Bad Rock Beat Down
Book Two in The Milky Way Repo Series
by Michael Prelee
Copyright © 2017 by Michael Prelee
e-Book Edition
Published by
EDGE-Lite
An Imprint of
HADES PUBLICATIONS, INC.
CALGARY
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Publisher’s Note:
Thank you for purchasing this book. It began as an idea, was shaped by the creativity of its talented author, and was subsequently molded into the book you have before you by a team of editors and designers.
Like all EDGE books, this book is the result of the creative talents of a dedicated team of individuals who all believe that books (whether in print or pixels) have the magical ability to take you on an adventure to new and wondrous places powered by the author’s imagination.
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Contents
Bad Rock Beat Down
Publisher’s Note:
Contents
Dedication:
Acknowledgement:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
If you enjoyed this read
About the Author
Here’s a look at Book one in The Milky Way Repo Series
Milky Way Repo
Need something new to read?
The Genius Asylum
Beltrunner
Europa Journal
Details
Dedication:
If I’m ever stranded on a faraway planet and hounded by criminals, there’s no one I’d rather have at my back than Wyatt and Jacob. This one is for you guys.
Acknowledgement:
If watching copious amounts of TV during the 1980’s taught me anything, it’s that when a town has problems caused by scoundrels, it needs a team of reluctant heroes to clean things up. Here’s to all the showrunners who made middle school nights so much fun: Stephen J Cannell, Frank Lupo, Glen A Larson and Donald P Bellisario.
Chapter 1
MARS 2471
Nathan Teller and two of his crew walked across the tarmac of the Viking 2 Memorial Spaceport at Utopia Planitia. The spaceport’s few landing pads and single runway made it stand out as an oasis in the reddish soil and scrub brush of the surrounding plain. A cool breeze blew from the west just enough to move the orange windsock at the edge of the runway.
“What a crap hole,” Cole Seger said from behind him.
Nathan smiled and turned. “You say that about everywhere we land.”
“Yeah well, we go to some truly crappy places.” He spread his arms wide and gestured at the barren plains. “I mean, just look at this place. Earth terraformed this planet two hundred years ago and except for the blue skies and that sickly grass, it looks pretty much like it always has.”
“We go where the money is,” Nathan said.
Duncan Jax, the second man following him said, “I think what Cole means is that it would be nice if we could repossess a ship on a nice tropical island once in a while.”
Nathan spotted the spaceport’s administration office. “That’s where we need to go.”
They continued across the asphalt toward the small administration building. Nathan, the shortest of the three with a ruddy complexion and sandy brown hair wore a pair of jeans, a blue denim work shirt and a light jacket emblazoned with the logo of his company, Milky Way Repossessions. Cole was almost a head taller, with a deep tan that attested to time spent outside. He dressed similarly but with a black leather jacket and shorter hair.Duncan had skin like rich onyx and was almost as tall as Cole. He was stockier with thick arms that showed he worked for a living. Dreadlocks hung down to his shoulders.
A chime sounded when they entered the office and the breeze blew a small bit of red dust across the threshold before they closed the door. “Hey there,” a small man with glasses said, walking to the counter. “Can I help you?”
Nathan set a mobi on the counter and reached a hand across to introduce himself.
“Nathan.”
“Carl.”
Nathan spun the mobi around so Carl could read the screen. “We’re here to collect the starship you have sitting over on pad number three. This is the paperwork from the note holder, and a letter of authorization for us to repossess it.”
“Didn’t pay their bills, eh?” The man said, looking the documentation over. “Well I’m not surprised. Bunch of freaks and weirdos is what they are.”
“The note holder says they’re some kind of band,” Nathan said. “Is that right?”
The clerk nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s what they are. They dress and act like a bunch of damned ghouls. There’s a harvest festival this week outside of town about 10 klicks south of here and they’re the entertainment.” He eyed the document on the mobi again. “So, how does this work? You take their ship and give them a ride home?”
Nathan shook his head. “No, we just take their ship. They’re on their own for a ride home.”
“Uh-huh,” the clerk said. “Well, your paperwork seems to be in order. I imagine you want to take a look at the ship?”
“That’s right,” Nathan said. “We need to do a pre-trip inspection to make sure she’s spaceworthy, then we’ll be on our way.”
Carl nodded out a window toward the ship in question. “OK, she’s all yours. I don’t know if anyone is aboard right now.”
“If there is, we’ll take care of it without making a scene.”
They exited the office and followed a sidewalk over to the landing pad. His own ship, the Blue Moon Bandit, sat on one of the landing pads behind him with two other crew members aboard; his co-pilot and Duncan’s wife, Marla Jax, and Richie Pearson, a machinist’s mate.
