Amidst Alien Stars
Milijun Book 2
by Clayton Graham
Genre: Science Fiction
Mysterious and chilling events on an alien world threaten the interstellar survival of the human race…
They have awoken surrounded by alien stars.
Following their abduction from Earth, Laura Sinclair and son, Jason, lead a group of desperate humans in a bid to forge their own future and that of their home planet.
To succeed, they must solve the puzzle of extraterrestrial races in the throes of a perplexing and historic conflict.
But they are in a strange new universe; on a bizarre and dangerous planet. Who can they really trust as they struggle to understand the challenging and hostile environment that holds them in a grip of iron? And what do the aliens really plan for them and their hybrid children?
"There is world building of such depth and lush detail that you could almost feel it." Kay Mack TOP 1000 REVIEWER
"Not only is this an exciting, action-packed paged turner - I love the intelligence reflected, the witty dialogue, and the genuine depth in the characters’ emotions." Meenaz Lodhi
"Admirable world-building and the unsurpassable, indefatigable, drive of the human Spirit to not just survive, but to thrive, power this engrossing sequel to the author's debut science fiction novel, MILIJUN." Mallory A Haws
Amidst Alien Stars is the second book in the Milijun series, but can also be enjoyed as a standalone.
Milijun
Milijun Book 1
First Contact strikes out of nowhere …
And aliens seize Laura’s son. But she will move heaven and earth to get him back, and as she becomes entrenched in a war of attrition with both the aliens and Earth authorities, she learns the fascinating secrets behind the extraterrestrial incursion.
Challenged to breaking point, Laura will fight for the survival of her son and several other humans who are unwittingly being used as pawns in a terrifying game of cosmic survival.
But she soon realizes that the aliens have plans for her, too. Can she accept the vision of a new interplanetary Earth, or will she fight to the end for a return to normality?
Witness the most engaging alien invasion ever! The exciting first novel of a stunning Science Fiction mystery. If you like tales of first contact, secret military operations, and the people caught in the middle, then you'll love this breathtaking new series.
"Captured my interest from the very beginning, and never once let go." Jenna – Indie Book Reviewers
"If you love the genre, read this gem." Julius Zon – Self Publishing Review
"This is a must-read for science fiction fans who appreciate a hard scientific foundation, in the tradition of Asimov, Niven, or Heinlein." Patrick Dent
"Million? 5 stars are all Amazon permit!" Sarah Stuart
EXCERPT FROM ‘MILIJUN’ THE
NOVEL
Some semblance of
inner strength returned. They would have to see Mepunga tomorrow, of course,
and learn what happened to Bradley Robert or, more accurately, how he had ended
up with a hole drilled in his chest.
Careful not to
wake Jason, she made her way outside, in search of fresh air. Looking up at the
darkened sky she saw a pale moon rising and what could only be Venus shining
brightly. The air held a slight chill, and she shivered involuntarily.
Laura scanned the
sky, half expecting something to emerge from the star-pricked canopy and
descend upon her with mischief in its heart. What was it Jason had said? Sometimes
when it touched me I didn’t even feel it. She didn’t know what to believe
but whatever it was, Janice Mepunga was the next step.
They had found
the camera in a kitchen drawer, but it contained no record of Jason’s pictures.
Robert had obviously removed the stick. Or, of course, the alien had.
Surprisingly enough, observing Jason’s face at that moment of disappointment
served to remove her doubts concerning his version of events. She had totally
believed, if only for a few seconds, that an alien being had emerged from
Bradley Robert and examined her son.
Tomorrow they
would see Mepunga. And maybe get some answers.
***
At the Eucla defence base the only source of light in the room came
from a large wall screen that portrayed the death throes of choppa flight 209
from Cape Pasley to Cocklebiddy on the night of 17 January 2179. In the room
were Assistant Commissioner Ray Parlane of the West Australian Police, Major
General Sebastian Ord, Air Vice-Marshal Jean Pescos and Sergeant David Jameson
Cooke of the Australian Defence Force.
The whole flight cam episode had run for no more than three minutes, and
now the group were digesting, and struggling to understand, what they had just
seen.
Sebastian Ord
raised his brow at the use of the word. “Could it have been an accident, a
collision?”
Cooke snorted and
said, “No sir. The radar shows two objects peeling away from the main group.
Definitely intentional.”
“I agree,” Jean
Pescos ventured. “Definitely intentional. Analysis of the short flight path
they took indicates an optimum trajectory for intersection with the choppa.”
