Going Cold

by Viola Grace

  Going from supporting family to being an imperial courier across the stars doesn’t take as long as she thought. She can deal with the assassins.

  Once the details of her life are sorted out and all impediments removed, Hesker takes on a new name for a new life in a new position. She heads to the stars, is reset, and all traces of her previous life are removed from her body.

  No one wants to carry a lifetime of mistreatment and murder with them, after all.

  Once she gets to the Imperium, she is ready to start afresh, and being the envoy to the imperial heirs is not a task for the faint-hearted.

  She is tasked with bringing boxes containing gifts to nearly a hundred worlds, and she is guarded with her own set of guardians.

  One of her guards is tasked with guardianship of her person, and he immediately gives her authorization to touch him for instructional purposes. What woman could refuse an invitation like that?

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  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.

  Going Cold

  Copyright © 2021 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-4874-3267-6

  Cover art by Angela Waters

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books Inc or

  Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc

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  Going Cold

  Terran Reset, Book 5

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  Hesker took the two boxes from the sad-looking man in the sombre suit. “Thank you, Mr. Bywell.”

  He nodded. “Have a peaceful day, Ms. Linton. My condolences.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.” She turned her back and carried the boxes of cremated remains to her car. She put them in the trunk and drove to her appointment.

  She parked in a towaway zone in front of the terminal and left her car unlocked with the keys in it. She saw the woman she had already met with inside the terminal and smiled.

  A guard rushed out and said, “You can’t park that here.”

  “It isn’t parked; it’s abandoned. The keys are in it. Enjoy.”

  She walked toward the terminal, and the guards around Minerva opened the door and nodded to her.

  Minerva smiled. “You have concluded all your business, Ms. Linton?”

  She inhaled slowly and exhaled. “Call me Hesker. I don’t want any part of them coming with me.”

  Minerva nodded in calm understanding. “Hesker then. We will update our records. Ready to sign?”

  Hesker nodded. “Yes, please.”

  She took the tablet, signed, and pressed her thumb into the square. A weight lifted off her shoulders, and she smiled. “I am going to get those alterations?”

  “White hair and red eyes, no freckles or body markings. Well, until you get your imperial courier tattoo.”

  “New marks are fine. Old marks have to go.”

  “We will scrub you clean.” Minerva nodded. “May I hug you?”

  Hesker paused and then nodded. The woman hugged her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. To be on the receiving end of a kind and warm embrace made her eyes sting. It was a new sensation.

  Minerva’s embrace felt like the world herself was holding her. Hesker breathed deeply and wiped at her eyes when Minerva stepped away.

  “Be well, be blessed.” Minerva smiled at her. “Be your awesome self.”

  Minerva linked arms with her and led her to the vehicle that would take her to the shuttle that was waiting. She was leaving everything behind—her life. Years of torment were over. Now, she was getting a chance to start clear, and she was taking it. The things she had always dreamed of—education, travel, and exposure to new cultures—were now going to be hers. She would be able to actually spend a few decades living instead of letting her early life weigh her down.

  She needed to cut herself off from her past and start over. This was the best way to do it.

  She looked at the man in front of her tank, and her senses shrieked at the danger. She pressed her hand against the tank, and he smiled at her. She blinked. He was a different type of danger, and she hadn’t seen it before.

  The man spoke to her, and the voice came through the fluid she was in. “You have excellent reflexes, but you will have to refine what you sense. I am an avatar. I have a living, sentient star linked to my body and mind. Two, if you count my wife.”

  “Your wife?” The thought of this man having a normal relationship like marriage was a stunning idea. She tried to speak, but he seemed to catch on.

  “Minerva-Gaia. She’s the avatar for your world. She and the planet share her body as needed.”

  She blinked and spoke as clearly as she could. “Oh, that is what I felt. She’s very kind.”

  He smiled. “She is. She and my daughter are my greatest joys. Zanican is the name of my star, and he is also very protective over my family.”

  “You are telling me something.”

  “Not all avatars are benign. Not all stars are deadly, and not all shadows have dark hearts. That is all you need to know for now. Congratulations though. We conducted that conversation in four languages, and you understood them all. Well done, Hesker.”

  She didn’t know why, but she was very proud of herself. She inclined her head formally, and he grinned with sharp and deadly teeth. If Minerva had taken that to her bed, she was tougher than she looked.

  The man’s voice rumbled through her tank. “I heard that. You ladies always go there right off. I am very careful with her, but she can be a bit rough with me. Deal with that mental image.”

  Hesker blinked, and she laughed without making a sound. His indignation had been genuine but so had his affection for his spouse. It was adorable for someone who was over seven feet tall and nearly three feet wide with living tattoos under his skin.

