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Victorious Star
~ A Novel of Interstellar
Service and Discipline
~
First Lieutenant,
Victoria Stark is an Imperial Navigations Pilot known
among the sentient battleships as the Victorious
Star - for sacrificing her captains to
save her ships. Strong-willed and resourceful, she
has never lost a ship she's flown - and never serviced
a captain she's had.
Captain Ravnos
of the Mercenary dreadnaught Hellsbreath rules his
crew with an iron will. First Officer Seht is a skeldhi
prince whose specialty is erotic discipline. They're
on a mission, and in need of a nav-pilot.
Kidnapped
into service on the Hellsbreath, Victoria is caught
between two very different men locked in their own
private and erotic power struggle. And then there's
the mission…
The Moribund
Company has captured the Imperial Dreadnaught Arcane,
and intends to auction the sentient ship to the highest
bidder. Unfortunately, Moribund himself is attending
the auction and Ravnos is forced to remain onboard
the Hellsbreath for Moribund has a personal vendetta
against the handsome captain. It is up to Victoria
and First Officer Seht to go deep undercover at the
Mordred Space Station to rescue the Arcane.
To complete
the mission and return to her duties as an Imperial
Officer, Victoria must become Prince Seht's rehkyt
- a skeldhi pet, literally. Not allowed on
the furniture and kept at the end of a leash, Victoria
discovers that there are worse things than servicing
your captain.
Or are there?
~ ~ ~
Captured!
On
the rim of Imperial Space...
Victoria jerked awake
slumped in a chair. A vicious bolt of pain stabbed
through her temples. She shut her eyes and groaned.
Her delicate navigational implants did not appreciate
the power-surges caused by stunners. She leaned forward
in a futile attempt to relieve the agony in her skull,
and jerked to a halt. Her wrists were fastened to
the arms of the chair.
She winced past the
pain in her skull and eased back into the chair to
sit upright. The weight of her sword-belt was missing
from her hip. She felt disturbingly naked without
it. She looked up. Ah, shit, please tell me this
is a bad dream...
Less than six feet
in front of her, Captain Ravnos sat comfortably in
a red velvet chair with one booted leg extended over
a cushioned hassock. His cape and long coat were gone
showing the sleeveless brocaded waistcoat and black
lace of his cravat knotted around his high-collared
silk shirt. He'd propped his elbows on the arms of
his chair and folded his fingers together across his
lap in an attitude of amused patience, though he lacked
even the hint of a smile.
From the look of things,
she sat in the middle of his public appointment chamber.
Expensive rugs covered the deck and a real wood table
sat by his chair. His desk wasn't in front of her,
so it had to be behind her, but she was in far too
much agony to turn her head that far to see. However,
she could see through the broad window to her left.
They were still docked in the spaceport. Let's
not panic yet. Maybe this isn't what it looks like...
"Are you in pain?"
Ravnos inquired politely.
"Yes, sir,"
she replied respectfully and slowly twisted her wrists,
testing the cuff's strength. A quick glanced showed
that they were designed with heavy-weapon cyborgs
in mind. Regardless of her physical augmentations,
she was not going to be able to break them. Damn
it, damn it, damn it!
She saw him flick
a finger and sensed movement to her immediate right.
A crewman with a hypodermic
in his hand bent at her side.
"Whoa hey!"
She jolted away nearly dislocating her shoulder from
the cuffs holding her fast to the chair.
Ravnos snorted. "Relax,
it's for the headache."
The crewman pulled
her coat's lapels wide then unfastened the buckles
on the collar of her flight-suit.
She eyed the needle
with extreme doubt. "Isn't an injection a little
archaic?"
"We are somewhat
backwards out here past the Imperial rim," Ravnos
said dryly.
The crewman pressed
a finger to her pulse and stabbed her bare throat.
Victoria hissed. She
hated needles.
The crewman stepped
away, and out of sight.
Victoria winced. That
needle had stung. She looked around for her sword,
but didn't see it. "Where's my sword?"
"You won't be
needing it." Ravnos dropped his foot on the rug
and leaned forward. "Your new uniform is in your
quarters. You will begin your duties as Senior Nav-Pilot
as soon as you have dressed."
Bloody Fate and
damnation... Victoria winced. This was exactly
what it looked like -- a kidnapping. Bitter betrayal
burned in her stomach. And I really liked him too...
