Reaper Corps
Page 1
Reaper Corps
Galactic Space Opera Thriller #2
by
Trevor Scott and Trevor Schmidt
Also by Trevor Scott
Max Kane Series
Truth or Justice (#1)
Stolen Honor (#2)
Relative Impact (#3)
Karl Adams Espionage Thriller Series
The Man From Murmansk (#1)
Siberian Protocol (#2)
The Spy Within (#3)
Jake Adams International Espionage Thriller Series
Fatal Network (#1)
Extreme Faction (#2)
The Dolomite Solution (#3)
Vital Force (#4)
Rise of the Order (#5)
The Cold Edge (#6)
Without Options (#7)
The Stone of Archimedes (#8)
Lethal Force (#9)
Rising Tiger (#10)
Counter Caliphate (#11)
Gates of Dawn (#12)
Counter Terror (#13)
Covert Network (#14)
Shadow Warrior (#15)
Sedition (#16)
The Tony Caruso Mystery Series
Boom Town (#1)
Burst of Sound (#2)
Running Game (#3)
The Chad Hunter Espionage Thriller Series
Hypershot (#1)
Global Shot (#2)
Cyber Shot (#3)
The Keenan Fitzpatrick Mystery Series
Isolated (#1)
Burning Down the House (#2)
Witness to Murder (#3)
Other Mysteries and Thrillers
Cold War Short Stories: Jake Adams International Espionage Prequels
Cantina Valley
Edge of Delirium
Strong Conviction
Fractured State (A Novella)
The Nature of Man
Discernment
Way of the Sword
Drifting Back
The Dawn of Midnight
The Hobgoblin of the Redwoods
Duluthians: A Collection of Short Stories
Also by Trevor Schmidt
Galactic Space Opera Thriller Series:
Quantum Trigger (#1)
Science Fiction Novels:
Symbiote
Memory Leak
Short Fiction:
The Chosen (A Novelette)
Replica (A Short Story)
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and not intended to represent real people or places. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher.
Reaper Corps
Copyright © 2019 by Trevor Scott and Trevor Schmidt
Cover iStock Photo by Tiziano Cremonini
trevorscott.com
Trevorschmidtauthor.com
United States of America
Table of Contents
Last time…
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EPILOGUE
Last time…
Stranded in a distant part of the Milky Way Galaxy, Captain Liam Kidd, along with fellow humans Saturn Vera and Ju-Long Ma, fought to locate Quantum Trigger, the device responsible for thrusting them across space. They were not alone. Three alien species were teetering on the edge, ready to reignite a war that had been waged for more than a thousand years.
The Ansarans, blue-skinned with heavily modified genomes, dominated the star system. Their cousins were the Dinari, a distant genetic relative with scaled skin and large yellow eyes which saw far more than their masters gave them credit. Finally, there were the Kurazon, enormous in size and ferocity. Exiled from the common mother world for being too savage, the Kurazon sought revenge.
After two months of searching, The Quantum Trigger’s trail has gone cold and the crew has taken on jobs to earn their keep. Struggling to adjust to a new life on the wayward Planet Surya, Ju-Long Ma has agreed to take part in a brutal boxing exhibition, the Dinari’s Tournament of Fists…
1
2146 A.D. – Akaru Colony, Planet Surya
The smell of blood wafted into Captain Liam Kidd’s nostrils, causing him to scrunch his nose in annoyance. The near permanent sunset of the planet Surya made it hard for him to make out his crewmate in the makeshift arena before him, despite being ringside. The fighters traded crushing blows with electrified knuckles. With every hit, Liam’s crew member grew more bloodied, chunks of flesh falling to the packed sand beneath his feet. The brutal contest was not meant for a human challenger. On Surya, the Dinari were the masters of the fist.
Liam wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, slicking his long blond bangs to one side. He shook his leather boots trying to find a comfortable spot for his toes. Despite their best efforts, his Dinari contacts had done a poor job of tailoring his outfit. Liam’s off-white shirt hung loose around his shoulders, a deep V cut out of the chest and held together by tan drawstrings. His pants were made from the soft hide of a local mammal, dyed a dark brown and too tight against his thighs. Worst of all, his boots were made from the rough hide of a lizard and molded for his feet alone. Though he couldn’t complain about the quality, they itched in places he just couldn’t reach.
It was only when the temperature on Surya soared to its greatest heights that Liam missed Toronto. He found the cold refreshing, but the heat left him feeling drained. Liam liked to think he had Norse blood running through him; his looks would certainly merit such a comparison. In truth, he could have been from any number of places and it wouldn’t have mattered. In every scenario where he was still on Earth, Vesta Corporation still had their hooks in him. The corrupt asteroid mining company was the least of his worries. In just a few short months, Surya had become a more fitting home than any place in the Sol system, despite the many flaws of the backwater planet.
