Koban Universe Series by Stephen W. Bennett

Here are four stories, derived from the Universe of the Koban series. These are tales involving the Kobani people and Koban. Reading the series is NOT required to understand and enjoy these stand-alone tales. Australian Krall: (Novelette) A fully gene enhanced Kobani woman finds herself trapped in total darkness and underground, pursued by hundreds of slavering, semi-sentient, maniacally aggressive and hungry aliens... moreHere are four stories, derived from the Universe of the Koban series. These are tales involving the Kobani people and Koban. Reading the series is NOT required to understand and enjoy these stand-alone tales. Australian Krall: (Novelette) A fully gene enhanced Kobani woman finds herself trapped in total darkness and underground, pursued by hundreds of slavering, semi-sentient, maniacally aggressive and hungry aliens. Let’s take a walk on the dark side! Bats of a Leather Flock Together: (Short story) The wolfbat Flock Leader takes his colony to an unexplored Koban continent to set up a nest in virgin territory. The wily leader uses his cooperative experience with humans to forge similar alliances with other native creatures. Not everyone wants to play nice. Kobani Kiddie Capers: (Novella) How do Kobani parents cope with children that are born with the contact telepathy gene, and have eidetic memory? Adults who think teenagers act like they know everything never had an overconfident four-year old super child, with a ripper cub as his partner in crime. Living to reach his teens seems doubtful. The Smuggler and the Crime Lord: (Novelette) When you land a known smuggler’s ship in a ruthless Crime Lord’s city using false registry, it’s hard to convince a platoon of armed thugs that you’re only shopping, that you don’t owe the boss his cut of your take. If the Kobani captain is buying drinks for friends in a spaceport bar, spoiling his evening and making threats is ill advised, and could prove fatal. less

This book can be read as a standalone novel because how the Kobani human variant came to exist is explained on one page. A prologue then propels you into this action filled, often funny Sci-Fi Cowboy in Space story. For over a hundred years Chisholm, a Rim World colony, has produced beef for most of Human Space, raising vast herds of a breed of giant longhorns. Things are changing, as land reform is demanded by small ranchers and farmers, placing restrictions on the existing open range policy... moreThis book can be read as a standalone novel because how the Kobani human variant came to exist is explained on one page. A prologue then propels you into this action filled, often funny Sci-Fi Cowboy in Space story. For over a hundred years Chisholm, a Rim World colony, has produced beef for most of Human Space, raising vast herds of a breed of giant longhorns. Things are changing, as land reform is demanded by small ranchers and farmers, placing restrictions on the existing open range policy. The wealthy large ranchers will stop this by any means, to preserve their profits. Passions are high and the opposing sides have turned violent and deadly. Ethan, a gene-modified Kobani, travels to Chisholm with his sassy sister, Kit, seeking a high-risk employment opportunity in the growing Range War, where raids and murders have wiped out entire families. Gunmen and killers are in demand by both sides, with premiums paid for greater lethality. Using their direct contact telepathic ability, Ethan and his unusual sister Kit, chose a side. They’ll face a hundred hired guns, the outcome deciding who will control the future of Chisholm. Powerful men are determined to block reforms by driving off or killing those opposed to the status quo, and adamant reformers will meet violence with violence. Hired by one side in the conflict, an unexpected betrayal strikes down Ethan, and he vanishes. Kit goes on a rampage, terrorizing anyone with knowledge, to discover what happened to him, and mangled bodies accumulate as she searches for her brother. Knowing telepathically exactly what evil an individual has committed isn’t admissible in courts there, or heeded by corrupt sheriffs. However, possessing the truth is ample motivation for ignoring the law to Kit, and she summons help. In a final bloody confrontation, with deaths on both sides, a solution that only those from Koban could produce is achieved. less

In the three hundred years after defeating the Thandol Empire, Mirikami formed the Galactic Police Force. It isn’t a cop-on-the-corner force. The GPF is paramilitary with naval assets, patrolling the Federation and the former Empire. The GPF guards against threats by the old empire’s most aggressive species. A murderous Finth pack is secretly mining rare earth minerals on a clueless new Carbola colony, selling via intermediaries to the Planetary Union... moreIn the three hundred years after defeating the Thandol Empire, Mirikami formed the Galactic Police Force. It isn’t a cop-on-the-corner force. The GPF is paramilitary with naval assets, patrolling the Federation and the former Empire. The GPF guards against threats by the old empire’s most aggressive species. A murderous Finth pack is secretly mining rare earth minerals on a clueless new Carbola colony, selling via intermediaries to the Planetary Union. The minerals maintain Kobani superconducting physiology for the transformed PU citizens. Controlling the supply, the Finth intend to provoke a war between the PU and their Federation competitor. Both need rare elements for their populations. A Federation distracted by war would allow the Finth to carve a new empire from the old fragments. To keep mineral thefts secret, Carbola miners die nightly in the jaws and claws of Finth Hunter-Killer packs, simulating wild animal attacks out of the unexplored wilderness. When unexpected help arrives, it looks more terrifying than the problem. A Thandol Emperor of one their factions enslaved a nearby species. Stewart Macdougal, a retired Federation President, vanished on a mission to investigate the reports. The Olt’kitapi reveal that he’s missing to Mirikami, and innocently describe how they know precisely where he is. The embedded Kobani Comtap communicators, based on an Olt’kitapi design, has a hitherto unknown tracking capability. Stewart’s life is in imminent danger, forcing Mirikami and Maggi to immediately rush to the rescue. Things don’t go as planned, but the fireworks are impressive. Challenges continue for the GPF. The Thack Delos reveal new technology after they draw Mirikami and Ambassador Fisher into a trap. Tired of paying reparations for nuclear weapons used in the last war, The Thack Delos can void the contract only if the negotiators are dead. A Kobani lives too damned long, but there’s a simple cure! A peaceful visit by a GPF contact team to a species named the Corelians goes horribly awry. Before humans even left their home system, a radio broadcast to the galaxy at-large by the distant aliens proved there was life elsewhere. Faster Jump travel made a visit practical, if not welcome. The downy furred little aliens went berserk at first contact. Finally, the Silha, an ancient elevated species, make an offer to the Olt’kitapi and the Kobani, to open up an immense region of space to them. Instant wormhole travel to ten thousand galaxies of a supercluster, provided they support a “little” project. The Olt’kitapi are to build multispecies habitats in each galaxy, and the GPF to provide protection from hostiles. Its exploration and adventure the Kobani can’t resist. There’s an initial scouting trip to Andromeda, using five new identical ships the Silha somehow replicates. But who knew Andromeda was so well organized? Three dominant species control everything, and they don’t want intruders. The great adventure is ending in disaster before it starts. Pulling rabbits out of an empty hat is the least of Mirikami’s problem. He’s trying to survive the day, and a million ways to fail. less