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Ebook only [NOTE: till December 15, 2026, this Short Story is exclusively available in the bundle "The Expanding Universe 12"

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The Assault

Synopsis:
Ordered to kill the man he swore to protect, a Marine must choose between duty and truth.

An this…

Genre:  Science Fiction

Type:  Short Story

Words:  9,650

Released:  September 15, 2026

Manuscript finished:  June 5, 2025

Inspiration: 

I wrote this story specifically for a collection of short Science Fiction stories.  story.

Once again grateful that my story was selected for the collection.

List of characters

Characters alphabetical by last name. Nicknames and characters only known by their first name or their last name, are given underneath this list. Unnamed characters are not listed!

• Jim Crichton - (ex) captain
• Jonathan Kalimba - commander Security
• Mare Perova - helmsman
• Humphrey Walsh - First Officer
• 
  
• Atoya - Councilman
• Kalimba sr. - father of Jonathan
• Melzer - security officer
• Tasman - on-board AI computer
• Trocadero - captain
• Yamali - palliative nurse

Human ship "The Outbound"

Alien ship "Nor Apaga"

Destination KZ39401 - Terra Secunda

Remarks:

This story was previously published in the bundle The Expanding Universe 12. Short Science Fiction stories by 26 SF authors! This anthology is still available as paperback.