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    Collie Commander
    Collie Commander
    Collie Commander
    Ebook98 pages1 hour

    Collie Commander

    By Mary E. Lowd

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Journey to the stars and beneath the waves...

    Join Commander Bill Wilker, first officer of the starship Initiative, as 
    he splashes his way into the alien societies of two faraway worlds.

    Cmdr. Wilker is a dog who likes the water, but he may find himself in 
    over his head when sent on a mission to rescue a lost science vessel 
    from a world of alien decorator crabs who are hiding secrets under their 
    ornate shells. Then accompany him to a sacred ceremony on the watery 
    world of Cetazed, populated by photosynthetic, telepathic otteroids and 
    covered with two different oceans in "The Grafting."

    Who's a good dog ready for a deep dive into hidden truths and cultural 
    revelations? This collie!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDeep Sky Anchor Press
    Release dateNov 1, 2024
    ISBN9798227296627
    Collie Commander

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      Book preview

      Collie Commander - Mary E. Lowd

      PART I

      THE UNSHELLED

      Salty air tickled Commander Wilker’s long nose and whistled past his pointed ears. The light ocean breeze ruffled the long fur of his Collie mane. He placed a paw gently on the hull of his shuttle craft, parked on the small, sandy island in the middle of a yawning purple-blue sea. He was waiting for his co-pilot to join him, a local to this watery world.

      Though he wouldn’t mind if they were running late. The Collie dog had seldom been anywhere as peaceful as the surface of Kallendria 7. There was an entire, technologically advanced society on this world, but it was all beneath the waves. Up here, he could have been standing on a completely untouched, unpopulated world. Nothing as far as the eye could see except for rolling purple waves, deep blue sky, and the occasional silver sand island.

      Cmdr. Wilker closed his eyes, letting the feel of the sand beneath his paws and the warmth of the orange sunlight on his fur sink into him. He loved chasing adventure down among the stars, but sometimes a dog just needed to feel his paws on solid earth, connecting him to the bulk of an entire world. On the starship Initiative, Cmdr. Wilker was among the stars, but he could feel the limits of the spaceship all around him. The air moved in small ways, suppressed by walls, ceilings, and filtrations systems.

      Here, the air in his whiskers was part of currents that reached to the outer levels of the atmosphere and danced over mile after mile of rolling ocean. A planet was a smaller place than the cosmos, but sometimes, it felt bigger.

      Splish-splashing sounds broke Cmdr. Wilker’s revery, and he opened his eyes to see ivory claws crawling out of the wine-dark surf. Water streamed down the segmented legs as they emerged, ivory tips giving way to wide, armored legs, pearlescent and gleaming, dimpled with tiny spikes. Behind the first heavy pair of legs, six more delicate legs shuffled, all of them coming together at the base of a conical, twisting shell with the oily, rainbowed colors of abalone.

      The crab-like creature stood nearly as tall as Cmdr. Wilker at the peak of its shell. Though, its height changed significantly as the eight legs drew together or spread apart.

      Cmdr. Wilker peered at the creature, trying to make out a recognizable face—some part of it that he should look at while addressing it. Between the front talon-like legs, a gap in the shell revealed a squishy-looking collection of cilia or feelers, some of them tipped with eyes.

      The collie could work with that—eye stalks counted as a face as far as he could tell. So, Cmdr. Wilker’s own muzzle split in a grin, and he woofed, "You must be the Kallendrian emissary sent to join me on the rescue mission. I’m Commander Bill Wilker of the Tri-Galactic Navy starship Initiative. And this here trusty shuttlecraft is The Little Bo-Peep." He patted the shuttle’s hull affectionately, and then he stuck his paw out toward the Kallendrian.

      The Kallendrian’s eyestalks lengthened, poking further out of the gap in its shell, seeming to examine the canine speaking to it. Then it extended one of its smaller legs, from behind the larger talons, and delicately took hold of Cmdr. Wilker’s furry paw. With a burbly voice, it said, I am Sydo. My people thank your people for the assistance you will render.

      Cmdr. Wilker’s grin widened even further. It’s our pleasure. Why don’t we get started? He gestured toward the open hatch on The Bo-Peep and waited while Sydo climbed aboard, one clacking, segmented leg after another. As the sunlight played over their pearlescent shell, Cmdr. Wilker saw intricate, pictorial carvings etched into the curves and crevices. He wondered what they meant as he followed the crab-like being aboard.

      The Bo-Peep had two pilot’s seats at the main controls up front, a small area in the middle where the pilots could rest or else a few passengers or minimal cargo could be carried, and access to the engine in the back. Cmdr. Wilker helped Sydo to adjust one of the pilot’s seats, laying down its back, so the crab could perch atop it. Then he took the remaining seat, fired up the engine, and launched them back into the sky.

      This should be a simple mission, Cmdr. Wilker barked. In fact, the mission was so simple—track down a missing Kallendrian vessel, using the shuttle’s more advanced scanners—that he’d been sent alone. Usually, Cmdr. Wilker worked with a team, and he felt somewhat discombobulated without any other officers around to keep in order. Why don’t you tell me about your world? From what I saw, it was very beautiful.

      What? Sydo exclaimed. The surface?! It’s nothing. Empty. Dead.

      Oh... well... Cmdr. Wilker wasn’t sure if he’d offended Sydo or just surprised them. That is all I’ve had a chance to see. I’d love to see more.

      So as they flew through thick purple-orange clouds of space dust surrounding Kallendria and the neighboring star-systems, Sydo told the eager collie dog about life under a purple-blue ocean—hatching from one of thousands of identical eggs as a mere squishy, tentacled youth, growing into their first crab shell, and earning the beautiful etchings that covered their current shell with different achievements and experiences.

      In return, Cmdr. Wilker told Sydo about being a dog in the Tri-Galactic Navy, serving aboard a ship filled with other uplifted dogs and cats, along with the occasional alien exchange officer, such as Grawf the bear or Consul Eliana Tor the photosynthetic otter.

      I like the sound of her, Sydo said. We have photosynthetic fish on my world. I had one as a pet for a while.

      I’ve been to Consul Tor’s world, Cmdr. Wilker said. Her people don’t live under the ocean, but they do live at the edge of it. Instead of buildings, they have pools and slides.

      Sydo had told Cmdr. Wilker about the buildings on their world—grown out of living coral, trained on structures built out of whale bones. It sounded magnificent.

      She should come to the celebration party, Sydo said.

      Party? Cmdr. Wilker liked the sound of that.

      "When we bring the Osmosotosa home, there will be a big party to celebrate. You, of course, will be invited."

      Cmdr. Wilker looked over at his crab-like co-pilot with a cheerful grin. He loved parties, and he loved the idea of visiting the civilization under the sea on Sydo’s world. Besides, his captain would be very happy with him for securing an invitation. Forging friendly relationships with new species and new worlds was the driving force behind the existence of the Tri-Galactic Navy, and until now, when Kallendria needed help finding their missing vessel, the budding civilization of crabs had been very hesitant to interact with the wider society of space-faring planets in the triple galaxies.

      Well, this mission just keeps getting better and better! Cmdr. Wilker barked. I get to make a great new friend— He knocked an elbow jovially against the hard shell on Sydo’s closest pincer. —and then I get to go to a party!

      The universe has a sense of timing, so of course, that was exactly the moment that The

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