Arc of The Hellion: Loren Alaysia, Galactic Vigilante, #1

By Daniel McMillan

If you're a fan of Firefly or Guardians of The Galaxy, Arc of The Hellion will keep you enthralled with fast-paced action, a stellar cast of characters, scheming villains, and great surprises.

 

Loren Alaysia stood up so a galactic criminal would fall. But the closer she gets to justice, the further she is from the law.

 

Loren and her crew discover that the balance of power in the galaxy has been thrown out of equilibrium - an evil warlord now controls a powerful new technology. Time for Miss Alaysia to step up.

The galactic underworld is no place for an amateur, and even someone as seasoned as Loren may be out of her depth this time. There is corruption and danger at every turn, and no one is who they appear to be.

Loren Alaysia may not always be on the right side of the law, but with her saucy charm and Robin Hood morality, she clearly fights on the side of justice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vector11Studio
• Release date: Jul 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393799689

Daniel McMillan

Daniel McMillan is the author of several Science Fiction novels and collaborative titles in other genres, many of which have become Amazon Bestsellers. He is a prolific writer and avid self-motivator.  Daniel doesn’t do things in small measure: he speaks multiple languages, plays several instruments and expresses his creativity through drawing, painting, sculpture and music. He started studying science - focusing on physics - and spirituality at age 11 and was curious about the overlap in these disparate areas of study. Sci-Fi is his go-to, but he isn’t one to limit himself and enjoys exploring writing in multiple genres. Dan is married to Tahera Yeasmin, inarguably one of his greatest accomplishments to date. Visit https://books2read.com/rl/danielmcmillan/  to learn more.

Book preview

Chapter 1

SURELY YOU MUST KNOW that I have killed for much less than that which you have done to me. The cybernetically enhanced crime boss leaned forward in a wasted attempt at intimidation. Am I right, Loren?

Loren Alaysia checked herself, realizing that now was not a good time for flippancy or direct insubordination. She had to get out of the mess she had made, and her usual repartee would do nothing to improve the situation. It was difficult, though, for her to be serious about or even acknowledge having been captured, and now she had to do both those things. For a short while, at least.

Her violet hair was toussled after the confrontation which had led to her capture, punctuating the severity in her green eyes. Her slender face and high cheekbones were disarming to most, but Sheveh Omphod would not be distracted by her beauty. He would take her life just as easily as if she were the homeliest Graktu ever to inhabit the galaxy.

I know. I just— She stopped. In this uncertain moment, less was more. She had to maintain control.

The lithe Human female discreetly scanned her environment, looking for anything that might aid her in this situation. Her accuser was Sheveh Omphod, a Dezon with a myriad of cybernetic implants indicative of his race’s inclination toward the melding of the biological and technological, and his disposition was at a precarious balance point. Loren knew that the longer they talked, the more the balance would shift toward his proclivity to end bad business deals succinctly and with the utmost finality.

Loren was indebted to Sheveh to the tune of 300,000 credits after losing a shipment she was smuggling for him. Actually, losing the shipment wasn’t exactly what had happened. The truth of the matter was that once she learned what she was hauling—medical supplies and pharmaceuticals—she had dropped them off on Phoketh, a planet that was in the midst of a particularly bad outbreak of Gillavian Fever. She figured the Kholot who inhabited that planet needed the medicine more than she needed the payday, and certainly more than whatever Sheveh would gain from its transport.

Loren had a strict rule against looking at cargo she was asked to transport or even asking any questions about it, but her friend and long-time partner, V’Hati, had accidentally dropped one of Sheveh’s packages in the cargo bay, triggering a biohazard alert in her ship. At that point, Loren thought it would be prudent to break her own long-standing policy and find out what they were carrying on behalf of the Dezon gangster. She sealed off the small cargo area and had the onboard computer analyze the new compound that had been introduced into the ship’s air. Once she realized what they were carrying, Loren’s better judgement had led her to set a new course, taking them to the pandemic-afflicted denizens of Phoketh.

Thankfully, Sheveh didn’t know any of that. As far as he knew, Loren had dumped the cargo before being boarded by a squad of GalCorps troopers. Either way, the cargo was gone, and at least her lie told of an action that was marginally justifiable in Sheveh’s view. The truth would have likely resulted in her immediate demise.

