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  Discovery

  The Bad Company™ Book Six

  Craig Martelle

  Michael Anderle

  This book is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2019 by Craig Martelle & Michael Anderle

  Cover by Andrew Dobell, creativeedgestudios.co.uk

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, May 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-64202-232-2

  The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2015-2019 by Michael T. Anderle and LMBPN Publishing.

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  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCraigMartelle/

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  We can’t write without those who support us

  On the home front, we thank you for being there for us

  We wouldn’t be able to do this for a living if it weren’t for our readers

  We thank you for reading our books

  Discovery Team

  Thanks to our Beta Readers

  Micky Cocker, Dr. Jim Caplan, Kelly O’Donnell, and John Ashmore

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Jeff Goode

  Nicole Emens

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Kelly O’Donnell

  Daniel Weigert

  Diane L. Smith

  James Caplan

  Peter Manis

  Micky Cocker

  Jeff Eaton

  Robert Brooks

  Misty Roa

  John Ashmore

  Paul Westman

  If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

  Editor

  Lynne Stiegler

  Contents

  Characters & Timeline

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Author Notes - Craig Martelle

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Books by Craig Martelle

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Characters & Timeline

  World’s Worst Day Ever (WWDE)

  WWDE + 20 years, Terry Henry returns from self-imposed exile. The Terry Henry Walton Chronicles detail his adventures from that time to WWDE+150

  WWDE + 150 years – Michael returns to Earth. BA returns to Earth. TH & Char go to space

  Key Players

  Terry Henry Walton (was forty-five on the WWDE)—called TH by his friends. Enhanced with nanocytes by Bethany Anne herself (Queen of High Tortuga after Federation is formed and Empire is dissolved), wears the rank of colonel, lead the Force de Guerre (FDG), a military unit that he established on WWDE+20 years, and now leads the Bad Company’s Direct Action Branch.

  Charumati (was sixty-five on the WWDE)—A werewolf, married to Terry, carries the rank of major but is his equal partner

  Kimber (born WWDE+15 years, adopted approximately WWDE+25 years by TH & Char, enhanced on WWDE+65 years)—Major

  Her husband Auburn Weathers (enhanced on WWDE+82 years)—provides logistics support

  Kaeden (born WWDE+16 years, adopted approximately WWDE+24 years by TH & Char, enhanced on WWDE+65 years) – a major

  His wife Marcie Spires (born on WWDE+22 years, naturally enhanced)—Colonel

  Cory (born WWDE+25 years, naturally enhanced, gifted with the power to heal)

  Her husband Ramses—Major, died on Benitus Seven, WWDE+153 years

  Kailin, Auburn & Kimber’s son (born on WWDE+78 years)

  Vampires

  Joseph (born three hundred years before the WWDE)

  Petricia (born WWDE+30 years)

  Pricolici (Werewolves that walk upright)

  Nathan Lowell (President of the Bad Company and Bethany Anne’s Chief of Intelligence)

  Ecaterina (Nathan’s spouse)

  Christina (Nathan & Ecaterina’s daughter)

  Werewolves

  Sue & Timmons (long-term members of Char’s pack)

  Shonna & Merrit (long-term members of Char’s pack)

  Ted (with Felicity, an enhanced human)

  Weretigers born before the WWDE:

  Aaron & Yanmei

  Humans (enhanced)

  Micky San Marino, Captain of the War Axe

  Commander Suresha, War Axe Department Head – Engines

  Commander MacEachthighearna (Mac), War Axe Department Head—Environmental

  Commander Blagun Lagunov, War Axe Department—Structure

  Commander Oscar Wirth, War Axe Department Head—Stores

  Lieutenant Clodagh Shortall, War Axe engine technician

  Sergeant Fitzroy, a martial arts expert and platoon sergeant

  Kelly, Capples, Fleeter, Praeter, & Duncan—mech drivers

  Other Key Characters

  Dokken (a sentient German Shepherd)

  Floyd (a sentient and sweet wombat who gives gifts of poop cubes when she loves you)

  The Good King Wenceslaus (an orange tabby domestic cat who thinks he’s a weretiger, all fifteen pounds of him)

  K'Thrall—a four-legged Yollin, used to be systems analyst on the War Axe, a warrior with the Bad Company

  Ruzfell – new systems specialist on the War Axe

  Clifton—human pilot of the War Axe

  Bundin—a four-legged shell-backed blue stalk-headed alien from Poddern

  Ankh’Po’Turn—a small bald humanoid from Crenellia. Erasmus, one of Plato’s Stepchildren, is his AI