Liam’s gaze turned skyward. Rising up next to the arena was one of the many spires of Akaru Colony, reaching several kilometers into the sky. The base of the spires were cut from the rock of a nearby mountain range, but grew metallic the higher it went. A spiral bank of windows curved along its round edges like a screw. Up against the windows, Liam could barely make out the countless shapes of its Ansaran inhabitants. It was a typical display on Surya. The Ansarans clung to their high towers while their Dinari cousins crowded the sandy streets. It could also be seen overhead, where half a dozen sleek Ansaran crafts hovered with their dual rotors cutting through the air, waiting for an excuse to use force against their inferiors.
The crowd grew louder as the large Dinari approached his opponent. The alien stood at more than six and a half feet tall, almost a foot taller than the human standing before him. The fighters wore only tight scaled shorts and sandals which wrapped up their legs with countless leather strings to hold them in place. The Dinari’s scaled body was scorched after countless matches, blackened where his skin was once the desert tan of the landscape around them. The Dinari adjusted the straps around his clawed hands, ensuring the electrified barbs were centered before he punched his opponent in the gut. The human challenger slumped down to one knee and covered the bloody wound with his palm, gasping for air.
Two months had passed since Liam and his two crew members, Saturn Vera and Ju-Long Ma, became stranded ten thousand light years from Earth. They’d had no luck in tracing the whereabouts of the Quantum Trigger, the one device which could open a wormhole back to the Sol System, and a product of Vesta Corporation’s hubris. Every lead had turned out to be a dead end and Liam had a feeling their Dinari contact Zega was holding out on them. For a man rumored to have spies everywhere, Zega had turned out to be a rather poor source of information.
Liam gazed up to the grand platform where the leaders of the many sectors of Akaru Colony sat and watched the fight. Near the center was Zega, resplendent light shining off his jeweled garments in steep contrast to his corpulent body. His thick neck dripped with the juice of the unfamiliar lizard he was eating. Liam turned his eyes from the sickening sight, focusing instead on Ju-Long.
Ju-Long Ma had agreed to fight in the tournament, representing Sector Seven of Akaru Colony along with Zega’s henchman Riken. Originally, he was going to fight as a favor to Zega, but Liam had a feeling Ju-Long just needed a good fight. Liam scanned the growing crowd. Thousands had shown up and more were filling the many sandy side streets of the desert planet, hoping to get a better look at the strange human challenger. Directly above the ring, a hologram was projected from several angles to provide a view to those in the back. The orange glowing image was of poor quality, the projection units scrapped together from whatever the Dinari had sitting around.
As far as humans went, Ju-Long was one of the most muscular men Liam had ever seen. He had definition in places that hardly seemed possible. His short black hair was choppy and drenched with sweat. He’d insisted he cut it himself before the tournament and the results were questionable. Ju-Long was of Chinese descent and if someone were to ask him, he’d say he was somewhat of a genius. Somewhat, because despite his expert knowledge of multiple forms of engineering, he often found himself with his foot firmly lodged in his mouth. Ju-Long raised his dense neck and looked his opponent in his golden, orb-like eyes.
Liam held his breath. For most of the fight Ju-Long had held his own, but the electric knuckles were taking their toll on his crewmate. Thin streams of crimson trickled down his beaten tan face and his bare heaving chest. Ju-Long breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling in quick succession.
The large Dinari stood with clawed hands at his side. His scorched, dense scales seemed of trifling concern to him. The Dinari’s breathing was level and his muscular physique betrayed no signs of weakness. He appeared just as strong then as he had when he’d began the match. He opened his mouth slightly in the form of a smile, revealing a set of pointed yellow teeth, and asked, “Do you submit, Outsider?”
The crowd grew silent, several Dinari hushing those around them while they pricked their ears. Ju-Long spat a thick glob of blood onto the packed sand of the arena floor. He looked to Liam at the side of the ring with a defeated face, squinting from the light of the sun. Liam clenched his jaw, tightening the long scar along his right cheek. If this was it, Ju-Long had performed admirably for a first attempt.
Liam blinked. A hand had found its way to his shoulder. He hadn’t heard anyone coming, but over the ambient noise of the arena he could hardly be surprised. At his side stood Saturn Vera, a beautiful Latina woman who wore her hair in her trademark up ponytail which lightly grazed her bare shoulders. Saturn might have argued she was Argentinian, fiercely proud of her heritage, but Liam knew better. She was a third generation Martian holding onto the threads of her ancestors. Liam didn’t understand it, but then again, he’d never known his lineage from the start.
Saturn put her arms behind her back and stretched, her ample bosom becoming more pronounced under her white tank top, which was made from the bleached fibers of a local plant, woven together into one long piece. The tightly laced strands pressed against her chest and drew Liam’s eye to its low cut. He clenched his teeth together and turned his gaze back to the ring, ignoring the rush of blood fleeing his brain. Saturn’s smirk turned to a frown when she saw the state of Ju-Long.
“What’d I miss?” Saturn asked, wiping beads of sweat from her thin cheeks.
“It doesn’t look good.”
“Leave it to Ju-Long to mar the first public appearance of the human race in this system.”
