Kindle Edition Audiobook Amazon Larry K. & Lorna Collins Amazon.com Category:  Science Fiction Publisher: CreateSpace ISBN-10:  1543178227 Type: Fiction Pages: 170 Copyright: Feb 16, 2017 ISBN-13: 9781543178227 Price: $2.99 (eBook) On the distant planet, Kaùsan, in the Triangulum Galaxy, three million light-years from Earth, alien rebels start a coup, and pirate ships attack from space.  On the distant planet, Kaùsan, in the Triangulum Galaxy, three million light-years from Earth, Marc, Maddie, Leanne, Eric, and Judy McGregor, along with Jake Stevens, and Zyrah Duban, have elected to remain to help the transplanted aliens adjust to their new bodies, survive in the dangerous environment, and avert a possible Federation genocide. But when alien rebels start a coup against the local government, and pirate ships attack from space, can the McGregors hold out till help arrives?       Excerpt Galacta, Your Intergalactic Online Encyclopedia – Kaùsan: The first planet colonized in the Triangulum Galaxy is a mesoplanet-class world with an Earth Similarity Index (ESI) of 0.96. It has a diameter slightly smaller in size than the original with a 0.90 Earth-mass ratio. The nitrogen/oxygen-based atmosphere can support human life without supplementary equipment. The planet is shrouded in clouds creating a greenhouse effect. Temperatures remain warm, but constant, averaging between thirty-five and forty-two degrees Celsius during its 315-day trip around star HD-4433. A typical day/night cycle is seventeen hours. The Federation established a molybdenum-mining colony in the year 2735 to secure a continuing supply of the precious metal, necessary for the production of faster-than-light and superluminal drives. ~ ~ ~ ~ Kate’s voice rings inside my head. “Maddie, better get to the bridge. An unmanned message probe just dropped from faster-than-light. I’ve initiated a probe capture sequence.” I open my eyes, yawn, and stretch. It’s probably a message from Dad’s ship. It’s been almost eighteen months. The McGregor-7 should return any time now. I look around the captain’s cabin. I’m going to miss this large bedroom with en-suite bath, and separate sitting room/office. I’ll have to give them up when I return to the McGregor-7. I’m not looking forward to going back to being a junior officer in shared quarters. My temporary home is the abandoned Federation Battle Cruiser Majestic. It floats in geostationary orbit above the planet Kaùsan. The ship normally holds a crew of one hundred, but now only my cousin, Eric, med-tech Judy, and I live onboard. From the ship’s bridge, I’m able to oversee all activity on and around the planet. Kate’s voice is insistent. “Maddie, you need to acknowledge for retrieval.” “Okay, I’m up.” I don’t know what I’d do without Kate. She monitors computer systems while I sleep. Medbots don’t sleep. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Kate’s a strain of several hundred thousand self-replicating medical nanorobots circulating within my bloodstream. Federation scientists originally created two types of medbots to protect humans from disease and to heal injuries. The first, the non-replicating type, are pre-programmed to search and destroy foreign viruses. They’re still in common use throughout the Federation. The second, the self-replicating kind, have become sentient, self-aware, and are able to communicate with computer networks and their hosts. However, when the Federation Security Force (FSF) found out the self-replicating medbots could hack into and control any computer system, they were outlawed. Federation Security Chief, Richard Tyson, ordered all type-two medbots systematically destroyed. I believe my family, the McGregors, hosts the only remaining survivors. I throw back the covers, slip into my jumpsuit, and walk the few steps from the captain’s in-flight cabin to the bridge. Kate’s already set the forward viewscreen to track the incoming message probe. I key-in the retrieval code and docking coordinates. “There.” I sit back in the communications chair and sigh. “You know, you could have done it yourself instead of waking me.” Kate sounds irritated. “Yeah, I know. But I’m bored. Pete keeps me informed of all the excitement your husband is having working with the aliens down on the planet. Can’t we visit him?” I sigh. “I wish I could, but Father ordered me to remain on the Majestic where I could oversee the mining operation. The aliens will have to complete preparation of the first molybdenum shipment before the McGregor-7 returns, or there’ll be hell to pay. And if I’m not at my station when Father returns…” I hear a harrumph from Kate. “It takes a good four hours for a ship to decelerate from light speed, but only a half-hour shuttle ride to return from the planet’s surface. You’d be back long before he’d arrived.” Can’t fight medbot logic. I shake my head. “Okay. I’ll think about it.” It would be really nice to feel my husband’s arms around me again. My brother keeps Jake busy planet-side. He’s only been up here for R&R twice in the last year. I feel lonely and neglected. I sit back in the chair. “But we can’t leave the Majestic unmanned.” “Your brother, Marc, will bring Med-tech Judy back from the planet after third watch. Judy’s medbot told me she’d be happy to sit the bridge.” “She will, huh? You medbots have this all figured out.” “Sure. I can tell you’ve been depressed lately. A holiday on the planet with Jake will cheer you up.” “You’re right. Okay, we’ll discuss it when they return. For now, I have a message to pick up when the probe docks.” The gravity created by the rotating crew ring diminishes as I ride the elevator to the ship’s center core where the probe launch/retrieval tubes are located. I float through the corridor and spot the red indicator light glowing at tube station six. Unmanned communication probes are amazing. They’re more than twice as fast as any manned ship, which has to limit acceleration to what the human body can withstand. Unmanned probes have no such restriction. This must be a confidential message. Standard messages can be broadcast from a probe as soon as it drops below faster-than-light. Confidential or high-security ones must be delivered directly. I slide my index finger over the scan window. After a few seconds to confirm recipient DNA, a small door opens in the side of the probe. I remove the nanochip with its message, return to the bridge, and slip it into the reader. FED-DATE: 3741/06/14 20:41:35 FROM: IGC MCGREGOR-7 TO: FEDERATION BATTLE CRUISER MAJESTIC SUBJECT: SHTF SECURITY LEAK NEWS OF ALIEN TAKEOVER AND ASSIMILATION OF SIXTEEN HUNDRED COLONISTS ON KAÙSAN MADE PUBLIC. MILITARY TO TAKE ACTION. SEVERAL FEDERATION SHIPS INCOMING. SUGGEST RETRIEVE ALL MCGREGOR PERSONNEL FROM PLANET. LOCK DOWN MAJESTIC BEST YOU CAN. MCGREGOR-7 EN ROUTE, ETA 3741/07/10. CAPTAIN LATHAM MCGREGOR

Book 4 Blasts Off
Star Trek meets Star Wars in Larry Collins' latest installment of his space classic. The author continues to deliver with The McGregor Chronicles Book 4-Kausan's War. Whether you are looking for hard science fiction, romance, or just a rip-roaring space adventure with a well-developed setting, you get it here. The sprawling McGregor clan continues to develop relationships with alien civilizations and bring order and structure to whatever part of the universe they uncover. And along the way, the siblings collect their own life mates and personal adventures.