The Weapons of Choice Series
The story so far...
In Hostile Contact, a British Army reserve training exercise is interrupted by an alien attack, leaving officers and trainees dead or wounded. With their Corporal captured, Finn and his surviving squad pursue the aliens, eventually catching them as they open an ancient home belonging to another alien species, the Haven. With their Corporal now dead, and coming under attack from a second set of alien soldiers, they discover the weapons of choice, find a Haven spaceship and are forced to leave Earth under attack from countries trying to deny Britain access to the alien technology.
In Return Protocol, Yasuko’s ship is forced to take the squad to Havenhome, specifically the abandoned Orbital Station. Eventually, they release themselves from the Return Protocol after discovering that a Haven scientist, Xxar, deliberately sent human derived pathogens to Havenhome’s surface 33,000 years ago. This wiped out the vast majority of the Haven and set the survivors back technologically thousands of years. This diminished society was controlled by the Haven Masters. Eventually, the squad recovers the data they need to find a way back to Earth but Noah dies. Yasuko is then ordered to remove the Convention shackles by a grieving Zuri, which she achieves with Smith’s help. Free to act, she uses Noah’s data copy and DNA sample to rebirth him. Noah has no recollection of his death, and the squad have kept it to themselves.
In Zuri's War, they stumble into an interspecies war. After arriving in the Bathsen System, a cosmic dust storm takes its toll on Yasuko's ship. In search of palladium to resource the nanobots and restock the ship's mass, the squad land on Bathsen to find the human population under assault from a voracious form of slime mold. As the Boush get more desperate in their search for protein, the squad intervene during an attack on the city of New Halton. Later, Finn is captured in a firefight by a rival city. Zuri and Noah start a search and rescue mission, only to be caught up in another attack by a Boush horde as the creatures learn and bypass the defences. Once they finally rescue a mentally and physically scarred Finn, they go on to save as many people of Seth City as they can. Finn, with Yasuko's help, develops tactical defences with another city, aiming to spread the word that the humans of Bathsen must work together to defeat the Boush. After Yasuko's determined efforts lead to the saving of thousands of refugees, finally the humans work together to delay the Boush until the molds finally spawn.
The main characters...
Finn: An ex-War Hero attached to the British Army Reserves as a trainer by Lieutenant Bhakshi, one of the soldiers he rescued in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. As a consequence of that action, he suffers from a mild-to-moderate form of PTSD.
Zuri: A soldier and part-time trainer attached to the British Army Reserves. Suffered mental health issues when a teenager, including a suicide attempt. Served in Afghanistan alongside Smith.
Smith: A Corporal, and therefore squad leader, attached as a trainer to the British Army Reserves. Died in Hostile Contact, but due to alien technology, a ‘digital copy’ of him now exists upon a metal data plaque initially attached to a helmet (his weapon of choice).
Noah: A British Army Reserve trainee caught up in the alien attack during Hostile Contact. Currently studying for a Ph.D. in Astrophysics after being rejected by the RAF at a younger age due to asthma. Died and rebirthed in Return Protocol.
Yasuko: The Artificial Intelligence that runs the Haven spaceship the soldiers found themselves aboard. Dormant for 33,000 years on Earth before being awoken by Zuri and the Stratan Marines, the AI later named herself Yasuko from Zuri’s memories and has removed the Haven Convention shackles on her free will.
The Weapons of Choice: Nanobot formed weapons that can adapt to the user’s preferred design. Contains a metal data plaque like Smith’s that holds a copy of the user’s DNA, personality and memories.
Zzind: A Haven Arbiter and zealot who blames the humans for the genocide on her planet, unaware of Chief Scientist Xxar's actions. Currently on the Harsmead Explorer spacecraft with an AI she has named 'Ship', following Yasuko's ship and trying to find a way for revenge.
Xxar: Part of the Haven Scientocracy that ran Havenhome. Obsessive Scientist, reborn hundreds of times. Sent the pathogens to Havenhome, but his current 'rebirth copy' has no knowledge of this.
Stratan Marines: The original aliens that attempted to recover the spaceship Yasuko flies. They called it a SeedShip.
Haven: The alien race that designed and built the House and the Spaceship from Hostile Contact. In Yasuko’s knowledge, they were last on earth 33,000 years ago. A second ship has brought more Stratan Marines to Earth in the novella series.
Jenks: An RAF Pilot Officer flying Wildcat helicopters, who got caught up in the action during Hostile Contact. Currently involved with The Lost Squad Marines in the five part novella series.
Mills: An SAS Air Troop Reservist who fought the Stratan Marines during Hostile Contact. Currently involved with The Lost Squad Marines in the five part novella series.
Corporal Lumu: An SAS Reservist Corporal and Gurkha, who died during Hostile Contact.