Loralynn Kennakris 1: The Alecto Initiative

Life was never easy out in the Methuselah Cluster, the most remote region humanity ever settled, but when her alcoholic father found her a 'job' while he went off-planet to look for work for a 'few months', 11-year-old Loralynn Kennakris began to learn just how ugly it could get. Within the year, her employers sold her to a brutal slaver captain, who took from her the last thing she owned: her name. Most girls in Kris's position last a year or two. The strong ones might last four. Kris survived for eight before she was set free, thanks to the Nereidian League Navy.Unfortunately, eight years growing up in Hell prepared Kris for nearly everything but freedom, and her new life isn't at all what she imagined. Not only must she find her way in a bewildering society full of bizarre rules, but the very people who rescued her think she's a terrorist plant, a beautiful interstellar celebrity is complicating matters in more ways than one . . . and now someone is trying to kill her.But Kris hasn't stayed alive by respecting boundaries or obeying rules, and her adopted society is about to find out what it's like to collide with someone who has no concept of a no-win scenario.The Alecto Initiative is the gripping story of an extraordinary young woman forced to come of age while looking Death in the eye. It is the powerful and thought-provoking beginning to a new science-fiction series unlike any you have ever known.About the AuthorJordan Leah Hunter is a writer, artist and model living in Northern California. Descended from Irish High-Kings, Vikings and Native Americans, she brings all the passion of her turbulent ancestry to her work. A true devotee of Nature, she can be found outdoors at all hours and in all weathers, and when she suffers to have a roof over her head, it is usually to sit by her fire and read or play one of several instruments. Owen R. O’Neil is a physicist, a writer, an amateur historian and the descendant of a long line of engineers. After three years working for the US Navy as a missile systems engineer, he became a member of the intelligence community and spent the rest of his career there. One of the last generation of Cold Warriors, he worked on topics as diverse as satellites, infrared semiconductors, telecommunications and C4ISR. He is an expert on technology projection and threat assessment, and did groundbreaking work on IW/IO before it was cool. These days he writes, exercises a passion for photography he inherited from his father, and indulges in his two principal vices: cooking unhealthy food and ferreting out exceptional but underappreciated wines. He lives on nine rural acres in northern California where, when not engaged in the foregoing, he listens to his tenants (bullfrogs and coyotes) and watches over his infant vineyard.