by KD Jones
Excerpt from Rage
Galactic Cage Fighters Book One
by KD Jones
The recorded fight they had just watched was one with which Rachel was familiar. She had actually watched the match with her friends and co-workers at the local Galactic Pub. Rage had been her uncle’s favorite.
“I am not sure I understand what the mission is. Did you want me to investigate the fighter?” Rachel asked, not taking her eyes off Rage. Even covered in alien blood, he was hot. He stood over seven feet tall and was reported to weigh two hundred fifty pounds. His body was all muscle.
“We want you to start your investigation with the GCFA circuit. It may lead to individual fighters.” Marks handed Rachel a personal electronic display, a PED, with a beautiful woman’s image on it. She had long, sable brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She had mixture of a Hispanic descent, and she was human, at least in appearance.
“Her name is Lucinda Stamos. Her uncle is Senator Jon Stamos of the Eastern Quarter of the Omega Region. She went missing a little over two months ago,” Marks informed her.
“What does her disappearance have to do with the GCFA?” Rachel asked as she studied the image of the young woman.
“She was celebrating her college graduation with friends. They went to one of the GCFA matches and according to her friends, she started an affair with one of the fighters. She followed him on their circuit tour, but somewhere along the way, she just disappeared. Her friends and family haven’t heard anything from her and the GCFA released a statement saying she left the spaceport hotel on her own.”
Rachel looked again at the image of Rage. Was he involved somehow? Could he be the boyfriend? A part of her hoped that he wasn’t as she asked the question, “Who was the fighter she was involved with?”
“Talon, according to the friends’ reports, but this is bigger than just her. She’s the eighth human woman to go missing in the last six months. They were women of different ethnicities, from all over the eight regions. The one common thread linking them is that they were all last seen at a GCFA match before they were reported missing. I’ve downloaded a report on each woman for you,” Marks stated.
She quickly scrolled through the summaries of each case. Each woman had last been seen in one of the regions on the GCFA circuit. The circuit covered eight regions—Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Omega, Delta, Kappa, Theta, and Zeta. Each region was also separated in four quarters—Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern, with each quarter containing a million galaxies. That was a lot of ground to cover, and it was only a small piece of the enormous universe.
The young women had gone missing from almost every region on the GCFA circuit. The first girl, Lauren Crabtree, was reported missing from the Alpha Region. Then two girls, Sandra Tate and Melissa Dearling, went missing from the Delta Region. Barbie Vent went missing from the Beta Region. Two more, Robin Teros and Vanna Jones, were from the Theta Region. Candy Simmons had gone missing from the Gamma Region. The final girl, Lindy Stamos, went missing from the Zeta Region.
As Marks was explaining the disappearances of the other women, Rachel looked at their images on her PED, one right after another. They were all young and beautiful. “Did you question the fighter, Talon?”
“We tried, but the GCFA lawyers have been giving us grief about harassing their fighters. It’s been hard to get answers from him or anyone associated with the GCFA. The statement their publicity team released stated that each of the women in question left of their own accord.”
“So you want me to question them?” asked Rachel as she continued to stare at the girls pictures on the PED.
“Not directly. We want you to go undercover as a new female fighter for the GCFA,” Marks continued to explain. “They’ve been off the circuit for two months. They’re about to re-start their GCFA tour again in about six weeks. We want you to pose as a new fighter and go with them on their circuit to investigate from the inside. We believe they may talk to you as a fellow fighter. I have to warn you―if you accept this assignment, you’ll be going in solo.”
“Okay, I’m in,” she said without hesitation.
“Good. Once your training is complete, we’ll set you up with an identity,” Marks told her.
“Training? I’m already trained to fight in multiple disciplines,” Rachel responded.
The other man in the fancy suit had been silent until now. “Not for this type of fighting.”
“And you are?” Rachel asked as she raised her eyebrow up at him.
“I am called Lesak. I have trained many fighters for the GCFA. I am well known within the fighting circuit. I will be your in, but I must make sure you can fight well enough to be accepted at the tryouts. The fights won’t be fixed. They will be real.”
“I’m one of the best fighters in the agency. The best female fighter for sure,” she said with confidence.
“It won’t be good enough. You are pure human. You have only fought other pure humans. The GCFA fighters are mixed species, halfsies as they are called. They have to be, in order to sometimes fight full-blooded aliens as their opponents. A halfsies alien DNA ensures that they will have superior strength and speed.”
“I think I just got insulted.” Rachel looked ready to knock this guy on his ass.
Excerpt from Gateway to HeVan
The Nephilim Book Four
By Lucy Kelly
“Starships Venger and Explorer, this Gate is now under the control of the KowLer. By energizing the Gate and passing through without permission, you have violated our laws. State your business and intentions,” he said in an angry and irritated voice.
