Freelancing

by Adair Hart

  With a flurry of blows, he sliced up the power systems and cut off several of the weapon extensions as the robot’s top spun around. A final power jab of both blades into the central part of the topside caused the robot to stumble and then tip over.

  Blake jumped off and, after a quick look around, continued on to the room he sensed Seth was in. As he neared the door, a voice came out over the communication speakers.

  “Whoever you are killing my guards and robots, I have an offer. Whatever you’re being paid, I’ll double it if you help me with the Red Wave.”

  Blake knew not to respond, lest he give away his position. With the cameras down, he knew Alcarez could not see him.

  “I understand if you don’t want to respond. If you leave now and help take down the Red Wave, I will consider that an agreement to contract. Otherwise, I will focus on hunting you. I’ll give you a moment to consider your choice.”

  Blake shook his head as he slid to the side and pushed open the door where the odor was the strongest. After taking a moment to assess the situation, he burst into the room with both blades drawn. There were cages with people in it, and he homed in on Seth immediately.

  Seth coughed. “What took you so long?”

  “Well … I’m glad to see you too,” said Blake. He sliced open Seth’s cage. “We don’t have much time.”

  Seth pointed at the others. “The original crew. Two dead, but we need to get the other four out. The one next to me is Cortik and he speaks Kreagan.”

  Blake nodded and opened their cages. He returned to help Seth out of his cage. “What happened to your ankle?”

  “Damn android asshole twisted it to immobilize me.”

  “I think they have their hands full at the moment. The Red Wave is attacking in force. They’ll be here soon, and we don’t want to be here when they do come.”

  Seth nodded. “I’m going to be a liability. I can’t walk.”

  Blake grabbed Seth’s clothes from the corner and then helped him get them on. Once Seth was dressed, Blake picked Seth up and slung him over his shoulder. Blake chuckled. “Just don’t ogle my ass too much.”

  Seth snorted as he winced in pain.

  Blake looked at the other crew members. “You guys good to go?”

  Cortik nodded. “Lead the way … and it’s good to meet you.”

  Blake tapped his chest. “Stick close to me.”

  “No problem with that,” said Cortik.

  They headed back the way Blake had come.

  “Time’s up,” said Alcarez over the communication speakers. “What’s it going to be?”

  When they approached the entrance, weapons fire hit the area in front of them.

  “So … the merc reveals himself. Where do you think you’re going,” said Alcarez, rushing from the back with several guards.

  “No time for this shit,” said Blake. He set Seth down and pulled out his striker. With a well-aimed shot, a grenade fired out in an arc and landed in the middle of the warehouse.

  After a moment, the grenade exploded, and the group rushed to the ship as the warehouse began to crumble in on itself.

  Once everyone was on board and settled in, Seth, Cortik, and Blake headed to the command center.

  After an awkward moment, Blake closed his eyes. “Let me guess … One of the dead was the pilot.”

  Cortik looked down. “I’m … just a security guard.”

  Seth sighed as he tried to work on the interface. “Damn … it’s not in Kreagan.” He glanced at Cortik. “I can probably figure out some of this. Most interfaces follow a general standard, but any help in translating would be awesome.”

  “There’s a language filter,” said Cortik. “I know that at least. Give me a second.” He tapped at the interface.

  Seth smiled when he could read the navigation interface. “There we go. Firing her up.”

  The ship hovered for a moment, then tilted toward the warehouse. Alcarez had exited the warehouse with a limp, and a part of his face looked like it had melted off.

  “Damn, he’s a tough son of a bitch,” said Seth.

  When Alcarez made it to a small ship, Seth turned their ship toward it and fired a set of small laser beams.

  Alcarez’s ship blew up, tossing Alcarez off to the side. He stopped moving.

  “Looks like that’s taken care of,” said Seth.

  Blake narrowed his eyes. “I’d go check if he was still alive, but we need to go. Fly by our ship, and I’ll jump out. Then we can meet in Killikin. Be quick about it, though, since Tooka will probably not be too fond of flying ships in the city.”

  Seth’s eyes misted. “Yeah, no problem … and thanks for coming.”

  Blake slapped Seth on the back. “You got it, my abductee brother.”

