Pirate Nemesis (Telepathic Space Pirates Book 1)

by Carysa Locke

  “You know I can’t do that.”

  Her friend’s eyes narrowed. “I know no such thing. You’re the Queen, right? You can do whatever the hell you want.”

  “That’s not actually how it works.”

  “It could work that way. If you wanted it to.”

  “I told you, I’m not taking command away from Cannon. Not now, maybe not ever.”

  “But you did that claiming thing. Everyone here belongs to you now.”

  “No. Everyone here is connected to me now. That’s quite enough for me. I’m not looking to control people, like Rani, or rule them, like my grandmother.”

  Atrea rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She lowered her voice and leaned close. “Seriously, you can’t leave me here. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this doctor has a worse bedside manner than the Navy doctors. And let me tell you, that is really saying something.”

  Mercy tucked the blanket around Atrea a little tighter as she stood up. “I’m sorry, I really am.”

  “Traitor.”

  “I’ll be back to check on you.”

  Just as she moved to step away, Atrea’s hand whipped out and snagged her wrist. “Mercy, please.” Desperation shone in Atrea’s blue eyes. “I can’t be here when he wakes up.” She jerked her head toward Jaxon’s privacy screen, her face pale.

  “You had to shoot him, Atrea. You made the right call, and he’ll agree.”

  “No, I didn’t.” Atrea sagged back onto her bed. Mercy had never seen such a stark look on her friend’s face. It was enough to make her sit down.

  “What’s going on?”

  Atrea looked away. “I should have popped that girl. The queen controlling everyone. I don’t know why I didn’t. One shot and her control would have fallen. None of the good guys get hurt, and both kids live. Instead, I chose between the two men being controlled, and nearly killed one of them. Fucking shot went low. I missed the other guy completely. So now we have a dead kid, and a bunch of people in the infirmary.”

  Mercy didn’t say anything right away. She took a moment to think about how to approach it. “Wow,” she said, keeping her voice mild. “That is a lot of guilt you’re taking on for someone who helped me save this entire ship.”

  Atrea just shook her head. “I’m serious, Mercy.”

  “So am I. Besides, you only think you could’ve shot that girl. But if you’d tried, you would have missed, and both boys would be dead.”

  Atrea frowned. “The shot was open.”

  “You still would have missed. Queens can’t be killed by just anyone. There’s like a…an aversion to it. When Willem tried to kill me, he couldn’t physically pull the trigger. The same thing would have happened to you. Or you’d have missed.” She squeezed Atrea’s hand. “So stop beating yourself up. And don’t worry. Jaxon seems like a good guy. I’m sure he’ll be understanding.”

  Atrea laughed, but the sound had no humor. “Right. Most guys are really understanding when you shoot them.”

  “You’ll see.” Mercy stood up. “Now, I really have to go. If I don’t meet Reaper soon, he’s going to come looking for me. And no one wants Doc and Reaper butting heads.”

  “Yeah.” Atrea eyed her with a hint of her old spirit. “You’re going to have to tell me more about this guy. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

  Mercy rolled her eyes as she walked away.

  “No, seriously!” Atrea called at her back. “Does he cook? Give back rubs? The sex has to be great.”

  Mercy made a rude gesture as she slipped out of the infirmary, and heard her friend’s voice dissolve into a laugh. It was good. A sound she was grateful to hear again.

  Soon Wolfgang would be back on his feet. Vashti was already nearly healed. She and Mercy were due for a long talk – Mercy wanted to know exactly how Vashti threw off Rani’s control when no one else could.

  She figured Reaper would be with Cannon and the rest of the Core. They’d all been meeting fairly often since the arena. Some were pleased with the way things had turned out. Others were definitely not. Mercy was staying away as much as she possibly could. She didn’t need to ruffle anymore feathers, and she definitely didn’t want people thinking she was setting herself up as some sort of supreme ruler. She’d met with them once, at Cannon’s insistence, and told them in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t interested in changing anything. Cannon was still the King, and that was that. Of course some people believed her, and others didn’t. Bottom line: she couldn’t make everyone happy, and she wasn’t going to try.

  Mercy, where are you? Reaper’s voice made her smile.

  Hey. Aren’t you with Cannon and the other pirate captains? Since most of the Core had their own ships to command, Mercy had started giving them nicknames. Captain Reaper, Captain Griffin, and so on. If the person didn’t have a suitably pirate-themed name, she gave them one. “Captain Bloodstar” was her current favorite. Nobody seemed amused by it but her.

  I just returned to our quarters, and found you gone. Did you take one of the dogs with you?

