Galactic Vengeance

  Galactic Vengeance

  10th in the Veldan Shifter Series

  By

  M. Garnet

  ( c ) copyright by M. Garnet, August 2021

  ISBN 978-1-60394-

  Smashwords Edition

  New Concepts Publishing

  Lake Park, GA

  www.newconceptspublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This is the ninth in a series and I enjoy writing, plus I have had fans request me to continue. So Thank You, and keep on reading. I love these stories of the future and the problems that humans have that are the same as we face today.

  I need to give out a special thanks to the head of my publisher Madris DePasture at New Concepts Publishing and for the wonderful editors that she has on staff (especially Karla) to help clean up and put me on the right track with all my stories.

  I also need to acknowledge the great work by SudaGraphics, Inc. for the distinctive covers that she designs for each of my stories. Covers DO help sell books.

  LIST OF BOOKS OF THE VELDAN SHIFTER SERIES

  1ST HELP THE BEAST

  2ND FORGIVE THE BEAST

  3RD BOUNTY ON THE BEAST

  4TH HUNTING IN THE GULL WING SHIP

  5TH LOVE THE BEAST

  6TH THE CAPTAN'S BEAST

  7TH STEALING THE BEAST HEART

  8TH MY HIDDEN BEAST

  9TH VELDAN VENGEANCE

  All are available at https://www.newconceptspublishing.com. Or at my website at www.mgarnet.com and all the usual online places.

  Chapter One

  Out among the stars, with civilization spreading onto so many worlds, there are a few heroes. There are primarily average people struggling to get by and, at the bottom, are some that are entirely evil.

  Keenan needed to seek out one of those that was on that bottom list. One who ran an empire of crime and set up the deaths of Keenan's family when he was still being trained to be a hero. Those deaths made him turn from the top of the list, skipping past the large group of the average way to live and to become a rogue as he hunted. He was hunting his father's killer. But he got a message from another man who could match any contemptible deed against the worst of others. He got a call to report to the Preacher.

  * * * *

  As a child and dreaming in the confines of his bed, Keenan often thought of the excitement of being in a spaceship and traveling between the stars. That was before he got into ships and endured the long, dull days of nothing that happened between jumps.

  There was housekeeping to be done that everyone accepted, but on this interesting Veldan special vessel that was his, there were little bots that came out of small vents and cleaned up spills and went over the walls to wipe off spots and dust. Poly picked up one of the little units and then lost interest and carefully set it against the wall to let it work.

  Clothes were dropped into a chute that let automatic units clean and fold and have ready for pick-up in a closet. Of course, you had to still go and pick up your clean things. Geez.

  There wasn't much to do in your cabin after making your bunk and pushing things around on your desk. There were movies to watch on various types of components. There were games to play alone or with each other. The problem Keenan had was that he could win any game he played against anyone, so it was not fun to take advantage of his friends, except Poly.

  On the other hand, although he couldn't read Poly, since it was an AI, the robot played by the book, and the games were long and dull. So, Keenan exercised in the bay and slept in the Captain's chair…and drank whiskey. He ate when Bruno, another of his strange crew, forced food on him and repeated the trio of his choice—exercise, sleep, and drink.

  Everyone soon learned that space travel was not the sparkled trip of excitement between the stars, but it was finally over. They came out on another edge or fringe. These areas, called fringe, were sparsely developed sectors where the law was thin, and that meant that anything could happen.

  These areas were where the poor could survive since they didn't have the funds to escape. Those that had warrants on them could hide. It was also the place where the minor illegal acts were perfected on each other. Out in these places where secrets were kept, the perfect spots for the heads of gangs and groups who could no longer approach civilized worlds.

  That did not mean they could not influence the rest of the worlds, but they just needed to stay out of reach for their safety. So, members of these clubs, groups, and gangs grew and became like the limbs of sick trees, reaching out to do the wicked work of corrupt people.

  Someone out in this putrid mess of depraved humanity had ordered the deaths of Keenan's family. But just as they came out of the jump, Poly announced receiving messages.

  "I don't want to spend any time reading or accepting messages, especially any from Veld." Keenan slapped the arm of his chair. It was wasted, as the thick arm was padded, and the sound was just a soft thump.

  Bruno was sorting through the small information of the messages that Poly had inserted into his console. "Boss, there is one here from the Preacher."

  There was silence in the small confines of the bridge for a moment, and then Keenan shook his head. "Fuck. Send over."

  It was short and not so sweet.

  Need to collect on favor. P.

  "Damn, we need to make another jump. I'm going to my fucking cabin and drink until I fall asleep." Keenan put in the jump location for the limited AI and navigator and left. It was going to be a long boring trip.

  It gave Keenan some time to think how he had gotten into this unusual and rare ship and the strange crew. He had always felt out of step with the rest of the universe, and that was to be expected. He was a rare person from the planet Veld that, for reasons that even their scientists could not explain, produced an unusual person once in a birth among millions.

  The rest of the civilized worlds said that the rare individual was not possible. It was out of the question for a human being to change or shift into something else that was not only larger but was unable to be destroyed. Evidently, the atoms or molecules of the body of the shifted entity could absorb or deflect anything, including nuclear explosions.

