New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 

“Is she covered in tattoos?“ Shayn asked.

“No, not really. Just a few scars are visible on her face. The rest on her arms and legs are covered by her uniform. E’bett says she carries a very big knife. It’s tradition.“ She winked, prompting chuckles from Tila and Ben.

Jorgan suspected Maenta was teasing, just a little. He didn’t think she was lying, because she was a Le’ankan master. They couldn’t lie, could they?

><><>< 

The only time Shayn and Jorgan could find an open spot to play in the zero-gravity tank was early the next morning, an hour before breakfast. When they went to bed that night, they set the controls in the wall screen in their room to wake them up half an hour before that open time. That would give them time to dress and get to the recreation deck. Before they could tell their parents what they planned, Ben knocked on the door of their suite and came in.

“What are you boys getting up so early for?“ he asked.

“How do you know?“ Shayn blurted.

“We’re responsible for everything you do on this station.“ Their father sat down on the small couch in the sitting room. Jorgan thought he didn’t look angry, just concerned. “When you program anything into the room controls, it alerts us. It also tells us when you go into any part of the station that isn’t strictly residential.“

“Will it tell you when we go to the recreation deck?“ Jorgan asked. “Isn't that considered part of the residential section?“

“Oh. Right.“ Ben grinned. “What are you planning on doing in there? Before breakfast.“

“Well, we planned on taking some of the food in there.“ Shayn gestured at the cabinet kitchen. “That's the only time the zero-g tank is open.“

“Okay, makes sense. Did you reserve it?“

“We forgot!“

“Duh,“ Jorgan said. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or groan. “We should have thought of that.“

“Yes, you should. You don’t want to get up that early and get to the rec deck and find out some other people had the same idea, but they got there a minute ahead of you,“ Ben said.

“We were going to ask you,“ Shayn said. “We were just excited we figured out how to set the time.“

“That’s good to know. Just rearrange your steps.“

Ben figured out how to navigate through the station services system to reserve the time in the zero-g tank, without having to go to the recreation deck to do it. When the boys asked him if he wanted to come play with them, he laughed and said he might think about it. If he woke up early enough.

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 Jorgan saw the way his parents’ eyes widened and they sat up a little straighter and exchanged those looks parents were so good at. The looks that said lots of things in total silence, so that he could believe his parents could read each other’s minds.

Then he understood. People from Nisandros liked nothing better than to get into fights. The more dangerous, the better. The more scars they got in fights, the happier they were. They made sure people knew all the scars they had by marking them with tattoos. At least, that was what he had read in textbooks talking about the cultures on the many worlds the Alliance had discovered so far. Nisandros wasn’t part of the Alliance yet. They kept delaying, talking with diplomats and ambassadors, and arguing over details Jorgan just didn’t understand. Who wouldn’t want to be part of the Alliance?

Nisandrians didn’t agree with what the Alliance believed and what the Academy taught. They believed in Enlo, but they didn’t really worship the All-Maker like Neoma and the Le’ankan masters taught. They preferred to ask the spirits of their ancestors what to do, rather than pray to Enlo. That just didn't make sense at all to Jorgan. Another big difference was that Nisandros disagreed with the teaching that long ago, the homeworld of all Humans, Core, was endangered. A group of people with superior technology, known as the Gatekeepers, opened up doorways in space, called Gates, and took all the Humans from Core to save their lives. They scattered Humans across the universe, on different planets. The Alliance was formed to find all the scattered Human worlds, unite the Human race, and find the Gatekeepers if they were still alive.

Nisandrians claimed they were different from ordinary Humans. Better. Stronger. They didn’t need to do things the way Enlo’s teachers taught. So they didn’t want to join the Alliance, because they didn’t want to admit they were wrong.

At least, that was how Jorgan interpreted all the things he read and learned about Nisandros.

“If she’s in the Fleet, that means she believes in Enlo and Neoma and the Gatekeepers?“ he asked.

“Oh, yes, most certainly.“ Maenta nodded. “Very good question.“

Off the Bookshelf: VIVA DURANT AND THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BUTTONS, by Ashli St. Armant

 

Audible Exclusive, Audible Original

Narrated by Bahni Turpin

Viva is 14 years old, spending the summer with her grandmother in New Orleans. Her fears that the summer will be boring are quickly trashed when a newspaper article about a missing family treasure catches her interest. Of course, she can't openly search for clues and do research, because Gram thinks the story is silly, a waste of time and effort.

