Mack ‘n’ Me: The Transporter’s Favor
Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey #4
C.M. Simpson
Abby hauled me off the ship before Tens had a chance to stop her—and that’s okay, because I already owed Abs a favor. In fact, it was better than okay, because it showed us how much trouble we hadn’t known we were in. But going against the Star Shadow hunt pack? Nullifying their contract to keep ourselves unchained and at large? That was gonna be something else entirely.
NOTE: The main character swears like a sailor, and the support cast aren’t much better. If swears bother you, then this story may not be to your taste.
2nd Edition
Copyright © March 3, 2021 C.M. Simpson
Cover Art & Design (c) July 07, 2020, Moonchild Lilja at Fantasy Book Design
All rights reserved.
License Notes
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to an authorized retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication
This is for all those who believed in me enough that, eventually, I had the courage to believe in myself.
Thank you.
Contents
Acknowledgements
1—Abby
2—The Not-So-Sensitive Friendship
3—The Hunt Begins
4—Boy, Dog, Wolves
5—Arrest and Incapacitation
6—In Werewolf Hands
7—Part of the Pack
8—Goodbye to the Pack
9—Out of the Tank
10—Taking Back the Ship
11—Plans to Kick Free
12—Dumping Cargo
13—The Hunt Resumes
14—The Depredides Lead
15—A Depredides Welcome
16—Depredides Dealings
17—New Contracts
18—Locating Costoganzi
19—Cascade’s Gift
20—Sasha and Derevo
21—Infiltration and Destruction
22—Interlude
23—Training Intensifies
24—Finding Mack
25—Fetching Mack
26—Reparation is Required
27—Recovering Rohan
28—Back to work
29—Mining the Recon
30—A Feint to the Left
31—Locating Dasojin
32—The Dasojin Retrieval
Author Notes
Other Work by C.M. Simpson
About C.M. Simpson
Acknowledgements
The Transporter’s Favor is the fourth book in the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series, and the fourth novel set in Odyssey’s universe. It is also the fourth novel featuring Cutter, Delight, Mack, Tens, and Rohan, characters I would have never have discovered if I hadn’t sat down many years ago to write flash fiction in response to Chuck Wendig’s terribleminds flash fiction challenge, and characters who would never have been developed if I hadn’t decided to write the two novels that were lurking in my head. Those two novels became four—and then six, with another series waiting in the wings. I first continued to write in the series due to the influence of Michael Anderle, Craig Martelle, and the 20booksto50k group, and due to encouragement from Craig Martelle, P.R. Adams, Greta Van Der Rol, Stephen Lee, Frank Mikes and Jeff Lee, all of whom took the time to comment on my work, or respond to my author ramblings. Thanks must also go again to my family for giving me the space to write, and for hugs… lots and lots of hugs.
1—Abby
I’d been out of the tank a scant two days when Abby came for me. By now I was glad I’d left K’Kavor far behind—and, with it, the arach. I was still having nightmares. Doc was recommending a program of desensitization, and I was having none of it. Mack and I had taken it to the mats—of course we had.
I was a lot fitter than the first time I’d faced Mack on the mats—and I had a lot more combat time under my belt, too. This time, I got to the end of the first round, and we’d had to call it a draw. I guess that’s why there was a ‘best of three’ rule.
I wasn’t doing so well on the second round. Mack was fighting dirty… as usual.
So was I.
The trouble was that Mack had been fighting dirty for a lot longer than I had.
I stepped out of the way of a foot strike that would have taken my head off, if it had hit, and went to go for his open torso, only to feel his other hand come under the first and grab my collar. The foot hook and sweep that ended with me going over backwards and Mack coming down on top of me was an unwelcome surprise, but not quite as unwelcome, as the sudden flare of light that separated me from anything that was ‘not me’.
I wound up in Abby’s cabin without a stitch of clothing, landing hard on her plassteel flooring, too surprised to say anything. I could only imagine what Mack was saying.
I rolled, coming fast to my feet and going for cover… which wasn’t there.
“Don’t make me gas you,” came in a distantly remembered accent.
I backed up to a wall, and set my back against it. Clothes are not to be overrated.
“What the fuck—”
“And that’s enough of that,” she said. “You don’t remember me?”
Now that she mentioned it…
“No. Should I?”
I mean, I didn’t know who the hell she was. Why would I care if I upset her? I really wanted a pair of pants, and a shirt, about now. For all I knew, the voice belonged to some guy using a voice synth, while enjoying the view.
“AI? Transporter? Got you out a very nasty place a while back? You do owe me a favor, you know.”
Well, there was only one person who was all of that—and who I owed a favor to.
“Abby?”
Memories of Abby were both good, and bad.
On the one hand, she had gotten me out of a very bad place. On the other, she had also been going to auction my location to the highest bidder, until she’d sold me out to Odyssey and Mack so they could rescue me. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“I owe you a favor?”
“You surely do.”
Well, I knew that. I’d just wanted to see if she knew it, too.
“More than you realize. I’ve been saving this one up.”
“You know Mack will tear the universe apart to find me.”
“Honey, I’m very much counting on it.”
She was?
“I am.”
I sighed.
“And there
