The Last Daughter of Xyydaria IV

By J Scott

An intergalactic romantic action adventure between two worlds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781628908619

J Scott

J Scott spent much of his early career in Silicon Valley, where he held management positions at several Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft and eBay. In 2008, J and his wife Carol decided to quit their corporate jobs, start a family, and focus on real estate investing. In the past ten years, they have bought, built, rehabbed, sold, lent-on and held over $60M in property all around the country. J is also the co-host of The BiggerPockets Business Podcast and the author of four books on real estate investing—including the best-selling pair The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs—which have sold more than 300,000 copies combined and have helped investors from around the world get started with real estate. J currently lives in Sarasota, Florida.

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The Last Daughter of

Xyydaria IV

   By J. Scott

Copyright © 2013 by J. Scott

All rights reserved. No part of this book or its cover may be reprinted, reproduced, or used in any form or manner without the express permission of the publisher, excepting only brief quotations and images of the cover in reviews, or other noncommercial material that references the book or the author.

First published in the United States of America, 2013.

ISBN: 9781628908619

Cover by Milena Babic

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1

A New Beginning

T’rrakah M’raand slowly and silently walked beside her father, Thaaetromn, making their way down the dimly lit hall to the command bridge of his destroyer, the Q’raal, stationed just outside of orbit of their planet Xyydaria IV.

Her father, more cyborg than humanoid due to his many skirmishes, was the most feared Interstellar Warlord among the few that remained in their galaxy. His insatiable thirst for conflict and power wrenched her mother and younger sister out of her life, and T’rrakah solemnly mused that she would die soon in battle. She had seen enough of war in her still young life, she had decided, due to the tragedies that befell her family during her tumultuous, battle scarred youth. This would be the first and last walk with her father ever down this path.

They boarded the lift to the bridge. As it opened once they reached the bridge, the crew snapped to attention as they exited the lift. Her father turned to her. She never quite got used to the whirrs and clicks this action required. Although the sounds were barely audible, she had always remembered another version of her father. A version of him that was less cold and mechanical. She dreaded if she did survive to see many more moon cycles, she too, would wind up half cyborg, relying upon mostly mechanical parts to sustain her, if she continued this legacy. That was the darkest, deepest terror she could ever imagine. She would rather be dead.

T’rrakah, you may take my chair, for now.

As the newly appointed Princess of the Realm, she was obligated to join her father as a warrior in combat…the vilest task, in her mind, that she would ever have to endure.

His voice, due to his cyborg implants, came across as a low, deep, echoed drone. I need to address the staff. You will have a perfect view. He turned back to walk toward his commanders and lieutenants, standing in front of the massive view screen in front of the command center. The subsequent whirrs and clicks she heard as he did so deepened her resolve to carry out her plan.

True to form, their enemies, the D’Nahh, were already aligning into battle formation just inside of range of their scans. The treaty was broken, the Xyydarian generals were weary of diplomacy, and that was all the justification that Thaaetromn needed to hear – and needed from the Xyydarian Council — to launch an all out assault on their forces.

As Thaaetromn briefed the crew, T’rrakah went over the details in her head. She would use the battle as a ticket into space to escape and start anew, leaving her war-torn past behind her. She would have been monitored too closely otherwise, had she attempted to make the trip off of Xyydaria IV herself.

A small craft, her personal ship, the Zhryqueibre, was housed in the landing bay. She had spent the last few moon cycles modifying the battle cruiser for her long journey. She had used her father’s map, charts and resources to seek out a world that had a race similar to her own, but less advanced, to give her an advantage, being a newcomer on that world. She finally found one before negotiations broke down with the D’Nahh…perfect timing, she thought. It was a small planet two star systems away, with only one sun. The transmissions she had secretly monitored to bring her up to speed with the inhabitants’ culture had given her a new name of hope. Her new goal was to reach the far away planet the inhabitants referred to as…Earth.

What a strange name… she pondered to herself.

T’rrakah watched with heightened intent, ready to make her move as soon as she was able. Thaaetromn concluded his briefing, and the crew, having their orders, made their way back to their appointed stations. Thaaetromn moved back toward his command chair, T’rrakah started to rise, ready to relinquish his seat, but Thaaetromn waved her to continue to sit. It is alright, my dear, he said. I do my best fighting while on my feet.

T’rrakah started to get anxious. She needed to be out of the picture as soon as possible to initiate her escape, not planted in the middle of the fray, especially in the command chair.

Father, she cooed, Can I go and retrieve my Battle Sash from my quarters? I seem to have forgotten it. She did, but on purpose, just in case an alternate plan was needed to leave the bridge. She was glad she had been so thorough.

Royal Xyydarians treated their scarf-like Battle Sash as part of their armament. Sort of like a coat-of-arms. Thaaetromn looked down at his own that he proudly brandished, and relented.

Yes, T’rrakah…but hurry. The D’Nahh seem anxious to meet their doom. I would rather not start without you here by my side. He turned around to watch the massive view screen, as the enemy commander seemed to be charging his main weapons. She made up her mind that was the last time she would see him. She looked upon him for a moment, then turned around herself, and boarded the lift.

T’rrakah took a mental inventory of her ship as she made her way toward the landing bay. She had made ready all the supplies and equipment she felt she needed for the journey. She did have her Battle Sash …in her ship. The jewel in the cloth - secured from a strange alien world after one of Thaaetromn’s many battles - loans her superior ability, not the least of which allows her to manipulate light, making her temporarily invisible at will.