This fun adventure is like a travel guide and a sampling of the geography and culture of New Orleans. Viva is smart, but not too smart, as she plans her steps and follows up on research, and deals with disappointments and embarrassing moments -- like getting caught hiding under a bed in a historic house while looking for clues -- with guts and determination, in a believable manner. She's a real kid, and she's going to solve this mystery one way or another. No matter what anyone says, she's determine to prove that an old song is a road map to find a family's missing treasure, tied to "silver buttons all down her back" on a black dress.

This is the start of what promises to be a fun series. Can't wait to listen to Viva's next adventure, next summer when she returns to New Orleans.

Merry Christmas!!!

 

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 Most of the conversation was spent in sharing what Maenta or Tila and Ben knew about friends and fellow students from the Academy. Finally, when their plates and bowls were nearly empty and they had spent as much time talking and laughing as they had eating, the conversation turned to the transfer to the Defender.

“To be completely honest,“ Maenta said, “when the request came for an additional teacher on the Defender, I didn’t seriously consider it. Then two things happened. First, I saw your names on the list. Part of the process of deciding whether to volunteer for the position logically required I know the history of the students who might be entrusted to my care. Their histories, their potential, their needs, the gifts they might already display. It would be arrogant and cruel to take up responsibility for young minds and souls who would be better served by a better teacher.“

“What was the other thing?“ Jorgan asked, when Maenta slowly shook her head, a soft smile on her lips, and a distant, thoughtful expression in her eyes.

“Hmm? Oh, yes … the second thing was Premier Master Reydon himself asking me to consider coming. First, because my dear comrade, E’bett, is the current teacher on the Defender. She thought of me first when she learned the number of students under her care would double. One of Reydon’s special pupils is on the Defender. She has a sense for Talents on the verge of awakening. E’bett believes I will work well with her and M’kar, giving special training to the ones who will develop psionic gifts.“

“M'kar … I know that name,“ Ben murmured. “Peripheral to some report.“ He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but that’s all I can think of.“

“She was part of the Infrenx class, under Reydon.“

“That’s right,“ Tila said. “All the unusual Talents. What does she do?“

“She is Chief of Talents on the Defender, and her specific gift is touching the minds of animals. So far, she hasn’t found an animal she can’t communicate with, in varying degrees of success. She helps E'bett with teaching the children survival lessons, self-defense. She’s a little frightening at first glance, but E’bett assures me all the children adore her.“

“Why is she frightening?“ Shayn asked.

“She’s from Nisandros.“

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 

Maenta ended her laughter with a sigh and put down her spoon, still having not tasted her shogo. She bowed her head and held out her hands over her food, palms up. Shayn grimaced and nearly dropped his fork. Jorgan bowed his head to say his own blessing over the food. Shayn kicked him in the ankle and he muffled a grunt of surprise. He knew better than to open his eyes until the blessing had finished, or he would laugh at whatever face his brother was making at him.

Ben prayed aloud, thanking Enlo for safe travels and for the adventure and change ahead of them, and especially for the gift of meeting a beloved teacher. Jorgan nearly opened his eyes at that. When had his father ever used a word like “beloved“? And when did Ben pray aloud over their meals?

Jorgan swallowed hard. He wasn’t going to be expected to pray aloud, was he? Praying was hard, because even though he believed Enlo was real, and the All-Maker cared about him, he just couldn’t find the right words when people were expected to pray aloud. Praying was hard a lot of the time. If he stopped to think about what he was saying, he always had questions. Why would Enlo listen to him, right that moment, when so many other people in the universe were praying about much more important things? If he prayed inside his head, silently, he could believe his prayers were filed away, waiting until Enlo had time to hear them. He didn’t feel like he was intruding on grown-up conversations. 

Tila didn’t join in, and neither did Maenta. A few seconds after Ben finished, Jorgan opened one eye, just to make sure it was safe. Maenta winked at him. He muffled a laugh and opened his other eye, and now he reached for the bread pudding.

