EXCERPT

Space Lords

FROST MAIDEN

By

Michelle M Pillow

Note from Author

Dear Readers, 

I'm pleased to present you with the next installment of my ongoing futuristic series, Space Lords. These books continue the Bestselling Dragon Lords, Lords of the Var and Zhang Dynasty saga. For those of you catching up on the series, a complete reading order list is available on my website, www.michellepillow.com. There you will also find quizzes, games, fun facts, and more about this futuristic galaxy. And, for up to the minute updates on the latest futuristic book news, visit my blog, www.michellepillow.com/blog.

Thank you for your continual support of this project and your wonderful emails.

Prologue 

Craven Estates, Earth Settlement, Florencia's Fifth Moon

"Josselyn Craven, you stand accused of crimes against the human race. Your title, family property, and your wealth is hereby stripped."

The intricate patterns of the old woven carpet came into focus under Josselyn's face. Though each curve was as familiar to her as the bricks of her home, she had never seen them so close. Nor had she seen the sticky crimson stain now marring the once rich texture. Her hand shaking, she ran it by her face, knowing before she looked that it was blood. The acrid smell was all too potent as it curled into her nostrils. There was too much of it to be her blood. But whose? A servant? Were they all to be slaughtered?

Sacrelue!

Her muscles ached from the hours spent running around her large castle home, fighting off her attackers. She'd lost her sword below in the corridor by the main hall and now had no weapon-not that she had the energy to lift much beyond her own weight. Josselyn's father had seen to it she was trained as well as any man, but she couldn't fight off the endless stream of soldiers that seemed to fill the halls. Sneaking through secret passages--those hidden behind the stone walls--she made her way from her bedchamber only to nearly escape through a high window. Her sides were scraped from the tight fit, but the ache was dull compared to the sharp stab of her broken ribs, the burning pull of a dislocated shoulder, and the myriad of bruises. All injuries were left by her Florencia Moon Coalition peers turned Federation lackeys. How some of the men looked like they enjoyed hitting her, watching as the last of the mighty Craven family fell.

Though they claimed it was the Florencian government, the so-called rebels knew the truth. The Federation was behind the new policies ruining their freedom and their lives. Like the classic Earth tale of the nobleman who hid his true nature in order to save his people from a corrupt government, so too had her family hid in the limelight of society.

Now, for their troubles, there were only three Cravens left. She'd seen her father fall, her three older brothers, too. The oldest, Jonathan, to a sword, the next in line, Peter, to an axe, and Ralphe to a dagger. Their dead bodies were strewn all over the castle, their blood staining the floors, marring her gown from where she'd held them. Hopefully one brother, the one whose body she had yet to find, had escaped. Rainier was the youngest at ten and two years, but resourceful. Then there was her mother, Lady Craven, who thankfully was off planet. At least she was safe. Lady Craven was not a fighter. She was a good, gentle woman with a heart big enough for the whole galaxy. The lady was protected by her family from most of their rebellious affairs.

If only Rainier had gone with Lady Craven, as had been the original plan, then Josselyn wouldn't have to worry about the boy's safety. Even as she thought it, she knew the most likely scenario was that Rainier lay on a bloody, stone deathbed. The idea of him, alone and dying, tore at her. Even this blood stained carpet beneath her could have been his resting place.

Shaking, she pushed up, her heart aching with the carnage she'd seen. Grief overwhelmed her spirit, even as it drove her body angrily on. She didn't think on tomorrow, to the time when she'd have to face what had happened. It was all gone. Her life. Destroyed. Empty.

It's only a matter of time before they kill the rest, her mind whispered. Rainier and your mother will fall. We will all fall. What point is there in fighting?

Live, fight, and die with honor, her father's voice answered, a distant memory translating the family crest. Her eyes lifted to the doorway, to the old Latin words etched into the stone, 'Ago pugna quod intereo per veneration'.

They gave her strength as nothing else at the moment could. All around her, the chamber was in shambles. They'd ransacked her father's old study, knocking aside the candelabras and overturning the furniture she'd sat on so many hours as a child. Taking a blue candle that rested by her hand, she flung it at the man who spoke, knocking his foot with the hunk of wax. He merely laughed at the weak defense, kicking the candle aside.

