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

She failed this life, maybe she’d be more competent in the next.

“Get it off me,” she cried.

He cringed, still trying to rebound from the shot to the groin. “It’s too late, ma’am.”

Yes, this was torture for making a mistake. For entrusting her junior pilots on missions meant for her. No, that couldn’t be it. She was training them. It was the time she misspoke, the time she let her mother know what she was chasing UFO’s. No, that couldn’t be it. How would they have known that? If they would just tell her what she did, she could correct it.

“What did I do?” she asked, her face contorting.

She knew what she did. She volunteered to come to this project to heal her body from the scars that kept her hidden from the world for so long. To bury herself away from the mess she made of herself. Today, another misstep, she’d willfully walked into her own death.

“Just tell me what I did,” she muttered, her eyelids opening and closing. “I can fix it.”

A stench rose in the room. A smell she was familiar with, burning skin. Then it started, the sizzling, as if her face was on a hot greased pan, her tissue melting away, bringing a face to the surface of her mind. A face she’d pushed far back into her consciousness long ago, the man who caused the ultimate failure in her life, the man who left her to die in the flames of her starfighter.

Kaden Jaxx

She howled and leaned forward, vomiting.

“Kill me. Just end it,” she said under breath, spitting remnants of vomit on the floor. Then, her skin tightened and a chill engulfed her.

She relaxed and went limp, not able to move, although her mind on overdrive. One minute she wanted to die, the next the pain had disappeared.

“What’s happening to me?”

“Stage two,” the doctor bellowed.

A door opened and in marched medical technicians with wet towels. They patted her face down. A technician picked up a bowl and the doctor tilted Rivkah’s head back. Someone poured the bowl’s oily contents over Rivkah’s face and spread it around her nose, under her eyes, and over her lips.

“It’s thick aloe, enhanced with crystal flecks and colloidal silver,” the doctor said.

They picked Rivkah up, her listless body making her heavier than normal.

“Where...are you...taking...me?” Rivkah asked, oil dripping in her mouth and down her throat. She could barely keep her eyes open. Her body wanted to shut down. Did she need sleep or was she dying? She didn’t know.

“The energetics room. Energy medicine; lights, sounds, and lasers,” the doctor replied, helping carry her out of the room and down a hallway.

Rivkah closed her eyes. “Please...no more...hurts too much.”

“The hurt is over for today,” the doctor responded. “It’s time to relax and regenerate. You’ll be flying a ship in no time.”

They rested her on a table in a dimly lit room. She heard a door close. “Help. Where…”

Everything faded to black.

21

June 4thPlano, Texas

It had been twenty-four long hours since Drew had sent satellite images of the structures on Callisto to every major and minor news media outlet, along with his email communication between Jaxx and him, plus a recording of being threatened on his voicemail.

He’d emailed radio shows, talk show hosts, and even mailed off physical copies of the photos to the old-fashioned news reporters and anchors that couldn’t stand using the computer.

No one had responded yet. Odd. In his line of work, and being a reporter himself, he’d thought the curious minds he sent his information to would at least get him one or two replies. Or, you know, all of them.

They probably responded and the responses were either intercepted and erased, or his email blocked, and no one received his emails. That meant someone was on to him, which meant he had to work hard and fast.

Why did TEC have to have their offices in Texas? It was worse than the Carolinas. It was so humid, even his clothes perspired. He closed the door to his rental car, reached into his pocket and took out the joint he had crafted to look like a cigarette. He lit it up and took a few puffs, taking in a nice buzz. He couldn’t, however, get too buzzed. Just needed a little to take the edge off. He wasn’t used to tracking down leads as a fugitive. He checked his phone. Still no calls. Not from his media contacts or them.

“Should have just leaked the pics to my underground buddies. That would have gotten me more traction. Used the Dark Web, gone undercover, been a true whistle-blower, rather than trying to play by the rules. That’s always been my problem. Note to self, stop playing by the rules.”

He took one more drag, just for luck, then spat on the ground, gently dabbing the end of the joint on the spit, successfully putting it out. He touched the joint’s end, making sure it wasn’t still hot, then placed it in his pocket. A little now, a little later, a little buzz, and the Drew cats were all happy bunnies. He opened the car door and grabbed his cologne, spraying over him. He popped a piece of mint gum in his mouth and walked up to a large, three-story tan building with the words TEC Center emblazoned near the top of the building. Cars filled the parking lot and the stench of hot asphalt filled his nostrils. Why would anyone live in the city, man? It reeked.

Next to the main entrance was a sign, listing businesses and their locations within the building. GSA had one office, while Terra Energy Corp had the entire third floor, plus a warehouse behind the building.

He made his way to GSA’s office, passing IRS auditing and a small firm of lawyers. An attractive woman walked down the hall, looking at Drew as if he was unkempt and creepy.

He turned, watching her walk away, nearly bumping into a wall.

Stop gawking, you idiot. He rolled his eyes,