Visions II: Moons of Saturn

Ice mining in space, colonization of extraterrestrial moons, war between interplanetary corporations, and time travelers bent on destruction, with mighty Saturn as the backdrop.

The theme, Moons of Saturn, provided inspiration for the creation of widely divergent tales centered about the mysterious planet and its system.

NASA’s Cassini Missions have captured stunning images of Saturn, its mesmerizing Rings of ice and rock, and its 53 officially named moons. These twelve authors present their visions of the Saturn System’s promise, as rich and diverse as the reality of Saturn, its Rings, and moons.

The second book of the Visions Series, this anthology features: Tom Tinney, W.A. Fix, Thaddeus Howze, Ami Hart, Bonnie Milani, Jeremy Lichtman, S.M. Kraftchak, Timothy Paul, Tom Olbert, Amos Parker, R. E. Jones, and Duane Brewster.

· In the depths of an ice mine on Dione, embattled troopers combat alien amoeba in the frigid tunnels.

· Wry humor combines with eccentricity in a tale of time traveling disaster.

· Enemies team up to complete a mission, in an intense tale of revenge.

· Security teams from opposing corporations, battle for possession of lunar mining operations.

Excerpt:

"Reckoning at Enceladus" by Tom Olbert

The exploding glider lit the methane clouds over Titan in a bloody red glow. Gene Grey Wolf gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath in the gunner’s canopy, a torrent of half-frozen liquid methane slamming against his suit, as he struggled to get a radar lock on the two remaining gliders zeroing in on him. “Hold her steady, dammit!” He yelled at his glider pilot, now turning into the heart of a raging squall, the superstructure of the cloud glider rattling wildly. Gene was reminded of the time he dove his space fighter into Saturn’s upper atmosphere, two Combine laser ships on his tail.

“You wanna try it?” the other man’s voice came blaring in over the radio link in Gene’s oxygen helmet, wild and scratchy.

One of the Combine gliders spread its elevator fins and turned in, riding the storm current as the pilot tried for a flank shot. The attacking glider’s radar silhouette looked like a monstrous dragon fly, its braking fins spreading like great wings as it turned. “Pull up!” Gene yelled. Too late. His pilot was too busy navigating the storm, his glide sails ready to collapse under the pressure. The enemy pilot fired, a plasma volley cutting through the superstructure of Gene’s glider, the braking fins splitting clean off as the glider spun wildly into the storm. Gene fired wildly, trying to take out at least one of the killers. He clipped the wingtip on one glider as the other turned to navigate the storm. “Burn, you scum!” He swore at the top of his lungs as his own pilot ejected. Blowing his own separation charge, Gene groaned at the lurch of the gun module blasting free from the disintegrating glider. He spun end over end, his head swirling as he triggered his braking chute.