I can pay you back for the shipment, Sheveh. I swear by the Four Arms of the Galaxy I can make it up to you.

Not the point, Loren.

I know, I know. But I’m sure there’s something we can work out that could turn this unfortunate incident into something mutually beneficial. We’ve always been able to maximize our dealings with one another in the past, and I’m sure we can do that here and now, Sheveh.

Sheveh shook his head. "I’m not interested in anything that may or may not benefit you, Loren. I don’t owe you anything."

Right. What I meant, I guess, is that I can pay you way more than the shipment was worth, and I could maybe get to keep breathing. She smiled, hoping it would soften the foreboding figure who sat before her in the dimly lit room. Listen, the way I see it, you can either take my word for it and allow me to pay you triple what I owe you, or you can kill me and you’ll get nothing and I’ll just get dead. Not a stellar way for either of us to end this transaction, if y’ask me.

Sheveh leaned forward and the Dezon guards who flanked him on either side became slightly more rigid. Loren saw her blaster tucked into the belt of the cyborg on the criminal's left, entirely out of her grasp even though it was as close as it was. She took a deep breath and resigned herself to accepting whatever Sheveh’s next words might be. This would be the moment in which her fate was decided.

Loren Alaysia, the cyborg chuckled, causing the external cables that connected parts of his cybernetic structure to his biological body to jiggle, you play a good game. Triple, you say? Well, that is a considerable amount. But I think I have a better idea.

Uh, oh, Loren thought. Here it comes. Time to switch plans.

If Sheveh decided he was done with her, doing nothing carried a one hundred percent chance of premature death. But, even if she tried something really dumb, it would still give her at least a slim chance of living through this. V’Hati was supposed to have been here by now, anyway. Where in the Four Arms was that woman? Stalling seemed like the best tactic for the moment.

Sheveh, Loren interrupted. You’re forgetting something important.

The Dezon leaned back again, obviously unimpressed. What, Loren? What have I forgotten?

From outside the room, in the corridors through which Loren had been led as she was brought before Sheveh Omphod, there came a yell and a crash, followed closely by more of the same. Sheveh leaned over, looking past Loren to the source of the racket, and the guards each stepped forward and drew their weapons. All attention was on the commotion.

Finally, Loren mused, smiling to herself. There she is.

Loren leapt to her left, positioning her body on the outside of the guard closest to her. When he twisted to point his gun at her, she grabbed his wrist to control the weapon and thrust a boot into his solar plexus. He was a Dezon and a cyborg, but he still had a diaphragm and needed it in order to breathe. He blew out a rasp of air, doubling over at the waist, and Loren withdrew her blaster from his belt and proceeded to shoot him at point-blank range.

Sheveh grabbed the arms of his pseudo-throne and pushed hard with his feet, flipping it over backwards to give himself some temporary cover. The other guard was turning toward her, but Loren’s gun was already pointed in his direction, and she only had to pull the trigger again to take him out, as well. The cyborg flailed as he flew back, and a hail of sparks issued from the implant she had smoked.

Sheveh fired blindly with his blaster sticking out from behind the toppled chair, and Loren ducked even though the energy bolts from his gun missed her entirely. Sheveh continued firing wildly, and there was a chance that he might get lucky with one of them. When one of the shots came too close for comfort, however, she fell prone to the floor and her blaster clattered a short distance away from her.

As Loren scrambled for her weapon, Sheveh finally looked over the chair and shot a series of bolts in the direction of her gun, causing her to scuttle backwards. One of his shots hit its mark, and Loren turned away from the small explosion, wincing as her blaster blew apart. By the time she recovered, Sheveh was standing behind his fallen throne and had a bead on her. Loren twisted to a sitting position on the floor and smiled sheepishly as she raised her hands.

So, what was that I was forgetting? Sheveh snarled through gritted teeth.

A series of shots from the back of the room narrowly missed the Dezon, and Sheveh dropped once again to take cover. Several more shots narrowly missed hitting him. V’Hati could have easily killed the Dezon, but Loren had instructed her not to. She preferred to avoid the potential bloody war that course of action might provoke.

