The F. Sygnata — Cynthia Scott

In this short from the author of Immortal, My Love comes the exciting new adventures of Agent Kira Wood and Mister the Z'Dhia from the space opera series, The Book of Dreams. Agent Kira Wood, an attaché to the Z'Dhia, who is a member of a sect of aliens from the planet Idris-Sarra, joins him on another adventure to recover a volume of the Book of Dreams, a compendium of ancient texts that were stolen from his planet while under occupation. This time, he traces a volume in the most unlikely place, a starship in Kira's home, the Beta planetary system. Once a leisure ship owned by the Thomas O. Selden Cruise Liner Co., The Excelsior is now an abandoned, rotting husk falling endlessly into outer space.But when the two timeshift onto the planet, they are immediately confronted by a salvage crew, along with the ship's owner and his assistant, who is besieged by a horde of frightening ice creatures that has already killed one of their members. These creatures can mimic anything or anyone they come into contact with, including the icy environs of the dead ship, and are determined to protect their territory by any means unless the crew manages to return to their salvage vessel and blow up The Excelsior before it reaches the human settlements. But as they learn more about the creatures, Mister and Kira recognize their intelligence and suggest they negotiate with them. Selden and the salvage crew bitterly disagree, and a contest of wills begin among the two factions over whose plan is superior: negotiate with the creatures or blow the ship to kingdom come.As they are drawn deeper into a diplomatic quagmire, Kira and Mister find that the F. Sygnata aren't the only ones they'll have to defend themselves against if they are ever to complete their mission and return home.From Cynthia C. Scott, the author of The Book of Dreams, The F. Sygnata is a gripping, intense, and action-packed tale.