Return From Omina

By Roland Starr

The processes to which he has been subjected have taken control of him, charged him as if he were a piece of inanimate equipment, and he will have no compunction when he starts rampaging.

Max Vonner, captain of the starship Orion, had completed his mission on Omina and now he and his crew are to make the two year journey back to earth.

Over the past month, which had been spent in orbit around Omina, his Science Section, headed by Chief Scientist Quillon Reid, had collected all the information required for Earth’s colonisation of the planet.

Prava was the other planet in the system, and the Pravans inhabiting it were friendly, humanoid people. But they had been at war with a reptilian race from a neighbouring solar system, the Zukons.

Vonner and his crew had been dragged into the war, and his efforts on the side of the Pravans had resulted in the total destruction of the planet Zukon.

As a reward for his successful intervention, Vonner had been given permission by the Pravans to return to Earth with the right for humans to colonise Omina.

However, the two-year return run could only be made tolerable by the mind processing to which the entire crew would be subjected, and that processing was what was causing doubts in Vonner’s mind.

With the near mutiny on the trip to Omina, Vonner must do all he can to find the source of insurrection and ensure his crew do not succumb to space madness on the way back.

But hours before departure, it becomes apparent that something is wrong with the prepulsion.

Could it be sabotage? And if so, by whom?

Vonner has no choice but to face up to his duty with the same unflinching courage that had brought success to his mission.

Praise for Roland Starr:

“One of those books that is hard to put down.” – Cheltenham Echo

Roland Starr is a pseudonym of Donald S. Rowland, a prolific author whose works have spanned three decades, ranging from science fiction to romance, westerns to military fiction. His various names have been attributed to hundreds of titles, including Despot in Space.