  I thought we agreed that I was safe now that I’ve claimed everyone on the ship. Even if Willem’s tool is still alive, he definitely can’t hurt me now. Not even as intentional collateral damage with another bomb.

  There is still the matter of the Killer.

  Mercy sighed as she turned down the corridor to their quarters. Reaper just would not let that go. Have any Killers boarded the ship recently?

  That’s not the point.

  She opened the door and walked in, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well, if any do, you let me know. I’ll happily go back to dragging a dog with me every-damn-where.”

  Reaper was waiting for her. He stepped close and pulled her against him. “Yes,” he said. “You will.”

  “Enough. I walked across the whole ship by myself and nothing catastrophic happened. Can we just take a moment and be happy about that?”

  “You’re in a good mood. Wolfgang and Atrea must be doing better.”

  “They are.” A little mollified, she softened against him. “Atrea asked me if you cook and give back rubs.”

  He grinned, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “And what did you tell her?”

  “That we just have really great sex.”

  “Well, that’s true.”

  He took her mouth in a possessive kiss. It was a constant amazement to Mercy that someone with the ability to turn off all emotion could be such a passionate and attentive lover. His hands threaded in her hair as his tongue swept across hers, and she could already feel the fabric of her shirt parting along her back, the cold air of the room prickling her skin.

  You keep tearing my shirts.

  Not my fault you don’t take them off fast enough.

  She grinned against his mouth. It’s a good thing you do cook.

  Reaper chuckled softly. “I really don’t. I order up from the galley.”

  “Well, damn.”

  He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the alcove. He’d been doing that a lot, since the arena. Carrying her. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but figured she’d ask him eventually.

  As he laid her down, he said, “The Core wants to know what we’re going to do with the rest of Frain’s people.”

  Mercy narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been waiting to say that since I walked in the door.”

  “You’re the one who refuses to come to meetings.”

  She closed her eyes and felt the bed dip as he lay down beside her. “What do they want to do? The Core.” And damn him for making her ask. He and Cannon had some scheme cooked up between them to try and make her join in all of the politics.

  “It’s a split vote. Some want to maroon them on the nearest moon, habitable or not. Others want to take them in. Especially the women.” Reaper paused. He was playing with her hair. It had grown longer again, long enough now to hang past her shoulders. “Cannon says it’s up to you, since you claimed them along with the rest of us.”

  “Hmm.”
>
  He nudged her with an elbow, but she didn’t say anything. “Mercy.”

  “What?”

  “What do you want to do?”

  She sighed. “Take them in, of course.” And let them be pirates.

  Epilogue

  The resort world Ghalos was known for its five star cuisine, offering a selection of dishes that were delicacies on a hundred other worlds. One meal cost more credits than most people saw in a Galactic Standard year, yet Thirteen’s breakfast sat congealing on the resort’s fancy china. She had no stomach for it.

  Since being woken this morning by the shockwave of Talent, she’d been restless. Unable to go back to sleep. Unable to eat. Dread filled the pit of her stomach. She stood by the observation window that filled an entire wall, and stared out at the red giant star framed perfectly by the station’s careful rotation.

  It was why she came here whenever she could scrape together the time. Whenever she could escape. Ghanos had long been abandoned as a viable planet for life, but the resort station orbiting it still drew huge crowds of wealthy citizens wanting to observe the last days of this system’s sun. Even if those last days took another thousand years. No one knew for sure. It could expand and engulf the station tomorrow, ending all of those lives in a moment.

  Sometimes, Thirteen hoped it would. But her fascination with the red giant wasn’t just the vain half-hope that it might end her life. She felt a kinship whenever she stared at the deep, flaring swirl of red and orange. The closer it came to death, the more brilliant the star became. Eventually, it would explode. Become something new. It was a fate she shared with the star. And, like it, her days were numbered. It might happen tomorrow. Or ten years from now.

  But it would happen.

  When the contact finally came, it was a relief to get it over with, even as the powerful mind connecting with hers overwhelmed her thoughts and took control. It brought her to her knees.

  You felt the claiming. It wasn’t a question. The voice sounded like her own, but it wasn’t. The power that reverberated through it made Thirteen’s bones ache.

  Yes, Mother. The Alpha must always be addressed as Mother.

  This queen is more powerful than the others. She could have taken those who belong to us if we had not been vigilant. She is an inconvenience.

  An inconvenience, never a threat. The Alpha didn’t admit to being threatened.

  What do you want to do? Thirteen felt her body begin to tremble. The weight of the Alpha’s presence was too great. It might take her days to recover after this conversation.

