya Do Voy arrived at Gemocon with the advance fleet three years ago. Normally exuberant and positive, the brilliant scientist has burned out and lost her spark. Darmiya meets Pamas and their mutual attraction is intense. Pamas feels she is too old and damaged for Darmiya, but still can’t keep away. Darmiya is determined to persuade Pamas to give them a chance.
During Pathfinder’s massive landing procedures, President Tylio and her associates learn the hard way of the remaining terrorist cells. As the terrorists unscrupulously attempt to reach their objective, Darmiya fights to save Pamas who is toe-to-toe with her former captors.
Praise for Gun Brooke’s Fiction Fierce Overture
“Gun Brooke creates memorable characters, and Noelle and Helena are no exception. Each woman is “more than meets the eye” as each exhibits depth, fears, and longings. And the sexual tension between them is real, hot, and raw.”—
Just About Write
Coffee Sonata
“In Coffee Sonata, the lives of these four women become intertwined. In forming friendships and love, closets and disabilities are discussed, along with differences in age and backgrounds. Love and friendship are areas filled with complexity and nuances. Brooke takes her time to savor the complexities while her main characters savor their excellent cups of coffee. If you enjoy a good love story, a great setting, and wonderful characters, look for Coffee Sonata at your favorite gay and lesbian bookstore.”—Family & Friends Magazine
Sheridan’s Fate
“Sheridan’s fire and Lark’s warm embers are enough to make this book sizzle. Brooke, however, has gone beyond the wonderful emotional explorations of these characters to tell the story of those who, for various reasons, become differently-abled. Whether it is a bullet, an illness, or a problem at birth, many women and men find themselves in Sheridan’s situation. Her courage and Lark’s gentleness and determination send this romance into a ‘must read.’”—Just About Write
Course of Action
“Brooke’s words capture the intensity of their growing relationship. Her prose throughout the book is breathtaking and heart-stopping.
Where have you been hiding, Gun Brooke? I, for one, would like to see more romances from this author.”—Independent
Gay Writer
September Canvas
“In this character-driven story, trust is earned and secrets are uncovered. Deanna and Faythe are fully fleshed out and prove to the reader each has much depth, talent, wit and problem-solving abilities. September Canvas is a good read with a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.”—Just About Write Soul Unique
“This is the first book that Gun Brooke has written in a first person perspective, and that was 100% the correct choice.
She avoids the pitfalls of trying to tell a story about living with an autism spectrum disorder that she’s never experienced, instead making it the story of someone who falls in love with a person living with Asperger’s. …Soul Unique is her best. It was an ambitious project that turned out beautifully. I highly recommend it.”—The Lesbian Review The Supreme Constellations Series
“Protector of the Realm has it all; sabotage, corruption, erotic love and exhilarating space fights. Gun Brooke’s second novel is forceful with a winning combination of solid characters and a brilliant plot. The book exemplifies her growth as inventive storyteller and is sure to garner multiple awards in the coming year.”—Just About Write
“Brooke is an amazing author, and has written in other genres. Never have I read a book where I started at the top of the page and don’t know what will happen two paragraphs later. She keeps the excitement going, and the pages turning.”—MegaScene
Arrival: Exodus Book Four Brought to
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Arrival
© 2017 By Gun Brooke. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13:978-1-62639-860-3
This Electronic Original is published by Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: December 2017
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Credits
EDITOR: SHELLEY THRASHER
Production Design: Susan Ramundo Cover Design by Sheri (graphicartist2020@hotmail.com) Cover Art By Gun Brooke
By the Author
Romances: Course of Action Coffee Sonata Sheridan’s Fate September Canvas Fierce Overture Speed Demons The Blush Factor Soul Unique A Reluctant Enterprise Piece of Cake Thorns of the Past
Supreme Constellations Series:
Protector of the Realm Rebel’s Quest Warrior’s Valor Pirate’s Fortune
Exodus Series:
Advance
Pathfinder
Escape
Arrival
Novella Anthology:
Change Horizons
Acknowledgments
I love writing. I adore hearing from readers. I still pinch myself when I think of the fact that I’m a published author.
All this is not due to me alone, and I want to thank the people who have a hand in all this.
Len Barot (aka Radclyffe), my publisher, you create the best of homes for writers and I’m glad I’m one of the first you signed. I couldn’t be happier being among the
“inventories.” :-)
Dr. Shelley Thrasher, my editor, who is i-n-v-a-l-u-a-b-l-e to me in her professional capacity and as my very good friend. (And she is an author too—go check out her books at BSB!)
