Alien Bounty Read Online Free PDF

scholars felt war was inevitable, and felt the human race might as well get it over with.
    Whatever the truth of the matter this Il Ronnian seemed no friendlier than the others McCade had met. His tail twitched back and forth behind his head and he wore a thin-lipped scowl. He spoke flawless Standard like most Il Ronnians of his rank. "I am Star Sept Sector Commander Ceel. You will kill your drives and allow us to take you aboard."
    McCade tried for a nonchalant smile. "Valet parking, how thoughtful."
    Ceel's scowl deepened and the com set dumped to black.
    McCade smiled as he killed his drives. Tractor beams lashed out shortly thereafter to lock Pegasus in a powerful embrace and pull her toward a huge battleship.
    The ship was miles long and roughly triangular in shape. Designed for travel in deep space, it had none of the aerodynamic smoothness common to smaller ships. An endless array of weapons blisters, solar collectors, cooling fins, and communications antennas covered almost every square inch of the ship's hull. Pegasus seemed like a toy as she was pulled into an enormous launching bay and gently lowered into an empty berth.
    The outer hatch closed and a thin atmosphere was pumped into the launching bay. This was a sign of his importance, although McCade didn't realize it.
    The bay was kept unpressurized most of the time for the convenience of the shuttles and interceptors that constantly came and went. But when important visitors came aboard it was customary to pressurize the bay, saving them the discomfort of wearing space armor.
    Of course, outside of his space armor McCade would be more vulnerable, and that too could have played a part in their decision.
    A soft chime told him someone was at the main lock. Punching up a surveillance camera, he saw that an entire squad of Il Ronnian Sand Sept troopers stood waiting outside. They were heavily armed.
    He activated the intercom. "Hi, guys. Are twelve enough? Maybe you'd better send for reinforcement . . .. I'm real grumpy today."
    Either the troopers didn't understand him or chose to ignore him, because their stony expressions remained unchanged.
    Knowing what to expect, McCade changed into summer-weight trousers and a short-sleeved mesh shirt. Just for the fun of it he strapped on his sidearm as well. It didn't mean much since he was outnumbered a thousand to one, but he was used to wearing one, and the weight of it made him feel better.
    He took one last look around to make sure all the ship's systems were powered down, grabbed a fistful of cigars, and headed for the lock.
    He cycled through, stepped out onto a set of rollaway stairs, and grinned. Twelve pairs of eyes went to his handgun and back to his face. To his surprise they made no attempt to take it away.
    An Eighth Sept Commander stepped forward, cleared his throat nervously, and said, "Star Sept Sector Commander Ceel bids you welcome. Please follow me."
    McCade did as he was told. His honor guard, with the emphasis on guard, followed along behind. As they marched their steel-capped hooves crashed to the deck in perfect cadence.
    They cycled through one of the many locks providing access to the interior of the ship. After the pleasant coolness of the launching bay, it was like stepping into the center of a blast furnace.
    Having been on an Il Ronnian ship once before, McCade had prepared himself for the heat but was still surprised by the intensity of it. The Il Ronnians liked to keep their ships warm like the desert planet they came from, and that's why McCade had worn the lightweight clothing, and was soon soaked with his own sweat in spite of it.
    The ship was so huge that it took a full fifteen minutes to reach their destination. They marched down sandy brown corridors, rode up lift tubes large enough to accommodate a quarter sept, and rode the rest of the way in a pneumatic tube system.
    Wherever McCade went members of the ship's crew stopped to stare. Many had never seen a human before, and those who