Forsaken Realms (Bounty Hunters United Book 1)

Forsaken Realms

An On the Run Novella

By

Katalina Leon

Forsaken Realms

An On the Run Novella

By: Katalina Leon

Published by Fated Desires Publishing, LLC.

© 2015 Katalina Leon

ISBN: 978-1-62322-137-9

Cover Art by
Syneca

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[email protected]
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All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

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I wish to thank the fabulous Dena Garson for offering her time, help, and encouragement in the shaping of Forsaken Realms.

“Retrieval specialist” is just a fancy term for high-level corporate bounty hunting. Agent Gemmina Nayar is the best in her league. She’s a sense-enhanced, level-seven bounty hunter from New Mumbai who receives an exclusive invitation to track a dangerous criminal on private property. She arrives on the tropical planetoid eager to hunt and release her inner tigress, but is disappointed to discover the bounty has already been captured.

Syan is a Kironian, an off-limits alien race. He’s gorgeous, rugged and all male. Even sedated and forced to wear an electronic silence collar, he resembles a coppery skinned refugee from Mount Olympus. Worse Gemmina’s unaware Kironian saliva is loaded with pheromones that can turn even the most indifferent woman into a willing mate. A single kiss or bite is sabotage.

When the mission turns lethal, she realizes she’s not only been tricked into bringing the wrong man to justice, but the harsh jungle below is a calculated trap.

2142 AD. In transit, edge of the Cygnus constellation

Gemmina reclined in the captain’s chair and dozed. Lonely deep-space flights were usually dull and provided a much-needed chance to nap and heal from the bruises and exhaustion that came with being a level-seven bounty hunter. Just as a pleasant twilight state of consciousness kicked in, her genetically enhanced hunter's senses tingled on high alert, warning of incoming mayhem. A moment later, the crimson glare of the communication screen flashing “emergency communiqué signal” confirmed her worst fears. Rest time was over, and she’d be forced to return to duty. She activated the screen with an agitated flick of her finger.

A scrawny guy in a gray jumpsuit hailed her. “Agent Nayar! My favorite dark-eyed girl.”

She recoiled when she recognized Harlan Stover, a processing clerk she’d successfully managed to avoid on her last stop at Penal Colony X57. He had been helpful in the past, blurting insightful tidbits of information in between trying to get his hands on her or saying inappropriate things. Often she’d gotten an uncomfortable psychic hit about him but dismissed it as the ugly residue of her line of work. Bounty hunters attracted weirdoes.

“Why are you hailing me on an emergency channel? You do realize it’s not only unprofessional, it’s illegal. I hope you have a solid reason.”

Harlan stared longingly at her the way a hungry dog stares at a meat patty tossed on the floor. “I wanted to get together with you on X57. Where were you? I checked the landing docks every hour and almost gave up. I was about to send out the Mounties.”

Obscure references often flowed from Harlan’s mouth.

“What the hell is a ‘Mountie?' I already dropped my bounty off and left X57 an hour ago.”

“Whoa, that’s chilly. And you didn’t come to see me? You know I live for the sight of your gorgeous ass walking away from me. Damn, I’d love to peel those peaches.”

Disgusting thought. An involuntary sneer curled her lips. The glassy sheen in his eyes provided a strong visual hint that he was working the processing desk while high. He’d done it before.

“Did you hail me for a reason? If so, say it now because I’m ready to shut the screen off.”

“I wish I was in danger of being crushed between your thighs.”

“Harlan, are you getting high again on duty?”

“A little bit. None of the hard stuff. I’m bored out of my mind here.”

“That’s not good. You’re supposed to be on the right side of the fence. If you have a bad habit—you’re vulnerable. Someone will notice and take advantage. Your jumpsuit looks filthy, and when did you eat last?”

Harlan clutched his hands in front of his heart in mock agony. “What is this? All of a sudden you care about me? Let me write the date down. I want to remember.”

“At least pretend to be professional.”

“I love it when you talk mean.” He darted behind a counter and returned holding a tiny chip in his fingers. “This hard copy communiqué came for you about six days ago.”

“For me? Why was it delivered to X57?”

A nervous chuckle broke past his lips. “I don’t know. Maybe someone knew you were bringing a bounty to X57?”

She slouched into the cushy chair where so much of her life was spent and rubbed her chin. “You knew. I called my bounty capture in to you and no one else. I didn’t trust any of the other so-called secure channels in the Coliberra district.”

His demeanor became somber. Eye contact was broken as he stared at the floor. “Yeah, that’s right. I forgot about that.”

“Who is the communiqué from?”

In a burst of nervous energy, Harlan flapped his skinny arms. “I have no idea. It’s encrypted.”

“You didn’t try to play it and skim information off the top to sell or trade to someone else?”

A scandalized
sputter
burst passed his lips. “Would I do that to you?”

“Possibly.”

“No way, angel wings. All I know is the origin of the message is a corporate planetoid owned by some rich bastard.”

“Did the bastard have a name?”

“Jason Naveen.”

Gemmina bolted upright on the seat. “Naveen, the reclusive trillionaire and all-around freak? How would he know to contact me at X57?”

“Jason Naveen was”—Harlan cleared his throat with a guttural snort—“briefly a resident of X57.” The silently mouthed word
embezzlement
followed. “But that’s old news. Naveen’s been out for several years. White-collar crime turns around fast.”

“Isn’t it funny how some of the wealthiest criminals end up on X57, so far from home where nobody’s watching?”

