A writer's journey begins with a single word.

Captain Hadid Watson had seen it all. From the dark alleys of the seedy spaceports to the glitzy high-rise clubs of the outer rim, he had navigated the galaxy with equal parts charm and cunning. With his rakish smile and his devil-may-care attitude, he had a reputation for getting the job done, no matter the cost.

So when he received a mysterious message from a distant planet, he knew it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The message had been sent on a secure frequency, and the sender had gone to great lengths to conceal their identity. All Hadid knew was that the message promised a reward beyond his wildest dreams if he could retrieve an artifact from a remote location on the planet.