Expedition

In Dying Starlight #3

by Emily McCosh

Cyborgs and chatty humans around every corner.After their narrow escape from Amerov’s clutches, Aaron and Bat find a hospital for their new passenger. With the underground cities of Amethyst glittering and rich with humans nearly as odd as him, Aaron hopes to not only blend in but find replacements for his damaged augmentations.

But as the other bounty arrives to help Lalia, Aaron realizes he won’t be able to rid himself of the chatty humans. With Zane sticking to him like glue in his expedition through the unfamiliar hospital—being more helpful than Aaron will ever admit—Aaron soon realizes stealing new hearing aids won’t be as easy as planned. For there are even more cyborgs crawling this city than anticipated, and he’s not the only one with thievery on his mind.

Expedition is the third episode in the action-packed space opera series In Dying Starlight . Featuring a grumpy sarcastic cyborg, a talking badger, plenty of space travel, a cast of oddball characters, and a bit of romance later on, In Dying Starlight is perfect for fans of Star Wars , Firefly, and Blade Runner .

Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2025

About the author

Emily McCosh is a graphic designer, writer of strange things, and daydreamer extraordinaire. She currently lives in California with her two parents, two dogs, one fish, one tree swing, and innumerable characters who need to learn some manners. Her fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer Magazine, Galaxy’s Edge, Flash Fiction Online, Nature: Futures, and elsewhere.

Find her online on her writing and bookish YouTube channel, website where she sometimes blogs, and Instagram full of sappy poetry.

YouTube: Emily McCosh
TikTok: emilymccosh
Instagram: emily_mccosh
Blog: oceansinthesky.com
Facebook & Twitter: @wordweaveremily

Reviews

[A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is one of my top three favorites in the whole series.

ZANE is my favorite. Zane deserves all the stars on his own. Somebody give this big goofy ball of sunshine a hug.

Also, could we please, please, please get a spin-off series about a certain cyborg hospital attendant??? I would pay good money for this. He is my favorite "guest star" in the whole series.

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome sci fi adventure

The worldbuilding is intriguing, the characters are fascinating, and we learn all cyborgs aren't the same. Unfortunately, we also learn a lot of humans are jerks. I'm really enjoying this series, and I highly recommend it.

[Ryan Winters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy Sci-Fi with action

I really liked this one. Zane was a really fun character to get to know. Him and Aaron are very grumpy meets sunshine. That ending made me angry on Aaron’s behalf. Prejudice in any of its forms is so frustrating.