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Champions of Terra Excerpts |
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For those who bought the series in ebook, the paperback version contains special features that may interest you. All five books of the Champions series, plus the added features of 'Before they were Champions' which details the methods by which the ladies were recruited, and the first days of 'Orientation' where the humans meet representatives from their new prospective careers. Now available from Amazon.com!!!! Purchase it from Amazon.ca HERE! Including the special features!
Excerpt from Book 1 - Arena Station “Her
scent did not match her actions and I found that…offensive.
As long as you are honest with your responses we should have no
problem.” He paused again. “My name is Tiergar by the way, seeing
as how we are about to become intimately acquainted.” “Kyra…”
Anything else she would have said was lost in a yelp when he suddenly
snapped forward and grasped her arms, lifting her off of her feet. He
buried his face in the hollow of her neck breathing in her scent. A
peculiar vibration ran through Kyra’s body as she hung suspended. It
took a few seconds before she realized that he was purring. Her
nipples tingled where her breasts met his chest. The bronze skin was
coated with a fine layer of hair. He had the same hide as a lion she
had once seen on earth and the texture was at once irritating yet
soothing. His
scent enveloped her, leaving her dizzy. Tiergar’s tongue darted out
and stroked down her neck. She could only hope he liked the way she
tasted. When
she felt his teeth gnawing gently on her neck, her self-control
shattered into glittering shards. Dangling in his grip, she had no
leverage for her attack. She lashed out with her legs, connecting with
his knee, and causing him to release her as he fell to the ground and
his legs collapsed beneath him. She
landed hard on her butt and quickly scuttled away from him. Kyra
backed up against the wall using it to help herself to her feet. When
she was standing she prepared herself for an attack, astonished when
Tiergar sat there grinning at her. “So they did have to go into the Fighter Ranks after all. I was told that there were no other viable matches available in the companion area. You are not quite what I expected.” He slowly got to his feet and crossed over to the bed. Rubbing his knee ruefully, he leaned back on his elbows and observed her closely.
Excerpt from Book 2 - Deal with a Dhemon The doctors on duty consulted, and decided to tank her. All of her clothing was removed. Life support was inserted and muscle relaxants and pain killers would be administered via the IV’s. With a splash and a sigh of relief, she found herself floating in the tank. Her body weight born by the water which was a gentle pressure on her sensitized flesh. Ah, comfortable. Four hours later, her ride showed up and he was not impressed by what he saw. She was astonished. Sam had known that much of the mythology of her world was due to alien sightings, the species names becoming garbled over time. The alfar of the Admar, The angels of Enjels (wings and all), and here before her was a demon. Or more precisely a Dhemon. Of the planet Dhema. She floated close to the glass of the tank and observed him at length. His hair was black, confined in tight braids that wove tightly against his scalp to fall in metal banded disarray beyond his shoulders. His skin was a fascinating shade of burgundy, and his eyes glowed yellow as they questioned the doctor. He was not happy. Sam admired his strong physique, the corded muscle of his neck, leading down into shoulders wide enough to support a chest and arms that looked like they could crush her with one blow. Her gaze roamed lower to take in the columns of his thighs and was relieved to find that his feet were encased in boots and not the hoofs of legend. He did seem to have two tiny horns on his head, however, so she guessed that there had been some truth to the tales of the ancients of humanity. Her hands pressed flat against the glass of the tank as she absorbed every detail of the representative of the race she was being hidden in. All-in-all he was an extremely handsome specimen. It would not be too arduous a task to spend time with others of his race, from a strictly observational point of view. As the doctor waved his claws to the tank, she jerked back and hid her naked form as best as she could, with tresses of her hair and the blue liquid flowing in gentle currents around her. The dhemon turned to look at her floating in the tank and his scowl deepened. She could see the furious discussion that he held with the doctor, and the doctor’s gesticulating wildly as his assistant tried to translate. The dhemon stomped out and Sam relaxed into the tank once again, sleeping as best she could with her body registering the lightest touch, even in the liquid. A few hours later Moran arrived to check on her. He activated the speaker and spoke. “General Kassil is having a problem with your accommodation. The doctor will not let you out of the tank for three days, and Kassil wants to leave now.” She gestured for him to continue. He looked at her in concern. “Do you think you will be ok, Sam? I know you took that hit for me, but your species is almost as sensitive as mine to the neural blasts. I still remember the last time you were hit. It took you months to recover.” She smiled slightly and wiggled her fingers at him to indicate that she would be fine. “Adal has moved your things to the warship. Well, she supervised. The General was very generous with your accommodations on board. You have a lovely suite with a private sanitation chamber. I think he gave you his best VIP quarters, so be nice.” She gave him a wicked grin, and nodded to indicate she would be on her best behavior.
