Guest post, Aaron Dennis: Get Ready for a Bug Hunt!

Yay, December--what a great time to think about buglike aliens, right?  Today, I'm touring Aaron Dennis and his Lokians novels.  He's got a little to say and then some excerpts.  Enjoy!

Thanks so much for allowing me this wonderful opportunity.

Aaron Dennis, here. Creator of the Lokians science fiction series and owner of www.dennisauthor.com.

Being an independently published author affords a few benefits but also some very serious obstacles. With Lokians: Book1 Beyond the End of the World, I provided a few concepts not normally in sci-fi, at least not modern sci-fi.

One such concept is real technology. This bestows the brand of Hard Sci-Fi, or sci-fi loosely based on fact. I also included some religious concepts, genetic theory, and some very unique aliens, the likes of which I’ve never seen anywhere. All that coupled with completely diverse characters and a relatable enemy helped bring the story to life.

Now, with Book2 They Lurk Among Us, I delved into some of the more common conspiracy theories like government cover-ups, secret organizations, and obviously aliens ensconced in Earth government.

Furthermore, I challenge those beliefs, and further more, I challenge the existing hits of my genre like Star Trek, Star Wars (which is really a futuristic fantasy adventure and not sci-fi because none of the technology is explained and it involves a guy swinging a sword and casting magical mind spells), plus all these are old concepts and it’s time for something new. That’s why the new Star Trek movie was such a hit. It bridged a generational gap.

With the release of Lokians: Book2 They Lurk Among Us scheduled for November 7th and the completion of Lokians: Book3 For War and Glory coming soon, I’d like to add an excerpt from each. Please keep in mind For War and Glory will not be finished for a little while longer.

Lokians: Book1 Beyond the End of the World

The bug hit the ground. Jun and Adams walked over to it. It looked like a small football, a brown bulbous insect with no eyes or mouth. The four legs were of steel composition. It looked like a scout of sorts, or it would have, if it were pieced back together. The bullet caused the exoskeletal structure to burst. A viscous, rusty colored ooze slowly poured onto the cold ground. A few more came out of different tunnels.

The Captain quickly took control of the situation and yelled to his crew mates.

“Take cover behind the gray mounds.”

As the men and aliens took their position, a familiar sound echoed throughout. O’Hara’s eyes grew wide. A tunneler was coming. All right, where are you. Son of a— a small rock fell onto his helmet from above. He slowly looked up to find the ceiling was shaking softly.

“It’s on top of us,” O’Hara exclaimed.

The crew spread out as more, larger portions of stone fell from above, some large enough to crush the small mounds. White glistening dust erupted from the wreckage. Franklin spotted a small alcove beside a building and stowed his riches.

“Take out the bugs,” Franklin began.

“They’re probably scouts,” Adams finished.

Ton and Sura fired plasma weapons at the bugs. For each one they killed, two more came crawling from the hole-riddled walls. The ceiling suddenly gave way and the tunneler fell through, tentacles extended. In full view, the tunneler was more intimidating than expected. It was a full twelve feet across with several rows of dangerous teeth. The insect was a large tapered roach with two tentacles reaching away from the mechanical mouth. It did not have eyes or proper legs. As it fell, with dust and debris, the crew saw several tiny metallic hooks protruding from its belly. The hooks functioned as anchors slowly inching the beast forward when moving on sloped ground. It hit the mounds with a thundering blow. As it writhed, the crew laid into it.

“Get in there,” O’Hara yelled, firing repeated shots into the enemies flank.

Hun-Tan and Un-It took the forefront and fired plasma rifles.

“Yes,” Hun-Tan yelled.

“More fire power,” Un-It added.

As the beast wriggled upright, for balance, the two Thewls back peddled and took cover behind remnants of a roof. The comm units were wild with grunts and war cries. Soon, the tunneler spun itself by using its tentacles. As it turned, it picked up a great deal of speed. Chunks of bug exoskeleton popped off as it gained momentum. Confused, the crew eased back in apprehension. Suddenly, it erupted acid with a vulgar belch. Toxic bile spilled out in a full circle, but no one was caught outright by the blast. Some splatter hit the closest members with little effect. Though the armor was resistant the acid began corroding the plating. Korit fired a massive burst of plasma into the Lokian’s brown, pulsating flank. A huge hole was the result of the impact. While most of the crew were battling the tunneler, a few of the others were blasting bugs, Franklin and Adams called for back up.

Lokians: Book2 They Lurk Among Us

 

            “Listen, luring them out is better than approaching a Teragon, agreed?” he clarified.

Sasha nodded.

