A Galactic Holiday

by Stacy Gail, Sasha Summers, Anna Hackett

  “I’m in love with you, Reina. I’ve been in love with you for two years. When I heard you’d been busted down to level one I was so scared you’d walk away before I had a chance to prove what a great team we made, that I jumped at the chance of making you my partner. And if you think crying over this makes you any less appealing, you’re not as smart as I give you credit for.” He bent to capture her lips with his with a reverence that tempted another wash of tears to her eyes. The love and comfort that flowed from his touch was so sweet she couldn’t help but believe this wasn’t a dream, but an overwhelming dream come true. “There’s nothing about you that I don’t love. Especially that beautiful heart of yours that breaks for a loving, lonely little boy.”

  “A glitch,” she whispered, but even she heard the devastated weakness of it. “He was just a glitch.”

  “Then he was a glitch that saved Christmas, and I for one will always be grateful to him.” He kissed her again as if he could do nothing else before he pulled her off the table. “The question is, if you can cry over a manmade child like Noel, do you think it’s possible that someday you could find it in your heart to love a walking toaster like me?”

  “Someday? No, not someday.” With her heart a messy chaos of emotion, she burrowed into his arms while still clutching the precious paper doll. “I think I fell in love with you when you told the Seldon kids they could keep their toys, you big softie. I couldn’t stop myself.”

  “You’ll never know how glad I am to hear that.” He kissed the crown of her head before turning for the door, only to stop so abruptly she crashed into him.

  “Edison—”

  “Reina, look.”

  Glancing beyond his shoulder, she forced herself to take in the small, lifeless figure of Noel, now no more than a high-tech statue. It was unbearably heartbreaking to see that sweet little boy so frozen, so still...

  Only he wasn’t.

  His eyelids flickered, then blinked. His chest rose and fell in sudden, bellows-like gusts of air, and within seconds the mannequin stiffness drained from his limbs. He raised his freckled face and turned their way with a blank look of surprise.

  “Hello there,” he greeted, and his sweet smile appeared. “I’m Noel. Who are you?”

  “Short-term memory purge,” Edison said, staring in disbelief. “If there’s no memory of a crime being committed, he’s safe from it. One hard reboot and he’s back to normal. Damn, Delbert Conrad was a genius.”

  “My internal clock says it’s Christmas.” Excitement made Noel bounce in place. “Is it? Is it Christmas?”

  “It sure is, Noel.” With a rocky laugh, Reina couldn’t stop herself from stepping forward to hug him. Just when she thought there couldn’t be another gift as perfect as Edison’s love, she was given this added bonus. Sometimes life—and all its myriad facets and definitions—could be beautiful. “And it’s not just any Christmas. This is the best Christmas ever.”

  * * * * *

  It’s a steampunk kind of Christmas.

  Join author Stacy Gail in another holiday story of crime and passion.

  Roderick Coddington is on a mission to make Cornelia Peabody pay. After identifying her as the thief who stole a priceless Fabergé egg from his dying sister, he finds her and shackles a deadly timepiece to her arm. If she doesn’t return the egg by Christmas morning, she will die.

  Normally seven days is more than enough time for Cornelia to carry out the perfect crime, but Roderick’s intrusion into her life is beyond distracting. He challenges her mind, and ignites her body with desire she’s never felt before. But worst of all, he threatens the independence she values above all else…

  Crime Wave in a Corset

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  About the Author

  A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By the age of fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance writer, or a romance writer who was also a skating pro. Now with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.

  Galileo’s Holiday

  By Sasha Summers

  Ice miner Riley works alone in the depths of space, and that’s the way she likes it. She’s proud of her independence, and when her ship gets destroyed by raiders on the icy surface of Galileo, she’s not sure she wants to rely on rakish trader Leo and the kindness of a band of settlers to survive.

  Despite her attempts to keep her distance, it’s not long before Riley warms to the family atmosphere of the settlers’ station. As Galileo’s Holiday approaches and she develops feelings for the handsome, charming Leo, she questions whether she really wants to remain alone.

  But Leo is hiding cargo the raiders want, and when they come back for it, everyone on the small station is in danger. Riley will risk anything to protect her new friends—because if the raiders succeed, the choice between Leo and a life alone won’t be Riley’s to make.

  23,000 words

  Dedication

  For one of the strongest women

  I know, Margaret Lozano.

  Thank you for being there.

  Contents

  Chapter One: Popped

  Chapter Two: Night

  Chapter Three: Cryptids

  Chapter Four: Leo

  Chapter Five: Raiders

  About the Author

  Chapter One: Popped

  She hung upside down, her small, gloved hands tightly gripping the heavy pneumatic socket driver to the plate braces. The switch clicked and the driver whirred, removing the brace screws.

