Space Relics (Galactic Archaeology Book 1) Read Free

woman had designed her to annoy whomever she worked for. “Why don’t you go there and ask Lord Baylor when he plans to give you your share?”
    Rick groaned, but she was right. He had to make sure to get his part of the loot in case they didn’t find anything else. He approached Lord Baylor, and the other worker looked at him with a murderous look. He was probably a former mercenary or marine; huge and intimidating even for a normal-to-lean guy like Rick.
    Rick cleared his throat, and Lord Baylor turned to look at him.
    “Tell him that he has to give you 10% like your contract states,” Amy insisted. “It looks really expensive. You can’t let him cheat you out of your share.”
    Rick’s expression tensed and he tried to force a diplomatic smile as if the others could hear her too. “Is the stone any good, my lord?” His glasses amplified the image a thousand times and he saw the purity and perfection of the rock. Whatever it was, it wasn’t natural, and it had been placed there by an advanced civilization. It was so bright that it glowed and almost hummed. Power emanated from it.
    “Just a simple rock.” Lord Baylor’s tense and coarse voice wasn’t a good sign. His hand shook slightly as he held the rock. He put it in his pocket to hide any signs of nervousness. If he was telling the truth, he was making a real effort to hide it. “Let’s hope we find something interesting.”
    “Would you mind if we consult an expert to calculate its estimated value?”
    As if Rick’s words were an invitation, the other worker pushed Lord Baylor aside, pulled Rick’s electric sword from his belt, pushed him onto the floor, and took out two electric guns: one for Rick, the other for Lucas. Lucas stopped jotting things down on his tablet and came back to reality for the first time in years.
    “I’m sorry, gentlemen.” Lord Baylor gestured at them to calm down, but it was hardly easy when you have a gun pointed at you. “Change of plans. Ever heard of the elixir of youth? Of the philosopher’s stone? Well, I’m older than either of you, and I’d like to elude death for a while. You may keep the advance I’ve paid; I’m afraid I won’t be sharing this finding.”
    “Advance?” Rick said. “My contract didn’t include any advances. I’ve been paying out of pocket for this expedition.”
    Lord Baylor let out a deep laugh and held his stomach with both hands. “Indeed. Better luck next time, then.” He nodded at the worker, who pressed something in his sleeve and made the cave explode. Rocks flew in the air and the floor rumbled. If the tomb had hidden any other secrets, none of them remained. He gave them a curt bow and headed for the transport shuttles.
    Rick instinctively headed after him, but the brute with the gun loaded the stunner and it hummed aggressively. Rick stopped in his tracks and folded his arms. “Guess it’s just you and us, then,” he told the brute. “Mind if you give me my gun back and we part as friends? I’d rather not hurt you…”
    “Shut up,” the worker said, and he brought his gun closer to Rick. His weathered voice definitely belonged to someone who’d spent most of his life hunting or on the run. There was no way to get him to reason.
    Hopefully, Lord Baylor would’ve instructed him to let them live once he left.
    Hopefully.
    “This can’t end like this, Richard,” Amy said through the intercom. “If you aren’t going to do anything, I will.”
    “No, wait!” Rick said.
    The brute’s arm tensed and he aimed the gun straight at Rick’s head.
    “No, not you,” Rick told him, and he pointed at his ear. “My ship’s AI is going to do something stupid.”
    The brute hit him on the ear with the gun, hard. A warning. Blood trickled down Rick’s head.
    Awesome, Amy. See what you’ve caused?
    “Not stupid, Richard,” she said. “Rational. I’ve calculated the probabilities of you two surviving, and it’s unlikely that they’ll let you live unless you stop