Blurb
I’m a wanted woman. In more ways than one.
I was arrested, then imprisoned in cryosleep, and finally rescued by a crew of horned, golden skinned aliens.
Now my government has branded me a traitor.
Whoever is after me is willing to kill--to destroy anything and anyone in their way.
They’re powerful and without mercy.
It’s enough to make me lose all hope.
Until Grantian.
He’s a dangerous man and he promises to protect me.
Former mercenary with the Hael Hounds--more blood on his hands than he cares to recount.
He’s experienced suffering. And pain. And loss.
I can tell that he sees something in me.
Something that makes him willing to kill again.
Yet with him, I feel safe.
And even if we travel to the ends of the galaxy,
With him...
I feel like I’m home.
The Story So Far…
The year is 2338. Humanity has weathered it’s infancy and has navigated to the stars. They’ve colonized other worlds and become a space faring civilization and formed the Interstellar Human Confederation.
Along the way, they’ve come to discover that the galaxy is actually a pretty crowded place. There are several political entities in the galaxy.
The Trident Alliance is composed of the Vakutan, the Pi’rell, and the Alzhon.
The Ataxian Coalition is composed of the Odex, Kreetu, Grolgath, and Shorcu.
The Coalition and the Alliance has been fighting a war for about 350 years. At its heart, it’s an existential conflict that determines whether the known galaxy will be guided by the teachings of the Ataxian religion or by the capitalistic and technocratic tendencies of the Trident Alliance.
Details are unclear how the war between the Alliance and Coalition started, but atrocities in the name of protecting the innocent have been committed by both sides.
Several races, trying to remain neutral and unaffiliated with either side have formed a loose political union known as the League of Non-Aligned Races. Each race maintains their sovereignty. Member states meet infrequently to discuss trade and security matters, but no true leadership exists.
Many races over the centuries have settled and created a political entity known as the Helios Combine, situated between Coalition and Alliance space and next to the Badlands - a region of space with many stellar phenomena. The Combine is known for it’s slave based economy, its capitalist based caste system, and a rigid social class system.
Humanity had for a long time maintained their neutrality, but after multiple encounters, sided with the Alliance in their war against the Coalition.
War has been unkind to the humans.
Against this backdrop, a large IHC freighter, named the Frontier was found adrift in space by a Kilgari smuggler ship called the Ancestral Queen. The women were found either in cryosleep or emerging from it, with no idea how they ended up on the ship other than the fact that they had been arrested by human security on a number of worlds.
What they discover is that their government has announced that they are terrorists and wanted for acts of treason and espionage. None of the women believes they have done anything to warrant this.
The Kilgari are aliens that live in a matriarchal society and belong to the League of Non Aligned Races. The Ancestral Queen, led by Captain Solair has brought the women on board and continued to help them as well as integrate those who wish to stay into the crew.
Some women wish to return to their homes. Very few had any sort of real families. But they all want to clear their name and bring those who are falsely accusing them to justice one day.
That day has yet to come…
Chapter One
Lamira
Just when I think I’m adjusting to life aboard the Ancestral Queen with the Kilgari, a race of the biggest, best-looking males I’ve ever seen, something else goes awry. Apparently, it wasn’t bad enough that a week ago I woke up stuffed into a cryostasis pod, trapped in the hold of a ship I didn’t recognize, and without any recollection as to how I’d gotten there. Now another deafening alarm is going off for whatever reason, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Security personnel to the medbay!” I glance at the intercom as the captain’s voice echoes through the ship, his bellow bouncing off the metal walls.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been alone on the Frontier, the ship where I’d been imprisoned. It was an Interstellar Human Confederation ship and because the IHC didn’t have colonies or outposts all the way out here in Kilgari space, I have no idea where the ship was taking us.
With me were one hundred and six other women, including my best friend, Varia. Seven days after waking up and right before we’d run out of food, water, and air, we were rescued by the aforementioned big, best-looking males, and were brought aboard their ship. Their timing was quite lucky. For us, anyway. I’m not sure how the Kilgari feel.
They’ve been working themselves nearly to death trying to accommodate us, but they don’t seem to mind. Probably because the Kilgari are part of a matriarchal society, where their females take multiple males for mates. I can’t fathom it but hey, to each her own. I don’t pass judgment on how others choose to live their lives.
Another reason they’re so accommodating is that despite the whole polygamy thing, the Kilgari also have an ancient tradition about fated mates, which I find completely romantic. They only moved to their current matriarchal society after a war nearly wiped out the entire female population. Before that, they’d subscribed to the idea that each male had a female out in the universe who was perfect for him in every way—mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Over generations, the practice disappeared but seems to have had a resurgence since our two factions merged aboard the Queen.
Varia, it turns out, is the mate of the Queen’s captain, Solair. For that reason alone, the Kilgari are invested in our welfare. They’re a close-knit crew, and a mate is immediately accepted into the fold.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the concept of fated mates since finding out about Varia and Solair. I’ve been wondering if it’s possible that one of the Kilgari males is my mate, but so far there hasn’t been any indication. I haven’t met them all yet—there are one-hundred-fifty Kilgari on the Queen—and of course it’s not guaranteed any one of them will be my mate, but… But it might be nice to have someone to share my small little life with. It’s certainly gotten more interesting in the last little while, but going back to normal would be nice, too. If I wasn’t going back to normalcy alone, that is.
Varia told me the Kilgari first recognize their mate by her scent. I guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on every male who comes sniffing around.
Just this morning, Varia moved her stuff out of the makeshift room we’d been assigned when we’d boarded. She now shares Solair’s quarters, which is quite the upgrade from the glorified closet Thrase and I find ourselves stuck in. Upon tidying up earlier, I noticed she’d left her favorite necklace behind, so I decided to venture up to the bridge to take it to her. That’s when that damn klaxon alarm blasted again.
I swear to the Mother, I’ll never get used to that thing.