Star Scavenger: The Complete Series Books 1-5

by G J Ogden

  Ma thumbed the scanner, and also held it to her face for an iris scan.

  “Damn, Ma, how expensive was that last round?” asked Hudson. Typically, an iris scan was only required for significant transaction amounts.

  “This isn’t for the drinks,” said Ma, as if it should have been obvious. “I’ve just bought the bar.”

  Hudson opened his mouth, but not for the first time in the last couple of days, he couldn’t suitably articulate what he was thinking.

  Tory leaned over the table and took the cork out of the square bottle. “Now that really is a cause for celebration,” she said, pouring a healthy measure into each glass.

  Hudson looked at the stout, former bar owner, still wearing a slightly stupefied look on his face. “You sold this place to her, just like that?” he asked, trying to understand how such a rapid business transaction could occur.

  “Look, pal, I’ve seen some crazy shit in this town, but giant alien space ships falling out of the sky beats it all,” he said, taking the scanner back off Ma. “I’m retiring…” Then he looked back at Ma and said, “I’ll bring you all the paperwork after we close,” before wandering off again.

  Tory slid the square bottle over to Ma, since her glass was full of the previous, inferior spirit. “So, what are you going to call this place?” she asked, raising her tumbler at the former hunter.

  Ma caught the bottle and held it up. “I thought I’d call it, ‘The Star Scavenger’s Rest.’ It’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

  Hudson smiled and raised his glass. “Well, it certainly sounds less like a strip joint than your last bar.”

  There was a ripple of laughter around the table, then Liberty said, “To the Star Scavenger’s Rest. May it be a welcome retreat for weary relic hunters everywhere.”

  There was a chorus of, ‘To the Star Scavenger’s Rest’, then everyone at the table downed their shots, while Ma swigged directly from the bottle. Tobin and Trent both almost bent double, slapping their chests, while the others looked on and chuckled knowingly.

  Suddenly, the door to the bar flung open and a hooded figure marched in. He quickly surveyed the room, saw Hudson and paced over. Within seconds, the figure had pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Hudson. The figure then whipped back his hood, and Logan Griff stood in front of them, his wiry black moustache twitching, angrily.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t find you, rook?” Griff snarled. “You think you can just sit and drink in a bar, like nothing happened?” Griff was furious, even on the verge of being unhinged. “It doesn’t work that way, rook!” Griff continued, tightening his grip on the weapon, “You were never going to beat me. And now, you’re finally going to pay.”

  Hudson picked up his beer and casually took a swig, before he shuffled in his seat to face Griff. “Did you really think we’d forgotten about you?” he said, and instantly Griff’s face fell. “Did you really think the CET haven’t been tracking your every movement since you killed three of their soldiers?” Hudson cocked an eyebrow, inviting Griff to respond, but for the first time since he’d met him, his former partner was speechless. Hudson sighed, elaborately, and shook his head. “You really are the dumbest ex-RGF cop I’ve ever known,” he added, with a theatrical flourish.

  On cue, a dozen patrons in the bar stood up and revealed weapons, all of which were then pointed at Griff. Before he knew what was happening, Griff’s pistol had been stripped from his grasp, and his hands were cuffed behind his back.

  “Meet the not-corrupt, non-asshole officers of the newly-renamed Revocater Guardian Force,” said Hudson, gesturing to the group of men and women who were apprehending Griff. “They are tasked with guarding the crashed Revocater here on Earth, but we thought it fitting that they should bring you in too.”

  Griff struggled against the restraints, as the RGF officers conducted him towards the exit.

  “This isn’t over Powell!” Griff shouted, as he was bundled through the door. “You hear me? This isn’t over!”

  “See you around, asshole,” shouted Hudson, raising his beer bottle to Griff, while Tory cockily blew him a kiss and waved him goodbye. “Maybe in, say, forty or fifty years?”

  The door of the Star Scavenger’s Rest slammed shut, and Hudson felt a contented peace wash over him.

  “Man, that felt good,” said Hudson, taking another swig of beer. It tasted suddenly blissful.

  “I still say you should have let me shoot that bastard in the face,” said Tory. “Figuratively speaking, of course,” she added, flashing her eyes at Commodore Trent, who looked more than a little alarmed.

