SOLARIS DAWN

PROLOGUE

Amaliya wasn't a pilot, that much was certain; she was a scientist. Being linked to her ship's neural interface allowed her to maneuver with a mere thought but the strain made her head begin to throb violently as various computer systems buzzed incessantly in her ears. Her ship rocked and trembled in response as it soared through the inky blackness of space at 164 million kilometers an hour.

What had she gotten herself into? That bastard who hired her had lied all along. If Amaliya had known what she was creating, she would have destroyed it, years of research and advancement be damned. But it was too late now; his weapon was complete. If he used that thing the way he wanted to, it could cause billions of deaths across the solar system. She couldn't let that happen.

The ethereal white light of Luna, her surrogate home, grew brighter as she drew near. Off to the side was Earth, humanity's original home, the blue and green marble she had never had a chance to visit. The sight made her think of her true home, the barren sands of blazing hot Mercury, but she pushed the visions out of her mind as a spike on the gravitational monitor caught her eye—a disturbance. She braced for impact.

A wave of energy hit the craft, sending it spinning uncontrollably. Amaliya struggled to right the ship's orientation, catching glimpses of an obsidian-colored vessel tailing her. She knew that ship's distinctive hue—she knew who it belonged to. That soulless husk of a human being was on her tail. She had endured enough of his torture to know that there wasn't a single shred of humanity left inside his calloused brain, even if it wasn't his fault he was that way.

Determined not to go down without a fight, she focused intensely, watching for another spike on the gravitational field monitor that flickered within her retinal display. The line steadied, then rose sharply, and she quickly evaded with a roll to the side, but the attacks kept coming, unrelenting, with her pursuer always a step ahead. Their ships danced closer to Luna and spiraled in every which way. She cursed her past self for ignoring most of the required hovercraft piloting courses she had taken back in college at the technical institute. Each movement caused the constant g-forces at play to shift slightly and churn her stomach until she felt like she might vomit. If she could just make it to the LTI then she could warn everyone about the lurking threat. It was a long shot, but she had to keep trying.

Amaliya glanced back at the enemy ship as she continued rocketing toward the moon, seeing it gain on her with impressive speed. Ahead, Luna's cratered surface continued to grow and she could start making out the industrial patch work of habitat domes and connective transportation tubes that covered it. A flash of light blinded her; another gravitational wave had hit its mark. The ship's graviton manipulation system began to sputter and extreme g-forces threw the hovercraft into a downward tumble.

Clinging to life, Amaliya fought the ship's controls in her mind, like a rider battling a wild horse. She narrowly avoided massive hover-freighters and orbiting vessels, scraping their undersides with the top of her own craft. A ringing bell filled Amaliya's ear and made her head throb that much worse as the cabin of her ship was simultaneously enveloped in the deep red hue of its warning lights. Perhaps it was already too late for her.

Nearing the moon's surface quickly, Amaliya realized she had to crash-land, and aimed her navigational HUD at a large open area between the domes with a small collection of undisturbed craters. She strained every neuron in her brain to steer the damaged vessel properly as her vision vignetted. The surface rushed to meet her and flashes of her friends, family, all of her brothers, her mother, and even her father, flew through her mind.

She braced for impact with a clenched jaw and a white-knuckled grip before she slammed into Luna's dusty terrain, agony coursing through her body.

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