by Gun Brooke
Synopsis
Notorious pirate and mercenary Weiss Kyakh works as a reluctant double-agent for the Supreme Constellations. Her mission is to infiltrate a cutthroat band of space pirates along with a sentient bio-android, Madisyn Pimm. Pimm’s sole purpose is to bring pirates to justice. The sophisticated android looks human, but Weiss soon realizes that Madisyn has her own heartbreaking secrets.
As war rages in the Realm, Weiss longs to escape from both the pirates and SC forces, but her growing affection for Madisyn makes her delay her plans. With thousands of lives in the balance as the final endgame approaches, will her delay cost them their lives?
Book Four in the Supreme Constellations romantic sci-fi adventure series
Pirate’s Fortune
Supreme Constellations
Book Four
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By the Author
The Supreme Constellations Series:
Protector of the Realm
Rebel’s Quest
Warrior’s Valor
Pirate’s Fortune
Course of Action
Coffee Sonata
Sheridan’s Fate
September Canvas
Fierce Overture
Pirate’s Fortune
© 2011 By Gun Brooke. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-60282-599-4
This Electronic Book is published by
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, New York 12185
First Edition: September 2011
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Shelley Thrasher and Stacia Seaman
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Art By Gun Brooke
Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])
Acknowledgments
First, I want to express my gratitude to my first readers, Jan and Sam, who between them took on the job of helping me not lose face by missing silly mistakes before submitting the manuscript to BSB. I also want to thank Pol, who allowed me to pick her brilliant mind regarding tactical stuff.
Dr. Shelley Thrasher, my editor—thank you so much for being the perfect match for me. We work so well together and you make the editing phase fun and educational every time.
Radclyffe—aka Len Barot—president of Bold Strokes Books, thank you for providing a fantastic environment within BSB for us authors to grow and evolve. I’m proud to be one of your first authors, and that you still want me around.
Sheri the graphic artist, thank you for collaborating with me on the cover, and for making my 3D art work so well.
Stacia, Cindy, Connie, Sandy, Lori, and all the proofers and copy editors, and other people who work for and with BSB to publish our books— you are all such “fire souls,” to translate a Swedish word directly, and I think you deserve tons of praise.
Thank you to my faithful science-fiction-loving readers, who have been with me from the start with this series and kept asking for the next book. Now I end the series with this book, and even if I occasionally go through separation anxiety, I also look forward to taking you with me on a new sci-fi adventure with the next series I have planned.
Also…thank you to those among my friends who are always encouraging and supportive. You know who you are.
Dedication
To Elon.
To Malin and Henrik.
To Joanne
You are like handprints on my heart.
Prologue
“Madisyn, darling, can you hear me?” The male voice sounded familiar, yet somehow alien.
“Mmm.” Madisyn’s lips and tongue wouldn’t obey. Her eyelids felt heavy or, rather, as if they weren’t there. “Uh…”
“Calibrating the synapses now.” The metallic-sounding male voice changed, became darker and garbled.
“Wha…?” Madisyn stiffened as pins and needles traveled through her system, making every nerve ending burn in agony. “Ah!”
“Too much, Silestian!” A female voice blended with the male. “Reduce the synaptic stimulant.”
“Reducing.”
The pain slowly dissipated and Madisyn struggled to open her eyes. Everything was a blur. She blinked several times, the movement jerky, numbness taking over as the pain subsided.
“You need to boost the synthesized synaptic fluids, Silestian,” the female voice said, her tone sharp.
Silestian? Father? Where was she and how did she get here? Everything was hazy, and she couldn’t pinpoint the origin of any of the sounds.
“Just relax, child,” the female voice said. “Just your father and I are here. Look at me. Can you see me?”
Slowly the surroundings stopped swaying and the lights stopped searing her eyes. A woman’s face came into focus; it was indeed her mother. “Mama.”
“Oh, thank the Seers.” Lonia Pimm smiled through tears. “She recognizes me. Madisyn, darling, your father is here too. You’ll be all right.”
“What’s wrong…with me?” Madisyn managed to say, her mouth numb as she formed the words. Even her own voice sounded alien.
“You were in an…an accident, but the worst is over. You’ll be fine. Won’t she, Silestian?”
A man came into view and Madisyn wanted to cry. Her father looked so worried and worn. A dry sob broke free, and Madisyn tried to move her head to hide her feelings. Though she expected medical equipment and hospital staff, she saw her parents’ laboratory. Why would she be on a gurney in their laboratory if she’d had an accident?
“Mother?” Madisyn trembled inwardly, or at least she thought she did, as she was still completely numb.
“We will explain everything in time, darling. Just trust me—you will be fine.” Lonia kissed her forehead. “We love you more than anything or anyone else, Madisyn. We just couldn’t bear to lose you. You will understand later, I promise.”
