Space Cowboy Survival Guide

by Long, Heather

  He saw the appeal. How could he not?

  Didn't change his goals though. The MorningStar ranch was still his home. He came out here to do a job. Jobs changed, they evolved, but his goal hadn't.

  Slowing Thunder to a trot, then to an easy lope he ducked passed the low-hanging branches then followed an old dirt track. Familiar landscape, yet alien at the same time. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it and it didn't matter how many of these planets he saw, they weren’t home.

  When the facility came into view, he pulled lightly on the reins, stopping Thunder's forward momentum. The stallion tossed his head, a light sheen of sweat gleaming on his black coat. Like Shaw, Thunder enjoyed every moment of that run. He was almost sorry to see it end. Dismounting he looped the reins around the saddlehorn then gave Thunder a light slap on the rump to send him into the woods. He knew his horse. One perk of the facility, their security kept the planet’s local population of fauna down. Thunder would be safe, at least from predators.

  Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his mini-binoculars and lifted them to study the facility a little closer. No obvious signs of security, no external cameras, no guards. A lonely little building in the middle of nowhere. They were banking on their camouflage being flawless.

  It might have worked, if Shaw hadn't come, if Shaw hadn't figured it out. The colonists had no idea the census takers were out there. The same way the census takers had no idea that they were doing experiments on pacifying populations.

  Chances were no one had any idea of everything is going on in the known ‘verse, because no one had access to all of the…information.

  Except Jo. Shaw didn't want to consider the possibility, but once he thought of it, the idea wouldn’t leave him alone. If wishes were horses, he'd never have to fly a ship. Swinging his pack down, he checked the EMP grenades. They were all charges designed to short out and erase systems. An elegant solution for a very inelegant problem. Slinging the pack over his shoulder he freed his pistol and headed for the facility.

  His boot struck the earth beneath his feet, kicking up a hint of dust. He could smell the crush of grass, the hint of sweetness to it and yet it was utterly alien in the same breath. Yeah, it didn't matter how many of these worlds he visited. Earth analogs were not Earth Prime. These would never be his planets, their colonists weren’t his people either.

  He gained nothing in this exercise. The main doors were sealed shut. In the distance smoke rose and the echo of an explosion sounded, barely audible on the breeze. Yes Tika was making a lot of noise.

  Tika.

  Kestral.

  Nina.

  Vega.

  Fuck, even Byron.

  The colonists might not ever be his people and the Earth analogs never his home, but right was always right and wrong was always wrong. Didn't matter if it was a government or company or an individual who is pulling this crap. What they were doing was wrong.

  Taking his pistol from its holster, he pointed at the control panel and fired. Three direct shots. Airlock released and the hatch slid open.

  Wasting no time he ducked inside. No resistance waited for them. On the one hand he was grateful for their arrogance. On the other hand, he really wanted to punch some idiot in the face. It took him ten minutes to settle the charges and the EMPs. One shape charge for every EMP grenade. The latter would detonate first, then ten minutes later the former would bring the building down. Erase their records, destroy their toys—they might rebuild, but he didn’t plan on leaving them anything to work with.

  If one didn't work, the other would. In the long run everything they gathered here would be obliterated.

  It might not be enough that thought occurred to him as he exited. The sunshine felt a little bit colder somehow, the world dimmer. He was one man. They were one crew. Who knew how long this planning had been going on? It hadn't happened overnight.

  Still man had to do what a man had to do. He headed for the woods hitting the timer on the EMP is a zoo as he exited. Tapping one button to his datalink he sent a signal to the Gilly. Timer was on they can enter the area till after the EMP had been detonated, or you ran the risk of doing damage to the deli itself.

  Gave him approximately nine minutes. Thunder glanced at him as he entered the woods pacing over to letterpress his head against Shaw's chest Shaw slid his weapon away then glanced back toward the facility. No one approached, no sound of ships or drones in the air warned him off. If they've noticed the security breach, they hadn't had time to pay attention to it. More smoke rose in the distance.

  It shouldn't have surprised him that Tika could handle the plan so well, or that any of them had. They were all masters of distraction. Hadn’t they been distracting him since he met them?

  Pulling a small communications device from inside of his duster Shaw flipped it open. It reminded him the old mobile phones they used to be so popular. Twentieth century retro had been coming back into fashion at home. His was a little more specialized though. It was designed to access satellite relays, allowing him to contact the Gilly in or out of subspace, or by accessing the Gilly, to make a much farther call.

  He pressed his thumb to the screen then entered the code. After a moment the device requested his retina scans. When all authorizations had been met it gave him a time delayed warning to wait, connecting.

