Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller by Brandon Ellis (easy to read books for adults list txt) 📕

A shot came her way and she whipped back around, hugging the large rock.

Four Kelhoon, all larger than life, their half-human, half-lizard faces scowling as they slowly moved into position, their rifles aimed forward, ready to blow Rivkah and Fox out of existence. Or, worse yet, do what they usually did and take them as slaves to sell across the galaxy or fatten them up like cattle, anchoring them inside cages, ready to sell to the hungriest lizard-face. All in the name of making galactic money, and lots of it.

Rivkah picked up a rock and threw it over her shoulder and high into the air. She slid to her stomach, and aimed, positioning most of her body behind the rock.

A Kelhoon rifle cracked across the wind and the rock Rivkah threw into the air splintered into pieces.

Perfect.

Rivkah pulled her trigger twice, quickly inserting two plasma bolts between a Kelhoon’s eyes. His head splattered like a watermelon and his body dropped and slumped to the ground. The other Kelhoons scrambled, finding boulders to hide behind.

Rivkah ran across the ridge and jumped behind another boulder. Now closer to those lizard heads, she was ready to find a nice hole to bury them in.

She eyed Fox across the way and held up three fingers. He nodded.

“Rivkah! Fox! Stand down.”

Rivkah looked around the boulder.

Bogle stood no less than ten meters from her, the three remaining Kelhoon at her rear, rifles up, ready to fire.

Rivkah pressed her back against the rock. “Hell, no. You tell your lizard, shit for brain friends to drop their weapons. Then we’ll talk.”

“Done,” said Bogle.

“Are you serious?” asked Rivkah. It couldn’t be that easy.

“Yes.”

Rivkah eyed Fox, then nodded.

Fox pulled his holster around to the back of his body, touching it against his sacrum, and holstered his gun.

Rivkah mimicked him, giving a Fox a quick smile. She glanced around the boulder again. The Kelhoon indeed had their guns on the ground.

“Coming out,” said Fox, arms by his side.

Rivkah walked around the rock, keeping her eyes off Bogle and on the Kelhoon. They took several steps forward.

“Thank you, Rivkah and Fox. It’s time—”

Fox reached around his back and curled his fingers around the weapon’s grip. In a quick draw, he riddled Bogle with several bolts. She screamed, holding her heart and fell, purple blood gushing out of her chest.

The Kelhoon drew hidden guns from behind their backs as well, opening fire. Fox dropped and rolled. He aimed his weapon and pulled the trigger.

A Kelhoon fell.

Rivkah rushed forward and slid on her back, her gun pointing at the two Kelhoons left standing and let loose. A Kelhoon reeled back as Rivkah poked a crater in its skull, then shifted her sights to the other Kelhoon.

She pulled the trigger.

Click.

She pulled again.

Click. Click. Click.

“No!”

The Kelhoon lowered his gun at Rivkah and shot.

Rivkah spun. Rocks splintered from the bolt’s impact and pelted Rivkah’s side and back.

She moved to her feet and ran behind a boulder, pressing her back against the rock.

Her breath came heavy and she put her hand on her chest, telling herself to calm. She gazed at the ground all around, waiting for a shadow to loom, telling her how close the Kelhoon was and from which direction he was coming.

Silence filled the air.

Where was everyone? Did they get Fox?

Fox guffawed, letting out an exasperated breath. “They don’t even try to hide it anymore.”

“What?” Rivkah moved around the rock, eying all the fallen Kelhoon soldiers. Fox ended the last one.

She made her way toward the dead bodies. “What do you mean?” She stood over a purple, puss-filled mess surrounding a Zompawan, its silver body lay lifeless, its green horse-like hair covered in its blood, and its shallow, thin eyes wide open, dead as a doornail.

“That Zompawan. I noticed that the last time the Kelhoons used them when we tried to take over Taiyo. The Zompawans didn’t want to live as Kelhoon slaves anymore. They were practically giving themselves away, shapeshifting into whatever, whenever the Kelhoon used them, and purposely using the wrong vocal resonance. It was almost like they wanted to die.”

Rivkah nudged its leg with her foot. “Or set the Kelhoon up to lose. This one, though, was good. It looked just like Bogle when it shapeshifted, except with an old woman’s voice. Too bad it couldn’t stay shapeshifted so we don’t have to see its ugly face.”

“Yep, damn ugly.”

Zzzzzzzziph-kacha!

An energetic dome materialized around them. Fox and Rivkah stepped back and went into a defensive stance, their weapons up in anticipation.

“Looks like we were the dumb ones,” said Rivkah.

Up ahead, past the energy surrounding them, were several Kelhoon approaching. The largest of them, the obvious leader, put his arm up. The rest of the Kelhoons drew their weapons and went to one knee.

The leader licked his lips. “Kja Oovgov!”

13

Edge of M-Quadrant, Nearing Jupiter - Starship Atlantis

“I’d do anything for Jaxx,” said Shaughnessy. “He told you that if Slade betrayed us, and according to you Slade has...” Shaughnessy looked at the Senator for a moment, seeing if Ken was telling the truth. “Then Jaxx wants us to reroute the entire Secret Space Program and this starship back to Earth?”

“Yes, Jaxx and I spoke before he escaped.” Ken was lying, that much Shaughnessy could tell. There was the lack of eye contact, the pupils dilating, his blinking when speaking. But what if he wasn’t lying, what if Jaxx really said this to Ken? Jaxx was his friend, pretty much his only friend. He’d give his left kidney without hesitation if the guy needed it.

“We want to reroute this starship to Earth. But send SSP’s fleet to Uranus,” said Ken. “However, we don’t know how to do it, how to hack into the SSP system, but we think you do.”

“Who is we?” Shaughnessy had a healthy distrust of all politicians. They only had to open their mouths to lie. He and Jaxx were agreed on that point.

Ken sat at his desk, hands folded in his lap. He swiped his finger over his desk and