Excerpt from Book 3 - Avari Nyx Annabelle Maddox floated gently in the tank, swaying as the liquid moved around her. A soft rapping on the glass echoed in her ears and she opened her eyes to those of her visitor. Well, she would have if her visitor had eyes. A face-plate framed by a cloak embroidered with marks of the Imperial house of Haldis looked in at her. “You planning on coming out of there anytime soon, Anna?” The speakers reverberated the sound through the tank. Anna nodded and swam to the surface, hauling herself out of the top of the tank. Then, removing the breathing apparatus she tugged on a robe. Her chestnut hair dripped onto the fabric as she stepped down the ladder and greeted her visitor. “Hey, Negotiator Tyrell. What brings you to the silence and serenity of Kya Ghada?” Anna nodded for her companion to follow her as she led her through the temple halls and into the open meditation quarters. Her feet padded wetly on the cobbled stones. A serene garden flowing with fountains and streams, stone benches, and statuary greeted them as they wandered through the pathways. They took a seat in one of the unoccupied benches and Anna waited for her companion to speak. She waited quite a while with her hands folded in her lap. “You know, you are the only other human I know who can stay still for so long.” Tyrell was compelled to admit that she was impressed. “Well, you are the only human I know who has chosen to live in a can. When do you get out by the way?” Anna was curious. The negotiator had already been in the armor much longer than Alliance standard. Three years was the limit for negotiator service, Tyrell was closing in on her fourth. “Enough about me. That’s not why I’m here.” The metallic voice was impatient. Anna smiled, after four years in a pilot’s harness and she could understand the subtle tones better than anyone. “Okay. Then am I to imagine that this is not just a visit to an old friend?” “No.” A sigh shook the speakers on the faceplate. “You know by now, that after the blast you took, you are no longer fit for service.” Anna’s face clouded, “I know. I was hoping that I could be repaired, but I know.” That part of her life had ended when they had to pry her from the seared circuitry of the Alliance battle cruiser that she had been part of. It was a career-ending injury. “I’m sorry. I know how much you love flying.” A gauntleted hand reached out to take one of the small human ones in a gentle grip. “I’m here to give you information regarding your new assignment.” “It’s ok. So, where am I off to?” A falsely chipper tone took over. Anna pasted a bright smile on her face, practicing an expression that the link to her ship had made unnecessary. She had to force her face to take on expressions since she was decanted after the attack. When you looked through the eyes of cameras and monitors, smiling was unnecessary. “You are being sent to the planet Avari. It is tech restricted, and nothing should irritate your nerve endings there. They don’t have anything beyond Iron Age allowed on the surface.” Tyrell was all business once again. “With, of course, an exception for a communication’s center.” “So you’re throwing me alone into the wild? Isn’t that a little harsh?” Annabelle’s mouth twisted in amusement. She did appreciate the lengths that the Alliance, and Tyrell had gone too, to insure her comfort. Being around any electrical impulses after the Arena Station attack was intensely painful. Annabelle had been a pilot. She had been hard-wired into the service systems and navigation controls of the ship. The ship had felt like her own body, each system was a corresponding match to her own flesh. When the Alliance ships, including her battle cruiser, attacked the Arena Station the defense systems had kicked in automatically. It had caught her by surprise. An electronic pulse had been sent into her hull and then through her. She had kept herself conscious as her body felt like it had been dipped in acid, her nerves on fire, and brought her ship around to defend the attack fleet. They had destroyed the defense systems in short order and set about freeing the kidnapped members of the Alliance. This included Anna’s friend Kyra. They had been in basic orientation together with Tyrell and a few others and had formed a bond that stretched across time and through space. Anna frantically sought more information. “Ok, so, am I on my own there or is it inhabited?” “It’s inhabited. A race called the Avari, oddly enough. They are an Alliance founding race. A village elder named Tarun Bien will meet you. He will help you adjust to your new surroundings.”
