Galactic Mercenaries Omnibus

Chapter 1

1

“We’re broke,” Jayde said, casting a baleful glance at Lochlan, the ship’s pilot.

“We’ll find another job,” Gavin replied. He was always defending Loch, and Jayde hated him for it. Perhaps hate was too strong a word. She turned her fiery gaze on Gavin and frowned. Fine, she didn’t hate him. But it really annoyed her when he stood in the way of Loch taking responsibility for his mistakes.

“You know, we wouldn’t have to find another job if Loch could stick to the plan and quit screwing anything that walks on two legs.”

“That’s not fair, Jayde, and you know it.”

Loch stood up from his chair and crossed his arms. Jayde turned to face him, and they engaged in a silent stare-down. Her green eyes bored into his blue ones. Neither one would give in, and eventually, Gavin stepped between them and smiled at Jayde.

“Come on. We both know that Loch is never going to change, so we might as well accept the fact that he’s going to screw us out of a few jobs.”

“Yeah, literally,” Jayde muttered. “I’ll be in my bunk.”

She stormed off to her personal quarters, wondering for the thousandth time why she continued to put up with Loch’s constant stupidity. It was like he didn’t use his brain sometimes and let his second head do all the thinking. They were so close to getting a huge payday, and yet again, Loch had ruined it. The lord of a small planet had hired them to clear out a gang that had taken up residence in his city. While the rest of the crew had been doing just that, Loch had snuck away with the lord’s daughter.

A servant had caught them and immediately informed her master. If it wasn’t for Jayde’s quick-thinking and their even quicker escape, the lord would have executed them all. As it was, Jayde wasn’t sure that they had gotten away without repercussion. The rear sensors on the ship hadn’t detected pursuit, but that didn’t mean they were home free just yet.

Jayde entered her personal quarters and shut the door behind her. She stared at her desk, debating on whether or not she should drink a small glass of Erillian wine. It always helped calm her anger. She was fuming. Loch had managed to really screw them over on this job. Their pockets were empty and her ship needed some work, not to mention they hadn’t found a high paying job in months.

She sighed and walked over to the window and stared out at the stars. The vast black landscape stretched as far as she could see. The few stars that burned on the fringe of civilization sputtered and glowed dimly.

“Even the stars are dying out here,” Jayde muttered aloud.

If they couldn’t find a decent gig soon, she would be forced to land on some god-forsaken outpost until she could afford to refuel the ship. When she was young and wished to see the universe, she never thought it would be in a dilapidated ship with a crew of misfits. Hell, she never thought she’d be a mercenary either, but here she was. Captain Jayde Thrin of the Determination.

She snorted and turned from the window just as a massive jolt rocked the ship and pitched it roughly to the side. Everything on her desk slid off the smooth polished surface and crashed to the floor. The whole vessel groaned and Jayde thought she could hear an explosion in a distant part of the ship. She staggered into the hall, stepping over fallen items on her way out. The ship jolted again and she had to throw herself bodily against a wall to keep from tumbling to the floor.

The emergency siren blared overhead, followed by Loch calling her to the bridge. If he was calling for her, then there was a serious problem. He might be a worthless womanizer, but he was a damn good pilot. Jayde hurried down the hall to the bridge, barely pausing long enough for the doors to open.

“Blast it, what’s going on in here—”

The words died on her lips as she surveyed the scene. Gavin was barely standing. He was holding onto a console, struggling to keep his balance. Loch was feverishly tapping buttons on the ship’s control panel and cursing vehemently. The siren continued to blare loudly, and Jayde had all she could take.

“Turn that damn thing off!”

“I’m trying,” Loch shouted. “We’ve been hit by something and our shields are down.”

“Great! They haven’t finished charging yet?”

“Not quite. They’re at sixty percent.” Loch tapped the screen with one finger. “Sixty-five,” he corrected.

“That’ll have to do,” Jayde said. “Turn them on.”

“Aye, Captain,” Loch grunted.

A few seconds later, the ship began to hum as the shields kicked on. Loch managed to straighten the ship and Jayde sat in the chair beside him and checked the rear sensors. Not far behind them, a sleek Inquisitor ship was closing the distance. Jayde ground her teeth in anger and looked at Loch.

“Nice,” she muttered. “Real nice.”

Loch peered at the screen and his eyes widened in surprise. “To be fair, his daughter came onto me. I hadn’t even noticed her until she—”

“I don’t care,” Jayde interrupted. “What’s done is done. But if we survive, you’ll be lucky if I don’t turn you in to the Convocation and collect on your bounties.”

Jayde smirked as Loch immediately stopped arguing with her. His warrants with the Convocation were a sore spot. Normally, Jayde wouldn’t use that weapon against him, but she was furious with him for messing up this time. They desperately needed a payday. Now they weren’t just broke, they were being hunted down by the local authorities.

“We’re getting a communication request,” Loch said.

“Put it through,” Jayde replied.

She sat up straight in her chair. Loch tapped a button on the console and the large screen that hung awkwardly above the observation deck window flickered to life and the familiar face of Lord Rasking greeted them. Jayde groaned inwardly but put on a face of bravado.

“Lord Rasking,” Jayde said.

