The Starlight Contingency

Book 1

by Kyoko M.

Genre: SciFi Romantic Adventure, Space Opera

Orphaned siblings Scarlett and Duke Nam have had it rough.
Cast aside by society, they’ve managed to stay afloat as thieves on the streets
of Alexandria, Virginia. Things plunge straight to hell when a heist goes wrong
and they’re on the run from the cops, but after they stumble into a nearby home
to escape, something seemingly impossible happens – the house transforms into a
spacecraft and leaves the Earth’s orbit.

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“Welcome to the Titan.”

There were windows at least twenty feet high in front of us, and beyond them was a sky so black that it felt like night itself stretched across my vision. There was only one thing breaking up the blanket of darkness. To the right, I could see the atmosphere of a moon of some sort—its surface a pale orange. I had never seen anything like it. Stars sparkled out in the distance, but none of it looked familiar. These were not our stars. I had seen them as a child, studying charts in my science classes and naming their patterns while my mother hovered over me, smiling.

“Hey, Duke,” Scarlett said next to me in an alarmingly detached sort of voice.

“Yeah?” I whispered.

“This looks kind of…real.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I thought it was just me.”

Then Scarlett went limp and started to fall. The guards reached for her, but Captain Hallstead caught her with an expression on his face between surprise and pity. She had actually fainted. Not that I blamed her. The blood had retreated from my face, and I could feel dread filling my stomach like cold poison.

“Take her to the infirmary,” General Bridgewater said impassively. “Let me know when she revives.” He might have been used to seeing reactions like this, especially if this wasn’t an illusion.

Captain Hallstead handed my sister over to one of the guards, his eyes lingering as the man carried her out. I tried to read his expression, but it was like taking impression from stone: flat, lifeless, cold. But there was something there. I just didn’t know what.

“Do you have any questions, son?”

I glanced up at General Bridgewater and had to swallow before I could answer. Even then, my voice wavered. “Do you have…footage of Earth’s destruction? I’ll admit that I am starting to believe you, but this could still be some sort of elaborate ruse.”

The general turned and motioned to a wide circular console different from the ones the crewmembers were using. He touched his fingertip to the surface, and an enormous 3D digital map appeared. Briefly, I saw the coordinates for where we were in space and then he switched to a feed from a satellite.

“This is the last footage we received before it happened. It’s from one of our satellites. I’m sure other countries have their own versions of it as well. By the time the Bergleute entered the solar system, the ships including the Starlight Contingency had already evacuated the Earth.”

The satellite showed the surface of the Earth as I always remembered it—seeming to hang in the darkness of space like a sapphire. The upper corner of the globe began to darken, confusing me until I realized it was a shadow from the alien cruiser. The satellite wasn’t facing it so I couldn’t catch a glimpse, but I knew it was there. I saw a bright flash and then a red beam burrowed into one side of the planet. My stomach jerked inside me at the sight of the land crumbling and the seas boiling in its wake. It had disintegrated part of Asia already, and there were burning waves climbing outward from the entry point. After a few minutes, the beam burst out the other side of the planet and the tectonic plates of the Earth’s surface began to crack apart. Bright yellow and orange spurted from the cracks, evidence of the planet’s core peeking through as the weapon ripped it apart from the inside. At last, it exploded, and the satellite feed went to static.

General Bridgewater closed the feed. He showed no emotion at seeing it. I got the feeling he had watched it a hundred times, his pale eyes filling the world just before it turned into nothing more than rocks and dust.

“General Bridgewater,” I said. “If this is some sort of trick, understand that I will do everything in my power to end your life.”

He nodded. I wiped my eyes and straightened my posture. “Then consider this my agreement to cooperate with your operation. I can’t say the same thing for my sister, but I will do what is needed as long as I am on this vessel.”

“Good man. Escort him to the barracks.”

The guard reached for me, but I held up my hands. “What is going to happen to Scarlett?”

General Bridgewater glanced at Captain Hallstead, and he answered instead. “She needs to be examined for psychological damage, and if she chooses to play ball, she’ll be placed in the women’s division aboard this ship. You’re both going to become soldiers.”

“I need to be able to see her. She won’t recover as quickly without me.”

Captain Hallstead paused, seeming unsure. “We’ll see if we can make arrangements, but as of now she won’t be released until we’re sure she’s stable. A lot of people suffer from PTSD after seeing the world destroyed. We’ll keep her safe.”

I stepped forward, unafraid. “I want your word on that, Captain.”

He met my eyes. “You have my word.”

I let the guard take me back to the elevator and lead me to my new home. The only home I had left.

God help us.

Kyoko M is a USA Today bestselling author and a fangirl. She
is the author of The Black Parade urban fantasy series, the Of Cinder and Bone
science-fiction series, and the Starlight Contingency space opera series with
Falstaff Books. The Black Parade has been reviewed by Publishers Weekly and New
York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews. Of Cinder and Bone placed in the
Top 30 Books in Hugh Howey’s 2021 Self Published Science Fiction Contest. Kyoko
M has appeared as a guest and panelist at such conventions as Geek Girl Con,
DragonCon, Blacktasticon, Momocon, JordanCon, ConCarolinas, and MultiverseCon.
She is also a contributor to Marvel Comics’ Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda
(2021) anthology as well as the Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson (2025)
anthology. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Lit degree from the University
of Georgia, which gave her every valid excuse to devour book after book with a
concentration in Greek mythology and Christian mythology. She is currently
working on a science fiction trilogy with Falstaff Books and her debut novel,
The Starlight Contingency, released October 29th, 2024.

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