by Celia Kyle
Treasured by the Alien Pirate
Celia Kyle
Athena Storm
Contents
The Athenaverse Star Chart
Blurb
The Story So Far…
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
About the Authors
Also by Athena Storm
The Athenaverse Star Chart
Blurb
I’m a wanted woman. In more ways than one.
I was arrested, then imprisoned in cryosleep, and finally rescued by a crew of horned, golden skinned aliens.
Now my government has branded me a traitor.
Whoever is after me is willing to kill--to destroy anything and anyone in their way.
They’re powerful and without mercy.
It’s enough to make me lose all hope.
Until Grantian.
He’s a dangerous man and he promises to protect me.
Former mercenary with the Hael Hounds--more blood on his hands than he cares to recount.
He’s experienced suffering. And pain. And loss.
I can tell that he sees something in me.
Something that makes him willing to kill again.
Yet with him, I feel safe.
And even if we travel to the ends of the galaxy,
With him...
I feel like I’m home.
The Story So Far…
The year is 2338. Humanity has weathered it’s infancy and has navigated to the stars. They’ve colonized other worlds and become a space faring civilization and formed the Interstellar Human Confederation.
Along the way, they’ve come to discover that the galaxy is actually a pretty crowded place. There are several political entities in the galaxy.
The Trident Alliance is composed of the Vakutan, the Pi’rell, and the Alzhon.
The Ataxian Coalition is composed of the Odex, Kreetu, Grolgath, and Shorcu.
The Coalition and the Alliance has been fighting a war for about 350 years. At its heart, it’s an existential conflict that determines whether the known galaxy will be guided by the teachings of the Ataxian religion or by the capitalistic and technocratic tendencies of the Trident Alliance.
Details are unclear how the war between the Alliance and Coalition started, but atrocities in the name of protecting the innocent have been committed by both sides.
Several races, trying to remain neutral and unaffiliated with either side have formed a loose political union known as the League of Non-Aligned Races. Each race maintains their sovereignty. Member states meet infrequently to discuss trade and security matters, but no true leadership exists.
Many races over the centuries have settled and created a political entity known as the Helios Combine, situated between Coalition and Alliance space and next to the Badlands - a region of space with many stellar phenomena. The Combine is known for it’s slave based economy, its capitalist based caste system, and a rigid social class system.
Humanity had for a long time maintained their neutrality, but after multiple encounters, sided with the Alliance in their war against the Coalition.
War has been unkind to the humans.
Against this backdrop, a large IHC freighter, named the Frontier was found adrift in space by a Kilgari smuggler ship called the Ancestral Queen. The women were found either in cryosleep or emerging from it, with no idea how they ended up on the ship other than the fact that they had been arrested by human security on a number of worlds.
What they discover is that their government has announced that they are terrorists and wanted for acts of treason and espionage. None of the women believes they have done anything to warrant this.
The Kilgari are aliens that live in a matriarchal society and belong to the League of Non Aligned Races. The Ancestral Queen, led by Captain Solair has brought the women on board and continued to help them as well as integrate those who wish to stay into the crew.
Some women wish to return to their homes. Very few had any sort of real families. But they all want to clear their name and bring those who are falsely accusing them to justice one day.
That day has yet to come…
Chapter One
Lamira
Just when I think I’m adjusting to life aboard the Ancestral Queen with the Kilgari, a race of the biggest, best-looking males I’ve ever seen, something else goes awry. Apparently, it wasn’t bad enough that a week ago I woke up stuffed into a cryostasis pod, trapped in the hold of a ship I didn’t recognize, and without any recollection as to how I’d gotten there. Now another deafening alarm is going off for whatever reason, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Security personnel to the medbay!” I glance at the intercom as the captain’s voice echoes through the ship, his bellow bouncing off the metal walls.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been alone on the Frontier, the ship where I’d been imprisoned. It was an Interstellar Human Confederation ship and because the IHC didn’t have colonies or outposts all the way out here in Kilgari space, I have no idea where the ship was taking us.
With me were one hundred and six other women, including my best friend, Varia. Seven days after waking up and right before we’d run out of food, water, and air, we were rescued by the aforementioned big, best-looking males, and were brought aboard their ship. Their timing was quite lucky. For us, anyway. I’m not sure how the Kilgari feel.
They’ve been working themselves nearly to death trying to accommodate us, but they don’t seem to mind. Probably because the Kilgari are part of a matriarchal society, where their females take multiple males for mates. I can’t fathom it but hey, to each her own. I don’t pass judgment on how others choose to live their lives.
