by M. R. Forbes
She knew it wasn’t real, but it was comforting all the same.
And damn it, she had earned it.
She let her consciousness fade away, feeling safe knowing Tibor was watching over her, and Quark would be along any minute now.
42
“I think that’s the last of it,” Quark said, coming into view at the top of the starship’s ramp.
“Are you sure you took enough guns?” Violent asked.
“You can never take enough guns,” he replied, smiling. “You sure you don’t want to come with? I could use someone with superhuman strength.”
“I’m sure,” Violent replied. “I wanted to get rid of the Nephilim. You helped us do that.”
“And in return, all I get is a bunch of guns and a shitty starship?”
“It’s hardly shitty,” Hayley said, approaching the ramp. “Evolent Jol was traveling in style.”
“If you like pleasure cruisers, maybe,” Quark said. “If you want something that can save your ass if you get into trouble?” He shook his head.
“You don’t like the fine leather seats?” Tibor asked. “The polished gold handrails? The clean, modern aesthetic?”
“I’m a soldier, not a fragging politician. No, I don’t like it.”
Hayley laughed. It was good to see Quark back to his old self. Well, mostly back. She could see the vein of anger and sadness that traced his qi. He had lost his wife. He had lost almost all of his crew. He was feeling it, but he wouldn’t admit it. Not outwardly.
She was feeling it, too. It had taken nearly a week for her body to recover from what she had put it through, which Quark accurately described as “the fragging ringer from Hell.” She had woken up with massive headaches and in withdrawal from the stims, and from there had gone on to cold sweats and vomiting.
Tibor had stayed near her the entire time, always either in the room or outside it whenever she woke. Most of the time, he looked dirty and tired from spending days helping the Kelvarians round up the remaining Nephilim soldiers. He didn’t let that deter him from watching over her.
Of course, according to him, he hadn’t saved her life. Even if he kind of had. She would have died if she hadn’t made it to the Font, and he had carried her there. Whatever. If he wanted to play it that way, she was happy to have him around. He wasn’t like the other Goreshin. He had a compassionate heart.
She had recovered though. Her injuries were healing. Her body was regaining its strength. And they had already spent way too much time planetside. Every minute they were on Kelvar with the data chip made the planet a target, and they hadn’t nearly died only to have Gloritant Thetan send a fleet down on the tiny world. The research he had been conducting here was lost. Once the data was gone, there was no reason for him to return.
She walked over to Violent. The woman turned to face her as she approached. She had a big smile on her face.
“Thank you,” Violent said. “For everything you did. I’d give you two starships if you could fly them both.”
“Do you have clearance for that?” Hayley asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “Don’t tell anyone, but I don’t exactly have clearance for you to take this ship. Our interim Council is going to be pissed, but considering what you did for us, I’m guessing they’ll get over it.”
“Understood,” Hayley said. “This one will do. What was its name again?”
“The Chalandra.”
“Ugh. That’s horrible.”
“Agreed.”
“Come on, Hal!” Quark shouted from the top of the ramp. “We’re loaded up, and time is money.”
“Yes, sir!” she replied. She spread her arms. “Don’t crush me.”
Violent laughed, embracing her gently. “I hope you’re successful in tracking down Thetan. And in finding the Rider that betrayed you.”
“Thank you.”
“See you around, V,” Tibor said, taking Hayley’s place in embracing Violent. “I’m sorry again for any trouble I caused.”
“Don’t be,” she said. “It wasn’t your doing.”
He nodded, but his qi suggested he wasn’t convinced. Hayley knew the Goreshin felt guilty for what he had done under Devain’s control. It was a big part of why he wanted to stay with them. To see justice done.
They walked up the ramp together, joining Quark at the top. The Chalandra wasn’t a large starship, but it was bigger than the Quasar, and a thousand times posher. The crates of munitions they had loaded into the hold were a stark contrast to the polished metal and snow white velour interior. The ship didn’t have any guns, but what it lacked in firepower it made up for in escape potential. Her thrusters were specced for Republic Destroyers, on a ship a quarter of the size.
“Witch doctor Hayley Cage reporting for duty, sir,” she said, coming to attention and saluting him.
“Private Tibor reporting for duty, sir,” Tibor said, mimicking her stance and salute beside her.
Quark smiled. “At ease.”
They both relaxed their posture.
“Welcome aboard. Both of you.”
