After the votes were kounted, and kounted again, the decision was made. An exploration of the universe of Kreme!
It will be… One Giant Leap for Kremekind….
Available now on Smashwords here!
Three intrepid explorers from earth are finally setting down on a planet that may one day become a second home for mankind. The only question is, does this new home already have residents? The planet is the closest to earth in supporting life, but light years away in every other aspect. It is a giant world full of giant possibilities, giant landscapes, and giant risks. For Ariana Jacobs, it might just include a giant change in every aspect of her life.
Thrill as the mystery unfolds in the deep dark recesses of space, on a foreign landscape of epic scale. Witness the impossible as something unseen changes the crew, as something sizes one of them up for a new purpose, as something drives them all from educated scientists and explorers to animal passion and depravity. In space no one can hear you scream, but on this planet screaming may be all one does, screaming cries of lust and desire.
This is one small step for Readers’ Choice Tales but One Giant Leap for Kreme fans everywhere.
You can find this story on Smashwords right now!
As a special bonus to the Kreme’s readers, here’s a sample of the story!
One Giant Leap – A Kreme Readers’ Choice Story
by Kris P. Kreme
“Crew, report to observation level A. I repeat, crew, please report to observation level A. We have arrived and I think it’s time we shared the view.”
The speaker faded in a series of cracks and static-filled pops, both crew members looking up briefly before breaking into smiles.
“I can’t believe we actually made it,” the man said almost nervously.
“Oh, give yourself some credit. We may have had some bumpy roads to overcome for this mission, but they didn’t just hand it to us. We earned it,” the woman said, stepping behind a nearby screen and pulling on her jumpsuit.
The man turned from her out of respect, casually looking at the star charts and maps displayed on the curved walls. “Yes, we earned the mission. But successfully reaching this planet was never a sure thing. I mean, even you have to know there were astronomical risks at stake here.”
The woman tapped him on the shoulder, having stepped out from behind the screen. “Sure, there are risks in everything. As medical officer I was well aware and quite anxious about just what risks I needed to be prepared to face. But that’s where my drive overcame my fear. I simply learned and prepared for everything.”
She punched him lightly in the shoulder and walked past.
He smiled, rubbed at his arm, and turned to follow her. “You can’t prepare for everything.”
She stopped for a moment at the bottom of a ladder, one that was bolted into the walls and extended up through a small tunnel to the floors above. “You care to wager on that, crewman Holden?”
Holden looked at his feet and shifted nervously. He’d grown used to the Major here’s love of confrontation. She was universally known from her mission files as a strong and overly confident woman who lived for overpowering and proving herself right in a male-dominated profession.
“You know I’m not going to argue with you. I just mean that this planet is an unknown. We can’t possibly know everything about it.”
“Yes, you have a point there, Holden. But the one lesson I have always lived by is, you can’t know something until you see it. Until then, worrying about not knowing it is useless and only causes one to never take that chance. There’s a lot to the risk of putting yourself out there and seeing it in the first place. This planet represents the closest potential earth environment we’ve found in over a hundred years of distant planetary probes and unmanned reconnaissance. I believe in the captain and he believes in the mission.”
Crewman Holden looked away, back at the star charts and scattered computer peripherals the two of them had been prepping, awaiting the captain on the com. “I wish I had that sense of adventure. I really do. I mean, you’re one of the strongest women I ever met, and mostly because of that unshakable resolve you have that everything will turn out like we hope, like the computers predict. I just can’t help feeling some trepidation about today.”
Major Ariana Jacobs took a moment and let the severity leave her expression. She allowed a brief female moment of calm empathy and comfort as she reached out and laid a hand on Holden’s arm.
“Listen, don’t worry so much. You’ve been down on yourself since launch, constantly second-guessing your own contributions, your own mechanical diagnosis when problems arose. Every time you turned out to be right, right? Every single time something went a little off, you solved it and nothing further happened.”
She punched him softly, almost playfully in the cheek. “Buck up, crewman. You were chosen for this mission no differently than I was, no differently than the captain above. And you know that they wouldn’t choose the wrong people. They chose us because we know what we’re doing. The captain knows command. He knows delegation, and he knows flying. I know medical, the risks, the preparation, the solution should plant or potential animal life there be different from computer calculations. And you, you know mechanics. You know the parts of the engine, the parts of the reactor that got us here. So all together we form parts of a bigger engine, a more organic and crucial one. You’ll see. We all play our roles and together we will have a good day. Only focus on that.”
Ariana smiled, turned, and began climbing the ladder.
“Thanks, Major,” Holden said. “That helped.”
As he began climbing behind her, trying not to stare as the rather curvy female medical officer moved her legs one above the other, Holden heard her chuckle lightly. “Well, Holden, I am the medical officer. That does mean I know a bit about psychology you know.”
He continued climbing, subtle worry lines remaining on his expression no matter how much he accepted her advice.
“About time the two of you got up here; thought you got lost all the way from lower decks.”
The man stood arms folded, view port behind him currently closed, metal rivets running up and down the steel shutters. He stood firmly, tough looking, strong, and every bit the leader of their group. Despite these qualities, his face beamed a smile, and he had as relaxed an expression as either of them had seen in months.
“Sorry bout that, Captain,” Ariana responded. “Holden here had doubts about his performance again; needed to boost him back up before we see the planet.”
The man unfolded his arms, looked at Ariana, then nodded at Holden. “Is that true, Holden?”
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