A Zane's World - The High School Years Story After the big summer kickoff party, I got to feeling guilty about how things ended with Alex. I decided that I needed to show her that she meant more than just a quick bang at a pool party.
Ivan Merciant was a political convict for 20 terran-years, freed by smugglers to locate the lost Treasury of the wealthy Merciants, once Dukes of Como Prime in the days of the old Galactic Empire. Led by two murderous smugglers, financed by Lillian, a Republican courtesan, related to the dead Emperor, served by the everloving domestic help Selene, they embark to navigate a treacherous triple-sun system to find hidden treasure, knowing survival depends on the greed of their present crew mates.
Kevin Duncan's first year at university didn't go as he'd hoped. He didn't get laid and the trip abroad he'd planned didn't happen because his friends were all broke. He decided to use the money on an expensive escort instead. Even this doesn't go to plan - his session is interrupted by thugs and his escort might not be as she appears. Just who, or what, is Madam Voluptula?