Children of The End by James E Wisher

Author:James E Wisher [Wisher, James E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sand Hill Publishing

13

The system where Dra’kor said the Jade Dragons’ clan head was seen didn’t even have an official name, just a number on the galactic star chart. The solitary inhabited planet had the charming name of Sarth. It was a green mud ball and according to the data packet Dra’kor had provided was home primarily to poisonous reptiles, bloodthirsty insects, and a particularly nasty, meat-eating fish that made Earth’s piranha look like a guppy.

The only sentients to call the place home were from off world. Every manner of criminal lowlife could be found hanging around Sarth’s lonesome spaceport. It was built on an artificial island in the middle of a massive inland sea. That offered it natural protection from the planet’s many nasty predators. They also had a particular fondness for throwing card cheats into the water to be eaten by the fish.

It was the sort of place Marcus might have visited for Vlad back in the day.

At the moment, Marcus had the ship in stealth mode and hovering in orbit around Sarth’s moon. He hadn’t decided exactly how he wanted to approach this. There was no planetary security or defense systems. Air traffic control appeared equally nonexistent. As usual in places like this, it was a free-for-all.

“How did Dra’kor say he got this information?” Solomon asked.

“He didn’t. My guess is the council has an agent on planet keeping an eye on things. You really don’t want a cesspool like this to stay anonymous. How else could he get word of the clan head’s arrival?” Marcus frowned and looked back at Margret. “Does this piece of shit have a name?”

“Yes, Soma Toju. He has some… unpleasant habits but I’ll spare you the details.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised by that. No offense, but it’s probably best if you stay on the ship. Someone might recognize you.”

“But you need me to identify Soma.”

“Indeed I do. Luckily Solomon can rig up a camera. You just have to tell me when you see him.”

She didn’t argue any further, which he appreciated. In fact, Marcus suspected she didn’t really even want to argue. No one in their right mind would want to visit this place if they could avoid it. Only his desire to see this piece-of-shit gangster pay for what he helped do to those unfortunate people gave Marcus the motivation to hunt him down.

“We’ve done all we can from here,” Marcus said. “The main thing I was worried about was finding a Void ship in orbit. Thank the universe for small favors—they seem to be busy elsewhere. Deactivate the cloak and we’ll head in.”

“Just like that?” Margret asked. “You’re just going to land like you have every right to be there?”

“Yup. In a place like this, boldness and confidence can take you a long ways. Show weakness and you’re screwed.”

With the cloaking device switched off, Marcus flew closer to Sarth. It didn’t get any prettier up close. And he suspected that as soon as he stepped out of the ship, the smell was going to be even worse.

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