HORIZON STRIFE
Horizon Crossover (Book II)

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Captain Temms Rogers and the crew of the spaceship Doubtful are caught between a powerful interplanetary group called the Agency and mystical beings known as the Ancients. With the voices of the Ancients haunting his dreams and a mysterious illness plaguing his crew, Rogers must find a derelict space station and discover its secrets before the Agency destroys them all. — WATCH SERIES VIDEO

HORIZON STRIFE [©2014] Horizon Crossover (Book II) by Lyndi Alexander | Science Fiction / Space Opera (Rated PG) 178 pages / 63,000 words | Available in ebook and print from the DFP Books label of Dragonfly Publishing

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CHAPTER 1:

ONE thing Temms Rogers knew for sure, he had no time for a wife.
Captaining the former Confederation ship Doubtful swallowed all his time, his crew at full muster, thirty-eight members, and his schedule set with cargo transport jobs to keep them fed. They had come a long way during the past cycle of the sun, but they weren't free and clear yet.
Besides, he had a wife once.
Connie had taken everything but his son Tommy, his ship, and his soul when they had gone before the magistrate. He had kept all those things when the ship had crossed into this new universe through an alien wormhole. He meant to hang on to them.
The middle-aged captain stretched, his comfortable, well-worn chair sliding back from the desk in his bookcase-lined office near the command center of the Doubtful. His cup was empty. He needed more stimulants if he was going to contend with the pile of work on the smooth black plaz surface before he fell into bed at the end of the watch.
Which brought him back to the note on the top of the pile: 'Temms, come down to the infirmary and see me when you're done for the night. I've got a surprise for you.'
The note was signed with a capital O and two small hearts.
He had a pretty good idea what the surprise would be.
The thought sent a sick, guilty twinge spiraling through his gut. Stars forgive him, he had been lonely, and Okalani Boro had been more than accommodating. Since he rescued the runaway bride-to-be from her wealthy fiance, she had encouraged Temms' interest. A beautiful woman, her heart was as big as the star system in which they found themselves. A valuable member of his crew, she had smoothly stepped into the shoes of the doctor they had lost, and she worked as hard as anyone on the ship.
She deserves better than me. At least someone who can devote the time to her needs. I've got thirty-seven other people who depend on me day and night. I can't be that man.
He let his loneliness drive him into her arms more frequently than he should have. She would have been satisfied to make it a permanent commitment. He knew that well enough. His conscience ate at him. He had used her.
It wasn't like that. They were both adults and enjoyed each other. He thought she had understood they acted in the moment without strings.
Perhaps she did. She persisted, though, and that unsettled him. He had to break it off.
He just didn't know how.
This wasn't the time to deal with it. Some of the problems on his desk just couldn't wait. Lives depended on it. Dark clouds waited on their horizon. Trouble was coming.
He grabbed his cup, and then walked over to the small wooden cabinet that held his collection of fine teas he had collected through the last several voyages. Some of them had even survived the crossing through the wormhole nearly a year before, but those were few. Those he rationed, preserving that small link to home. For his work tonight, he chose a heavily spiced local blend with extra stims that would give him a solid kick in the hind end and several hours before he would get sleepy. He needed it.
He hardly filled the cup with hot water before a knock came at the door.
Another delay. He sighed. "Come in."
His son Tommy opened the door, hesitating before he entered. He wore his off-duty dungarees with a dark green pullover shirt. The kid was handsome, tall and blond with Temms' own pale blue eyes. Chip off the old block, the captain thought with not a little irony. At least there was something in his life he had done right.
Tommy's smile was a fraction of its usual brilliance as he studied Temms. "You sure?"
Temms set his tea aside and crossed to give his son a hug. "You know you're welcome any time."
The kid grinned and gave his father a manly pat on the back. "Great."
Why did Temms still think of him as a kid? He had nearly twenty annuals under his belt. Back home, he would be gunning for his own command by now. He'll always be a little boy to me.
"Want some tea?"
Tommy made a disgusted face at the tin Temms held out. "That twiggy stuff that Liang gave you? It tastes like unwashed socks."
"She promises me it contributes to health. Her mother gave it to her every day to boost her immune system."
"Healthy herbs and berries. Maybe dead animal skeletons. Eye of newt and all that. Delicious." The distinct wrinkling of his nose revealed his level of sarcasm. "That's all you have, Dad?"
"Of course not." He chuckled. Not for a moment had he expected Tommy to accept the offer. They had come to know each other pretty well since the crossover. "I've got some of that stim juice you like in the box."
"Now you're talking."
Tommy detoured on his way to the desk and grabbed the drink, and then plopped into one of the side chairs. "You're working late."
"Not by choice. I slacked off a couple shifts, but I won the ship's vector competition."
"That's my old man." Tommy laughed. "Well done."
Temms crossed slowly to his desk chair, basking in the comfort of rare private time with his son. So many demands separated them, even working on the same ship. They managed to grab a meal together once or twice a week, which was more than they had back on Gilada, when he had been out on missions and Tommy had been finishing up classes at the Confederation school.
So this is progress, right?
He took his chair and sipped his tea while sizing up his son's demeanor. Tommy's smile had faded. Not good. "So this isn't just a personal visit. What's up?"
Tommy leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, his gaze intense. "Tas intercepted several comm messages. The Agency's tracing us."
An angry flush rose through the captain's rib cage. "They're what?"
"At least four separate episodes just today. Guess you really set someone's tail on fire with that last announcement. I'd suggest you change the location of your scheduled meeting coming up at Roandock. Otherwise you're likely to have some uninvited guests."
