When interstellar smuggler Haz Taylor loses his ship, his money, and his tattered reputation, drinking himself to death on a backwater planet seems like his only option. Then the Coalition offers him a contract to return a stolen religious artifact. Sounds simple enough, but politics can be deadlyβand the artifactβs not enthusiastic about being returned. Haz didnβt sign up to be prisoner transport, but heβs caught between a blaster and hard vacuum. Still, that doesnβt mean he canβt show his captive some kindness. It costs him nothing to give Mot the freedom to move about the ship, to eat when heβs hungryβ¦ to believe that heβs a person. Itβs only until they reach Motβs planet. Besides, the Coalition would hate it, which is reason enough.
Then he finds out what awaits Mot at home, and suddenly hard vacuum doesnβt look so bad. Haz is no hero, but he canβt consign Mot to his fate. Somewhere under the space grime, Haz has a sliver of principle. Itβs probably going to get him killed, but he doesnβt have much to live for anywayβ¦.
Sciencefiction en fantasy