Cygnus Expanding: Humanity Fights for Freedom (Cygnus Space Opera Book 2) Read online

  Cygnus Expanding

  Humanity Fights for Freedom

  Cygnus Space Opera

  Book 2

  A Tale in the Free Trader Universe

  By Craig Martelle

  Copyright © 2016 Craig Martelle

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN 10:

  ISBN 13:

  ASIN:

  Cover art created by Christian Bentulan

  CoversbyChristian.com

  Editing services provided by Mia Darien

  miadarien.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Other Books by Craig Martelle

  Free Trader Series

   Book 1 – The Free Trader of Warren Deep (February 2016)

   Book 2 – The Free Trader of Planet Vii (March 2016)

   Book 3 – Adventures on RV Traveler (April 2016)

   Book 4 – Battle for the Amazon (August 2016)

   Book 5 – Free the North! (September 2016)

   Book 6 – Free Trader on the High Seas (October 2016)

   Book 7 – Southern Discontent (2017)

   Book 8 – The Great ‘Cat Rebellion (2017)

   Book 9 – Return to the Traveler (2017)

  Cygnus Space Opera – set in the Free Trader Universe

   Book 1 – Cygnus Rising (Sep 2016)

   Book 2 – Cygnus Expanding (Nov 2016)

   Book 3 – Cygnus Arrives (2017)

  End Times Alaska Trilogy, a Winlock Press publication

   Book 1: Endure (June 2016)

   Book 2: Run (July 2016)

   Book 3: Return (August 2016)

   Book 4: Fury (December 2016)

  Rick Banik Thrillers

  People Raged and the Sky Was on Fire (May 2016)

  The Heart Raged (2017)

  Short Story Contributions to Anthologies

   Earth Prime Anthology, Volume 1 (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)

   Apocalyptic Space Short Story Collection (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)

   Lunar Resorts Anthology, Volume 2 (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)

   Inanna’s Circle Game, Volume 2 (edited by Kat Lind)

   The Expanding Universe, Volume 1 (edited by Craig Martelle)

   The Misadventures of Jacob Wild McKilljoy (get it for free! By joining my newsletter email list at www.craigmartelle.com)

  Aletha

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Calm Down!

  Prepare to Enter Cygnus Space

  Take Us into the Well

  A Memorial

  The Message

  De’atesh Shipyard

  The Marines!

  An Attack on Peace

  Coldstream

  Briz Unleashed

  Wolfoids and Hillcats

  A New Dawn

  Discipline

  Stinky and Pickles

  ‘Cats, Dogs, and Chaos

  The Training Regimen

  No Animal Is Safe

  The Cygnus-12

  The Next Challenge

  A Different Way to Train

  The Olive Branch

  Running from the Shadows

  Cover and Concealment

  Marines! We’re Leaving

  Provisions for a Long Journey

  Launch into Space

  Space Station Traveler

  Take Us Out

  Training Continues

  No One Knows What’s Going On

  A Bridge Filled with Androids

  Silent Running

  Finding Your Way

  Docked with the Traveler

  The Price to Leave the Traveler

  The New Normal

  IC1396

  What Is Graham Doing?

  The Marines Go Ashore

  Incoming!

  The Ship is under Attack

  A Crap Sandwich

  Duty First

  Fighting for Freedom

  The Free Trader Series

  Postscript

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  This book is my vision of what it would be like to reestablish the Marines, four thousand years after the fact, using only Marine Corps manuals, orders, and a variety of movies like Sands of Iwo Jima, Siege of Firebase Glory, The DI, and a few more. The approach makes for some interesting and motivating conversations.

  I have to thank the great people in the 20BooksTo50K author group. Started by the indomitable Michael Anderle, a bunch of folks got together with the singular goal of helping each other realize success as professional authors. The group now has more than one thousand members where we cheer each other’s successes and lift each other up after a failure. Finding readers for your books is not a zero sum game. When someone turns to reading for entertainment, they find that books are more in depth than any movie, the imagination better than any CGI.

  When our readers find other authors, they don’t abandon the first author. They read both, they read more. Readers can devour books faster than we can write them, so we fill in gaps for each other.

  And that’s what makes the 20Books group so special.

  I met Diane Velasquez and Dorene Johnson, who are now my trusted insiders. They read all my stuff first, and even some works in progress to help me stay on track. I love this Navy veteran and her twin sister!

  With Michael, Scott Paul, Michael-Scott Earle, and Paul Middleton are other great 20Books success stories. There’s only a few authors in the group that are blessed with being able to write full time. We challenge each other to keep plugging away. Someone mentioned writer’s block was holding them up and Michael-Scott’s recommendation was simple: pinch your butt cheeks together and write. We take the job of writing seriously and all of us think it’s the best job we’ve ever had.

