Andromeda's Pirate

by Debra Jess

  Andromeda’s Pirate

  Debra Jess

  ANDROMEDA’S PIRATE

  By

  Debra Jess

  Copyright © 2021 Debra Jess, Corp.

  * * *

  Edited by Heather McCorkle.

  Cover Design by MiblArt.

  All stock photos licensed appropriately.

  * * *

  Published in the United States by City Owl Press.

  www.cityowlpress.com

  * * *

  For information on subsidiary rights, please contact the publisher at info@cityowlpress.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior consent and permission of the publisher.

  Praise for Debra Jess

  “Readers will revel in the desire for freedom and thrilling space battles as they embark on an explosive journey of shadow schemes and new-found love. Fans of science fiction, romance, and mystery will discover Ms. Jess’s tale of a heroic woman determined to forge her own destiny is a satisfying, out-of-this-world adventure.” — InD’tale

  * * *

  “Riveting and complex, Andromeda's Rebel offers up a mix of sci-fi adventure and a compelling love triangle that kept me turning pages long into the night. Tamarja Chase is my favorite kind of heroine--snarky, smart and kickass!” — Holly Crawford, co-author of the Wicked Widows series.

  * * *

  “Andromeda's Rebel is my favorite science fiction romance of the year. It's mystery drives the Star Wars-style action, ensnaring a strong-willed heroine-pilot and a super-sexy hero in a struggle for the truth of her hidden past. Saying more would mean spoilers! Highly recommended!” — D. C. Black, screenwriter, Scarecrow & Mrs. King.

  * * *

  “The books jumps right into the story, slamming the reader into their seat with rich, descriptive writing…I found myself marveling at the author's use of language. She has created such a deeply interesting and encompassing world in this book, and it's difficult for me to understand just how she accomplished it.” — LibraryThing Early Reviewer

  * * *

  “Andromeda's Rebel strikes a satisfying balance among action, romance, and mystery, all woven in to a fast-paced storyline full of sci-fi goodness sure to satisfy both avid fans of the sub-genre and newbies alike. Expertly blended, stellar elements add up to a book that you won't want to put down.” — Kat Turner, author of the Coven Daughters series.

  I'm dedicating this book to Anne Marie Casey who kept me safe when I needed it and continues to have my back during these difficult times.

  Contents

  Want More City Owl Press Books?

  Find Your Next Read

  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

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Sneak Peek of Love in the Time of Wormholes

  Find Your Next Read

  Want More City Owl Press Books?

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  About the Publisher

  Additional Titles

  Want More City Owl Press Books?

  Click here to sign up for the City Owl Press newsletter and be the first to find out about special offers, including FREE book days, contents, giveaways, cover reveals, and more!

  * * *

  Sign up now and become a City Owl Reader today! And join our City Owl Reader-Author group here for even more deals and a whole lot of community and fun!

  Want more sci-fi? Try LOVE IN THE TIME OF WORMHOLES, by City Owl Author, Jess K. Hardy, and find more from Debra Jess at debrajess.com

  On this deep space pleasure cruise, love is in the recycled air.

  Sunastara Jeka is passionate about two things: (1) meeting the needs of the varied species who holiday aboard her interstellar pleasure cruise during the day, and (2) avoiding attachments when the occasional guest meets her needs at night.

  Sunny’s life is simple, straightforward, and safe, until the single most worlds-shattering one-night stand becomes her newest crewmember.

  Freddie has never forgotten that night with Sunny. He’s ecstatic to see her again, until she tells him she never dates her coworkers. Determined not to lose this confident, sexy, hysterical woman again, Freddie bides his time, pursuing a purely professional relationship with Sunny when they’re on the clock, while he slowly charms her senseless after hours.

  As Sunny breaks her own rules about workplace romance, her tragic past and a heartbreaking betrayal thrust her orderly life into chaos.

  When a hostile species holidays aboard the ship, endangering VIP guests and even the known universe, Sunny and Freddie must decide. Will they let the gravity of their pasts keep them apart, or risk it all for love and fight for their future together?

  GET IT NOW!

  Chapter One

  Nothing got Kelra Shade's blood pumping faster than a good old-fashioned standoff. Well, okay, maybe one thing, but she wasn't getting any of that on Ruintalos prison planet. Finding herself surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned warmed her body faster than any of the meager fires she'd managed to create since her former employer, Manitac Corporation, dumped her here. The overcast sky threatened more snow, and the treacherous mountain would tumble an avalanche on her head if she wasn't careful.