  The people on the planet Veld told Keenan he was blessed, and he believed them, up until he saw the return of his father, mother, and brother. They were dead because his father was also a modifier, but all shifters can be killed when in their normal form.

  A crime lord had his revenge against Keenan's father, and Keenan knew the Elders of Veld had not protected his family, so he left and became a rogue.

  The ship Adamant was a payment, as part of his revenge on an Elder who had tried to use him in some slave trade scam, and he was able to make it backfire on her.

  His co-pilot and permanent crewmember was Bruno, a man who always lost in card games and did a lot of stuff on the wrong side of the law. He had survived until he crossed the wrong person, and a contract was put out on him. Safety for him was on a spaceship with a rogue Veldan.

  Added to the crew was Poly, a robot with an illegal AI that didn't have a control or inhibiter placed on it so that it continued to learn. Bruno thought it was becoming sentient and, in some ways, acted like a child. But when it came to things that Poly could pull from archives or computers or nearby information nodes, it was amazing, and it could fix anything.

  Fulfilling a debt to the crime lord known as the Preacher, Keenan knew he would have three choices according to the agreement. But when he heard the first one, he just stopped the conversation and accepted it. Keenan had transported the Preacher's daughter fro
m a school on one world to her mother on another. Poly was something she and her friends had built in school, and she begged him to save Poly from being destroyed, as it was unsanctioned. He couldn't turn the girl down, and besides—Poly had hidden on the ship until after they were out into the deep dark.

  So, a rogue, a man with a price on his head, and a forbidden robot were a strange crew, but they did have a very nice ship.

  Grey's Corp. was the name of a planet that also was on the fringe but in a different direction. Located on this old mining world that had died out when the mines were no longer giving a living to the families that stayed was a small city called Morgan's Point.

  Along with several other places on this forlorn world, it was how the destitute miners found a better way to make a living. Bars, small casinos, and dens of prostitutes were prolific along all the dark streets.

  It was a place that Keenan liked and made a good living at one time before he got his special ship. He could win every time he played any type of gambling game with other people if he wanted. His talents let him read them deeper than was possible by anyone else. But he was smart enough to lose often and only win enough to pay his bills and slowly build up his hidden account on a special non-aligned planet known as Bois.

  Since the cheating Veldan Elder Agar had hacked his account, Bois had changed its systems and reported the problem to the Organization Of Worlds. This military group said they would also protect the small banking planet to allow people to have a safe place to keep their funds.

  Now Keenan was heading past the places he used to work on this ugly planet, a city called Morgan's Point. It was dirty and full of crime, and yet he was going on past to somewhere that was even more evil. He was going to church.

  Taking the free transit full of sleeping bums and fighting youth gangs, he held his stinger weapon in his hand and kept his back to a metal separator. He wasn't sure that it was good, but now that he was known, getting down to see the leader of the large crime family in this side of the system wasn't easy.

  It still was a long ride and wasted time to reach the hidden lair of the Preacher in the lower reaches of the mines in this district. At last, in the bottom of a large mine, he watched as one of his escorts knocked on one of the small doors on the big wall that kept the Preacher secluded from others.

  The man, in the big room with all the spy screens sitting behind the modest wooden desk, did not have the appearance of a frightening crime lord. Until you looked into the emotionless grey eyes, and there you could see all the corruption that lay inside this male.

  "Ah, the rogue. Please come over and have a seat." The man spoke as he tipped a bottle and poured a couple of glasses generously.

  Walking across the large room while looking up at the big screens that showed vids of various locations on this planet and other areas, Keenan approached the desk. He reached over and took one of the glasses before sitting down in a chair.

  The Preacher's smile didn't fool him. This crime lord could have him killed in an instant and finish both glasses of whiskey. The man might have a family on another planet with a lovely wife and a great daughter, but he slaughters people daily without hesitation. The Preacher was a pure malevolent male, and Keenan owed him a deed. Fuck.

  On the other hand, this man, with his hands in so many pockets, had helped Keenan achieve revenge on an untouchable Veldan Elder. Veld was an ancient planet out on the edge of a wing of the spiral of the main system and was on the forbidden list.

  The hidden planet supported the OOW with unusually advanced technical items and some mythical help. It was a place that Keenan hated. But the heat in his stomach of the Preacher's good whiskey made sitting in this chair a bit easier.

  "So, big guy. I understand you ended up with an unusual ship and a full bank account. Life must not be too uncomfortable." The man tipped his glass at Keenan before he took a good gulp.

  Now was the hour, and Keenan knew he had to face up to paying his dues. He tipped the glass back and emptied it, letting the burn down his throat clear his brain.

  "What can I do for you, Preacher?"

  "Ah yes, right to the point. You need a new name Keenan, probably something like, well…," the man looked up at the ceiling where there were not any vids or screens. "I think like your ship, the Adamant. Inflexible. Yes, that is your middle name. Well, Keenan Inflexible, I am calling in my tag. I need you to rescue a lady."

