Click on image to enlarge.

	Regular				Club
You Pay:	$0.75				$0.64

eBook Category: Science Fiction
eBook Description: An Orthodoxy Security Agency agent is sent to a colony planet where OSA and other arms of the galactic government are arbitrating an end to the civil war. He's undercover, investigating suspected corruption in the OSA contingent. He meets a street urchin at the spaceport who has a pet. Odd enough, a beggar with a pet, but this creature has a strange capability; it soothes its owner like a narcotic. The agent learns the creature is linked to the civil war, to the OSA corruption, and possibly to the fate of the galaxy.

eBook Publisher: Fictionwise.com, Published: The Fifth Di--, 1996
Fictionwise Release Date: April 2005

13 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [226 KB], eReader (PDB) [33 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [20 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [19 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [79 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [91 KB], hiebook (KML) [55 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [44 KB], iSilo (PDB) [16 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [21 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [48 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [30 KB]
Words: 5736
Reading time: 16-22 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

The skinny street urchin blocked my path through the shuttle concourse crowd arriving on Harmony from Earthome. Looking over a sea of bobbing heads for a commbooth, I almost tripped over him.

"May I carry your bags, sir?"

He danced bare foot to bare foot on the polished tile floor, toothy grin stretching mahogany skin.

The grin and his eagerness smacked of long practice, artificial but endearing enough to the untrained traveler. But I knew his type and I pushed him aside, efficiently, but without malice--even these street kids had to make a living, and competition was tough. I saw many around the busy port.

I found the booth and sat. I started to punch in my daughter's number when I realized I'd forgotten it. Just like I'd forgotten Peg's birthday, which had occurred two days before. I'd been in hyperspace and couldn't call. Swearing, I fumbled the code chip from my wallet. The wallet slipped from my fingers and dropped to the floor. I had some Orthodoxy marcs, all twenties. They clattered across the floor.

I swore again. I scooped up the wallet and the code chip, but I feared the sticky fingers would liberate the marcs. Then I saw the urchin, the same one who'd approached me a moment before, deftly snatching up the money as he dodged among hurrying legs. He tripped one dirty street kid, pushed another, and gouged an older beggar who'd zeroed in on the windfall, grabbing a few marcs from the older man's hand.

Smiling his endearing but practiced smile, the boy approached me with the loot held out in one hand.

"I believe you dropped this--" he began.