Suggestion: Temm's face twisted in a scowl as he leaned back in his chair, his fingers tightening around his cup. "These bastards just keep pushing! After what happened to Jak Moster when he refused to pay the Agency their blood money —"
"And it'll happen to you, too, Dad, if you don't back off." Tommy's gaze was troubled. "They've established their domain in this universe for thirty annuals or more before we came here. You aren't going to stop them."
"Not by myself. That's why I called this meeting. If the sector's captains for hire band together, we should be able to effect change." He frowned. "Just because something has limped into a lame tradition doesn't make it right. The Agency skims the cream off every deal that takes place in this sector, and provides nothing in return. You saw that latest demand. An additional ten percent! There's no reason we should give up our profits to fatten their purses."
Temms couldn't understand why some of the other captains weren't as outraged as he over the Agency's petty controls. Old Lestand explained it as a cost of doing business: "You know what's coming. Bend over and take it. Then charge your customer enough to cover the cost of the hemorrhoid surgery."
Temms couldn't buy that. It was wrong. He championed free enterprise. It was how he earned his living in the new universe, after all. But for an organization to exist by extorting honest businessmen, while contributing no value in return, was bloodsucking leechery at its very worst. He had no respect for that.
"Look, I get the outrage, and I know you're only looking out for your people, D — Captain. But the Agency doesn't mess around. Moster's ship is not the only one to be hit this rotation. Ships that don't work with them tend to disappear, or at least their captains do. Moster's missing, his second in command lost a leg trying to save his captain, from his report. Do you want to see something happen to Liang?"
"Of course not." Temms lips set tight against each other, like bricks in a dividing wall, sealing his resolve. His young navigator-turned-first officer was hardly defenseless. "It won't come to that. When they comprehend that all the captains are united against them, they'll have to take note and change their policy."
"Oh they'll take note, all right."
Tommy got to his feet, his gaze serious. "Then they'll take names and yours will be right at the top of the list — with a big target over it."
Something cold snaked through Tommy's words and wrapped itself around the base of Temms' spine. He was likely correct. Temms wasn't only risking his ship, but he was putting his crew at risk, as well. Could he unilaterally make that decision for all of them?
Of course he could. He was the captain. That was his job.
Temms previously had been subject to the control of an organization, the Confederation, which had ordered him to take actions he knew were morally wrong. He had bucked that system and had prevented his commanders from taking over a planet that didn't want Confederation rule. When something was right, one just had to take a stand.
Despite some painful losses, they had survived that. They would survive this.
He put down his cup as he stood and made his way around the desk to give his son another hug. The human contact reassured him. "Thanks for looking out for all of us, Tom. I've heard what you have to say, and I've listened. Let me think about it." He stepped back and smiled.
Tommy rolled his eyes. "That always means you're going to do it anyway. You're just stalling me."
Temms chuckled. "Maybe. I'm a stubborn old bird."
His son didn't bend. His voice lowered, and emotion flooded it with warmth. "I don't want to see that bird cooked, Dad. The fact they're spying on us is damned unsettling. For all we know, they've got a ship off the starboard bow with their laser weapon trained on this desk."
He glanced at the port in the rear of the office as if he expected to see exactly that, and Temms couldn't help looking, too, even as he chided himself for the compulsion.
"I said I'll think about it. Now go on. I have a lot to do yet tonight." He gestured at the desktop, though he knew at this point he would likely not return to the stack. Instead, he would be puzzling through how to give the Agency a kick in the teeth without getting in harms' way. Quite a feat, if he could pull it off.
Tommy's mouth dropped open as if he was going to add something, but he shut it before anything escaped. His eye fell on Okalani's note, and his eyebrow crept upward. "You're going to the infirmary?"
Temms quickly swept the note into his top drawer. "I'm not."
Tommy laughed. "Might as well. She's a pretty woman, Dad, with one amazing warm heart. You need someone to love. It's been over a year now since Kitana died. It's time."
Maybe so, but none of your business, lad.
"Good night, Tommy," he said firmly.
The young man shook his head. "You're stubborn, all right. G'night, Dad."
Temms clapped his son on the shoulder and walked him to the door. "Better day tomorrow, right?"
"Sure, Dad." Tommy headed down the narrow hall without a look behind.
Temms wondered where he was going at this hour of the night, even as he conjectured possibilities, acknowledging it probably wasn't his business any more. The two of them had always butted heads, as fathers and sons tended to do, especially since Tommy had gotten old enough to express his interest in the Confederation school.
Connie hated the idea of Tommy following his father's footsteps, and Tommy loved using that against his mother. When he and Connie had separated, and Temms met Kitana, Tommy had used that relationship as a wedge between his father and himself.
Then the young man disguised his transfer to Temms' ship to spy out what kind of man his father really was, just before Temms and his colleagues rebelled against the immoral conduct of their Confederation superiors. He ended up on the far side of a wormhole, battered and bruised, and one of Temms' few remaining officers. Since then, they had bonded as father and son, but also as men who had been through combat side-by-side.
That meant Tommy was a man, just like any member of the crew, who had the right to his privacy and his own secrets. His dad didn't get to pry any more.
That might be just fine by me. Got enough on my to-do list.
Temms sighed and returned to his desk, eyeing the pile of work. After his talk with Tommy he wasn't going to be good company for anyone, especially Okalani. He sent her a comm message, text only, that indicated he would be working late and not to expect him. Then he settled in to make that promise a reality.
Tomorrow would be a better day...