  Snorting, Keenan set his glass down, hoping it would be refilled. "Besides your wife, I didn't think you knew any ladies."

  The man did pick up the bottle and reached over the desk to refill the glass. "I have never met the lady. She was one of Sih Bolder's teachers. She now has gotten herself into some silly problem, and you need to rescue her. Once free, take her wherever she wants to go. Easy."

  "No." Keenan took a chug of the new drink. "Nothing is ever easy when you are involved. What is the catch? Where is this woman located?" Keenan remembered that Sih Bolder was the Preacher's daughter that Keenan had picked up and taken to her mother. It had not been an easy project.

  The Preacher brought up a floating holo above his desk and fiddled with flat buttons on a glowing keyboard. "I'm sending the exact location to your comm. You can transfer it to your ship. She is in jail on a planet known as the Library."

  "What. Everybody knows of a planet that monks run, a complete world dedicated to knowledge and archives of books, words, and history. I didn't know they had jails." Just holding the glass, Keenan looked at the holo as it showed the special planet turning in a small type of glory.

  "These monks are a bit over dedicated and will do anything to protect their realm." These words were coming from a crime lord called the Preacher.

  "What the fuck did this little teacher do, kill one of the monks?"

  The Preacher shook his head. "No, they export killers. She stole one of their manuscripts. It means life in prison."

  "No penalty or fee and a time limit?" Now Keenan did need a bit more of that whiskey as he brought the glass to his lips.

  "No. We tried offering an ungodly amount. We tried threats. So now we need a simple action of someone going and breaking the lady out, to take her wherever she wants."

  Fuck. It worried Keenan when the Preacher says the word simple.

  Chapter Two

  Back on the Adamant, Keenan had transferred the location of the planet of the Library to Poly and was trying to explain the story to Bruno. When he put it in words, it all sounded silly. A teacher at a library was in prison for life for stealing a book. Fucking silly.

  "And why are we going to break a lady out of jail?" Bruno turned in his now favorite chair at the console and looked at Keenan.

  Rubbing the stubble on his chin, Keenan felt he needed a drink. "I owe the Preacher, and it is time for him to collect."

  "Ouch. So, what's the catch?" Bruno looked over at Poly the bot and winked. There was a blink of a small pink light in return.

  Ignoring that Bruno was beginning to think the robot was alive, Keenan finally looked out at the distant specks of lights. "Well, the last time I fulfilled a debt to the Preacher, we ended up with Poly. In between, I almost lost my legs and this ship. Who knows what is hiding behind the innocent picture of a library and a teacher?"

  "Yeah, and what does the Preacher know about libraries and teachers?" Bruno addressed his question to Poly.

  "The Preacher is always a surprise to those who come in contact with him." Keenan moved in his chair. "On one level in the mines, there are archives of books and histories and records of individuals. Not only that; he sent his only child to a very prestigious school. He is an enigma, a very deadly enigma."

  Letting the limited AI and navigator locate the planet known to be a complete library, Keenan got up and went back to his cabin to sleep. He didn't get rest, as Bruno buzzed him on his comm to ask questions about the special planet, where they were going to save a teacher.

  "Well," Keenan gave up and sat on the edge of his bunk. "It is called Dupa, a pl
anet converted by a religious group of monks just for keeping old books and studies. Oh, and we can't take any weapons onto the planet. The monks are very sensitive to being nonviolent."

  "I guess that means only the rogue Captain will be leaving the ship." Bruno didn't go anywhere without weapons because of the contract on his head.

  Fortunately, if all went well, the trips always ended. Now the shiny nose of the Adamant was in dock on Dupa, and Bruno was looking down at the people through the front metal window. Most people were dressed in black suits with white shirts buttoned uptight and no ties or decorations. Besides the tight clothes, everyone waved and smiled.

  "I thought monks wore togas or wraps," Bruno mumbled.

  "It's a new world." Keenan nodded at a couple that turned out to be men and women in identical clothing, dark suits, and short haircuts. There was no makeup on the female, but her suit was cut to show a full woman's shape.

  "I need to get to someone on this planet that is supposed to be in authority when this is a planet that does not have any authority. All the monks are the authority." Keenan looked over at his crew.

  “They used to be known for not having prisons. They had temporary cells that they put a person in for five days while the crime was either proven or discharged. The penalty for proven was pretty severe and instantly issued."

  Looking away from the people walking below the nose of the ship, Bruno stared at his friend. "Okay, boss, don't stop. What were the penalties?"

  "Oh, you will love this. Steal, and they cut off your hand. Lie, and they cut out your tongue. Kill, and they cut off your head."

  "Damn, are you sure religious monks run this place?" Bruno shook his head. "Wait, then why is the teacher in some non-existent prison?"

  "Evidently," Keenan rose to leave the bridge. "…because she did the most decadent crime. She stole a book. I have to find out where that prison is located and how to break into it to get to the teacher. You guys will stay here and cover me.

  Poly, I want you to put a tracker on me, and Bruno keep the ship's weapons on full alert. If things go down, take out this whole fucking library."