Star Cruise: Marooned by Veronica Scott
My science fiction romances take place in a farflung future
civilization known as the Sectors. One aspect of life there is that humans and
other sentients enjoy traveling on interstellar cruise liners, much as people
sail the seas on Earth today in search of new sights and adventures.
In my latest novel STAR CRUISE: MAROONED, the hero and
heroine work on board a small charter ship, the Far Horizon, taking extremely
wealthy people on tours of the wonders in Sector 30. Here’s the opening of the
book, as they approach the planet Dantaralon:
The shuttle broke out of the cloud layer and swooped over a
breathtaking vista of pink and green foliage, practically glowing in the vid
screens. The rainforest spread across the planet as far as the scanners could
detect. Clouds of multicolored birds flew above the treetops, drawing the eye
to their wheeling movement across the turquoise sky. Here and there, rainbows
curved from puffy clouds, where seasonal showers had added moisture to the air.
As Meg walked through the cabin, offering refreshments to their guests, she
attempted to direct their attention to the view of the planet. Anchored by
trees soaring hundreds of feet from the surface, the foliage and avian wildlife
were something never seen on the highly civilized worlds where these people
lived and worked. Although they’d paid a staggering amount of credits to be
taken to this site, neither the primary guest, nor the people he’d brought,
seemed to care. Drinking, playing cards, and indulging in sexual innuendo took all
their attention.
Not much changed from cruise to cruise with the rich and
powerful, despite Meg’s best efforts to share the simple pleasure she found in
the surroundings at each port of call.
A few moments later they’ve landed:
As she triggered the door to allow the passengers to exit
for their excursion today, Meg said, “We’ll be here for four hours, so you have
plenty of time to stroll along the beach, enjoy the view, and relax. It’s safe
to swim in the lake, but please, no further out than the marker buoys where the
sonic barrier begins. The crew and I’ll be setting up your pavilion and
amenities, and serving the requested lunch in about an hour.”
The
music the Falls was famed for thundered outside. The water was effervescent,
filled with bubbles of all the colors of the rainbow, having leached minerals
from the planet’s surface as the river flowed toward the solitary ocean. The
way the liquid poured through the cliff’s rocky channels and crevices produced
constantly changing crystalline “music.” Meg loved it here. Dantaralon was one
of her favorite spots. She stepped outside for a moment herself, before the
work had to begin again. The air was warm, redolent with scent from the many
flowering plants.
“Wow.”
Red descended the short ramp to stand beside her, staring at the waterfall in
the distance. “Impressive, like the brochures promised.”
“We
specialize in conveying our passengers on a tour of exotic natural wonders,”
Meg said. “This part of Sector Thirty is full of amazing sights on so many planets.”
“Seen
one waterfall, seen them all. Come on, let’s get this done before the Primary
starts complaining.” Drewson left the shuttle, jumped off the ramp, and went to
open the cargo hold.
The story:
Meg Antille works long hours on the charter cruise ship Far
Horizon so she can send credits home to her family. Working hard to earn a
promotion to a better post (and better pay), Meg has no time for romance.
Former Special Forces soldier Red Thomsill only took the
berth on the Far Horizon in hopes of getting to know Meg better, but so far
she’s kept him at a polite distance. A scheduled stopover on the idyllic beach
of a nature preserve planet may be his last chance to impress the girl.
But when one of the passengers is attacked by a wild animal
it becomes clear that conditions on the lushly forested Dantaralon aren’t as
advertised – the ranger station is deserted, the defensive perimeter is
down…and then the Far Horizon’s shuttle abruptly leaves without any of them.
Marooned on the dangerous outback world, romance is the
least of their concerns, and yet Meg and Red cannot help being drawn to each
other once they see how well they work together. But can they survive long
enough to see their romance through? Or will the wild alien planet defeat them,
ending their romance and their lives before anything can really begin?
Best Selling Science Fiction & Paranormal Romance author
and “SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happily Ever After blog,
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved
science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to
be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started
writing her own stories.
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