Sex, Bugs & UFOs by Warren A. Shepherd
About the Book:
Abandoned by his mum at the age of seven, former UFO investigator, Dave Morrissey, is coerced back into business to investigate a cold case that’s suddenly gotten hotter with the death of an old woman in a nursing home. As the questions begin piling up about her peculiar past, Morrissey must reluctantly enlist the aid of a shifty tabloid journalist with surprising insights into all things otherworldly.
Together, they uncover clues that paint a target on Morrissey’s back big enough to attract the sights of an unstable UFO conspiracy theorist, a cunning galactic bounty hunter, and a vicious terrorist for hire with nefarious designs on the secrets hidden in his DNA.
Morrissey’s desperate quest for the truth launches him from the grey streets of London, across the stars, and deep into the heart of an intergalactic mystery that will turn the idea of who he is and where he belongs in the universe on its head.
All Morrissey wants to do is find his way home but in space, no one can hear you whinge…
Book Details:
ISBN: 978-1987976892
ISBN-10: 1987976892
ASIN: B0B3ZZ5PXK
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing; 1st edition
Publisher Website: https://mirrorworldpublishing.com/
Publication Date: July 17, 2022
Print Length: 348 pages
Read an Excerpt:
“You’re going to let me leave this world, unhindered and unharmed.” Vaziil raised a hand, holding back Sha’an’s unspoken protest. “I know, I know. It seems like a drastic concession on your part. But once I am free, I can disarm the weapon directly at its source and we’ll never have to speak of this matter again. Wouldn’t that be nice? You and your friends need only put down your weapons and walk away.”
Captain Sha’an thought long and hard. Almost too long for Vaziil’s comfort. “And if we do, what assurances do I have that you’ll keep your end of the bargain?”
“I offer no assurance, but it is a simple enough equation. No tricks. No subterfuge. Quickly, Captain. Time is ticking. By now, the weapon is already waking, warming, getting ready to kiss this world goodbye.”
Sha’an checked with her subordinate again who nodded gravely at the readout. She turned back to Vaziil. “Then I should kill you right now,” she said. “I’m willing to bet that if I eliminate your biological triggers there will be no detonation.”
“An interesting bet, Captain, but the humans have a term for something called a dead-man’s switch. Not a new concept but I think you can guess its function. What if killing me accelerates the detonation? Are you really willing to take that risk?” Vaziil chuckled, the sound like grinding glass. He knew this Thon Pahl would be fuelled by vengeance and bloodlust, a dangerous and clumsy mix in a soldier. It was only a matter of time before her mistakes consumed them all. But as the room sizzled with tension, he began to seriously wonder whether he’d misjudged the captain’s obsessive commitment to bring him to justice.
Finally, Captain Sha’an deactivated her weapon and slowly secured it about her waist, her subordinates following suit at her signal. The human woman sobbed.
“You see,” said Vaziil, “we’re cooperating already.” He scoffed at the Thon Pahl capacity for compassion, noting that it would ultimately be their undoing. With one arm tight around his hostage’s neck, he reached into his carry-bag, tracing the butt of his pistol with hesitant fingers. For the briefest of moments he considered engaging the soldiers, his human heart stuttering at the thought. But this Sha’an was a wily one. Though her weapon was holstered, her hand had not left its heel, ready to draw at a split second’s notice. He could probably splash one of them before he fell but the stakes were far too high to take the risk. Instead, he retrieved a small disk and secured it to his belt. He thumbed it to life.
“Don’t be so glum,” he said. “Did you really think I wouldn’t have an exit strategy? Besides, you’ve done a good thing here, Captain. You’ve saved billions of lives. You’ll be a hero to the people of Earth and, indeed, to your own people. You do still have some people left, don’t you?” Vaziil laughed, enjoying the human sensation.
“We tracked you down this time, Vaziil. We will track you down again, no matter how long it takes. It doesn’t matter what colour skin you wear, there won’t be a planet you can hide on where you’ll be safe from us. We have many allies in the galaxy.”
“That’s where you’re so very wrong. There are an infinite number of planets on which to hide. And Captain, I too have allies. But I wish you the best of luck in the hunt, nonetheless.”
And then the strangest thing happened, causing Vaziil to question his understanding of the human will. The woman went silent and stiffened in Vaziil’s arms. Her focus burned into Captain Sha’an’s eyes and she spoke — calmly, coolly, one single word. “Shoot,” she said.
The Thon Pahl captain’s eyes twitched briefly and then, in one smooth motion, she drew her rifle into a firing position and let off a blast. The bolt seared through the right side of the woman’s neck before exploding into Vaziil’s shoulder. Captain Sha’an fired again into his chest as he stumbled backward, forcing his hostage loose. The woman collapsed to the ground, grasping at the world around her as her neck wound sizzled like bacon. She looked hopefully up toward Sha’an, mumbling incoherently. Vaziil tried desperately to vault for cover, but another blast took him in the stomach.
“That’s enough Vaziil,” said Sha’an. “You will yield, or you will die, here and now.”
Vaziil gulped at precious air, dark purplish blood bubbling at his human lips. “No, Captain…I shall do neither.” He clamped down on the disk at his belt; an angry energy cracked the room, engulfing him in a sphere of vibrant light. Sha’an and her soldiers unleashed a final barrage of weapons fire which splashed harmlessly against the shimmering shell; Vaziil’s image flickered within. Then in one final burst of blinding energy, he evaporated into nothingness.
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Meet the Author:
Warren A. Shepherd was seven when he first realized the world didn’t fit him quite right. Two sizes too big or two sizes too small, he couldn’t be sure. But having been transported from the streets of London, England to the streets of Toronto, Canada at such a young age left him with a profound sense of alienation — a boy with one foot in each world yet belonging in neither. The experience, however, did sharpen his sense of self-awareness and made him a keen observer of the human (and not-so-human) condition.
When he sees what humankind is capable of, both the good and the bad, he imagines how we would cope amongst the stars and is driven to tell stories of strange new worlds to try to explain the one that he often cannot.
After all, it takes an alien to know an alien…
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