Thanks for checking out my stop on Sandy Williams’ SHADES OF TREASON blog tour! I really enjoyed her SHADOW READER trilogy, so even though I couldn’t squeeze in a review this time around, I still wanted to show her new SciFi series some love. I hope you’ll do the same!
Name: Rhys Rykus
Current Rank: Commander
Home World: Javeria
Family:
Father: General Markum Rhykus
Mother: Cecilia Rykus
Siblings: Raychel Rhykus
Brandt Rykus
Height: 6’2”
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Brown
Evaluator’s Notes:
Rhys Rykus is the son of Markin Rykus, Javeria’s highest ranked soldier and a strong opponent of the Coalition. Rhys Rykus enlisted in his home world’s army but never renewed his contract. We believe this is due to an altercation with his father over events during the Caldren Belt Crisis. Communication between the two men ceased from that point forward, and the younger Rykus joined the Coalition’s Fighting Corps the day after his contract with Javeria’s military expired.
Rykus has proved himself to be an excellent and disciplined soldier. During basic training, he drew the attention of his instructors and the Intelligence Committee, and was rewarded with an assignment to Quick Reaction Force: Delta.
Notable QRF Delta Operations:
Crisis at Crateague
Anti-Piracy at Yolan
Battle of Gaeles Minor
Regarding the Battle of Gaeles Minor. Intelligence sources were corrupted and enemy strength was double the prediction. Rykus was on board the CSS Kormann awaiting a drop to the planet’s surface. The Kormann was crippled during this time, and enemy forces boarded, forcing the survivors to flee in life rafts. At some point prior to the release of QRF Delta’s drop ship, Rykus volunteered to set explosives. He then proceeded to eliminate the on board enemy one by one until he reached the bridge. There he gained access to navigation and set the Kormann on an intercept course with the enemy’s tachyon capsule, forcing its captain into one of two choices: flee the system or reposition itself to await the return of its vessels.
The enemy captain chose to flee. The decision caused confusion and was a blow to the enemy’s morale, and Coalition forces were able to regroup and destroy the remaining vessels. The CSS Kormann, however, was obliterated by the enemy. QRF Delta’s drop ship and most of the life rafts were also destroyed in the battle, and Rykus was presumed dead along with the rest of his team. A recovery team found him ten standard days later sealed inside the bridge. Blast doors and breach foam kept his 02 from leaking out, giving him time to don a thermal space suit.
The recovery team found him unconscious and dehydrated. His left shoulder was crushed and later replaced with a bruidium replica. He was sent to his home world to recover, and it was then that it was discovered his family and the media had not been notified of his survival. The reception was held at the Rykus’s family home, and Rhys Rykus walked in before he could be warned, thus furthering a reputation which had been growing since the Battle of Gaeles Minor.
Final Assessment: Rykus is an honorable soldier with an impeccable record. His actions at the battle of Gaeles Minor and his reputation in the Coalition would put the Caruth program in a favorable light. The citizens of the Coalition respect him and consider him a hero. It is our opinion that Rykus would make a good candidate for an instructor of Caruth.
She had never uttered that word in his presence before. He was almost certain she’d never used it in her life. It wasn’t part of her vocabulary. It would have been seen as a weakness on her home planet, just as it would have been a weakness on Caruth.
But the word was a submission, complete and irrevocable. All her walls were down. She was pleading for his help.
She was pleading for his help, and he was hurting her.
He released the pressure on her arm.
A moment passed. Then another. Then Ash’s green eyes opened.
She stared at him.
He stared at her.
It felt as if he’d been sucked into another dimension, one where the loyalty training had flipped the axis of the universe. Instead of her being bound by his wishes, it was the other way around. She held his free will in her hands. He could feel it missing in the center of his chest. His heart beat within the hollow space, lost, unable to orient itself, but one command, one word from her, could make everything right again.
Her lips parted. No sound came out, though he waited for it, waited for some command he could carry out for her.
Is this what it felt like to be a loyalty trained anomaly? He wasn’t in control. He wasn’t thinking reasonably. If he had been, he wouldn’t have been this aware of how her body fitted with his. He wouldn’t have been able to picture himself lowering his mouth to hers. He could almost taste her. He wanted to taste that beauty mark to the right of her lips.
He allowed himself one weakness. He drew his thumb over the small, dark spot. It was real. As real as the woman lying beneath him. He’d seen Ash naked once before. He’d tried not to focus on her body back then, but he wanted to focus on it now. He wanted to take his time surveying every inch of it.
And he wanted her beneath him, vulnerable to his touch, his presence. Ash was always in control of herself. He wanted to see her shatter…
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://rabidreads.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Sandy.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]
Sandy Williams has lived and breathed books all her life. When she was a teen, she was always the first to finish her class assignments so that she could read as much as possible before the bell rang. Her grades didn’t suffer (much), and she was able to enroll in Texas A&M University. She didn’t sneak in novels there, but her college lecture notes are filled with snippets of stories. After she graduated, she decided to turn those snippets into novels.
Sandy writes books with high-octane action adventure infused with a strong romantic element. She is best known for The Shadow Reader novels, an urban fantasy romance series about a human who can both see and track the fae. When she’s not reading or corralling her twin boys, she enjoys playing EuroGames like Dominion, 7 Wonders, and Agricola.
Ash would have given her life to save her teammates.
Instead, they gave their lives to save hers.
Lieutenant Ramie Ashdyn is an anomaly, a person whose genetic makeup makes her stronger and smarter than the average human. She’s pledged her life to protect the Coalition, an alliance of thirteen planetary systems, but when a top secret operation turns bloody, she’s charged with treason and the brutal executions of her teammates.
The Coalition needs the information Ash’s team stole on their last mission, so they send in Commander Rhys “Rest in Peace” Rykus to get it. He’s the man who’s responsible for turning Ash into an elite soldier… and he’s a man who isn’t, never was, and never will be in love with the woman he trained. Or so he tells himself.
Ash wants nothing more than to clear her name and be the woman her former instructor wants her to be, but the enemy who killed her teammates did more than frame her for treason and murder: they telepathically silenced her mind, preventing her from saying anything that might point to the truth about what happened.
Now Ash is trapped and set to be executed, the truth dying with her. Unless she can prove her innocence. But taking that path could destroy the Coalition she’s sworn to preserve and protect…
Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
Cool 🙂
I did not know she had ventured into sci.fi
blodeuedd recently posted…Highlander Romance Wednesday x3
Love the character file. Such a great idea!
E.J. Stevens recently posted…Q+A with Susan Griscom (A Gypsy’s Kiss)
That character file made me really intrigued about the book!! Very cool idea!
Pili recently posted…Mark This Book Monday: Burn and The Wrath & The Dawn!!!
oh… a Character Bio Carmel! I love this feature! So original! Now I want to read the book 🙂
Daniela recently posted…Book Review: Red Queen (Red Queen #1), by Victoria Aveyard
I love the character file and a little romance can only enhance the story.
sherry fundin recently posted…WOW! Debut novel blew me away – Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk
Thanks for sharing this!
kindlemom1 recently posted…Review: Thief by Tarryn Fisher
Loved the excerpt and that cover is great!
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Freebie Friday!
I love this! I am a fan of her first series so I will definitely check this oneout. Also, the excerpt and the character file are awesome 🙂
Lea Krnjeta recently posted…Review: After Ever Happy (After #4) by Anna Todd
This sounds like a good read! I like how the post is set up with the file at the start! Looks like Ash and Rhys have a strong connection! Thanks for sharing!
Naomi @ Naomi’s Reading Palace
Naomi recently posted…Thrust by Victoria Ashley ~ Review & Quote-tastic