  There are other great people who always keep a positive attitude and are the first ones to cheer success – J.L. Hendricks, Jasmine Walt, Justin Sloan, Scott Paul, Felix R. Savage, Bradford Bates, Kevin, Charles, Hayley, Spencer, Andrew, Tahila, Jim, Charity, Sabrina, Joseph, Jenny, and so many more.

  Bouncing ideas off each other and making sure the cover is just right for the genre and reader expectations are important to ensure that the indie authors are every bit as professional as the big publishing houses.

  Talking about ideas and assistance, I have to thank the artists who have helped me – Christian Bentulan, who did the cover and Cygnus Marines logo; Barry Hutchison, who did up the 3D cover; and Norman Meredith, who is constantly on the lookout for ideas.

  If you are reading this, then you’ve decided to give me a try and that’s all any author can ask. Enjoy the story.

  ***

  I love reviewers. The first group to review Cygnus Rising helped to motivate me to greater ventures with Cygnus Expanding…

  5.0 out of 5 stars It has all of the elements a good story should have

  By Amazon Customer on September 19, 2016

  It has all of the elements a good story should have. The characters are well developed, plot line is smooth and progresses consistently and logically. The action is fast paced and the interpersonal relationships believable. Conflict, fear, and the rest of the human emotions are represented. I appreciate the fact that Cain and Ellie’s relationship, in the end, crashed due to human failure
not from outside interference. Realistically crap happens to good people, they admitted their mistake and can now move on. Cain needed to mature more to become the kind of leader he needed to be. Especially since he joined up for all the wrong reasons as most young men do. The rest of the crew will develop closer bonds. They are a team tested by fire and are a work in progress - bravo. They, unlike the earlier group were thrown together and to me had a harder row to hoe to jell into a cohesive unit. Your first books allowed Braden, G-war, and Micah to "absorb" new team members one at a time - big difference, everyone had the opportunity to get to know each other and they had the CHOICE on joining in the adventure. I'm wondering if this is why you were unhappy with the story. The first group learned to BE a team by trial and error, but had a single strong leader with a clear, uniting end goal - this group had to be manipulated into being a team and learn to function together.

  I gotta tell you I enjoyed the humorous situations you put them in - mud covered Hill cats and all. Nicely dispersed through the story. This group of cats are over the top - snark taken to a new level.

  I was glad to see that the respect and equality of the different species remain. Braden would be proud of his descendants.

  The worldview was terrific. Well detailed with enough exploration of a possible future for Vii. I kind of got lost on some of the ship stuff, but that's just me. I could understand it, but really isn't why I read space opera books. Lots of other neat techy stuff going on too.

  I also have to tell you one of things I truly enjoyed about this story was it wasn't a typical HEA ending - lessons learned were very painful. Pollyanna was on the ship and died. I did feel that they took off with stars in their eyes and a not very realistic attitude about what kind of dire circumstances, other than ship disasters they could face. They came back much wiser than when they left. Bravo - well done

  5.0 out of 5 stars Only the beginning...

  By Amazon Customer on September 19, 2016

  A strong and sympathetic cast of characters, just enough real science, and a great blend of action and intrigue make for a great SciFi tale of exploration, both of space and the inner self. Martelle has captured all of the elements of an enjoyable tale, starting with characters we come to care about. Is it because they're famous, descended from the protagonists of his other series? Nope. They do a fine job of capturing our empathy all on their own, from the more central character of Cain to more peripheral characters like "Pickles." Just as on the ship that becomes central to the story, each character has their place and their use in the story as well.

  There's some spots of brilliantly-placed humor to augment what can be, at times, a more serious tale. The part about Cain holding the door for the cats had me in stitches. You'll just have to see for yourself. And this is well worth your time, not just because this is a great story, but because it is a great opening to a series.

  The ship is life!

  5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, love the fact we have the different types and are all human!

  By Amazon Customer on October 3, 2016

  It is such a great read for anybody to read if you like great scifi with great twists that are so fun to see in your mind's eye! Love this book and how good the good characters are built and learning about them as the plot thickens! Great ending! Enjoy your copy now!

  5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome new look at Space Opera

  By Amazon Customer on September 20, 2016

  For Sci Fi without going overly technical, Craig Martelle spins a wonderful yarn about humanity returning to space. It is a great 2nd installment to his series the Free Trader. I love how the characters mesh and grow. This is one of those books that is hard to put down. I was fortunate enough to receive a ARC. It is great to read and recommend the other books by Craig Martelle as well.