  She will be ours.

  Shock coursed through Thirteen. Never before had the Alpha taken a queen not of her own line. Never had she found one she wanted in that way. A traitorous seed of hope sprang up within her at the same time.

  Yes, Mother. What can I do?

  You will be my eyes. I want to see this queen for myself. Then I will decide.

  Thirteen hesitated. Questioning the Alpha was never wise. She kept her thoughts careful, respectful. Won’t that expose us, Mother?

  It is necessary. I trust you are skilled enough to avoid detection. My Chosen could do no less.

  The threat was clear, unsaid, but implied. Only the Chosen lived as long as Thirteen. The rest were discarded, empty husks. Thirteen bowed her head.

  Of course, Mother. I will not fail.

  I would LOVE to hear from you and get feedback on

  Pirate Nemesis

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  Acknowledgments

  Mercy and Reaper. Where do I begin with these two?

  For those of who read the prequel novella, Pirate Bound, you should know that Sanah and Dem came after. I wrote the first draft of Pirate Nemesis – then just Nemesis – over eight years ago. It has seen many versions since then. This was the first book I wrote where I truly understood authors who would do multiple complete rewrites to get the book right. I had the character, I had the bare bones of world building from the roleplay universe my co-author had created for them. But that firs draft still wasn’t right. I wasn’t the writer then that I am today. The world wasn’t fleshed out enough. We needed more detail, and Mercy and Reaper needed a lot of work to translate from roleplay to a book.

  I started and stopped many drafts of the rewrite. Diana Fox, an agent who read the original version of this book, gave me lots of great feedback to make it better, but I struggled with implementing it. I think I needed those intervening years to grow as both a person and a writer before it finally clicked and made sense. And Pirate Nemesis wouldn’t be the book it is today without her invaluable advice.

  Mercy and Reaper are who they are because of input from many, many people. In the old fandom days, I was on Livejournal writing fanfic. My friends there (you Harem girls know who you are!) were my first beta readers. They saw the beginning of this journey, and many of them are still around to see the culmination now. To my beta readers, then and now, this book would not exist without you. Thank you Heather, Janice, Tamatha, Chaz, Rebecca, Paula, Lea, Veronica, Jade, Eliza, Brooke and Amy. If I have missed anyone, give me a little leeway for the years that have passed.

  I must also thank my critique group, Scott Hungerford and Elisabeth Knottingham. You turn a writer’s and editor’s eye to my work, and you make it better with every bit of feedback you give.

  Thank you to my friend Jason, who provided the Japanese words for everything Doc says. He wouldn’t be the same character without you.

  And, of course thank you to my co-author. She is always there when I need to talk through some bit of world building or future plot line, or just when I need to get away from the writing and talk things through. These books would not exist without the worlds and characters she creates in our roleplay games. Mercy is mine, but Reaper was hers before I ever wrote him onto the page. I always hope when I am putting words onto the keyboard that I do her complex characters justice.

  My husband deserves a huge amount of thanks for his patience, especially during these last weeks when every day went something like “Honey, I don’t have time to go to a movie or cook dinner – I have to make my word count!” He is everything supportive, and I promise to make it up to him now that the book is finished.

  And last but certainly not least, my eternal thanks to my mother, who always believed I could do this and never lost faith that I would.

  If you’ve finished Pirate Nemesis, you know that Mercy and Reaper’s story is far from over. There are three books planned that directly feature them. This one, and two more. From there, the series will move on to another character as the central focus, but that doesn’t mean we won’t ever see them again. Mercy is essential to the overarching plot, and I expect to write more about her in the future of the series. This is a long game. I hope everyone will enjoy the ride.

  Finally, I want to thank you, the readers. Thank you for taking a chance on a new author. Thank you for taking the time to read about characters I love and the universe Malea and I have created. In the end, if we wanted to keep it to ourselves, we could just roleplay in it forever. But we wanted to share it with you, and I can only hope you will fall in love with it as much as I have.

  About the Author

  Carysa Locke is the pseudonym for writing team Carysa Locke and MaLea Holt, two best friends who have been creating imaginary worlds together for more than twenty years. Carysa is a high school English teacher, and MaLea helps support families with special needs children. You might say, they wor
k as super heroes in their day jobs!

  Their obsession with pirates and adventure goes back many years, when they started another hobby together - costuming. They regularly attend Ren-faires and Pirate Festivals. They currently reside in the Pacific Northwest with their families, where they still routinely roleplay and costume together, when they aren't too busy working on the next novel.