Aleshenko Mist

The Aleshenko Mist is adrift beyond the galactic rim, its drive core cold, its systems failing, and its cargo ticking toward catastrophe.

Captain Jax Riley knows the signs of a bad run. Someone has sabotaged his ship, and the unstable isotopes in the hold will not stay contained forever. Every failed system brings them closer to a silent, unmarked death in deep space. Every crew member has a reason to lie.

As fear spreads, trust collapses. Arguments turn sharp. Access logs vanish. Emergency protocols are quietly disabled. The crew is not fighting the void alone. One of them is actively trying to make sure the ship never reaches port.

Then the captain's dog starts talking.

Piper, the ship's overlooked terrier, sees what the others miss. He hears muttered conversations behind sealed doors. He notices patterns no one wants to acknowledge. As the ship degrades and paranoia tightens its grip, Riley is forced to rely on the one witness no saboteur thought to silence.

With corporate interests closing in and rescue far from certain, Riley must expose the traitor before the cargo detonates, the crew tears itself apart, or both. Out here, there will be no investigation, no justice, and no record of what really happened.

The Aleshenko Mist is a claustrophobic science fiction thriller about betrayal, survival, and the terrifying cost of carrying the wrong cargo into deep space.

Lee Anne Wonnacott Weltsch is a dog lover, writer, and author of Western fiction and science fiction novels as well as business books.

With several years of writing short stories, poetry, and novellas, Lee Anne has a unique story-telling technique on how people get into bad situations.

Lee Anne has a master's degree from the University of Phoenix. Her travels have taken her to the nooks and crannies of Mexico and Europe to broaden her historical knowledge.

Now retired from the professional recruiting business, Lee Anne lives and works out of her home within eyesight of Mt. Hood in Portland, Oregon. She lives quietly with her husband, Gil.