Blurb
The SkyRyders are no longer the
best-skilled fliers in the sky, and MAC is determined to rectify the situation
by breeding better fliers. However, the introduction of an exceptional flier
into the project brings an underlying cancer to light. Convinced the Corp
removed a maneuver so a female could pass the flight exam, the male cadets in
the Academy revolt. Sensing chaos and mutiny at the Fort, the enemy cartel
gathers a force to annihilate the entire West Coast forces.
Excerpt
Cassie called the number on the card. The man who answered
invited her to come for an immediate interview. When she arrived, the
recruiting officer was both respectful and enthusiastic about her possible
careers within the Corp. Because rank was decided by MAC, the non-biased
computer that ran the Corp, women could advance up the ranks of the Corp, same
as a man. The Corp had a proud history of great women officers, including
several Generals. He told her about General Alisha Kane and her meteoric rise.
He then explained the Corp would invest more in a soldier
who was willing to make a serious commitment in return. If she were willing to
commit the time, they were willing to foot the bill for the special training
required to move a soldier from good to great.
Focused on the goal of becoming a general, Cassie enlisted
as a SkyRyder with a twenty-year commitment, which placed her on the fast track
for training and promotions. She signed the contract, making her safe from her
father, her unknown fiancé, and the countless lawyers her father would unleash
to get her back.
She was headed to her new base two hundred miles away before
her father’s car arrived on campus to retrieve her. She knew she’d never see
her family again. But given the choice of the life her father offered to the
opportunities of the Corp, she never wavered in her conviction she had made the
right decision.
***
Like all recruits, she entered as a first-year cadet. Being
a cadet was hard, but she expected it to be hard.
While she wasn’t treated noticeably different from her male
counterparts, she did notice all the captains, lieutenants, and every other
officer she saw were men. Looking around her, twenty percent of the cadets were
women and some of them were damn good fliers. So where were they going? Why
weren’t any becoming captains?
Her captain, Captain Dan Torres, told her to stop worrying
about the other women and just focus on herself. She had talent, and if she
applied herself, there was no limit to how far she might go. He’d tell her
these words of encouragement when she lay in his cot at night. During the day,
he bellowed and threatened her much the same as he did the other cadets in his
squad.
She resented the dual relationship at times, and by the end
of her year, she preferred the bellowing to the praises, because when she
really started to show progress, their relationship turned downwind, and the
sweet praises turned sour, more like belittlements disguised as praise. What
her captain didn’t realize was that the more he bellowed, the harder she worked
to prove him wrong.
The day she successfully completed her test on the glide
maneuver was the happiest day of her life. It wasn’t just that she’d move to a
better squad and captain. It wasn’t even that she had learned a maneuver that
only a small percentage of fliers ever mastered, and it had taken her one
month, not years, to do it. The reason this was the best day of her life was
for the first time, she felt real hope.
Cassie Brown knew without a doubt she
could and would become a general of the SkyRyders’ Corp.
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About the
Author
Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with
her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or
snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ,
hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive
with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, skydive
in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener,
amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet
throughout her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing
novels.
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