Hunter Green: Obsidian Rim, #9

By Cathryn Cade

Obsidian Rim Series, Bk 9

Hunter Green: Ghost Planet by CJ CADE

He'll do anything to get a lovely thief and her deadly pursuers off his planet. She'll do anything to stay.

Lukas Verde is on a mission to wrest his fortune from the Obsidian Rim. With only a skeleton crew and ragtag tech, he's claimed territory on the dangerous, unsettled planet Vorona.

There he plans to build a kingdom by giving the Rim what it craves—fresh foods.

But there's a reason this lush, verdant planet has never been settled by humans. It's already home to terrifying beings that legends say are malevolent spirits.

If ghosts aren't enough, Lukas has a new problem—a small female with the strange ability to control the very vegetation on Vorona.

Not to mention she has deadly beings on her trail.

Pleiades Jones didn't mean to steal the mysterious treasure aboard the great ship Flora del Sol. But now she's on the run from those who'll kill to get it back.

To stay alive, she jumps ship on Vorona. Too bad the powerful leader of the only settlement doesn't want her there.

Will Lukas Verde turn her over to her executioners… or will he set her free in the one place that feels like home, the legendary Ghost Planet?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Windtree Press
• Release date: Aug 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393205463

Cathryn Cade

Cathryn Cade writes sexy contemporary romance from the lake country of North Idaho. Her golden retriever Copper keeps her company. When she's not writing, she's reading, quilting with colors as wild as her characters, walking with Copper and her handsome husband, or buying books for her new grandson.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Salty Way Galaxy

Obsidian Rim, Sepa Quadrant

Planet Vorona

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B oss? Boss, you're gonna wanna see this, said an urgent voice in Lukas Verde's ear.

Lukas Verde straightened from the hole he and two of his crew were digging in the rich, brown earth, and swiped the back of his hand across his forehead. Since he was sweating hard in the humid heat of a Vorona evening, this did nothing but smear sweat and dirt over his skin.

What've you got? he asked, bending again to grab one of the tall, narrow, recyclable containers they used to store drinking water. 'Pops', his crew called them, for the popping sound they made when opened. He twisted the top open and tipped his head back to pour water into his mouth, swallowing steadily.

Hells, it was hot. He’d stripped off his jacket, but even in a light tee, pants and boots, he felt over-clothed.

Got an intrusion attempt. The voice in his ear was Rune, the member of his crew who specialized in surveillance.

What? Verde stiffened, empty pop forgotten in his hand. Where? How many? Human, or creature?

Just one human, Rune said. She must be off that heavy cruiser that's been hovering up yonder most of the day. A runaway, like.

You see anyone come off that landing craft earlier? Lukas asked.

No, Rune said instantly. Had eyes on it the whole time—although they did land near the mist trees.

The one clump of trees on this hilltop had been given their name by Lukas’ crew because of the weird mist that clung to their long branches. Each branch of the tall trees held a myriad of long green fronds that drooped gracefully. The trees seemed to exude moisture into the air, enough that they were constantly wreathed in drifting mists. The mist left a sticky residue on whatever it touched, which was why the crew stayed clear.

The trees and their mist were weird but harmless according to the camp biologists.

Was she armed? Lukas asked. If so, the intruder wouldn’t live long enough to explain her reasons for being here.

Out here on the Rim, visitors to any kind of settlement either announced themselves at safe range and waited for permission to enter… or they died. Because the only reason an armed intruder would not announce themselves meant they were thieves, spies, or killers—or all three.

And Lukas didn’t trust anyone off the visiting ship, the Flora del Sol, farther than he could throw them in heavy gravity. It would be just like the owners to issue an apparently peaceful invitation to dinner, while sneaking an assassin into his camp.

The huge craft had appeared in their airspace earlier that day. They’d made contact, identified themselves—as if Lukas and crew couldn’t see the huge emblem on the belly of the ship—and waited for permission to send down a landing craft.

Lukas had wanted desperately to refuse. Unfortunately, he was even more desperate for aid that the owners of the Flora just might be able to provide. Thus, he’d given permission.

The small, sleek craft had brought one, unarmed emissary with a formal invitation for Lukas to ascend and have supper on the luxury cruiser.

An invitation Lukas had refused, not about to ascend and spend hours in the power of the ship’s owners. He countered with an offer of supper in his camp.

His offer was accepted. At least the man who would be coming to dinner was not one of the actual owners, but their guest.

Nevertheless, Lukas didn’t trust him either.

But he especially did not trust someone who slipped off the Flora and stayed when the landing craft returned to the ship.

Our visitor’s not armed that I can see, Rune said. But she is trying to sneak into our camp.

What? How? Lukas demanded, already moving to grab his jacket off the ground where he’d discarded it. He looked to the two youths now watching him, their shovels idle. Boys, keep working till the hole's deep enough for the plascrete. Now that the camp banner is repaired, I want it up by dawn. I'll be back shortly.