  So, she had to look around and see who she was sharing space with. There was a woman with blue and green hair and pale skin, another with burgundy hair and gold skin, another woman with chalky skin and navy hair, a fourth with pale peach skin and black and purple hair. It seemed that leaving the human hair colour was a common desire.

  She looked at her own white locks, the body that was tighter than it had been the first time she saw twenty-five, and her scars were gone. She focused on the new information that she was being given via the jack on her skull and the screen in front of her. Today’s lesson was etiquette, and it was going to be her lesson for the next few weeks. It was going to be her life, and it would be up to her to figure out every situation and respond appropriately. It was a good thing that she was an expert at finding her way in dangerous situations. She was going to need every advantage she could get.

  There were men in the med chamber, and they weren’t the Tival medics that had been attending to her. The men were wearing armour, and one of them looked impatient.


  She was asked to head to the top of the tank, and she kicked her feet so the medics could help her out. The fluid purged out of her lungs in a surge, and her stomach got in on the action. While she got rid of what had been keeping her lungs oxygenated, the medics swarmed around her and removed all the tubes, wires, and hoses that had been attached to her.

  They carried her down to the medical bed and finished sealing her ports of entry and exit. They cleaned her up using a ray that dried out and shattered the fluid residue.

  “Hesker of Terra?”

  She looked at the man and nodded. “Yes, Captain of the Nyal Imperium.”

  He smiled. “This will be quick.”

  He lifted a flat object about six by ten inches, and he pressed it against her left thigh. He held it tight, and the pain started a moment later. It wrapped around her thigh, and it burned.

  “Son of a bitch!” She punched him in the jaw, but he simply turned his head and continued to hold the device as it hummed against her skin.

  When there was a chime, he removed the block, and the cool air rushed in over her skin.

  She gasped. “What the hell was that?” Her thigh throbbed, and the mark of the Imperium was now tattooed onto her skin.

  “You are now the official diplomatic courier and envoy of the heirs to the positions of Nyal emperor and empress. There are missions for you, but first, you must be properly dressed and introduced.”

  She sat up and flexed her leg.

  “You don’t have much pigment.”

  She looked at her hands and laughed. “I have a little, but my hair and eyes should be white and red, respectively.”

  “You chose this?”

  She grinned. “I did. For the first and only time in my existence, I was given a chance to choose, so I chose. Blank slate. New me.”

  He raised his brows and smiled. “I see. Well, you are naked, and we have brought clothing. Please, put it on so we can leave this ship. The celestial avatar makes me very nervous.”

  She nodded and got to her feet, balancing on the med table and looking down at the design in gold on her thigh. It was indeed the mark of the royal house of the Nyal Imperium. Specifically, it was the soon-to-be empress’s mark. Right. She walked forward, and the guards handed her the clothing, and she got dressed right there with everyone watching. Strangely enough, being naked in a tank for nearly two months was right up her alley. The sense of shame had left her body through desensitization. It was amazing what just getting used to something harmless could do for her social skills.

  She pulled on the bodysuit then slipped on the tunic overtop and sashed it into place. The sandals were pretty, and she was presentable, but her hair was wild. Ah, well. Her outfit didn’t include a clip. Hesker pulled her locks into a thick braid and snorted when she couldn’t do much with it. Her hair had only ever been two inches long before.

  Hesker brushed her hands down her hips and straightened. Right. Time to meet her boss.

  She looked at the men, and they nodded, falling into position around her. Imbolt blocked their exit, and he walked up to her.

  “Become yourself, Hesker. The worlds are waiting to meet you.” He held her hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She heard a whisper in her mind. Minerva gets on top. A lot.

  She blinked, and her eyes widened. She laughed, and he smiled, leaving her to her escort. “Thank you for your help, Imbolt kei Zanican.”

  “Keep learning, Hesker.” He turned and headed back into his ship. She was on her own.

  She held her breath the moment that she stepped over and down the gangplank, heading into the imperial ship. This was it. She stepped onto the new vessel and into her new life. This time, she was going to live it.

  Chapter Two

  The man with the captain insignia handed her over to one of the other crewmen, and she was directed to a seat with a lot of straps on it. “Lock in. We are going to meet someone.”

  She nodded and figured out the straps. Imbolt’s ship moved away, and they were heading for a space station.

  She tried to remain calm, but she had just met more aliens than she had ever imagined in her lifetime. Hesker had heard of them, seen the occasional news vid of Terrans in exotic locations with strange celestial satellites, but this was going to be different. This time it was her eyes seeing the wonders.

  The shuttle slowed as it approached the station, and she heard the request for authorization.

