Eden: a planet so unlike the imagery evoked by its name as to be the embodiment of sarcasm itself.
Torn apart by a violent, bloody civil war that had already lasted decades, the people who lived, fought and died there were – almost to a man – jaded, cynical and bitter, and if nothing else, survivors. Eden was a lost colony once founded on a habitable planet many light years away from Earth. It was green and lush and full of promise – which is why it attracted so many people keen to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, that dream had struck rock bottom early on.
Who is the mysterious Mykl d'Angelo? Where did he come from? Why was so much of his past before joining the Space Fleet locked away behind secret protocols?
“Overkill” provides a glimpse into the life and background of one of the main characters of the Galaxii Series and contains over 15000 words worth of new material not seen in any of the novels!
Excerpt:
“Okay, back to business.” Captain Falcone muttered, bringing the meeting being held in the Antares’ conference room back to order. “By a strange coincidence, we’re also en route to help a freighter that put out a distress call. Now, I believe their engines are beyond repair, not that we have the time to spare to help them with repairs anyway. Besides, considering the state our Chief Entech is in, he might do more damage than good. Due to the urgent nature of our mission, we will simply have to take the crew aboard – they’ll have to go along for the ride. How many are there, Ripley?”
“One, sir.” His Exo, Commander Ripley Jones replied.
“One?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just the one, Captain.” Ripley repeated. “It seems some unfortunate incident onboard disabled the engines of the Pegasus and killed some of its crew.”
“I can’t decide if this lone survivor is very lucky – or very unlucky!” Falcone smiled wryly. “Do we know anything at all about him?”
“Just the basics, sir.” Ripley continued. “His name is Mykl d’Angelo, 33 years old, born on the planet Eden, and grew up during their civil war.” She shifted some notes in front of her. “He fought on the side of the Edonian Democratic Alliance as a child soldier – starting at the age of 17, before becoming a fighter pilot in their air force.”
“They had an air force?” Lt. Hanson asked, surprised.
“Mostly primitive first world war type fighters.” Ripley remarked. “Anyway, he became something of an ‘ace’, scoring twenty-five kills in aerial combat. When the Empire finally entered the war a few years later to support the Dems, Mr. d’Angelo enlisted as a local volunteer pilot in a special squadron equipped and run by the Space Fleet’s Fighter Wing – they were trained on and flew the Skorpiad aerospace fighters.”
“That was quite a leap from strings and struts.” Falcone commented. “How did he do?”
“By the age of nineteen, he was doing just as well as before, it seems. By the end of the war, he was a Pilot-Captain and an ‘ace’ with fifty-seven confirmed kills to his credit. He received five awards from the EDA, including three special citations of valor and two medals – the Blue Star for gallantry and the A.M. Fields Medal for bravery. He also received a citation ‘for outstanding leadership skills in combat’ from the CO of the Terran Fighter Wing based on Eden. When Eden rejoined the Commonwealth, he had no life to go back to on Eden, I suppose, and decided to join the Space Fleet – that’s where I met him, sir – at the Academy. He was in the same class as me.”
“Did he do well there?” Falcone asked, not at all unimpressed.
