Beyond Galaxy's Edge

by Anna Hackett

  She sensed rather than saw Dare and Rynan pause and look her way.

  Her father frowned. “You’re going to take up with a smuggler?”

  “Dad—”

  “Don’t think I can’t read between the lines of that story you just told me. I’m your father, I can read everything on your face.”

  “Then you know I’m serious. And that smuggler, he saved my life multiple times. And he loves me.” Goddess, she liked saying that aloud.

  Her father sighed. “While the commodore in me is disappointed you’d walk away from a promising career, the father in me is happy.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What?”

  “Nissa, I know so much of what you’ve done in your life was for me.”

  “Dad—”

  He held up a hand. “Let me finish. One day, when you’ve had your own children, you’ll understand. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy, to go your own way and find a life that fulfills you. For a long time, I let myself think it was in the GSS. But a part of me always knew that while you liked it, you never loved it. So, if this smuggler loves you, that’s fine, but please, just promise me you won’t become a smuggler.”

  Nissa smiled. “I promise, Dad. He’s a good man.”

  “He’d have to be for you to fall in love with him.”

  They spoke for a few more minutes before they signed off. Nissa swiveled her chair. “Dare, I need to talk with you. I have a proposition to discuss…”

  ***

  Justyn sat in the darkened lounge, staring at the Constitution laid out on the table in front of him.

  The one thing that had finally given him Nissa was going to be the thing that took her away.

  He loved her. And he was ecstatic that she loved him back. He wanted to keep her by his side forever.

  But he loved her so much he wanted the best for her. And that wasn’t him. Wasn’t a life beyond the galaxy’s edge.

  He closed his eyes, the pain digging deep into his gut. She was a damned good Patrol officer, a talented captain, and she had the galaxy at her feet. The admiral would get her a great promotion, a challenging new assignment with some top-rate crew and ship.

  And a smuggler from the edge would just mess that up for her.

  The door made a quiet whoosh as it opened.

  “Why are you sitting in the dark?’ Nissa asked.

  He looked up. Wished she wasn’t so beautiful. “Thinking.”

  “Hmm.” She perched on the edge of the table, giving the Constitution a quick glance. “I didn’t think you spent too much time thinking. Running, and leaping, maybe, but not thinking.”

  “You’ll be a celebrity once we hit charted space. And you’re getting that promotion you wanted. I’m happy for you.”

  Her eyebrows rose and she crossed her legs. “Carry on.”

  Okay, he wasn’t dumb. He heard the laser sharpness in her voice. But he wouldn’t let it deter him. “We’ll enjoy each other until we get back to Galaxy’s Edge.” He could have that, at least. It would make the pain when she left so much worse, but he could survive having his heart ripped from his chest…he hoped. “But I wanted you to know I think you should go. Take the promotion. Fulfil your dreams.”

  She slid off the table and stood with her legs spread, hands on her hips. “You are not fucking serious.”

  “I love you, Nissa. I want what’s best for you—”

  “So, you’ll decide what’s best for me, pat me on the head, and tell me to go?”

  “Uh…” Justyn sensed a trap and snapped his mouth shut.

  She leaned over and gripped the armrests of his chair, her face centimeters from his. “For three years you’ve had me chasing you all over the damned edge—” her voice rose to just short of yelling “—and you dragged me into this treasure hunt, made me fall completely in love with you, and now you’re just going to give me up?”

  His misery morphed into anger. “I want what’s best for you!”

  “I know what’s best for me, not you.”

  “Fine!”

  She leaned closer. “Damn straight.”

  Both their chests were heaving.

  Then she smiled. That smile that melted him from the inside out.

  “You’re playing the martyr again.” She shook her head. “I love you, Justyn.”

  He pressed his forehead against hers. “I love you, too. Clearly it makes me a little insane.” Then he turned serious. “You stay with me, Nissa, I’ll never let you go. Never. You decide now, and if you’re mine, I’m keeping you.”

  She slid into his lap. “I’m yours. Forever.”

  He cupped her cheeks and pulled her in for a hungry kiss.