Her mother’s words, and waking up in the lab rather than a hospital, sent a flurry of thoughts through Madisyn’s fatigued mind. Lonia sounded both regretful and afraid.
Madisyn turned her head the other way, grateful that she wasn’t entirely paralyzed. A drape closed off the rest of the laboratory, but a mirror over a sink at the far end made it possible to see behind it. At first Madisyn thought she was seeing one of her parents’ prototype androids, but when she tried to look more closely, two things proved her wrong. Her vision changed, and a series of numbers and mathematical signs scrolled along her left field of vision. She blinked confusedly; her eyes had zoomed in on the android in the mirror.
It wasn’t an android at all.
“Oh, no.” Madisyn wanted to scream, but couldn’t. She stared at the reflection, at herself, and could only murmur two words, over and over. “Model Eighteen-B? Model Eighteen-B? Model Eighteen-B?”
“For the love of the Seers, Silestian, close the drape.” Lonia bent closer to Madisyn. “Listen, darling. Focus on my voice. We had to try, your father and I. We had to. We were losing you.”
“You…made me…into…Eighteen-B?”
“You were dying, darling. We had no choice.” Lonia was crying now, and Silestian embraced them both.
“My daughter. We couldn’t let you go
,” her father said, his voice barely audible. “And we didn’t use Eighteen-B.”
“What? What am I? What did you do?” Madisyn tried to sit up, needing to see for herself.
“Easy, child. Easy,” Silestian said, holding on to her and helping her to sit propped up against his shoulder.
Madisyn looked down her body. The long, lanky limbs of her nineteen-year-old self had disappeared. Instead, she gazed in horror at the unfamiliar, perfect-looking body of an android. “What…what did you do to me?” Madison asked, hating her strange voice.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll fine-tune your voice and customize your appearance. I promise, my darling.” Lonia had stopped crying and spoke with emphasis. “We couldn’t let you die.”
“You should’ve. You should’ve.” Panic rose inside Madisyn and she wanted to lash out physically at them. “I hate you for this. You have to kill me. Stop this…machine…and kill me!” She had to endure their hugs and embraces, but for hours she wept without tears, whispering repeatedly, “You have to kill me. Please kill me. Please. Please.”
Chapter One
Admiral Rae Jacelon stood behind the desk in her office, her hands behind her back, gazing at the stars. They appeared as blurry streaks as the Constellation warship moved with unimaginable speed. The Paesina had disembarked from the Gamma VI space station eight hours ago, and with Jacelon in command, it headed a convoy of ships flying into intergalactic space.
They planned to engage the Onotharian Empire and liberate Gantharat. Jacelon smiled joylessly. Excited about returning to battle, she wasn’t naïve regarding the political intricacies behind the conflict.
Jacelon briefly allowed thoughts of when she had commanded Gamma VI to surface. As a commodore, she had come across a Gantharian fugitive and married her only a few days after they met. Becoming an instant spouse and parent should have been a recipe for failure, especially since the young boy, Armeo, was the heir to the Gantharian throne, with a horde of threatening pursuers trailing him.
The woman accompanying Armeo was destined to care for and protect him. Kellen O’Dal carried the title of Protector of the Realm, an honor that Jacelon now bore through marriage. They had been married almost eighteen months, and Jacelon had never dreamed of finding such love. She thought of Kellen each day when she first woke and right before she fell asleep. She couldn’t imagine life without either Kellen or Armeo, yet they were separated again, as Kellen’s duties as a lieutenant commander of the Supreme Constellations military forces had sent her on a different mission.
The device indicating that someone was at her door pinged.
“Enter.” Jacelon kept her back to them. She was expecting her visitor and was not about to show them any courtesy whatsoever—yet.
“Your guest, Admiral,” a male voice rumbled.
“Thank you. Dismissed.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
Jacelon turned around slowly. The woman on the other side of the desk wore slate-gray coveralls, like all civilians who traveled aboard an SC military vessel. With her dark brown hair held back in a tight, low bun, Weiss Kyakh stood ramrod straight, her deeply set frost green eyes unwavering.
“I take it you haven’t changed your mind after boot camp?” Jacelon spoke coolly, making sure her animosity didn’t show. Kyakh had facilitated the kidnapping of her mother, Dahlia Jacelon, so it was difficult to treat Kyakh as anything but a criminal.
“I can hardly refuse your offer, can I?” Kyakh spoke in a low tone, but sounded confident.
“You need to commit. People’s lives are at stake, innocent people who have nothing to do with any of us. The SC covert-operative training facility should’ve taught you this, and more.”
“Oh, I learned a lot. Innocent people don’t exist. Everyone has an agenda, and they all have a price.”
“Then what’s your price?” Jacelon noted the pride in Kyakh’s eyes and the defiant angle of her chin.
“My freedom.”