  Mounting Thunder, Shaw lifted the phone to his ear and waited while he nudged the stallion to get on his way. A light tap of his heels sent him trotting toward the beach. They had time.

  “Well hello sugar fancy you calling me on this line? Missed me that badly did you?” Jo Rayder’s a familiar voice offered him comfort sprinkled with a dash of guilt. He did miss her somewhat. He didn't want to think she was so disenfranchised that it didn't bother her to be at the center of all of this.

  “I'll just out taking a walk, thought we hadn't talked in a while.”

  “In a while sugar? You've missed your last two check ins. One more and I was going to be sent in the cavalry out to find you.”

  Shaw laughed, but felt no humor. “Lotta territories to cover for the cavalry to find me. That’d be like sending them to find a needle in the iron desert.”

  “Well just good to hear from you, everything all right?”

  “It's not bad, no. Same old same old. Had a bar fight here. Stop and do some research in a library there. Met a pretty girl.” Then Shaw grinned. “I guess I met two pretty girls.”

  “Did you really call just to make me jealous? Because it's working.”

  “Would I do that?”

  Jo didn't say anything for a long moment, then she said, “no, I don't suppose you would. You running into trouble out there Shaw?”

  Maybe it was the somber note in her voice that had Shaw wanting to come clean. He'd always been upfront with Jo she'd always seemingly been upfront with him. Confession would be a risk. “You could say that. I ran into some experiments in population control and pacification. Slavery. Kidnapping. I don’t suppose you’ve had any other reports coming down the wire?”

  A long empty silence met his inquiry, then, “we need to be on a secure channel sugar. Your signal seems to have some interference, and it’s breaking up. Always a good plan to have an escape route. Isn’t that you always told me?”

  It was one of the first rules he'd ever learned from his dad. Always have an exit strategy. “I'm good.”

  “Then you get out of there, touch base with me when you're safe. And remember what I said, secure channels all the way.”

  She didn’t wait for his response, the call simply ended. Or maybe the EMP got it. Did that mean Jo was on his side? Below him, the Gilly appeared the ramp open and waiting for him as the ship hovered right over the beach. A moment later, Vega and Kestral tossed a naked figure out to splash into the surf.

  Their incarcerated guest. Shaw had almost forgotten about the Order of the IV bureaucrat. The man rose from the water, sputtering and coughing as he stumbled toward shore. He would live. Shaw slid the phone back into his pocket.
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  Jo knew something. She was right soon as he had his crew secure, he and Jo would have a very long conversation.

  Tapping his heels to Thunder’s sides he sent the stallion into a light canter and they raced down the meet his ship.

  His ship. His crew. An explosion shattered the silence behind them as Thunder made the leap onto the ramp and then trotted into the hold. Behind them the ramp closed and the ship began to rise.

  He was home.

  Epilogue

  They say every story starts somewhere. Shaw Sullivan's began when he picked up a runaway bride on a colonial world in the middle of alien space. His story might have been rooted on Earth, but it had flowered in the stars. His crew kept trying to call him a hero—he wasn’t a hero. They really needed to learn his rules. Heroes did shit for free and usually got themselves killed along the way. He was no one’s hero. No exceptions.

  Leaning back into his captain’s chair, Shaw studied the wanted poster being transmitted over the open link. At least they didn’t think he was a hero. The bounty on Shaw’s head wasn’t enough to tempt Kestral yet, but he did promise to let him know when it hit the right amount. In the meanwhile, he planned to keep Tika safe—just like he’d promised.

  “Let’s go Captain! It’s time for drinks,” Tika called from the crew deck. His newly-minted co-pilot officially signed on with him. She wasn’t just a refugee anymore, she was his to protect. As was Nina, and Vega. They’d all elected to remain aboard, even Byron the bastard.

  Though they’d all charged him to let him stay.

  “Be there in a moment,” he told Tika lest she stand there and annoy him until he moved. In addition to the bounty on him, they’d sent a coded transmission to as many worlds as Shaw could link to. Rumors might not be enough, but they’d gotten the word out about brewing conspiracy.

  Who said paranoia couldn’t be useful.

  Kestral strolled into the cockpit and passed him a beer. Dropping into Tika’s control chair, he kicked his feet up onto the console panel. “So, any plans for when we get where we’re going?”

  Shaw raised the beer for a long drink, then stretched his own legs out. “I thought we’d go find some trouble.”

  “My favorite kind of plan.” The bounty hunter grinned.

  “Zed, make the jump.”

  “Acknowledged, Captain. Engaging Rosen Engine.”

  About the Author

  National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

  * * *

  www.heatherlong.net

  @HVLong

  HeatherLongAuthor

  www.heatherlong.net

  heather@heatherlong.net

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