Excerpt from Book 4 - Marks of Admar Sarah sat quietly, meditating in the open air of the arboretum. The metallic steps sounded behind her, then stopped. Silence once again fell over the green oasis in the center of the space station. “Hey Amy, take a seat. I’m almost done here.” Sarah straightened, then relaxed into the silence once again. Carefully steering her consciousness around her friend. Her mind touched the life pulsing softly in the trees and flowers, as they provided the necessary oxygen and filtration to the station. Each was a bright spot in the stillness of the space that served as the backdrop for the exotic and eclectic blend of flora. With her eyes closed, she identified each species by its living signal, the age by the brightness of that same signal, and it’s origin by the particular tint of the life energy. Sighing gently, she reeled her mind back into her body, and opened her eyes. The world around her seemed lacking in color after what she had just experienced. She resigned herself to living in the physical world, at least for now. “So, Amy, why am I here?” She stood and turned to view her friend encased in the head-to-toe armor of the Alliance Negotiator. “Nice to see you too, Sarah.” “Sorry. There are way too many people on this damned station. This is the only place I can be alone for any length of time, and even then I can feel them moving around nearby.” Sarah shuddered and took a seat on one of the nearby benches and brushed the dirt from her robes. Her grey gloves did not absorb the dirt, but also did not do a great job of cleaning off the soil either. “I sympathize. I really do. But here is an opportunity for you to get to wander around on an uninhabited world. All you have to do is put up with Professor Ridwal.” Sarah groaned, “Oh, not that windbag! He’s the reason that I haven’t gotten any good assignments lately. That stupid Mdi disaster.” “You were proven correct and his theories were debunked. You should be happy.” There was an amused tone to the metallic voice. “How was I supposed to know that he had done a dissertation on the ‘Brutal Mdi Empire’? No one tells me anything.” She slumped down in an aggrieved manner. “It did stall his career for a while as well, but in the mean time he was able to blackball you with the Archeological Society. This assignment could remake your career.” Sarah paused and tapped her chin with one gloved finger. “Ok, what have you got for me?” “Well, remember when you tracked down Kyra for us?” “Yes. I have never watched so much alien porn in my life. But yes.” She grinned up at Amy. “Well, she had discovered the hidden jump co-ordinates for a planet called Admar. Admar was one of the first planets in the Alliance, if not the first, and the species of the Admaryn bore a startling resemblance to creatures of human myth and legend.” Negotiator Tyrell continued, “The Alliance has put together a team to investigate the site and you’re on it.” “Wow, what kind of species was it?” Her curiosity engaged, Alliance Reader Sarah Marks stood up and faced her friend directly. The metal gauntlets took her gloved hands in a firm grip. “We aren’t sure, and besides, that would taint your findings. The Stalix leaves in two hours. Be on it.” Tyrell squeezed and shook her hands, then made her way out of the arboretum. As usual, Tyrell had only tantalized her with the information that she had given to Sarah. Left staring at nothing, Sarah shook herself to attention. “Well, I had better get going then.”
