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    Maxim
    Maxim
    Maxim
    Ebook177 pages2 hours

    Maxim

    By KD Jones

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    About this ebook

    Warning: For Mature Adult Audiences. Contains sexual content, language, and actions some may deem offensive. M/F

    Maxim is a droid halfsie, part human and part android, created in a lab. Now free from the madman that converted him, he must find a way to make a new life for himself. In an effort to put his past behind him, he takes a job as a fighter for the Galactic Cage Fighter Association. Unfortunately, he soon learns that the position comes with some unwanted benefits, like constantly being surrounded by adoring fans. It’s a situation that’s definitely all new for him, and he has to work hard to adjust. Just when he thinks he has finally moved on and gotten used to his new life, he discovers that the past cannot simply be ignored forever. These revelations of his past put everyone around him in danger, including the one woman that holds the key to his hidden heart.

    Alona is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful halfsie women in the world. But human men only seem to seek her out when they want to display her as their trophy, and most halfsie men see her delicate features as far too human-like. Just as she feels ready to give up on the hope of a real relationship, she meets a droid halfsie that attracts her like no other. The more she tries to fight her attraction, the more she seems to want him.

    Will Maxim let down his guard and allow Alona to see him for who he is? Will Alona overcome her disenchanted view of relationships and give Maxim a chance to prove there is more to him than the surface? Can they find their way to one another while surviving the dangers surrounding them?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKD Jones
    Release dateApr 13, 2015
    ISBN9781311437327
    Maxim
    Author

    KD Jones

    KD Jones has been a huge fan of both romance novels and science fiction novels since she was 16 years old. Her favorite television shows growing up were Star Trek and Doctor Who. When not writing, she can usually be found curled up on the couch with a good book, working on her hobby of photography, or spending time with her family.

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      Book preview

      Maxim - KD Jones

      MAXIM

      Book 8 Galactic Cage Fighter Series

      By

      KD Jones

      © Copyright April 2015 KD Jones Publishing

      All cover art and logo © Copyright April 2015 by KD Jones Publishing

      All rights reserved:

      This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, locales, or organizations are strictly coincidental.

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Blurb

      Warning: For Mature Adult Audiences. Contains sexual content, language, and actions some may deem offensive. M/F

      Maxim is a droid halfsie, part human and part android, created in a lab. Now free from the madman that converted him, he must find a way to make a new life for himself. In an effort to put his past behind him, he takes a job as a fighter for the Galactic Cage Fighter Association. Unfortunately, he soon learns that the position comes with some unwanted benefits, like constantly being surrounded by adoring fans. It’s a situation that’s definitely all new for him, and he has to work hard to adjust. Just when he thinks he has finally moved on and gotten used to his new life, he discovers that the past cannot simply be ignored forever. These revelations of his past put everyone around him in danger, including the one woman that holds the key to his hidden heart.

      Alona is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful halfsie women in the world. But human men only seem to seek her out when they want to display her as their trophy, and most halfsie men see her delicate features as far too human-like. Just as she feels ready to give up on the hope of a real relationship, she meets a droid halfsie that attracts her like no other. The more she tries to fight her attraction, the more she seems to want him.

      Will Maxim let down his guard and allow Alona to see him for who he is? Will Alona overcome her disenchanted view of relationships and give Maxim a chance to prove there is more to him than the surface? Can they find their way to one another while surviving the dangers surrounding them?

      Prologue

      The first thing he remembered was feeling like he was on fire. It was as if there were live wires coursing with electrical current throughout his whole body. Surely he would begin to burn soon. Why didn’t someone help him put out the flames? He opened his eyes and blinked at the bright light shining directly overhead. He was on some kind of hospital bed, or some type of table.

      He’s waking up! a man in a white lab coat shouted. Five more men, similarly dressed, rushed to surround the table.

      He struggled to sit up but found that he was restrained. Where was he? Who were these people? The scientists poked and prodded him. They kept calling him eighty-eight, but that wasn’t his name.

      "Stop!" He tried to yell at them, but it came out as weak and choppy. What had happened to him? He could feel panic began to set in as he realized that he didn’t know who or where he was. All he knew was he was tied down and on fire. No one seemed interested in helping him. He struggled to free himself. But whatever restraints they had used were too strong for him, and his body didn’t seem to be responding to his commands to move as he expected. He was very sluggish. He growled when they began to poke and prod him over and over.

      Who are you? he managed to ask one of the lab-coated men.

      The man ignored him. He’s forming sentences already. This is amazing. Are you recording this, Dr. Deans?

      Yes sir. The video has been recording since before eighty-eight woke up. Did you also want a record of his vital changes, Dr. Forbes?

      Yes. I’m giving him another booster to speed up his healing. The implants haven’t healed yet. It may take another twelve hours.

      Dr. Forbes looked down into the eyes of the man on the table. This is going to hurt.

      The last thing he remembered was screaming until he passed out from the pain of the booster shot.

      That was the first day he woke up in the lab, but it would not be his last—he had two more years of torture ahead of him.

      Chapter 1

      Maxim grunted as he took the brunt of the punch to his ribs. His internal operating (IO) chip reported that he would suffer a break if he took another direct hit. He needed to end this match soon. His internal clock told him the second round wasn’t near the end yet, but he knew it would be more efficient for him to get it over with before his systems started to shut down automatically.

      He stood in the center of the GCFA cage. He didn’t try to protect his ribs. His Beastial opponent grew in size right before he ran and jumped at Maxim, attempting a superman punch with one arm extended. Maxim didn’t move until right before the other man’s fist was about to make contact. Then he stepped to the side so quickly, hardly anyone saw him. The Beastial landed on his stomach and face hard, clearly a bit dazed.