“Where are we headed, sir?” Hayley asked.
“I’m going to arrange a meet with Don Pallimo,” he replied. “We’ll hand off the chip to him for safekeeping and see what he can tell us about who screwed us over. Then we’re going to hunt the traitor down and find out what she knows. Then I’m going to kill her with my bare fragging hands. After that, we go after Thetan.”
“Yes, sir!” Hayley said.
“Yes, sir!” Tibor said.
“We’re also going to have to pick up some fresh recruits. We’re a little short on bodies, and I’m getting way too old for this shit. I’m sure Pallimo will help us out there, too. Tibs, will you do the honor of getting us underway?”
“Of course, sir,” Tibor replied.
It had been a pleasant surprise when they had learned the Goreshin was also a trained pilot, though he claimed he wasn’t a very good one. Jokes about flying a starship with big, sharp claws aside, they didn’t need him to do much more than getting them from point A to point B.
At least for now.
He left them alone in the hold, heading up a plush faux fur lined staircase to a hatch leading through the main quarters to the small bridge in the bow of the ship.
“Gant, do you have an interface?” Hayley asked.
“Aye, Witchy,” he replied. “The security on this pleasure boat was a disaster.”
“Have you upgraded it?”
The AI chittered. “Of course.”
“Retract the ramp and seal the hold,” she ordered.
“Aye, Witchy.”
Quark put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m glad you came out of this okay, kid,” he said. He paused. “You are okay, aren’t you?”
“They killed Nibia,” she said, letting her defenses drop now that they were alone. “Fragging bastards.”
His qi reflected the way she felt. “I know,” he said. “This Thetan, whoever the hell he is, he’s going to regret whatever fragged up brain cell decided it would be a good idea to screw with me and mine. You and me, we don’t rest until he’s dead.”
“It isn’t only us he wants to hurt. He’s aiming to start another war.”
“And our aim has to be to stop him.” He smiled. “I knew I’ve been saving all my money all these years for something besides DNA repair. I’ll spend every last damn decimal to stop this asshole. I want justice.”
“Me, too,” Hayley said.
“So what do you say we go and get some?”
“Damn right.”
LOVED TRIPLE BLIND? DON’T MISS DOUBLE DOWN!
Hayley, Quark, and Tibor are off Kelvar and it’s fragging payback time! Do you want to know when it’s out?
Also, don’t miss the place where it all began. Ride along with Hayley’s mother in Hell’s Rejects, the first book in the Chaos of the Covenant series.
THANK YOU FOR READING TRIPLE BLIND!
If you enjoyed this book and want to support
this series, please, please, please consider leaving a review and letting me and others know how much you enjoyed it. A star rating and a sentence is all it takes.
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Thank you for your support.
Cheers,
Michael.
Chaos of the Covenant
Did you love Triple Blind? Want to read about Hayley’s kick-ass mother and her team while you wait for the next installment?
Hell’s Rejects (Chaos of the Covenant)
mrforbes.com/hellsrejects
The most powerful starships ever constructed are gone. Thousands are dead. A fleet is in ruins. The attackers are unknown. The orders are clear: Recover the ships. Bury the bastards who stole them.
Lieutenant Abigail Cage never expected to find herself in Hell. As a Highly Specialized Operational Combatant, she was one of the most respected soldiers in the military. Now she's doing hard labor on the most miserable planet in the universe.
Not for long.
The Earth Republic is looking for the most dangerous individuals it can control. The best of the worst, and Abbey happens to be one of them. The deal is simple: Bring back the starships, earn your freedom. Try to run, you die. It's a suicide mission, but she has nothing to lose.
The only problem? There's a new threat in the galaxy. One with a power unlike anything anyone has ever seen. One that's been waiting for this moment for a very, very, long time. And they want Abbey, too.
Be careful what you wish for.
They say Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. They have no idea.
Other Books By M.R Forbes
Browse my backlist:
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Forgotten (The Forgotten)
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Some things are better off FORGOTTEN.
Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.
That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are sealed, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. It isn't perfect, but he has all he needs to be content.
Until a malfunction forces his Engineer wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.
Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body, and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.
Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.
The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.
Until now.
Starship Eternal (War Eternal)
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A lost starship...
A dire warning from futures past...
