Recon
The Expansion #1
by Devon C. Ford
Genre: military sci-fi
Pages: 204
Publication date: Oct 2020
The universe is expanding, and so is humanity’s reach.
Years after clean energy ended the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, a lull of peace encompasses all of humanity. Some think we should travel to the distant corners of the galaxy, others oppose the idea, thinking that the harnessed singularity reactors are unnatural.
When a terrorist group attacks the Lunar colony, members of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force are affected in different ways.
Years later, Lieutenant Commander Kyle Torres comes face to face with old friends, as he’s thrown into an assignment that could change everything: a reconnaissance mission with huge implications for humanity and science.
Start the epic journey as Earth begins its venture into deep space, where not everything is as it seems. From Devon C Ford, the best-selling author of the hit Post-Apocalyptic series, After It Happened.
Excerpt:
Armed men and women sprayed indiscriminate bullets everywhere as they flooded off the transport shuttle and into arrivals.
From the way The Choosers conducted the attack, it was obvious they were on a suicide mission. After the duty unit responded and drew their sidearms to concentrate their fire at the foot of the metal stairs, the invaders’ intention was clear. One of the terrorists was hit, collapsing forward with flailing limbs to make the others scatter panicked away from their downed body. Seconds later the attacker detonated, a suicide vest rigged to their biometrics blowing savagely as the heart stopped and the bomb timer started. The terrorists continued the attack, spreading out and overwhelming the too-few defenders rapidly as pockets of leaderless peacekeepers were pinned down by the superior firepower. There were no heavy-weapon platforms, no automated gun systems and no armed drone surveillance programs operating. The place was still treated as a frontier outstation.
The secured doors leading out of the area closed in their attack. Other than the hangar airlocks, the only other way out was the long service tunnel to the freight arrival dock. A large pallet containing what looked like a bomb was unloaded from the newly arrived shuttle hovering six inches from the ground, courtesy of the four repulser jets at each corner propelling it quickly across the open space toward the dome edge. The way the terrorists treated it with almost equal care and fear combined with the wires and makeup of the device screamed bomb to anyone watching.
The sporadic gun battles had faded, becoming an occasional outbreak of firing as both sides ran low on ammunition. Just as the bomb was bumped into the inner dome, a group of three UNPF burst from the access tunnel and sprayed the three terrorists arming the device. If they weren’t stopped it would rip open the dome and depressurize them all out into space.
Jake was sweating and out of breath when he reached the main arrivals hangar, more from the adrenaline than the physical exercise. Glancing around the corner, he realized they were on the near side of what looked like an explosive device. It seemed to be being rigged to blow underneath one of the main support beams of the huge dome. He ducked back and filled the others in.
“Bomb,” he said, his eyes wide with adrenalized fear. “They’re trying to blow the goddamned dome!”
“We can’t let that happen,” Torres said, stating the obvious with all the manly gusto he could summon.
“Duh,” Paterson said, embarrassing the boy. “Not if we like living.”
“On three,” Jake said as he gripped his service pistol, which felt inadequate for the challenge. “One, two… three.”
They stepped out and opened fire, dropping the three people rigging the device as the small 6mm subsonic rounds drilled into their bodies and expanded on impact. Their bodies exploded before the three ambushers reached them. Jake saw the detonator—the flashing lights of the display indicated ‘ready’ beside a red button with the clear plastic safety shield raised.
Movement to his right caught his eye as another terrorist burst into view; he was a ragged-looking man about Jake’s age but his eyes displayed none of the discipline and belief that the seaman possessed. The two men raised their guns at one another. Both pulled their triggers at the same time, and both guns clicked. Jake’s gun had run dry and the old machine gun in the hands of the terrorist jammed. Both men’s eyes went wide, and both reacted at the same time.
About the Author:
Devon is from the UK, having lived in many places until finally settling in the Midlands. His career in public services started in his teens and has provided a wealth of experiences, both good and some very bad, which form the basis of the book ideas that cause regular insomnia.
He first started reading for fun as an adult, having tried his hardest to avoid anything resembling academia growing up, and at that point the world became a far bigger place. He has been reading, at least one book at a time, ever since.
His debut works, the After It Happened series, (Survival, Humanity, Society) were published in April 2016 followed by Hope (July 2016) and Sanctuary (December 2016). The first part of the series concluded with the release of Rebellion which was published in June 2017.
Storming high into the charts with the first books of the After It Happened series, Devon launched into the top 10 sellers listings in the UK, Australia, Canada and the US, and he made the decision to write full time shortly after the launch of Hope.
Devon’s self-published beginnings caused a stir in the publishing world, and resulted in contracts with Podium Publishing for Audible, narrated by R.C. Bray (The Martian, Expeditionary Force, Arisen), before a publishing deal for kindle and paperbacks with Vulpine Press.
Further works have seen the start of a multi-author series, sci-fi/post-apocalyptic cross genre, futuristic dystopian and alternative history zombie apocalypse. Spin-off books from the After It Happened world have been announced for 2018.
Looks exciting.