Title: Priest and Pariahs
Series: Centauri Survivors Second
Chance Chronicles, Book Three
Author: J. Alan Veerkamp
Publisher: NineStar
Press, LLC
Release Date: September 24, 2018
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 76500
Genre: Science Fiction, sci-fi,
romance, space, gay, family drama
Synopsis
Costa
McQuillen has escaped from Earth, where being para-human—a Pariah—with tech
empathic abilities is illegal, and marks him for extermination. Arrogant and
standoffish, Costa is unable to trust anyone but is willing to risk everyone’s
safety in his desperate effort to reach the planet Omoikane. His best solution,
gaining passage on board the Santa Claus.
Arbor
Kittering is the crew’s newest coding tech. Having spent a short time in prison
for data hacking and falsifying government files, the Santa Claus is his last
chance at a new start—if he can decipher the strange malfunctions plaguing the
ship.
Eugene
“Priest” Jones, the Santa Claus’s Head Pilot, is a bit of a scoundrel.
Perpetually single, Priest is attracted to Costa and Arbor. In truth, he’d like
to have both, but it’s clear even his grifting and gambling skills can’t make
that happen.
Now
as they all travel together, it appears Priest needs to make a choice before
it’s too late as each of their lives intertwine with potentially dangerous and
deadly consequences.
Excerpt
Priest
& Pariahs
J.
Alan Veerkamp © 2018
All
Rights Reserved
The
darkness reminded him somehow of being an unborn child—as if one could remember
such a thing—floating weightless, enveloped by warmth. What would anyone give
to fall back into such a simple existence, removed of all need beyond
instinctual thought? What a fortunate nine months it would be. A wonderful
life, sleeping and cared for inside the womb, never requiring a voice. All
before anyone could teach a soul to love or hate, or something or someone was
unwanted.
Is
that what was happening here? Had he somehow regressed back before his own
infancy? The pangs of jealousy he was experiencing told him no. Sadly, no.
He
felt like he’d been slumbering for such a long time, and very, very gradually
he started to wake. Threads of logical coherence tickled his thoughts in the
dark. It was not a welcome sensation, and he fought to avoid it. Why couldn’t
he go back into the lovely silence?
Envy
for the ignorance of the unborn rolled through him. How unfair it was to have
the innocence of being sequestered and never hearing the taunts of children or
comprehending the cries of the intolerant taken away from him. If only he had
never heard slurs of hatred or understood what defined a second-class citizen.
What
was that sound? Could it be a faint heartbeat in the distant void? It sounded
brash and unnatural, refusing to lull him back to sleep like the soothing
cadence of a mother’s pulse.
Like
a child, he wanted nothing more than to stay safe and warm, but like in every
instance, someone always forced a person into the painful light and cold of
reality. The darkness parted above him with a soft mechanical hiss. The warmth
bled away, making him want to cry.
Daring
to open his foggy eyes, he squinted in the artificial light. A woman in a white
coat hovered over him.
“Welcome
back to the real world. Can you tell me your name?”
His
voice was dry and raspy, and he had to concentrate to answer her correctly.
“Costa…Costa McQuillen.”
“Good.
Your stats are looking healthy.” A warm smile graced the young woman as she
read over the flat scanner in her hand.
Focusing
was becoming easier. He found himself undressed, lying back in comfort, some
kind of foam bedding molded around him. It held him effortlessly, but its touch
was delicate, tricking his senses into thinking he was floating. Several small
pieces of equipment were attached to his body, taunting him with their hidden
binary code. She touched one piece of technology and looked back to the miniature
screen she carried.
“Are
you a doctor?” Costa asked.
“Yes,
I am.” A small frisson of panic lanced him. He wasn’t about to lie back and
allow her to poke and prod him. The doctor placed a hand on Costa’s shoulder as
he started to rise, holding him in place with little effort. “Hold on. Don’t
sit up right away. You’ll be a little disoriented for a bit. That’s normal for
a five-year hypersleep.”
Costa
groaned, trying to sort himself as the doctor’s caring tone diffused his
anxiety. “Where am I?”
“You’re
on board the Mayflower Ark.”
“The
Mayflower Ark?”
The
doctor nodded. “Yes. You booked passage from Earth to Alpha Centauri Prime.”
“I
did?”
“Yes.
Just like everyone else on board.”
“I’m
sorry. I’m a little confused.”
The
doctor’s smile was sweet with understanding. “It’s all right. I have this
conversation with most of the passengers. We’ll be arriving on Alpha Centauri
Prime within twenty-four hours. We’re in the process of waking all of the Earth
immigrants.”
Costa
looked around and found himself inside an enormous medical bay filled with
mechanical wombs, just like the one in which he lay. Men and women in lab coats
drifted from capsule to capsule, setting free the dazed people inside. Some
were more awake than others, with men, women, and children milling about the
vast room as they dressed. The more he saw, the more the cloud over his
thoughts lifted.
“This
is odd.” The doctor squinted at her handheld display.
“What?”
“There
are a few anomalies in your bio-scan.”
“That’s
ridiculous. Your tech must be faulty.” Costa granted the device in her hand a
vicious stare. “Look again.”
The
doctor’s forehead creased as she blinked in confusion. “Oh. Wait. It’s normal
now. Must have been an error.”
“Yes,
it must have been. May I get dressed now?”
With
a simple touch, the doctor removed each of the devices attached to Costa’s arms
and legs. “You seem coherent enough to move around safely. The muscle
stimulators kept your body from atrophying during the long sleep, but you may
still be a little weak. Be careful until you get settled. If you find yourself
feeling lightheaded, I want you to sit down immediately.”
“Thank
you, Doctor.”
She
might have been genuine and helpful, but she couldn’t go away fast enough for
his tastes.
Once
she left, Costa took on the slow task of sitting upright and retrieved his
clothing from the bin alongside the bed. After he was dressed and found his
footing, Costa wandered over to the observation decks located next to the
hypersleep room. He couldn’t bear to keep looking at the rows of chambers. Even
with all the living people inside, each capsule reminded him too much of a
coffin, and with so many clustered together, the errant idea morphed itself
into some kind of perverse morgue. He couldn’t bear to spend time entertaining
the image. It sparked far too many horrific memories.
The
view into space through the three-story-tall view ports lining the wall pushed
back the recollections. Alpha Centauri Prime grew larger as they approached,
looking similar to his homeworld with its land masses and blue waters, even if
the continents didn’t match. He had to look more than once to convince himself
the world before him was not actually Earth. Costa had no intention of ever
setting foot on that planet again.
Purchase
Links
Meet
the Author
While spending years more focused on
visual arts, J. Alan Veerkamp never let go of his innate passion for
storytelling, wanting to write and draw comic books when he grew up. Once he
discovered M/M fiction, a whole new world opened filled with possibilities. Why
couldn’t you have fantastic and dynamic sexy tales with an M/M cast? He started
reading the online tales of authors like, Night Tempest, Rob Colton, and Alicia
Nordwell, which only fueled his need to create. Eventually he found
GayAuthors.org, and with a little coercive nudge, started sharing his tales
with an unexpected level of positive response. The experience and support gave
him the courage to cross his fingers and aim for the world of M/M publishing.
Born and raised in Michigan, J. Alan
continues to type away, wishing it was practical to use an noisy, old fashioned
keyboard that clacks with each strike, if just to annoy his loving partner and
spoiled miniature dachshund.
Giveaway
One lucky winner will receive a $10.00
NineStar Press Gift Code!
No comments:
Post a Comment