As I’ve mentioned before, readers had been asking me if I was ever going to tell the story of Captain Fleming and Maeve, the AI running the starship Nebula Zephyr. I’d dropped a few crumbs along the way in other Star Cruise books to hint there might be a story forthcoming at some point and then fairly recently my Muse helpfully provided me the idea for how their love story would play out.

It was clear to me I’d need to bring along a few of the other crew members in order for Maeve to accomplish what needed to be done and it was fun deciding which ones. I had to reread a few of the older books to make sure I was being faithful to the characters (Star Cruise Marooned for Red; Star Cruise Outbreak for Jake and Emily; Star Cruise Stowaway for Owen, Tyrelle and Midorri the alien pet; and Star Cruise Ghost Ship for Jayna and Theo). I had dropped a bread crumb in Star Cruise Thanksgiving about the captain having a relative who might be in trouble. (Note: This is a short story I first published on my blog and which is available in the Star Cruise Stowaway volume. It’s since been pointed out to me the story says the half brother died but I’d guess there was confusion about what happened to Daveed Fleming, given all the secrecy about his actual job undercover! Was he MIA or was he dead…But he didn’t die after all and when the Captain looked into his ‘death’ and found out the true circumstances, off he had to go to the rescue! (And someday I’ll have to go back and update that short story to make it align more perfectly with the newer books, I guess!)

This new book opens with a flashback to about five years ago (in their timeline) at a wedding in Star Cruise Return Voyage. I had written in a major hint at the reception, which a few sharp eyed readers did catch and wonder about. Who was that mystery lady dancing with Captain Fleming? Well, if you read the new book now you know and you get the entire story of that night, which sets the scene for certain developments in the present Nebula Zephyr timeline in the continuation of their love story.

I have to emphasize this isn’t the end of the Star Cruise series! I fully intend to write more of them – the cruise ship ‘love boat of the stars’ structure allows me to tell an endless variety of stories about new couples and situations. and I will be doing that. I know sometimes when an author revisits a variety of supporting characters while telling a new story it signifies the end of the series but not in this case.

The excerpt:

“Care to dance, captain?” The voice was sultry and the hand on his shoulder was delicate, her touch bringing sparks of electricity to his nervous system. Her perfume wafted delicately past his nose, putting all his nerve endings on the alert.

It couldn’t be.

Turning in his chair, Gil caught his breath at the vision before him. She was almost as tall as he was, beautiful platinum hair caught up in an elaborate arrangement, perfect face alight with happiness and mischief lurked in her deep blue eyes.

“Maeve?” His voice cracked in sheer disbelief. How much of the damn wine had he drunk?

She extended her hand, palm up. “I don’t think we should waste this opportunity, do you? The Mellureans worked so hard to give it to us.”

He rose and swept her into his arms as her chiffon skirts swirled around his legs. They moved onto the dance floor and smoothly integrated into the flow of the dance. Gil was on autopilot, relying on lessons drilled into him decades ago at the Space Navy Academy, while he tried to absorb the fact she actually was here in his arms. The delicate floral fragrance he associated with her in his dreams tickled his nose and she pressed as close to him as she could while they danced.

“Are—are you really here or is this a dream?” he asked finally, reluctant to break the spell but not entirely sure he wasn’t in a feelgood-fueled hallucination. He was afraid to let his hopes soar.

“I’m here, I promise.” She kissed his cheek as the song ended and the guests waited for more music. “Lady V’terre thought this would be a good opportunity to test my ability to manifest as a human—well, a close approximation of one anyway—and hold the form, unlike the last time. I’ve been working with the Mellureans every chance I get.” A frown swept over her face and he wanted to kiss the troubling emotion away for her. “The ladies weren’t kidding when they said the solution to my problem wouldn’t be on a human time frame.”

“We’ve made it work,” he said, retaining his hold.

“I always wanted to dance,” she said as the next song began. “It looks so beautiful in the soap operas. There’s one historical show I watch where the most interesting things occur in ballrooms and on the dance floor. So romantic.”

“I’ll show you romantic,” Gil promised as he swept her into the proper steps.

STAR CRUISE CAPTAIN’S STORY by Veronica Scott

Captain Gil Fleming has taken a mysterious leave of absence from the interstellar cruise ship Nebula Zephyr and disappeared. Maeve, the ship’s governing Artificial Intelligence is the only one who knows why he left and where he went. Desperately worried after months of silence from him, she takes drastic steps to organize a small rescue mission of loyal crew members.
Can she manage to create and maintain a humanoid body as ancient aliens taught her to do, driven by her love for the captain and fear for his life? Or will her challenges and anxieties overcome her determination to find and rescue Gil, resulting in failure? As the humans on her team struggle to accept the AI they’ve known and worked with for years in her humanoid form, they have to place all their trust in her because in the wild territories at the edge of the Sectors civilization where she wants to take them, there’s no law and no help to be had. Will they find Gil Fleming in time? And if they do, how will he react to Maeve and the others interfering in his private war? Is the love between the two of them enough to overcome the challenges ahead? A 41K word novel.

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