“That’s the Thelicosan fleet, isn’t it?” Rogers said weakly.

“Yes, sir,” the tech said. “They’ve dispatched a message.”

Rogers swallowed, gripping the nearest piece of equipment as tightly as he could.

“Read it.”

“Um,” the tech said. “It says, ‘We’re invading.’ ”

“EXPLETIVE,” Deet said.

THE [EXPLETIVE] END

I. Please see Meridan Rank and Organization Regulation MR-613 for information as to why, even though Captain Alsinbury is a captain, she’s not a captain. Or ask your local Meridan Navy service member why they can’t keep their god-damn ranks straight between the navy and the marines.

Acknowledgments

Before you write a book, you’re pretty sure that the process of publishing one mostly consists of throwing a copy of your manuscript into a high-rise New York City building and someone throwing a bag of money back out the window at you. Well, I’ve got news for you: it’s all true.

I lied. This wouldn’t have been possible without my enterprising agent, Sam, who quite literally stole me from his boss Joshua’s pile of manuscripts. Nor would it have been possible without the editorial faith, prowess, and perseverance of Joe Monti at Saga, my dutiful copy editor Richard Shealy, and Caffe Amouri in Vienna, VA, who graciously provided me with some of the best coffee I’ve ever had while I wrote this book.

Perhaps most of all, I would both thank and profusely apologize to the United States Armed Forces for this book. I have the utmost respect for all of those who are serving and who have served. Without daily access to the largest bureaucratic/professionally violent organization on the face of the earth for nearly ten years, I never would have had any material for this trilogy.

More from this Series
Communication Failure Book 2	System Failure Book 3

JOE ZIEJA is an author with a long history of doing things that have almost nothing to do with writing at all. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Joe dedicated more than a decade of his life to wearing The Uniform, marching around in circles, and shouting commands at people while in turn having commands shouted at him. It was both a great deal of fun and a great nuisance, and he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Joe’s also a commercial voiceover artist and a composer of fine music for video games and commercials. He’s probably interrupted your Spotify playlist at least once to encourage you to click on the banner below, and he isn’t the least bit upset that you ignored him.

Mechanical Failure is Joe’s debut novel.

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

SIMONANDSCHUSTER.COM

authors.simonandschuster.com/Joe-Zieja

ALSO BY JOE ZIEJA

Forthcoming:

Communication Failure

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