The Orion Deception

"Hey Dool!" called Heck, deftly piloting his cruiser through the murderous obstacle course known as The Belt. Dooly, immersed in the navigational systems and intently monitoring the cruiser's path for potential collisions gave Heck a "What do you want?" kind of grunt.
"What kind of music to asteroids like?" Heck asked.
"Seriously? Kinda busy here," Dooly growled.
Heck pulled the cruiser up hard, avoiding a near-collision with a drift-sized rock. Dooly slammed his hand on the armrest in exaggerated annoyance.
"Nep-tunes!" Heck laughed, executing an acrobatic maneuver designed to provoke his partner.
Heck stopped laughing, however, when the plasma shielding protecting his window failed suddenly and an alert blasted in his ear. "Dammit, Dooly! Get that shield back online! We're in The Belt for God's sake!"
A deep mocking laughter drifted through the cruiser's cabin and into Heck's ear as the plasma shielding came back online. "Dude...you are way too Sirius!"

"Tom Bielawski is a bright light in today's dark sea of new writers. His writing gives me hope for the next generation of dreamers. I highly recommend both him and his works." -NYT Bestselling author, Tracy Hickman.

"Tom is a great new literary voice in a sea of indies." -Bestselling independent author, MR Mathias.

When Heck Thomas is attacked while trying to use the Centaurus Device, he is suddenly forced to abandon his plan to find Laylara. Barely escaping with his life and ship intact, Heck must once again live the life of an outlaw to survive as he tries to save an ungrateful System from greater disaster.