  After dropping off the ship with Cortik and being paid by Lawlrik, Seth went to Gambunos, to the exact table where they had met Lawlrik before. He took a shot of whiskey as he watched the dancers on the far side of the room. It was 11:00 p.m., and he was exhausted, but completing the first contract required a celebration. His ankle had been attended to on the flight to Killikin, and the thought that it would probably be the first of many injuries did not escape him. If Alcarez or his henchman had gone a different route, that could have been it.

  Blake was to meet him here, and Seth was enjoying Gambunos. It was more than just a contract hookup location; it had a lot of luxuries available. He had already been propositioned by a Ranaxian, a member of a matriarchal society. That was an offer he might have taken if he had not been waiting for Blake.

  The music was soothing, and the lighting dim.

  If Seth had wanted to take a nap, the atmosphere would encourage it. He adjusted himself in his seat, and a pang shot up his leg. It would be a few weeks before his ankle was fully healed, and he had a routine to follow with rest, raised legs, and reduced pressure. Flying the ship would be possible, but engaging in fieldwork would have to wait. His attention focused on Blake entering Gambunos.

  Blake hustled over to the table and took a seat. “How you feeling?”

  “I’m all right, I guess. A few weeks of rest and relaxation are in my future. On the plus side, we’re two hundred thousand credits richer.”

  “Two hundred? I thought it was fifty thousand?”

  “Apparently, rescuing the crew was a bonus,” said Seth. “Cortik verified that Alcarez was killed, so we got another bonus on that, although … I dunno if Alcarez really died.”

  Blake furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s possible Alcarez survived. I’ll keep my ear close to Tooka and see what I hear.”

  “Yeah. If Alcarez survived, he’s gonna come for us.”

  “Let him come. He can die a real death then.”

  Seth laughed. “You have no fear, do you?”

  Blake shrugged. “I’ve heard that even in death, the pure Daedrould can persist in some capacity in another reality. I don’t personally want to find out, but if it happens, so be it.”

  “Comforting,” said Seth as he winced.

  Blake eyed Seth. “You know if you drank some of my blood, your ankle would heal much faster.”

  Seth shook his head while flashing a hand out. “I’m not drinking your blood, man. And … my pants stay on.”

  Blake laughed. “Thought I’d offer. Besides, I’d let you keep your pants on.”

  “Oh, well thanks,” said Seth with a smirk. He studied the table for a moment, then glanced at Blake. “So what’s the next step then?”

  Blake ran a hand over his mouth. He exhaled and said, “If you can still fly, we can maybe do some contracts where only I have to go out.”

  Seth nodded. “I think I’d prefer that over what we just went through. I can walk with the exosuit I have on, but I can’t be running around and all that for a bit.”

  “You could have actually stayed on the ship for the last one too,” said Blake. He clenched his jaw for a moment. “What happened to you wasn’t supposed to happen. Anyways, we’ll need to get some armor and weapon upgrades.
”

  “And ship upgrades if we can afford it,” said Seth.

  “That too,” said Blake.

  A waiter brought a shot of whiskey to the table and placed it in front of Blake.

  “Just bring a bottle,” said Blake.

  The waiter nodded and took off.

  Seth laughed. “You’ll be drinking alone tonight.”

  “Why’s that?”

  Seth pointed at the Ranaxian female and gestured for her to come over. “You have your whiskey. I’m getting my reward. I was just waiting for you to come, but I think it’s time to relax.” He slid out of the booth and gingerly stepped up, using the table as support. His exosuit lit up as he stood.

  Blake smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning. I’m going to browse potential contracts and see if anyone approaches.”

  Seth nodded as the Ranaxian placed an arm around his waist. “And you’ll drink the night away.”

  The waiter returned with a bottle.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Blake with a smile, baring his fangs.

  Koordin tapped the counter as he watched the security feed on the console underneath. A Kreagan had entered the store, and the robot guards had already scanned him. Koordin relaxed as he searched under the counter and pulled out a small playing-card-like device.

  The Kreagan walked up to the counter.

  “Rakar, we meet again,” said Koordin.

  Rakar nodded. “I heard you have something for me.”

  Koordin grinned and handed Rakar the device. “It’s all there. Blake’s recent contract details, statements, transaction information, ship specs, personnel involved, you name it.”

