QSFer Nando Gray has a new MM sci-fi romance out: Future Love Affair.
DOOM HAS FINALLY FOUND HUMANITY. One by one, worlds are falling silent across human space–a nameless scourge clawing at them from the shadows as it attempts to topple thousands of years of peace and prosperity…
AUREN has always been a survivor. Growing up in the slums of Obila, he’d learned precisely one thing: trust no one. So when the enemy drop pods began to fall from the heavens, he’d done what he’d always done: survive. Except the bargain he’d had to make to do so was certain to cost him far more than his honor. When he woke up in his new body, he would have never guessed how harrowing his life was about to become. Join his nonstop battle to reclaim his humanity while he outruns an even more sinister shadow…
LUPO was betrayed. If it hadn’t been for his ex, Bartie, he would have never wound up as a disembodied consciousness in the first place. He’d died three times. Years had passed. And then, at long last, another had been decanted on the resurrection ship, and Lupo finally saw a pathway toward the vengeance he demanded. Follow his heart-pounding story as he sets out on a twisted journey of redemption and retribution. Learn to love again as he comes to terms with his traumatic past. But growth isn’t easy, and with more threats piling up with every passing moment, Lupo is destined for hard times ahead…
Set amidst the backdrop of galactic invasion, “Future Love Affair” is the first installment of a wild and gripping M/M Sci-Fi Romance that finds its unlikely protagonists swept away by events far bigger than themselves. Fight your way off a pirate battle cruiser, survive an alien invasion, and make new friends and terrifying enemies while you’re flung across the galaxy. From holo-bike racing through the understory of a city world to avoiding orbital obliteration from an invading space fleet, you’ll be swept away by a story that doesn’t let up.
Fall in Love.
Get revenge.
Survive.
Warnings: Violence, Death.
Get It At Amazon
Excerpt
Auren hauled ass through the trench, screaming warnings to the others that they were about to be overrun. His voice was hoarse from the effort. He wasn’t even supposed to be here. He was a chef, not a soldier. But they’d all been forced through basic training when conscripted to their roles a year ago. The accelerator rifle slung over his shoulder was an unwanted reminder of that.
“They’re coming!” Auren shrieked.
A group of men huddled around a holo game in the dirt nearby, oblivious to what was coming their way.
“What did you say, private?” one of the soldiers muttered in annoyance. He gave Auren a scolding look as though he was insufferable for screaming at them, and then he returned to his game.
“Fucking idiot.” The man muttered. He gave Auren the finger and motioned for him to shoo along. Auren merely stared at him, his eyes wide with fear, far too passive to do anything else.
A distant boom, followed by first one and then innumerable screams, commanded the older man’s attention in a way Auren hadn’t been able to. Auren didn’t wait for an apology. He was terrified. He sprinted off without a second glance, still warning anyone he came across of the coming danger when he could find his voice. The sound of battle had grown to a rumbling thunder that was impossible to ignore. His warnings quickly became huffed and futile as he sprinted desperately onward, unable to bellow loud enough to be heard. He eventually abandoned issuing them altogether, focusing instead on maintaining his cadence—on trying to survive.
At last, Auren crashed into the wall of the support module where he had worked for the past months. He doubled over and tried desperately to catch his breath. He was still gasping, and his hand shook as he entered the keycode for the unit’s door. On his third attempt, a chime confirmed he’d finally gotten it right—and the door slid open. Behind him, the sound of armageddon raged on. The horror of the screaming was endless now as the human position on this far-flung world was pounced on and trampled by their alien foe.
“What is it?! What’s going on out there?!” Hien demanded as Auren stumbled into the inside of the module. The woman was one of his fellow chefs and a far more committed soldier than he. She looked him up and down and then scowled.
“Give me that,” She said sharply, ripping the gun from his shoulder and making to leave the module.
“Hey, Hien stop! It’s dangerous out there!” Auren warned.
“That’s the point, Auren. How dare you run.” Hien shamed, flinging her apron to the ground and hurrying out to join the other soldiers.
She’d always struck him as brave, and his face burned at her words. He watched her go, and the shame struck him like a bullet. But he pushed past it. For what it was worth, Auren had always expected to discover in himself when push came to shove. A boyish part of him had always believed he’d rise to an occasion like this and prove himself a hero. But as it turned out, he wasn’t far from it. He’d picked flight, not fight. It had been instinctive—animal, even. It was what he did. It’s what he’d always done. And it was the only reason he was still alive now.