He walked to one of the two gliders parked nearby, stepping on and dropping his jacket on the seat behind him. Lukas preferred to walk around camp, but with the Flora in Camp Verde’s airspace, he was keeping a glider nearby at all times, so he could respond quickly to any show of aggression.

The small vehicles glided on a cushion of air produced by fans underneath the seat, and could rise a height of several meters if need be. Each had just enough room to seat two, a place for one's feet, and a guide stick the pilot grasped. Storage was built in under the seats.

The expedition crew had several, all in constant use. Plain and battered, the gliders nevertheless worked well, thanks to constant tinkering by Hop and whoever he coopted to help him.

Something wrong, boss? Egan, the skinny redhead asked, scratching at a welt on his arm.

Tag, tangle of braids swinging around his dark face, looked around with wide eyes, scanning the camp. We got creatures incoming? he asked, his voice so hoarse it sounded as if the words were being ripped from his throat. Smoking cheap joy-smoke that had been cut with who-knew-what did that to a human. Is it… them?

Nah, Verde said calmly. Just someone trying to jump ship, I reckon.

Huh? Egan asked. Here? Don't they know about... y'know, the others?

He and Tag both looked over their shoulders at the forest clearly visible through the delicate tracery of the perimeter fence. The fence didn't look like much, but it was crafted of nearly indestructible cerametal fibers.

Also, it was electrified. Anyone trying to breach it was going to get one hells of a shock—literally.

The fence wouldn’t truly keep out the creatures that the Camp Verde crew feared the most, but it kept them safe from human intrusion. And perhaps most importantly, the perimeter reminded them all to stay close, and stay together.

Can we come see? Egan asked, his thin face lighting up. Tag nodded, although he still looked nervous.

Sorry, Verde said. We need the plascrete set by dark.

Yeah, boss. The two sullenly picked up their shovels. He knew they wanted to follow him. They were young and curious, and life had been damn quiet for the last few weeks, because they'd all been closed up in the camp.

But since this pair had been responsible for crashing a glider into the former banner post and knocking it down, they had the responsibility of getting the new one up.

Get the hole dug, then you can come and ask Rune to update you, he told the two youths. He powered up his glider, and when the quiet whine had built to a pitch that meant it was full-power, he pushed forward the stick and took off. A few meters above the ground, he turned and headed through the camp.

He and the two boys had been working near one of the two entrances to the camp.

They called this the 'west' entrance, but directions here were what they, as the first settlers, made them. The planet's magnetic poles weren't exactly strong, so compasses didn't work.

For the little exploration they'd done so far, Lukas’ crew had relied on holomapping their routes—creating a 3D map with their com units and the mapping tablet which had cost Lukas a whack.

Camp Verde occupied an acre of hilltop occupied only by the clump of mist trees, and ground cover of short, greenish forbs that seemed to be grass, from the research Tag's foster mother Sela had done in what was left of the galactic archives.

The camp biologists, Ben and Hay, agreed with her. They already had the grass logged in the database they were building of life supported on this class M planet.

Below the camp, thick trees, shrubs and vines ringed the hill, deepening into a forest that spread as far as the eye could see.

Beyond the forest lay a broad valley bisected by a shallow river, its clear water tinted pale orange from minerals. The river meandered through grasslands and patches of forest, until it emptied into the glimmering waters of the nearest sea, just visible in the distance between the hills that thrust up on either side of the valley.

The sea was an even odder color than the rivers. It was pink. With the two giant moons visible in the skies, the sunsets here were really something.

Yeah, the vista looked so peaceful, so pristine from up here.

It was only when one descended into the valley, and into a certain bend of the river that one saw the horror that would, if not dealt with, destroy all life on this planet.

Chapter 2

Lukas glided through camp. This consisted of a loose circle of plascrete-ribbed structures, the larger for supply and craft storage, the smaller for dwellings. The structures were longer than wide, and shaped like a barrel half-buried in the earth. They resembled the tonts that settlers had been using across the galaxies for eons past, and thus they were called by the crew.

The surveillance and tech tont sat near the camp's main entrance, near which the intruder had snuck in.

Lukas paused at the hatch to the tech tont, looking to the holocam reader above the hatch. Recognizing him, the cam blinked, and the hatch slid to one side.

Inside, a long table bisected the tont, with seats on both sides. Only two people were there now.

Rune, a lean man with a clever face, had a shock of blue hair, cut short on the sides and waxed up into a ridge atop his head.

Standing beside him, arms crossed and a frown on her face was Deeka, her unruly brown mane mussed from running her fingers through it. Both wore the same clothing as Lukas, tan pants tucked into tall boots, and fitted tees.

I want to see the replay, said Verde. "Deeka, you keep eyes on her in real time.

Deeka jerked her chin in assent.

Replay, coming up, Rune said, and manipulated his tech.

A holovid sprang into view in midair above the tech table.

