Excerpt
Contact
M.D. Neu © 2019
All Rights Reserved
Maintenance drones passed the Speaker General’s window as Mirtoff stifled a yawn. How long would they be here this time? The fleet stopped in a holding pattern while repairs were performed, the darkness of space surrounding them. Soft light from the window surround bathed her in a warm glow as she brushed away the few strands of hair that dropped from her tightly braided bun.
The past several months had been difficult, and she’d had little sleep. The suffering of her people weighed heavily on her. Mining Ship 9 had a malfunction in one of its storage bays while on an Ĩ-type asteroid pulling out much-needed water, nickel, cobalt, and platinum. One hundred and fifty people died that day.
She perused her terminal, chairs, conference table, and sofa. At times her office was claustrophobic. It’s bigger than what most of my people have. She gathered her scattered thoughts and sipped from the now warm cup of tuma.
Faa was curled up on the couch. Their gazes met, and a comforting smile filled his face. He closed his big green eyes and nestled his gray, fur-covered head onto one of the sofa’s pillows for a nap. His tail shifted gently back and forth.
He’s calm today.
They’d been inseparable since he was plucked from the wreckage of Agricultural Ship 15 ten years ago when he was a seyas. Perhaps a month old. She had been consoling survivors and reviewing the damage. Twelve people died that day, including her sister-in-law.
Faa still suffered from nightmares, but he had always been a sensitive cádo. If he could communicate his pain and fear better so she might help him, maybe it wouldn’t bother her so much, but the cádo were limited in that manner. She always considered it so unfair to them, particularly Faa.
Sighing, Mirtoff took a final swallow of her tuma, savoring the last of the now warm liquid, preferring it chilled as it should be, but unwilling to cool it again. The sweet, spicy flavors were still there, so the taste was pleasant enough. Turning her attention back to the chaos of her desk and the report-filled datapads, she rubbed her temple. The people and the cádo were weary of traveling through space. It had been too long.
If J’Veesa had intended Mirtoff and the Nentraee people to wander the stars, she would never have created their world, even if it was gone now. They had a home once.
They needed to find somewhere they could build a new life, a new world. They needed off these ships.
She glanced out the window again at the 450 ships carrying her people. How long would it take them to find a home?
Of course, there were other worlds and other civilizations, but none that fit her people and their needs. J’Veesa never meant for the Nentraee to be worshiped like gods; there was only one God, J’Veesa. Many names, yes, but there was only one.
They needed to either find a world void of life or one with a civilization they could work with and learn from. Their first choice was a world with equals on it.
What if they never found one? What if the ships stopped working? What if they were forced to do what some in the military had suggested? What if they had to take advantage of a lesser civilization? Or worse, what if…
“Enough,” she huffed and turned back to the reports.
Faa startled and glanced up at her. “Provider?” he asked in a soft murmur. His speech was poor but understandable.
“It’s nothing, little one. I’m sorry.”
He shook his head and settled back in his chair, his big eyes not leaving her.
She grabbed one of the datapads to review. Agricultural Ship 23 was still under repair, forcing the other agro ships to increase production and require rationing. Again. She sighed.
There was a chirp at the door. Odd. Is it that late? Faa’s eyes didn’t leave her, but his floppy ears perked up.
Her aide, Danu, was gone for the day. The lines of her mouth softened into a smile when the visitor’s image appeared on her desk monitor. She tapped a button on the screen, and then the door opened swiftly and Mi’ko entered.
“Vice speaker, tell me you’ve brought good news,” Mirtoff’s brows raised, and her lips pulled up at the edges. “Would you like a tuma? It’s a little warm, but it’s still good.”
Faa looked at the vice speaker; his eyes softened and his muzzle twitched. If anything happened to her or her family, she wouldn’t be surprised if he chose Mi’ko as his new Provider.
Mi’ko regarded her with his aging, aqua eyes. The wrinkles around his mouth turned up into a smile as he spoke. “No, thank you, Madam Speaker.”
He was still in his traditional gray suit. She wondered if he’d been home yet. His brown hair was neatly groomed and pulled back, past his shoulders. His lopsided tieback was coming loose, which allowed a few wisps of hair to fall free.
