Page 1 of BrOdByc

Chapter One

BrOdByc

He was tall. All the brothers were tall, strong, and muscular. They were physically stunning humanoid men. Brushing long, dark hair from his eyes, BrOdByc relaxed outside. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, he scanned the docking station at Viant. The pleasure planet. Two of his brothers stood next to him.

On this end of the spaceship, the area was nothing more than a big stretch of tarmac with various spacecraft parked closely together. There were stacks of crates nearby, waiting to be loaded. The entire place hummed with activity. He noticed several small floating carriers work to load or unload those crates. Spaceships continued to land or take off. It was a busy, popular port.

A noisy port, with many alien species walking around. Some were shouting, trying to make themselves heard over the thrusters of the ships, and the whirring sound of the freight carriers. Many of those who exited their ships hurried into one of several alleyways leading away from the dock.

This area was just one big hive of activity. Filled with all manner of creatures in all shapes and sizes. Most were sentient, some were not. Those who weren’t—were typically pets or protection animals. Another constant, almost all the aliens walking around the docks were male. Or looked male.

BrOdByc knew women could seek pleasure mates on Viant, but most of what was available appealed to the males of any species.

He and his brothers watched the ebb and flow of life through this space. Some of these species were far from having two arms and legs and walking upright. He eyed the Octapid as it scrambled from a nearby ship on eight legs. That species was relatively peaceful. Many weren’t.

BaOBy, his brother and captain—the first of their kind—sighed. “It looks quiet. But I am uneasy about leaving the ship unguarded. I’ll wake one of the others.”

BrOdByc and ReBOrB nodded. They understood the sentiment. While they were eager to spend time on the pleasure planet, leaving their brothers and their ship—their home and source of income—unguarded, was risky.

The brothers were clones. All twenty of them lived on DoMicile, their ship. They rotated in and out of stasis—sleep—based on need and finances. If the credits were tight, as they were now, the ship ran with only the captain and two of the brothers.

They were all... connected. To the ship and each other. Communication was a simple thought. The captain chose one man to wake, and the ship started the process. The longer any of them had been asleep, the more time the rejuvenation procedure took.

But the last mission had required all their help. No one had been asleep longer than a day or two. So, renewal would happen in just a few minutes.

The Alien Band of Brothers were, at times, mercenaries for a good cause, couriers, or delivery boys. They took jobs to keep them in credits—and when possible they worked to right the wrongs in the universe. Fighting inequality. Helping the downtrodden and oppressed. Rescuing the souls who needed saving.

Their creator had fashioned the brothers for just that purpose.

Standing in the shadow of their ship, the three brothers searched the landing dock. Watching to ensure there was nothing unusual going on. Committing their location to memory.

Embedding their ship’s coordinates in their visual memory had saved them a number of times. They could find it in the dark if they were under attack, or if their enemies’ blood blinded them. More than once, one of them had suffered from amnesia. Having the ship’s location implanted in their DNA guided them home or enabled the other brothers to locate them.

He shifted his gaze. Watching BaOBy and ReBOrB. They were almost mirror images of himself. Both had long, dark hair. They were tall. Exactly the same height as BrOdByc. They were humanoid, with two arms and legs, a wide chest, and lots of muscles.

A pair of Ahnoks exited a nearby ship. The beings had a halo of eyes surrounding their skulls. These beings were in constant demand as bodyguards. They were impossible to sneak up on. To rest, they only had to close half their eyelids.

He grinned at ReBOrB. Knowing his brother’s thoughts were similar to his own. They were happy the creator had gifted them with only two eyes apiece. And an appearance that never failed to gain female notice.

The Band of Brothers were a striking lot. Twenty men who looked exactly alike, except for...

A scream pierced the air.

Shocking in its intensity, the sound interrupted his thoughts. Pain and anger reverberated in the notes—and something inside him shattered.

Casey

She woke screaming.

The dream of hands shoving and pulling, touching her body in the night—so real. Opening her eyes didn’t end the nightmare. It made it worse!

The hands in Casey’s dream—turned out to belong to creatures covered in red fur. Each of them had four arms. Four hands. They also had a mashed face and smelled like a garbage dump on a hot summer day.

Cleanliness was not a thing with these… monsters.

She was forced to change the description to aliens when they loaded her on a spaceship.

Casey slapped at the hands, kicked with her feet, and kept screaming. She heard her sister, Cameron. Cammy called out once—and then went silent.

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