Steal the Demon: A Science-Fiction Novella by Robert Roth (free novels to read txt) 📕

thought, in fact. But, despite all the possibilities she’d come up with, Kimiko kept returning to the same idea. “Kage no Akuma.”

“Shadow Demon? That’s clever.”

“Too clever?”

Paradox laughed. “No, I like it. And I wouldn’t worry too much about Al-Zamani catching on.”

She stopped in surprise. “No? I assume if they catch me, they’ll kill me.”

“Oh, they definitely would, especially since I destroyed their station AI. But, by the time they recover from that, even a new AI will have some difficulty recovering any useful information from what’s left of Doha. And, at any rate, I doubt they’ll be in much of a hurry to call in the CSG, since doing so would mean admitting to just how easy it was for us to steal this ship.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. But we should maybe steer clear of Davida for a while, just in case.” Kimiko stepped inside the captain’s quarters. It was small–although it was larger than the bunk compartment she’d rented at Davida Station–but it was more than enough for her. “What did you do to it, anyway?”

“Only what it deserved,” Paradox countered cagily. “I’d rather not elaborate at the moment.”

She shrugged. “Suit yourself. But I’m happy to listen if you ever decide to talk about it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Without even taking off her suit, she laid down on the bunk, groaning as she sank into the most comfortable foam slab she’d ever put her back to. It was one of the perks of stealing a luxury ship. “It’s a service I provide to all the members of my pirate crew.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

“I’m gonna grab a little sleep. Can you take the watch? Wake me if anything happens?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Captain. She smiled. It felt so good to hear that again, probably even better than the bunk slab felt. It meant that she was finally home.

Illustrations

About the Author

Robert Roth (he/him) is a working-class queer nerd and author helping to overthrow the capitalist patriarchy one wry comment at a time. Besides writing stories and novels, he’s written hundreds of magazine and news articles, dozens of published film and video scripts, and a four-act play.

He lives in Seattle with his partner, where he enjoys reading and writing science-fiction. As a queer author, he likes to write about worlds where people like him, his friends, and those he cares about get to live and love just like everyone else does.

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Also by Robert Roth

Downstation Blues, a Science-Fiction Novella

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Earth Orbit Station–Prime, the largest of the orbital stations and home to hundreds of thousands of Confederation corporate citizens, is the system’s gateway to Earth and a jewel in the Confederation’s crown. With its pristine parklands, electrifying nightlife, galaxy-class shopping, and inspiring entertainment, life aboard EOS-1 is luxurious and carefree.

As long as you live Upstation.

For Nix, a young pickpocket working the Downstation markets and corridors of EOS-1, life is hard. And for someone who’s Unregistered forced to live off of the dregs of Upstation society, a hard life is the only life. But snatching is what he’s good at, and it’s the only way he knows how to get by. But when things suddenly get all spun out, and he’s feeling the heat from the hard-driven agents of Earth Orbit Station Security, Nix is forced to face some harsh realities about what he believes and who he cares about before he’s sent on the short walk and long drop on the Downwell Express.