“I have news,” Mi’ko said. “The signals we’ve been studying have promise. We locked onto the frequencies, followed them, and found more transmissions.” He typed on his datapad and a three-dimensional holographic image lifted from the screen, revealing a small solar system. He pointed at the third planetoid, and it zoomed in. “I think this might be what we’ve been looking for.”
Jonathan Pongratz –
Todd lives a happy committed life with his husband Jerry, but when his brother Brad stops by abruptly, his world is shaken to the core. Aliens are real, and they are headed for Earth. Who are these aliens? Do they come in peace? How will their world change?
As Todd becomes intertwined in the events that follow the alien arrival, he must decide what kind of man he truly wants to be, and what that means in his ever-complicated world.
I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. I don’t typically read too much Sci-Fi, but this was so easy to read. I blazed through this book in just a few days and really enjoyed the journey, both for Todd as well as the alien race and their difficult decisions they have to make.
A few core ideas through this book. Love. Loss. Two worlds colliding. Action. Adventure. All of it was expertly portrayed in this book, and I can’t wait for the next one!
If you’re looking for the next great Sci-Fi epic, definitely pick this one up!
Teresa Fallen Angel –
Reviewer: Teresa Fallen Angel
Summary:
Todd is happy with his husband until the fateful day they learned that humanity was not alone and everything changed. The Nentraee have been looking for a new world to live on after they lost their world and most of their people when their world was destroyed in a cataclysm. Now even though the Nentraee are more advanced than humanity their past is similar that of Earth. A world war almost destroyed them, but in the ashes they came together to build a better future. Human’s are understandably fearful of a race that could wipe them out, but most people are willing to work together. Todd is placed in the position to work together to exchange ideas and knowledge. Now you would think that everything was working out, but there are always those who will hate and destroy what they don’t understand. Todd is forced into a pivotal position that changes not only his future, but all those around him.
It was fascinating that the Nentraee and Humanity are from separate world’s, but the hate and mistrust of each other is similar. On the other side, there were individuals who placed themselves in danger to save others showing that humanity is not a lost cause. It was sad how Todd being gay was an obstacle for him to work with the Nentraee. Now the Nentraee’s military leader was no better in her mistrust of anyone from Earth. This was a fast paced and intricate story about the possibilities of what could happen if we ever happened.
Diverse Reader –
Reviewed by Michael for Diverse Reader
Science Fiction is littered with First Contact/Alien Invasion stories. We seem fascinated, almost obsessed with the idea that, not only are we not alone in the vastness of the universe, but for some reason, out of all of the planets in the cosmos, whoever is out there has a vested interest in our planet.
What separates good sci-fi from bad sci-fi is the attention to details. You can have a blockbuster sci-fi movie, filled with humongous ships and giant explosions, and it can still be an awful movie if the story isn’t there. Backstory and details are crucial to this. But, over detailing can lead to the viewer or reader getting lost and losing interest.
I watch a lot of sci-fi, but I don’t read a lot of it. With that said, I was intrigued with the idea of a sci-fi novel with a gay MC. Yes, I know these types of stories exist, but I’ve never really been drawn to them. They never seemed grounded. This one, however, was able to strike a balance between being alien, complete with details and backstory, and human.
The Nentraee are an alien race, looking for a new planet to call home after the destruction of their planet. Their race is significantly more advanced than ours, having mastered the ability of space travel. However, their culture is also riddled with some of the same problems as ours, including “clan”/race divides. These problems ultimately led to The Clan Wars. Believe me, this is an over-simplification. To help the reader out, there’s a handy glossary of terms and races at the back of the book.
The “Terran” side of the story is seen through the eyes of Todd, a gay man happily married to his partner Jerry. Todd’s estranged brother shows up at his doorstep with some out of this world news (pun intended), which throws Todd for a loop. Todd, of course, isn’t sure how to deal with this news. How do you really deal with the fact that you have information that almost literally no one else on the planet does, and that information will change everything? His reactions are completely…human.
I will say that this book is a slow build. There’s a lot of information, particularly with the Nentraee, that we get to sift through. But that’s also part of the fun with books and series of this nature. If everything happens in the first book, what’s the point of the rest? If Bilbo had dumped The One Ring in the first book, the rich landscape of Tolkein’s Middle-Earth would have never been realized.