Queen of the Void (The Void Queen Trilogy Book 1)

by Michael Wallace

  Finally, another ship jumped into the system. HMS Peerless. Nearly two hours had passed since Void Queen came through, and Catarina had nearly given up hope McGowan would arrive. Moments later, his missile frigate appeared, followed by Catarina’s old ship, Orient Tiger.

  McGowan appeared on the screen. He eyed her calmly, with no evidence of the jump showing on his face. “You’re still alive.”

  “What were you expecting?”

  A dismissive shrug. “Based on the panic in your subspace, who knew what to expect?”

  Catarina gritted her teeth. “That wasn’t panic, that was a demand for help. Take a look. I’ve got five star wolves on my backside.”

  “Yes, I see, and you’ve lost one of your falcons, too.” McGowan glanced to the side and nodded at someone off screen. “Ah, well, it’s still alive. But disabled. That’s almost the same thing. Pull back to my position. We’ll shield you.”

  “The two closest ships are wounded. Come to me, and we’ll knock them out and force the other three to run for their lives.”

  “Negative, Vargus. We don’t want this fight, and since we match their firepower, we won’t have to. Bring Void Queen to my position. That is all.” He cut the line.

  She stared, furious. “What, exactly, about this situation doesn’t he understand? We can hit two wolves while they’re isolated. Or we can fight five enemies all together.”

  A glance to the side showed Capp watching with a raised eyebrow while she scratched at the lion tattoos on her forearm.

  “What?” Catarina demanded.

  “It ain’t that you’re wrong, Cap’n. It’s just that McGowan has a point. Even if there are five star wolves, these blokes are raiders. They don’t want a fair fight, they want an ambush. They don’t have that now.”

  The captain eyed her lieutenant with surprise. “Since when are you the type to run from a fight?”

  Capp shrugged. “I’ll fight or not. But this one ain’t personal. Might not be the battle we’re looking for.”

  It felt personal to Catarina, with McGowan sitting smugly by the jump point. A torpedo boat came through, towing a piece of disassembled barge. Great, show the goods. As if the enemy wasn’t greedy enough already.

  But as Void Queen drew up next to Peerless, and the Ironside-class and the smaller Punisher-class cruisers lined up, with the support vessels taking position next to them, McGowan and Capp proved right. The Scandian vessels first slowed, and then stood safely out of range. The two forces eyed each other across a distance of nearly two million miles. Five star wolves against a small armada of Royal Navy warships and their support vessels.

  More of Catarina and McGowan’s ships came through. A war junk, two Hroom sloops. Three pirate schooners. At last, the star wolves turned away as a group and began flying toward the Great Bear System’s sun. Within two hours, they’d reached the nearest gas giant, flown into its upper atmosphere, and cloaked themselves. After that, they disappeared from all attempts to locate them.

  Carvalho’s strikers tracked down the damaged falcon. Its engine was destroyed, but the pilot was still alive. The pilot, a young woman named Greeves, had suffered a burn and was still struggling against a bad jump concussion, but she would live to fight another day. Her ship was a mess, and it would need a new engine, if one could be found.

  McGowan called Catarina via audio. “We need to talk, Vargus.”

  “Didn’t we already do that? Fine, go ahead.”

  “No, in private. There has been a change in plans, and I need to give you new orders.”

  “Since we’re not in battle anymore, shouldn’t I be giving the orders? But whatever. I’ll take the call in the war room.”

  “No, Vargus. This is a meeting that needs to happen in person.”

  “Is that really necessary?”

  “Yes, Vargus.” A strain in his voice. “Do you think I want to see you in person if I don’t have to? Face-to-face.”

  Catarina sighed. Just what she needed. “All right, bring over a pod.”

  “I’m too busy. You’ll have to come here.”

  “You arrogant son of a—” she blurted, before remembering that she was theoretically an officer in the Royal Navy now, and her officers on the bridge were listening in. She decided she didn’t care. “I’m breaking in a new crew here. We’ve taken damage to our shields—that needs a repair. Plus I’ve got a crippled falcon and gun batteries out of alignment.”