He and Lukas watched and listened as outside the perimeter fence, a small, slim, white-haired female reach up to grasp the hanging branch of the thorn tree, and used it to swing herself up into the tree itself.

Look at that. The branches, hells, even the leaves on those thorn trees are so damn thorny, none of us can touch it, Rune said wonderingly. And she just grabbed it like it's cerametal.

Yeah, odd, Lukas agreed. Even odder was that the tree almost seemed to lean down to where she could grasp the branches. Where is she now?

Deeka flicked her holovid controls to a larger display, and they watched the female swing down from the tree inside their perimeter fence, and creep along the side of the storage structure, set just inside the fence.

And there she goes, right through the stingweed like it’s nothin’, Rune added, shaking his head. Beginning to wonder if she’s a cyborg.

Understandable, except they’re not real, Lukas said absently, watching the female. Rune was right, the stingweed didn’t bother her at all, and he could clearly see her pushing it aside with her bare hands.

They watched her slide around the edge of the building to the front and examine the entrance. Like all the tonts, the storage structure had expedition-strength gauulite stretched over plascrete ribs. No creature should be able to break in.

Rune winced audibly when the intruder reached for the door latch. Merde, she's gonna get fried. The crew all knew the storage latch was electrified, and wouldn’t try to enter without using their coms to quell the shocker first.

Cut down the shocker, Lukas ordered. Not all the way.

Okay. Deeka touched the controls. They watched as the female reached out one hand, hesitated and then touched the latch. She flinched visibly, jumping back a step and staring at the latch.

Yeah, that stung, right? Deeka muttered, satisfaction in her voice. You're lucky it was partly down.

Anyway, Rune said, What you want us to do about her?

Knockout shot? Deeka suggested, her eyes lighting up.

No, Lukas said. Let's net her instead.

Yeah, she won't get outta that. Deeka looked to Rune, grinning.

He rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm, but moved to the controls and zoomed the holocams mounted on every tont in on the small female, who was now crouched by the storage structure, peering at the camp.

Then he activated one of the camp drones.

The intruder looked up, directly into the camera. Her eyes were big, ringed with dark lashes in her pale face.

That's right, nothing to see here, Rune crooned, maneuvering the drone controls. Just a night-bird flying by.

The female's eyes widened, and her mouth made a perfect 'o' of shock in her pale face, as the holovid registered a snap of motion. And... gotcha, Rune said with satisfaction, as the female became a bundle enclosed in light, stretchy plasnet, struggling on the beaten earth by the storage shed.

Let's head out and pick her up, Deeka said, rising.

No, Hop and Glitch will get her, Verde said. I want her as undamaged as possible.

Hey! Deeka glared. I can be nice.

Not so anyone could notice, Rune muttered.

Deeka flicked him on the side of his head. Yeah, well you may notice the boss didn't ask you to go fetch, either. You'd probably be trying to fuck her as soon as the net comes off.

The tech rubbed his head and bared his teeth at her in a faux growl. Nah, I like 'em vicious.

Yeah, that's what that ship clerk said, she retorted. Said you offered to pay her for a spanking.

He sighed. Waste of credit too. She didn't hit hard as you, sweetness.

Verde left the two of them wrangling and went to the door. The security bot scanned his eye, and the door opened before him, revealing the soft twilight of planet Vorona.

He walked outside into the dusk. Hop, do you have our guest?

His second-in-command and old friend answered. We got her. Ow! Stop that, or I'll smack your ass.

Verde smiled slightly. She bites?

She scratches, was the surly reply, And quark me, I think she's got poison in her claws. Augh, that stings.

Sting-weed sap, Verde surmised. She crawled through it.

And by now, she had to be suffering from the sap too. No human could tangle with the weed without getting painful, itchy welts.

The teens in Lukas’ crew suffered from it constantly, as they explored every corner of the compound despite warnings to stay out of certain areas.

So, what you want us to do with her? We could lock her up tight in the storage tont here.

Hmm. That may be a better idea. On my way now, I'll meet you there.

Okay.

Hop had chosen well, Verde decided as he walked into the storage tont. The structure contained nothing but large plascrete storage pods. No way she could get into those or damage them—which was good, because they contained important supplies.

All their supplies were important—the expedition was self-sustaining, at least until they could manage to tame the verdant plant life here and take sustenance from it. Not to mention learn whether they could consume plants grown here—or if they would all sicken and die from the creeping horror they’d discovered deep in the valley.

Hop, short and stocky with short graying hair and weathered skin, stood over the netted bundle on the floor, scowling as he held his hands out before him. You got her? I gotta go get some gesics on these scratches, before they get so bad I can't use my hands.

Yeah go ahead, Lukas told him. I've got her.

He looked to the other man, who had golden skin, dark eyes and black hair caught up in a narrow braid. You get any sap on you?

Glitch shook his head. The man rarely spoke, partly because his accent, from the far side of the Rim, was so odd most