Auren looked frantically around the module for a weapon or something he could defend himself with when they finally reached him. He found nothing. His heart thudded in his chest as a cold sweat trickled down his back. The sound of something, or someone, crashing against the side of the module caused him to nearly piss himself.
No one had ever seen the invaders and lived. Sure, news agencies and intelligence units had recorded the grizzly, blood-smeared aftermath of battlefields across the settled systems. But that was always long after they’d departed. And the analysis was bleak each time: The enemy had weapons even humanity wasn’t cruel enough to dream of, and they were coming for us—they were winning.
“Fuck fuck fuck!” Auren muttered.
He banged open supply cabinet after supply cabinet and found nothing but cooking pots, pans, and pre-wrapped food. A fresh series of explosions caused the entire module to lift slightly and then slam to the ground. He crashed to the floor. The clattering of silverware and plates did its part to unnerve him further as he rose unsteadily to his feet. Overhead, a chorus of sonic booms informed him that the fighter craft from their flagship in orbit had just entered the atmosphere, hopefully buying him some precious time with their cover fire.
Auren gave up on his search for a weapon—a weapon hadn’t been his plan A, anyway. He gripped the keycard in his pocket with a clammy hand. He’d made the impromptu decision to steal it just minutes ago when delivering lunch to the fortified command bunker on the front lines. The top brass had been informed of the enemy fleet’s incursion in-system as he served them their synthetic ham and cheese sandwiches. The keycard had been right there, and so he’d taken it.
He couldn’t make any excuses for himself. When he’d seen the opportunity to get himself out of here lying there, all the pieces of a plan fell into place instantly and automatically. His brain, hypervigilant from trauma, had recorded all the details necessary for him to preserve himself without him even being aware it was doing it.
Auren was many things, but he wasn’t a soldier. Conscription had brought him here, and he had no loyalty to their cause. What he was was a survivor—and when those primitive instincts to carry on kicked in, he found there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep himself safe. Growing up in the underworld of Obila had forced him to learn the endurance sport of self-perseverance.
Auren clutched the card in his hand and sprinted from the kitchen module. He crossed briefly outside, ducking low as human fighters screamed overhead—unloading payloads of lethal retribution. A naive part of him imagined they might turn the tide of the battle…But then, a series of explosions denuded him of that possibility.
The screaming had abated somewhat, and a part of him knew that it was because there were few people left to scream already. The battalion had numbered in the tens of thousands…
A cold, detached calm settled over him as he swiped the general’s keycard and entered the medical lab. He’d never been in here before. It was sleek. And empty. Evidently, he was the biggest coward on Vesperion. In the universe, maybe. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. He searched the space for what he had heard the brass talking about over a series of lunch meetings the past few weeks. They hadn’t even noticed him listening.
There.
He’d spotted it: the neural uplink relay. The tech looked odd to him, and its design seemed almost inhuman. Auren hesitated, then crawled into the device’s bed. His entire body shook with nerves as he put on an odd headset, unsure what to expect from the experimental technology. From the little he’d understood of his evesdropping, the tech could allegedly upload and transmit consciousness. It was being field-tested for wide-scale deployment on many fronts, and had been in secret for some time. In theory, it would allow for casualty-free evacuations. For now, it was supposed to be reserved for guys like the general, but that wouldn’t stop Auren from doing what he was about to do. Anything was better than dying.
He flipped the tech on and clicked through a series of warning screens and disclaimers.
Proceed?
“Yes!” He yelped.
A series of holes blasted apart on one end of the module, shearing it clean apart and exposing it to the outside.
“GO!” He yelled.
The tube began to hum around him. He grew sleepy as mechanical arms probed and jabbed at him. The last thing he remembered was a dull pressure against his skull, as a saw began to cut him open. And then he slipped into the shadows.
The machine went instantly to work sedating him and carving his brain into neat little slices, uploading a map of him into a data stream and transmitting the binary code that was now Auren off-world.
He was dead. But a part of him had survived.
Author Bio
NANDO GRAY is a DARK ROMANCE AUTHOR based in the misty Olympic National Forest in Washington State’s wilderness.
When he’s not evading his local Sasquatch, Nando Gray is crafting intense, heart-pounding love stories. His characters are put through the wringer, promising a thrilling adult adventure in each novel. Rest assured, a satisfying happily ever after awaits in every M/M Romance, regardless of the category.
When he’s not drenching his keyboard with coffee or preparing feasts for an audience of two, Nando Gray cherishes moments with his two canine companions, who provide all the love he needs.
Happy reading.