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

READ REVIEWS

In HORIZON STRIFE, Captain Temms Rogers, and his crew are at it again in Lyndi Alexander’s second book in the Horizon Crossover Series. This time he must uncover a space station’s secrets before a group called the Ancients destroys them all. I especially enjoyed the mix of mystical with sci-fi elements that keep you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this second book in the series and hope that there are more. ~ reviewed by Janyce Brawn for Amazon Reviews [FIVE STARS]

"HORIZON STRIFE is the intermediate tale in Ms. Alexander's Horizon Crossover series. In this outing, the villains are more villainous than in the first book (HORIZON SHIFT), and the members of the Doubtful's crew are more fully drawn than in first book. Temms Rogers is the skipper of the Doubtful and the protagonist, but the character development among members of the ship's crew is what keeps the story interesting. Not everyone aboard the Doubtful lives to the end of the book. The characters who survive evolve in satisfying ways. Still others find romance. New alliances are building to battle a common enemy (or perhaps enemies). This is definitely the intermediate tale in a series that I'm enjoying a great deal. The ending is satisfying and works as a whole, however the reader is left knowing the story is not yet over and more is yet to come. I think I know where the larger story is heading, and I'm looking forward to seeing if my guess is right." ~ reviewed by W. Henley [FIVE STARS]

"In book one of this series, HORIZON SHIFT, we meet our cast, people from two universes thrown together on the good ship Doubtful. In HORIZON STRIFE the crew has grown together, fighting to make a living and fighting the corruption of the different factions they run into. Lyndi has added new people to the mix and fleshed out the characters we already know. In this book I was shocked, I cheered, I was sad, and I was driven to laugh. Now I can hardly wait to read the third book!" ~ reviewed by K. Hicks [FIVE STARS]

Horizon Crossover Series

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