  When they finally came up for air, Nissa gave him a smile that made him freeze. He slid his hands down to curve over her shoulders. “That smile is wicked. It means I’m in trouble.”

  “I’ve resigned from the GSS and Patrol.”

  He gaped at her, his hands tightening on her shoulders. “Come again?”

  “I have a new job.” She looked smug. “Two, actually. Dare’s just made me the new pilot and captain of the Sky Nomad.”

  “What?”

  “Well, I’m not sure if you know, but Evan, the current pilot is leaving after this convoy run. I think the guy’s too scared of Dare to enjoy the job. Of course, if I’m piloting a ship, I’m also captaining it. Dare and I still need to work out a few things because the man is a control freak, but he needs more time to deal with convoy issues and if I take over the captaincy, it’ll free him up.”

  Justyn just stared at her, trying to take it all in.

  She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I’m going into the deep-space-convoy business.”

  “You’d give up Patrol? To be with me?”

  “Yes. But love’s about compromise, Justyn. And I expect you to make a few compromises as well.”

  “Anything, Nissa.” She was making all his fucking dreams come true. He’d dance naked on the bar in Moonrakers if that’s what she wanted.

  “No more illegal smuggling.”

  “Done.”

  She tilted her head. “Just like that?”

  He cupped her face. “Yes, Nissa. For you, yes.”

  “Damn, I love you.” She rubbed her nose against his. “You can do legal trading to make money for the kids on Hydrae.”

  “Legal trading?” He grimaced. “Justyn Phoenix, legal trader. Not so dashing, is it?”

  She laughed. “Good. That might help keep the women away.” She moved until her legs straddled his hips. “I’m the only woman for you, now.”

  He gripped her hips. “Yes, you are.” He paused. “You said two jobs? What’s the second one?”

  “Wife. I want to get married.”

  His heart threatened to burst out of his chest. “Justyn Phoenix, trader and husband.” He faked an over-the-top groan. “You’ll completely ruin my hard-earned reputation.”

  She patted his cheek, smiling. “My poor baby.”

  He kissed her until she was writhing above him, then he looked into her remarkable eyes. “Nissa Sander, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

  “Yes.” She kissed him again. “Yes.” Her hands slid down his chest. “Yes.”

  He slid his hands around her back. “I guess I’ll have a second job, too.” He pushed to his feet, carrying her with him.

  “What’s that?” she whispered against his lips.

  “Keeping my wife very, very satisfied.”

  “I think you’ll be excellent at it.” She smiled. “You can start by satisfying my curiosity and telling me how you got your scar.”

  He smiled back. “Well, it was a dark and stormy night—”

  “Justyn!”

  ~ Official Document ~

  Galaxy’s Edge Space Station

  Advertisement #AD-988146

  Subject: Phoenix Deep-Space Convoy

  Looking for action and adventure? Looking for new op
portunities in uncharted space? Need safe passage beyond the galaxy’s edge?

  Book your passage today on the convoy that helped discover the real US Constitution!

  The Phoenix Deep-Space Convoy out of Galaxy’s Edge Station can offer you all those things. With years of experience and a talented crew, we’ll ensure your safety while you find your adventure.

  Convoy Master Dare Phoenix has run hundreds of successful convoys in dangerous space. The convoy’s master ship, the Sky Nomad, is captained by Captain Nissa Phoenix—a former GSS Patrol captain. Rynan Phoenix ensures the convoy’s security and health with an experienced security team. Justyn Phoenix, a veteran trader, is also on hand to facilitate trade agreements for any out-of-galaxy goods brought back into galactic space.

  So, are you ready to join the adventure? Sign up today to secure your seat aboard the best deep-space convoy in the Exodus quadrant and head beyond the galaxy’s edge.

  The Phoenix Adventures continue with the novella, ON A CYBORG PLANET, featuring cyborgs Axton Saros and Xenia Alexander—out now. And RETURN TO DARK EARTH—starring Niklas Phoenix and Nera Dark—out in 2015.