“Mercenary scum,” Rasking replied. “I find it so enjoyable that I found you with your pants down, so to speak. I’ll make this easy for you. Let us board you without a fight and we’ll kill you and your crew quickly.”

Jayde laughed in response. “Come on, Rasking. This is the crew of the Determination. We don’t do anything easy around here. I’ll tell you what. Run with your tail tucked between your legs and I won’t blast your hide to dust particles immediately. I’ll give you a head start.”

Rasking’s face scrunched into a snarl. “The only one getting blasted to pieces is going to be you.” He turned to someone offscreen and ordered them to fire. The Determination shuddered as a barrage of laser cannon fire blasted into the side of the ship. Jayde felt a slight tremor under her boots as the shields took the brunt of the attack. She slammed a fist onto the console, ending the video feed of Rasking’s ugly smile.

“Shields down to forty-five percent!” Loch shouted.

“It’s time to show this petulant lord who he’s messing with,” Jayde said. She pressed a button on the screen and leaned forward to speak into the microphone.

“McCready, get to the gunnery bay and return fire with the plasma turrets. I want that ship burnt to a crisp!”

Jayde hoped the old grizzled veteran wasn’t asleep or passed out drunk. A few moments later, scattered bolts of light filled the sky and struck the Inquisitor ship head-on. The enemy ship’s defenses glowed red under the assault.

Although the Determination was a cargo ship, it was equipped with the latest plasma cannons for self-defense. Jayde had learned long ago that space was, for lack of a better phrase, the wild frontier. Pirates roamed the black ocean of space, looting and pillaging anyone they came across.

“Gavin, get down there and assist McCready. If we can’t get a hit on their ship, we’re going to be in serious trouble.”

The ship’s navigator sprinted off to obey and Jayde turned her attention to the console. The shields were close to failing and their fuel was running low. She knew they had enough to possibly get them to a recharge outpost, but it wouldn’t be very far from their current position. Unless they were able to maim the Inquisitor vessel, it wouldn’t be much of an escape.

A second volley of laser blasts left the Determination and struck Lord Rasking’s ship. McCready’s deep laughter came roaring through the comms speaker.

“We’re about to have an opening in their defenses,” the veteran said. “I’m going to light him up!”

Jayde had a sudden trepidation about possibly injuring Lord Rasking. He was a member of the Convocation, after all. The fact that he had threatened to kill her and her crew, however, gave her the boost she needed to push that fear away.

“Take it when you see it,” she ordered.

“Is that the best idea?” Loch asked.

Jayde ignored him. He had some nerve asking a question like that. Why hadn’t he asked himself that before gallivanting with Rasking’s daughter? Bastard, she thought.

“Call the engine room,” Jayde said.

Loch did as she requested. There was a short delay, then Klaus’s voice crackled through the speaker.

“I’ve got some issues down here. Can I get back to you?”

There was a noise that sounded like an explosion, followed by some incoherent shouts, then the audio cut off. Jayde glanced at Loch. Her face remained impassive, but she was sure he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. She gave Loch a slight nod to let him know she had everything under control, then turned to look out the window and spotted Raking’s vessel turning in an attempt to flee.

“I don’t think so,” she muttered. “McCready, hit that ship with everything you’ve got.”

A rain of plasma blasts fell onto the Inquisitor ship, causing multiple explosions to erupt along the vessel. Jayde watched with grim satisfaction as Raking’s ship lit up with flames. And then it exploded, sending debris flying in every direction. A shower of metal shrapnel struck the Determination’s shield and bounced off, floating lazily through space.

The sudden realization that they had just killed a member of the Convocation made Jayde’s stomach drop. Loch wouldn’t be the only one with warrants now.

“Get us out of here,” she ordered Loch. “Now.”

“On it,” he answered.

Jayde left the chair and headed for the lift. She needed to see what the commotion was in the engine room. It was a welcome distraction from the fear.

“What was I thinking?” she berated herself. “Now Rasking is dead and I’m screwed. We’re all screwed.”

The lift came to a stop and Jayde could smell smoke. She hurried down the hall and practically leaped down the short stairwell into the engine room. Now she didn’t just smell smoke, she saw it. Black clouds were billowing off one of the engines. Klaus stood nearby, spraying foam onto the flames. The ship’s mechanic managed to kill the fire, but Jayde could see the damage was done.

“What happened?” she asked.

Klaus whirled to face her. “You scared the hell out of me! Announce yourself next time, will you?”

“Will do,” Jayde replied. “Sorry.”

Klaus shook his head and set the fire extinguisher down. He tilted his head to either side, stretching his neck muscles.

“Something hit us hard, which caused a load of debris to land on the engine. I tried to remove it, but the weight of it all crushed the casing and broke the engine wall. We’re lucky it didn’t simply explode and destroy the entire ship.”

“That’s good news,” Jayde said. “Is it fixable?”

“Not with what we’ve got onboard. We need to stop somewhere. The other engine wasn’t damaged, but it’s not going to be able to power the entire ship.”

“Great. Let me know if anything changes down here.”

Klaus grunted in reply and Jayde went back to the lift. Their already bad situation had just gotten worse.