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    Outworlder
    Outworlder
    Outworlder
    Ebook80 pages1 hour

    Outworlder

    By Joe Vasicek

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    About this ebook

    He wanders the stars in search of a home. Instead, he got a girl without one.

    When Jeremiah arrived at Megiddo Station, all he wanted was to make some trades and resupply his starship.  He never thought he'd come away with a wife.

    Before he knows it, he's back on his ship, alone with his accidental bride. Since neither of them speak the same language, he has no way to tell her that there's been a terrible mistake. And because of the deadly famine ravaging her home, there's no going back.  She's entirely at his mercy, and that terrifies him more than anything.

    Jeremiah isn't ready to take responsibility for anyone. He's a star wanderer, roaming the Outworld frontier in search of his fortune. Someday he'll settle down, but for now, he just wants to drop the girl off at the next port and move on. 

    As he soon finds out though, she has other plans.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJoe Vasicek
    Release dateSep 8, 2014
    ISBN9781502289674
    Outworlder
    Author

    Joe Vasicek

    Joe Vasicek fell in love with science fiction and fantasy when he read The Neverending Story as a child. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Genesis Earth, Gunslinger to the Stars, The Sword Keeper, and the Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic at Brigham Young University and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus Mountains. He lives in Utah with his wife, daughter, and two apple trees.

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      Book preview

      Outworlder - Joe Vasicek

      Outworlder

      Joe Vasicek

      Star Wanderers, Book 1

      Copyright © 2012 Joseph Vasicek.

      All rights reserved.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations, or events is purely coincidental.

      Cover Design by Derek Murphy.

      Sign up here for Joe Vasicek’s email list.

      More books by Joe Vasicek.

      Megiddo Station

      Jeremiah knew something was wrong the moment he stepped out of the Ariadne’s airlock and onto Megiddo Station. A variety of people milled about the tiny spaceport concourse, mostly in-system haulers and traders, as well as a few beggars and questionable women in the shadier passageways. The air smelled slightly of smoke, but that wasn’t too unusual; the settlement was certainly old enough, with ventilator fans that chugged and floor tiles that were grainy with wear. The locals, however, had an eerie look about them. Their faces were gaunt, their skin sagging. They stared at him as he passed by, as if sizing him up. When he returned their gaze, they turned suddenly away from him, as if afraid.

      I just need to stay long enough to unload my cargo and make the trade, he thought anxiously to himself. Once I’ve gotten clearance, everything else should go smoothly.

      The suppliers at the last system had warned him about this place almost a standard month ago. You be careful, they had told him in their peculiar Outworld creole. We many see go, since six cycles not any come back.

      At the time, Jeremiah hadn’t thought much of it. Traders this far out didn’t follow any set routes, and the dozens of uncharted colonies and outposts always had problems of one sort or another. But from the hollow, expressionless faces he passed on his way spinward, an uneasy feeling told him he might have made a mistake.

      Like many of the other doorways in the hallway, the entrance to the station master’s office had a miniature gilded image of a half-cyborg saint tacked above the lintel. Jeremiah keyed the chime and the door hissed open almost immediately.

      Come, come! came a voice from inside, calling to him with urgency. Jeremiah stepped in, door shutting behind him.

      You Captain Jerem-ahra?

      The station master was short and balding, with a rotund face and a minor cybernetic implant in his left eye. He wore a simple blue jumpsuit with a black felt vest and an insignia on his arm that probably denoted his rank. That wasn’t too unusual; most of the settlements in the Outworlds tended to be hierarchical.

      Yes, said Jeremiah, bowing in a universal gesture of greeting and respect. Are you Master Korha?

      Korha? Yes yes, said the man, gesturing impatiently for him to come inside.

      Jeremiah followed Master Korha from the rather sparse front office into a back room that appeared to be the apartment’s main living quarters. Mattresses lined the floor along the aging bulkheads, indicating a sizable family and not much living space. An ornate mosaic table sat on a dull blue rug in the center, with sticks of incense burning in a bowl off to one side. Except for the two of them, the place was empty.

      Sit, sit, said the station master, motioning to a cushion across the table. It seemed like a strange way to conduct trade negotiations, but these were the Outworlds after all. Jeremiah took his seat and made himself comfortable.

      You young, Master Korha observed, producing a thermos and two glasses. He poured them both a thick, white drink that had the consistency of syrup.

      Yes, Jeremiah answered, taking a sip from his glass. The spicy sweetness hit him like a punch to the mouth, and he struggled to force it down.

      Where from?

      Far, said Jeremiah, eyes watering. Many parsecs.

      The station master nodded. You trader?

      Of a sort.

      Man of fortune?

      You could say that.

      Searching woman? he asked, looking Jeremiah in the eye. Searching home place, find woman and make babies yes yes?

      Uh…

      Is tradition, no?

      Jeremiah nodded slowly. That’s right, he said, mind racing as he tried to rethink his negotiating strategy. Did the station master expect him to settle down here? Was that why he’d called him to his private quarters? The thought made Jeremiah swallow.

      I, uh—

      You young, you need woman.

      Among other things, yes.

      Not good to man is alone, no no.

      The station master looked off as if lost in thought. Jeremiah took advantage of the moment and cleared his throat.

      As much as I would love to find a wife and settle down, I have some coffee from the Chondarr system that I was hoping to trade, and since you insisted I meet you in person, I—

      Listen, Master Korha hissed, glancing over his shoulder before leaning forward to look Jeremiah in the eye. You no stay here. Not safe.

      Jeremiah frowned. Not safe? What do you mean?

      Here is not safe—much is dying, yes yes. Accident since many cycles—no can food to eat. Station crowded, very. Stores run out since many days, many angry, dying much.

      A chill ran down the back of his neck. You mean the starvation is so bad, the entire outpost is starving to death?

      Yes yes! Smart young man. Have ship, yes. But cannot stay—very dangerous.

      The gleam in Master Korha’s eyes made him shift uncomfortably on his floor mat.

      Why are you telling me this?

      The station master took a long draft, draining almost half his glass. You young man, you captain, you go places. Is good, yes. Have favor I ask you.

      He clapped his hands twice, making Jeremiah jump. A side door opened, and five girls lined up in the front of the room. They each wore a loose-fitting chemise

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