  They glided in and snugged up against an enormous ship with imperial crests on it.

  The shuttle settled, and she released the straps. The captain returned to her side and nodded. “Hesker, come this way.”

  She got to her feet and followed him. The rest of the crew came along.

  They walked through a double line of guards, who scanned them and looked her over. That was strange.

  She followed the captain with the cocoa-coloured skin, white hair, and red eyes.

  He walked through the ship, and they got in a lift. It took them to a floor where more guards watched them move around. There was a room that should have been a boardroom, but it looked like a cozy living room. A woman smiled and got to her feet. To Hesker’s surprise, she was Terran.

  “Ah, thank you for collecting her, Captain Adonai-Avedis. You can wait outside.”

  “Of course, Your Highness.”

  The soon-to-be empress of the entire Nyal Imperium walked up to her and took her hands. “I am very happy to see you, Hesker. You look perfect.”

  “Um, thank you, Your Highness.”

  Her highness, Hydrangea Renix, smiled brightly. “Have a seat, Hesker. I will tell you what your job is.”

  Hesker sat with her and smiled. “You are Terran.”

  “I am. My husband is going to be the emperor in the next five years, and our particular blend of genes is going to mean that we need to make friends in the far end of the Imperium. A lot of folks don’t like us. That is where you come in.”

  “I am not very good at getting people to like me.”

  Hydrangea smiled. “You will be.”

  Hesker got a little nervous at the calm and determined expression in the imperial princess’s eyes.

  “First. You need a groomer.”

  It was the start of a very painful afternoon.

  The groomers were on the station. Under guard, they stormed into a closed salon, and Hesker was not only given a makeover, but she was taught to mimick the three dozen styles of makeup that she would need for the different areas of Nyal space.

  Her hands were cramped, and her face felt raw, but the groomer finally agreed that she had done a passable job. Her hair was another matter. She was going to have to keep practicing and work at pinning and braiding it.

  Hydrangea smiled. “One of your guards is suited to assisting you.”

  “My guards?”

  “Yes, Captain Adonai-Avedis, Commander Valat, and Lieutenants Yish and Krin. They are your honour guard for the next five years. After that, we will be installed, and you can resume a more normal life if you wish or continue as our courier. It will be up to you. But, you have to put in this time.”

  She watched in the mirror as the groomer put her hair up into a half twist that left coils cascading down her back. “I am willing to put the time in as long as I get to keep moving. I have been in one place for far too long.”

  “Well, you are in the ideal situation then. Now, we are going to get you outfitted. You are going to need an extensive wardrobe.” Hydrangea nodded to the groomer, and the woman left them in the wide-open space. There was a strange clicking noise, and in the mirror, Hesker saw a huge spider that had to be close to nine feet tall. She turned around slowly as the clicking took on an impatient tone.

  “That is the most fantastic thing I have ever seen.” She got to her feet and bowed to the l’nal. “Madame, you are beautiful.”

  Hydrangea smiled. “Yeah, you are going to get along fine.”

  A young woman smiled
and stepped forward. “Dame Hesker, would you please stand on the podium? Mistress Yshuri will take your measurements and begin making alterations. Oh, and please disrobe.”

  Hesker nodded and stripped down again. The spider came toward her with her fangs gleaming, and she extended a piece of silk from her spinneret and used it to take measurements. It was difficult to stay still. Mistress Yshuri’s feet were furry, and Hesker was ticklish.

  She giggled, caught herself, and giggled again. The mistress clicked, and her translator spoke with a blush. “She says you must be fun in bed.”

  “Oh. I don’t do that.” Hesker shook her head and watched the spider pause.

  There was rapid clicking. The assistant asked, “Never? What do you do when you go into heat?”

  “Um. I don’t.” She looked to Hydrangea for help.

  “Hesker is one of my people. She only looks like a Nyal. She is a rapid cycler by nature, but with the addition during her time in the tank, it isn’t known yet if she will go into heat.”

  Hydrangea looked to Hesker. “If you go into heat, we can have a horizontal tank that you can use to lock yourself up until your body calms down.”

  “Why lock myself up?”

  Hydrangea smiled. “Some species here are more—aware—of the opposite sex during times of hormonal activity. Some of the larger species can become aggressive and dominant. Staying out of their way is the best bet. It isn’t cowardice; it is sensibility. It is either that or have your guards fight them off.”

  “So, the guards won’t be affected by this?”

  “No, they are being inoculated against you.” Hydrangea grinned. “It sounds funny, but it works if you don’t have a mate to block the other males.”

  “What would that have to do with it?” She was genuinely confused.

  The imperial princess stared at her, the l’nal stared at her, and the assistant stared at her.