Behind Loren, a shining alien figure walked into the room with a rapid-firing rifle slung at her side. The tall woman’s body glistened, her crystalline form refracting the scant lights that set the tone in the dismal room. Long tendrils flowed from the back of her transparent skull in every shade of red, and her eyeless gaze took in the room authoritatively.

V’Hati, Loren barked in Sheveh’s direction as she stood, brushing off her black jacket and flipping her long, violet hair over her shoulder. That’s what you forgot, Sheveh. You know that I never travel alone.

V’Hati’s voice filled the room. Loren! Let’s go before we find ourselves outnumbered! Even V’Hati’s voice had a crystalline quality to it. Her race, the Dhaim’ae, were the only known silicon-based life forms in all of the Four Arms of the galaxy. The Dhaim’ae were possessed of many desirable qualities inherently, but V’Hati’s training in the Dhaim’ae military, closely followed by a period of intense study under a group of highly sophisticated Scrik’an monks, made her a force to be reckoned with.

Loren ran toward her ally, who threw an object toward the wall. V’Hati yelled again. Fire in the hole! Loren turned her back as the device went off, sending debris throughout the room. V’Hati allowed the shrapnel to bounce off her crystal form, and when Loren turned back, there was a rather impressive hole blown in the exterior wall, exposing the hazy auburn twilight above the harsh terrain outside.

Shots came from Sheveh’s position as Loren sprinted to the opening. V’Hati returned fire, giving Loren the opportunity to make it out the newly formed exit. As V’Hati followed, Loren stuck her head back inside and bellowed across the room.

I’ll pay you back, Sheveh! Shots careened off the wall, and Loren hid for a moment before popping back in. Bye for now!

By the time Sheveh made it to the hole, joined now by a handful of cybernetically enhanced lackeys arriving too late to be of any real use, the Starfire was lifting off and curling around to face the fresh ventilation hole V’Hati had added to the building. A Dezon henchman fired at the ship, but Sheveh pushed him off his feet in a fit of rage.

It’s too late now, you idiot! He looked up to the ship, and as it flew overhead, he could have sworn he saw Loren waving to him through the cockpit window.

This simply would not stand.

THE HOLOGRAM FLICKERED in the low light of the Supreme Leader’s chamber. Even though Raha Oran had fought ruthlessly and risen through the ranks to become ruler of the Seovians and his empire was spreading quickly through the galaxy’s core, there was a higher power that even he must answer to.

I understand, Lord Ahjod, the Seovian leader said, bowing slightly to the holographic form before him. Had anyone been there to see the spectacle, they would have had a hard time believing what they were seeing.

The Seovians were larger than most other species in the galaxy, and certainly scarier looking than the Qhonox crime baron the king had referred to as ‘Lord Ahjod.’ Their blue bodies were covered in outcroppings of bony plating that protected most of their joints. The built-in armour was especially apparent at the back of their heads, where bony protrusions jutted out in an arch around their faces, connected to one another by thick, dark skin. Seovian faces were characterized by two small eyes, set widely apart with a flat nose high between them. To finish off the menacing features, they had large mouths that housed a series of long, haphazardly arranged and jagged teeth that made children of nearly any species break out in tears on sight.

In contrast, the Qhonox criminal kingpin the Seovian spoke to was slight and smooth, with a featureless face resembling a blast-shield helmet. But the political power and scope of influence wielded by the smaller being was nearly incalculable—even when compared to the Supreme Leader of the Seovians—and he carried it most convincingly.

That is as it should be, Ahjod stated flatly. Your empire has been extended well beyond your miniscule home planet in the Temox system, but if you want it to expand further, you will not fail me.

The Supreme Leader shifted his gaze downward, subjugating himself to the Leader of the Fifth Arm, a clandestine agency that secretly controlled most of the crime in the galaxy. Raha Oran was ruler of the Seovian Empire according to his title and position, but there were very few under his rule—and even through the whole of the galaxy—who knew that was not really the case. The reality of the situation was that he was Supreme Leader only for as long as Ahjod allowed it to continue.

I will not fail you.

"The GalCorps blockade at the base of the Fourth Arm is vast. Any ship that were to attempt to make an interdimensional jump over their armada would find