  Most of the other prisoners avoided the mountains, preferring the more temperate climates below. She had stuck close to the equator at first, but when it became apparent her rescue wasn't going to happen, she stole what cold-weather gear she needed from the guards' armory and headed east toward the nearest range. There were fewer fights over meager supplies up here, as well as fewer nonhuman predators. Of course, that also meant fewer prey for her to hunt. Still, she managed. What the mountain lacked in food, it more than made up for with water runoff this time of year.

  Fewer prisoners also meant she hadn't had to kill any of them in almost two months. Good thing, too, because her body had weakened almost to the point where she had to struggle to breathe the thin air.

  A flash of gray against the white snow to her left caught her eye. Acting on instinct, she tucked herself behind a small outcrop. From here she had protection from the west, south, and east. North was another issue, but she kept her combat knife ready. Gray meant Manitac, whether it was a formal uniform, heavy parkas, or barely there bikinis.

  But why were they pursuing her now?
>
  The uniforms blended in with the white landscape and were necessary against the subfreezing temperatures, brutal wind, and deep snow. Despite that, they weren't trying all that hard to hide themselves.

  A life sentence on Ruintalos lasted on average seven and a half months, and she'd already survived six. It wouldn't have surprised her if the guards had orders to shorten that average. Hunting prisoners was more of a sport than a military operation this far out from the Unity Homeport. In the end, pirates, murderers, and traitors taken alive were either dumped on Ruintalos or turned into mind-wiped marginally functional puppets who were then pressed into service on Manitac ships and colonies.

  She had timed her treason to match the rotation of circuit judges so her so-called trial was held before a magistrate who preferred incarceration to surgical solutions.

  Boredom might have driven a Manitac squad up the mountain to chase her for the thrill of it. It wasn’t like she didn't have a reputation. As the former captain of Manitac's fastest cruiser, the Silt, she'd brought more pirate crews to justice than anyone else. Her own arrest and conviction would make her a tempting target for anyone looking for revenge.

  Not today, you sons-of-beasts.

  She held one secret up her sleeve. The guards on Ruintalos weren't exactly Manitac's best and brightest. They didn't have to be when there was only one way off the planet, and all they had to do was make sure the prisoners didn't get ahold of the emergency evacuation shuttle. While she'd broken into the armory using old security codes that should have been changed, she'd also filched a cluster disperser that hadn't been properly stowed.

  So many sloppy mistakes, any one of which under her captaincy would have had the crew members responsible court-martialed and booted off her ship faster-than-light speed.

  Her trained eye picked out the locations of at least six guards. Without looking, she activated the disperser and set it for heat seeking. The individual stunners would attach themself to the nearest heat sources and go boom—no more guards. It was a weapon of last resort because if any of the stunners missed their target, they could circle around and find whoever triggered the weapon.

  Her blood pounded in her ears, her labored breath sucking in the clean mountain air. With a swift flick of her wrist, she tossed the disperser.

  As the stunners flew toward their targets, a second set of stunners zipped past the outcrop and tracked the first set. It only took a moment for the second set to overtake the first, attach, and explode, destroying her best chance of killing the guards. Kelra blinked as the debris scattered against the blinding white landscape.

  Someone else on the mountain had aim almost as good as hers. She raised her knife, ready for a fight.

  "Drop it!"

  The familiar voice stopped Kelra cold.

  "Hello, Hart." She lowered her knife, looking up at the man standing above her. "It took you long enough to find me. Nice uniform, by the way."

  She made an obvious show of laying down her stolen weapon. Hart jumped from the jagged rock, ice shards shattering as he landed. Not an easy feat to balance up there for a guy big enough to wrestle an angry ursid and win.

  The Silt holo screen had not done Hart justice. Standing so close to him after a two-year chase made her realize for the first time how impressive he was, not just in height or breadth, but the way he easily commanded the situation. His body language alone signaled his pirates to stop their advance on her and wait for his signal. A pirate needed to have the complete trust of his crew to control their movement without using an ear jack.

  Or her read on the situation could just be an illusion created by her desperation to get off Ruintalos. Raw food, cold baths, no sleep, and no clothing except what she wore made for a miserable existence.

  Not that she was a slouch. Giving up on her mission wasn't an option, not after twenty years of planning for the right moment to act.

  Hart stepped forward into her personal space, his body blocking the wind, giving her some relief. The top of her head met his chin, even with her thick hair shaved off and her ill-fitting boots sunk in the snow.

