This week has been a little needy what with my being sick and the things happening, so this podcast is coming out a few weeks late. I’m joined by JB Williams, discussing the second edition of his debut novel, Bon Voyage. It’s SciFi action horror novel with a lot of inspiration behind it. Check out the blurb below, as well as an excerpt of the book.
*Standard Disclaimer: I have not read all the books from all the authors I interview on this podcast. An interview does not mean I necessarily approve of their books, only that something about their story world has intrigued me.
Ethan Rifts hates space, and yet he has joined a space faring crew of a small ship called the Hook Line to escape the troubles on his homeworld. The Hook Line crew needs an extra hand for an easy contract they took, and Ethan figures it will be worth it. They get help, and he gets away and can start over. Everyone wins. The crew heads to the distant planet of Onyx for their job, but upon arrival, they find that something has gone wrong. The space port is missing, and they get a distress signal and an encrypted signal coming from a badly damaged colony ship called Bon Voyage. Upon entering the colony ship, they find a message on a wall.
One by one we go
When it stops, we don't know
One by one we go
From that moment on, it becomes a fight for survival against an unknown alien species and psychotic survivors, and watching it all is an eccentric announcer who calls himself the Voice. He claims he can stop the aliens and help Ethan Rifts and his team, but first they have to help him. However, there is more to Bon Voyage and the Hook Line crew, and maybe the events are not so random after all.
The team leaves the bridge in a speedy yet orderly fashion, while HL-0001 beeps and flashes green. They go to the receiving area, and as the door opens, the team slips their magazines in. Aiden adjusts his gloves, and Ethan swallows a lump in his throat while looking at Riva. She is leaning against the wall and looks at Ethan with worry.
Before Ethan can approach her, she goes forward with the rest of the team, leaving Ethan to be the last one. He follows them to the receiving area and stops at the clump they made with Taksheel and Marian up front by a door with a swirling red light above it.
“Everybody ready?” asks Marian.
“Yes ma’am,” says the group, some louder than others.
“Good. Punch it, Taksheel.”
Taksheel pushes a red button on the wall and the door slides open. The team sees a blue-tinted tube with a retractable metal floor. There is also one bright light shining at the end. The light is over a round door with an orb next to it, and a black orb with a red band is in the corner. There is a faint buzzing down the hallway, too, and just looking at it makes Ethan’s gut tighten.
“Alright,” says Marian after some hesitation. “In and out. Let’s go.”
Marian goes first, followed by Roger and Calvin, and the rest stay behind, watching them travel down the tube. When they reach the door, Marian holds her pad to the orb and… Nothing.
Ethan looks around anxiously, and Marian tries again. And again. After the fourth time, she returns and motions Riva over.
“Riva, I’m going to need your computer powers,” says Marian.
Riva goes with Marian, and Taksheel taps his trigger guard and paces in circles. It is a tight fit for Riva with Roger and Calvin. She plugs in her wrist-top computer, and after a minute of typing, the emergency entrance slides open to a dark wall. Roger and Calvin slip through and their lights shine in the dark, briefly revealing steel and walkways as they sweep the area.
“Alright, team. Move up,” says Marian over the radio.
Taksheel is the first to go down the tube, followed by Aiden, then Moon, and lastly, Ethan. Once all of them are in, they activate the flashlights on their weapons and shoulders and sweep the area. Their lights illuminate blood on the floor and walls, as well as bullet casings on the floor, scattered tools, wrecked escape pods, and a severed arm near a broken vent. At the far end of the docking bay is a broken door with light shining through it, and the light illuminates a broken cart tipped on its side with luggage spilled on the floor.
“Move up,” orders Marian.
Ethan shines his light on an escape pod, seeing it has been torn open. Then he moves his light and sees another vent grate, and generators lay in pieces, with metal burnt and twisted and covered in fire suppressant foam. Ethan shudders and follows his team to the door. All of them are creeping towards it, and when they reach it, Roger and Calvin take either side, while the others remain hidden in the dark.
“AATS! Anybody there!” shouts Roger.
Silence.
“AATS! Any friendlies! Respond now!” says Calvin.
Nothing.
Roger looks at Marian, and she nods.
“Be careful,” says Marian.
Roger nods, then he nods at Calvin, and the pair slips through the broken door. The next room is dim, so Ethan can see their lights sweeping the area. When he hears heavy breathing, he looks to his side and sees Aiden is next to him, tense with his hand on his pistol.
“Pirates rarely stay around after an attack,” says Aiden. “But when we find them, Hell will be comfortable when we’re through with them.”
“Clear!” barks Roger. “But brace yourselves. This room is fucked.”
Marian orders her team forward, and when they enter the next area, they fan out, each slowly becoming more worried and horrified by what they are seeing. The lobby can easily hold one hundred people, and usually they are brightly lit with pleasant music and the occasional announcement.
But this lobby is subdued, with dim orange lights and pockets of red emergency lights swirling over the doors and benches. There is no announcement, but a buzzing is playing through the speakers. The message boards that are not shot out are showing the same message.
Sec. C Carry Pod 01- Status- DELAYED
Sec. C Carry Pod 02- Status- DELAYED
Sec. C Carry Pod 04- Status- DELAYED
Sec. C Carry Pod 05- Status- DELAYED
Sec. C Carry Pod 06- Status- DELAYED
The team keeps walking, passing bloodied clothes, scattered luggage, broken benches, and pillars with gashes ejecting sparks. Black orbs with red bands are also placed in equal increments, which bring the hair on Ethan’s neck to stand, and a cart with red screens and luggage strapped to it is roving across the lobby.
When Riva tries to approach it, it releases a shrill whine and zooms off into a corner, just to repeat the noise and speed off to another section when Moon walks towards it. Then the cart stops by a locked door, spins in a circle like a panicking animal, and drives off.
“I am officially creeped out,” says Moon.
“Yeah, can we go? Just screw scouting, screw this ship. Let’s just go,” says Calvin.
“No, we have a mission to do and we’re doing it,” says Aiden.
“Hey, I’m in charge!” snaps Marian. “And yes, we’re still doing the mission.”
“Oh, come on! Look at this place!” yells Moon. “There’s no mission here! This is a vanity run now! All this does is give us brownie points on the report, but I can tell you right now this is not normal! There is something evil here, and we need to get out while we still can.”
“Moon, shut up,” says Marian harshly.
Ethan ignores their confrontation and looks around some more. During his search, his eyes lock on a mural of Bon Voyage flying through a starry space dotted with colorful worlds and painted over the mural is a poem written in blood.
One by one we go
When it stops, we don’t know
One by one we go
Do you like scifi? If you’re not signed up to receive Hinterspace right in your inbox, you can sign up and receive a free copy of my own scifi thriller, Escape of the Calalloon.
Special thanks goes to Richard Deigh of the Never Ending Radio Show. If you need a voice artist for anything, I encourage you to hit him up!
Hinterspace: Episode 5