The Judas Valley

When a routine survey mission receives a cryptic summons, Captain Peter Wayne finds himself thrust into a covert operation that promises both untold wealth and deadly mystery. A planet in a remote valley has already turned a hardened crew into a field of skeletons, and the Interstellar Exploration Service fears the same fate could repeat. The briefings are tight, the orders vague, and every officer senses that something far beyond a simple mineral hunt lies beneath the surface.

Wayne and his longstanding friend Sherri James, both seasoned spacefarers, board the sleek vessel Lord Nelson, half‑joking about postponing a date as the stakes rise. Their new objective: locate a massive deposit of double‑nucleus beryllium, a substance that could make fusion cheap enough to reshape humanity’s future—if it can be extracted safely. As the clock ticks, the crew prepares for an expedition where scientific ambition, military precision, and a lingering, unseen danger collide.