The men reached the edge of the tarmac and examined the target ship.
“I kept hoping it would get better looking as we got closer,” Duncan said, “but it didn
’t.”
The starship was about fifty meters long and wider in the aft section where the main engines were housed. The hull tapered toward the bow where the cockpit perched above a battered nosecone displaying the name of the ship, Hell’s Breath. The bottom of the hull had charcoal black scorch marks testifying to rough re-entry trips. Angled wings stretched out from the midpoint of the fuselage. The name of the band in white letters stretched along the black upper hull: Bone Daddy and the Voodoo Choir. Skeletons and zombies danced among the letters in bright orange and green.
“Nathan, are you sure the bank holding the loan on this heap really wants it back?” Cole asked.
Nathan matched the registration number on the hull to the documents on the mobi. “Yeah,” he said. “This is it. Right now I’m more concerned about whether it can fly.”
“I’m concerned about what we might catch when we go aboard,” Cole said.
“You’ve had your shots,” Duncan said with a grin.
Nathan walked under the ship and ran a hand along the thermal protection system. “Duncan, we really need to look hard at this. I don’t want to burn up when we get back to Earth.”
“Yeah, I’ll check it out.”
Nathan walked out from under the ship. “All right, let’s do this by the numbers. Duncan, do an external walk around and see if there is anything to worry about. Cole, you and I have the interior.”
“I think I’d rather stay out here and do the walk around,” Cole said.
Nathan smiled. “Then you should have gone to school to be a starship engineer like Duncan. Come on.”
They walked around the side of the ship and Nathan found an entry portal. He flipped down the keypad cover and consulted the mobi, scrolling through the document until he found the code he needed. He punched it in and the door opened. A ramp extended to the ground.
Nathan made a show of waving to the opening. “You’re up.”
“Yeah,” Cole said. “Thanks.”
They mounted the ramp with Cole in the lead in case of trouble. Nathan followed him inside the dark cabin. He felt along the walls until he found a row of switches and flicked them. Multi-colored lights came up in the cabin, illuminating it with soft shades of orange, blue and green.
The passenger cabin ran about half the length of the ship. Nathan saw the stock interior seats had been removed in favor of sectional sofas covered in animal print fabrics and low tables bolted to the floor. Clothing, costumes and blankets covered every flat surface. Empty food containers and liquor bottles littered the floor. Brightly colored scarves decorated the ceiling.
“I’m going to be honest, Nathan,” Cole said. “This is almost exactly what I pictured the interior looking like.”
“This is a complete shit heap,” Nathan said. “Do you smell that?”
Cole nodded. “That mixture of sweat, cheap perfume and even cheaper wine? Yeah, I smell that.”
Blankets on one of the sectional sofas rustled and a bleary-eyed blonde with a pixie cut sat up. She wore a cropped green t-shirt, sporting the name of the band. “Why are the lights on?” She said. “I’m trying to sleep.”
Nathan raised an eyebrow. “What’s your name?”
“Tricia,” she said. “Who are you?”
“We’re here to repossess this ship. Do you know where the owner is?”
Tricia blinked and reached for a bottle of water on the table beside her. She unscrewed the top and took a large swallow before answering. “What do you want with Luscious?”
Nathan consulted his mobi. “Luscious Vonn is the leader of this expedition, right? Goes by the stage name Bone Daddy?” He held up a picture of the man on the mobi.
Tricia nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.” She stood up and yawned, stretching her arms up toward the cabin roof. “He didn’t pay the bills, huh?”
Nathan eyed her taut belly and tight black leggings. “That’s right. You should probably gather up your things. We’re going to be leaving soon.”
Cole moved past her and shot Nathan two thumbs up with a lascivious smile as he moved through the rest of the cabin.
“Where are you going when you leave here?”
“We’ll deliver this ship to Go City, New Mexico back on Earth,” Nathan said.
“If it will make it that far,” Cole said from the back of the cabin near the restrooms. Nathan saw him peek inside and jerk his head back. “Holy Moses. Stay out of there.” He pulled the door closed.
“Can I get a ride?” She said. “I’ve about had it with this traveling circus and if Luscious isn’t paying the loan on this ship I get the feeling my pay isn’t going to come through.”
“You work for this character?” Nathan said. “What do you do?”
“I’m a nurse,” Tricia said. “Luscious’s manager likes to have one on hand in case the party gets out of control.” She started stuffing things in a pink bag.
“I’m sorry but we only take the ship, not passengers,” Nathan said.
Cole shot him a puzzled look with both hands up and silently mouthed “what?”
