by K. C. Cross
Was it a boy, and did he look like me? Was he growing big and strong? Did he play war games like Serpint and Draden used to?
Or was it a girl and did she look like Corla? Did she have silver hair? Did she glow when she smiled?
Star-crossed, I told her. And when I said that I felt nothing. I didn’t miss the thought of not knowing her.
But in those days of boredom and waiting, I did miss her. I missed everything I never had. And I made a vow to myself. That if I ever did meet up with Corla again I’d never let her go.
I don’t care what the consequences were, I’d never let her go.
Then one day—years after my last two brothers left—there was an alarm in the station. A piercing, blaring alarm so loud and coming from every conceivable comm system, I thought my ears would explode.
I was on the lowest level. ALCOR had instructed the servos to plant new gardens down here and I was literally sitting on a bench watching things grow because he had them on some kind of nutrient accelerant.
So I looked up—all the way up. The ceiling of the ring we lived inside was so far away, the window my brothers and I stood under all those years ago when Xyla first brought us to ALCOR was just a speck of flashing red light curving around the top of the darkness.
“What the fuck is that?”
ACLOR appeared in front of me in his holographic form. Something he rarely did anymore. And he said, “We have guests.”
CHAPTER TWLEVE
We met them on the top level under the same window where ALCOR met seven Akeelian kids almost a decade earlier.
It was one ship. But it was a special ship. A sentient ship calling herself Booty Hunter. And while she brought several dozen people with her, that’s not the reason she came to Harem Station.
She came looking for the man called Serpint.
Who wasn’t here, obviously. But hearing someone I didn’t know—and yes, by this time I’d come around. All bots were people. All thinking things, no matter how simple, were people to me now—so hearing someone I didn’t know say my brother’s name felt like someone stabbed me in the heart.
The man called Serpint. That’s what she said when she spoke to me.
I look Serpint in the eyes now. His violet eyes that look just like mine. And I say, “You were just a kid, ya know. That’s how I thought of you. Just my kid brother. And here was this powerful sentient ship showing up at my station calling you a man.”
Serpint frowns, then looks out the window of the small security beacon we’re sitting in. I brought him up here to tell him this story because he and Draden never really understood. They were too young to understand, so no one ever bothered to explain who we were and what we were doing. Why we left Wayward Station. Hell, he probably didn’t even know it was called Wayward Station until I told him just now.
“After that everything changed. Those people in that first ship had all escaped from a prison planet. ALCOR, and Tray, and I stood there in the center of the top-level lift and he spoke to them. He told them I was the governor of Harem Station and they could stay, no payment required for the first year, as long as they worked and treated everyone with respect. All sins would be forgiven, all crimes dismissed.
“Pretty soon more people came. The levels started filling up. The restaurants opened, the shooting galleries and arcades were full, and the city… grew up.”
“How long?” Serpint asks. “How long were we gone that first time?”
“Almost four years.”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t know, Crux. It didn’t feel that long.”
“Time is like that when you travel through gates,” I say. “Unreliable.”
He and Draden brought back four princesses when they finally returned. Four beautiful, special girls who had managed to escape Cygnia with the help of a cyborg they called Master.
“Why do you think she came looking for me?” Serpint asks.
“Booty? I dunno. She was never very talkative. She and ALCOR got pretty friendly and that’s how you took on her galactic registration.”
“She’s not right, Crux. There’s something wrong with her now. Ever since that attack back on Cetus Station she’s been weird. Even after Tray said she was fine.”
“I know, brother. That’s why we’re talking up here instead of down there.”
Both of us look down at Harem Station, slowly spinning in the middle of deep dark space. Surrounded on two sides by two ancient gates.
“So what about her?” Serpint asks. “What do we do with her?”
We both look down at the cryopod that contains my frozen star-crossed princess and frown.
“I don’t know, Serp. The only thing I do know is that I’m never letting her go again.”
He nods. Sighs. “I get it. That’s how I feel about Lyra.”
“I knew you’d understand. And you’re the only one I could talk to about this because… something is wrong inside the Pleasure Prison.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tray told me once. Long time ago. That ALCOR made a copy of himself inside the prison. You know, like a backup. A real backup.”
Serpint squints at me.
“Yes,” I say, reading his mind. “Real ALCOR is living in there.”
“So is Booty,” he says.
I nod. “I know. They’re up to something. I haven’t told anyone else and I’m pretty sure Tray knows and is keeping it secret. So this is just between you and me. But… you know all those rumors about ALCOR being insane are true, right?”
“You think?”
“Serpint. We changed him. We did that. Us, when we came here. It changed him. That thing living inside the Pleasure Prison is Old ALCOR. Not New ALCOR. That backup was made back when we first got here. Before the Pleasure Prison was even finished. He’s dangerous. And your ship, I’m sorry to say this, but Booty Hunter has an agenda. And it’s got something to do with you.”
