Title: Mercs!
Author: Dorian Dawes
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: June 4, 2018
Heat Level: 2 - Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: No Romance
Length: 72100
Genre: Science Fiction, sci-fi, military, gay, trans, aliens, space
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Synopsis
Famous bounty hunter Talisha Artul is not having a good day. A hostile alien planet full of bandits and refugees, an entire group of mercenaries all told to kill her and take her armor, and it’s barely even noon. All she wanted was to earn a paycheck and make her mother proud. They’ve barely shared a kind word since she came out of the closet as trans and took her mother’s name.Now she’s travelling with an android cowboy with split-personality issues and an eight-foot-tall warrior woman to beat a group of vengeful pirates and the galactic federation’s military forces to uncover an ancient alien temple. Talisha soon learns that despite her legal standing, there is little that separates her from these marginalized cutthroats and outcasts. They’re all victims here, all pawns in their shadowy employer’s game.
Excerpt
Mercs!
Dorian Dawes © 2018
All Rights Reserved
“Were these seriously the best mercs you
could hire?” The cigarette moved in the corner of Madame Inspector’s mouth as
she spoke. She flicked her fingers across the pile of folders strewn across her
desk. “Absolute rubbish.”
A little man with lily-white skin stood
fidgeting with his spectacles in the doorway, clutching a briefcase close to
his chest. Madame Inspector scared the living hell out of him. She liked it
that way and would have smiled at his discomfort if she thought it’d make him
squirm just a little bit more.
He took a tentative step, but she held a
palm up and he froze where he stood. Good dog.
“Madame Inspector, I assure you they are
highly qualified.” The overhanging lamp cast a glare over his glasses. “I’ve
assembled before you the most dangerous individuals in the galaxy.”
Madame Inspector scowled, spreading out
the files and pictures of each motley outcast passing themself off as a
mercenary. “These bozos are more danger to themselves than anyone else, Mr.
Snidely. Crooks and ruffians.”
“That’s why they’re perfect for the
position,” Snidely said. He mustered up the courage to give her a wicked smile.
“They’re completely disposable. Should be easy to turn them on one another when
we’re done.”
Madame Inspector leaned back in her
seat. She tapped the ashes of her cigarette into the tray and stared at him
until his smile melted into open-mouthed fear. She said nothing, waiting for
him to wither before the cold deadlights of her eyes.
“Mr. Snidely,” she said, a voice like
gravel. “Not once have I witnessed one with as much audacity…or initiative.
Good work. You’re dismissed.”
Snidely bowed his head and ducked
hurriedly out of her office. She frowned as he left. The kid had gumption,
ambition. They could be useful qualities in the right doses. She’d have to test
him.
Archimedes IV, a war-torn rock populated
by refugees and outlaws. It’d been deemed unfit for life by the Council of
Thirteen following a resource war that’d decimated the planet and irrevocably
altered the landscape. Some forests remained, having evolved to meet the harsh
environmental conditions. The trees had become predators themselves, feeding
off unwary travelers.
With its constant dangers and
inhospitable environment, Archimedes IV had been abandoned by the Intergalactic
Peacekeeping Federation, which made it the ideal location for all sorts of
criminal scum to stash their ill-gotten gains. So long as they hid away in
backwater filth, the law paid them no mind. It was out of their jurisdiction.
Talisha Artul had no jurisdiction. If
the job told her to go, she’d go. The IGF had found her as reliable a resource
as her mother. Abandoned science station deemed too dangerous to send in a full
squad? Talisha was there with her arm cannon and jet pack.
Becoming a space-faring licensed bounty
hunter had a few perks. The pay was decent—a huge bonus considering over half
her funds were split between expensive hormone treatments and helping support
her mother’s orphanage. Being able to traverse the galaxy and visit other
worlds definitely ranked high on the list. Getting shot at on a daily basis was
a minor drawback in comparison.
Reservations about this latest
assignment scratched at the back of her mind as she sorted through the
information provided to her on her tablet. An anonymous corporate employer had
contacted her, leaving the legality of the assignment in question. She’d have
to make a call to the appropriate channels to make sure her licensing fees had
been taken care of. New information presented itself that she’d be assigned to
a task force after previous assurances that she’d be working alone.
