Caspian's Fortune

by Eric Warren

  Cas sighed, stopping at the door to the bar, staring out into the concourse where civilians milled about, moving from shop to restaurant to shop again. While Starbase Eight did have a contingent of permanent civilians, most of these people would be family members of Coalition officers, or off-duty personnel taking in the beauty of the station. He was the only one who was neither. “Yeah. Something happened. I’ll tell you about it when I get back.” Cas ended the call, closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temples. Box deserved to know the truth, and he shouldn’t have left him waiting on a loading dock for a ship he knew they wouldn’t be taking anymore. But after the meeting with the Admiral, their trip to Procyon on the USCS Winston had been the last thing on his mind. He and Box had just been about to board when the call had come in for him to meet the Admiral in his office. And when he got there—

  “There he is,” a low, gruff voice same from somewhere off to the right.

  Cas’s eyes snapped open, his vision swimming for a bit as the room righted itself. Three large men approached him from the concourse, their eyes fixated on him.

  Oh shit. Maybe coming down here without an escort hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Most people did consider him a criminal. Cas took a step back into the bar, trying to remember if he’d seen a back exit or not. He didn’t think he had. His comm chirped again but he ignored it.

  The man in the front spoke up again first. “You think after what you did you can just come in here and waltz around like you’re a regular person?” He had at least six inches on Cas and looked like he might bench press small shuttles for fun. He was in civilian clothes but somehow Cas instinctively knew, even through the fog of inebriation, they were officers.

  “Listen,” Cas said, backing up further into the bar with his hands up. “I’m not looking for trouble.”

  “Maybe you should have thought about that before you deserted,” the one on the right said. He was smaller, but still a hefty guy. Had the three strongest guys on the station gotten together and decided on an old-fashioned beat down?

  “How is he even allowed to be down here?” the third one asked. His voice was pitched higher, and he wore a shirt so tight Cas could see his pectoral muscles tighten and loosen as they grew ever closer. They were mesmerizing in their own way.

  “I guess you haven’t heard,” Cas said, taking a few steps back but keeping his eyes on the man’s pecs. Through his inebriation it seemed like the safest place to look. “My warrant was rescinded.”

  “Yeah, by who?” the first one said, only a few steps away from Cas now.

  “Admiral Sanghvi,” he replied, stopping as his back reached the bar.

  “How can I help you today, gentlemen?” the bartender asked from behind him.

  “What the hell are you staring at?” the third one asked, having finally noticed Cas’s gaze.

  “Your…” Cas put his hands out in front of him, making a circular motion with them. “Are very nice.” The man narrowed his eyes. “I mean why else wear a tight shirt if you don’t want to show them off?”

  “George, I think he’s making fun of you,” the one in the front said, not taking his eyes off Cas.

  “No, that’s not what I meant at all!” Cas said, scrambling. He really wished he hadn’t had that second Firebrand. “All I was saying was you should be proud of yourself. It takes commitment to go to the gym every day. Or in your case, five or six times a day.”

  “I don’t care if you were pardoned or not,” the middle one said, sticking a finger in Cas’s chest. “We don’t tolerate deserters in the Coalition.”

  Now this was more like it. Cas had been in his fair share of fights with the Sargans, and because there were virtually no police, other than the Guard (who could be paid off easily), fights tended to be final. It gave the fighters a healthy respect for each other. Not like these guys. These guys were nothing but bullies with extra time on their hands. And since he was backed up to the bar, there was only one way out.

  “Then I guess it’s a good thing I came back,” Cas said, pulling back and plowing his head directly into the face of the man in the middle, his forehead connecting with the man’s nose in a sickening crunch.

  “My fucking nose!” the man yelled as blood splattered everywhere. Cas reeled to the right, holding his own head as he stumbled and eventually fell on the ground, his forehead pounding with pain. Wasn’t headbutting supposed to hurt only the attacked, not the attacker?

  “George, Ivory!” The man yelled, his words wet with fury. Cas pushed himself into a half-standing position and reached for his boomcannon, only realizing too late it wasn’t there. Weapons weren’t allowed in Coalition facilities. And as this realization washed over him striking a match to his adrenaline, something large and solid plowed into him, knocking them both back into a series of tables that toppled as they fell. Something metal dug into his side and he cried out in pain while simultaneously pounding on what he suspected was the man’s head, but he couldn’t be sure. George or Ivory, depending on which one hit him, was all muscle and everything felt like hitting a steel beam covered by a thin layer of cloth.

  Pain exploded in his head again, this time from blunt-force trauma and white dots peppered his vision. It was a good thing he was drunk otherwise he’d probably be in a lot more pain than he actually was. Another explosion of pain knocked some of the inebriation away as his adrenaline kicked into overdrive, willing his body to get out of the very bad situation he’d found himself in. He kicked with his legs but nothing connected while a robotic voice in the background was saying something urgent. But it seemed his ears weren’t quite working like they were supposed to as he couldn’t make out the words. All he could discern were the white dots and the increasing levels of pain in his face as something plowed into it over and over again.

  This was fine; this would be the fight that would take him out. And it was all because of the Coalition and their stupid rules about no weapons. Had this been a Sargan bar, it would have been over in seconds.

