Chapter One
I couldn’t stop my leg from jiggling. This was a problem. I was wearing handcuffs and every time I nervously fidgeted, the chains around my wrists would rattle. It was an unnerving sound. The jangle echoed around my cell, a stark reminder that this would most likely be the last room I ever saw.
The walls were made of a stainless steel that was colored dull gray, with a single raised bed and one sink. The room was dark, with only one bright light on overhead. The ship that picked me had looked massive. There could have easily been ten thousand souls on board. The guards had been efficient, my jail cell was inescapable. I didn't know who it was that snatched me, but I could tell that escape would not be easy.
I forced myself to stop fidgeting. I needed to be calmer than this. Whoever had me was trying to psych me out. They were leaving me alone in this cell to slowly drive myself crazy. I had no idea how long it had been since I had been dumped in here. At least two days, maybe three, with nothing to do but stare at the bare walls around me. A few hours ago a guard had come and placed the cuffs on my wrists, but he hadn’t been back since.
It had been a trap. I didn’t know if the trap was for me or someone else, but it had worked. I came out of hyperspace practically on top of a giant ship. In the few moments it took my computer to re-align I was vulnerable and in that moment the great ship swallowed my tiny one easily.
The troops had taken a while to find me. I hid down in one of my smuggling compartments secreted away far in the bowels of my ship. But they knew someone was onboard. The guards tore her apart until they found me. I had been stripped of my weapons, my clothes, even my boots. Now I was in a simple jumpsuit – unflattering to my curvy figure - and a pair of socks, nothing else.
I didn’t recognize the insignia on the uniform of the men who captured me. The decal was a series of dashes and dots. It wasn’t the insignia of the current rulers, the Dolcivs Regime. Their symbol was easy to recognize, a solid circle surrounded by a circle of dashes and another one of dots. Whoever had me wasn’t a recognized Lord in the Regime. He was a Lost Lord, and a powerful one by the look of it.
I couldn’t take the waiting. It was driving me crazy. I stood up and began to pace back and forth. It took six and a half steps to walk the length of the cell. I began to march back and forth as my mind tried to figure out where I had gone wrong. I had been working as a smuggler for over eight years and I had never been caught before.
The job had been from a reliable client, the information passed through my broker as is the norm. The unnamed client (who is always unnamed in my business) needed something picked up in a far off system that was out of the Regime’s control. Out of the way pick-up and delivery was my specialty. I had a fast ship and I knew how to fly her. Usually, I could get in and out without anyone even knowing I was there.
I hadn’t been expecting an ambush. There was always the chance I might encounter someone on one of my jobs, but I never landed right on top of someone else.
The chances were billions to one, it was near impossible that two ships would just happen to be in such close proximity. Space is big, really big. It’s rare to run into another ship. No, it had been a trap. Whoever had set up this job had specifically sent me here. They wanted me in particular.
I had paced the length of the room ninety-seven times when the door swung open. I turned to see a Dolcivs guard standing waiting for me. Dolcivs were like humans, only bigger, stronger, and faster, their eyes were bright blue and they shined under the lights of my cage. I was already considered short, but curvy by human standards, so the eight foot tall Dolcivs warriors towered over me.
The guard grabbed me by the upper arm and wrenched me out onto the platform. I hurried to keep up with him, practically running to meet his strides.
“Where are we going?” I asked. But he didn’t say anything. Neither had any of the other guards. They were well-trained. The prison on the ship was half-empty. I passed a few cells, where sullen-looking Dolcivs and a few humans silently watched me pass.
I was led to a lift that rose up and up through the massive ship. Finally, the guard swiped his palm across the electronic pad and the elevator door opened to reveal an opulent suite.
This wasn’t what I expected. My feet sunk into plush red carpets. The walls were covered in video screens that showed the starry space outside. We were in the orbit of a large gas giant and reds, purples and yellows swam along the surface of the planet. There were comfortable-looking chairs interspersed in the room and a long bar along one wall.
I only had a moment to take this all in before I was pulled into the next room. It was dark inside and I could barely see anything. The only light that entered the dim room came from the red planet below us.
“Unchain her and leave us,” a strong voice commanded.
The guard nodded once, unlocked my cuffs and then stepped out the door. I remained frozen in place. I stared into the darkness trying to discover who my captor was, but I couldn’t see anything other than a few vague shapes. There was what looked like a great bed in one corner and then past that, a sunken area with a couch facing the view of the planet.