  General Smedley Butler – EI/AI on the War Axe, who they call The General

  Plato – Ted’s AI from R&D

  Dionysus – the AI tasked to assist with running Keeg Station

  Iracitus – the AI assisting Shonna & Merrit in the asteroid mining effort

  Paithoon – A Belzonian, escort for Kaeden & Marcie

  Bon Tap – a teal-skinned, silver-haired Malatian, a warrior in the Bad Company

  Slikira – an Ixtali, four legs, a spider race, called “Slicker,” a warrior in the Bad Company

  Other Bad Company warriors: Tim, “Skates” Mardigan, Chris Bo Runner (Harborian), Jones, Einar, Gefelton, Eldis (wife is Xianna, a green-skinned Torregidoran female), B’Ichi A
harche (Keome)

  Chapter One

  Venus Pleasure Moon orbiting Cygnus VI

  “Y’all have fun now, ya hear,” Felicity drawled.

  Terry smirked, but Charumati, the purple-eyed werewolf, delivered a beaming smile. “There’s no doubt about that. He left his comm on the War Axe.”

  “No untimely calls to interrupt the good stuff. We have to go; the kids are expecting us.” Felicity waved from the open hatch and went inside Ramses’ Chariot, a smallish frigate that Ted had acquired for his personal use in support of the Etheric Federation.

  Ted hadn’t said goodbye. He had been working on breaking the alien engineering for their cloak. He was close, and no one was going to interfere. Except for Felicity. She was the only person in the universe who could get inside his Asperger-armored emotional shields. It didn’t mean he didn’t care, it only meant he was busy. Char was his alpha, and he would do as he was told, but there was no need to push him. He was doing what she needed him to do: support the Bad Company.

  Werewolves had a separate chain of command, despite Terry’s Marine Corps adherence to good order and discipline. He had softened his stance over time because on the matter of being the pack’s alpha, Char was unyielding. Terry’s life had been saved by Bethany Anne because of his sacrifices in the name of Justice. She had introduced his battered and frozen body to the Pod-doc for a process that installed nanocytes to become one with him, drawing power from the Etheric to make his body stronger, heal his wounds, and keep his cells fresh. The process had also prolonged his life.

  In the beginning, the Queen told him it would give an extra hundred years, time she challenged him to use in making a difference for humanity. That had been over one hundred and fifty years ago. Terry and Char had married a while after that, and their nanocytes had melded to make the couple greater than their individual parts. No one knew if they would ever age.

  A werewolf with a boosted spouse who wasn’t a Were. Same situation as Felicity and Ted, but in the latter case, the individual’s nanos didn’t feed off each other to grow into something more. Terry and Char were unique. And they still did the Queen’s bidding, and would, no matter how long they lived.

  The runabout lifted off and accelerated toward space, staying outside the traffic lanes because it refused to be so constrained.

  Just like Terry and Char. Their vacation adventure had just begun.

  Once the ship was gone, Terry hoisted their one bag onto his shoulder, and together, they walked toward check-in. They hadn’t brought much. Char had insisted on no technology.

  Terry was good with that. Vacation. Exploring and resting. Enjoying each other’s company, as they had for the previous hundred and fifty years.

  Yet they still acted like newlyweds who were also best friends. And Char still never knew what Terry would say next.

  “I wish I would have spent more time with Bethany Anne,” Terry began.

  Char looked askance at her husband. “After the bowing and scraping, I’m surprised she let you spend any time at all with her.”

  “She was the Queen, then the Empress, and now the Queen again. How am I supposed to keep up with her exaltedness?”

  “By treating her like a normal human being.” Char chuckled. “Maybe you should acquire a greater appreciation for women’s shoes.”

  Terry’s mouth worked, but he couldn’t generate the words. He stopped trying. “I got nothing.”

  “And that’s why you didn’t spend more time with BA.”

  “Maybe you could punch me in the face. It would hurt less.” Terry looked to see if he had gotten a rise out of his wife, but she shrugged. Water off a duck’s back.

  The entryway to the resort was a glorious affair. Magnificent iridescent arches with fountains sent multi-colored waves over the guests, creating a living tunnel through which they walked to get to registration.

  But the concierge caught them before they reached the desk.

  “My! Don’t you two look like the epitome of health and vigor?”