Shiny white boots stepped closer, now smudged with the faintest trace of blue. The man leaned down, the low bass of his voice just above a whisper. "Just like your father and your brothers. Fighters all until the very end. Is it fear or pride that drives you on?"

The end?

At that she managed to lift her head, though her eyes were still on the white boots. "Rain?"

"Even the boy," the General in white answered. Josselyn caught her battered reflection in the boot, a stretched version of her face. His tone soft as a lover's, he added so only Josselyn could hear, "He died well. Have no fear of that."

Then it was true. The last of her family had fallen, save for the mother who would come home to a dried crimson river that was once her life. Would they wait for her mother? Would they kill her, too? Even as she thought it, she knew the answer. It was etched into the irritated lines of the General's face. A tear slipped over Josselyn's cheek. It would seem she still had energy enough to cry, even if she couldn't push all the way up from the floor on her own.

Josselyn gave a cold laugh. What else could she do? Tell him she hated him? Tell him he was a monster? Call him names and curse his children's children? She'd already done as much when he and his men were beating her senseless. They wanted names and she could die knowing she never gave them.

Ago pugna quod intereo per veneration.

"Get it over with," she croaked. No part of her wanted to die a failure, but her family was gone and she knew they had failed to win an impossible war. All that was left was to die well.

Was it wrong to be tired of the fight? To want death so she may again be with those who loved her? How could she live with the loss of so much? Forget that they'd failed. Forget that soldiers were taking over the land and there was no one left to stand up to them. How could she live knowing everything she loved was gone? Pain rippled through her at the thought.

"Lift her," the General ordered, his shiny boots walking away from her, taking her reflection with it.

Two men hauled her to her feet, holding her up by her arms. Josselyn suppressed a cry as they jerked her dislocated shoulder. She couldn't see their faces, didn't need to. Her body hurt so badly she couldn't tell where the pain was coming from anymore.

The one who'd betrayed them stood before her. General Jack Stephans. He'd deceived her family and the fifth moon settlement. He'd traded them in for money and power. Josselyn lifted her gaze briefly to the hard depths of the steel green eyes before her. She wanted to kick, to give one last good blow, to go down fighting, but she couldn't raise her limbs.

"Poor little Josselyn, so heartbreaking," the General grabbed her chin and swiped beneath her eye. He looked young, was in fact very young for his position, only a few years older than her six and twenty. And yet they all knew so much more of fighting than anyone their age should, than anyone ever should.

"We gave you a home," she whispered. "How could you do this? How could you join them?"

"You gave me a place in your stables," he spat, his grip tightening on her chin, bruisingly so. "Not a place at your table. Not a place by your side. Not equal. They gave me a rank, a title. They give me respect. They give me a place in this world."

"Jack," she said, her voice softening for the orphan boy they'd found over twenty years ago. If she begged him, maybe fate could be turned around; maybe this day could be erased. Fate had spit them out in a whirlwind of chance and deceit. Maybe all that had happened wasn't his fault. Maybe it wasn't hers. None of it mattered. None of it changed the fact that he had taken everything she held dear, everyone, and now he was robbing her of her family home. Her tone hardened and she closed her eyes. "General."

"Look at me, Josselyn," he said. His tone caught even as his grip on her face tightened until his fingers pressed the inside of her cheeks against her teeth. "You're so cold. Even now, your face is composed. Is one, lonely tear all the passion you can muster?"

"I am Lady Josselyn of the House of Craven." Her eyes opened slowly, focusing on the shiny white of his uniform. It gleamed with the orange glow coming from the fireplace. The material looked odd in the drabber earth tones many on the fifth moon wore. Theirs was a world based on Medieval Earth. Each moon in the Florencian system was different, each settlement patterned off a singular time in the human past, times that history had almost forgotten. But the principals of the ancestors who'd established the colonies no longer applied. Times were different now. What had started as preservation of history had turned into reality, into laws and a way of life they all believed in as generation after generation was raised into the worlds of the Florencian moons.