Another reason they’re so accommodating is that despite the whole polygamy thing, the Kilgari also have an ancient tradition about fated mates, which I find completely romantic. They only moved to their current matriarchal society after a war nearly wiped out the entire female population. Before that, they’d subscribed to the idea that each male had a female out in the universe who was perfect for him in every way—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Over generations, the practice disappeared but seems to have had a resurgence since our two factions merged aboard the Queen.
Varia, it turns out, is the mate of the Queen’s captain, Solair. For that reason alone, the Kilgari are invested in our welfare. They’re a close-knit crew, and a mate is immediately accepted into the fold.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the concept of fated mates since finding out about Varia and
Solair. I’ve been wondering if it’s possible that one of the Kilgari males is my mate, but so far there hasn’t been any indication. I haven’t met them all yet—there are one-hundred-fifty Kilgari on the Queen—and of course it’s not guaranteed any one of them will be my mate, but… But it might be nice to have someone to share my small little life with. It’s certainly gotten more interesting in the last little while, but going back to normal would be nice, too. If I wasn’t going back to normalcy alone, that is.
Varia told me the Kilgari first recognize their mate by her scent. I guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on every male who comes sniffing around.
Just this morning, Varia moved her stuff out of the makeshift room we’d been assigned when we’d boarded. She now shares Solair’s quarters, which is quite the upgrade from the glorified closet Thrase and I find ourselves stuck in. Upon tidying up earlier, I noticed she’d left her favorite necklace behind, so I decided to venture up to the bridge to take it to her. That’s when that damn klaxon alarm blasted again.
I swear to the Mother, I’ll never get used to that thing.
I’m not really sure about protocol when the thing goes off, so I’ve decided to just stay where I am, standing in the narrow corridor outside the medbay. I can hear shouts coming from one of the infirmary rooms, but I don’t dare go down there. Nicari, the Kilgari doctor, has been tirelessly working to bring the roughly fifty women who remain in stasis out of their slumber. If something’s gone wrong under his watch, I’m not really sure I want to be a witness.
The fifty-seven of us who’d woken up on board the Frontier were lucky. I’m not quite sure how we’d been properly awakened, but I’m thankful I’m alive with all my faculties. Coming out of cryo too quickly can have disastrous effects.
Varia and Solair rush onto the scene as I observe the flurry of activity inside the infirmary. Varia notices me standing there like a deer in the headlights and immediately grabs my hand, pulling me toward the action.
“Come with me.” It’s not a question and her voice is edged with worry. Not one part of me wants to go, but she’s my best friend. I would have died aboard the Frontier if it weren’t for her. So I snap myself out of my thoughts of what might be happening to one of those cryo’ed women and follow her.
“What’s going on?” Solair’s voice is commanding and firm, demanding answers from his medic.
Nicari looks as confused as I feel as he stares down at a woman slumped over sideways in one of the pods. She’s awake and breathing, but barely. Her skin has a bluish tinge to it—corpse-like under the harsh infirmary lights, like death warmed over.
My heart races as I observe the scene, holding onto both my breath and Varia’s hand.
“The pod had some kind of—of an energy surge or something. It’s come up to temp too quickly. She’s woken up too soon. I have no idea what effect it’ll have on her brain, but it can’t be anything good,” Nicari states.
“Well you must be able to do something to help her!” Varia’s voice is shrill and frantic. She’s spent the last week busting her ass to protect us, and she’s not going to stop now.
“I can’t—what could I possibly—”
A sharp, blood-curdling scream cuts Nicari off as the woman bolts upright. She immediately tries to remove the wires and nodes taped all over her body. Nicari and Varia both step in to stop her but she fights like a hellcat, fists flying and legs kicking out to ward them away.
“No—no! Get off me. Don’t touch me. I won’t go back! I’ll die before I let you take me back to Solace!”
The poor thing is completely confused. Clearly, she has no idea who we are or where she is. She continues scrabbling at the leads digging in under her skin while still trying to keep Varia and Nicari at bay. They both try to explain who they are, but the woman fights valiantly on.
The scuffle doesn’t last long. Even I can recognize the signs of cryo atrophy, which are exacerbated by her coming out of stasis too quickly, taking over in her efforts to free herself. Her eyes lose focus and begin to roll back into her head before she passes out completely, slumping forward with such velocity that Nicari barely has time to catch her.
“Help me get her onto the gurney!” he demands. Varia, Solair and I all rush forward to assist him. So gently, we lift the now-comatose woman into our arms. I cradle her head in my hands, looking down into her beautiful, pale face. It’s still etched with terror, but a bit of her color is returning. We lower her onto the bed and back off quickly, allowing Nicari room to check her vitals.
