by Jack Archer
Krimson Princess
Rystar and the LASSOs Book Two
Jack Archer
Copyright © 2021 by Jack Archer
Cover Art and Interior Design by Jack Archer
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Chapter 1
Rystar Umara: Deep Space, Lalande Systems
Chapter 2
Rystar Umara: DSV Firehawk, Omyuch System
Chapter 3
Rystar Umara: Glasport 2, Nitran, Omyuch System
Chapter 4
Kyran Skylock: DSV Firehawk
Chapter 5
Rystar Umara: DSV Firehawk
Chapter 6
Rystar Umara: DSV Firehawk
Chapter 7
Rystar Umara: Diondya Beach, New Vesta, Yarev, Nanyeslule Sytem
Chapter 8
Rystar Umara: Yarev Underwater Prison Complex, Yarev
Chapter 9
Shea Hendi: DSV Firehawk, Yarev Space Port
Chapter 10
Kyran Skylock: Lismep Station, Oprezzo
Chapter 11
Rystar Umara: DSV Firehawk, Sancus Station, Gliese 581
Chapter 12
Rystar Umara: DSV Firehawk, Gliese 581
About the Author
Also by Jack Archer
Chapter One
Rystar Umara: Deep Space, Lalande Systems
“Who the hell is that?” Shea asked as they sped towards the border gate.
The gravitational pull of the planet still had them locked to a certain speed, but Rystar was more afraid of this voice than she was of the guards back in the complex. She jerked her head towards Na’gya and spoke to Shea. “Get those cuffs off of him, should be a lock pick in that locker somewhere.”
Shea nodded and rose from his seat to rummage through the locker while Rystar flicked the comms on and spoke into the receiver.
“No bounties here, friend,” she said into it, pulling away from the moon and towards the lights that would lead her to the border gate. She found herself sweating. If there was one thing she hated more than legitimate people trying to stop her from taking her bounty, it was other bounty hunters. “Just a couple of old folks out for a nice Sunday drive.”
“Don’t be like that,” the voice simpered on the other end of the comms. She looked down at her radar to see a large blip just behind them and to the left.
Shea pointed to it. “What is that?”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head and pressing a button on the radar to scan it. “Got any other enemies, Mr. Vasilev?”
“You’re not the Terran government, are you?” he asked, rubbing his wrists and coming up behind them.
“Nothing gets past you,” Rystar muttered and hissed when the scan finished. “That’s a god damn Mach IV. We can’t outrun that.”
“A what?” Shea asked, his mouth dropping open as Rystar pushed the comms button again.
“I’m sorry, sir, I think you may have me mistaken for someone who gives a shit about your theatrics,” Rystar called through the receiver and let go of the button, pushing her thrusters and shooting towards the border gate.
“You can’t outrun me in that dusty hunk of metal,” the voice laughed, and the comms cut out. They all watched as the large blip on the radar came closer and closer until it suddenly disappeared.
“Where did it go?” Rystar shrieked. She rarely let nerves get the best of her, but something about the man’s voice set her on edge. She knew he wasn’t out to kill them but wouldn’t hesitate if he got the chance.
“The gate’s right there,” Shea said and pointed to the space shield, “punch through!”
Rystar pressed a button and spoke into the comms receiver. “Mach III Gloriosum looking for passage through border gate to Chantakor, please advise.”
“Mach III Gloriosum, please stop for identification before passing,” the comms came back.
“Negative, border gate, currently being pursued by unknown enemy while housing a Terran war criminal on board, it is imperative we make it through,” she implored, tapping her finger on the dashboard while she waited for the reply. They sped closer towards the gate until finally, they came through.
“Mach III Gloriosum you have been scanned and cleared to proceed. We will do our best to hinder your pursuer,” came the reply.
“Thank fuck,” Rystar murmured and slapped the comms off before pulling back on the throttle and aiming for the gate as it turned white, and they passed through at a tremendous speed.
The sights and colors whirled around them until suddenly the ship lurched, and they were all thrown to the side.
“What was that?” Shea cried as he climbed back into his seat. A bluish-silver light engulfed them, and the ship tottered from side to side.
“I don’t know,” Rystar responded, her hands flying over the controls, “but we’re slowing down and…” Her eyes grew wide as she looked out of the windshield at the colors fading to black, the space around them becoming clearer. “They’re taking us out of hyperspace.”
“That’s not possible,” Shea whispered, shaking his head.
“With the Mach IVs it must be,” she muttered and swung around out of the cockpit seat and towards the lockers behind them, throwing on a coat and grabbing her gun. The ship made another nasty lurch. Rystar was thrown to the ground before Na’gya caught her and stood her up again, thanking her.
When she looked outside again, there was only darkness, the stars twinkling in the distance. They were between systems, in deep space.
Stranded.
“I told you that rust bucket couldn’t outrun us, Mx. Umara.” The comms came on again, and she stomped over to them, pressing the button as hard as she could and spitting into the receiver.
“You’re going to regret this, whoever the fuck you are,” she murmured ferociously. “You have no idea what you’re messing with here.”
