A massive interstellar war is raging, led by a vicious alien race known as the Maedrom. Humanity has become allied with many other alien races, all of which are trying to survive in the middle of this battle. Gabriel Nagra is a human engineer, assigned to develop a defense for the Maedrom’s deadliest weapon. Assisting him is Jhuun, a male Eunnoian to whom Gabriel grows close…perhaps even a little too close.
The war has already led to heartbreak and the tragic loss of a lover for Gabriel. In addition, he worries about embracing physical intimacy with an alien. In the middle of destruction and uncertainty, will Gabriel let go of his doubts and fears for a chance at happiness with Jhuun, or will he risk facing the future alone yet again?
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Abyssal Zone
Copyright © 2011 Lazuli Jones
ISBN: 978-1-55487-801-7
Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Smashwords Edition
Abyssal Zone
By
Lazuli Jones
Dedication
For B., who was there every step of the way.
Gabriel stepped out the airlock door, breathing in the warm, humid air of Section 27. Tired and drained from the journey, he paused against a bulkhead, staying out of the way as a medical team rushed past to assist one of the survivors, a man who had suffered a head wound during the evacuation and whose condition had become critical during transport. Gabriel did not know the man, even though they had lived and worked on the same station up until the attack.
The medical team placed the man on a gurney and rushed away again. The other survivors were exhausted, bloodied, unsteady on their feet, but healthy enough to file out in a slow procession now that the medical emergency was being handled.
Gabriel was already beginning to sweat. The air on this station was a drastic change from the dry and cold artificial atmosphere that once permeated Section 14, where the temperature had been adjusted for the comfort levels of both Humans and Wreeth. He swallowed thickly, willing to trade anything to touch the cold walls of his old station once again.
Around him, other evacuated survivors filed out of the airlock, looking as grim and bedraggled as Gabriel felt. All of them were Human, the Wreeth survivors had been taken to a different station, as they were unable to stand the hot temperature of Section 27. For reasons of safety, Gabriel and the others had had no idea to where they would be evacuated, until their ship docked and the survivors were quickly handed information on where to report once they entered the station.
The journey had been long, and the smell of acrid smoke still clung to Gabriel’s clothes, much like the sound of alarm klaxons still clung to his memory. He had forced himself to watch, through the escaping shuttle’s viewport, as the six Maedrom ships mercilessly battered the station, sucking in a breath of shock as he saw one of the ships deploying the brutal weapon that had become the bane of their existence, destroying the station in a shower of prickling amber energy.
It was quickly becoming a brutally familiar sight.
“Gabe! Holy shit!”
Gabriel raised his head, startled out of his dark reverie as a voice rose above the din of the crowd. Despite the weight of pain and exhaustion, he couldn’t help but smile as he spotted a familiar form, one he had not seen in nearly three years, pushing and shoving his way through the crowd. He was soon trapped in a hug that jarred his aching body.
“I missed you, too, Kurt,” he said against his friend’s shoulder. When they pulled apart, Kurt took Gabriel’s satchel, containing the meager belongings he had managed to save before evacuating, and hoisted it over his own shoulder.
“I can’t believe you made it,” Kurt said, looking relieved and happy, though somehow much older than Gabriel remembered, with a bit more gray in that floppy blond hair and a few more lines in the corner of his smile. Three years suddenly seemed like an eternity.
“I don’t see you for ages,” Kurt said. He cocked his head toward the corridor and Gabriel followed, glad to be away from the noisy, stifling airlock. “And then I hear about Section 14 being attacked and…I can’t tell you what I imagined.”
“Imagine actually being there,” Gabriel said grimly.
“Yeah,” Kurt said. He clasped Gabriel on the shoulder, making him wince—he’d wrenched it a bit while helping an injured Wreeth to its own escape ship. “It’s awful. Really awful, Gabe. I’m really sorry about the station. I can’t imagine…” He shook his head. “Anyway, you’ll be fine here. You’ll be safe. We’re far from the front lines. The Maedrom never attack here.”
“Yeah, that’s what we thought about Section 14.” Gabriel sighed and slid a finger in the collar of his ragged shirt; he was surprised at how warm it was. He noticed, for the first time, that Kurt was dressed rather informally in lightweight shorts and a tank top, also wearing the green belt that identified him as a member of the medical staff. Kurt had been a surgeon back on Earth.