She threw the tablet against the ship
console. “Shit!”
Talisha preferred working alone for
multiple reasons. Silence kept her head clear and victory assured in any
firefight. Other people introduced far more variables than she was comfortable
with.
Maybe Mom would know what to do.
Talisha grabbed the headset from a
compartment just above her and slipped it over her head. She made a sour
expression at the tablet as she slumped back into her seat. A few moments
later, her mother’s voice crackled into her feed.
“Talisha? Thought you’d be on-world by
now,” Ms. Artul said.
“Mom, when is it okay to back out of an
assignment?”
“Uh-oh. What happened?”
Talisha filled her in on the particulars
of the assignment, making notes of the new last-minute information.
Her mother thought about that one for a
while. “Your reputation is pretty strong right now. You could probably afford
to back out.”
“What about you?” Talisha asked. “How’s
the orphanage doing?”
“Expensive. Feels like there’s new
orphans every day. People keep dying and leaving behind their little ones. This
planet’s in need.”
“Do you have enough to make it through
the month?” Talisha propped her elbows against the console and scratched the
back of her neck with one hand.
Ms. Artul muttered under her breath in
Swahili, then spat out, “Don’t you dare. If you don’t feel good about this
mission, don’t take it.”
“You can’t order me around, Mom. I’m
just being stubborn and paranoid…like you.”
“I wish you hadn’t called then.” There
was a lengthy pause. “Fucking hell, kid.”
Talisha’s eyes watered. These were the
types of conversations that drove people to drink. She gritted her teeth and
pursed her lips, fingers shaking.
“I’m taking the job,” Talisha said, then
threw the headset against the console.
Bluebird had seen her fair share of
overcrowded dung heaps in her time—claustrophobic messes violating every single
fire safety law in the galaxy; easy places to get stabbed and looted before you
even had a chance to know what had happened. Folks in a hurry could trample
your corpse without even noticing. By contrast, the spaceport on Archimedes IV
was practically empty. A dumpster left at the back end of the long passage
looked like it’d been overflowing for years. Shit and graffiti marred the
walls, and it was nearly impossible to see through the teller’s window for all
the grime and filth covering it.
Bluebird sniffed. She might come to like
it there. Smelled just like home.
The poor terminal worker did a double
take at her through the glass. “P-p-passport.”
By this point, Bluebird had become well
accustomed to most people’s reactions to her appearance. She was proud of the
severe scarring that marred one side of her face, the mark of a fine battle.
Bluebird also knew that most people had never seen a Karstotzkiyan in their lives
and were unaccustomed to seeing eight-foot-tall women with striking blue hair
and hardened jowls. It’s where she’d gotten the nickname Big Ugly Bluebird. She
liked it.
“Identification provided!” She slammed a
meaty hand against the counter and slid a thick wad of papers through the slot
beneath the window.
He stared at the mess of documentation
and sighed. There were official licensing documents in the scattered heap to be
certain, but there were also receipts to fast food joints, hair salons, old concert
tickets dating decades back, etc. Bluebird grimaced, feeling a twinge of guilt.
It’d take this poor man hours to sift through it all. She rummaged around in
her pockets from some additional cash and deposited it atop the mess of
documentation.
He sighed. He gulped, staring at the
blue veins bulging beneath her thick muscles and the giant satchel strapped to
her back. She did her best to give him a reassuring smile but was certain she
only came across as even more imposing. Oh well, it couldn’t be helped.
He put a stamp on top the chaotic mess
of pages and handed them back to her. “You know what, this is fine. Have a
lovely stay on Archimedes IV.”
“You are most efficient. Thank you!” She
gave him a thumbs-up and snatched the documents beneath her arm. She sauntered
out the spaceport with a satisfied smile.
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Meet the Author
Dorian Dawes is a self-described social justice witch and full-time gender disaster who never grew out of their goth phase. In addition to fiction, they have also written for tabletop rpgs and several published essays on feminism and LGBT issues. When not writing they can be found playing video games and plotting the revolution of the proletariat.Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
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