Liam ignored her jab and asked, “Where’s Nix?”
Ju-Long would have been too far away to hear what they were saying, but Liam noticed he was squinting and trying to make out the words regardless. Once Saturn arrived, Ju-Long’s expression changed. His breathing leveled out and he gritted his teeth with renewed resolve. Ju-Long’s head turned back toward his Dinari opponent and he rose up to a standing position, a new strength fueling him.
The crowd of Dinari onlookers went wild, their roar drowning out any chance of a conversation between Liam and Saturn. Both of them stood stone-faced as they watched on. From what their Dinari hosts had explained, most fights did not result in death, but if a fighter refused to submit it was not uncommon for serious injury to occur, or worse.
Ju-Long took a ready stance, his barbed knuckles held calmly up in front of him and pulsing with flickers of brilliant blue electricity. The roar of the crowd slowly morphed into a chant. A day before, only a select few Dinari even knew humans existed. On this day, they chanted his name like he’d been their champion for ages.
2
Saturn pulled Liam close and yelled into his ear, “We don’t have time for this. Nix has found a lead.”
Liam’s eyes grew wide. They’d waited months for word from Zega’s contacts to no avail. It hadn’t been the easiest two months either. Nothing on Surya was free, despite its general lack of defined currency. Zega had found odd-jobs for them to earn their keep while they waited. Once again, Liam found himself dealing with some of the more unsavory types in the galaxy. Despite his initial reservations, it felt good to freelance again. There were no corporate enforcers to deal with on Surya.
Over the roar of the crowd Saturn shouted once more, “Did you hear me? This is it. Our ticket home.”
Liam remained focused on the fight, letting her voice wash over him with the din of countless others. Before they could worry about retrieving the Quantum Trigger from the Ansarans, he had to make sure his crew remained intact. From the sidelines it didn’t seem like there was much he could do. Outside help would disqualify Ju-Long and then Liam would have to deal with his crewmate’s wrath.
Ju-Long stood with his back turned to Liam, his legs bent and arms held aloft in a fighter’s stance. He was calm and collected, completely different from before. Maybe he had a shot after all.
The large Dinari spun his head from side to side, his eyes questioning the chanting crowd. He bent his scaled legs and raised up his electrified fists. The Dinari narrowed his golden eyes and let out a snarl that was audible despite the restless onlookers. Their hands were mere inches from one another, the electricity in the air palpable.
Ju-Long made the first move, backhanding the Dinari’s forward hand and delivering a small shock while he moved in closer. He let loose several punches in quick succession, but the Dinari brought up his back arm to shield his body from the brunt of it. Ju-Long stepped on the Dinari’s clawed foot and spun around, finding his opponent’s ribs with a well-placed blow. The Dinari took several woozy steps back, trying to put some distance between them. The crowd’s chanting died down. It was clear the fight was turning serious.
“Wow,” Liam remarked. “Where did that come from?”
“Ju-Long certainly has a way.”
Liam smiled. The tension between Saturn and Ju-Long was generally one-sided, but she’d began to lighten up after spending a few months around him. It helped, Liam noted, that Ju-Long was making a concerted effort to stay on her good side. He hadn’t made a pass at her in weeks.
Ju-Long regained his stance and eyed his opponent with a piercing gaze. The Dinari no longer took him lightly, making his way around the edge of the ring cautiously. He seemed to
be waiting for an opportunity to present itself, but Ju-Long was always vigilant, turning in place to keep his opponent in his sights.
Throughout the fight, Liam had noticed that the fighting styles of the Dinari contenders was completely different from fighting on Earth. The Dinari used sweeping motions with their fists, as though they were used to using their claws to slash. It was only when they wanted to deliver a shock that they used their fists in a punching motion. Alternatively, Ju-Long fought with multiple Earth styles, including standard Earth Boxing, Karate, and Kung-Fu.
The crowd was jeering now, anxious for action. The muscular Dinari turned his head to the crowd, clearly concerned with the insults being thrown his way. Ju-Long took advantage of the Dinari’s distraction and pounced, rushing his opponent at full speed. Before the Dinari knew what happened Ju-Long had landed three solid blows, blackening the alien’s skin with electricity. The Dinari hunched over with a hand on one knee, his spherical gold eyes wide with shock. Ju-Long wound up and landed an uppercut on the alien’s chin.
There was silence as the Dinari’s body hit the compacted sand, sending up small plumes of dust around him. Ju-Long returned to a ready stance, his knuckles dancing with the light from the sparks. His opponent wasn’t moving.
A Dinari judge ran into the ring and checked the fighter’s vitals. In his hand he held a cylindrical metal object attached to a copper device by two twisted wires, flashing all manner of colors at its user. The Dinari was shorter than any of the fighters and wore a loose-fitting garment that was marked with the symbol of a clawed hand, the logo of the Dinari tournament. The judge stood up and waved his hand through the air to hush the mumbling crowd.
“This fight is over,” the judge announced, making his way over to Ju-Long. “I give you your winner!”