Making Peace
Making
Peace
Adam Lane Smith
Making Peace
Copyright © 2017 by Adam Lane Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Any questions can be sent to the author at [email protected].
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, fictional persons, or actual or fictional events is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Christian Bentulan of Covers By Christian
http://coversbychristian.com
Formatting by Kevin G. Summers
http://www.kevingsummers.com
This book is very humbly dedicated to the military veteran men and women who have given so much in service to their people, and who continue to struggle every day. Your sacrifice is not forgotten, and there are people who care. May you find some of the peace your struggle has purchased for us.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
Afterward from the (real) author
About the author
Acknowledgements
Many people contributed to the creation of this book, but the author would specifically like to thank the following:
My wife, for the long years of dedication and for being my most vocal supporter. My mother, for instilling in me a deep love and respect for the written word. My Lord and Savior, who sees me through every hard time and promises better times to come.
The many authors who have helped me along my writing journey, especially Nick Cole, K. M. Weiland, and Brian Niemeier: though you may not know it, each of you has contributed greatly to my growth in our shared craft. Rhett C. Bruno for his generous assistance in launching this book, and for his friendly encouragement when some things inevitably went sideways. And to Alan Dean Foster, who through writing and kindness ignited in me a lifelong love of both science fiction and harassment of authors. You, sir, have been my example.
My six beta readers: Brent, Greg, Jason, Leslie, Mike, and Nicole, the first people to read my first book. You were kind and critical in good measure, and your feedback was greatly valued.
I would especially like to thank those writers in our field who have verbally attacked me for maintaining a moderate stance in recent years instead of sharing their political views, and in particular that individual who threatened to get me fired from my day job because of my religious faith. Your immense hatred and bigotry opened my eyes to the dangerous fanaticism inherent in your beliefs, and spurred me on to achieve success in spite of your behavior toward me. I wish you tremendous enjoyment in reading my first book.
And I would like to thank you, dear reader. It has been my lifelong dream to be an author, and by reading this book you are helping make my dream come true. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.
To Edwin Verger, Editor in Chief
Care of Lush Bodice Publishing Company
1217 Imperial Era
Edwin,
I’ve arrived in the city of Tiers on the planet Sivern, as per your directions. I’ve contacted the commander of the Peacekeepers, been embedded in one of the upper level squads, and will begin my work immediately.
Consider this the cover letter for my project. I’ll be writing everything, no matter how embarrassing or personal, because this needs to feel authentic. When it’s ready, I’ll ship this folder off to you so you can go through it and assemble the book. When I send it, there will be notes for what to remove to protect individual privacy, as agreed ahead of time. Do not release it under any circumstances until those changes have been made. I’ll include my notes, interviews, journal entries, newspaper clippings, and polished up sections of manuscript. I’ll be working to conduct personal interviews with as many of the group as I possibly can, to get a feel for real life in this job. Their commander has agreed to push this requirement with each of them.
I need to get this off my chest: I doubt you could have stuck me with a sorrier group of social rejects if you had tried.
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