She glared at him with all the fury in her throbbing
temples. "With all due respect sir, you've kidnapped
me. I do not owe you duty."
"The original
term for taking on unsuspecting crewmen is 'pressed'."
Ravnos's expression chilled to bitter winter. "And
you will serve to the best of your abilities, or you
will be disciplined."
Victoria bared her
teeth in a feral grin. "Then you better space
me now..."
"Great Mother,"
a voice drawled with amusement. "What have you
brought home this time Captain?"
Victoria looked sharply
to her right.
A tall slender man
wearing an ankle-length Captain's coat with an awful
lot of silver braid lounged in the doorway. His skin
was moon-pale with frost-white hair pulled back into
a long straight tail exposing gracefully pointed ears.
His heart of flame blue eyes roved over her breasts
straining against the buckles of her black coat then
focused on her exposed throat. A lethal smile graced
his full lips. "Whatever it is, I approve."
Victoria couldn't
stop staring. What the hell is a skeldhi doing
on this ship? They hate humans!
Ravnos tilted his
head toward her. "First Lieutenant Victoria Stark,
this is my executive officer, Commander Seht…"
Victoria looked from
the very human Captain to the decidedly not human,
if not anti-human, second in command.
"Number One,"
Ravnos continued, "this is our new senior navigations
pilot."
"Senior navigations
pilot?" The skeldhi commander stalked in with
poisonous grace and circled Victoria. He looked over
at Ravnos. "What did you do with our last nav-pilot?"
Ravnos's ice gray
eyes focused on Victoria. "Our current nav-pilot
shoved a sword through his throat."
Victoria ground her
teeth. "My sword wasn't the only blade shoved
through him. I distinctly remember yours sticking
out of his chest, Captain."
The skeldhi raised
a silver brow. "Spirited, I like that."
Victoria stared at
the circling skeldhi, stunned. This close up he was
breathtaking. His blue gaze seemed deep enough to
drown in and his mouth looked...kissable. She looked
away and shook her head. What am I thinking?
Seht smiled. "I
see, by the cuffs, that you haven't changed your method
of procuring officers." One of his hands brushed
across her shoulder.
Victoria stiffened.
"What?"
The skeldhi stopped
at her elbow. "Oh, he grabbed me the same way."
His smile deepened. "It's a habit of his."
A long nail traced a path along her jaw.
Shivers followed his
tracing fingertips. She took a sharp breath and jerked
away. His touch was doing odd things to her already
disturbed insides. "I can't serve, I'm an Imperial
Officer..."
The skeldhi snorted.
"Not for long." He turned and strode gracefully
toward the Ravnos.
Ravnos tilted his
head toward her. "We're negotiating her terms
of service now."
Victoria jerked at
her cuffs. Negotiating my ass... At least her
head didn't hurt so much. Whatever was in that needle,
worked fast.
Ravnos focused on
his executive officer. "Did you need something?"
The skeldhi abruptly
straightened and his expression lost its humor. "No,
Captain. I'm off duty at the moment. I thought I'd
drop by to see your new acquisition."
Victoria focused on
the commander in astonishment. Was that fear? As a
skeldhi he was biologically far stronger and faster
than the average human, however his body language
spoke volumes about years of hand-to-hand fight training
in addition to subtle physical augmentation. Technically,
he should be able to twist even a heavy-weapons marine
into scrap. What did he have to be afraid of?
"I see..."
Ravnos nodded. "Very well then, you're welcome
to remain."
"Thank you sir."
The skeldhi let out a soft breath.
Ravnos turned back
to Victoria. "I need you to fly this ship for
a three day mission. At the end of that time, if your
orders have come through, I'll return you to the station.
If your orders have not come through, you will remain
until they do. You will of course, be paid for your
services."
Victoria shook her
head. "If I serve on your ship for even one flight,
I will be court-martialed as soon as I get back."
Ravnos snorted. "This
is not the Imperium, we do not keep those kinds of
records. Trust me, no one will know you served on
this ship."
Victoria grit her
teeth. Just what she needed, blackmail material. "You
will."
Seht winced and took
a subtle step back.
Ravnos lunged to his
feet with his sword naked in his fist so fast, that
even with her enhanced eyesight she hadn't seen him
draw it. "Do you doubt my honor?" His eyes
blazed with frigid unholy violence. He looked like
a dark avenging angel about to strike.