“You mean it
shows intelligence.” Ray Parlane looked incredulous. Short, with luxurious
eyebrows, he had obtained his rank by being down to earth and taking no
nonsense. This whole episode did not sit well on his shoulders.
“Perhaps even
more to the point, what the hell are the damn things?” Sebastian Ord asked.
Tall and wiry with piercing blue eyes, he wore his neatly pressed uniform like
a glove. He started the video again and they watched as bright moonlight
exposed a flock of large creatures moving through the night sky. The choppa had
hovered no more than two hundred metres away, and its lights had picked out two
of the objects breaking away to veer towards the camera. They looked large, too
large for any known species of bat. Strong white beams highlighted their
outstretched wings as they homed in on their target, revealing thin reticulated
arms as they grew closer. Large reflective
eyes dominated the screen for a moment and then focus was lost as the creatures
appeared to collide intentionally with the choppa’s canopy.
“And don’t forget
the radar showed them descending from at least ten thousand metres,” Cooke
added. “Air is thin up there.”
The group grew
silent as Parlane switched on the light and turned off the wall screen. “So,
what happens now?” he asked nobody in particular.
“One. Expert
opinion on identification,” Ord replied, counting off on his fingers. “Two.
Find out if anyone else saw them that night.” He looked at everyone in turn
before raising a third finger. “Three.
Try to find them.”
“Then what, after
we find them?” Jean Pescos asked.
Parlane was swift
to answer. “We must eradicate. Can’t have them bringing down air traffic.”
Ord couldn’t help
smiling. “Let’s give the scientists a say. If they’re a rare or unheard of
species it could be a different anecdote.”
The room became
quiet again and Cooke stretched uncomfortably in his chair. He wasn’t
convinced. Other than Vanelli, there were no bodies at the crash site. And the
aerial attackers didn’t look like anything he had seen before; alien almost.
Though nobody, of course, had the balls to say so.
***
The road ribbon system took them directly to the
front of the Caiguna police station, seaward of the Eyre Highway along dusty,
unkempt side streets. Mother and son dismounted as one
and strode resolutely up the path and through darkened glass doors. They found
themselves in a featureless foyer where a single three-metre plant was placed
strategically in the middle of a brown synthetic marble floor. A long black
desk stood at the far end but there was no sign of any other exit door or, for
that matter, any other person. The walls were sky blue, the ceiling white, and
the effect austere.
To the right of
the desk, a mechanism hummed and a well-disguised door opened within the blue
wall to reveal a brightly lit office beyond.
“Come through.
Come through,” Janice Mepunga called.
Jason seized his
mother’s hand and looked at her questioningly. There was a strange fear in his
ashen face, and his eyes mirrored the foreboding that Laura felt within her own
heart.
“It’ll be fine,”
Laura said quietly and gently guided him through into the inner office.
Janice instantly
took the wind out of Laura’s sails by saying, “Look. I’m sorry about yesterday.
An emergency came up. I had to leave. Sorry about leaving you with Robert, too
– it was unavoidable. He tried to kill me. I knew Jason was around.” Her smile
grew broader. “I knew you would find him.”
Shaking her head,
Laura said sharply, “Maybe you did, but in what condition? It was absolutely
unforgivable what you did.” She threw a challenging look at the policewoman.
“And Robert wasn’t dead when I found him.”
Janice’s face
hardened and Jason noticed she slowly worked her hand down to her pistol. “It
was unavoidable,” the policewoman repeated.
Janice shook her
head. “My partner went to Perth this morning. It’s normally pretty quiet around
here, you understand, and there’s plenty of air backup from Kalgoorlie.” She
cast a meaningful glance at her visitors before adding, “Should we require it.”
“What about a
statement?” Laura asked. “Don’t you want one?”
“I certainly do,”
Janice said, pointing to a terminal in the corner of her office. “Be my guest.”
She was all sweetness and roses again, in control of the situation.
While his mother
typed, Jason waited his turn. He was nervous, upset about Bradley Robert and
about the loss of his photographs. His eyes hardly left Janice Mepunga, unsure
in his own heart whether the alien creature was harboured inside her or whether
it had moved to fresh pastures. On the drive to the station his mother had told
him of Robert’s dying words, and he had felt sick. He desperately wanted to
know the truth but was afraid of another confrontation. And worst of all, there
was no proof of anything.
“How did the
ranger threaten you?” Jason asked abruptly causing his mother to pause her
statement mid-sentence.
Mepunga glanced
up, her face like stone. “He just did, and that’s enough these days.” She
gestured to Jason to sit down on the chair across the desk. “Let’s compile your
statement together while your mother finishes hers.” She initiated a recorder
and leant back in her chair.