Varia, Solair, and I stand together in a huddle as he works, our eyes flicking between each other, to the woman, and back again. I don’t want to be the first to ask but it seems no one else wants to either, so there’s no point in tiptoeing around it.
“Do either of you know what she meant by ‘Solace’? She said she wouldn’t go back there, but I’ve never heard of such a place.”
“I’ve traveled extensively throughout this entire galaxy—through the League, IHC Space, the Coalition and the Alliance territories—and not once have I ever heard of ‘Solace,’” Solair explains.
Varia can’t hide the worry on her face, despite appearing confused and pensive. “Maybe it’s not a planet. Maybe it’s a city? Or, a company—an organization?”
I shake my head. Varia and Solair are both ten times more worldly than I am. I spent nearly all of my life on Titanu Vox before I moved to Erebus to look after my aunt’s children.
Even going to Erebus was difficult for me. I would have been content to spend my whole life living and working on Titanus Vox. It was pleasant and safe. But my aunt needed me, so I boarded a transport shuttle for what I hoped was the first and last time in my life to Erebus.
I haven’t been far out into the galaxy ever. Not until I was captured and shackled aboard the Frontier. If they don’t know what “Solace” is, I definitely don’t.
Nicari pulls a blanket over our unknown compatriot. Delicately, he tucks it in around her before asking another Kilgari male to sit with her. I hadn’t even noticed he’d entered the room. He then approaches our group, looking as exhausted as I feel.
“Varia, I apologize. I have no idea what happened. I want you to know I’ve been doing everything in my power to wake your people slowly and properly. I have no explanation for this unfortunate turn of events.”
Varia, normally so fierce when it comes to protecting “her girls,” merely shakes her head. “I don’t doubt it, my friend. Will she… do you think she’ll wake up? Once again, we now have more questions than answers.”
“All we can do is hope.” Nicari steals another glance at the unconscious woman and the male who’s placed himself close by her side.
Hope. It’s certainly not in excess around here, but if it’s all we can do, I’ll give it a try.
Chapter Two
Grantian
“Comin’ through,” I grunt as four women squeeze themselves against the walls to let me pass. Without paying them any heed, I keep marching straight ahead, only stopping once I’m standing in front of the medbay. Pressing the panel to the right of the entry, I wait as the doors slide apart to grant me access.
The white glow of the medbay is enough for me to narrow my eyes against the glare. I step inside cautiously, never too happy to be inside a room crammed with gauze, blood packets, serum injectors, and Kilgar knows what else. My gaze is immediately drawn to the bed surrounded by Solair, Varia, and a host of other people. A woman lies prone on top of it, but her posture isn’t that of someone in deep cryosleep. It’s tenser than it should be, and the expression on her face is one of pain.
“She doesn’t look too good,” I knit my eyebrows together as I take one step toward the bed.
“No shit,” Solair grumbles. Standing beside her, he’s looking down at the woman with a worried expression. “There was a power surge and the damn pod thawed too quickly. She woke, panicked, and now is in a coma.”
“Huh,” I mutter, not knowing what else to say. I have a lot of
expertise when it comes to waging war, but not much when it comes to members of the gentler sex. Especially if they’re in a coma. Turning my attention back to Solair, I clear my throat. “You’re needed at the bridge.”
“What for?”
“Swipt and Montier are arguing about the nav charts,” I reply with a shrug. “Again.”
Frowning, Solair doesn’t look too happy about leaving the scene. Not that I’m surprised. He’s taken Varia as his mate and is probably concerned about her. After all, she just witnessed one of her own going through a difficult cryo experience.
“I’ll be there in a while,” he replies. “They can wait.” Walking to the pod, he fumbles with the electronic dashboard mounted on the side and then frowns once more. Whatever data he’s looking at, he’s not too pleased.
As Solair does his inspection, I turn around to see who else is in the medbay with me. There’s Varia, the tough leader of our new female crew mates, and another woman I don’t recognize. Then there’s…
Lamira.
The moment I lay eyes on her it feels as if invisible fingers squeeze my heart so tightly the damn thing might burst. My blood boils in my veins, and my thoughts spiral out of control.
Lamira.
“Are you okay?” She takes a couple of steps toward me and, placing both hands on her hips, meets my stare. “You’re going pale,” she continues, and the sound of her voice is enough for a knot to appear in my throat. I return her gaze, her smoky gray eyes luring me in, and I try and compose myself.
