Stellar Affair
As two groups of human colonists fight over territory, Ardra is caught in the middle. She is captured by Roimiran soldiers who are convinced she has been programmed with Tetch military intelligence. They turn her over to Jackson Deimos, a telepath trained in interrogation. He’s very good at slipping in and out of other people’s memories, but he isn’t prepared for Ardra. Although it’s his duty to break her and find out what information she’s carrying, he finds it impossible not to fall for the beautiful captive. Jack begins to question his loyalties, while Ardra confronts the fact that the life she remembers might be a lie. Will their attraction save them or tear them apart?
(Previously published as A Stellar Affair with Samhain Publishing. This work has been revised and re-edited.)
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Excerpt from Stellar Affair
Boom! Ardra heard a deep thump against the hull, and it startled her to her feet. They were nearly a week out from the space station, passing through what should have been clear space on their way to Algoron. Before she could cross her room to the door, a second impact nearly jolted her off her feet.
Were they in some kind of meteor shower? Her heart beat wildly as she reached the door. She stepped into the corridor only to collide with Slade in the process.
“I’m sorry,” she said after she sent the old man staggering.
He waved his hand to dismiss the apology, but he was apparently too out of breath to speak. They both looked at the ceiling as a series of knocks sounded overhead. Something was tapping its way along the dorsal side of their vessel.
“What are we hitting?” She posed this question more to herself than the wheezing old man in front of her.
It was Tarrin who answered. “We’re not hitting anything. Something is hitting us.”
It was Tarrin who answered. “We’re not hitting anything. Something is hitting us.”
He raced past them toward the front of the ship. She followed him to the control room at the bow, and the three of them crowded together behind the blinking instrument panels. Although there was no living pilot, the ship had still been constructed with windows in the cockpit. She looked out and upward as much as possible. What she saw almost stopped her heart.
“A Roimiran ship,” Tarrin said.
The metal walls groaned around them, and Ardra went numb. Where there should have been stars shining outside the window, a huge attack craft loomed over them. With its black metal construction, it seemed more like shadow than substance—a shadow that was moving into position to attach itself to the Oberon. They were being taken captive!
“What do they want with us?” Tarrin asked. “We’re not carrying anything important.”
“It’s piracy,” Slade said. “They’ll steal even this sorry ship for its parts, and then they’ll lock us up as prisoners of war.” He took Ardra’s hand and gave it a comforting pat. “Be brave now.”
His words only filled her with greater dread. “Is there anything on board that might be of use to them? Are either of you carrying any information or something of value?” She looked at Tarrin, their resident soldier.
“No,” he said. “I’m just a private. I’m not transporting anything but myself.”
“And I’m an old man,” Slade added. “Anything I ever knew is now obsolete.”
“They wouldn’t be after me,” she told them. “Unless they want to know about plants and soil conditions, I can’t help them. Is there anything in the computers they could exploit? Stellar cartography? Locations of our bases?”
If they and their ship were about to be captured, they had only minutes to destroy anything the enemy might use against them.
“I’ll try to erase the computer.” Tarrin started working on the system of keys and buttons in front of him.
“I’ll delete the passenger manifest,” she said.
She ran down the corridor toward the back of the ship. When they had first boarded, she had thought it was silly to bother with an inventory for three people. Now she thought it might be dangerous. She snapped the slim tablet out of its hanger on the wall. Although she turned the thing over in her hand a couple of times, she couldn’t figure out where the controls were located.
A loud, ringing shudder ran through the walls and ceiling as some new strain was placed on the integrity of their ship. She didn’t have much time. Instead of digitally wiping the tablet, she opted for a more expedient method. With one hard swing, she smashed it against the wall and then stomped on it until she was certain it was broken.
Almost as an afterthought, she sprinted back along the corridor toward her room. She upended her bag on the floor and snatched her transfer orders out of the pile. The sound of rending filled the room as she furiously tore them into tiny pieces. When she was done, she scattered the confetti just to be certain.
“Attention passengers of the Tetch ship Oberon,” an unfamiliar voice barked at them over their own internal com system. “You have been captured by the Roimiran ship Alcor. You will be boarded, and all passengers and personnel will be taken into custody. There is no escape. Do not try to resist.”
“Like hell,” Tarrin shouted up front.
She knew he would go down fighting.
Something grated against the outer door of their ship, and Ardra shot around the corner to confront the noise. As she did so, the commotion jumped to a high-pitched squeal. Then there was a loud hiss followed by a metallic shriek.
“Don’t open it!” she screamed, but Slade and Tarrin were still near the controls up front.
In a moment of terror, she saw a flash image of men with weapons and someone opening the door for them. In real time, it took several minutes longer for their assailants to pry open the door. There were a dozen armed men waiting on the other side, and the enemy forces surged down the corridor toward Ardra in a violent burst of lights and shouting.
“Freeze!” they yelled. “Hands where we can see them! Hands! Against the wall! Don’t move!”
Her whole body shook as she tried to obey the cacophony of orders. Although she had already put up her hands, two soldiers slammed her against the wall and secured her wrists behind her back. Whatever they used to cuff her cut into her skin, and one of the men remained pressed uncomfortably close to her. She could feel his heat and his rapid breathing. He was cued up to kill. She held still with her left cheek smashed painfully against the wall, only able to see in one direction.
She watched more men pour in, but she couldn’t see what was happening up front. By the sound of it, she guessed Tarrin was swinging away. The noise of the scuffle temporarily replaced the shouting, and then she heard a lot of cursing. The enemy soldiers outnumbered Tarrin and had clearly bested him, but it sounded like maybe he had gotten in a few good blows.
What seemed like a century passed before she was jerked away from the wall. One man held her arm above the restraints. Tarrin was being escorted with a guard on each side, and they pushed him through the corridor first. His face was red, but he didn’t appear to be seriously injured. As he passed her, he gave her a nod to confirm that he had taken care of the computer. She was proud of him.
Slade followed close behind, but the old man was clearly no threat to the Roimirans. He looked pale and unwell, and he shot Ardra a pitiful look. She wondered if his heart could withstand the stress.
“Move,” the guard holding her said.
His fingers just about fused themselves to her forearm. She gritted her teeth and did what he said, leaving the Oberon behind. On board the Roimiran vessel, the guard forced her into a flight chair and strapped her down. She knew all she could do now was hold on to her wits and strength in the trials ahead.