Pegasus Quest — James A. Connell

This is a story of alien invasion set 300 years in the future. The fifteen to twenty meter diameter silver Globes were first thought to be a fleet of spaceships, but as it turned out they were creatures so different from Mankind that Humans could not communicate with them on any level. They could travel in space, and discharge destructive energy bolts that could destroy Human built spaceships. As part of their breeding cycle they infested planets with their offspring, nine foot long, voracious killing machines that devoured every living thing they encountered. The Globes soon became an unstoppable force that quickly destroyed the first two colonies they found. Although the third colony offered more resistance, it too was rapidly losing the battle for survival. Undetered, the Globes swept on and eventually reached the abundant Earth. Once there they moved in for the long haul. The early part of the story centers around a twenty-eight year old Medic fresh out from the Centaurus Colony. Samantha Wilson had taken a medical contract with the Star Patrol and arrived on the Lastchance Colony just in time to witness the first invasion. Within days she found herself alone and surrounded by lethal Slimers on a strange new world. Then came salvation in the form of the Star Patrol's Starship Orion, which, as Samantha's luck would have it, needed a Medical Officer. Samantha and Orion's crew follow the invading Globes from Lastchance and finally to Earth where Humans are totally unprepared for this new threat to their existence. Space battles with Globes, and planetary encounters with Slimers are all a part of the mix. Along the way Samantha finds lifelong friends and even love in places she never expected to be, even in her wildest dreams. Then while on a medical mission she and her Medical Technician become separated from Orion and the man she has fallen in love with. The unlikely pairing of Samantha, the doctor, and Mary Como, the soldier, acquire an ancient Starship and then find themselves on a planet hopping quest to find their missing ship and crew mates. They soon discover that even with aliens threatening mankind, there are still humans conspiring for dominance of the species. Although it is a story of alien invaders, the Earth and it's colonies, the thinly stretched Star Patrol, and human conspiracies. It is ultimately Samantha's story.