RISHALT - Excerpt for SFR Brigade Showcase #New #SciFiRom

Welcome to the SFR Brigade Showcase for March, 2018

For this month’s showcase, I’m posting a teaser excerpt from my latest SFR novel, RISHALT. The book continues the story of marine biologist, Dr. Nikki Bell, and her alien life saver and lover, Kiron Arqin Ramis. They met in book 1, EUROPA, but after the end, Kiron was summoned back to his home planet, Rishalt. The alien Warrish are green-skinned “mermen” at home underwater and on land. They have six fingers on each hand, gills as well as lungs, and a complex culture based on units of three and six.

Please remember to check out the posts from the other participants at http://sfrcontests.blogspot.com/p/sfr-brigade-presents.html 

RISHALT, Book 2 of Taxyon Space

Two alien worlds. Two lovers torn apart. Twist the hyperthreads into unity.

Dr. Nikki Bell is devastated when the Watchers reappear without her alien lover. Why did he return to his home planet without even leaving a message? In search of answers, Nikki jumps at the chance to join the diplomatic team invited to visit the aliens’ home world. On Rishalt, she must contend with the intricacies of Warrish society and an undercurrent of hostility.

Kiron Arqin Ramis is summoned home by his family to the unwanted honor of a new triad and union with a high-ranked female. Unable to forget Nikki, he endures a perilous exile on a wilderness planet instead of complying with his family’s demands. But, the Triarchs have other plans for him.

Stakes are higher than the lives of two individuals. Earth leaders are desperate to acquire the alien interstellar technology, while Warrish dispute the benefit of an alliance with inferiors. Can Nikki and Kiron pierce the barriers separating them to find happiness with provoking an unequal war? 

Excerpt:

Note: After months and light years apart, Nikki met Kiron at a party on his planet, and they arranged a tryst in the Earthers’ embassy.  

When they reached the embassy, Nikki did not linger with the others. She said goodnight and trotted upstairs to her bedroom. Sitting by the open window, she waited for Oll to set. Its yellow disk dropped into the hazy horizon, casting gold beams across the waves. Inside, the room lights brightened. She peered down at the water, five meters below her window. A pale head broke the surface, and Kiron raised a hand in greeting.

His chest and arms lifted above the water, and he threw an object upward. Metal clanged, and a hook locked onto the window sill. A rope hung from the hook. She heard a click and the buzz of a small motor. Then, Kiron swung upward, one foot anchored in a loop of rope. His head drew level with the ledge, and she stepped back to give him space to enter. He swung his legs over the sill, and landed neatly on the floor.

She opened her arms and jumped forward.

“One moment.” He held a finger to his lips. Taking a black disk from his belt pouch, he circled the room, holding the disk parallel to the wall. A tiny orange light flashed on the disk. Kiron halted and stepped slowly toward the wall. He examined the base of a light fixture, pried out something, and tapped it on the disk. A red light flashed and dimmed. Rotating to face Nikki, he showed her a pea-sized sphere. “A sensor for motion and sound.”

She cried indignantly, “You mean my room’s been bugged?”

“No more. I’ve disabled the sensor.”

“How horrid.” Nikki shuddered. “Do you think someone was spying while I undressed last night?”

“It might be a safety precaution ordered by Triarch Temor, or else the spy device was inserted by a rival to pry out Earthers’ secrets.”

“But, they’ve seen you in my room.”

“Urish. If they were watching. I’ve erased the record.” He laughed. “What does it matter? We danced together in the sight of the nobles at the fete. Temor instructed me to entertain you, so I climbed into your room.”

She hugged him. “Kiron, you might have fallen.”

“No danger in falling. I’ve dove into the sea from greater heights.” Unhooking the rope from the windowsill, he rolled it into a tight coil.

Prancing gleefully around him, she asked, “How long can you stay?”

“All night, if you please.” He unfastened the harness across his chest, and tucked the rope coil under his jet tube.

Nikki halted in front of him, and traced her fingers along his closed gills. “Brilliant. I’d love to sleep with you.”

Pulling her into his arms, he said, “Kiss me.”

RISHALT released on 28 February for $2.99 at Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

You might prefer to begin with EUROPA, Book 1 of Taxyon Space

What alien creatures lurk under the icy surface of Europa?

Dr. Nikki Bell’s plan to discover intelligent life hits a rocky start when her spaceship crashes on the icy surface of Europa. Seconds before she blacks out, she spies a man’s face in the water beneath the ice. When she wakes on the submarine Station, nobody believes her story. Convinced the mysterious stranger saved her life, Nikki searches for him while she explores the ocean and its alien inhabitants. 

Kiron Arqin Ramis chose exile as a Watcher on a remote outpost to redeem his family’s honor. He never expected to find an attractive Earther woman close to death. He violates the prime policy by rescuing her. Despite suffering the penalty, he strives to warn her about his hostile leaders.

Nikki’s unexpected meeting with Kiron triggers a chain of disasters in Europa’s perilous oceans. Can the daredevil scientist and scarred Watcher forge a new alliance despite their people’s antagonism?   

Science fiction thriller and romance: Book 1 of Taxyon Space, a saga of our journey to the stars.

EUROPA, Book 1 in Taxyon Space, is discounted to 99c during release of book 2.

Available at Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

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Please remember to check out the posts from the other participants at http://sfrcontests.blogspot.com/p/sfr-brigade-presents.html