Star Brigade: Resurgent (Star Brigade Book 1) (50 page)

Priyanka brushed aside her blunt fringe of bangs, and whispered in Chidi’s ear. He nodded. “Let’s take care of payment.” He pulled out a thin, black datapad and clacked away. Ella whipped out her 6” datapad to access their vault account, watching the exchange take place in less than a macrom. In fact, Ella gaped in shock at the sight of their second payment—twice the agreed-upon amount.

“The few bounty hunters that have actually captured an osvowraith seemed to think, ‘capture alive’ shouldn’t include, ‘in one piece,’” explained Priyanka, noting the bounty hunter’s shock.

That won a laugh out of Ella, which died quickly under Jaellyn’s disapproving frown. “You should now have the passcodes to open the tube,” Ella stated soberly. “They’ll be active in about an orv.”

Chidi nodded gratefully. “Many thanks. We might call on you again.” The compliment left Ella both excited and sickened. The dark youth made a terse head gesture. Moments later the Children of Earth contingent transmatted away with the containment tube in a golden shimmer.

As soon as the last sparkle of their exit dissipated, Ella felt like she could breathe again. “Thank GAWD,” she said in a gusty sigh. You okay?”

Jaellyn nodded, eyes still trained like lasers on the area their clients were just standing. “You?”

“Fuck yea,” Ella blurted out with a gleeful clap, feeling very celebratory at their big payday. “All I want to do now is just drink myself stupid.”

Jaellyn patted Ella on the head mockingly, “Didn’t know drinking was needed.”

Ella swatted at the back of Jaellyn’s head. The Tarkathian easily darted away, grinning. In those fleeting moments when Jaellyn actually acted her age, Ella thought her heart might burst. But she’d never reveal that aloud, since Tarkathians usually mistrusted extreme sentimentality. The two bounty hunters laughed while activating their teleporting device, which transported them back to the
Aurora
in a bluish shimmer.

Once more, the distorted rock structures at the edge of the Sandstone Sea lay barren under the blazing Noriida Major sun.

BOOKS BY C.C. EKEKE

STAR BRIGADE SERIES:
Star Brigade: Resurgent (Book 1)
Star Brigade: Maelstrom (Book 2)
Star Brigade: The Supremacy (Book 3) - forthcoming
Star Brigade: Odysseys (a Star Brigade Anthology)

About the Author

C.C. Ekeke is a native of California by way of Georgia by way of Missouri, spending much of his childhood on a steady diet of science fiction movies and television shows, as well as superhero comic books.  It was in college studying for a degree in advertising that he stumbled across a desire to write books.
STAR BRIGADE: Resurgent
, his debut novel, was originally self-published in December 2005. This re-release marks the second edition of the book. He’s currently at work on the next books in the Star Brigade series.

Here are four free short stories taking place during the first Star Brigade book! Click below to download them!

A Note from the Author

I hope you enjoyed
Star Brigade: Resurgent
as much as I did writing it. Be sure to check out
Star Brigade: Maelstrom
, the next book in the Star Brigade series!

And please don’t hesitate to leave a review on
Amazon
and/or
Goodreads
. The review can be a just a quick blurb about your thoughts. Reviews attract other readers and are a great help to indie authors, such as myself.

Thank you for taking the time and happy reading!

C.C. Ekeke