  “Readying transport gurney,” she said into the com clipped to her ear beneath the thick hat she wore. She pressed the dimly lit green release button. The storage compartment clicked then groaned as it opened. The equipment gurney came out, hovering beneath the engine booster. “Last plates off, Bao.”

  “Why didn’t the droid sync the removal? This should have taken two minutes, tops. I’ll have to run a debug program when you get back...” She could hear the frustration in his voice, the clicking of fingers on console keys. Then there was silence. “Your system says the droid is still docked. Damn it, Riley. Why did you take the droid if you’re not going to use it?” Bao’s voice crackled over the earpiece. “You’re gonna freeze if you keep going outside for stupid repairs.”

  “I needed some air. I’ll use your new toy next time the tug needs stupid repairs.” She tucked the screws, plates and corner bracket into the belt at her waist as she spoke. She glanced at the gurney, impressed that it was so quiet, yet fully functional. “Your rigged-up gurney is doing just fine, if that makes you feel any better.”

  She flipped the safety arm off the engine booster. It fell, the heavy metal cylinder whistling as the frigid air sifted through its motor. The equipment gurney shifted, catching the booster before it hit the ice. The gurney dropped, hovering above the ground while cradling her precious—cantankerous—booster.

  Bao laughed. “Rigged up? That gurney is new. It’s the only thing younger than you on that piece of...”

  “Stop there, Bao. Not another word.” Riley gripped the bar she was swinging from and pulled her legs through, dangling. It was a slight drop, probably nine or ten feet, from the ship’s underbelly to the snow-covered ground. She let go, landing with a soft crunch and a wince-inducing jolt to her knees and hips.

  “Now what? You pro
mised me this wasn’t going to happen.” She walked across the packed snow to the gurney and her booster. “Why did I get rid of the old booster if this new one was going to blow?”

  “Because the old one has a radiation leak and I thought you’d rather not melt in the black.”

  “The storm blasts are supposed to hit in the morning. It’s possible I’ll freeze to death if you don’t talk me through this repair soon.”

  “I’m syncing up, give me a minute. I won’t leave you on that frozen piece of dung.” Bao’s tone was clearly disapproving.

  “Don’t start.” She checked the temperature gauge on the booster. The cold hadn’t reached the coils—not yet. As long as the coils didn’t freeze, everything was fixable. “If you’re not a fan of Galileo moon, I’ll make sure you only get the finest filtered engine water.”

  He snorted. “You better bring me a gallon of G-water, Riley, and enough to fill my holding tank too. You didn’t pay me for the droid upgrade.”

  “Because I didn’t want it,” she said. “And I didn’t use it.”

  “Riley” He started cursing fluently, too fast for her to cobble together the complete meaning.

  It didn’t matter. Something was coming—breaking through the atmosphere above her—something big. And she was out in the open with no weapons and her booster blown out. She grabbed the handle on the gurney, and pulled with all her might. There was a snowdrift ahead. Not much cover, but maybe it would be big enough to hide her and the booster from sight.

  “Stop talking, Bao. I’ve got company.” Her words were a hiss as she tried to run. After six months of recycled cabin air, the fresh air of Galileo made her head dizzy and her lungs burn.

  His cursing stopped. “Want me to cut com?” he whispered.

  “For now,” she answered, pressing the button on the earpiece. The com went silent.

  She could make out the lines of the ship. It was big, new and fast. Too small for mass transport. It turned, and she bit out a curse. Two massive plasma cannons protruded from the ship’s face, swiveling on oscillating mounts. She narrowed her eyes against the light snow flurries, but could see no stamp or station patrol insignia.

  A raider ship.

  “Damn. It.” She bent low over her booster, stroking the smooth metal cylinder with trembling hands.

  If there was a raider ship on Galileo, it was looking for something or someone. Ice wasn’t worth any raider’s time. She swallowed.

  She remembered Bao’s last post on the cabin scope.

  Slave raiding next moon. Steer clear & on shipping route.

  The ship was almost on top of her now.

  She stared at her beloved transport boat, grease-streaked burners and patched rear panels a testament to its age. It was old. It was ugly, but it was hers, bought and paid for by her mother before her. It made her sick to think her tug, her livelihood, could be disintegrated in less than ten seconds by those raider cannons.

  She held her breath, watched as the raider ship skimmed closer to the planet’s surface.

  The wind kicked up, blowing away the light snow covering that shielded the hull. Her tug stuck out, gray and black against the white. The tug wasn’t worth much...but something was better than nothing. And it was all she had.

  She cursed again, watching the raider’s ship move closer, hovering. The air beneath the big ship—the air above her head—rolled blue and orange.

  One cannon rotated, aiming at the tug and firing a short orange-red charge. The sound echoed, a single pop. Her ship seemed to swell, expanding until its seams and joints gave, then collapsed on itself. Her tug was now a pile of blackened metal.

  The raider ship moved, hovering over the tug wreckage. She watched as the remains of her home was collected by droids and stowed inside the hull of the raider ship.