  The Phoenix Adventures

  At Star’s End

  In the Devil’s Nebula

  On a Rogue Planet

  Beneath a Trojan Moon (novella)

  Beyond Galaxy’s Edge

  On a Cyborg Planet (novella)

  Return to Dark Earth – Coming 2015

  Return to Dark Earth – starring Niklas Phoenix and Nera Darc will be available in 2015.

  Don’t miss out! To ensure you don’t miss the release of the next book in the Phoenix Adventures, sign up for my VIP mailing list at AnnaHackettBooks.com

  Craving some holiday romance, sci-fi style? How about winter holidays on an ice planet?

  WINTER FUSION – a novella set on Perma in the Phoenix Adventures universe.

  Read the first chapter of Winter Fusion

  “Seduce her.”

  Savan Bardan’s head snapped up. Was this a joke? He stared at the holo-com of his boss, but Kolar looked his usual unsmiling self. “You can’t be seri—”

  “Soften her up, Bardan. Get her to like you.” Kolar leaned forward, his three-dimensional image flickering a little. “Your entire world is depending on you to secure this new power source.”

  Savan bit back a curse, swiveling in the pilot’s seat of his interstellar tradeship. Kolar was a master at “motivating” his negotiators.

  And he wasn’t finished.

  “If these fusion crystals are half as powerful as the Permans say they are, we need them. The Permans are as icy toward Rendar as their gods-forsaken planet.”

  Savan knew the Permans still resented his planet. They blamed Rendar for barring their way into the Galactic Trade Guild five stellar years ago. “They weren’t ready. We had good reasons to delay their membership.”

  “Well, they don’t see it that way. Especially Negotiator Fjord.”

  Yes, Perma’s top negotiator was very vocal in her dislike of Rendar.

  An image of Brinn Fjord flickered into his mind—moon-pale skin, blond hair and ice-blue eyes. He’d noticed her the first time she stepped onto the Trade Guild Space Station two years ago as a newly minted negotiator. He’d been a part of some fierce negotiations with her.

  She was young for a negotiator, smiled too easily and laughed too much. But she was surprisingly ruthless. The Guild could swallow up the naive and inexperienced and spit out their broken bones. But Fjord held her own at the trade tables.

  Somehow Savan doubted there was anything he could do to get Fjord to soften up. He wasn’t known for his charm. He’d been a trade negotiator for ten stellar years and was damned good at it. He closed his deals with hard negotiation and tough bargaining. Not by being nice.

  “I’ll get the contract. There’s no need for me to…seduce Negotiator Fjord.”

  Kolar sighed. “You see all that behind me, Bardan?”

  Savan let his gaze drift to the window behind his mentor. While Savan was seated in his ship, Kolar was several light-years away in his office high above the megacity that covered their home world.

  Buildings speared into the sky. Everyone on the metropolis world lived, worked and played in skyscrapers hundreds of stories high. Parks and gardens had died out centuries before, when the planet’s water had dried up.

  As the population had grown, every available space was needed for housing. Now even the empty ocean space was covered in buildings.

  Aerial traffic filled the sky like a swarm of insects. Smaller personal transports zipped between buildings while larger public transports lumbered between rooftop stops. Neon signs flashed and blinked from every available space—advertising everything from the latest personal Sync devices to the Interplanetary VelocityBall Championships.

  “Everything out there is dependent on energy. Without a new power source, Rendar and her people will grind to a halt.”

  Kolar’s words rang through Savan’s head. He knew everything they used was powered—transports, housing, holo-com projectors. Even the food units that made the tasteless cloned food Rendarians ate consumed vast amounts of power.

  “Your world is depending on you.”

  A heavy weight settled on Savan’s shoulders and he scraped a hand down his face. He’d felt this demanding responsibility before, while fighting in the Galactic Wars for Rendar’s survival. Leading his men into hopeless battles that got them slaughtered. His fingers gripped the chair’s armrests.

  Kolar linked his hands and rested them on his desk. “Fjord will make things difficult. She’s already tried to push this visit out another stellar month. She’ll either try to deny us the crystals or sell them to us for an outrageous price.” He leaned back. “And there are plenty of potential buyers waiting for us to fail. The Tauvi put up a huge fight to stop us from getting the right to first-offer.”