The rest of the BSB gang, Sandy, Connie, Cindy, Stacia, Lori, Carsen, Sheri, and all the ones I’m not sure about their names—you do an amazing job. Thank you so much for your help, ideas, assistance, and encouragement.
My first readers, thank you for keeping me from making too much of a fool of myself from silly mistakes and logical gaps.
My dear readers—without you, my words fall empty to the ground. You ar
e so loyal and show me so much appreciation, it makes me blush! Thank you for sticking with me through all my different adventures, whether romance or science fiction.
Thank you also to Elon, for discussing spaceship blueprints with me and for reminding me to eat. Malin, Henrik, Pentti, grandkids, Ove, Monica, Laura, Joanne, Maggie, Birgitta, Soli, Shafieqa, my family and friends, you are the absolute best and I love you.
Lastly, and no less important, my dogs. Hoshi and Esti, you do help me write, unless you are trying to persuade me to come out and play by placing your heads on my keyboard
and writing six pages with the letter p before I can pry you away. :-)
Writing used to be a lonely profession, until there was the Internet with first readers (beta readers) who enjoy the writing process. Also, being able to do research without leaving your seat, is darn cool. That in itself doesn’t complete a novel, though. So much work goes into it and that is why it is essential for me to have a great publisher, amazing editor, attentive publishing company staff, enthusiastic first readers, and wonderful family and friends.
Dedication
For Elon
You share everything with me and always put me first.
Everything I value most, comes from you.
PROLOGUE
The scars had faded into white, jagged lines, and that alone was a testament to the time span between when Pamas was captured and when she escaped from the changer called Nestrocalder. That was not the changer’s real name, of course, but an ancient Oconodian word meaning
“poisonous soul.” Always dressed in flowing, black garments, Nestrocalder kept the mystery alive by never revealing its identity. Some said Nestrocalder was male; some claimed the enigmatic leader of the illegally organized changers was a woman. Others insisted Nestrocalder did not even exist—or was a blend of several different malevolent changers high up in the hierarchy.
Lieutenant Commander Pamas Seclan didn’t care. All she knew was how one day stretched into the next while she was held in bunkers deep in the jungle in the Kirano sector on Oconodos. They moved her intermittently, which made her realize the changers had an entire web of bunkers. They somehow managed to make the compounds invisible to Oconodian sensors. The hope of being rescued seeped from her soul as the days turned into months and the months into years.
During her capture, Pamas feared for the welfare of her children. About to leave her abusive husband when she was taken, she now stressed over the fact he had sole custody of Aniwyn and Pherry.
She couldn’t remember how she was taken. One moment she was driving her hovercar to Fleet Admiral Caydoc’s office for a pre-mission briefing. She’d blinked, and the next time she opened her eyes, Pamas was in a room so dark she was certain she’d lost her sight. It turned out she was half right. During her capture, she had lost her right eye. For years, she bandaged and protected her empty eye socket with strips of fabric ripped from whatever clothes they
provided her with. She refused to give them any information, military or otherwise, not even when she suspected Nestrocalder was interrogating her. This steadfast refusal infuriated her captors, and they never treated her with kindness or compassion.
When she escaped after almost twenty years, she learned how close the pending Exodus mission was and about her daughter’s part in it. While her son Pherry led a family life on Oconodos, working as an agronomist, her daughter, Aniwyn “Spinner” Seclan, had walked in her mother’s footsteps and carved out a military career. A skilled pilot, she was part of the Advance Team, sent to scout for a planet able to sustain life for the Oconodians desperate to leave the volatile situation on Oconodos. The malevolent changers were on the verge of taking over, and the government had decided long ago that this was the only solution.
When Pamas found Pherry’s name on Pathfinder’s passenger roster, Pamas used her stolen identity, which had kept her safe from the changers she had escaped from, and secured travel documents for the Exodus ship when it launched.
CHAPTER ONE
Standing among the cheering crowd, Pamas knew she attracted attention for having an eyepatch. Anyone suffering the loss of an eyeball would replace it with either a cybernetic one or a much more expensive transplanted real eye. Pamas had yet to prioritize either of those solutions.
Having an eyepatch didn’t bother her as much as it did other people.
Another announcement echoed throughout the entire ship. “Please brace for impact. Restrain small children, the elderly, and others who may need assistance. Cube eleven will touch down in one hundred secs.”
