Outcast Read Online Free PDF Page A

minutes," he said. He looked at Lan. "You know, I think you're going to get on just fine on this ship. You'll be good for him, not like that sewer-dweller Flack. If you see a spider around, crush it. Trust me, you'll be doing the universe a favor."

    ***

    Prez woke up suddenly, his heart thumping. He looked wildly around for a second, then relaxed. Back in his quarters. Then he remembered the colors of the candles fading to black in the brothel, and groaned into his hands. He hadn't meant to get so drunk. It was all Doc's fault, him and his damn home brew. What a first impression for the new co-pilot, his new boss off his head and dragging him to a brothel.
    He stood up and looked at his watch, surprised at how little time had passed. Then he felt the pain in his buttock from the injection and sighed. Maybe Doc wasn't so bad after all. He stepped into the shower and scrubbed the slime of the Tibur and the stale mukkesh off his body. When he was dry, he pulled on a fresh uniform and made his way to the shuttle bay, his boots clanging on the loose floor panels. Just a quick look in to make sure the couple hadn't come round unexpectedly like the two Glatian males he'd accepted for the first Ralia trip. They hadn't taken kindly to waking up drenched in their own semen, strapped to a cold metal floor while Flack drank mukkesh and jerked off idly to some holographic Andran porn. Customer care, Flack-style. At least he could do little harm in his current condition.
    The couple were shivering but still staring at the ceiling with glazed eyes. No signs of coming back to reality yet. The bag around the male's penis was bulging full and leaking all over the floor. Prez frowned and looked at his watch. They'd have to get moving if he was to deliver the couple back to their craft before the APs gave them an Orbiting Ticket. He changed the bag quickly and incinerated the full one. His nose wrinkled at the smell of burnt plastic and semen that puffed out of the machine.
    And then ...
    With a big grin, Prez turned his thoughts to the Mission.
    The next -- and final -- booking of the Outcast was the Big One, and he'd been putting off thinking about it because it was so exciting he almost choked every time it popped into his mind. The Big One at last, the mission every captain could only dream about, the one that would make him rich . He paused for a second and imagined the stupendous concept with a pounding heart. And it was all legitimate , that was the best thing about it. He still could scarcely believe that such a deal had fallen into his lap, and vowed to run the paperwork past Lan just to be sure he hadn't missed anything. He threw a blanket over the shivering couple and allowed himself a quick dance of excitement before heading up to the bridge.
    Lan was already there, inspecting the cleaning android. Smoke was puffing from its left eye. He pulled out a laser screwdriver and made a few adjustments here and there. The smoke faded away, but the android was still saying in its tinny voice, "...is full, please empty..." over and over again.
    "Right," Prez said in a businesslike tone, trying to ignore the sting of post- mukkesh embarrassment. "Send that infernal thing down to Vaxel and let's get going." He cracked his knuckles and sat down at the controls of the ship. A light was flashing; a message from Doc on his private channel. Another couple interested in R -- message me on secured channel when you get back . Frowning, he closed it and sent out the required communications to the Andran controllers in order for them to release the ship. It usually took a long time for them to go through their ridiculous procedures, so he sat back in his seat and pulled out a bag of Skits. He could feel Lan's eye on him and fidgeted.
    "Stop staring at me. There's a recording of me on the computer, at last year's Pilots' Dinner giving a speech. You can watch that, if you want to gawk at the ku-tah freak show."
    There was a sudden chill in the air. "I was