I’ve decided to change up these weekly snippets and go through my backlist, sharing the first meeting between the two main characters in each book. It’s always fun for me to revisit the books and I hope it will be for you too! Or if you’ve never happened to read a certain book, maybe I can entice you into giving it a try.

I was always intrigued by the story of the Mary Celeste, an abandoned freighter found sailing the seas by herself in 1872 and I wanted to write a scifi story inspired by those events. I also thought it was high time to give Security Officer Jayna Evans her own Star Cruise story!

Cover by Fiona Jayde

The snippet: Jayna and Theo Knox, the Sixth Officer, are sent to the derelict ship to see if she’s worth salvaging. They’ve been having an intense but purely physical affair although Theo wants more because he really cares for her but Jayna is self protective for reasons we learn later in the book….here’s their first encounter in the book:

And now that situation wasn’t enough for him because he was so intrigued by her but he had no idea how to move the relationship along. Maybe if this turned into a salvage operation, and they were alone on the small ship with only a skeleton crew…

Firmly he banished the speculation from his mind. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

“Maeve gave me the quick briefing along with the captain’s orders,” Jayna said as they walked into the launch bay together. “A derelict is pretty unusual out here, isn’t it?”

“Almost unheard of,” Theo agreed. “We should be ready for anything over there.”

Jayna shot him an annoyed glance and he wished he could recall his impulsive remark, which sprang from his own excitement for this unique opportunity, not in any attempt to tell her how to conduct her own business. They’d never worked together during his time on the Nebula Zephyr, with him being command staff and her being a security officer.

“Of course, sir,” she said now in a flat voice. “When you’ve been with us longer, I think you’ll find our security teams are top notch.”

Jayna went ahead onto the flier, which was sitting with the engines thrumming and Theo waited for the rest of his crew to arrive. Captain Fleming had assigned him several techs and a pilot, as well as two more Security personnel, who nodded to him and hastened onto the flyer to get their orders from Jayna. Theo was satisfied he had a good mix of solid people to explore the derelict and get her under control. Everyone had a blaster on their hip, even the techs although the report was no one remained on board the Mebsuta C although the lifeboat was still aboard. Theo jogged up the ramp after his entire team had arrived and closed the hatch after himself.

“Ready to go, pilot,” he said over the com.

“Aye, aye, Mr. Knox.” Theo recognized the cheery voice as belonging to one of their top pilots and he went forward to the cockpit to oversee the approach to the other ship. On his way through the flier, he took note of Jayna and the security officers gearing up as if for an assault. They’d be first off and Theo felt confident nothing would get through them.

Approaching the derelict, he was struck again what a good-looking ship she was, although tiny compared to the looming bulk of the Nebula Zephyr, which was the largest cruise ship in the Sectors. The intruder had trim lines and her engines were moving her on her chosen path efficiently.

“No answer to repeated hailing,” the pilot said.

“Out of curiosity, if she keeps going on the current heading, where will she end up?” Theo asked. The mystery of this vessel intrigued him.

“Out of the galaxy entirely at some point,” the pilot said with a grin. “Nothing where this ship is going, except maybe more traffic patterns to disrupt if you don’t get her under control.”

“Oh I’ll get it done.” Theo was determined to wrestle the ship into submission and lay claim to her for a salvage prize. It would be a notable feather in his professional cap and a stellar entry on the new resume he was intent on building.

Jayne entered the cockpit and leaned over the pilot’s shoulder, examining the vids. Theo was intensely aware of her proximity although she gave no sign of any previous connection between them. “Probably carrying passengers and cargo when she set out originally. No signs of damage. No evidence she’s been in a fight so where are the crew?”

STAR CRUISE GHOST SHIP by Veronica Scott

After losing his Space Navy career due to an unfortunate accident, Theo Knox is looking for any opportunity to distinguish himself as an officer aboard the luxury cruise liner Nebula Zephyr. When they come upon a derelict freighter, he’s happy to lead a small crew to salvage the ship and bring her to port. But once he’s boarded the little ship questions pile up. What happened to the original crew? Why is the lifeboat still docked? Is the ship haunted? What’s in those mysterious crates in the cargo hold?

Security Officer Jayna Evans has complicated feelings about Theo so she’s pleased to be assigned to his salvage crew. She hopes they can work out their future while bringing the derelict to port but the uncanny events aboard the abandoned vessel pile up and she can’t trust anyone, not even Theo.

Can Theo and Jayna salvage the ship and their relationship? Will anyone survive a cruise on the Ghost Ship?

This 38K word Star Cruise novella is the latest installment in the ongoing, connected series. Have you booked your Star Cruise yet?

There is a very brief mention of the loss of a previous pregnancy.

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