A desperate search for salvation…
Captain Mitchell “Ares” Williams is a Space Marine and the hero of the Battle for Liberty, whose Shot Heard ‘Round the Universe saved the planet from a nearly unstoppable war machine. He’s handsome, charismatic, and the perfect poster boy to help the military drive enlistment. Pulled from the war and thrown into the spotlight, he’s as efficient at charming the media and bedding beautiful celebrities as he was at shooting down enemy starfighters.
After an assassination attempt leaves Mitchell critically wounded, he begins to suffer from strange hallucinations that carry a chilling and oddly familiar warning:
They are coming. Find the Goliath or humankind will be destroyed.
Convinced that the visions are a side-effect of his injuries, he tries to ignore them, only to learn that he may not be as crazy as he thinks. The enemy is real and closer than he imagined, and they’ll do whatever it takes to prevent him from rediscovering the centuries lost starship.
Narrowly escaping capture, out of time and out of air, Mitchell lands at the mercy of the Riggers - a ragtag crew of former commandos who patrol the lawless outer reaches of the galaxy. Guided by a captain with a reputation for cold-blooded murder, they’re dangerous, immoral, and possibly insane.
They may also be humanity’s last hope for survival in a war that has raged beyond eternity.
(War Eternal is also available in a box set of the first three books here: mrforbes.com/wareternalbox)
Man of War (Rebellion)
mrforbes.com/manofwar
In the year 2280, an alien fleet attacked the Earth.
Their weapons were unstoppable, their defenses unbreakable.
Our technology was inferior, our militaries overwhelmed.
Only one starship escaped before civilization fell.
Earth was lost.
It was never forgotten.
Fifty-two years have passed.
A message from home has been received.
The time to fight for what is ours has come.
Welcome to the rebellion.
Or maybe something completely different?
Dead of Night (Ghosts & Magic)
mrforbes.com/deadofnight
For Conor Night, the world’s only surviving necromancer, staying alive is an expensive proposition. So when the promise of a big payout for a small bit of thievery presents itself, Conor is all in. But nothing comes easy in the world of ghosts and magic, and it isn’t long before Conor is caught up in the machinations of the most powerful wizards on Earth and left with only two ways out:
Finish the job, or be finished himself.
Balance (The Divine)
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My name is Landon Hamilton. Once upon a time I was a twenty-three year old security guard, trying to regain my life after spending a year in prison for stealing people’s credit card numbers.
Now, I’m dead.
Okay, I was supposed to be dead. I got killed after all; but a funny thing happened after I had turned the mortal coil...
I met Dante Alighieri - yeah, that Dante. He told me I was special, a diuscrucis. That’s what they call a perfect balance of human, demon, and angel. Apparently, I’m the only one of my kind.
I also learned that there was a war raging on Earth between Heaven and Hell, and that I was the only one who could save the human race from annihilation. He asked me to help, and I was naive enough to agree.
Sounds crazy, I know, but he wished me luck and sent me back to the mortal world. Oh yeah, he also gave me instructions on how to use my Divine "magic” to bend the universe to my will. The problem is, a sexy vampire crushed them while I was crushing on her.
Now I have to somehow find my own way to stay alive in a world of angels, vampires, werewolves, and an assortment of other enemies that all want to kill me before I can mess up their plans for humanity’s future. If that isn’t enough, I also have to find the queen of all demons and recover the Holy Grail.
It’s not like it’s the end of the world if I fail.
Wait. It is.
Tears of Blood (Books 1-3)
mrforbes.com/tearsofblood
One thousand years ago, the world was broken and reborn beneath the boot of a nameless, ageless tyrant. He erased all history of the time before, enslaving the people and hunting those with the power to unseat him.
The power of magic.
Eryn is such a girl. Born with the Curse, she fights to control and conceal it to protect those she loves. But when the truth is revealed, and his soldiers come, she is forced away from her home and into the company of Silas, a deadly fugitive tormented by a fractured past.
Silas knows only that he is a murderer who once hunted the Cursed, and that he and his brothers butchered armies and innocents alike to keep the deep, dark secrets of the time before from ever coming to light.
Secrets which could save the world.
Or destroy it completely.
About the Author
M.R. Forbes is the creator of a growing catalog of science fiction and fantasy titles. He lives in the pacific n
orthwest with his family, including a cat who thinks she's a dog, and a dog who thinks she's a cat. He eats too many donuts, and he's always happy to hear from readers.
To learn more about M.R. Forbes or just say hello:
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