Excerpt from Book 5 - Haldis Imperium Amy steeled herself and dressed for formal presentation. Her Terran Champion markings clearly visible beneath the cropped top she was wearing, the waist of her skirt rising in a peak to just below her navel and falling in graceful lines to the floor. “Here we go.” She muttered under her breath as she walked through the corridor. Entering the main audience chamber, Amy walked down the center of the room to the throne, where he was sitting. She dipped into a curtsy and kept her head lowered. “So, you are the Terran Champion that Marvick and the council have been pestering me about. Well, raise your head woman, and lets have a look.” His arrogant tone began to slice through the thin threads that bound her temper, but she raised her head and met his eyes. When she made eye contact, he looked startled. As if seeing something in her that she was unaware of. She stood completely still as he eyed her up and down, his gaze lingering at her breasts and hips, and then strangely at her hands. "Not bad. Not amazing, but not bad.” His tone grated along her nerves. She had to wait until he asked her a question to speak. But, the pressure of his gaze and his insulting comments were causing her temper to flare. He rose from the throne and began to circle her, taking in every nuance of her appearance and judging it. “You have several scars on your arms and the back of your neck. What were you doing before they sent you here?” His tone held only polite curiosity. “Working for the Alliance Council in my assigned profession.” Her answer was the simple and direct version that she had been trained to give when not in the safety of the armor. “Just what was that profession?” He had stopped directly behind her and she jumped when he whispered the question into her ear. His warm breath sending ripples of sensation down her neck and beginning a slight increase in heartbeat that could be trouble for her. “I…worked in the Trade Center.” Her answer was evasive. She knew he was up to something, but had no idea what. “Trade…how, interesting. I suppose that you are unaware that the Alliance Council has offered me a considerable sum to delay the reproductive contract with you.” Her startled face made him laugh. “Apparently, they need your services immediately. Now why would that be?” He resumed his seat on the throne and met her eyes once again. He was amused, definitely, but she didn’t know why. “I don’t know your highness. I haven’t received any notices from the council. This news is a surprise to me.” She was genuinely bewildered by his behavior, and only then noticed that she and Palden were completely alone in the room. He withdrew a data pad from the table next to him. “Ah, here it is, ‘It is requested that Amy Tyrell of the Terran Protectorate be released temporarily from the procreative contract with His Imperial Majesty Palden VII, as her skills are required by the Alliance Trade Commission. Should she be carrying an heir by this time, it is the request of the council that she be allowed to consult in the negotiations for which her expertise is needed.’ Does that clear anything up for you, Tyrell?” He lifted a brow and tossed the data pad to her so that she could verify its contents. “Oh, that. Hiya, Palden.” She was almost relieved that he had not discovered her other secret. “Is that what has gotten the bee in your bonnet, that I didn’t tell you who I was? You know, if you had just met with me right away, I might have told you by now.” She gave him a cheeky grin and the small abbreviated half-bow that was her trademark. He removed himself once again from the throne and stood facing her directly, only two feet in front of her. “You let me believe that you were male, you arranged alliances between me and other women without batting an eye, you stormed into my private chambers whenever you wanted…and then you left me.” His voice was husky with emotion. As she lowered her eyes, he reached out to grasp her chin in a gentle yet firm grip. “For five whole years you tormented me, beat me at Wings of War, fought me on every political decision that I made and refused to bow to my every whim and now you won’t even meet my eyes, why is that?” His voice had gotten suspiciously gentle as he waited for her reply. “I am no longer a Negotiator. I have no value to you except as a means of getting your advisors off of your back by providing you with an heir, and you didn’t ask for me to be here.” She shuddered and took another deep breath. “I have not really considered this to be a welcome back, and by no means a permanent assignment. I know your tastes in women, and you tire of them as quickly as the tides change. Genetically, we are a match. Physically, you are looking for something else.” She raised her eyes to meet his once again. He looked surprised by the matter-of-fact way that she was describing her role on his planet. She braced herself for the hurt blooming within her and kept going. “Should we breed your heir, and should it be healthy and male, I will be out of your life and granted my freedom from the Alliance Service. Should it be female, you will be free to choose another match and I will have fulfilled my contractual obligations to the Alliance and be sent somewhere quiet to raise my daughter. If you choose not to copulate with me, at the end of the six months I will be sent on to the next world where my match has been chosen.” Her voice held no trace of the emotions that she was feeling. In all likelihood, she was already pregnant and the thought of the baby in her arms with his eyes looking up at her was causing a small part of her heart to break. She closed her eyes and fought back tears. “But we have already copulated Tyrell, don’t you remember? It is certainly etched in my mind. You were so tight, so wet, so hot, so responsive that it blew my mind.” His voice had dropped to a husky purr and her eyes flew open to meet his inches above her. “You knew?” Her voice came out as a horrified whisper. “You knew all along?” “Don’t be stupid, of course I didn’t know.” He seemed genuinely irritated with her now, how fast his moods changed. “I put it all together after the fact. The dancing, the hair, and of course the fact that I woke up covered in body makeup. Your only really exposed skin was your abdomen, and the only thing that you could have reason to hide with that much makeup would be ranking tattoos, which meant you were from off world. Only seventeen tattooed off-worlders are currently on this planet, and only two of them are humanoid. One is male, and I think that I would have remembered that. So, via process of elimination, I ended up with the contract Terran.” “By the way Tara…very cute. So Tyrell, what did you think of me?” His voice had once again changed into the husky purr that seemed to reach into her belly and start a fire. “Adequate…very adequate.” She murmured as he began to reach for her. “In fact, so adequate that if I had known, I would have tried to jump you while still in the armor.” His boyish grin replaced the rapid frown that had started to grip his features. “Since I thought that you were male at the time, I don’t know how receptive I would have been, but hey, feel free now.” His hands gripped her upper arms and he drew her to him, hips to hips, breast to chest and thigh to thigh. He let out a sigh of contentment as she relaxed against him. No one had ever felt this right. Despite what she believed, he planned on keeping her. She looked around to make sure that they were alone, then raised her face to his and leaned up slightly to join her lips to his. “So, ever done it in a throne room?”