“If we manage to bait them, reason suggests, they’ll appear with a Betagon, and perhaps a detail of fighters. If we wipe out the fighters, we can disable the Betagon. Far as I can figure, there will be no way to ground the enemy vessel, so we’ll have to board it and try to extract one living Gray. The question then is, will there be a Gray at the entrance that we can capture, or will we have to work our way through the Betagon and fight?” Riley explained.

            “Iz good question for sure. I think from reports if ve don’t find vay to secure one small ship, ve vill fight many or fight Betagon. Vith whole crew, how many ve have?” Ivan asked.

            “Let’s see, Korit for sure, John, Swain, Sara, DeReaux. That’s my guess. Last I heard, Fitzpatrick was on her way here to Mars. Also, the Admiral may have sent extra Thewls with Korit. Let’s assume we have a total of ten. A Betagon holds what, like eighty Grays?” Suddenly Riley came to grips with the scenario.

            “Eighty midgets with mind powers. They’ll turn our assholes inside out,” Sasha commented.

            Riley and Ivan could not contain their laughter. While Ivan sank into the couch holding his sides Riley stumbled over to the recliner and fell into it. After a few moments, he regained his composure. Apparently, Sasha had not been laughing.

            “Well?” she asked.

            “Uhh…Yeah, but there’ll be less than that because we’ll disable their ship. A safe estimate, after casualties, maybe a dozen, and they’ll be spread thin throughout the vessel. This will work. I’m all over it,” Riley said with a smile.

            “I vant hear crew’s input. Maybe they have better suggestions,” Ivan remarked.

            “Yeah, won’t be too much longer,” he replied.

Riley and crew spent the remaining time gathering their gear. Afterwards, Riley powered on the Clandestine and checked the readout systems for ships in their vicinity. A few moments passed before signatures spiked. The readout was indicative of the materialization of the Carrier. It appeared to be on the outskirts of Uranus. As Riley kept his eyes on the signature, he saw three vessels appear on the monitor. The Thewls were coming.

            Riley knew that there was no conventional way to pick up on the position of the Clandestine. Moreover, it was grounded on a planet’s surface. So, he put the zero-gravity generator into overdrive, to increase magnetic output. He then disabled the magnetism reducer, to stop from masking said output. Suddenly, the console monitor indicated one vessel was locked onto the Clandestine. Riley smiled to himself and gathered Ivan and Sasha.

            “All right guys, it’s almost time to meet them outside. They should be here shortly,” Riley announced.

            After a few, painstakingy slow, hours moved by, the three met in the airlock where Riley inspected their gear. As always, Ivan was in his veritable tank of a suit and Sasha in her sleek war wear. The red light came on and they stepped out onto Mars’s surface. It was nighttime and the sky overhead was clear. A red dust storm whirled in the distance. The night sky made it look brown.

In his form-fitting, black attire, Riley gazed into the night. The stars were brilliant. Three streaks broke through the planet’s atmosphere with a beautiful red tail created by the heat from atmospheric penetration. The prospect of a reunion, coupled with the promise of a mission, was exhilarating.

            “Here they come,” he announced.

            Sasha and Ivan were both a little nervous. Observing their leader’s composed demeanor allowed them to relax a little. The Type-A’s came in first. Their unique wing structure swirled about the vessels as they manuevered for a landing. A gust of wind emanated from the ships when they stopped in mid-hover, a few feet from the rocky ground. Then the landing pylons emerged and the field generated hatches opened. A moment later, the oblong Scouter arrived. As it touched down, the two Thewl fighter pilots hopped out of their vessels and approached Riley, Sasha, and Ivan. The Humans looked upon their immense stature.

            “I’m Riley, this is Sasha and Ivan,” Riley said as he pointed out his crew.

            “I am Nuf-Pota,” the male Thewl spoke.

            “I am Rota,” the female announced.

            The two Thewls stood at an equal height. Their black armor suggested which of them was male and female. Rota’s breastplate accentuated her feminine structure.

            “Glad to meet you. As soon as Korit and the others step out, we’ll decide where to meet for battle plans,” Riley stated.

            “Agreed,” Nuf-Pota said.

            “Yes,” Rota said.

            Riley noticed their mannerisms. They stood in a similar fashion and their names sounded alike.

            “You wouldn’t be related, would you?” he asked.

            “Yes, we were egg mates,” Rota said.

            “Both in the same egg?” Sasha stepped forward and asked.

            “That is correct,” Nuf-Pota said.

            “They’re twins?” Sasha asked.

I’d like to thank you again for allowing me to show the world what I’ve got and I want to thank Eternal Press for providing me the opportunity to publish these exciting books.