In Earth's Service (Mapped Space Book 2) (44 page)

“For the Tau Cetins to retain the trust of the
Forum, they must be
seen
to be impartial,” Lena said. “That doesn’t mean
they’re neutral.”

I knew from her tone, from the look in her eyes
and from the two naval officers’ demeanor that this was important. “What’s the
difference?”

“Though we cannot prove it to the Forum
membership,” Siyarn said, “we believe the Matarons are working for the Intruders,
hoping to break the power of the Alliance. To do that, they must defeat us.”

“You are the big target,” I agreed.

“Because the Matarons are spying for the
Intruders,” Lena added, “We have agreed to work more closely with the Tau
Cetins, in secret of course.”

“Have we?” I said warily.

From the eagerness in her eyes, it was clear she
was delighted the Tau Cetins were taking us in close, showing us a level of
trust we could never have hoped to achieve if they weren’t themselves under
threat.

“We will continue to take a serious interest in
what the Matarons are doing,” Lena said, “and share our findings with the Tau
Cetins. If we’re caught, we’ll be censured, but the Forum knows there’s tension
between us and the Matarons. We can take risks the Tau Cetins can’t, because we
don’t have to be neutral. No one cares if we stick our noses where they’re not
supposed to be.”

“Except the Matarons, who will cut our noses off.”

“Then you better not get caught.” She smiled. “And
if other problems crop up, like Intruders in Mapped Space, we might look into
that as well.”

“Just so long as no one can blame the impartial
Tau Cetins for what a bunch of primitive humans do?”

“Exactly. And in return for our help, the Tau
Cetins will actively sponsor our membership to the Galactic Forum.”

“That’s forty nine years away.”

“In cosmic terms, it is the blink of eye,” Siyarn
said. “In the meantime, we will assist you in other ways. The Fourth Principle
prevents us openly accelerating your civilization, however, where you encounter
obstacles, we will provide solutions. Nothing far beyond your reach, but
solutions you might plausibly have achieved on your own – eventually.”

It sounded like a cut down version of the deal
they’d offered the Kesarn, a deal that had cost Gern Vrate’s ancestors their
homeworld. There were huge benefits trouble shooting for the Tau Cetins, but I
wondered if Lena realized how great were the risks. Human Civilization might be
young and full of energy, but in raw power terms we were insignificantly small,
a minnow about to be drawn into a cosmic power struggle between ancient galactic
superpowers. It was an incredibly dangerous game, one we couldn’t control or predict
the outcome of, a game with catastrophic consequences if we backed the wrong
side.

“Does that mean we’re getting dark energy siphons
and trans galactic drives?” I asked.

“No,” Siyarn replied. “We could not hide such a
gift.”

“You gave them to the Kesarn.”

“They were Forum members of long standing, their
homeworld was being invaded and many others were under attack at the time. It
was a clear Fourth Principle exception. Collective security was threatened on a
galactic scale and such a transfer benefited many civilizations. These
circumstances are not the same.”

“That deal cost the Kesarn everything,” I said.
“Why should we take the same risk?”

Lena gave me a sharp look. “Because Earth Council
wants this.”

“I understand your concern, Captain Kade,” Siyarn
said. “Know that we could not help the Kesarn at the time. We were fighting for
our own survival. After the war, we engineered a new homeworld for them, ideal
in every respect.”

“Except they were dead.”

“Sirius!” Lena snapped.

“No,” Siyarn said, “he is right. We have a debt to
the Kesarn we can never repay. We assisted them knowing they would resist and
the Intruders would not tolerate that resistance. The Kesarn were always going
to be crushed. The truth is, our help saved them from extinction.”

A awkward silence fell over the room.

Finally, I said, “So we risk everything to help
you. What do you risk?”

Lena fixed a cold stare upon me, but said nothing.

“Your homeworld is less than twelve light years
from ours,” Siyarn said. “If we are destroyed, what chance is there for you?”

Siyarn was as slippery as a Silurian slime-eel,
but he was right. Whether we liked it or not, we were in it together because
Earth was in their sphere of influence. Maybe that’s what the Intruder
Matriarch had meant when she’d said we served her enemy. She knew we were in
the Tau Cetin sphere and we had no say in it, we couldn’t opt out, but we could
have done worse. We could have been close to the Matarons with no Forum ruling
the galaxy, or stuck in the Minacious Cluster, subjugated by the Intruders.

“I get it. So, what are these helpful solutions
you’re going to give us?”

“This for one,” Lena said, holding up a small data
disk. “A way to penetrate Mataron skin shields. In a few months, we’ll have new
ammunition for your P-50, ammo that’ll cut through their skin shields like
paper.”

