Atom & Go: Genesis by Zach Winderl
Fleeing the destruction of his clan, Atom Ulvan must protect his two-year-old daughter on a space-western romp across the galaxy. Aboard his ship the One Way Ticket, the pair must find a way to survive their pursuers while carving out their new place on the frontiers of the Empire.
Atom & Go: Genesis is available from the publisher's website
And Amazon
Excerpt
Atom stepped from the cargo ramp into a gust of oven dusty air. Squinting against the blown grit, he raised a shielding hand and took stock of his surroundings. The polarized atmosphere shaded everything a reddish-grey, haunting the eyes with ghostly images of absent colors. In the back of his mind, Atom tried to adjust to the lack of blues and greens.
“Why don’t you inform the others of your side business?” Kozue asked as Atom retreated up to the hatch door at the top of the ramp.
“I don’t want them involved,” Atom replied as he punched through the hatch.
“But they could help.”
Atom glanced at Margo. Looking up from the pram, she beamed a smile.
“Dada dirty.” She clapped her hands and shook with a gleeful giggle.
With care, he wrapped a mesh hood around her head and fixed a filter over her mouth. She reached up to pull the hood off, but Atom took her hands and set them in her lap.
“Leave it,” he commanded, and Margo complied. “We’re going outside, Go. It’s dusty so let the hood be.”
Margo nodded. She turned her attention to looking through the polarized lenses covering her eyes. With a furtive glance to Atom, she reached up and adjusted the hood. Atom raised an eyebrow, but he saw the smile lift her cheeks beneath the light material.
Satisfied with Margo’s elemental protection, Atom punched the hatch open again and pushed the pram out into the gusting wind. As he tromped down the ramp, he wrapped a light scarf around his mouth and nose.
“They could help, but they could also prove a liability.” He continued the conversation as he slipped into the crowded street at an easy stroll. “Plus, I work better alone.”
“You take Margo.”
“Truth, but she’s blood. She’s a part of me.”
“She’s a child, Atom.”
“And I trust her more than either of the other two in a fight. I know what she’s capable of.”
“There’s something frightening in that statement.” Concern laced Kozue’s words. “Especially since one of your crew is a known gunfighter with a rap as long as my hair.”
“You don’t have hair.”
“I did, and you remember.”
Atom fell silent. His feet pressed forward through the dust laden throngs. He had lined up a buyer on the slow orbital descent, but he preferred meeting face to face, a habit from his days as an admiral.
Following Kozue’s directions, he wound his way through the thriving spaceport to a well built residence, nestled between the slums and the affluent.
At his first knock, a young servant woman opened the door with a genuine smile
“Make yourself welcome,” she said as she slammed the door against the wind. “I will let Staroste Moncrief know you have arrived. He was pleased and surprised by your request to meet in person.”
“I aim to surprise.” Atom smiled as he pulled his scarf down. “In a good way of course.”
The servant bobbed her head and disappeared through a door at the rear of the tall entryway. As the door closed on the servant’s heels, Atom unwrapped Margo and surveyed their surroundings. From the outside, the building appeared squat and plain, but the interior told a different story. The entrance hall showed modest opulence. Built of solid sandstone bricks, artisans had carved delicate floral scenes of off-world Edens into every surface. Soaring twenty feet overhead, a broad, tinted skylight allowed a comforting warm glow to enter and offset the cool, misted interior of the building. Underfoot, a thick carpet of intricate weave covered the broad sandstone blocks of the floor in an inviting manner.
“Welcome, Mr. Ulvan.” The servant opened the doors to the interior and motioned for him to follow. Atom picked up Margo and strolled after the serving girl.
About the Author
Zach is a stay at home dad who has graduated from writing during naptime to using school hours as creation central. He lives in Western NY with his wife, a mermaid, a cheetah, and a stormtrooper.
When not playing board games with his children or game group, Zach Winderl can most often be found expanding the tales of Atom & Go or people watching for literary inspiration. He draws inspiration for his character Margo from a mash-up of his three children and while he can’t claim to be a gun-slinger, many of Margo’s experiences have actually happened.