  "I borrowed it from one of your Manitac friends." Hart's confident look gave way to a more wary one. He knew how dangerous she could be, armed or not. "What do you mean by 'took me long enough’? You make it sound like you were expecting me to rescue you."

  "Of course I was expecting you to rescue me. Five months, three weeks, and four days ago. Did you think I'd let you escape because I wanted to spend the rest of my life here?"

  The dark skin around his serious brown eyes tightened. Bringing his crew here had been due to her manipulations, not his own idea. No man enjoyed being outmaneuvered, especially the most successful pirate in the entire Andromeda Galaxy.

  Hart didn't move, trying to figure out her angle, but the last drabs of adrenaline in her system made her want to move. She hated this planet, and she hated Manitac, but mostly she hated Hart for deciding now was the time to stop and have a conversation.

  "Will you get on with the rescue already? Once I'm warm, fed, and out of this gear, then you can glare at me all you want."

  Even a casual grunt from Hart sounded like a threat, but she refrained from taunting him further. With a flick of his wrist, he activated his ear jack.

  "Stand down. We're leaving."

  She had nothing to go back for at the small bivouac she'd created out of loose rock and stolen supplies. Prisoners wore bright-orange prison jumpsuits when Manitac pushed them out of the airlock to survive on nothing more than their wits—or not. Manitac didn't care one way or another. They wouldn't waste their time burying anyone.

  Hart was her last best hope of completing her mission, the one she created herself over twenty years ago: find the alien who murdered her parents and kill it. It sounded simple enough, but she needed Hart and his pirates to help. Manitac wouldn't, that point had been made clear. Neither Manitac nor the Unity Government believed aliens existed. All intelligent life began and ended on the Unity Homeport, even as its citizens dispersed to the stars.

  Only she knew the location of the lost luxury cruise liner her parents had owned and operated, the Majesty of the Stars. On board, not only were there riches to be plundered but also the evidence she needed for her final hunt, perhaps forever.

  "Don't think that this is personal." He wrapped a firm arm around her shoulders and led her toward his pirate crew. Oh, how her instinct to curl into the extra warmth he offered made her weak at the knees.

  "Wouldn't dream of it." Which was a total lie. The first time she surprised him with a short gravitational acceleration jump followed by a precision tow cable launch, he hailed her rather than waiting for her order to heave-to. Even from the other side of the holo screen, she could see the depth of his shock, but instead of being riled in indignation, there had been something else there, as powerful as it was mesmerizing: admiration.

  He couldn't believe he'd been bested.

  They stared at each other, silently daring the other to make the next move. How much time passed didn’t matter. Hart broke the spell first by congratulating her on almost capturing him, telling her what he thought about her tactic and her tenacity, his voice as musical as a sonata. The only mistake she'd made was not expecting the pin-perfect shot from a hidden tail gun that disrupted the towline and released his destroyer, the Queen of Hearts. It took a complex set of maneuvers to prevent her from recapturing him, but he succeeded in disappearing nonetheless.

  For over two years, she chased him, studied his tactics, memorized his every move, and calculated all of his patterns. The holo messages they exchanged during every engagement remained queued on her personal recorder so she could listen to his voice, squeezing every possible meaning from every single word he uttered. Yet even as two dozen other pirate ships fell into her traps, Hart outwitted her and slipped away every single time. It wasn’t until Manitac refused her most recent request to search the haunted nebula for the Majesty of the Stars, that she realized she had a problem: she needed Ha
rt. Manitac’s final refusal, along with a not-so-subtle threat to her career if she sent the same request again, made it clear she had wasted enough time in their service.

  So during the disaster at Cordova Station, when she had the perfect opportunity to capture Hart and his crew…she let him go.

  Now, knowing she was so close to freedom, her already weakened muscles turned into melted fat. Relying on nothing more than her own determination wasn't working anymore. She had no choice but to lean on Hart, soaking up the strength he offered to keep herself moving forward. Even underneath all the gear he wore, she could still confirm that what she saw on the holo screen was the real deal.

  He glanced at her, as if he wasn't completely sure she'd lost her mind up here on the mountain. "I mean, we're here for one reason."

  "I got that part."

  Pulling her closer, so she wouldn't fall when he activated his comm, he yelled orders over the fierce wind. The stolen Manitac shuttle swung into view alongside the pirate's runabout. Three interceptors hovered nearby, a miracle of a sight after so long and so many kilometers of walking, climbing, hiding, and fighting.