“On the contrary,” the voice responded, “I know exactly what I’m messing with. It’s you, the naive little human who thinks they know everything, who doesn’t know who they have on board and what kind of damage they can cause.”
Before Rystar could respond, she looked up through the space shield and saw it, the Mach IV.
It was enormous.
Pure black and the size of the prison complex, it was nearly invisible in the dark matter of space. Its wings folded back and swept to either side, making it look more like a bird of prey than a Panther, its namesake. Her mouth dropped open. She was unable to say anything for a few long moments before she snapped out of it and dropped into the chair. With a quick motion, she pushed forward on the throttle and sent them flying underneath it.
The voice was back and made the hair on Rystar’s arm stick up. It sank into her guts and lived there. He was a bounty hunter, just like her, and it felt like she was listening to her own voice through the comms. “Don’t play games, princess. No one has time for this, and I’m sure you would love to help us. I’ll make it worth your while.”
Rystar wasn’t listening. She had to get out of here, had to get Na’gya back to Chantakor no matter how long it took, even if she ran out of fuel out here. Shea seemed to mirror her thoughts and grasped the arms of his chair.
“Rystar, this ship wasn’t made to go long distances without a hyperframe drive,” Shea said in a shaky voice. All LASSOs could be thrown into hyperspace with the use of border gates, but i
t wasn’t until the later Mach 3.5 and Mach IVs that they could jump into hyperspace without the use of border gates.
“This ship doesn’t have a hyperframe drive?” Na’gya sputtered.
“No, thanks for the reminder, though,” Rystar snapped and watched as the Mach IV turned slowly and began to race after them.
It was less maneuverable but faster, and for once in her life, Rystar didn’t have a plan.
“I’ll give you one more chance, Umara,” the voice said, this time with a little more steel in it, “then we start firing. Shame to do it, with such a beautiful crew on board.”
Was he flirting in the middle of a battle?
“Maybe we should hear him out,” Shea suggested after they were going far too fast for the LASSO to keep up with.
“And have him turn on us instantly?” Rystar scoffed. “No, thank you. I’m stupid, but I’m not that stupid.” She pushed the comms button. “Leave us alone, and I won’t report you to the Terran Bureaucracy for interfering with justice.”
“Tell Na’gya we’ll take him to the Hoop.”
It was a simple sentence from the receiver, but Rystar whipped her head around to look at Na’gya, whose eyes were wide and knuckles white on the back of her chair.
“Stop the ship,” he said. “Now, please, his ship can get me to the Hoop in no time.”
“I’m not stopping this god damn thing,” Rystar muttered and turned back around, pushing the throttle more than it could handle. “You’re my bounty, and we need that money.”
“I’ll give you whatever my parents are paying plus more,” Na’gya pleaded, “or I’m sure whoever this is will pay you, please, stop the ship.”
Rystar said nothing. The LASSO around her creaked and groaned, and she knew it was hopeless. The ship would fall apart long before they made it to Chantakor.
Just as she was about to give up, the Mach IV blinked on the radar, and an alarm sounded from somewhere in the LASSO. There was an explosion, and they were all thrown to the side as it spun around, red lights blinking in an orchestra across the dashboard.
Na’gya and Shea were on the floor while Rystar strapped into her seat as her hands flew across the dashboard, clicking on buttons and flipping switches.
“Damage to wing 2 and thrusters 1 and 2,” she said in a calm voice that did not extend to her demeanor. “Turning off thrusters and banking down to an acceptable speed.”
“Rystar, we have to surrender.” Shea was behind her now, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. “Maybe they’ll help us repair the ship and take us back to Chantakor.”
“And maybe they’ll give us a glass of fucking lemonade while they’re at it,” Rystar snapped, putting her head in her hands and shaking it. She at least knew when she was beaten. Eventually.
“Are you going to play nice now?” the voice asked, its sultry, smug tone back.
Rystar put her chin in her hand and pressed on the comms button. “Let’s get this over with.”
The Mach IV appeared above them, silently sliding into their view until they could feel the engine rumble around them. There seemed to be no end to the ship until finally, its back came into view, and it stopped, its cargo bay opening. The comms buzzed one last time. “Come on in, then.”
With Shea back in his seat and Na’gya standing behind them again, Rystar pushed forward on the throttle with infinite care, sending them sputtering into the cargo bay.
“This thing is huge,” Shea whispered as they entered the ship and landed, Rystar powering down the LASSO for what she hoped wouldn’t be the last time. Standing from her seat, she pushed by Na’gya and opened the door to hop down, looking around the bay for any sign of movement.
Shea and Na’gya jumped down behind her and crept along in the semi-dark as the ship hummed around them. The door on the other side of the room opened, and a silhouette appeared in the frame, its pose exactly like the voice that had taunted them through the comms.
“Nice to meet you, sugar,” he said and flipped on a light, bathing them all in a dull, white glow. He sauntered into the room, and two more men appeared, flanking him before quickly making their way around to each side of her party. Na’gya didn’t have a gun. Shea’s was pointed at the man currently on their left, a large, square-shouldered man with molten jasper eyes and dusty blonde hair that fell into his face.