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 When Maenta joined them, the two women hugged for what Jorgan thought was a really long time. Long enough he felt really awkward, and he looked around to see if anyone was staring at them. Ben had found a table tucked into a corner near the doors into the rec deck. It let them see when Maenta came in. At the same time, a half-wall and a trellis full of flowering vines, growing from a trough of dirt inside that half-wall, provided them some privacy.

“Why?“ Tila asked again, once they were all sitting down. “Why the Defender?“

“Why not?“ Maenta chuckled, then busied herself a few seconds, taking her bowl of shogo and a rainbow-colored plate of leafy vegetables off her tray. Then she set the tray on the shelf next to the table. “The same reason you joined the Fleet, the same reason you became a medic. Because that was what Enlo made you to do, and it feeds your soul to serve. And to explore. You serve by preserving life. I serve by helping young minds learn discipline and gain knowledge, and the wisdom to use it properly. At my age.“ She stopped and winked at Jorgan. “I am old enough I don’t need to confess it to anyone. At my age, it’s high time I added some spice to my life and go on an adventure. Before I sprout roots and become permanently fixed in one place.“

“But …“ Tila sighed and her smile went a little crooked. Like she felt foolish. “The Academy won’t be the same without you there, guiding the new students, helping the terrified ones find something familiar, making people laugh and then think harder than they’ve ever done in their lives.“

“Hmm, yes, it does feed my unbalanced ego to think my absence makes a difference.“ Maenta stirred her shogo around, then tipped her head to one side. “What if that difference is a good thing, an improvement?“

“No,“ Ben said. “Impossible.“

“Oh, my dear boy … do not challenge the universe to prove you wrong. Such absolute statements usually end with the speaker hanging by his ankles, facing whatever enormous stick Enlo has sent to whack him between the eyes and ram some sense of proportion through his thick skull.“ She glanced at Shayn, then Jorgan, who were both watching the conversation with their mouths starting to drop open. Maenta laughed, her head tipped back. Two bright pink spots spread across her cheeks.

Ben and Tila joined her a heartbeat later. Jorgan picked up his fork and looked for the bread pudding on Shayn’s tray. He knew he had to get his share of it before everything else, or he probably wouldn’t get any. 

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 

“We met a lady and she knows you and wants to eat with us. We told her we’re eating in the rec deck,“ Shayn said, once they had all stepped through the doors to leave the mess hall. The green light to guide them to the rec deck appeared in the wall track of the corridor.

“Really? Who?“

“Master Maenta.“

Tila stopped short, tipping her tray so a plate of berry cake started to slide to the edge of her tray. Her eyes widened, and for a moment, Jorgan thought his mother was afraid. Then tears touched her eyes.

“You’re sure?“

“She’s this tall and she has all this white hair in braids.“ Jorgan balanced his tray on one hand and gestured the woman’s height compared to him. “She has a master symbol on a neck chain, with a blue ripple through it.“

“Maenta,“ Tila whispered. “What is she doing all the way out here, so far away from the Academy?“

“Well, you can ask her in a few minutes,“ Ben said. He beckoned with a tip of his head. “Let’s find a nice place to sit and have a long talk.“

“She sounded glad to see you,“ Shayn said as they resumed walking. “Are you all right, Mom?“

“I’m fine. I’m startled. I can’t imagine why she would leave the Academy …“

“She’s going to be our teacher. All the kids on the Defender.“

“Why?“

Off the Bookshelf: RIVALS! FRENEMIES WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, by Scott McCormick

 

Audible exclusive, Audible original

Narrated by Prentice Onayemi, Samantha Turret, Khristine Hvam, Gabriel Vaughan, Josh Hurley

This is the side of history you don't get in school. The rivalries between political leaders, academics, and royals -- basically people who were smart and should have known better -- but let their pride and hurt feelings and childish natures get in the way. Or they didn't stand up to political and other types of pressures, and did what was expedient, and nobody had the intelligence or tact or maturity to apologize! Dinosaur bone collectors and scientists, Founding Fathers, British Royal Family drama.

This reminds me of Fractured Flickers, a show my brother loves, produced by the same creative insane geniuses who gave us Rocky and Bullwinkle, taking silent movies, adding sound effects, dubbing in dialog that was most definitely not part of the original script, and then creating a new story entirely. Totally silly and fractured.

This is basically fractured history -- showing the cracks and the crackpots and the stupidity of real people, and bringing the larger-than-life characters down to size. Bravo! I hope there are more like this out there. Fun!

