Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller Brandon Ellis (ebook reader for comics txt) 📖

He pulled back. The book opened on its own, turning to a random page, showing an entire combat-mech’s anatomy, the engines, weapons, the navigation, and the fighting techniques associated with it.

The lioness stood straighter, taking in a deep breath. “We will fight. To your positions, my loves.” She eyed Jaxx. “Now, Jaxx. You’ll help us. Stare at that page until you can’t stare any longer.”

Even if the lioness had told him not to look, it wouldn’t have mattered. He couldn’t have taken his eyes off the page if a gun were pointed at his temple.

His head jerked as a hologram jumped from the page and penetrated his pupils. He bent over, losing equilibrium, spinning and falling to the floor, his chest landing on top of the book. Floods of combat-mech diagnostics and thousands of mech specifications entered his mind. It was a simulation. Jaxx was to learn mech combat. Scenes of real combat blanketed his mind as if he’d been in these mechs before, though he knew he hadn’t. The experiences cemented themselves into his temporal lobe, and in minutes, he mastered the big machine.

He pushed off the ground and stood erect. He gasped for air and glanced at his hands. “What happened?”

The lioness smiled. “We just put you through ten thousand hours of training and ten thousand hours of combat in a span of minutes.”

A mech with a lion’s head stood across the room. Yet, he could see it pulsate, could hear its engines calling him and its weapons calibrating themselves just for him. “You want me to fight in one of those?”

“Welcome to the team, pink-lips. I’m Zara. It’s time to bring a positive to the negative you brought us.”

5 Edge of M-Quadrant, Nearing Jupiter - Starship Atlantis

Slade and Craig stared at a holographic screen in Slade’s upper deck quarters. It was static, waiting for Kajka Okbak, the Kelhoon supreme leader to join.

The Kelhoon were quickly becoming the sworn enemy of the Atlanteans on Callisto and, as a result, it was a race relationship Slade was interested in cultivating.

The screen fizzled, then blipped on. Okbak, recognizable as the leader because of his ceremonial garb, stared unblinkingly with his yellow eyes.

Slade had studied the Kelhoon, so he knew the half-lizard, half-human Beings would make outstanding allies. He waited until Okbak had blinked three times, which was the sign that negotiations could proceed. Slade turned to President Craig Martelle and bowed his head, signaling that he was the human lead negotiator.

“I’m going to get to the point, Kajka Okbak. We’re willing to deliver the humans on this ship to you on a silver platter. What’s our compensation?” asked Craig.

They’d been over the same conversation with Okbak for the last several days. Okbak had yet to confirm any type of monetary units he’d give them for the slaves he was about to receive.

Okbak licked his lips. “Monjaka monjova lakanjaka funjoonka.”

Slade’s stomach fluttered. He’d been reading up on the Kelhoon language, learning bits and pieces here and there and he knew numbers, and this was a big, big number. He wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to Craig. He felt the President twitch ever so slightly. He was impressed too. Hell, who wouldn’t be? It was a lot of currency. The proposed payment was in the galactic currency, emerald-gold melted into coins.

Slade smirked. “Not enough. We want to be included into your galactic slave trade and farming system.”

“Najchka?”

“Why? You ask me why?” Slade gave Okbak a look like it was the dumbest question any Being in the universe had ever posed. “Craig and I want a peace of mind. If we run a portion of the slave trade and the pan-galactic farming...” he paused, thinking. “Throw in a plush palace on Callisto for each of us, then our deal is solid.”

A flap on the back of Okbak’s scaly head flared. “Goojkanta ga!”

The screen turned off.

“What did he say?” asked Craig.

“Let’s just say he’ll think about it.”

“You went rogue on me, Slade. What was that? We agreed that I’d negotiate.”

Slade stood. “Mr. President. I’m sorry to usurp your authority, but I had to think on my toes right there. I wanted to guarantee our personal safety. The Kelhoon are ruthless killers and would eat us without a thought. Don’t kid yourself, Mr. President. This is dangerous, but less dangerous if we’re in on the whole enchilada with the Kelhoon. We help run their businesses, and do it well, we have more freedoms than we’d ever want, and more wealth to play with.”

“And if he says no?”

“Then the deal is off, and we continue to Callisto as if we’d never had it in mind to hand our politicians over to them.”

“If we back out of this deal, the Kelhoon will fight us.”

Slade could read Craig like a cheap book. Craig didn’t like the idea of going to war with the Kelhoon. He was happy to bring a war about—it compensated his government and black ops companies for years on Earth. But out here in the deep, dark cosmos, there wasn’t a lick of compensation for him for any type of combat.

“This better work out,” Craig said. “If it goes south, I’ll hang you out to dry, like the snake you are…”

Slade popped a piece of gum into his mouth and chewed. He winked. “Either way, I’m fine.”

The HDC beeped and Okbak materialized on the screen. “Oojkana.”

“Agreed?” Slade said. “Fabulous. We look forward to the first installment. When that arrives, you’ll have your human cattle.”

“Monjaka monjova lakanjaka funjoonka moonjova lakanjaka.”

Slade dipped his head in agreement. “Deal.”

The hologram blipped off.

Craig grinned. His two young daughters on the starship would be taken care of for the rest of their lives. “We’ll be living like kings.”

Slade popped his gum. “Don’t need to remind me.”

“Does it bother you that we’re handing every human on the ship to the Kelhoon race, for their enjoyment, for their entertainment, for their business?”

“Not in the slightest. Between you and I, they deserve nothing better.” Slade punched