      As the Beastial attempted to get up, Maxim stepped forward and aimed a punch at his temple. He pulled the punch slightly, hitting with just the amount of force his IO chip calculated was necessary to knock his opponent out. He didn’t want to kill the other man, after all. It was just enough to make the Beastial slump over and black out.

      He straightened up and waited for the bell to ring. It took a few seconds for the crowd to realize that the match was over. Half of them applauded and the other half booed. He was not the most popular halfsie fighter, but his fans were slowly growing in number. Mostly they seemed to be women, and they were constantly throwing themselves at him. He found this strange. He had no interest in them. Maxim turned and headed for the healing facility to recuperate.

      *****

      "Well, that was quite a match Johann," said the commentator, sounding a little uncertain of what to think about the outcome.

      "Yes, quite an interesting and . . . short match, Poland. You would have thought that the Beastial, with his larger size advantage, would easily defeat the smaller Droid halfsie. But that may be the fastest match I’ve ever witnessed."

      "I think I have whiplash from the speed with which the Droid knocked out his opponent. Speed and strength are definite factors on the Droid halfsie’s side. He’ll be a fighter to watch! But I’d say he still needs to work on his personality a bit to be much of a crowd pleaser."

      "I agree, Poland. He won’t keep his fans happy with his non-existent charm. The winner of the match, ladies and gentleman . . . Maxim the Cyborg."

      *****

      They’re right. At this rate he’ll start losing fans and we’ll have to buy him out of his contract. He’s making us look bad for hiring him. You need to do something.

      Nigel sat back in his seat in the VIP box and stared at the assistant director of the Galactic Cage Fighter Association, William Macey. What do you want me to do about it?

      Clean up his image, make him more appealing. I don’t care what it is, just do something. He’s not pulling in the numbers that we need, William ordered, taking a sip of his beer.

      He’s got a good number of female fans already, Nigel pointed out.

      Great, expand on that.

      How am I supposed to do that? Nigel had the beginnings of a headache. He rubbed his temple. His assistant Amelia silently handed him a bottle of pain medication. He looked at her briefly in surprise. How did she always know what he needed?

      William certainly didn’t seem to notice that anything might be wrong with his minion. He continued, I don’t care what you have to do, just change his cold and mechanical image any way you can.

      Nigel sighed. There were times like these where he hated his job. He took the pain meds and handed the bottle back to his assistant. At this rate, he was going to have to invest in a pharmaceutical company to keep his headaches away.

      *****

      Maxim heard them announce his fighting name as the winner and cringed on the inside. He wasn’t a Cyborg. He was a human droid halfsie. Why the GCFA insisted on calling him that was beyond him.

      He walked to the healer’s facility to have his injuries checked, although he honestly considered it a waste of time. The healing program on his IO chip told him that most of the injuries would be healed by the morning. As he entered, he saw there was one other fighter being treated. Hammer was lying on a bed with IV fluids running into him. They grunted at each other but didn’t say anything.

      Lay down on the bed, Mr. Maxim, one of the healers said, directing him to an empty bed.

      He shook his head. I don’t need to lay down. I need a chair and an outlet so that I can recharge myself.

      But, sir, we need to evaluate how severe your injuries are.

      I have already run an internal diagnostic. I have bruises on my chest and upper arms. My ribs are also bruised and require a healing agent. I have some minor scrapes, but no infection has been detected. He ignored the bed and walked over to the corner, where he pulled a chair over next to a power outlet.

      He placed his hand over the outlet and pulled the current of power out and through his fingers. There was tingling sensation, neither painful nor pleasant. He could ignore it for the most part. But it was necessary for his IO chip to have full power in order to heal him from within much faster.

      That was a quick match, Hammer commented.

      Maxim didn’t look at the other fighter as he responded. My IO chip reported that if I took another direct hit in the ribs, they would be a break. I would rather not have broken ribs, it takes longer to heal from those.

      Hey man, I understand that. But we’re here to put on a show for these people. They don’t care about your ribs taking longer to heal. Hammer sat up further on the bed.

      Maxim nodded but didn’t say anything else. He understood what his job was; he didn’t need anyone else telling him. He knew that he was not the most well liked of the GCFA fighters, but he had no clue how to fix that. He enjoyed working with the GCFA. If he had friends, they would be those here, his fellow GCFA fighters. He had spent the most time with them since his conversion. He was honestly willing to work on improving his demeanor to appease the fans, but it was all just so foreign to him. There wasn’t a program he could upload that would teach him how to relate to others.

      Maybe the problem was in how he was converted to a halfsie. He wasn’t the result of a natural conception or even fertilization splicing, as most halfsies were. He had a whole human life before his droid conversion. He didn’t remember any of it, of course, but he read the report and been told things by the human family he didn’t remember.

      His name had been Maxwell Copely. He had been twenty-seven years old. He was training for the Galactic Olympics as a weight lifter. A freak accident had him rushed to the hospital, where they pronounced him brain dead. His human parents had agreed to turn off the life support system when they were told it was the only thing keeping his body alive. As far as they knew, he had died in that hospital room. His brain hadn’t been completely dead yet, but it showed so little activity, and the doctors argued that his body would be useful to others because it was athletic in build and he was otherwise healthy. What his parents didn’t know until much later was that Maxwell had still had brain activity. The reports had been falsified to make it look like he was dead, all in the supposed name of science.

      He didn’t recall being this Maxwell, or being in an accident, or any of that. What he did remember was waking to excruciating pain and having wires and tubes running all

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