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 “Forgive me. Old woman, easily thrown off track.“ She chuckled, and the sound made Jorgan want to laugh along with her. “I am Maenta, and I will be traveling to the Defender with you to be your teacher. Well, another teacher, for all the ship’s children. And while I am a Le’ankan master, you don’t have to call me that. Scholar Maenta is fine, until we get to know each other better and you are more comfortable with me.“

“What do we call you then?“ Shayn asked.

“You’ll know what to call me when we are friends.“ She winked again. “Tell me, is there any more of the shrogo? That’s quite become my favorite.“ She gestured at the bowl of dark green and brown chunks of vegetables and grains, in a sparkling, yellow sauce, sitting on Jorgan’s tray.

“Four bowls left,“ Jorgan said.

“Would you mind if I joined you and your parents to eat? I’ve so looked forward to catching up with Tila.“

“We’re going to the rec deck to eat. If that’s all right with you?“ Shayn hurried to add.

“Perfect. I will meet you there, all right?“ Maenta turned to the rack of trays.

Jorgan knew he should have offered to get a tray for her, or at least pull out the utensils, but his hands were full with his loaded tray. He looked at all the containers on his tray. The timer on three cooking boxes went off almost at the same time. He flinched and fumbled his tray for a moment. Shayn did the same. They looked at each other, then laughed.

“How are we going to eat off each other’s trays when we have company?“ Shayn muttered, once they had their heated food back on their trays.

“I don’t know. I really want some of that bread pudding, too.“

His brother rolled his eyes and grinned. Then he gestured with a tip of his head and led the way to the other end of the mess hall, where their parents were waiting.

“Did you get enough?“ Ben said with a chuckle, after glancing over the boys’ trays.

“We planned on sharing so we could try more things,“ Jorgan offered.

“So did we,“ Tila said. “Come on.“

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 

By the time they had filled their trays and stopped at the cooking boxes to heat some containers, traffic had thinned out in the mess hall. Many of the people had finished their meals and gone back to their stations.

“Well, this is a nice surprise,“ a woman said from behind them. “You are the Pace boys, aren’t you?“

“Ma’am?“ Shayn turned around first, so quickly his bowl of bread pudding nearly slid off his tray.

Jorgan reached to catch the bowl, then looked up. He turned around more slowly. His mouth was dropping open and he didn’t care.

The woman was shorter than Shayn, taller than Jorgan, with a round, smooth, pink face, silver-gray eyes that sparkled like crystals, and silver-white hair, braided and wrapped around her head so she looked taller. She was thin and there were wrinkles around her mouth that made Jorgan think she smiled most of the time. Her clothes were loose; trousers, ankle boots, and a long tunic with wide draping sleeves, all in the same shade of dark green. A thick collar of bronze links circled her neck, with a strip of dark blue glass woven through a sideways infinity sign.

That was the symbol of a Le’ankan master, a teacher from the Academy.

Jorgan wracked his brains, trying to remember the color distinction. He couldn’t remember what dark blue meant, what her specialty was.

“Yes, we are,“ Shayn said after a moment. He shrugged. “The Pace boys. I’m sorry, Ma’am --“

“Master,“ Jorgan said. He gestured with a jerk of his chin at the emblem at her throat.

“Sorry, Master, I don’t know who you are.“

“Oh, but you will.“ She winked at them, then turned to look around the mess hall. “Ah, there they are. I was hoping to see your parents, but not this early.“

“Who are you, Master?“ Jorgan said.

Off the Bookshelf: WHO STOLE MY CHURCH? By Gordon MacDonald

 

We were supposed to have this book as the basis for a series of sermons at church, starting in March of 2020 ... and guess what happened?

Things got disrupted, and our church staff made pretty heroic efforts to transfer to worshipping online and making it as easy as possible for our church membership to be fed and have needs met and watch over those with special needs during the whole pandemic mess. Which is still going on today, just with a little less isolation. God has been good to us, and our church staff are wonderful, sacrificing people.

Anyway ... this book basically follows a group of people who are concerned and sometimes cranky and sometimes downright ticked off over changes taking place in their church, reflecting changes in society and the media and the needs of modern life. They deal with a lot of questions and gripes and fears. Some of them stomp away in a snit and some of them are humbled and some of them grow and learn to serve and get excited about worship again.