I liked the sound of that, but a few micro-contour
shield busting slugs was hardly enough for us to risk our entire civilization.
“Is that it?”

“There are other aspects to the agreement,” Lena
said meaningfully without telling me anything above my security clearance, “but
secrecy is paramount.”

From her tone, I knew the decision had already
been made and I’d only discover what those other arrangements were when I had a
need to know, if ever. “What now?”

“Tell us everything,” Lena said.

“I’m particularly interested in the Matriarch,” Siyarn
said.

Izin could have told him more, but after the way
the Tau Cetins had vacuumed his brain, I doubted he’d be in a mood to help.
“The Matriarch is the end of the story.”

“Of course,” Siyarn said, restraining his
curiosity. “Begin at the beginning.”

“That’d be Krailo-Nis,” I said, “a filthy, fungus
covered rock with lousy weather and infested with giant bugs …”

Visit the author’s webpage:

http://www.stephenrenneberg.com

Like the Author’s Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/StephenRennebergAuthor

If you
enjoyed this book please post a review where you purchased your copy from to
help spread the word. Thank you!

The Mothership

by

Stephen Renneberg

“A compelling, visionary must-read for literary sci-fi
fans.”

- Kirkus Reviews

A massive alien ship crashes into one of the most remote places on Earth
– cutting all contact with the region.

Within hours, Major Robert Beckman and his specially equipped Contact
Team are hurriedly dispatched from Area 51 to investigate. Is it a forced
landing, or the beginning of an invasion - a technological treasure trove, or
an extraterrestrial Pandora’s box that spells disaster for life on Earth?

Infiltrating the vast tropical wilderness of northern Australia, Beckman’s
team encounter strange machines, alien structures and a handful of human
survivors struggling to evade capture.

When Beckman’s team penetrates to the heart of the Mothership, they discover
an answer they never expected and a universe far larger than they had ever
imagined.

Paperback Length 465 pages

ISBN: 978-0-9874347-3-9

The
Antaran Codex

(Mapped Space 1)

by

Stephen Renneberg

“This high-octane
sci-fi novel is powered by grand-scale action and adventure, larger than life
characters, a richly described backdrop and, above all else, relentless pacing
... Fast and furious fun in humankind’s distant future.”

- Kirkus Reviews

Two and half thousand years after
The Mothership
, mankind nears its goal of Galactic Citizenship.

Sirius Kade, trader and Earth
Intelligence Service deep cover agent, learns that wealthy and powerful leaders
from across Mapped Space are vying for control of an alien relic they believe is
the key to untold riches – unaware they are being deceived.

Sirius soon finds himself
entangled in an interstellar plot to make humanity a cosmic outcast, denying it
its place as the newest member of the vast and ancient community that has
governed the galaxy for eons.

With mankind’s fate in the
balance, Sirius must overcome ruthless alien adversaries and deadly human
rivals as he seeks to discover the secret of
The Antaran Codex
and
safeguard man’s future among the stars.

Paperback Length 335 pages

ISBN:
978-0-9874347-9-1

The Siren Project

by

Stephen Renneberg

When a
top secret ‘black’ project turns rogue, a shadowy organization entraps
disgraced former Secret Service Agent John Mitchell into tracking down the
missing scientist behind the project.

What he
uncovers is an insidious conspiracy reaching to the highest levels of the
military and the government. The discovery makes him the most hunted man on
earth, pursued by a ruthless enemy armed with a sinister new technology.

Aided by a
woman with extraordinary abilities, and an enigmatic defector from deep within
the conspiracy itself, Mitchell challenges the greatest technological
undertaking since the creation of the atomic bomb. To his horror, he finds that
rather than destroy entire cities, the monolithic Siren Project threatens to
destroy the free will of Mankind itself.

Paperback
Length 500 pages

ISBN:
978-0-9874347-2-2

The Kremlin Phoenix

by

Stephen Renneberg

“Renneberg delivers
a typically exciting thriller, with plenty of sharp turns, heavy weapons and
touches of science fiction”

-
Kirkus Reviews

In the 21st century, Craig Balard, a young New
York lawyer, is unwittingly swept up in a conspiracy of global proportions that
threatens to trigger the fall of the West and the rise of a new totalitarian
world order.

Hunted by agents of the international conspiracy,
Craig encounters a mysterious woman who knows his every step – before he makes
it – and who intervenes to keep him alive for her own purposes.

He discovers she is a hologram, transmitted
back in time from the late 23rd century, where a small group of survivors of a
cataclysmic war are trying to use him to change their past in order to save
mankind’s future.

Under her guidance, Craig becomes the fulcrum
of time, where his every move triggers changes in the timeline that will either
save humanity, or guarantee its extinction.

Paperback Length 331 pages

ISBN:
978-0-9874347-7-7