  Terry’s skin crawled. He had loathed the sales pitches before the World’s Worst Day Ever and hadn’t missed them when they were gone. Welcome to the universe! Hucksters and town criers were on the rebound.

  Terry tried to brush past the man, but he offered a delicate string of flowers to Char. “You should wear these around your neck for luck.”

  She paused and smiled at the man. A vein started to throb in Terry’s forehead.

  With grace and a well-practiced understanding of how tenuous his position was, the concierge cut to the chase. “We have a self-guided tour to...” He looked around conspiratorially before continuing, “the fourth moon, where Kurtherian ruins pepper the landscape. The air is thin, but strapping youngsters like yourselves won’t have any problems. You can sign up at registration.”

  Terry’s lip twitched, but relaxed when the concierge excused himself after spotting another couple and making a beeline for them.

  “We’re on vacation,” Char reminded TH.

  “I don’t suffer cheesedicks gladly.”

  Char leaned into him and wrapped an arm around his waist. He relaxed once again as they went to an open counter. “Live receptionists. I like it already,” Terry whispered.

  “But you wanted to throw the live concierge over a wall.”

  “I’m complicated,” TH replied.

  Char chose Shakespeare. “As You Like It, Act 5, Scene 1. ‘The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.’”

  “I am so wise!” Terry declared. “Wait a minute. I’m such a fool! Wait. Sonofabitch.”

  “How can I make Venus more pleasurable for you?” the receptionist asked. Char bit her lip to keep from snorting.

  “Check us in and hook us up with the Kurtherian getaway!” Terry smiled broadly at the young humanoid with a shimmering green tint to her skin. “Are you from Torregidor?”

  “I am,” the young female replied, beaming. She sparkled with her joy. “The tour. I have to share with you that no one goes on that tour.”

  “But that fucking guy brought it up.” Terry stabbed a thumb over his shoulder while glowering mightily. His neck tensed with the effort of not turning his head to stare death daggers at the concierge. “He’s quickly becoming my arch-nemesis.”

  “We’re. On. Vacation,” Char stated slowly and clearly. “Why doesn’t anyone take that tour?”

  “This is the Venus pleasure moon. Our guests want to be pampered and reside in absolute luxury for the time they are with us. To get to the ruins, you have to take a shuttle to Okkoto, a moon that is not comparable to Venus. It is inhospitable, to say the least.”

  “Sounds like the concierge was a genius when he offered it to us because that sounds exactly like something we’d like to do.” Char thought for a moment. “How come there aren’t scientists over there excavating, looking for Kurtherian secrets? Not even academics. A university or something?”

  “Came and went decades ago,” the clerk said. She handed a pair of light bracelets to Terry and Char. “Wear these, and you’ll have access to all our facilities. You have reserved the honeymoon suite, so you’re on the top level with an expansive view of everything we have to offer. Tomorrow, whenever you are ready, let us know, and we’ll have the shuttle pick you up right off your balcony. A schedule of when the ruins on Okkoto are in daylight will be available on the screen in your room. Call if you need anything, and I mean anything. Venus is here for your pleasure.”

  “Do you have any single malt Scotch?” Terry asked, not risking Char’s ire with an off-color joke toward the Torregidoran doing her job.

  “Of course. All our suites have a fully stocked bar and an expansive selection from the food processor. An on-screen menu is provided.”

  “Food and drink. My husband will be in heaven.”

  The clerk pointed to a four-legged alien without a head. “He’ll take your bag and lead you to your room.”

  Together they thanked the clerk. Terry was going t
o turn down the escort, but he was trying to relax and be pampered, as much as it went against his nature. He wanted to do it for Char. She wanted him to do it for himself.

  They followed while the small alien trotted forward, two of his arms holding the bag in place on his back. They went through corridors that could have doubled as art galleries, which tickled their senses. Char pointed to a work that moved, sniffed, and touched a finger to the side of her nose. Terry could smell it, too. Their escort waited patiently.

  Terry and Char walked around the piece slowly, appreciating the quality and how it engaged their minds.

  The escort started up again when they finished, taking them past the elevators and around a corner, where a door blocked their way. Char waved her bracelet, and the door opened. Beyond was an elevator that required another wave to access it, and the three boarded, leaving little room to spare.

  Next stop was the direct entrance to the honeymoon suite. Their escort let them go first into the room before dodging in, setting their bag on the floor, and disappearing before they could offer him a tip.