“I looked after him while he was here. So what?” Harlan stuck his finger in his mouth and shoved a silvery lozenge under his tongue. For a moment he closed his eyes in utter stillness and sighed. “I made sure Naveen’s rights weren’t violated. That’s all.”

“I know about X57's dirty little secrets. In exchange for god-knows-what, you kept a criminal in luxury and turned him loose. How do you live with yourself?”

“No comment, but, if you’re really interested, we can discuss it over drinks. I’ll even throw in my finest libation, a bottle of Muscarian vodka.” He picked at a grubby fingernail. “If you decide to stay, you can bunk with me.”

“I’m not even going to dignify that request with an answer. I have a possible high-value bounty in the Cygnus sector. I’m already headed there.”

“Turn around and meet me at the landing docks. Aren’t you curious why Jason Naveen contacted you?”

“I’m not as enthralled with Naveen as you are. Let me get this straight. You stayed in contact with a felon?”

“Eh, maybe.”

“That’s not kosher. It looks bad, Harlan, and it’s a clear violation of X57 guidelines. No wonder the place has a bad rep.”

“What bad rep? Hey, watch what you’re saying.”

“Why would Naveen communicate with me through you? How does he even know me?”

“Sugar cube, if you were a whole lot nicer to me, I might choose to share some information that you should be aware of.”

Now was the time to put on her coldest, most authoritative voice. “I don’t have the patience for this. Don’t force me to report bribery, fraternizing with convicted felons, sexual harassment, and communication fraud to the intergalactic council. I’m sure they’ve already received plenty of complaints about X57. Beam the encrypted information on that chip to me immediately. No bargaining. No discussion.”

“Gemmina, when you talk that way, you sound like a frosty, cold mother-icicle of a bitch.” He rimmed the tip of his tongue against his lip. “It’s a good thing I love bitches.”

“Can we cut the crap?”

“And rob me of my joy? Whatever. I’m beaming the encrypted info now.”

She waited. After what felt like a long wait, the screen flickered and faltered. A brisk tap of her finger made a steady stream of images from the ship's memory receptors flash past. “Harlan, did you send the communiqué?”

“Ya.”

“What the hell did you send?”

“I have no idea.”

“The communiqué should still be encrypted, but it's not. It unfolded inside Rudra’s main brain, and it’s doing something weird. Be honest with me. Do you think Naveen would load a meta-virus into that chip?”

“I don’t know.” For a second Harlan looked uncharacteristically thoughtful and concerned. “What the fuck is Rudra?”

“Rudra’s the name of my star-skimmer. You know, Rudra the Hindu god of the hunt and unexpected danger. He’s sort of my patron saint of bounty hunters.”

“Never heard of him.”

“I’m going to go offline now and get this straightened out.”

“Gemmina.” The crease between his brows deepened to a ravine. “Be careful out there.”

“I always am.” She clicked off Harlan’s channel and turned her attention to the communiqué.

After lots of fussing and rebooting, she was able to play back the text communiqué. The brief encoded message on the chip was an exclusive invitation to a bounty hunt; a retrieval as corporate work was euphemistically called. A high-value political criminal had been caught trespassing on private property, and a generous fee—to discreetly escort the troublemaker away—had been promised. The obscene amount of credits offered was tempting enough, but something else about the assignment made her say yes. The location. This opportunity to hunt a bounty in a pristine tropical paradise was her idea of a paid vacation. In this environment, she could hone her wilderness skills which had become rusty from too many years of urban tracking.

Without hesitation, she agreed, changed course, and was now zipping out the other side of warp tunnel. Within minutes, she would arrive. There had been just enough time to rest from the last hunt and do a little background checking.

From high orbit, the lush green planetoid of Naveen looked as natural and welcoming as any tropical paradise on Earth, but it wasn’t. Naveen wasn’t natural at all. It was merely a colossal experiment that had been artificially terra-engineered by the Naveen Corporation at lightning speed. Beneath the jewel-like veneer of swaying palms was once a monotonous scum-thick swamp with no higher life forms of its own to recommend it.

It wasn’t welcoming either. Outsiders were kept at bay. Naveen was corporate property, jealously guarded by a private army. Rumors circulated that the Naveen Corp had created its masterpiece with a new, highly covert, life-accelerating process that may not be safe or ready for primetime.

Every second that passed, she grew more anxious. Being this close to the planetoid without a homing beam or landing code was ill-advised to say the least. With a light tap of her fingers on the control screen, all pertinent identification codes, clearance documentation, and even samples of her human and artificially enhanced DNA were recalled. Everything had to be ready for transmission at a moment’s notice. She had performed the task so often, at every port of call, she could have performed it in her sleep. Today, however, she couldn’t risk making the slightest mistake or causing the least bit of suspicion. Where matters of identification were concerned, Naveen Corp had a bad rep for shooting first and asking questions later. Unwelcome incoming ships had to turn around and get the hell out of Dodge or take a vaporizing laser-blast up the tailpipe.

Rudra slipped over the edge of the upper atmosphere and she had still not received permission to land. She spent a few stomach-churning moments wondering why the ground crew was out of contact. The skies below appeared clear and free of electrical storms. The skimmer was well within range of ground scanners. They had to know she was on approach. Hopefully she’d be granted clearance without drama or the much-dreaded “turnaround” request. Her earlier records review revealed Naveen Corp was very touchy about spies, eco-terrorists, anarchists, and anti-corporate sentiment in general.