  She was readying a full broadside of angry retorts when he cut the call, and she was left sputtering to an awkward halt as he vanished.

  “Screw you, McGowan,” she said to the blank screen.

  Capp was watching with a raised eyebrow. “Gotta give you one thing, Cap’n. You don’t let no one intimidate you, do you?”

  #

  Catarina couldn’t stop tugging at her uniform as an ensign led her through the corridors of Peerless and onto the lift. Even though McGowan’s cruiser hadn’t been in battle, there was ongoing work in all parts. Techs behind panels, techs even cleaning panels, though everything looked sparkling and new. Almost like Void Queen, in fact, though Peerless had been in space for several years and through numerous fights against pirates, Hroom, and Apex. It wasn’t the battle-worn interior of Blackbeard, that was for sure.

  The crew matched the ship, their hair trim, their uniforms spotless. Men and women moved with purposeful strides, and while she had no doubt there was plenty of the usual crew nonsense happening behind closed doors, the moment someone appeared in public, any slouch or distraction seemed to vanish. Two men rounded the corner, discussing something or other to do with engine output, and by God they were even marching in step.

  In comparison, she felt rumpled, uncomfortable in the Royal Navy uniform. She’d been measured; supposedly, it was tailored. So why was it so blasted uncomfortable?

  The bridge was more of the same order and seriousness. Every officer was focused in a way that Catarina was suddenly convinced was fake. Not one person even glanced at her as she entered. That’s right, it was artifice. McGowan had given his crew strict instructions to keep on task at all times when the captain of Void Queen was on board. Either that or they were cleverly designed robots. This brought a smile to her face.

  She crossed the bridge and entered the war room still wearing a smile. McGowan stood rigidly at the far end of the table with his hands tucked behind his back. Two other officers joined him in the room. One sat at McGowan’s side with her hands together, and the other leaned over an electronic star chart, her index finger on one of the star systems, her other hand gripping the table.

  “What’s so funny?” McGowan demanded when he met her gaze.

  “Like a scene from a movie. So carefully choreographed. What are you trying to prove?”

  He scowled, then nodded at the two officers and the ensign who’d escorted Catarina into the room. “Leave us, please.” When they were gone, and the war room door closed, McGowan gestured for her to sit.

  “You, first, Captain,” she said. “This is your ship, after all.”

  He took a seat. The scowl disappeared, and he leaned forward as she took the chair on the opposite side of the table, as far from him as she could manage. For a long time, he said nothing, but kept moving between a handheld computer and the console attached to the table. Catarina studied the chart he brought up of the Great Bear System, curious as to where he was going with all of this.

  Or was it all theater, showing her he was in charge by making her wait?

  McGowan systematically moved from the gas giants toward the rocky interior worlds, none of them habitable. He briefly inspected two other celestial objects, one a large, wandering planetoid, and the other a comet, which an amplified scan showed as a long, glowing streak, millions of miles long, approaching the sun. He moved back out to the asteroid belt, and nudged slowly among the larger objects.

  Catarina waited in silence. She studied McGowan’s face. Nine years had passed, but he was little changed. Older, certainly, his good looks
more rugged than boyish.

  Staring at him, she was carried back to the McGowan estate on the final night she’d spent in his presence. Edward had taken her on a stroll around the grounds after supper. They walked the lakeside path, through the “follies” built by successive generations of earls: the faux temple to Aphrodite, the statuary with its stone dragons, gryphons, and fauns, and finally, Poseidon’s Grotto. This artificial cave seemed to burrow through the stone, with trickling, backlit waterfalls, and ultimately the tridented statue of Poseidon himself, surrounded by fishlike dolphins that spewed water from their mouths to changing green and gold lights.

  “I loved coming here when I was little,” he had told her as they stopped. “A great place to let your imagination roam. Pretending I was fighting my way down to Hades’s realm or was one of the first settlers of Albion.”

  “Imaginary games?” Catarina said with a smile. “Aren’t you always telling me how juvenile they are?”

  A flicker of embarrassment passed over his face. “I was only a boy.”