Victoria swallowed
and dropped her gaze. Oh, that's why the skeldhi
was impressed... She couldn't look at his far
too beautiful, and far too frightening face. "No
sir, I do not." If she'd said anything else,
she had absolutely no doubt that he would kill her
right where she sat.
Ravnos nodded. "Good."
The violence in his expression retreated as though
it had never been there. He sheathed the sword and
sat. "I already have your messages flagged at
the station. As soon as your orders arrive, you will
be returned."
Victoria stiffened
her spine. "And if they arrive tomorrow?"
His expression chilled.
"Three days Nav-Pilot Stark."
Victoria chewed on
her bottom lip and shifted uncomfortably. Sometime
during that last exchange, her crotch had gotten annoyingly
moist. What the hell had brought that reaction on?
She sighed in disgust. "I don't have much of
a choice do I?"
Ravnos raised his
brow and amusement flashed fleetingly though his expression.
"No, you do not." He rose from his chair
with an elegant grace, and walked over to tower over
her chair. His boots didn't make a sound. He drew
the sword from his waist scabbard.
Victoria barely stopped
herself from flinching back.
"I want your
sworn word as an officer that you will serve me to
the best of your abilities until you are returned."
He wants my oath?
Victoria clenched her fists impotently. Damn him!
Of all things, she had not expected a direct challenge
to her honor. As an Imperial officer, if she swore
fealty, she would be honor bound to keep it. He was
a mercenary. No one expected him to keep his promises.
"Nav-Pilot Stark?"
His soft voice traced an icy finger down her spine.
The naked blade tapped the side of his boot.
There was nothing
she could do. She could swear, and try not to betray
the Imperium or die. "I will serve."
"Excellent."
He knelt at her side and released her wrists then
stepped away. "Kneel and swear."
Victoria rubbed her
wrists and stood with as much grace as she could muster.
She dropped to one knee before his feet and placed
one hand flat on the deck. The black skirts of her
coat flared around her. She bowed her head.
"Chin up."
Victoria looked up
and the edged tip of his sword touched her bare throat.
She took a shallow breath and stared at Ravnos in
unconcealed alarm. Her crotch dampened further.
An unholy smile curled
his lips, and his eyes gleamed with heat. "Swear."
"I Victoria Stark,
solemnly swear on my honor to serve..." She took
a tiny breath, and her voice tightened to an embarrassing
squeak. "I don't know your full name or the name
of your ship, sir."
"Captain Aubrey
Laslo Ravnos of the ship, Hellsbreath," he said
softly. "From the beginning, please."
Victoria decided against
nodding. Warmth trickled down her neck. She was pretty
sure that it was blood from being nicked by his blade.
However, her real concern was that the moisture in
her crotch seemed to be soaking through her suit.
What the hell is going on with my body?
She took a deeper
breath and her voice steadied. "I, Victoria Stark,
solemnly swear on my honor to serve Captain Arslan
Laslo Ravnos of the ship, Hellsbreath, with all due
honor, loyalty and respect..."
"And obedience."
Victoria's temper
flared and her teeth clenched. That was not part of
the oath.
He raised his brow,
daring her to omit his addition. The blade on her
throat shifted.
Victoria actually
felt the burn of the blade's keen edge. She stubbornly
kept her eyes on Ravnos's face, but that was definitely
blood dripping down inside her suit. "And obedience,"
she ground out. "Until death or the Captain shall
relieve me of my duties. By the grace of Heaven and
the glory..." She hesitated. She damn well couldn't
say by the glory of the Imperium. "And the glory
of the Hellsbreath," she improvised. "May
I serve with distinction."
"Very good."
He removed the blade from her throat and stepped away.
Victoria stayed down
on her knee. According to protocol, she had to remain
in that position until her new captain gave her leave
to rise. She didn't even try to stop the blood that
was dribbling down her breast.
He tugged a handkerchief
from his coat sleeve and wiped the tip of the blade.
The white fabric came away stained with red. "As
I mentioned earlier, your uniform has been set out
in your quarters by your assigned petty officer. You
will report to the bridge as soon as you are appropriately
dressed."
"Yes, sir."
Victoria flinched. The bridge! She did not want to
antagonize a man with a naked blade in his hand, but
the last thing she wanted was her full name announced
on the bridge in front of over a dozen different people.
