Tales From the Galactic Rim

Tales From The Galactic Rim is a collection of sixteen stories from author, Jay Toney. The stories span from near future Earth to distant star systems across the galaxy.Alien Cargo: Be very cautious with the space junk you pick up. It may not appear to be what it is, and the consequences can be…Blowups Happen!: A schizophrenic rockhopper and his imaginary companion discover an alien relic while prospecting.Deal Of The Century: Some deals are better left undone. If you discover this planet-Run!Escape From Avalon: Free traders cross the border into Alliance territory to bury their former captain on his homeworld. To regain their freedom, they must escape!Ghost Of A Chance: There are good reasons derelict generation ships are not boarded. They are not just space talk and superstition to scare the competition away. The crew of the salvage ship, Lucky Star are about to find this out the hard way.Graveyard On Titan: An exploratory ship is sent to Saturn's moon Titan. On the surface, they discover they are not alone. There is life on Titan-spiders.Heart Of Gold Redemption: A pirate attack leaves most of the crew of the merchanter ship Amillia dead. After years of hiding, its captain, and sole survivor is forced to relive those memories with the pirate captain that may have been responsible for the loss. Honeymoon Aboard The Mary Celeste: Johnathan and Roxanne defy their parents and elope. They conspire together to punish their children when they refuse to annul the marriage. Their punishment, an all-expense paid tour of the solar system aboard the newly commissioned luxury starliner, Mary Celeste.Library of Eternity: It doesn't pay to be too good at your job. Devon and Jadsia must flee for their lives to a place they have never been heard of. They are not being pursued for failing in their mission-for succeeding. Along the way they make a horrifying discovery-The Library of Eternity.Marooned: Crewman Logan defies his captain's orders, having his way with a hostage. His punishment is being marooned, set adrift in space aboard a disabled assault shuttlecraft and left to die. Except he is rescued. Has he learned his lesson, or will he repeat the very actions that caused him to be marooned? Net Zero and Net 2.0: Near future dystopian tales where future wars will be fought on virtual reality battlefields. Funded by the DOD, DARPA, and an unnamed eugenics foundation, Nexus Advanced Systems Technology, Inc (NASSTI) is developing games, and are preparing for public release. In these games, die in cyberspace, and you die or real.Project Terra: A low-ranking crewman is awakened from cold sleep after the Palomino collides with an unknown object. The ship's AI has chosen him as having the best chance of saving the ship, and the sleepers aboard it. Why him? Surely, there are others who are more qualified.Sundancer Down: After fighting a battle and escaping to hyperspace, the crew of the Sundance is forced to land on a planet to make repairs, but a failure causes them to crash land. Now they are fighting for survival. By day, a mist carries a toxin that causes hallucinations, at night, apex creatures come out to hunt. Humans are prey.The Joust: An accidental insult on an alien planet leads to a duel-a joust with starfighters. The prize is the passenger Nathniel is sworn to protect. It is winner takes all.The Oracle: Devon and Persephone are members of a band of pirates. After a simple robbery goes wrong, they are abandoned, left as a distraction while the rest of the gang escapes. Their only options are to escape, or die trying.