EAGLE WORKS NINE [Drafts and Notes]
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(The creative process)
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All material copyrighted to Bryan E. Rice and Kreeos Universe unless otherwise indicated.
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TEASERS
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The following excerpts are often called teasers, small snippets of text from a critical or exciting part of a story. They are usually found on the very first physical page within a paperback novel to entice a potential buyer to keep reading. Sometimes, such pieces do not have the entirety of the original text but are abbreviated for the sake of space or complexity.
These particular teasers were selected for each of the manuscripts of the Legacy of the Eagles series, whether fully or partially completed, such as Book Nine. Each has a title that pertains to the contents of the excerpt. The final one on this list was created even though the manuscript had not even begun to be written.
A FATEFUL DECISION…
Cindy stared at Brandon for a moment, glanced at Dodger, and then looked back to Brandon. “The Empire killed our people. It killed my father. I don’t want anything to do with it!” Tears began to well up in her eyes.
Brandon lifted Cindy’s chin so their eyes would meet.
She blinked tears away. “I do not understand why you want to get close to them.”
“Have you had any thoughts about getting even?” Brandon asked honestly.
“Yes, damn you! I have at least thought about it.”
“This isn’t revenge,” he told her in a resolute tone, “as much as it’s a way to make sure our people didn’t die for nothing.” He let go of her and she took a step back.
“I think Keith and I have been sharing the same unspoken thought,” Dodger said as he stared at the map. “If there is any small thing we can do to help right the wrongs the Empire is doing, we must become a part of it.”
From – Book One: The Dawn
EAGLES VERSUS MACHINES…
They came into view; a line of walking machines, each standing three meters tall. The sight was enough to cause the entire Eagle defense line, hidden in the canyon, to groan collectively in fear. The noise was drowned out by the sound of the footfalls of the approaching robotroopers.
The mechanical warriors marched slowly down the rocky defile with their weapon arms raised in readiness.
Without contact with the other lines, Colonel Dodger did not know what was happening beyond his own defense area.
“Prepare to open fire on my command!” he shouted on his short-range comm-link.
The robotroopers zeroed in on the command bunker. Several red bolts lanced the air.
Dodger took in a breath. “Fire!”
From – Book Two: The Rise
A FATEFUL ENCOUNTER…
Captain Jackson knew they could not be alone in the universe. The probe that had provided humanity with faster-than-light travel proved it. But where were those beings? The answers were coming.
“Skipper, the scanners are picking up a concentration of refined metal,” Lieutenant Robert Dixon reported. “It’s in orbit.”
Radioman Ensign Freeman pressed his headphones closer to his ears. “Captain, there’s something coming through.”
“On the main comm screen, please,” Jackson ordered. An image began to appear, random pixels of color trying to come together.
“Greetings from our species to your species,” said a voice ringing with electronic modulation. “We are known as the Mackmarion.”
From – Book Three: The Encounter
SACRIFICE AND ESCAPE…
Admiral Dodger sat perfectly still, eyes closed, contemplating the tragic death of his best friend’s son. Dodger lifted his drooping chin and opened his eyes. Too many of his friends had died through the years and Dodger was now determined to prevent more from being lost.
The admiral raised a hand. “Captain Bell,” he said in a strong voice. “Permission granted to initiate the hyperspace jump.”
Captain Thomas Bell cleared his throat. “To all ships, this is the Tennessee. Prepare for hyperspace insertion on my mark. Insertion countdown commencing – Mark! Ten... Nine... Eight...”
From – Book Four: The Flight
POINT OF NO RETURN…
The time had finally come. The Eagle Refugee Fleet had dropped out of hyperspace and hovered on the edge of Mellandian charted space.
President Daniel Fulbright sat with his wife in the Leadership Council chamber brooding. The Eagles seemed to be at a point of no return and Fulbright was reluctant to cross the line.
“Come now, Daniel,” admonished his wife, Katherine. “We knew this would eventually happen.”
“Kathy, we may have known but no one wanted to think it would come to this.” The President lifted his head and turned to face his spouse. “Now we stand at the brink – a gulf we may not be able to cross.”
Kathy’s expression turned pensive. “Surely we can continue on.”
“Perhaps, my dear, perhaps. The one thing I worry most about is whether or not we will be leading the Eagles across that gulf.” He made his way to the hatch and disappeared into the corridor beyond.
Kathy sadly shook her head. What had they brought upon themselves?