Excerpt from Special Features...Orientation “What was that about Amy?” Kyra whispered it quietly. “My friend, you have just seen my destiny. I am going to be spending the next few years in a can.” “Wow. Really? I am heading off to an Archive. I get to be a librarian.” Her face took on a blissful look and Amanda was sure that she would be fantastic at it. No one with that kind of passion could be bad at something that made them that happy. “What about you, Annabelle? Sarah? Samantha? Do you know where you have been assigned?” Sarah was huddled in on herself, but gave a bright grin, “I am heading to the Citadel for psi training. I am to be a psychometrist.” Samantha crossed her arms and stretched out her legs, “I am heading into the Hunter Guild. I have previously untapped tracking skills that they want to make use of.” The grin on her face was all pride and predator, Amy could believe it. Annabelle looked to the bright view of space over head. “I am a Pilot. I am gonna be wired into a battle ship and allowed to fly among those stars.” Her face had taken on a dreamy cast and Amy envied her that freedom. There was a chime and the next speaker, or should she say speakers, arrived. Two fantastically attired beings moved toward the podium. The female was dressed in beautiful crystalline silks that set off her midnight velvet skin. The male was of the same species, but dressed in more subdued satin robes that hung open to expose his highly-muscled chest, and flowing trousers tucked into dark leather boots. Amy was amazed, the woman didn’t walk she glided forward in a rustle of silks. She wasn’t the only human that was interested by their appearance, she looked around and found that the men were eyeing the female and the women were oggling the male. The female stepped up to the podium. The savages had all gotten a good look and it was obviously time for introductions, Amy was almost snickering. “Good afternoon Volunteers. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Alliance.” “I know that Councillor Tajn has already welcomed you, and he is a member of the Ambassadorial branch of the Alliance. So am I. My name is Adia, and I am a Companion. As is the gentleman beside me. His name is Isabi.” The word companion shot through the room in a wave. The standard prudishness that was part of the majority of cultures made automatic conclusions that seemed to make the Adia smile. It was the reaction that she had been expecting apparently. “Despite what you may believe, a Companion rarely serves a sexual purpose. Instead, our jobs are to guide the clients through unfamiliar customs and cultures with a minimum of fuss.” Well, she said rarely, not never. With several of the other women Amanda’s gaze looked longingly at Isabi. Lord, he was pretty. His muscles were delineated under his clothing and he seemed not to mind a bit that the eyes of the human females rarely left him. “A Companion’s life is one of study and repetition. We learn the languages, cultural mores, social customs and taboos of any planet to which our client wishes to travel. It requires keen intelligence and a sense of humor that not many can maintain.” Well, she was certainly displaying that sense of humor now. The males in the audience were practically salivating at the thought of this elegant creature under ‘contract’ to them. She spread her arms and turned, displaying the robes and wraps that she was wearing. “The clothing that we wear is designed to catch and hold the attention of the crowd that we are in. We are there to be displayed as valued employees and nothing more. An ambassador or trader who can gain a Companion contract is both unobjectionable and wealthy. We choose our assignments as we will be working closely with the client and a clash of personalities would be disastrous.” “Isabi has completed two years of study, he is still an apprentice and will only be allowed to tag along on assignments with a more experienced Companion. His studies have included a variety of etiquette classes, ceremonial dressing, espionage, and sexual technique courses in addition to the standard language courses.” Adia certainly knew what buttons to push in this crowd. With the human women out numbering the men three to one, the elegant and muscular apprentice who had been educated in sex techniques had the majority of them drooling. Amy looked at her little group and she saw the same look in their eyes that was had to be in hers. Embarrased lust.
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