She stopped packing and eyed him. “Come on, I just need a ride back to Earth. You’re going there anyway, what’s the big deal?”
“Yeah, what’s the big deal?” Cole said.
Nathan shrugged. “That’s just how it works.” He turned to Cole. “And you know that.”
She dropped her bag. “Well, make it work some other way. I’m tired of this. If I’m not watching to make sure people don’t overdose around here, I’m making sure Luscious doesn’t grab my ass. I thought this would be a fun gig, but it’s really being the only one at the party who isn’t allowed to have a good time.”
Nathan held up his hands. “I’m sorry about all that but I’m just here for the ship. If you’ll excuse me, I have to check on some things.” He walked to the cockpit.
Fifteen minutes later, Duncan appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Nathan, we’ve got company outside.”
“What’s up?”
“Local law and a line of cars.”
Nathan stepped out onto the ramp and saw a Protective Services car at the admin building. An officer spoke to Carl and he pointed at the Hell’s Breath.
“That doesn’t look good,” Nathan said. “How are we doing out here?”
“The ship will fly and should survive a re-entry. I checked the fuel tanks and we’ve got enough to lift off, but we’ll have to tank up at an orbital station.” He held up his mobi to show Nathan an app with engineering gauges on it. “I’ve got us synched up with the ship’s controls.”
“That’s good. I’m finished with the pre-trip checklist so I’m going to start it up. I want to be ready to go. Come inside and call Marla and Richie back on the Bandit to let them know what’s going on.”
“Right.”
“Oh, and there’s at least one passenger inside packing her stuff.”
“I saw her. She’s cute. You should ask her out.”
“I’m busy.”
“You haven’t been busy for more than a year if my math is correct.”
Nathan glanced outside at the line of approaching vehicles. “Well, we’re busy now. Let’s go.”
They moved back inside and Nathan turned left to go into the cockpit. He sat down at the controls, consulted the master codes on his mobi and got the ship running. The officer from Protective Services approached on foot outside. The lawman waved to him and Nathan returned it.
Heavy footsteps on the ramp told him he was boarding the ship.
“Damn it,” he said.
Nathan got up and went back to the cabin and saw Duncan sitting on a couch talking to Tricia. The officer stepped through the hatch and nodded. He had gray hair and a drooping mustache. His deeply tanned skin showed a roadmap of lines stretching back years. He stopped just inside the hatch and put his hands on his gun belt.
“You the repo man? I’m Sheriff Jack Talliger.”
Nathan nodded and introduced himself. “Here’s our authorization,” he said and handed over the mobi with the documents. “I imagine Carl in the office called you?”
“He sure did,” the sheriff said as he scrolled through the documents, swiping his fingers from side to side. “This looks like it’s all in order,” he said and handed it back. “You can’t have the ship.”
Nathan blinked. “What’s the problem?”
The lawman tipped his hat back. “Are you familiar with the band, Captain Teller? Bone Daddy and the Voodoo Choir?”
“Not really.”
“Well, they’ve been in my county for almost a week so I’ve become more familiar with them than I ever wanted. They’re a bunch of assholes who sing this ear-splitting death rock that sounds like a metal shredder in a salvage yard. They do all sorts of obscene things on stage. The kids seem to like them but I’ve got farmers out here ready to string them up. It’s not just the band either. Take a look.” The sheriff pointed outside.
Nathan stepped around him to look out the hatch at the tarmac. A large crowd of people approached the ship from a line of cars at the main gate. Nathan saw dozens of people dressed in leather and rubber with skin dyed orange and green. A young man, with a Mohawk and piercings all over his face, threw something at the ship that bounced off the nosecone. The woman next to him, with a skull tattooed over her bald head, shouted at him. Nathan stepped back inside. “Those are the fans?”
The sheriff took off his hat and rubbed his forehead. “They’re awful. They run around half naked, high on whatever the hell they can find, and since they arrived, I’ve had to deal with an increase in petty theft, assault, public lewdness and drunkenness.” He waved his hat toward the outside of the ship. “They’ve infested the whole town, and I am not an exterminator. I’m simply not equipped to deal with a problem this big. You can’t have their ride.”
“Look, Sheriff, I appreciate your position here,” Nathan said, “but I have a job to do too. I’ve got to take this ship.”
Sheriff Talliger gripped his hat with both hands. “Well, you can take it in the next town. They’ve got one more show tonight and then they’re off to Madlerville. You can pick them up there.” He nodded goodbye and started walking down the ramp. The crowd erupted in a chorus of boos and threats as the sheriff exited the ship.
Bad Rock Beat Down (The Milky Way Repo Series Book 2) Page 1
