H.A.L.F.: The Makers

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Authors: Natalie Wright

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BOOK: H.A.L.F.: The Makers
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H.A.L.F.

Book Two

 

THE
MAKERS

 

 

 

NATALIE WRIGHT

 

A Boadicea Press Book

 

Copyright © 2016 by Natalie Wright

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales is coincidental.

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author. For permission or other information, contact the author at:
[email protected]
.

 

For teaching tools and book group discussion questions, please visit the website:
http://www.NatalieWrightAuthor.com
.

 

H.A.L.F., The Makers and associated logos are registered trademarks of Natalie Wright.

 

ISBN: 1523820926

ISBN-13: 978-1523820924

 
For Pete

and

Sarah.

 

In loving memory of

Mom, 1940-2015.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

April, 2016

 

 

What a year it has been since
H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath
launched! I travelled over 10,000 miles and more than 200,000 people passed by my display at book festivals, comic cons and book events from Portland to Santa Fe and points in between. Thank you to the many readers who have loved
The Deep Beneath
well and encouraged me to continue the tale.

 

I pulled together the same great team that worked on
The Deep Beneath
to bring readers the follow-up,
The Makers
. I think it’s my best book yet. I hope you’ll think so too.

 

Much gratitude and my eternal thanks to Alyssa, content editor extraordinaire at Red Adept Editing and Publishing; thank you to Jason G. Anderson for flawless eBook formatting; to Dane at eBook Launch for another great cover; and last but not least thank you to Pauline Nolet for final line editing. Cheers to a great team!

 

In a year of great loss, a special thank you to my sister Michelle, who helped me get through it all.

 

Thank you and a shout out to the lovely folks at Brewd coffeehouse. You supply the caffeine that keeps my fingers moving!

 

And thank you as always to Pete and Sarah. Together you form the shore to my sea. The ocean pitched and rolled this year, but you kept the light on for me.

PRONUNCIATION & DEFINITION GUIDE
Pronunciation
Definition
badi
bädē
Father.
baji
bäZHē
Female servants that care for children.
banch
banch
Butt.
Council of U
Council of ōō
The ruling body of the M’Uktah people.
danx
daNGks
A sweet yet tart fruit used to make wine.
dashi
däSHē
A term of endearment.
Doj
ZHō
The spiritual leader of the M’Uktah.
Doj’Owa
ZHō ouä
The head of the Temple of Doj.
Dra’Knar
dreknar
U’Vol’s intergalactic starship.
drosh
drō SH
A black, hard, carbon-like metal.
Eponia Tu’Vol
epōnēya too väl
U’Vol’s third wife.
flaghen
flag en
Conflict.
Ghapta
gäptä
A lush, watery planet with plentiful game. Harvested by the M’Uktah.
Ghozam Tu’Vol
gōzam too väl
U’Vol’s fourth wife.
K’Sarhi
k sari
The M’Uktah name for Earth.
kagha
kägä
Bad luck.
Kreelan
krēlan
A planet harvested by the M’Uktah but on which there was an uprising.
krindor
krin door
Mechanized exoskeleton.
Lij
lēzh
The administrative ruler of the M’Uktah.
M’Uktah
mooktä
A race of hunters from the planet Uktah.
mach
mäSH
The toilet.
madi
mädē
Mother.
manthruin
manTHrooin
A spice similar to cinnamon.
Mocht Bogha
mäk bōZHä
A naturally occurring vortex in space that allows the M’Uktah to travel quickly across the galaxy. It’s cyclical and appears approximately every three years in the Uktah solar system.
Navimbi
nävimbi
One of the planets that the M’Uktah have harvested.
phlegering
flegi(e)rng
A large, feathered, winged beast from Ghapta.
Quelander
keylander
Someone from the planet Queland.
raichta
rayshä
A small rodent on U’Vol’s home planet of M’Uktah, similar to a kangaroo rat.
Sarhi
sari
The M’Uktah name for humans; earthlings.
scryr
skrier
A psychic and seer.
Shree’ka Tu’Vol
SHrēka too väl
U’Vol’s first wife and head of his household.
Threka Tu’Vol
THreka too väl
U’Vol’s second wife.
threkka
THreka
The lead servant in a ruling-class household.
thukna
thuknä
A hairless, horned beast that lives on the planet Ghapta.
U’Baht
ōō bäht
U’Vol’s friend and mentor. The representative of the Vree class to the Council of U.
U’Fengh
ōō fang
A member of the Council of U.
U’Vol Vree
ōō väl vrē
Captain of the
Dra’Knar
.
Uktah
ooktä
The M’Uktah planet in a star system in the Milky Way but 1000 light years from Earth.
ulv
ōōlv
The wolf-like ancestors of the M’Uktah.
Vij Tu’Vol
vēZH too väl
U’Vol’s youngest child.
Vrak Tu’Vol
Vrak too väl
U’Vol’s oldest son.
Vrath
vraTH
The current Lij of the M’Uktah.
Vree
vrē
The space-faring hunting and harvesting class of the M’Uktah.
Vree’Kah
vrēkä
The hunters of the Vree class.
Vree’Sho
vree shō
Farmers/ranchers of the Vree class.
Wa’Nar
wā nar
U’Vol’s landing ship.
zheshamine
ZHeSHamēn
A type of vine with sweet-smelling flowers.
Zhichta
ZHiktä
The capital city of Uktah.
Table of Contents
1
ERIKA

The cold void that had swallowed Erika’s scream as she entered the alien ship enveloped her. Her once-again boyfriend Jack was no longer below her. Ian was not beside her. She didn’t know where Tex or Dr. Randall were. She was surrounded by darkness, the only sound the frantic beating of her heart.

The fat, wet tears that had spilled onto her cheeks evaporated into the cool, dry air. She’d feared being compressed into nothingness, but the pressure subsided. She tried to kick her legs and run, but she was paralyzed, able to move only her eyes.

She couldn’t tell if she was floating in the center of the alien ship or hovering in a void of nothingness. She could have been upside down and not known it.

Erika screamed for Ian, but no sound came from her. Despite the chill in the air, sweat dripped from her temples. Her eyes flitted wildly from side to side, trying to see something – anything. She closed her eyes in an effort to shut out the unnatural vacuum around her, but it was no good. The dark inside her mind was no better than the black emptiness of the ship she presumed she was in.

Don’t panic, Erika. Maybe they immobilize us for our own safety.
Since humans had not achieved interstellar travel, there was no reference point for how it was done. She remembered Jack’s words.
“Cowboy up,”
he’d said. Erika wasn’t sure she was cowboy enough for space travel.

As much as she tried to talk herself out of abject terror, fear wound itself into every fold of her grey matter. She couldn’t shake the feeling roiling away in her gut like a bubbling cauldron that she had made a big mistake. And she’d pulled Ian along with her into an abyss of the dark unknown.
But did I really have a choice?
If she’d stayed at A.H.D.N.A., Commander Sturgis would have finished the job she’d started. The thought brought her no comfort. Jack was alone now in Sturgis’ hands.

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