HORIZON SHIFT
Horizon Crossover (Book I)

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To save his ship and crew, Captain Temms Rogers uses an untested alien device which hurls the Doubtful and its occupants away from a massive space battle. Rogers awakens to find his ship crippled and his crew decimated. They are lost in an unknown region of space, but they are but not alone. With old enemies lying in wait, Rogers must turn to a powerful local group called the Consortium in order to effect repairs to his ship and to find needed supplies. Then a strange autistic boy is found hiding in the ship's cargo bay. Could the boy help save the Doubtful and its crew? — WATCH SERIES VIDEO

HORIZON SHIFT [©2013] Horizon Crossover (Book I) by Lyndi Alexander | Science Fiction / Space Opera (PG) 254 pages / 95,000 words | Available in ebook and print from the DFP Books label of Dragonfly Publishing

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PAPERBACK [EAN 978-1-936381-54-8 | ISBN 1-936381-54-0] 6x9 trim (254 pages) | Average Price: $12.99

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READ AN EXCERPT

CHAPTER 1:

"THEY'RE coming around, Captain! Weapons are locked!"
Ramona's voice cracked under the stress of battle. She was the best science officer and partner Temms Rogers had ever commanded, and in a crisis, he trusted her gut. They needed her expertise, and her heart, if they were going to pull through this.
"Recommendations?"
"No choice, Temms. We've got to use the alien tech." Her expression was grim, black hair sweaty on her brow. Her eyes held a hundred worries she might have shared in private, but never here.
"Do it!" Rogers watched the advancing fleet on the monitor, knowing they had minutes, maybe seconds left. "Tactical, return fire!"
Ramona did not wait, her fingers tapping instructions. The ship rocked with incoming fire.
The radio burst into angry chatter. "Rogers, I'll blow you out of the sky! This is a damned act of mutiny against the Confederation!"
Rogers felt his gut twist. He knew it was mutiny. They all did.
They agreed to stop their command from taking this peaceful planet, no matter what it cost. The anxious eyes of his bridge crew flicked away from their boards for just a moment, seeking a response from their captain, seeking the strength he had always given them.
They were a fine crew.
The angry voice roared from the speakers again. "Stand down, Rogers. Save your men!"
Rogers stood, the movement making him feel stronger, more in command, like the captains of the old water vessels. "What you're doing is wrong, Burko! The Confederation is wrong! And we won't allow it!"
He watched the side monitor, where the three remaining Confederation cruisers moved toward his ship and the Victory, captained by another rebel. Space around them flashed with bright yellow and white laser fire.
He had lost the lowest deck to a hull breach, some twenty-four crew dead, after a direct hit from the Talon, the ship of fleet commander Jal Burko. The ship lurched again.
"Ramona? What's the holdup?"
"Coming on line now, Captain."
The scope's light cast a sickly green reflection on Ramona's face. The alien technology was untested, an archaeological find that Rogers' ship had been assigned to study. Ramona believed it to be some kind of weapon. The rough translation of the relic's hieroglyphics indicated the makers prescribed use of the device "when in a desperate situation." If there was anything more desperate, he could not guess what it might have been.
Rogers prayed it was something against which the Talon and the rest of the fleet had no defense, or they were all dead.
Dark-skinned helm officer Kai Windthorp helped Ramona program the device with taut determination. The rest of the bridge crew returned to their workstations, their voices a buzz in the background, more immediately concerned with saving their lives than politics.
"We need a miracle, Rae. Make it happen!" Rogers threw himself into his chair, grunting as he hit the hard cushion. "Everyone strap in!" From his seat, positioned in the middle of the back wall of the bridge, he checked each of the other stations. His officers grabbed belts and secured themselves, ready for anything.
Anything was what they were about to get.
"Weapon activated, Captain and positioned toward the fleet. Now!"
With a silent prayer, Rogers clenched his fist and waited to see what would happen.
To his surprise, there was no explosion. Nothing left the ship. A ray of red light seemed to flutter in black space ahead of them for a few moments, and then it coalesced into a cloudy opening. A wormhole.
"May the stars preserve us," Ramona murmured.
The sight on the screen was hypnotizing.
Jolted back to reality as the ship took a devastating hit, Rogers cursed as Ramona's console exploded in a shower of sparks and she went down. Power faded then returned.
He stifled his first instinct to jump to Rae's side. No time for his own tragedy. Blocking the image of his fallen lover from his mind, he barked orders.
"Helm! Kai, take us in! Now!" He did not know where it went, but it had to be better than what they faced: the Confederation fleet poised for a death blow.
"Aye, aye, sir!" Windthorp, face bleeding from flying debris, stumbled into his seat and hit his board. The ship flew ahead into the neon-red glow of the opening as one last powerful volley from the Talon seemed to knock them forward.
Jal Burko's enraged voice came over the com system.
"I'll get you for this, Rogers! I'll hunt you down and kill you like the traitorous Gonoran snake you are!" The cloudy violet and red interior of the wormhole pulsed on the screen for a few seconds. Then everything went black...

