Blaze Ward writes science fiction in the Alexandria Station universe (Jessica Keller, The Science Officer, The Story Road, etc.) as well as several other science fiction universes, such as Star Dragon, the Dominion, and more. He also writes odd bits of high fantasy with swords and orcs. In addition, he is the Editor and Publisher of Boundary Shock Quarterly Magazine. You can find out more at his website www.blazeward.com, as well as Facebook, Goodreads, and other places.

Blaze's works are available as ebooks, paper, and audio, and can be found at a variety of online vendors. His newsletter comes out regularly, and you can also follow his blog on his website. He really enjoys interacting with fans, and looks forward to any and all questions—even ones about his books!

Alien Seas - The Science Officer Season 2 by Blaze Ward

A new mission takes Javier and the crew halfway across the galaxy, looking for friends and trade that will help them face the gathering storm.

Places like the ocean world of Ugen where they explore alien seas in a submarine.

But danger looms. When assassins strike, Del Smith must step up and become the one thing he's refused to become for over twenty years.

A hero.

Thus begins Season Two of The Science Officer: Alien Seas, the first novel in The Science Officer series!

Join Javier, Suvi, Zakhar, Djamila and a new crew aboard Excalibur as the adventures continue getting better.

CURATOR'S NOTE

If you haven't ventured into the realms of Blaze Ward, now's your chance. Blaze is the extremely prolific author of exciting books and stories set in multiple science fiction universes filled with wonder, drama, and heroic characters. Alien Seas is a new novel in the Science Officer series set in the Alexandria Station universe, and I'm ecstatic to include it in this bundle. Once this book unlocks the vast, rich, and challenging universe that Blaze has conjured in his ongoing literary Big Bang, you will never look back. – Robert Jeschonek

 
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

Explorer: Part One

"All ahead full," Zakhar gave the order as he looked out over his magnificent bridge, the kind you could have concerts or plays in. "Second star to the right, and straight on until morning."

"Excuse me?" Suvi popped up on the screen at his right hand like the piloting Yeoman she was, if she was seated in a different command space. Which she was.

Hers.

She was the ship. Sentience-in-Residence of the First-Rate-Galleon Hammerfield, the recovered derelict reclaimed and rechristened Excalibur for reasons that Zakhar didn't find nearly as funny as most of his command crew.

"Oh, like you weren't listening to the Neverland Overtures this morning, Miss Tinkerbell?" Zakhar teased.

For a creature that thought at more than 20,000 times the speed of a human, the lag as she stared at him was for his benefit more than anything. A recalcitrant teenager stewing and huffing, but only in their head lest they get in trouble with their commanding officer. He'd known a few of them in his career. Basic training didn't necessarily knock all that silliness out of a sailor.

"Fine," she sighed theatrically. "But you do understand that makes you Peter, right?"

"Hey, I don't wanna grow up, young lady, any more than you do or the rest of my lost boys and girls," Zakhar teased Suvi.

Zakhar smiled so wide it almost hurt. Around him, a dozen crewmembers suppressed giggles. Djamila returned the grin with the perfect eyeroll when he turned her direction, but she was just sitting and knitting this morning. As Dragoon—chief combat and security officer—she wouldn't have anything else to do for a while.

Suvi was a century or so older than he was, but presented as tall, blond, twenty-two-year-old of Finnish ancestry to his middle-aged Slavic bones. And acted like a teenage daughter to Javier, his Science Officer, and Zakhar's own niece.

It was weird, commanding a Sentient starship that was at least the equivalent of a Mark II Warmaster and acted occasionally like a goofball. But the original fairy had been a rather foul-mouthed creature.

Her modern incarnation hadn't lost anything in translation.

"I'll let you know when Hook and the pirates arrive," she replied in a dry tone that had everyone giggling, but the display on the big screen, just for him, began to shift as she brought the bow of the mighty explorer around and began to push.

Zakhar turned to his left and smiled at Javier. Technically, the man wasn't supposed to be on the bridge, but Zakhar didn't feel like ousting him today. They were here because of Javier. Simple as that.

The core of the crew still together, a former pirate family working out how to be law-abiding citizens again. They had a ship to sail, after his first love, the Strike Corvette Storm Gauntlet got killed in action by the pirates he and Javier eventually put paid to.

He even had love, glancing over at Djamila and wondering again what terrible things he must have suffered in a previous life to earn someone like her today.

Add in some financial backing and it was a new start.

A new day.

Tomorrow.

What was the term that Javier and Del had coined originally, before it bled out to the rest of the crew?

All possible tomorrows.

Yes, it was finally tomorrow. Zakhar Sokolov, former pirate and all-around evil dude, had a new lease on life. And he was going to take this chance and run with it as far and as long as he could.

There were whole chunks of the galaxy out there that nobody had done more than map with a telescope in so long that even most maps were marked with that most ancient of terms.

Here there be dragons.

Zakhar keyed the ship-wide intercom so everyone could hear him. The moment had that sort of feel to it. That sort of weight.

"All hands, this is the Captain," he said in a serious, sober tone that seemed to suck the silliness out of his bridge crew and his favorite fairy niece. "Stand by to transition to Jump. We've been planning this for a long time, and our time has finally come. I am glad you could all be here with me to enjoy it."

Zakhar paused and took a breath.

"Yeoman, take us to Jump."

Next stop, the alien suns.