Jason shot a
fleeting look at his mother and received a warning glance in return, accompanied
by a small shake of the head.
“How did you get
to Robert’s house?” Janice asked.
“I was on the
computer in the camp tourist centre,” Jason replied. “He knocked me out and I
awoke in a bedroom.”
Despite the
recorder, Janice typed as she said, “And then what happened?”
“He made me
something to eat, just eggs and toast. Then he made me shower and took me into
the basement.”
“No,” Jason said.
“There was nobody else.”
Janice raised her
eyebrows. “Did you try to escape?”
With a shake of
his head, Jason said, “He was always in my face, and twice my size.”
“Even in the
shower?”
Jason averted his
eyes. “More or less.”
“He was naked
when I found him,” Laura interjected. “In the basement.”
The policewoman
looked hard at Jason. “Did he touch you? Molest you in any way?”
Jason bit his
lip. “No, he didn’t.”
Laura stood up.
“I’ve finished. It’s fairly short but to the point.”
Janice walked
over and glanced down at the screen. “Not exactly flattering behaviour on my
part,” she said, pursing her lips. “My statement will give my story.”
Laura shrugged. “I’d still like to see—”
Jason interrupted
her. “Can we go now, Mum? I need some air.”
Laura saw he
looked pale and distressed. “I’m sorry,” she said to Janice. “Is that all for
now?”
“Sure. We have
your vehicle tag. Stick around the district though.” She printed both
statements and laid them on the desk. “Just sign these for now.”
After they had
signed Laura turned to leave but paused at the door. “What happened to the
body?”
“It’s been taken
care of,” Janice replied. “Thanks for coming in.” It was the final dismissal.
Laura and Jason left without further discourse. They moved through the stark
foyer and once outside paused to breathe the fresh southern air, which was
rapidly warming as the sun rose higher in the sky.
“No alien for the
lady,” Laura said. “Thank God you didn’t say anything about that.”
“Not
to her,” Jason said, looking at his mother fearfully. “I think it’s still with
her.”
***
Suddenly, the
winged alien was outside her, standing two metres away, observing with its head
on one side. She sensed an instantaneous chill invade her body as the creature
emerged but, once free of it, Janice felt warmer and strangely fearless. No words or other communication passed but
Janice felt its mind boring into hers, trying to understand her emotions. At
least she thought she did. She didn’t really want to see it anymore, was not
interested in it at all, and wished it was light-years away.
“I’m sorry,
Daniel,” she said to the motionless body of her partner. “I’m so sorry. I
really could not help it.”
A tangle of
meaningless images ran through her mind, and she turned to face her symbiotic
disciple from another world. Something passed between them, intangible and
outside her scope of logical thought. She asked the question anyway.
“What do you want
from me? What do you want from us?”
TRIANGULAR
UFOs
This
MUFON CGI image shows a type of triangle UFO with lights in a V shape.
As a science fiction writer, one of the topics I
find most interesting is the UFO phenomena. One of the things that intrigues me
about alleged UFO sightings is the disparity in the shape, size and overall
appearance of the objects seen in the sky. You can check out the full range at
this link: http://www.ufocasebook.com/ufooddshapes.html
They certainly appear to come in all different shapes and sizes, ranging through cigar-shaped, discs or saucers, crescent, triangular or even V-shaped.
They certainly appear to come in all different shapes and sizes, ranging through cigar-shaped, discs or saucers, crescent, triangular or even V-shaped.
This blog concentrates on triangular UFOs.
Earliest sightings of Triangular
UFOs
The earliest known reports of these unusual
triangles can be traced to the Dutch East Indies in the late 1890s, around 10
years earlier than the Wright Brothers’ first powered airplane flight in 1903.
Triangle UFOs were also reported from Scotland and England in 1895.
Since 1990 there have been over 4000 sightings of
what is known as the “Flying Triangle” or “Silent Vulcan” over Britain alone.
Vulcan was a cold war British bomber designed in a triangular or delta shape.
Similar sightings were witnessed in other European countries and sometimes
aircraft were sent up to intercept. It was reported that people were seeing
flying vehicles “as big as a football field”. Usually there was no noise.
Another claim was the sighting of “a huge black triangle rising out of the
water”. Ufologist Nick Pope has written a book about many of these sightings
including one over several Army bases in one night. Nick used to run the
British Government’s UFO Project and is one of the world’s leading experts on
UFOs, the unexplained and conspiracy theories. Nick Pope
Here’s one is more famous quotes.
The skeptics have to be right every day, but the believers only have to be right once.