  She took his hand. “I’m not criticizing. Only making note. Is that why you’ve brought me here? A flight of fancy?”

  Catarina knew full well why he’d brought her to the seclusion of the grotto. There was trouble brewing in the frontier systems—of what nature, she didn’t quite know—and he’d been called up by Lord Admiral Malthorne. He was being given his first command, a destroyer by the name of HMS Forge. Meanwhile, his sister, Delilah, had hinted with winks and nudges that there was some important business her brother needed to settle before he shipped out.

  Edward cleared his throat. “Of course you know, it might be some time before I return. Weeks, perhaps. Or months. I figured, well, if I were betrothed, you understand . . .”

  She laughed, and he started to pull away, his ears reddening. She gripped his hand tighter. “Come on, don’t be so serious. That was worthy of a laugh. If you were betrothed? To whom? Have you asked anyone?”

  “But I thought . . . well, isn’t it obvious?”

  “Yes, Edward, it’s obvious. But it is customary to ask the young lady, or at least discuss it to determine the extent of her interest.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do!”

  She nodded. “Go on, then.”

  “I think it best if we wait until I return before getting married. There will be quite a production. My mother will want to put the Grand Ballroom to use, and she always dreamed of a summer wedding, when the rose gardens are in bloom. But if we were to make our connection official, we might enjoy certain . . . well, liberties before I depart.”

  Catarina couldn’t help but laugh again. “I was wondering what was taking you so long. I thought maybe you were having some anxiety, but no, you’re really that traditional. You don’t want to sleep together until we’re officially betrothed.”

  “It’s only proper when dealing with a virgin.”

  “Oh, please. Is that what you expect of me? A virgin, is that what you’re looking for?”

  “Well, I . . . I mean, in principle, they always say—”

  “This is getting more awkward by the minute. Do you have a proposal to make?” She kept her tone light and teasing, and he seemed to relax.

  “Would you marry me?”

  “Of course I’ll marry you. We’re as good as betrothed already, the way your mother and my mother are scheming out the number and sex of their future grandchildren. Six! That’s how many they’ve decided is the optimal number of children.”

  Edward nodded solemnly. “I always did like large families. And it’s our duty to settle Albion with offspring of good breeding. With your looks and my intelligence, we could produce some very fine children.”

  “You mean the other way around, of course,” Catarina said. “Your looks, my intelligence. Anyway, four children should be sufficient to do our duty for the gene pool. Or maybe three. Let’s see how my body holds up. But yes, Edward, I will accept. Let’s make it official.”

  He stared at her for a long moment, and she thought she’d have to take matters into her hands, but then he pulled her up to kiss him. After some time of this, where his hands roamed freely enough on her body that she lost her fear that he was simply not that eager, he stopped and pulled back, breathing heavily.

  “You are the loveliest, most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

  She was feeling as flushed as he sounded. Her heart pounded, she was even trembling. And now she grew worried when she thought about him leaving. “Is it another Hroom war?”

  “Officially, I cannot say. We’ve been ordered to secrecy.”

  “Edward, I have to know. You might be killed.”

  “Hardly. It’s not that risky.”

  “And you might be gone months. Longer. The last Hroom war lasted what? Three years? Will you enjoy any home leave, or will you be on your ship for the duration?”

  “It won’t be anything like that.”

  “But how do you know?”

  He looked uncomfortable. “I can’t really talk about it, but it’s not a war against the Hroom, I can tell you that much. Nothing more than some skirmishing. Smugglers and pirates and the like.”

  She felt suddenly uncomfortable, thinking of her father and especially her sister. Isabel was currently on Peruano, which the Royal Navy had threatened to clear out for years. She’d recently come into possession of some money, had bought a merchant frigate which she’d renamed Outlaw. Was she still there? If so, she might be at risk.

  Edward studied her face. “Darling, I can see that you don’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth. It isn’t that dangerous.”

  “It’s not that.”

  “We’re going into the Gryphon Shoals. There’s so much blasted smuggling and piracy in the system—it’s quite out of hand. Six sugar galleons plundered in the last year alone on their way to the Hroom Empire.”