  Savan had been at the meeting. The aggressive Tauvi, from another energy-dependent world, had been bitter losers.

  “You know I’m planning to retire soon?”

  Kolar’s pronouncement jerked Savan back to the present. This was the first he’d heard of retirement. Part of him had always thought his mentor would die at the trade tables.

  “If you secure this deal for the right price…this seat will be yours,” Kolar said.

  The breath caught in Savan’s throat. Rendar’s head negotiator.

  The respected role brought power and prestige. It would be the pinnacle of the career he’d been building the last decade. The peak of life on Rendar revolved around career success. Mediocrity was considered as bad as failure. Everyone on Rendar lived to be the best.

  And Savan owed it to Kolar—the man who’d taken a chance on a burned-out space marine looking for a job with no blood, death or violence.

  “Are we clear, Bardan?”

  Savan gave a tight nod. “I’ll close the deal.”

  “Excellent. Good luck with the negotiation.” The holo-com blinked off.

  With the image gone, Savan could once again see the view screen and the planet he was orbiting.

  Perma was an unbroken pale blue. Too far from its sun to sustain vegetation, there were no forests or jungles. Luckily for its inhabitants, the planet had substantial geothermal energy below its icy surface.

  One of the gifts that geothermal energy had given them were crystals that held the most amazing, inexhaustible energy.

  Energy Rendar needed.

  Comfortable in the pilot’s seat, Savan engaged the controls. Time to head to the Perman spaceport and hammer out a final deal for Rendar.

  And face Brinn Fjord.

  An edgy anticipation snaked through him. He flexed his hands on the controls. It was the thrill of the upcoming deal, not because he was going to see a woman he found a challenge. A woman who hated his guts.

  He had far too much riding on this deal to fail.

  He would succeed. At any cost.

/>   ***

  Brinn Fjord watched the sleek, black Rendarian spacecraft touch down in a cloud of superheated steam.

  The ship reminded her of the man she was waiting for—striking, cold and merciless.

  Her stomach filled with knots. She couldn’t believe that of all the worlds in the galaxy, Rendar had won the right to first-offer on Perma’s fusion crystals.

  Supercilious Rendar, who’d kept Perma stuck in the dark ages. Her gut churned. The arrogant bastards had even insisted the deal go ahead today—on Yule’s Eve. Right in the middle of Perma’s most important winter holiday.

  So instead of celebrating Yuletide with her family—eating her mother’s cooking, drinking her stepfather’s homemade ale and trading teasing barbs with her brothers—she was stuck with the most ruthless trade negotiator this side of the Hadron belt.

  Savan Bardan. He had a poker face everyone in the Trade Guild envied. She’d never once seen him smile, or show anger or pleasure. The guy could pass for a syndroid.

  Five years ago, he’d been one of the Rendarian traders who denied Perma admission to the Guild. Her fingers curled. He’d denied them the chance to trade for technology they needed for their people.

  And people had died.

  Brinn pressed a hand to her chest and the throbbing pain there. Because of Bardan, her father was dead.

  By Odinn’s fury, she missed her father. She sucked in a breath of cold air. Had it really been four years since he succumbed to a disease that was now eradicated with drugs they bought from a neighboring planet?

  He’d never had the chance to see her join the Guild, to make a name for herself helping Perma acquire new tech.

  A large gust of freezing air nipped at her. She pulled her beret low over her hair and drew the collar of her thick ursus coat up to her chin. The wild animals lived on the northern pole, and the plush fleece made the warmest coats.

  Summer on Perma was cold, but winter was bitter. Even though it was lunchtime, the distant sun was already headed for the horizon. The icy wind swept across the spaceport tarmac, its cold fingers searching for bare skin. The perfect welcome for Bardan.

  Brinn let the wind cool her heated cheeks. She’d make Rendar pay for their arrogance. If they wanted the fusion crystals, they’d have to pay for them.