  “You’re very thorough.”

  “Of course I am,” said Koordin. He tilted his head. “Why are you collecting this?”

  Rakar eyed Koordin. “That’s unusual for an informant to ask.”

  “It involves Blake,” said Koordin. He swept his hand around. “I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t stopped in a few nights ago. Couple of Drodalian goons were going to kill me. Blake wasted them.”

  Rakar looked around. “That sounds like Blake. I see you’ve enhanced your security setup.”

  “Yeah … well, thanks to him, I have an opportunity to do that. He’s also a good friend. I just … don’t want him to be blindsided by something, is all.”

  “Me either, but … this is not a bad thing.”

  Koordin licked his lips. “All right. Blake already left the planet to do another contract, so I’m sure he’ll stop in again.”

  “And you’ll see me again then as well.”

  “I figured,” said Koordin. He eyed Rakar. “You must have some pull with the broker to arrange this. I can’t find shit on this arrangement other than what I need to do.”

  Rakar smiled. “Oh … it’s a long story.”

  “One you can’t tell. I know, I know,” said Koordin with his hands out. “Just makes me think there’s an informant involved in the Fredorian government, one I don’t know about. Maybe that’s you.”

  Rakar narrowed his eyes. “I cannot confirm or deny that.”

  Koordin laughed. “You don’t need to. I know the rules. Plausible deniability.”

  Rakar slipped the device into his pocket. “I appreciate your help in this matter.”

  “Of course, of course,” said Koordin. He watched as Rakar turned and headed out. Whatever the Fredorian government was doing, they wanted to keep tabs on Blake. Koordin did not think it was anything sinister, but it made him think that maybe there was something brewing there that they might need Blake’s help with. Time would tell.

  I hope you enjoyed Freelancing, the Earthborn prequel. This was intended as an introduction to two of the main characters in the Earthborn series. There will be more, but these two are the ones who start it off. This book takes place in the Evaran Chronicles setting, approximately twenty years after The Fredorian Destiny, book 2 of the Evaran Chronicles. The Earthborn series is standalone, and reading the Evaran Chronicles is not required, although if you enjoyed this book, you may like the other series too!

  If you liked the book, and have the time and inclination, a review would go a long way in helping out this indie author. If you do submit a review, I’ll put in a word to Blake Brown and Seth Williams should you find yourself needing freelancers! Want to be notified about new book releases? If so, you can sign up below.

  www.AdairHart.com/MailingList.aspx

  I will only send you email about new book releases, major updates, and the occasional newsletter, usually once a month. I dislike getting spammed too, so I will use this sparingly to keep you in the loop.

  I have been dreaming about fictional worlds since I was a kid. I devoured anything related to fantasy and science fiction. I developed a setting over the last twenty years and struggled to find a medium I could express it in. Several years ago I discovered I enjoyed writing. It is a passion of mine now, and exploring my setting with it has been an awesome journey.

  I work in the information technology field and have my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in it. It has helped me to shape some of the concepts I write about. I also enjoy keeping up on futurology and science in general.

  I live in central Ohio and enjoy walking, reading, gaming, learning, listening to music, and trying to keep up on my never-ending list of TV shows and movies to watch. If you want to contact me, you can do so on my website at

  www.AdairHart.com

  You can also reach me on:

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  Adair.hart.Author@gmail.com

  This was a great journey for me, but I wouldn’t be here without the help of others. I would like to thank, in no particular order,

  My awesome editor, Laura Petrella. I am excited to have her along with me for another series and know that it will be polished in her more-than-capable hands. I feel like I won the lottery in getting to work with her!

  My cover artist, Tom Edwards (tomedwardsconcepts@gmail.com), for a fantastic cover. This is my first using characters instead of ships, and he did an excellent job as always.

  My family and friends who helped encourage me along the way.

  My proofreader, Alexa, for providing a great service.

  My formatter and interior designer, Colleen Sheehan (www.wdrbookdesign.com/), for helping lay out a new interior style for this series. I love working with her, and she makes things so much easier.

  You can see all books in the Earthborn series and the Evaran Chronicles at

  www.AdairHart.com/Books/Books.aspx