And now, let's say hello to, Leon Gravis, a character in Jaleta Clegg's book, Priestess of the Eggstone. Leon was a fun character in the story, and you will understand why I liked him when you read his post. Enjoy.....
Hiya, Sweetheart. How
ya doing? Got anything to drink around here? I'm parched. Just spent six hours
arguing for an acquittal. I'm bleeding? *dabs forehead* Just a scratch. Bully
boys thought they could push me around. But you don't work for a crime
syndicate for ten years without picking up a thing or two about intimidation.
You thought I was talking about acquittal in court, legal proceedings and all
that. Naw, working on some back alley negotiations.
Speaking of
negotiations, did I ever tell you about how I got off Viya Station and away
from the Targon Syndicate? Yeah, I used to work for them. Stupid, really, but I
didn't have much choice. My wife's family is all Targon. Married into it, you
might say. But I'm rid of her and her relatives.
So, there I was,
sitting in the office of Belliff on Viya Station, wondering what I was gonna
do. The Patrol was gearing up for a raid. I could smell the trouble. The
management had all disappeared. On a retreat seminar. *hand quotes* They left
me to catch the blame from the law. You didn't know Belliff is a front for the
Targon Syndicate? Everybody knows that.
I was sitting there,
deleting files while my wife's idiot nephew watched his vids, when this woman,
Dace, walks in claiming to have a courier delivery for me. She couldn't have
had worse timing. Those courier shipments were nothing more than illegal
contraband. Brilliant idea for smuggling, if you could find a pilot dumb enough
to fall for it. The smart ones would figure out what you were doing and either
demand a cut of the pie or steal the shipment outright and sell it to the
highest bidder. I'm not saying Dace was stupid, just naïve.
I shifted some papers
around looking for a way out. That cargo was going to send me away for a long
time. I don't do well with incarceration, makes me break out. Ha! Sorry, bad
joke. Anyway, I'm digging through the desk when what do I find but a stunner.
My escape plan hit me like a sledgehammer. She was a pilot, she had a ship. She
could fly me to Freeport, capital of the Federation. I'd take the cargo and
sell it to finance setting up my new home. Yeah, the Federation is kinda small
and more than a little backward, but they're a lot looser on the law
enforcement than the Empire. But they still got laws. Where you got laws, you
got lawyers. Like me. See? Genius plan.
So I hide the stunner
and make her take me to her ship. Everything was working according to plan
until her copilot decides he wants to be a hero. He jumped me. Things got a bit
crazy, especially after Dace convinced Viya Station to undock us. Insane woman
flew us through a Patrol firefight with these aliens. We took a direct hit and
you know what she did? She kept going. We made the jump to hyperspace with a
failing engine.
The woman is
completely bonkers, you get what I'm saying? Totally bonkers, but she's the
best pilot I've ever seen. *shakes head* I'll even forgive her for tying me up
and locking me in the bathroom for most of that trip.
Freeport? Nah, never
made it. Dace took us straight to Tebros where the Patrol jumped all over me. I
turned myself in, gave them everything I had on Targon. Yeah, Targon hates me
now, but I'm legal again. You want the rest of the story? You're going to have
to bribe the Patrol for it. I'm pretty sure Dace gave them a full report.
And those rumors that
she's some kind of secret agent for the Patrol? *leans forward and whispers*
Don't believe it. She hates them almost as much as I do.
Now I've got a
question for you. What do you think of my suit? Manny made it. He's a great
tailor. *stands up to show off blue and purple plaid with stripes of lime green
and little yellow flowers* I like a bit of flash, ya know? Catches them off
guard. *winks*
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jaleta Clegg loves
writing stories about interesting characters. She writes science fiction
adventure, silly horror, and dabbles in every genre in between. Find more about
her at www.jaletac.com
Her
second novel, Priestess of the Eggstone, is now available.
www.altairanempire.com
Book Blurb: Pursued by the Targon Crime Syndicate
bent on revenge, the Patrol intent on recruitment, and the Sessimoniss who want
their god back, the last thing Captain Dace needs is a handsome copilot with
romance on his mind.
4 comments:
Well, heck - I was just settling in to enjoy Leon's story and we were at the end of the post.
What a lively post! Leon seems like a terrific character, Jaleta. Thanks so much for hosting this blog tour stop, Maryann!
You're welcome, Stacy. Leon is a great character, and I loved this blog post.
I'm going to get a copy of that 52 years collection. It sounds wonderful.
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