I didn’t move. I didn't know what was expected of me. It seemed like I waited a very long time, shifting from foot to foot.
“Andromeda Nus,” the voice said.
I didn’t answer.
“Listen well, Andromeda, for this is your one and only warning. Do not ignore me and do not waste my time with lies. I can easily rip the truth from you, but I would rather you give it to me. This would be best for you. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Are you Andromeda Nus?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“You will address me as Sir, or My Lord.”His voice was low and smooth, but commanding. I craned my neck to try and get a better view of my captor, but I could only see shadows. The outline of a Dolcivs face, nothing more.
“Yes, Sir,” I corrected. I should have known. The Dolcivs take their rankings and titles very seriously. If he was a Lost Lord, as I expected, he would care more than most.
“The famed smuggler, Andromeda Nus.”
“I never knew I was famed, Sir,” I replied.
“But you are,” he said. “Come and step into the light.” I swallowed heavily, my stomach in knots. I moved slowly through the room, carefully picking my way in the darkness.
He was sitting on the couch, his arms outstretched on the back of it. I could barely make out his features. He had a strong jaw and long dark hair, his eyes followed me as I walked in front of him, taking in every inch of my body.
“There,” he said. “Stand in the light.”
I moved to where he indicated and stood with my arms crossed.
“Put your arms down,” he said.
I complied, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew that if I resisted him, he would bring his guards in and they would make me do whatever this Lost Lord demanded. It was better to appease him in these small ways.
“Spin around, slowly,” he ordered. My heart sped up even more as I slowly spun in a circle. I could feel him watching me, practically devouring me with his eyes. When my back was turned to him I felt a shiver run up my spine and I could not help but shudder. I heard him give a low sigh when I did.
Finally, I was facing him again. I was trying to stand perfectly still. I didn’t want him to know how terrified I was at this moment. This trap had been laid for me. He must have known my true purpose for taking the job that put me in this system. Did he guess that I was no normal smuggler?
I wasn’t here to just work a gig. I had ulterior motives. Hidden deep in the storms of the planet below us was information. Plans and designs of Dolcivs ships that were vital to the mission of the human rebellion. They were waiting somewhere in the planet beneath me. Unless this Lost Lord had already found them and now he was just playing with me like a cat plays with a mouse.
What was he going to do to me? It wouldn’t matter. No matter what, I would never talk. I would never tell him anything. I would take these rebel plans to my grave. I would never help the Dolcivs.
“They didn’t tell me you would be so fair,” he said. “When they told me it was a female smuggler that was sneaking through my security lines, I imagined someone older. Someone a little more worn-out. But you are fresh and delicate as a flower. How have you managed to be in such a dangerous business and keep that pretty face of yours intact?”
“I don’t normally get caught, Sir,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say. He wouldn’t accept any lies and he would know if I was lying. Dolcivs were hyper-aware, they could sense the smallest tics and facial expressions that indicated someone was lying. The truth was all I was left with.
“Yes, you are very good at your job. Even I must accept that,” he said. “Come here and sit by me.”
I walked over to him avoiding eye-contact. I sat down on the small couch next to him, our legs almost touching. I sat straight, taking up as little room as possible. This wasn’t what I expected. I thought I would be in a room with a desk and a bright overhead light. Not this.
“Champagne?” he asked. “It’s the real thing, from earth.” I could smell the cologne he was wearing, it was something spicy and enticing. He was so close. I was too aware of his massive presence. He must have been two feet taller than me. He looked down at me. His hand, still resting on the back of the couch, was only inches from my skin.
He took a glass of the amber liquid and took a sip and then handed the drink to me. It was a Dolcivs tradition. It proved there was no poison in the drink. It had the added benefit of passing microbes around, the Dolcivs immune system was unparalleled.
I took a sip. The drink smelled sweet and tangy and the effervescent bubbles danced across my tongue. I was aware there might still be poison in the glass. This Lost Lord was twice the size of me, he could easily handle a dose of poison strong enough to kill the likes of me. But I had no choice. To deny the drink would be a great offense and I was still hoping there might be a way for me to figure out a way out of this. He hadn’t mentioned the plans yet, only the smuggling. Was there a chance he had no idea why I was really in this system?
“Cheers,” he said, lifting his glass. It was such an oddly human gesture. I lifted my glass and hit it gently with his.