  5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story

  By Amazon Customer on October 5, 2016

  Loved this book. I thought after Braden, Micah and the companions, no one could take their place. I was wrong. These characters are just as likeable. (Although, I don't think anyone could replace the Prince!) I enjoyed the storyline and the writing was superb.

  5.0 out of 5 stars One can't help but get sucked in. Has all the elements for making a ...

  By Amazon Customer on September 26, 2016

  An extremely well written story, full of exotic and engaging characters. One can't help but get sucked in. Has all the elements for making a great story and is fun to read as well. Can't wait to see what happens next.

  5.0 out of 5 stars Craig has written another great book

  By Amazon Customer on September 23, 2016

  Craig has written another great book. This book is set in the future of the Planet, All the creatures have gone back into space, Searching the great black for earth.

  5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to love

  By Amazon Customer on October 7, 2016

  This book was easy to love. It has spaceships, action, and high-stakes. I love space opera and I like how it ties into the Free Trader universe.

  Humans and the Intelligent Creatures

  The Hillcats

  Mixial – Tandry’s bonded ‘cat, a small, long-haired calico

  Lutheann – bonded with Cain, all white

  Carnesto – bonded with Ellie, all black

  Brutus – the newest ‘cat who keeps Cain honest

  Tobiah – the largest Hillcat of the era, bonded with Spence

  The Humans

  Cain – Great-great-grandson of Free Traders Braden & Micah

  Aletha – Cain’s true love who wants to stay home

  Ellie – Cain’s classmate at Space School

  Tandry – classmate at Space School

  Dr. Johns – clone of the Cygnus VI survivor. In charge of the SES

  Captain Rand – captain of the Cygnus-12 Deep Space Exploration ship

  Spence – a small man, huge in spirit, a squad leader of Marines

  Jo – a Marine, she is a gifted marksman

  The Hawkoids

  Chirit – Crew member on Cygnus-12, sensor operator

  Ascenti – Marine, stand-in sensor operator

  The Tortoid

  Daksha – Third Master of the Tortoise Consortium, son of Aadi, Commander of the Cygnus-12 exploration mission

  The Lizard Men (Amazonians)

  Peekaless – nicknamed “Pickles,” classmate at Space School

  Zisk – a Marine

  The Rabbits

  Brisbois – called “Briz,” technical genius, classmate at Space School

  Allard & Beauchene – gardeners assigned to the Cygnus-12

  The Wolfoids

  Black Leaper – called “Stinky,” team leader of the Space School class

  Night Stalker – Sergeant of Marines

  Bull – much larger than the average Wolfoid, squad leader of Marines

  Grace – a squad leader of Marines

  Razor Fang, Aurochs Ring, Bounding Shepherd, Gray Streak, Black Shadow, Silent Tracker, Hidden Slayer, Lightning Flash, Dark Forest, Tan Mountain, and Shades Racer – the Marine Recruits

  Calm Down!

  The blaster beam missed his head, scorching the rock next to him and burning the tree above it. He shot back hastily, setting a small bush on fire near his intended target. The man’s blaster sparked again from a new position farther away. Cain saw a white streak racing down the trail. He lifted up, into the line of the enemy’s fire, to distract the man so he wouldn’t see Lutheann. Cain looked at the end of the man’s blaster and it seemed to grow larger and larger as if the weapon itself approached to plant itself against his head before firing. A finger was on the trigger, flexing to pull, when an all-white Hillcat attacked the man, with a scream and ripping claws.

  Someone was shaking him. He hadn’t realized that he’d closed his eyes, but when he opened them, the others around the table were staring. Ellie had her hand on his arm.

  “Are you okay?” Captain Rand asked. Cain nodded abruptly. Reliving the scenario in his mind for the
thousandth time, he hadn’t been shocked by the battle, he reveled in it, unafraid as he exposed himself to blaster fire. He couldn’t wrap his head around what that meant. He did his job aboard the spaceship effectively, nothing to write home about, but he was exceptional when it came to battle. It had been more than a century since the last battle on Vii. There was no more war and no one alive who remembered what it had been like.

  “Please calm down, Ensign Cain,” the AI on board the Cygnus-12 said for the third time. “I understand your position and I cannot apologize for what’s in my basic programming.”

  “I don’t think you’re listening, Jolly,” Cain said, dropping heavily into his seat. “I just want the report to reflect that we were abandoned on the planet until the crew on board the Cygnus-12 repelled the boarders, at great loss of life. Abandoned. It’s the word that we have to use.”