  Catarina relaxed. Not Peruano where her sister was operating. “Oh, I see.” She frowned as something occurred to her. “Whose sugar?”

  “You know, from Hot Barsa on its way to the Hroom Empire.”

  “That’s where Admiral Malthorne has his plantations, isn’t it? Does the navy authorize the use of its resources to pursue the admiral’s private business concerns?” The question was a little too on target, indicating too much knowledge of the space lanes, so she backpedaled. “I mean, aren’t they private galleons?”

  “It’s of great concern to the Admiralty,” Edward said. That was no answer to her question. “But more importantly, there will be just enough fighting to keep our forces active and ready for when we face the Hroom again. I should be home in two months. Three on the outside.” He raised an eyebrow. “Assuming my fickle betrothed can wait that long.”

  She laughed. “I’ve waited all my life for you, what’s three more months? Besides, you’ve promised me something before you go. Do your duty, Captain.”

  He started to kiss her again, then stopped. “My father has promised a share of my inheritance when I return with honor. It’s a freehold about fifty miles south of York Town. Small income, only six thousand a year. But there will be more opportunities in the navy to enlarge our estates.”

  “I’m more worried about your safety than your inheritance, believe me.”

  “Don’t worry, darling. We have a scheme to catch the lead pirate, and once we’ve hung him, blasted apart a few of these pirate ships, the whole untidy nest of them will dissolve like sugar in hot tea.”

  “Who is the pirate?” she asked. No doubt she’d heard of him.

  He grinned. “You won’t gossip with my sisters?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Only the most notorious villain of all. You might have heard of his ship, Captain Kidd.”

  Catarina froze. “What?”

  “That’s right. We’re going to kill Pete Vargus.”

  She stiffened in his arms. If he’d been looking at her face, instead of staring at the statue of Poseidon with his trident, he’d have seen her mouth fall ope
n. By the time he looked back at her, frowning at her reaction, she’d started to recover.

  “I told you not to worry,” he said. “I know Vargus’s reputation, but we’ve set a trap. He’ll stumble right into it, and then we’ll launch mop-up operations on whoever is left.”

  That’s my father! she thought, and a twinge of something unfamiliar and protective surged through her. She kept those feelings masked with some difficulty.

  “It’s not that, silly. But something occurred to me. I know you said you’ll be back in two months, but how do we know?”

  “Don’t worry about that,” he said. “So what if it’s a little longer? We’re betrothed, and once we get somewhere a little more comfortable . . .”

  “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. I’m willing to do my part to settle Albion, but I’d rather not go around with my belly swollen while my betrothed is off who knows where.” She kissed him. “I’m going back to my house. A little preparation to make sure that doesn’t happen. Not yet, not until you’re back. I’ll meet you at the cabin lodge in one hour.”

  She rushed off without waiting for his answer. Ten minutes later she was at her cottage, explaining the situation to her mother. Her mother knew people, the same ones she’d bribed to get them established on Albion, away from their history with Pete Vargus on the lawless frontier. Her mother made a call, arranged for word to be passed to the captain of a merchant frigate, who could then send a subspace to someone else he knew, and so on, until word got to Catarina’s father.

  Pirates talk. Smugglers pass messages. Sometimes they do it for coin, sometimes because they have uncertain loyalties. Sometimes, just for mischief.

  In this case, the news reached Pete Vargus in time for him to slip away with Captain Kidd before the Royal Navy forces arrived in the Fantalus System to capture him. But word filtered back in the other direction until it reached the McGowan estate on Albion. Soon, Edward knew the truth.

  Did he break off his engagement? Hah. If only he’d stopped there. Catarina had fled Albion, one step ahead of navy intelligence. Put onto her by Edward McGowan himself, who sought to have her arrested and hung. No option was left to her but to embrace the life of piracy. First, by her father’s side, then at the head of her own pirate frigate. Finally, leading an expedition to get away from Albion altogether, to be lord of her own destiny, hidden in the Omega Cluster with thousands of colonists to obey her, an entire planet at her disposal, and eventually, a cluster of worlds to rule.