  As he felt himself drift further and further into unconsciousness, the pounding finally stopped. Just in time for him to take a nap.

  To Be Continued in: TEMPEST RISING: INFINITY’S END BOOK 2!

  Glossary

  Planets

  Vetar VI – Sargan world home to her Royal Highness of Cloistria

  Pryocyon IV – Standard Coalition Planet. Used to refine metals for production

  Quadros Sigma – An unknown system inside Sil territory

  Cassiopeia Optima – Sargan homeworld (settled by humans millennia ago)

  Claxia Prime – Claxian Homeworld

  D’jattan – Old mining asteroid turned into a trading depot

  Devil’s Gate – Sargan Outpost near the edge of Coalition space

  Starbase Eight – Coalition stronghold and first line of defense against Sargan incursions

  Paxi – Small world just outside Sargan space in non-aligned territory

  Meridian – non-aligned colony world subject to raids by the Sargans

  Species

  Human – one of the founding members of the Coalition and central to its operation. Humans can be found on any of a hundred different worlds in the Coalition and often hold high positions of power within the organization. Worked with the Claxians to be the founding members.

  Claxian – Founding members of the Coalition and pacifists with advanced technology. Lived as isolationists until first contact by the humans two thousand years ago. Helped form the Coalition to spread peace through the galaxy.

  Untuburu – Early members of the Coalition. Highly religious to their god Kor. Untuburu are the only Coalition members not required to wear uniforms as their religion requires the sacred blue robes be the only garments worn off world.

  Yax-Inax – Early member of the Coalition. Studious, have perfect memory and can retain huge amounts of information. Often integrate themselves into other cultures to learn as much as possible.

  Sargans – Generally human but can al
so pertain to other species who have joined the Sargan Commonwealth. Sargans are humans who want to be lawless, or at least out from under the thumb of the Coalition.

  Plegarians - Speak through a translator that translates emotions, doesn’t always get it right. Have a high-pitched scream. About human height, though faces are smooth and angular, like a fish. Seventy years ago the Plegarians were driven from their homeworld by the Ocarians.

  Ocarians - Physically identical to the Plegarians, but with a different moral base. Once shared a homeworld with the Plegarians. Recent members of the Coalition.

  Sil – Unknown species of great power. The Coalition has reached a tentative treaty with the Sil not to violate their borders under any circumstances. Their empire is large.

  Erustiaans - Seven and a half feet tall, all muscle. Sharp bone or hoof grows out of their hands. They generally associate with the Sargan Commonwealth and are used as enforcers or bouncers.

  Miscellaneous

  Lett’ra – a type of gambling wheel

  Scorb – a heavy-type drink

  Firebrand – liquor close to whiskey

  Tooth Melter – a sweet, sugary alcoholic drink

  Rank – a drink brewed from the hops of Caldonia

  Galvanium – a type of metal used in ship construction

  Cyclax – a type of metal used in ship reinforcement

  Alchuriam ore – an obsolete type of metal

  You found Map Piece T12!

  Check future volumes of the series to uncover more of the Sovereign Coalition Universe.

  Author’s Note

  Thanks for reading Caspian’s Fortune! If you’ve made it this far I’m hoping it means you enjoyed the book and are thirsty for more. When I first set out to write this series I don’t think I understood just how large the universe would become, and we’re only at the end of book one! Needless to say, the scope of this series is already much larger than my last series, which took place on one planet over the course of a few months, whereas here we’ve been introduced to an entire galaxy with hundreds of millennia of history to consider.

  It’s a daunting task to say the least. But I’m glad you’ve come along for the ride.

  If you haven’t already, consider signing up for my VIP list on my website. Once you do, you’ll be the first to know about future books in the series, and you’ll get freebies such as short stories, star maps and other exclusives pertaining to the Sovereign Coalition Universe, none of which will be available anywhere else.

  You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If any of those strikes your fancy.

  This world is heavily influenced by some of the great Space Operas of our time: Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, etc. These were influential to me as a kid and are a big part of what makes this universe what it is. Keep an eye out for easter eggs in future installments.

  I’d also like to take a minute to thank my friends, family and everyone who has helped support me to make this series a reality. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  See you in the future!

  About the Author

  I’ve always been an author, but I haven’t always known I’ve been an author. It took a few tragic events in my life and a lot of time for me to figure it out.

  But I’ve never had a problem creating stories. Or creating in general. I wasn’t the creative person in any of my classes in school, I was always the kid who never spoke but always listened. I was the one who would take an assignment and pour my heart into it, as long as it meant I could do something original.

  I didn’t start writing professionally until 2014 when I tackled the idea of finishing a novel-length book. Before then I had always written in some capacity, even as far back as elementary school where I wrote pages of stories about creatures under the earth.

  It took a few tries and a few novels under my belt before I figured out what I was doing, and I’ve now finished my first series and am hard at work on my second (which you hold in your hands now!). I am thrilled to be doing this and couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

  I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor. May they bring you as much joy as they bring me.

  Having lived in both Virginia and California in the past, I currently reside in Charlotte, NC with my very supportive wife and two small pugs.

  Visit me at my website