Life was never easy out in the Methuselah Cluster, the most remote region humanity ever settled, but when her alcoholic father found her a 'job' while he went off-planet to look for work for a 'few months', 11-year-old Loralynn Kennakris began to learn just how ugly it could get. Within the year, her employers sold her to a brutal slaver captain, who took from her the last thing she owned: her name.
Most girls in Kris's position last a year or two. The strong ones might last four. Kris survived for eight before she was set free, thanks to the Nereidian League Navy.
Unfortunately, eight years growing up in Hell prepared Kris for nearly everything but freedom, and her new life isn't at all what she imagined. Not only must she find her way in a bewildering society full of bizarre rules, but the very people who rescued her think she's a terrorist plant, a beautiful interstellar celebrity is complicating matters in more ways than one . . . and now someone is trying to kill her.
But Kris hasn't stayed alive by respecting boundaries or obeying rules, and her adopted society is about to find out what it's like to collide with someone who has no concept of a no-win scenario.
The Alecto Initiative is the gripping story of an extraordinary young woman forced to come of age while looking Death in the eye. It is the powerful and thought-provoking beginning to a new science-fiction series unlike any you have ever known.

About the Author

Jordan Leah Hunter is a writer, artist and model living in Northern California. Descended from Irish High-Kings, Vikings and Native Americans, she brings all the passion of her turbulent ancestry to her work. A true devotee of Nature, she can be found outdoors at all hours and in all weathers, and when she suffers to have a roof over her head, it is usually to sit by her fire and read or play one of several instruments.
Owen R. O’Neil is a physicist, a writer, an amateur historian and the descendant of a long line of engineers. After three years working for the US Navy as a missile systems engineer, he became a member of the intelligence community and spent the rest of his career there. One of the last generation of Cold Warriors, he worked on topics as diverse as satellites, infrared semiconductors, telecommunications and C4ISR. He is an expert on technology projection and threat assessment, and did groundbreaking work on IW/IO before it was cool.
These days he writes, exercises a passion for photography he inherited from his father, and indulges in his two principal vices: cooking unhealthy food and ferreting out exceptional but underappreciated wines. He lives on nine rural acres in northern California where, when not engaged in the foregoing, he listens to his tenants (bullfrogs and coyotes) and watches over his infant vineyard.

“Sometimes, everything that matters in our lives—everything that’s worth giving a shit for—comes down to one hour in one day.
This is that hour of that day.” After eight months of peace, the war has flared up again, and Senior Lieutenant Loralynn Kennakris is thoroughly pissed off. On the walking-wounded list with a paralyzed arm and unable to fly, her superiors have decided to give her a meaningless promotion and send her off with a diplomatic mission to Iona. For years, tensions have been ramping up between the Nereidian League and its increasingly powerful former colony. It’s the diplomat’s job to defuse them before they explode. Kris’s job is to act as the mission’s “military adviser”—which really means looking decorative, fetching coffee, and keeping her mouth shut. That is, until someone screwed up. Caught on the wrong side of a military disaster that threatens the League’s whole war effort and forced into a role she never desired, Kris knows she didn’t start this fight. But she’s sure as hell gonna finish it ... one way or another.

Asylum is the third book in the Loralynn Kennakris series. It contains two installments: Wogan’s Reef and Asylum; presented together in one volume. WOGAN’S REEF: War is all hell... and there’s no place like home. It’s been a rough year for the Nereidian League in its war against the Dominion of Halith. The Doms have had pretty much everything their own way since the beginning. The League’s Colonial Expeditionary Forces have been forced to bend repeatedly, but they have yet to break. For Ensign Loralynn Kennakris, Lieutenant Commander Rafael Huron, and a Marine captain named Minerva Lewis, the time for bending is over. They’re in a mood to start breaking things, and they don’t much care if they have to go through hell to do it. ASYLUM: Armed. Dangerous. And nothing left to lose . . . First they called her a hero. Then they called her a medical problem. Now they’re calling her a criminal. It’s been an exciting first year of active duty for Lieutenant Loralynn Kennakris. She started it by proving herself to be the League’s most promising young fighter pilot. She’s earned decorations and gained both admirers and enemies. But those rumors wouldn’t go away: dangerous mental instability, hostile tendencies, latent psychosis. Pushed too far, she did the unforgivable, and her enemies finally have the excuse they have been waiting for. They are right about one thing, though: Kris is dangerous, and now she has nothing left to lose.

It was supposed to be the beginning of a new life—not a replay of her old one . . . For eight years, Kris was the property of a brutal slaver captain. Now she's free and a brand-new cadet at the Nereidian League's military academy. All she brings to this new life is a unique set of skills, a profound ignorance of 'civilized' society, and a large chip on her shoulder. But Kris isn't quite sure what to make of the Academy, and the Academy isn't at all sure what to make of her. The medical staff thinks she's homicidal, her fellow cadets think she's crazy, and her instructors don't know what to think. So when she's approached about helping capture a terrorist warlord, she's more than happy to leave the halls of academia behind for awhile. Kris knows she's not signing up for a pleasure cruise. What she doesn't know is that the key to the mission's success is reliving her very worst nightmare . . . "The Morning Which Breaks" includes an extensive glossary that defines terms, describes technology and organizations, and provides additional background material for the Loralynn Kennakris series. Comprised of over 300 entries, the glossary is fully indexed and cross-linked to give you easy access to the information you want. An indexed biographical list of characters is incorporated as well. (Note: Due to the size of this glossary, the length of the story itself by Amazon's estimated page count is 558 pages.) Authors' Note: This book pertains in part to sexual slavery and the effect it has on those rescued from it. It deals with both physical and physiological trauma. Although fiction, this is serious matter and may disturb some readers. It is not 'young adult' fiction, and we do not consider it appropriate for younger readers.