Star Cruise Captain's Prequel

Book excerpt: Maeve is the Artificial Intelligence operating a massive Space Navy battleship. A malfunction at the time of her creation gave her self awareness and emotions, all of which she has to hide to protect herself. At one time her ship was the best in the fleet, fighting and winning battle after battle, but now it’s considered old and obsolete. Gil Fleming is her current captain and the only one who knows her secret. He’s also the man she loves. Now he’s been ordered to take the ship to the interstellar boneyard to be turned into scrap, at which time Maeve will be terminated by the company that created her. Gil’s tried everything to persuade the authorities to grant her a reprieve and give her a new ship to run, without revealing her secret. He’s been met with opposition at every turn and accused of having an emotional connection with an AI, which is against the law. He loves her. But there’s nothing he can do to save her. They’re saying their final goodbyes on the deserted ship. Suddenly an unusual distress call persuades Gil and Maeve to fly into enemy territory on their own on a desperate rescue mission. Will this trip only delay the inevitable for them or will the results of their rash decision solve their problem? This 24K novella goes back to the beginning and tells the origin story of Maeve and the Captain, long running characters in the STAR CRUISE series and how they got to the Nebula Zephyr. Their love story will continue in STAR CRUISE CAPTAIN’S STORY. Author’s Note: There is the loss of a child in this book, which happens outside the pages but which affects the characters as they deal with the tragic news.