  She was so horrified by what she saw that it took her a moment to react to the hand that clamped over her mouth. At the same time, a body dropped down on her back, pressing her stomach into the freezing ice.

  Had some of the raiders landed? Was she going to be taken for slaving, too?

  “If you stay still, they won’t see you,” a voice—a man’s voice—spoke softly. “They’ll leave in seven, six, five, four, three, two...”

  A sleek shuttle appeared to the south, its sudden ignition causing an air ripple to crease the thin atmosphere. It hovered above the packed ice for seconds before its boosters glowed, burned bright and thrust the small shuttle from the atmosphere and into the black beyond.

  The raider ship lifted and followed.

  Riley breathed easier when her captor stood, releasing her.

  She sat up, stared at the empty snow and then at the booster beside her.

  “We don’t have much time,” the man said. “The blasts aren’t going to wait for morning. We need to get to the station. You have a runner?”

  She peered up at the man, her anger and frustration choking her. No, she didn’t have a runner. She didn’t have anything.

  “Hello?” He waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you simple? I’ve heard tuggers are simple, but I took it to mean they were uncomplicated people. Guess I was wrong.”

  She stood, raking the snow from her coat and pants. “I’m neither simple nor uncomplicated. The only transport I have just got popped by the raider ship you were so keen to avoid. So, no, I don’t have a runner.” Her eyes raked over him as she spoke. Dressed in a long white coat and face mask, he’d been prepared for trekking across the ice. The belt at his waist showed two pistols, a mean-looking blade handle and several other things that looked potentially dangerous even if she couldn’t readily identify them. So he was armed, that didn’t mean he was necessarily dangerous. Being stuck out here, in the snow and cold, seemed more hazardous—for now at least.

  The man was staring down at her. Even standing, she didn’t come midway to his chest. She was tiny, it was part of being born a tugger. Generations of living in dark, cramped spaces had made her people adapt. Being small was part of it.

  “Well, we best start walking,” he said.

  She grabbed the gurney handle, pressing the release so she could steer the hover frame. “You know where the station is?”

  He’d started off, but he stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. “You don’t? You here legally?”

  “I’m a licensed ice tugger, mister. But any proof you need of that was popped in my ship.” She felt a lump form in her throat.

  “It’s not far.” He pointed. “We can get the station to let your people know what’s what when we get there.”

  She pulled the gurney behind her, wishing she had a cover for her booster. “My people?”

  He took long steps, forcing her to move at a jog.

  “Family? Boss?” He turned. “You know, your people.”

  She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have people. She doubted the Water Department would notice she was missing for a while. The stations were full, for now. Once they started running low, that’s when they’d miss her. That was at least a month out... The lump in her throat seemed to get bigger.

  They trudged on, leaning against the occasional gust of icy wind toward the faint lights on the horizon.

  Once they got to the station, she could check with Bao. Maybe he could find her a ride back to the docks. His shop ran clearance and diagnostics on every rig passing the second ring. Maybe he would know of a team she could hook up with. She had a bit of credit saved up and more than enough water stashed to make some decent trades. But she knew she couldn’t buy a ship or buy into a shared ship—even one as old as hers had been.

  The only life she’d known was gone.

  “Ice tugging’s hard work,” the man said

  “Not so hard.”

  “Loneliness is hard.”

  She laughed. “Not the way I see i
t.”

  He glanced at her then. “Not fond of company?”

  She didn’t look at him. Her eyes were starting to burn, so she stared at the snow on the ground. She’d left her goggles in the cabin. They got fogged up in the cold. Now she wished she’d brought them. Of course, there was no way she could have known she’d end up here...

  “I’ll take that as a no.” He chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about air. You’re not on a tug. It’s not going to run low here.”

  She sucked in a deep breath. She knew it wasn’t going to run out. She knew it was fresh air. That was why she’d wanted to do the repairs herself. She loved the taste of fresh air, cold and clean on the back of her throat.

  But she did want him to shut up. He seemed to grasp that, and they trudged on in silence. Her mind kept replaying the day, trying to make sense of what had happened.

  “You know who those raiders were?” she asked. “My last post said raiders were out slaving, but looking for slaves on Galileo doesn’t make much sense. So why were they here? You got any ideas?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. But I can’t be certain.”

  She stared at him. She stopped walking, shivering as a gust of heavy wind ripped through her coat and sweater. “Maybe?”

  He stopped, turning to her. “Raiders’ way I’d guess. They take what they can. From what I saw of your tug it wasn’t a new rig. Chances are they thought it was a wreck and thought to make a few credits off the metal.”

  She stood tall, feeling a surge of anger warm her small frame. “It may not have been new, but my tug was not a...”

  “Listen.” He held up his hand and spoke loudly, startling her into silence. “How about you wait to yell at me once we get out of the cold? Night’s coming. Been told the blasts will start then.”