"Pardon my frankness sir, but we cannot use my
name."
Ravnos glanced at
her briefly. "What's wrong with your name?"
"I am a well-known
code-certified specialist. If even a whisper gets
out that I served under you, I will end up in prison."
"Victoria Stark,"
mused Seht. "She has a valid point, even I've
heard that name somewhere before."
Victoria looked over
where the skeldhi leaned against the back of Ravnos's
chair. She had completely forgotten about him even
being there. She noted his interested expression and
strongly suspected that her new executive officer
was going to be a problem.
"I see."
Ravnos sheathed his weapon then reached for a small
bottle and a cloth set on the table by his chair.
He poured some of the contents of the bottle onto
the cloth. "You may rise."
Victoria rose to her
feet and assumed a full attention stance, chin up,
heels together and hands at her side.
Ravnos approached
her with the damp cloth in hand. His fingers brushed
her throat as he tugged her suit's collar further
open. "A name," he whispered. He unfastened
the suit buckles, nearly to her heart. "I'll
keep the Victoria, but the Stark..." He daubed
the wet cloth on her naked throat.
Whatever was on the
cloth smelled strongly of antiseptic, and burned like
a son-of-a-bitch. Victoria clenched her fists but
held perfectly still.
"Victoria Stark,
ah, yes..." The Commander sighed dramatically
then turned to gaze at Victoria with open amusement.
"Captain, do you realize who you've grabbed?"
Ravnos tugged at her
collar, examining her throat. "The nav-pilot
of the Adamant."
"Oh no, you've
done much better than that." Seht strode with
predatory poise to Ravnos's side. "This is the
famous Victorious Star, notorious for sacrificing
her captains for their ships."
Victoria clenched
her jaw. Where the hell had he heard that? Technically,
she had lost the occasional captain while saving the
ship, but still...
"She's never
lost a ship she's flown." Seht's voice dropped
to a sensual whisper. "And never serviced a captain
she's had."
Ravnos's brows shot
up. "Never?"
The skeldhi focused
on Victoria and his eyes narrowed to a hungry blue
gleam. "Our new nav-pilot is in possession of
an unsullied, never been fucked, virgin ass."
"Really?"
Ravnos turned to study Victoria with a calculating
expression. "How interesting." His cold
eyes flared with sudden heat.
Victoria shot the
commander a glare that promised bitter revenge.
The skeldhi smiled
broadly, showing the over-long points of his incisors.
"Oh, we are going to have so much fun disciplining
this one."
Ravnos's mouth curved
into a blood-curdling smile. "We'll call her
Chaste, Victoria Chaste."
"Chaste?"
Seht nodded. "I like it. Very pretty, pristine
and sweet."
Victoria's mouth fell
open. "Chaste?" Of all the insulting epithets...
Ravnos's expression
turned frigid. "Are you questioning me?"
She flinched as though
struck. "No sir."
"Good. You are
dismissed, Senior Nav-Pilot Chaste. A yeoman is waiting
outside the door to take you to you quarters."
Victoria turned smartly
on her heel and marched toward the door. A glance
to her right showed that she had been right, his desk
had been behind her the whole time. It was huge, ornate
and archaic. She had a sudden and disturbing image
of being pressed facedown on that broad shining surface.
Victoria jerked her
eyes back to the exit, and nearly pulled the handle
from the door in her haste to get out of that office.
~ ~ ~
|
~
VICTORIOUS STAR
~
Interstellar Service
& Discipline
Ebook Cover Art by Angela
Knight
Angela
Knight - “Morgan Hawke never
met a boundary she didn’t want to push.
In VICTORIOUS STAR she proves it, with one of
the most remarkable erotic romances I’ve
ever read. Morgan creates a complex, fascinating
science fiction universe, then adds three strong-willed
and sensual characters locked in a delicious
battle for supremacy. If you’re anything
like me, it will fascinate you, it will shock
you, and it will turn you on. You
definitely won’t be bored.”
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Read the Reviews!
|
Nominated
Erotic
Sci-Fi - 2004
|
The
Imperial
Stars Series
(click
covers for Excerpts)
"This
series continues to blow away the cobwebs
on sci fi romantic erotica! It not only creates
a believable world for the characters to play
in but draws the reader into the fast paced
action and allows them to relate to the emotions
of the people that populate it.”
-- Patrice
- The Romance Studio-Blue
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