Now as she stood by the large screen at the main square aboard cube eleven, she marveled at the technology that made it possible for the cube to travel across the vastness of space while attached to the other twenty vessels. Having arrived at this planet, the Oconodians’ and the Gemosians’
new home, called Gemocon to commemorate the merging of the two people, the twenty-one cubes separated and were in the process of landing. This was the tricky part, as no one had actually performed a landing sequence before cube one set down only half an hour ago in the very center of what was to be named the capital of Gemocon.
Holding on to one of the trees growing around the square where they all watched the exterior cameras filming their descent, Pamas breathed slowly as her stomach clenched.
She had managed to remain incognito for the entire duration of the journey, and now she had to finally decide whether to assume her true identity or stay hidden.
* * *
One day later, Pamas stood in line to one of the south exits. Twice already she’d had to prove her identity. The name she had used during the long journey, Pamas Dagellion, was connected to her retinal scan and genetic
makeup records. She had found it easier to use her real first name, as it was common enough.
The buzz around her nearly split her eardrums. Young people couldn’t stand still from pure excitement, and right next to Pamas, a small child, perhaps three years old, asked the man whose hand she held on to if the ground hummed on Gemocon, like it did on Pathfinder. No doubt the child had been very young when they boarded the massive spaceship to find a new home.
“No, Miela,” the man answered her, chuckling. “The ground is very still, but what you can feel is the wind.”
“What is the wind?” The little girl’s mouth became a perfect little o.
“It’s when the air moves really fast and caresses your face.” Miela’s father smiled wistfully. “I have missed that during our journey, but now we’re here, and it will be wonderful.” His voice was cheerful, but his eyes had something sad in them as he smiled at the child.
Miela nodded and turned to look at the young people cheering loudly now when crewmen prepared to open the hatches. Her gaze passed Pamas, and her green eyes grew wide at the sight of Pamas’s eyepatch. “Oh…what happened to your eye?” Miela looked stunned but not afraid.
The man she was with turned to see who she was talking to and seemed taken aback and embarrassed as he pulled the child closer to him. “Miela. It’s not polite to ask,” he said hurriedly.
“It’s all right,” Pamas found herself saying, her tone mild.
“I had an accident and my eye got injured.”
“Does it hurt?” Miela tilted her head, peering up at the eye patch.
“No. Not anymore.” But it had. When the torture had reached that level, Pamas had for the first time asked for death to claim her. After they took her back to her cell in the jungle bunker, she knew her eye had been destroyed. She received some rudimentary treatment, perhaps because she
would have been even more of a problem if it had become infected. Once the worst of the pain was over—and it took several weeks—Pamas swore never to wish for death again.
If she could endure the agony of what they had done to her eye, she could take anything. They never fully broke her, and she didn’t give up any information.
“I apologize for my daughter. Miela is only three and a half, and she hasn’t
learned yet what is polite to ask and what’s not.” The man cleared his throat. “I’m Toggion, by the way.”
“It’s fine,” Pamas said and winked at Miela. “I prefer questions to stares or murmurs behind my back.” Truthfully, she cared about neither, but she didn’t want the little girl and her father to feel bad. This sentiment surprised her.
Only a year or so ago, she wouldn’t have minded either way.
“Thank you. May I ask why you haven’t had it replaced?
Just tell me if I’m being too forward,” Toggion said.
“For a long time, I wasn’t motivated, and then, when I was, I figured it could wait until we reached Gemocon.
During the journey, I thought our health-care system should focus on real emergencies.”
Toggion looked impressed. “That’s very selfless. Not a lot of people would think like that.”
“I’m not selfless,” Pamas said, cringing. “Just practical.”
A muted metallic sound was followed by a squeaky tone as the crewmen began to lower the hatches outward. A gush of new, fresh air made the old air that had been perfectly fine just before seem stale and recycled—which it was, of course.
Miela gasped and clung to her father’s hand. “It’s the wind, Daddy! It’s the wind!” Her entire face lit up. “I can feel the caress.”
“I know, I know,” Toggion said, wiping at his eyes.
“Creator of all things…I can’t believe we made it.”
“But we did, Daddy.” Miela kissed Toggion’s hand.
“I just wish your mother could have been with us.”
Toggion lifted the girl up onto his shoulders and grabbed his suitcase with the hand that wasn’t holding her legs securely.
Pamas shifted the shoulder straps of her backpack, which held all her belongings. She knew of people who had brought much more with them, filled every storage space in their quarters with belongings they clearly couldn’t live without, despite the clear instructions from the authorities.