That, among other abilities, would help her survive in the strange world known as Earth. Besides supplies for sustenance, she also made sure that she loaded a small replicator, capable of duplicating a limited number of elements. Although it was little more than a toy when used on the highly developed materials on her planet, she figured it would come in handy on Earth, where the composition of materials was not as advanced.

At the very least, she would be able to duplicate their currency, which she ascertained from her hurried research that she would have to have it to live, as everything on Earth seemed to revolve around it.

She knew that she could possibly earn her way, and she would, as she became more integrated into their society.

But for now, she needed an edge, and for all that she had known up to this point in her young life, she was sure that she could not employ herself as a Warrior Princess on that planet.

The corridor suddenly shook and rattled as the emergency lights abruptly came on, coating it a deep red — and shrieking alarms began blaring audibly. The destroyer had gone to battle stations.

T’rrakah figured her father was right. The D’Nahh launched the first salvo, ready to make their point known. She would have less time than she originally had surmised.

The pace was decidedly quicker for T’rrakah, her breathing becoming labored and heavy as she arrived at the landing bay toward the rear of the ship. Heavy anchoring cables holding the ships in place in the hangar were buckling. She made sure that she was undetected by anyone and slipped into the Zhryqueibre, still trying to catch her breath.

Parts of the ceiling dropped to the floor, as the destroyer took on heavy fire. She just needed the right timing – a heavy hit on the destroyer to distract everyone from noticing her own laser cannons blasting through the bay to escape, as the bays were usually locked down during battle to prevent boarding from the enemy. She was not out of this yet.

The destroyer lurched and pitched, and shook violently. She figured this chance was as good as any.

Inhaling deeply, she activated the controls of the Zhryqueibre and fired a volley of laser bolts at the bay doors. The harsh bright bursts were right on their mark. The bay doors exploded open with a great, resounding metallic blare.

She disengaged the anchoring cables through her cockpit controls, throttled forward, and while guiding the vessel around falling debris, stabilized the ship and flew toward the doors.

The backup bay doors, activated from the blast, began to close. She knew that it was going to be close, but she could not stop now. As the Zhryqueibre rocketed toward the entrance, she saw less and less open space. She turned the ship sharply to try to navigate through the now slim area between her and freedom. The doors were closing past the top edge of her cockpit view. She accelerated, inhaled again and closed her eyes, as she felt the pressure of the doors upon her.

The massive doors slammed shut just as T’rrakah cleared them. She caught her breath, came about, and then steered the Zhryqueibre closely beneath the destroyer, so as to not trigger their scanners. She always liked to venture out in space when she had the chance. The peace, quiet and calm always put her at ease, so different from the warlike world she lived on. However, she needed to stay alert. The ship she was hiding under was under attack, and she needed one more distraction to break free long enough and far enough to escape the destroyer’s scanning range.

She saw the D’Nahh battleship come around for another barrage out in the distance. As soon as the first hit struck, she would take advantage of the temporary interruption in ship functions to head off to the south vector, toward the warp fields, and then Earth. She wondered, one last time, if she should feel guilty for leaving her father in the middle of battle. But her resolve came flooding back. She knew her father. The D’Nahh would be destroyed within the hour.

She saw the D’Nahh charge their weapons, then release their payload. The energy blasts were headed toward the destroyer, and dangerously close to her ship.

She realized that she would have to risk being scanned to avoid the subsequent explosion. T’rrakah maneuvered her ship around to the opposite side of the destroyer, and waited for the impact. It did not take long.

The destroyer pitched again from the hit. The huge vessel bumped her ship slightly due to her proximity to it, and then the massive destroyer stabilized.

She turned her craft around and fired her throttle full blast. The Zhryqueibre sped away like a ray of light. However, even in her haste — she did make the extra effort to adjust her rear screen viewer. She knew that this was her father’s strategy…to make the enemy overconfident, and move into minimum firing range. The destroyer, back on keel, let loose its most feared weapon…the particle cannon…just when the D’Nahh thought that they had her father at a disadvantage.

She had always watched it with a pair of shaded eye shields to protect her retinas from the initial blast. She was far enough away to finally see it from another perspective.

The immense column of light left the destroyer’s bow in a rush, accompanied by a piercing sound that could only be described as a combination of a forceful, thunderous rumble and a shrill, earsplitting shriek happening at the same time. The energy blast grew wider as it advanced toward the enemy fleet, encompassing the entire width of the armada. As it hit with a deafening roar, time itself seemed to slow down, as the enemy ships were totally bathed in the blinding light. Then the familiar destruction began.

One by one, the craft disintegrated under the huge weight of the energy flare. The metal alloy of the ships scattered like dry leaves. She almost thought that she could hear the last screams of the enemy crew as they and their ships flew into flared embers. It lasted for what seemed forever, and then the destroyer finally spent its load.

The particle beam passed on into space with a brash, blaring echo, leaving only miniscule glowing debris in its terrible, merciless wake. This is why she chose to exit from the rear of the destroyer. She had seen the weapon used before.

She knew her father.

2

Lost and Found

Shaun Damon loved the stars since he’d been young enough to read. Being an only child was sometimes the loneliest experience ever to him. He would always look for distraction. At night, as a youth and to appease his sometimes boring existence he’d impatiently and enthusiastically comb the night skies, looking for anything other than the occasional comet or meteor shower.

His parents actively supported his hobby, purchasing a telescope and other tools to keep him occupied, as they knew that he missed out on some of the joys of a young life, sans siblings.

He spent the earlier part of his youth being bullied for his very heady preference of interest – obligatory martial arts lessons from his parents