Rystar trained her gun on the red-haired man in front of her, the one with fiery red eyes to match, sharp cheekbones sat in an even more severe face wearing the smuggest grin in the galaxy at having caught them. His v-neck t-shirt went down far too low, and his black leather jacket was far too tight. Leather pants clung to his legs that ended in pointed black boots with buttons up the side. She hated that he was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.
The man to their left ducked and tackled Shea with inhuman speed, no easy task, as Shea stood like a rock at 6 foot 4 inches. At the same time, the man to their right, the one with jet black hair pulled back in a bun and amber eyes, zipped up to pin Na’gya’s hands behind his back with one hand and hook his arm around Na’gya’s throat.
When Rystar turned back to Shea, the dirty-blonde-haired man took his gun and pointed it at Shea, who had his hands up. She turned back around and found red eyes staring into hers, and in a flash, her gun was gone and pointing directly at her.
“I told you to play nice,” he growled, pushing the barrel of the gun into Rystar’s stomach.
“You’ll regret this,” Rystar sneered at him, pushing into the barrel. The man cocked an eyebrow at her and smirked, the embers in his eyes glowing wildly.
“I have your ship, Mx. Umara,” he laughed, “I have your boyfriend, and most importantly, I have your bounty.”
The man flicked his head back, and the blonde one shoved Shea to move forward.
“I swear if you hurt him—” Rystar began, but the insufferable man held a finger to her lips. She nearly bit it.
“We wouldn’t do anything to hurt any of you,” he simpered, tilting his head. “What do you think we are? Monsters?”
He smiled a wicked grin, and his incisors ended in a point below his bottom lip.
Prisoner. Who the hell imprisoned Rystar Umara?
Her bounty was within her grasp only to be taken away by some tramp in a leather suit. Was she getting soft?
Kicking her feet, she twisted, and the cold metal of the handcuffs rubbed into her wrists. Shea was next to her, snoring away. She nudged him with a foot, but he didn’t stir.
Rystar sat up straight, her arms twisted at an uncomfortable angle. She was in a cell, looking out into a hallway through steel bars with Shea to her left.
“Good to be behind bars again.”
Rystar jumped and looked to her right at the familiar voice, seeing Na’gya in the same position as she was. She sighed. “You’re really wanted around these parts, aren’t you?”
“I suppose that’s what being the leader of an organized rebellion will do to you,” Na’gya muttered, a sly grin playing at his lips. She looked up and saw his left wing towering above her.
“You’ll get used to them,” Na’gya sighed and looked back out of the cell. “Most humans do.”
Rystar had the grace to look bashful. “I’m sorry to stare. I’ve never met a Ya’ados before. I didn’t know your kind existed.”
“Most don’t. We’re something the Chantakorian and Terran governments would prefer to keep a secret,” Na’gya explained. “And they’re doing a good job of it.”
“And I’m guessing this rebellion is you uncovering that truth?” Rystar took a stab in the dark.
“That’s it.” Na’gya gave her that grin again, but it vanished just as quickly when they heard footsteps clacking down the hall outside the door. They both snapped up straight when it opened. Rystar narrowed her eyes as two men walked in: the man who knocked Shea out and the smug, leather-clad asshole.
Bright red eyes glared at her from a pale face as the man gripped an iron bar with one hand and placed his other on a thin
hip, jutting it out far more than he needed to. “Morning, sugar.”
Rystar bristled at the name, an unfamiliar rise in her belly making her breath hitch. “Let me out of this cage.”
“What happened to manners?” he asked, unperturbed by her attitude. “We didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves properly. My name is Kyran Skylock, and this here is one of my crewmates, Cobalt Torlick. He’s my muscle, as you might have noticed earlier.”
“I did notice,” Rystar said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “when you ambushed us for no damn good reason.”
Kyran tilted his head and smirked. Rystar didn’t know if she hated him or not. He flicked his eyes to Na’gya and nodded. “Sorry to do you like this, Prince.”
“I’m not a prince,” Na’gya protested, “and you have no right to keep us in here, Sustri.”
Rystar took a second from being upset to be confused instead. “Sustri?”
“We’ve been kidnapped by Sustris.” Na’gya leaned into Rystar but didn’t take his eyes off Kyran.
“Now, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you think we’re the bad guys here,” Kyran drawled, giving them both a wide grin. Rystar noticed the terrifyingly large incisors Kyran had again, so long they reached the bottom of his mouth.
“You guys are vampires?” Rystar blurted out.
“We get that a lot,” Kyran said and rolled his eyes, “but no, we’re not vampires. Vampires are a silly thing you humans created. Now, if you play nice, we’ll let you out of those handcuffs. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”
Kyran tilted his head up to look at Rystar, and yeah, she definitely hated him. Mostly. Shea stirred next to her and opened his eyes, blinking at everything with uncertainty.
Rystar shifted uncomfortably. “Get me out of these things and get me back to my ship.”