From – Book Five: The Tribes
A SECRET REVEALED…
Dorrez accompanied the ambassador, along with three other aides, from the new Arrdainnian Embassy to a conference room within the Foreign Relations section of the palace.
“Welcome back to the Royal Palace, Ambassador,” Hopewell began. “This conference is not only to formally establish diplomatic relations between our worlds but also to explore the possibilities of interaction beyond diplomacy.”
As the minister droned on, Dorrez routinely checked the comm-link then began to observe the Quetronians present. She subtly scanned each aide’s mind through the Kreeos. When she arrived at the sixth one in line, closest to the ambassador, Dorrez realized there was something different about him.
She concentrated a little more upon the individual resulting in a startled expression upon his face. His eyes flitted about before coming to rest on Dorrez the startled look still evident.
Oh, boy, the Avatar thought. He can sense my mental presence. Will he give me away?
From – Book Six: The Rectification
MASTER VERSUS PUPILS…
“If you leave Hast’Bren,” Onath rumbled, sadness mixed with determination, “shadow magic will claim you forever. The galaxy will suffer your thirst for more and more power. I cannot permit that.”
Brandon’s face took on an expression of disbelief tinged with antipathy. “You mean to stop us yourself,” he stated as calmly as he could manage.
“I have failed you as a teacher,” Onath said grimly. “It is my responsibility to correct that failure.” Fury began building rapidly in the Leaders at the master’s words.
“So, you are going to kill us,” O’Ryan remarked frostily. “You are going to try and remove the head of the Dark Eagles in order to weaken us enough to apprehend.”
“In order to preserve the lives of your followers only you three need die,” Onath told them with a touch of anguish.
From – Book Seven: The Shadows
A SOLEMN VOW…
Jade could just barely sense the communion of the Shadow Triad. He fully realized now that their bond was very deep. The Kreeos seemed to make it even deeper, and far stronger than Jade anticipated. His planning had to be exact and oh so carefully hidden.
This was one of the few times in his very long life that Jade actually felt the echoing of something akin to fear within himself. The feeling unsettled him, and he fought it down lest it become strong enough to compromise his ability to do his job and cause him to make mistakes in his planning.
Worse yet, if the Shadow Lords picked up on his fears they might stumble across their true origins and take “appropriate” action – most likely resulting in Jade’s removal or death.
Lord Jade made a solemn vow to defeat his fear, complete his plans no matter how long it took, and to be willing to except death rather than suffer another defeat at the hands of the accursed Eagles – even if these were as evil as he.
From – Book Eight: The Imperium
MISTAKES WILL BE MADE…
The quite old Grand Master To-pen Han sat meditating within his special chamber just off his office in the Avatar Order Headquarters. He pondered everything that had occurred since the former Grand Master, and his old friend, Sen-tor Quinn has passed away. Han’s Oriental-elfish features scrunched up as he fought down his emotional reaction to Quinn’s memory. The Grand Master then focused upon current events.
The newly forged, star spanning Spherrium was still trying to flesh out the details of its final form. The new single government of the Eagle Heart Worlds could prove to be a stabilizing factor to the regions of space north of the Mackmarion Empire, not to mention forming a united front to face any potential new enemies to humankind. However, Han was troubled that some “old” enemies were being ignored.
The special hunting teams under the direction of Master Ca-so Lubrid had not made significant progress in the last sixty-five years hunting down the shadow masters who had nearly brought lasting disaster to the Eagle tribes. It seemed that only the Avatar Order was concerned with this still existent menace. Though the Grand Master believed that the Spherrium was a step in the right direction for the survival of humanity, to ignore a known threat because you could no longer see it was not logical. If this mindset cannot be changed, he thought, mistakes will be made. Humanity may not find the peace it seeks.
From – Book Nine: The Spherrium (incomplete manuscript)
(No teaser title chosen)
The Grand Master’s gaze swept from side to side, taking in the semi-circular row of Senior Masters. He spoke with a heaviness of spirit that descended upon the Council of the Avatar Order like a dark, suffocating blanket. “I truly believe that the Spherrium government is gravely mistaken. This is far more than a simple military invasion. The Triad Imperium seeks to not only dominate through force of arms, but through force of magic as well.”
He sadly shook his head, face sagging with fatigue, his eyes hollow and haunted. “I firmly believe that a Kreeos war has begun.”
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From - Book Ten: The Victory (incomplete manuscript)
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