Alien Cradle, Jeff Inlo [graded readers .txt] 📗

Angelo once accused him of thinking small. The pirate was right then, but not anymore. Rath already set up six satellite curtains. A shield of electronic camouflage now encircled the planet, protected it from long-range scanners. It would never be spotted, not by orbiting sensors and not by passing ships. As far as anyone else was concerned, the system was devoid of any planets. Rath owned a world now. Just like Angelo used to.

He had no grand plans of revenge. He did not intend to build a fleet to oppose Regency or to construct a home base for outlaws and rebels. That was Angelo's desire, and it led to his downfall. Rath simply wanted this place to himself, a place to escape, a place of solitude

He stood on the surface. The only living organism on the planet. He did not feel loneliness, he did not feel emptiness. He felt a sense of freedom.

He surveyed the stretching horizons of rock and ocean. He could go anywhere, do anything. Other than the natural forces of this world, he was the sole vehicle of action. Everything else remained dormant, waiting for him to exercise his will.

He thought of the worlds he once explored. All of them were now burgeoning colonies; some were even caught up in the rebellion. But none of them remained as pure as when he first arrived upon their surface. What he loved about being a scout was finding a place that could maintain life, but didn't. A place that seemed to wait for the touch of creation. When life was artificially introduced, whether as it was on Fenrir or even just another planet colonized by the humans themselves, the innocence of that planet disappeared forever.

Rath didn't want that, not here. He picked up a rock and threw it. It skipped across the dirt before rolling to a stop. Once the dust settled, everything was back to the way it was. And the scout wanted it to remain that way.