“Ah.” Jacelon placed her hands on her desk. “You are looking at life in an SC maximum-security prison.” Jacelon knew what that meant and was sure Kyakh did too, but she didn’t even blink. The MAXSEC prisons were stark buildings erected on several moons throughout SC space. Without an atmosphere, and with a booby-trapped sensor grid surrounding the moons, they were virtually impenetrable and close to escape-proof.
“And if I agree to infiltrate this band of pirates?” Kyakh asked disdainfully. “Your plan is flawed. Anyone who knows me would realize that I wouldn’t join a band of thugs when I have access to the best people out there.”
“Correction, had access. Past tense. We’ve made sure everybody knows that all your people are either dead or in custody. So far, we’ve kept the truth about your status a secret. Rumor has it you managed to escape when war broke out and that you’re laying low, biding your time somewhere. As for your objectives, trust me, this is no mere band of thugs but a highly motivated and outfitted organization, led by a man called Podmer.”
“Podmer?” For some reason, the pirate leader’s name got through to Kyakh, who quickly sorted her features back into a look of indifference, but it was too late. Podmer was surely the key to coercing Kyakh to comply.
“Ring a bell?”
“Yes.” That one syllable held a universe of emotions.
“He’s nearly royalty when it comes to piracy. I would almost think he’s been your role model.” Jacelon was playing the devil’s advocate now.
“Podmer is a cold-blooded murderer. A thug in designer clothes, using designer drugs and traveling in a state-of-the-art ship, but a thug nonetheless.” Kyakh spat his name. “I may be a thief, and I have lives on my conscience, I don’t deny that…but I use my talents in other ways.”
“You kidnap distinguished diplomats, fire on children, and don’t care much about collateral damage.”
“I do not fire on children!”
“People who work for you did. It was mere coincidence that they hit Ayahliss instead of Armeo!” Jacelon circled the desk and stood within Kyakh’s personal space. The other woman didn’t flinch, but lowered her gaze after a few moments.
“White turned out to be less than dependable, but she acted against orders.”
“You are still accountable!” Jacelon raised her voice marginally.
Kyakh paled. “I’m aware of that.”
“Are you all right? My chief medical officer assured me that you were fit for duty.”
“Dr. Meyer is very thorough. I’m fine.”
“Very well.” Jacelon rounded her desk and sat down. “Take a seat. We need to discuss a few things.”
Kyakh remained standing for a few seconds, but then complied.
“Podmer has moved up in the world the last two years, and the conflict between Onotharat and the SC is adding to his wealth and, thus, his power. He is running a lucrative arms dealership, with most of the weapons the property of the SC military.” Jacelon scrutinized Kyakh’s face for an emotional response, but so far she saw none. “We need to know who he’s doing business with and how he manages to obtain the weapons. Our last intel suggests that he’s planning something elaborate, something that might cause setbacks for the SC. We need someone like you to infiltrate his senior officers’ group.”
“Why someone like me?”
“You enjoy a certain reputation. You’re also like royalty when it comes to space pirates. You would be an asset to any such gang.”
“You flatter me,” Kyakh said ironically.
“Not even a little bit.” Jacelon wasn’t in the mood to smile. “You’ll be working with our contact aboard Podmer’s mother ship. She’s been undercover with his band of pirates for more than six months.”
“Why can’t this person finish the job?”
“She’s unable to get close enough to enter his inner circle of senior crewmembers.”
“And you expect me to work with such an inept person?” Looking arrogant, Kyakh shrugged. “I don’t hold hands during any sort of mission.”
“Then what’s her problem?”
“She’s unable to complete her mission only because of one reason. She’s a BNSL.”
“Oh, for stars and skies, she’s an android?” Kyakh flung her hands up.
“She’s a one-of-a-kind, highly advanced prototype of a Bio-Neural Synthetic Lifeform.”
“And that’s supposed to reassure me?”
“Oh, I never figured you for a person who needed reassuring, Kyakh.”
“And what if this android malfunctions during a critical phase of the operation?” Cold, and getting colder still, Kyakh’s eyes narrowed.
“She won’t. She has more fail-safes installed than you and I could even dream of. She was constructed at the Stagmanza University on—”
“On Guild Nation, in its prime capital, Toran Denza.” Kyakh sounded reluctantly impressed.
“You seem familiar with the Guild Nation, the newest member of the Supreme Constellations.” Jacelon noted how Kyakh immediately schooled her features back into her former disdainful expression.
“My paternal grandmother was born on Guild Nation.”
“I see. A good way for you to connect with Madisyn Pimm.”
“The android has a name?” Kyakh snorted. “This gets better and better.”
“I’m glad you think so, since she will be my liaison while you’re on your assignment. Madisyn will not know your true status or your sordid past, but she will report anything amiss…with just about anything and everything during your mission. We will provide you with a plausible backstory of how you became a civilian agent for the SC.”