“Me? Like… what do you mean?”
“She came asking for you, Serpint. Why? Did you ever ask her?”
“No. I don’t even think I knew about that. ALCOR gave her to me and…” He shrugs. “I liked her. She’s fucking dangerous, and terrifying, and so whatever, right? Got myself a new, cool ship.”
“There’s more to this story,” I say. “Much more. And we don’t have any clue where things are going now. But before we go back I have one more thing to tell you.”
“OK,” Serpint says.
“And it’s gonna be hard to hear, so… be prepared.”
“I can take it,” he smiles.
I nod at him. “I know you can.”
“So shoot. Tell me.”
“Draden…”
“What about Draden?”
“You remember that time you two were fucking around on the bot lifts in the open space and he fell?”
“Yeah,” Serpint says, furrowing his brow. “ALCOR caught him. He was fine after he came out of the medical pod.”
I shake my head. “No, ALCOR missed.”
“ALCOR doesn’t miss,” Serpint says. “He’s omnipresent. And even back then we had hundreds of safety servos.”
“No, he doesn’t miss,” I agree. “But he did that day.”
“But Draden was fine. He went into medical and came out fine. I was there.”
“You were there when he came out, yeah. But you were on level one hundred and seventy-three when he fell. I saw it, Serpint. I was on level twenty-six. I saw Draden fall and I looked down and there was a safety servo under him, but it didn’t catch him right. He slammed into it hard. Draden died that day.”
“No,” Serpint says. “Draden died back on Cygnus Station when I stole Corla.”
“No, he didn’t. He died when he was thirteen and that servo did it on purpose.”
“What?”
“ALCOR did it on purpose, Serpint. He let him fall onto the lift and then he popped up next to me trying to explain.”
“Explain what?”
“Why Draden needed to go into a
special cryopod. He killed him that day so he could use it as an excuse to get my permission to level Draden up.”
Serpint just looks at me. Confused. So I decide to just spell it out.
“Draden’s alive, Serpint. I know this because after what ALCOR did to him, he can’t die.”
Serpint is silent for several long minutes.
Then he says, “But… I left him behind. I left him with—”
“That’s the hard part, Serp. You left him with someone I know.”
“Who?”
“My son.”
The next book in the series is called Big Dicker.
It’s Jimmy’s story and continues with a brand new sexy Harem Station Brothers adventure.
RELEASING JUNE 10, 2019
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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JA Huss is the New York Times Bestselling author of 321 and has been on the USA Today Bestseller's list 21 times in the past five years. She writes characters with heart, plots with twists, and perfect endings.
Her new sexy sci-fi romance and paranormal romance pen name is KC Cross and she writes novels and teleplays collaboratively with actor and screenwriter, Johnathan McClain.
Her books have sold millions of copies all over the world, the audio version of her semi-autobiographical book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and an Audie Award in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Her audiobook, Mr. Perfect, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017. Her audiobook, Taking Turns, was nominated for an Audie Award in 2018. Five of her book were optioned for a TV series by MGM television in 2018. And her book, Total Exposure, was nominated for a RITA Award in 2019.
She lives on a ranch in Central Colorado with her family.
ALL KINDLE UNLIMITED BOOKS BY JA HUSS
STANDALONE BOOKS
Wild Thing
Pretty Thing
Sweet Thing
The Dirty Ones
Three, Two, One
Eighteen
Sexy
Rock
In To Her
SERIES
ROOK AND RONIN SERIES
Tragic
Manic
Panic
Ford
Spencer
The Company
Merc
Sasha
Happily Ever After
THE MISTER SERIES
Mr. Perfect
Mr. Romantic
Mr. Corporate
Mr. Mysterious
Mr. Match
Mr. Five
Mr & Mrs
THE TURNING SERIES
Taking Turns
Turning Back
His Turn
JORDAN’S GAME SERIES
Total Exposure
The Pleasure of Panic
The Boyfriend Experience
Play Dirty
SOCIAL MEDIA SERIES
Social
Media
ANARCHY SERIES (PNR Romance)
Anarchy Found
Anarchy Missing
Anarchy Chained
I AM JUST JUNCO (science fiction) SERIES
I am Just Junco
I Am Not Junco
YOUNG ADULT
Losing Francesca
JULIE & JOHNATHAN BOOKS
TALL, DARK, AND HANDSOME SERIES
The Sexpert
Pierced
THE SHAPE OF LOVE SERIES
The Triangle
The Square
ORIGINAL SIN SERIES
Sin With Me
Angels Fall
Flesh into Fire
Passion Rising
