Author:
Matthew O. Duncan is part of the resurgence of Old School Sci-fi.  His books are a mix of Military Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, and Mystery weaved together with non-stop action.  Matt started his writing career as a playwright. He won a number of awards and had his plays produced on local stages.  He put his pen down in the late ’90s but picked it up again in 2011.

O’Hara never wanted to be a hero. He was a combat pilot only because his skills made him the best and Earth needed men like him to fight the enemy amongst the stars. Living a life a service and duty, alone in a cockpit suited him well, but fate had other plans for him. Shot down over an alien planet he was saved by a beautiful and mysterious woman named Katreena. He soon learns that the world is populated by people who seemed to have been lost by time and controlled by stones that the people believe to be divine magic. Wanting only to return to his fleet, he discovers that he has more than a passing connection with the world’s people, a love that resurrects a heart long thought dead and a decisive battle to the war that followed him.

The New Terra Sagas

       Captain Roche led his team to the third moon that was in around the dead planet.  The moon was in an odd orbit around the southern pole of the planet, so it was never in the planet's shadow.  As they approached the computer automatically scanned it.  The closer they got, the more information it could collect.  Soon data started popping up on the screen.  The moon was classified an EA-2M, which was military shorthand for Earth-like atmosphere and two times larger than the Earth's moon.  Not the detailed statistics a scientist would want to know, but all a pilot would need.  Roche led them on an orbit around the moon a few times to give the sensors a chance to scan for life signs, active civilizations or signs of any hostiles.  By the end of their third pass, the captain was confident that it was a safe place to put down and selected a site that showed mild weather, fresh water and a variety of fruiting vegetation.


Chapter 61: Zamora's Schooling