  “So, what happens now?” asked Tobin.

  “That’s a question for tomorrow,” answered Ma, as she refilled the glasses from the square bottle. “Tonight, we drink. Tonight, we celebrate what we saved, and honor the ones we lost.”

  Hudson nodded, and picked up his glass. “To Morphus,” he said. The chatter between them died down, and everyone grabbed their drinks. “And to the last Revocater,” Hudson added.

  Then they all raised their glasses, and drank.

  CHAPTER 31

  Hudson stood next to Tory on the cliffs above Alamere Falls, peering out at the wrecked hulk of the last Revocater. Liberty and Tobin stood together a little off to the side, also peering out at the titanic vessel. Waves gently lapped against its hull, while a cornucopia of birds had now adopted it as a safe haven on which they could rest their wings. Hudson felt some small consolation that the ship had crashed in such a beautiful place, rather than sinking to the bottom of the ocean, forever lost. However, time hadn’t dulled the sadness he still felt for the alien entity who had given everything to save them.

  “It’s a shame we didn’t get to know Morphus better,” said Hudson, “or to learn more about the people who created it.”

  Tory hooked her arm through Hudson’s and pulled him closer. “There’s still time,” she said, with a hopeful tone. “The portals are still out there, and there’s plenty of galaxy left to discover.”

  Hudson smiled at her. “You’d really want to go back out there, into the cold?” he asked. Though, when he thought about it, he wasn’t surprised and he couldn’t deny the idea appealed to him too.

  Tory shrugged, “I somehow doubt my skillset is suited to work on this planet,” she said. “And I think Trent already has me on a watch list. Besides, I want to explore.”

  Hudson nodded, then turned to Liberty and Tobin. “What about you two? Have you decided what comes next?” he asked.

  Tobin smiled, “Well, apart from introducing Liberty to my mom,” he began, to an eye roll from Liberty. “I think there’s a lot of money to be made in ships right now. After all, thousands were destroyed, along with the Martian shipyards.”

  Liberty shook her head, and laughed. “Ever the entrepreneur – your mom would be so proud.”

  “I doubt it…” replied Tobin, smiling. “But think about it, some of the portal worlds survived, and will need resupplying.” He turned to Liberty. “And I’ll need a genius engineer to help design the new ships. Know anyone?”

  Liberty shrugged, “I might… Designing and building ships doesn’t come cheap, though.”

  This time it was Tobin who shrugged. “I guess it’s a good job I’m still immensely rich then.”

  Hudson smiled, and reached inside his jacket, removing a crystal shard. The others all gathered round, staring at it in astonishment.

  “How did you get that past Trent’s new RGF Shaak scanners?” asked Tory.

  Hudson patted his chest, “I have some special relic hunter tricks of my own,” he said, smiling. The shielded compartment in the leather jacket that once belonged to Ericka Reach had come in useful on more than one occasion. This time, however, the relic he’d smuggled out inside the pocket wasn’t intended to enrich his credit account, but rather his mental wellbeing.

  Hudson slipped out Tory’s knife from the scabbard on her belt, crouched down and began digging a hole into the ground. “We couldn’t give M
orphus a proper send off, so this is the least I could do.” Hudson slid the crystal shard into the hole and covered it over. He pressed his hand to the dirt and held it there for a few seconds, before standing up. “Goodbye Morphus, and thank you,” he said, humbly.

  After they had all observed a few seconds of silence, Hudson spoke up again, though this time with more cheer in his voice. “There’s only one more thing left to decide,” he said, looking at Liberty. “If you two are going one way, and us another, who gets the Orion?”

  Liberty’s eyes narrowed. “You mean the VCX-110 I built with my own hands?” she said, locking her accusatory stare onto Hudson. “The one that now has a gouge cut through my favorite semi-circular sofa?”

  “Erm, yeah, that one,” said Hudson, shifting his feet uncomfortably.

  To his surprise, Liberty smiled. “You take it; you’ve earned it,” she said, warmly. “I can’t even start the damn thing up now, anyway, after Morphus coded the ignition sequence to that alien patch in your arm.” Then she glanced at Tobin, and added, “Besides, it sounds like I’m going to be designing and building something new.” Then she raised her eyebrows, “And as Tobin’s Vice President of Starship Design and Manufacturing, I’m sure I’ll get to design a new ship of my very own, right?”