“First, this Gate was built and put in place by my people. We have a treaty with the KowLer and you are in violation of it. I would like to know what you’ve done with my Gatekeeper. Secondly, when addressing a new person, young man, you should identify yourself. It’s extremely rude to make demands and speak this way to people you haven’t met. Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?” she asked in a calm but don’t mess with me tone.
Arjun, Rale, and the other warriors turned their heads to hide their smiles. They were a little surprised to see the Kowler warrior’s cheeks color slightly.
“I am Ral CaliBan, Master of this Gate and Proctor of Clan CaliBan. Your Regent Malpha updated the treaty with HeVan eleven cycles past. All HeVanian personnel were sent home and replaced with citizens from the Clans of KowLer. After your first transmission, I notified Clan KowLer, ruling clan of the KowLer star system,” he responded. He stood and approached the view screen before continuing.
“As our home planet KowLer is currently on the far side of the sun, you will need to maintain position for nine solar hours and speak with King Ben KowLer before proceeding. The weapons of the station are armed and locked on. You must recall your fighters and stand by. Any signs of aggression will be met with an immediate response,” he finished.
“Young man,” Glynnis answered, “I am shocked and surprised at your continued rudeness. I believe I’ve explained that I am now regent—not Malpha. Her treaty with your people is null and void. You must deal with me now. The fact you continue to act toward people who are your allies―and would come to your aid should you need it―in this manner, is despicable. So I have no qualms in telling you all the Gate Station’s weapons have been disarmed and locked out beyond your control,” she said, almost shaking.
She motioned for Recca and Rufan to help her out of the chair. They each took an elbow and lifted, then placed her on the floor. She strode forward, hands on her hips, and then shook her finger at him.
“We absolutely plan on staying here until we talk to King Ben KowLer. I have a strong desire to give him a piece of my mind. If you call one single warship to come near my granddaughters, you will finally succeed in making me angry. I have hundreds of pregnant women on this ship, including the heir to the HeVanian throne. So I highly suggest you shape up and act with civility. I have nothing more to say to you until you can speak in a pleasant tone and with good ma
nners.”
After her statement, she turned and strode from the room. Her three Ankida ―Rale, Recca and Rufan, followed behind her in a show of support.
Arjun moved around and sat in the Command chair. He smiled at CaliBan, whom he could see was annoyed, flabbergasted, angry, and slightly in awe. Arjun appreciated his reaction. As he and his brothers had courted and finally won Addie, he’d dealt with Glynnis’s methods directed at him as well.
“Ral―let me give you a little history. Our High Queen’s daughter, the heiress to the throne, was lost in space, along with her mates. While she was gone, her mother, the High Queen, was poisoned. As the only remaining direct descendants of the High Queen, I and my brothers, after receiving a sign and a weak transmission, went in search of the daughter, now High Queen of HeVan.”
He was pleased to see he had captured Ral’s attention and interest.
“After nearly two hundred years, when we found the queen, we discovered proof her ship had also been sabotaged. Her Ankida died saving the lives of the crew. This also brought on premature labor and the birth of Tamiel’s three sons. She had to be put in stasis due to her serious injuries and leave her sons to be raised by others. The nearest planet within range, which was habitable, was in an era of pre-history without any technology. The crew sacrificed everything to keep Tamiel alive. Those men, who weren’t joined, mated with the indigenous peoples. Tamiel’s sons grew up, thrived as best they could and also mated with women from this primitive planet.”
At this point in the story, Arjun paused; there were certain aspects which could not be shared with outsiders. He quickly edited parts of the history which highlighted the treachery of Durga of the House of Purgat.
“When we arrived, Tamiel had just been awakened from her stasis by her own descendant. Tamiel revealed that her mother had foreseen her own death and passed her power to her daughter. Tamiel, in turn, passed the power of the High Queen to her descendant just before leaving this plane to join her Ankida and her sons. The new High Queen’s powers quickly manifested. She drew other descendants to her and many of them agreed to emigrate to HeVan. All but four of the women are joined to members of my original crew. As a result of being in the vicinity of our High Queen, they have all become pregnant. The High Queen herself is joined and carries six babies. She is on bed rest and must not be stressed.”
Arjun stopped speaking for a moment to allow his words to sink in.
“Every warrior on this vessel and on the Venger would give his life for any one of the women and, most especially, our queen. Please pass this message and all we’ve related to your ruler. We have no quarrel with the KowLer as a people, and would prefer to remain on good terms with you. Make no mistake; we will defend our queen to our last breath.”
Arjun and Kylan as well as every crew member on the Bridge stood to show their solidarity.
CaliBan was moved by the story. The HeVanians had made no outward shows of aggression, only those of defense. He would relate their story to his ruler and leave it to Ben KowLer to make the decision whether or not to enforce the new treaty terms.
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