Usually I avoid "talking heads" books, where the author creates a pretty unbelievable "fictional" setting and creates some cookie cutter characters, and then spends the next 200 pages lecturing the reader. (Can I hear an "ugh" from the congregation?)

This ain't one of them. The members of the discovery group are real, three-dimensional people and they're not copies of each other and they most certainly aren't yes-men. This feels believable, and in places uncomfortable, and in some places reveals a lot about the reader's prejudices and fears as the characters learn from each other. It's an uplifting and encouraging book, and quite frankly, every church member today and especially their pastors and worship teams and church staff should read this. Some need to be slapped across the face with this book, to get them moving and let go of the "but we've never done it that way before" attitude that, quite frankly, is killing churches and driving members away, to find teaching and spiritual food given in the language and style they understand.

Wake up, behind-the-times churches. If you don't use the language people understand to tell the unchanging truth from God's Word, they won't listen! If they don't listen, they won't learn and grow, and then what use are YOU?

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1

 

The Pace family paused in the doorway when they reached the mess hall. The room was full of people and movement. It was the lunch hour, after all. Jorgan tried to estimate how many people were there. He could only guess it was between halfway and three-quarters full. The important thing was that he couldn’t find any empty tables. They wouldn’t be able to sit together.

Maybe more important than that, everyone was an adult, and most wore Fleet uniforms. Silver-gray was for station personnel. Maroon meant they were assigned to a ship. The colored stripes on the outer seams of their trousers and their tunics indicated their assigned service area. Jorgan knew the colors for ship crew because he had been studying to be ready for life on the Defender. He had the awful feeling he didn’t know the color designation for station personnel. After all, no one on a station would be in a Gate team, so that green-and-gold variegated stripe on the arm of the woman walking past them had to mean something else. Red-and-white meant Medical on a ship. Did it mean the same thing on a station?

“I have an idea,“ Tila said, resting a hand on Jorgan’s shoulder. “Why don’t we fill our trays and go to the recreation deck to eat?“

“That sounds a lot better than trying to stay out of the way of people who have to hurry back on duty,“ Ben said. “Tell you what, boys. You go down the right side and we’ll go down the left, and we’ll see if there are any differences in what they offer us.“

Shayn grinned and hurried away, to the rack with the trays. Jorgan hesitated just a moment. He wanted to ask his parents something, but he wasn’t sure what. Shaking his head and feeling like he was being silly, maybe even a coward, he followed his brother. Shayn pulled out a tray and utensils for him and they stepped up to the first door together.

“How about we get completely different things, and we share, so we can try twice as much?“ Jorgan suggested, after looking at the first four shelves with sealed bowls, neatly labeled with their contents. Stew and chowder and soup and noodles.

“Smart.“ Shayn pulled the door open and reached for a container with a deep red, chunky stew.

New Release TODAY! Young Defenders series: CADETS

 

CADETS

Young Defenders, Book 1

JORGAN'S STORY

A Middle-Grade Tie-In to the AFV Defender series.

NEW and available TODAY!

In paper and print and audiobook

Meet Jorgan Pace, adopted son of Fleet medics. He wants to be an engineer, but going to the Fleet Academy is far in the future: he’s only ten years old.

 

When the Pace family is transferred to the Defender, they meet two other families also traveling to their new assignment: the Speranzis and Waylans. Jorgan and Bo Speranzi become friends immediately. The Waylan children are whiners and bullies. When the Waylan boys play a nasty trick on Jorgan, he turns the transport ship’s facilities against them. It’s only irritating, not dangerous, but Jorgan is disciplined. The boys retaliate even further, trying to frame him for damaging equipment. Jorgan ends up becoming friends with the technician who makes the repairs.

 

Bo has mechanical legs, and regular power flow problems make life difficult for him. Jorgan tries to help, because of his love of gizmos. The boys discover a nearly mythical shipboard “pest“ is hiding inside the mechanical legs and draining power. They capture the creature, a light snake, resolving Bo’s problems and giving them a possible pet. However, they need permission from the captain of the Defender and the chief engineer, to keep the light snake. Jorgan is delighted to learn that he has a chance to present the trap he invented to one of his heroes, Chief Engineer Jasper Lore of the Defender.