Chapter One
As a smothering blanket of darkness descended over the town of Free Haven, the
rugged settlers scrambled to avoid the storm. Night came quickly on the colony
planet of Bhekar Ro, with plenty of wind but no stars.
Pitch-black clouds swirled over the horizon, caught on the sharp mountainous
ridge surrounding the broad valley that formed the heart of the struggling
agricultural colony. Already, explosive thunder crackled over the ridge like a
poorly aimed artillery barrage. Each blast was powerful enough to be detected on
several still-functioning seismographs planted around the explored areas.
Atmospheric conditions created thunder slams with sonic-boom intensity. The roar
itself was sometimes sufficient to cause destruction. And what the sonic thunder
left unharmed, the laser-lightning tore to pieces.
Forty years earlier, when the first colonists had fled the oppressive government
of the Terran Confederacy, they had been duped into believing that this place
could be made into a new Eden. After three generations, the stubborn settlers
refused to give up.
Riding in the shotgun seat beside her brother Lars, Octavia Bren looked through
the streaked windshield of the giant robo-harvester as the ... read full excerpt from Shadow of the Xel'naga ebook