[Copyright ©2023 Lyndi Alexander | No unauthorized reproduction or distribution]

READ REVIEWS

HORIZON SHIFT has elements of Star Trek but the author has a unique voice and tells a compelling story. Captain Temms is a great main character who struggles to do the right thing even when it's difficult. He takes in people who need nurturing, he defends the underdogs, and he cares deeply about his crew. He gets himself into trouble when defending the people of a planet means treason against the Confederation, which means putting his crew at risk. It's a great set up for a compelling story. The pacing is quick, but the the novel is rich with detail and nuance. It has depth while staying fun. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in the series. ~ reviewed by Fatstagnation at Amazon Reviews [5-STARS]

In this rousing sci-fi adventure, Captain Temms Rogers, long-time member of the Confederation, discovers that his conscience is making him rebel. In extremity of battle, he uses an alien artifact that his team have been studying, and it propels his ship, the 'Doubtful', into an alternate universe. Unsure that he has not been followed by enemies, Rogers must try to get his ship and crew back to their own place; failing that, they must also consider making a life in the new. The first book of a trilogy, the Horizon Crossover series, this book ensured I would read the rest of the series. The characters are interesting and developed, the storyline moves along rapidly, but is not all shallow action. The backstories, and the dilemmas the characters face, pull the reader into their lives. Anyone who enjoys spaceship adventure would enjoy HORIZON SHIFT, young or old. I’m excited for books 2 and 3. ~ reviewed by Lillian at Amazon Reviews [5-STARS]

HORIZON SHIFT is like Star Trek meets Firefly. The characters are old friends who makes you want to join Captain Rogers and his ragtag crew on their ship the Doubtful. Rogers led a rebellion who stood their ground to save the planet, Persios from Confederation’s commander Burko from massacring everyone on the planet and to claim it as their own. While engaging a strange artifact from the Ancients they escaped into another universe to get away from the wrath of Burko and the Confederation. They lost many of their crew and had a damaged Doubtful to repair. In the new Universe the Agency ruled the Union Brotherhood. Will Rogers have the wit to survive or did he trade one evil for another? Will he find crew to fly his ship? Could he even repair the Doubtful? Would they go home if they could or stay and make a difference for Marriel, Terza, Perpetra or Lennor? Would the artifact take them to a different universe? I can’t wait to read book #2 HORIZON STRIFE and #3 HORIZON DYNASTY! ~ reviewed by Susan Sebrell at Amazon Reviews [5-STARS]

HORIZON SHIFT has the elements of suspense, fantasy and sci-fi all wrapped together in a totally absorbing read. Captain Temms Rogers must avoid old enemies, repair his ship while dealing with a group called the Consortium. An autistic boy stowing away on his ship, the Doubtful, may be the help he needs. Exciting all the way through, this is a book you’ll have trouble putting down. ~ reviewed by Janyce Brawn for Amazon Reviews [5-STARS]

Horizon Crossover Series

Horizon Crossover series and video • Horizion Shift (#1) • Horizon Strife (#2) • Horizon Dynasty (#3) • Sixshooter (#4)