  Tobin shrugged, “You’re the boss, boss.”

  Hudson walked up to Liberty and pulled her into an embrace. “I’m going to miss you, Co-Captain Devan,” he said, not wanting to let her go.

  “Likewise, Co-Captain Powell,” replied Liberty, returning the embrace with an even tighter hold. Then they pulled back from each other, eyes still locked together. “I know it’s a big galaxy, but don’t be a stranger, okay?”

  Hudson nodded and backed up next to Tory. The others then said their goodbyes, Tory even managing a short, but visibly awkward hug with Liberty. Then Hudson watched as Liberty and Tobin headed back to their shuttle; one of several that Tobin owned on Earth. With Tory again at his side, Hudson continued to watch as the shuttle blasted off and rose higher into the sky.

  “It’s time we left too,” said Tory, as the wind gusting over the cliff face toyed with her hair. “Assuming you still want to hang with an ex merc, with a temper and a slight drinking problem, that is?”

  “Well, now that you put it that way…” replied Hudson, trying to suppress a grin. Then he held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Honestly, I can’t imagine going anywhere without you.”

  Tory smiled and kissed Hudson, holding her lips against his for a few seconds longer than he expected.

  “Don’t get all soppy on me now,” said Tory, as she drew back. “We’re venturing into the vast unknown, so I need that tough guy relic hunter back.”

  “Well, you got me,” said Hudson.

  They walked back towards the Orion, and for some reason his father’s words came into Hudson’s mind again. He’d wanted him to do something that he cared about, something that mattered to him, but now, as he approached the Orion with Tory at his side, he realized he’d been chasing the wrong ideal. What mattered to him wasn’t a thing. It wasn’t a job or an achievement that was important, but who he was with. It was the people he cared about, and the people who cared about him. So long as he had that, he had everything he needed.

  The rear ramp of the Orion clamped shut, and Hudson took the controls, lifting the ship off the cliffside and into the sky above the wrecked remains of the last Revocater. He didn’t have a course set, and he didn’t have a clue where he was going. He’d been a drifter for most of his adult life. He’d not known where he’d be or what he’d be doing from one month to the next. It had been his way of avoiding life; but this time it felt different. Now, as the Orion breached the atmosphere and entered into space, without a heading, he knew exactly where he belonged. He’d been a flyer, a courier runner, a guardian outcast, and a relic hunter. Now, finally, he was home.

  The end.

  EPILOGUE

  Waves lapped against the scarred hull of the titanic vessel as it lay, half in the ocean, and half embedded into a cliff face. It did not know where it was. It remembered nothing of how it had got there. It did not recall its function. But there was one thing it did know. It knew its name. And its name was Goliath.

  YOU MADE IT!

  Thank you so much for reading these books. I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did. If you did, then please also consider reading or listening to some of my other books.

  Darkspace Renegade Series (6-books)

  If you like your action fueled by power armor, big guns and the occasional sword, you’ll love this fast-moving military sci-fi adventure.

  The Contingency War Series (4-book series)

  A space-fleet, military sci-fi adventure with a unique twist that you won't see coming...

  The Planetsider Trilogy (3-book series)

  An edge-of-your-seat blend of military sci-fi action & classic apocalyptic fiction. Perfect for fans of Maze Runner and I am Legend.

  Audiobook Series

  Star Scavenger – 29 hour boxed set - click here

  The Contingency War - 24-hour boxed set - click here

  The Planetsider Trilogy - 32-hour boxed set - click here

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  At school I was asked to write down the jobs I wanted to do as a ‘grown up’. Number one was astronaut and number two was a PC games journalist. I only managed to achieve one of those goals (I’ll let you guess which), but these two very different career options still neatly sum up my lifelong interests in science, space and the unknown.

  School also steered me in the direction of a science-focused education over literature and writing, which influenced my decision to study physics at Manchester University. What this degree taught me is that I didn’t like studying physics and instead enjoyed writing, which is why you’re reading this book! The lesson? School can’t tell you who you are.

  When not writing, I enjoy spending time with my family, walking in the British countryside, and indulging in as much Sci-Fi as possible.

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