A futuristic adventure that follows the various owners of the small personal space craft called the Wayward Star.
Beauty and grace. Speed and agility. Style and strength. The little spacecraft known as the Wayward Star has it all, and much more. The novel, The Wayward Star, exemplifies the romance between human and machine, thriving in the age of space travel within our Solar System. Time cannot weaken this love and the Wayward Star has that kind of connection. She also becomes the right ship at the right time during pivotal points in human history. Starting near the end of the twenty-first century, the book covers a fifty-year period and chronicles the journey of the small Wayward Star, along with the adventures of her various owners. Besides experiencing the lives of the different owners, the novel also follows Max Worthington, a man who owns a used Personal Interplanetary Transport (PIT) dealership on Mars and keeps getting the Wayward Star back for resale. Experience an eruption of Olympus Mons, Mars' largest volcano. Travel along with the Martian Bureau of Investigation as they chase the head of the biggest drug cartel on Mars. Discover an underground ocean on Ganymede and work at a hydrocarbon mining company on Titan. Know the exhilaration of a professional spacecraft racer as he dodges mountains on the Moon. Feel the vibrations of the ship, as pilots break the light barrier. All of this happens to you, as you ride in the beautiful and sleek Wayward Star.
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Nashima Enterprises Parts Warehouse, Atlanta, Georgia,
June 10, 2090, 2125 Hours
Sweat flowed from every pore of Myran’s body. He ran, his eyes wide with terror.
A modified stunner charge hit a steel beam on his left. Sparks and bits of metal flew everywhere. Myran ducked, but not in time. Tiny slivers of hot metal ripped into his upper arm, cauterizing the wounds as they entered.
Searing pain sent Myran to his knees. Heavy footsteps on metal grates echoed in the huge warehouse.
In agony, Myran stood and ran along the catwalk again. More bursts from a stunner landed nearby, missing their mark.
The pain in his chest equaled the one in his arm. An immigrant from Mars, Myran still had trouble breathing in Earth’s heavier gravity after a few years. Again, he stumbled.
“Don’t bother getting up, Myran.” The deep voice belonged to Boston Barry. He stood at the end of the catwalk with a large hand-held stunner. “It seems you’ve been a bad boy.”
“You don’t have the right to do this! The others must know!” Myran struggled to stand.
Barry moved closer, pointing the stunner at Myran. “And, who’s going to tell them?”
“They’ll find out. I left them clues.” Myran grinned. “Nashima can’t continue treating its people like this.”
Barry pressed the tip of the stunner under Myran’s chin after stepping even closer. “You’re not in any position to dictate policy to the company.”
“You know that owning a modified stunner is against the law.”
Barry laughed and looked around. “Hey! Police! Hear that? I have a modified stunner! Come and get me!” He laughed again. “I didn’t know that dead men had such a great sense of humor. So, dead man, where’s the clues?”
“Dead men tell no tales.” Myran no longer feared Barry.
“Oh. A wise-ass?” Using his free hand, Barry punched Myran in the face. “Now, what did you do with the information? I’m not a patient man.”
“Why should I tell you? You’ll just keep it from the rest. They should know that the company can’t continue treating them like dirt.”
“This is not your concern anymore.” The voice came from another man appeared at the end of the catwalk.
As the man moved closer, Myran recognized him. “Mr. Nashima?”
“I’m disappointed in you, my boy.” The tall Asian man slowly strolled up to Myran and Barry. “I was about to promote you to the front office when I heard of what you did.”
“You gave us no choice. People can’t work under these conditions.”
“Where did you find that old information? It’s been buried in historic archives for nearly fifty years.”
“How did you know this?”
“You don’t get to be in my position without knowing these things. Now, be a good boy and tell me what I need to know, then you can start your new job as Manager of Robotics Control.”
“Do you think I would abandon my friends for money and power?”
“Yes. You’ll have a corner office in our downtown headquarters, equipped with a lower-gravity grid to make it feel more like Mars. What do you say, Mr. Nielson?”
Myran thought for a second. “You can take your corner office and stuff it where the sun don’t shine!”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Nashima glanced at Barry and nodded.
Boston Barry grabbed Myran by the pants and pulled him over the railing.
“No! Don’t do this to me!”
Barry let go. Myran plunged twenty-five meters to the concrete floor below.
Mr. Nashima turned to Barry. “I want you to find that information. Do whatever it takes, but don’t let the others find it first.”
“Where do I look?”
“Everywhere! Turn this whole company upside down if you have to. Find it, or you’ll be down there next. Oh, and don’t forget to clean up your mess.” Nashima walked away.