One can think of extraterrestrial visitation as being the ultimate low probability high impact event.
Here’s one is more famous quotes.
The skeptics have to be right every day, but the believers only have to be right once.
One can think of extraterrestrial visitation as being the ultimate low probability high impact event.
You can hardly disagree with that.
Sightings
Reports generally describe this class of UFO as a
large, silent, black triangular object hovering or slowly cruising at low altitudes.
Sightings usually take place at night. These objects are often described as
having pulsing coloured lights that appear at each corner of the triangle.
Black triangle UFOs are often reported to be visible to radar, as was the case
with the famous Belgian UFO wave in 1989 and 1990. On one occasion, two Belgian
F-16s attempted to intercept the objects (getting a successful missile lock on
two occasions) only to be outmanoeuvred; a key conclusion of the official
report was that no attempt should be made on the part of civilian or RAF Air
Defence aircraft to outmanoeuvre these objects except to mitigate the risk of
collision. The entire Belgian UFO wave, however, has been disputed by skeptics.
The truth, as always, is hard to get at.
Recent USA South-eastern
Wisconsin Sightings
The Kenosha UFO wave began in December 2016. The
events of 17 February 2017 were documented by various groups of witnesses. The
reports portrayed multiple dark triangular objects in the sky with blinking
white and red lights, at around 6:30 pm. A craft was also seen on 19 January
2017 at around 5:00 am hovering just above the ground. This object was
described as dark on the bottom with lights, and silvery on top. Other
sightings include 28 December 2016 at around 8:00 pm, and 24 January 2017 at
around 9:00 pm. These multiple sightings beg a lot of questions.
So what are they?
We can let our imagination run amok when pondering
what these strange vehicles could be. If they are piloted, are the crew at the
front with their power generation aft [as most modern jet aircraft], or could
it possibly be totally different? Or are they not manned at all? They are
rather large, by our standards, for an unmanned craft. If they are not manned
what are they carrying in such a large superstructure?
Accounts of enormous triangular UFOs are being
reported every week, backed up by dozens of videos, and even more photos and
drawings. Triangular UFOs have been spotted all over the world, with notable
sightings documented in California, South Carolina, Texas, Buenos Aires,
Maryland, Virginia, and the United Kingdom. One witness in Illinois even wrote
in to MUFON [Mutual UFO Network] about how they experienced missing time after
watching multiple triangle crafts eerily survey their campsite. Mufon
site
If triangular vehicles belong to the US government,
as some UFO researchers and witnesses suggest, why has there been such an
increase in sightings? It is unlikely the US government could be operating a
secret space program. And certainly not for the last one hundred years! Maybe
there are secret space missions going on above our heads right now! On the
other hand, if triangular crafts are not man-made, could extra-terrestrials or
inter-dimensional beings be visiting?
Although customarily dismissed in
any official capacity, the large number of reports of these objects collected
over the years, seem to make a case for the existence of some variety of
aircraft. Their origin, human or elsewhere, remains a mystery, as does their
ultimate purpose of operation. And purpose is the most critical question of
all.
You can sign up for Clayton's monthly newsletter at: https://claytongraham.com.au/ and receive a free copy of highly-rated 'Silently in the Night'.
As a youngster growing up in the cobbled streets of Stockport, UK, Clayton Graham read a lot of Science Fiction. He loved the 'old school' masters such as HG Wells, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov and John Wyndham. As he left those formative years behind, he penned short stories when he could find a rare quiet moment amidst life's usual distractions.
He settled in Victoria, Australia, in 1982. A retired aerospace engineer who worked in structural design and research, Clayton has always had an interest in Science Fiction and where it places humankind within a universe we are only just starting to understand.
Clayton loves animals, including well behaved pets, and all the natural world, and is a member of Australian Geographic.
Combining future science with the paranormal is his passion. 'Milijun', his first novel, was published in 2016. It explores first contact and genetic engineering under an alien invasion. Second novel, 'Saving Paludis', was published in 2018. This book is more of a space opera and hard science fiction, but reflects all of mankind's emotions: love, power, greed, comradeship and sacrifice.
The exciting Milijun Book 2, entitled 'Amidst Alien Stars', was released in December 2019: this is the second novel in the Milijun Series.
The novels are light years from each other, but share the future adventures of mankind in an expansive universe as a common theme.
In between novels Clayton has published 'Silently in the Night', a collection of short stories where, among many other adventures, you can sympathize with a doomed husband, connect with an altruistic robot, explore an isolated Scottish isle and touch down on a far-flung asteroid. Work is now underway on a second anthology of Sci-Fi short stories.
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