The General shook her by the face until finally she forced her eyes to meet his. He looked angry, hurt, wildly hopeful. "I can save you. I can say you had nothing to do with the treachery of your family. No one wants to kill a woman of noble blood. The line of Craven doesn't have to die. I will take your name; the name denied me by your father."

Was he serious? She knew he'd asked her father for her hand in marriage. In fact, she'd dismissed the proposal with the full knowledge he only asked because he wanted power. Did he think she could love him now? Want him? Take him into her bed?

He must have read the answer on her face because his own expression hardened. She knew Jack. He wouldn't ask again.

"I suppose not," he said, almost sad. "Even if you agreed, I could never trust you not to take a blade to my back. Not after today." He sighed heavily. "Not after this."

"Ago," she whispered, even her voice beginning to fail in its strength, "pugna quod int-"

"Quiet your tongue! This house is mine. Mine." He let go of her chin and her head drooped. "And you can die knowing that I have taken more than what you all refused to give me in life."

"A place at our table," Josselyn said, her tone softer still, the will to live leaving her. Her heart called out to her ancestors, to her dead family, begging them to come and get her.

"My table," he answered, stepping away. The General lifted a gun, pointing it at her head. She heard the telltale click of metal on metal. The weapon was not one found on the fifth moon. They fought with swords and axes, like the old medieval ways. Though technology was available, not using it was a point of honor. He must have brought the weapon from another moon. Perhaps the Victorians? The Elizabethans? It appeared to be too old to be from much later in time.

"Do it, Jack." She didn't look at him as she waited for the final discharge of the gun, the loud bang before the end. When it didn't come, she repeated, the words a mere mouthing of her lips, "Do it."

"Speed you to a quick end, Josselyn Craven," Jack whispered. "You all brought this on yourselves."

Chapter One

The Conqueror, Deep Space, 103 years later

"Ah-choo!"

Evan Cormier glanced up from his handheld electronic book toward the metal ceiling of the ship commons' area. The lounge was equipped with a viewing screen, gaming tables, couches and chairs. The crew normally spent a lot of time in there, when they didn't want to be alone in their quarters. Deep space travel could be boring and they often resorted to extreme measures to alleviate the restlessness. It was rare that Evan found himself without company, but he didn't mind the others being around. Coming to the commons got him out of his room and afforded him time to read in his favorite chair.

"Princess," he acknowledged, nodding once at the metal ceiling, even though he couldn't see the petite Líntianese woman hidden behind it. A loud scrape sounded over him and within seconds the royal lady jumped down from behind a displaced grate. She landed gracefully on the floor, crouched near the ground as she looked around the room. Seeing that Evan had been alone until her arrival, the woman's dark eyes finally met his. He gave an amused half-smile and set his book aside as he studied the intruder. "What are you up to, Mei?"

Seeing Princess Mei come down from the above ducts was nothing new. She had discovered the wire-filled crawlspace when she first came aboard the spacecraft. It ran along the entire length of their ship. Back then, she'd been trying to escape Captain Jarek. Evan gave a small laugh at the thought. Jarek did eventually catch her and later married her.

If truth were known, she still jumped into the ducts to escape her husband and his all male crew. Since the rest of them couldn't fit there, they had become her private sanctuary. He couldn't blame the princess. Being aboard a ship, floating in deep space with nothing but men, had to get tiring for a lady. Though, she diplomatically claimed she was fascinated with mapping out the dusty, overhead electronics graveyard of The Conqueror.

"Moving like the wind," Mei answered, giving a slight smile. Evan wasn't exactly sure how much of what she said was the literal truth, for Mei did have an almost supernatural connection to the breeze. She claimed it whispered secrets to her.

Mei sneezed and rubbed the tip of her nose. Dust streaked a cheek and she hardly looked like the genteel royal they'd first encountered. Before, she'd been in silken robes and had her long, dark hair plaited and pulled immaculately up on both sides of her head. Now her hair was pulled back to fall in a trail from the nape of her neck, hanging long down the line of her spine. She wore black, tight pants and a dark crimson shirt. Both hugged her like a second skin. Whenever they went onto a planet, she wore the low slinging gun belt Jarek had given her.

Mei sneezed again, her eyes watery.

"You should go spend some time in the medical unit." Evan glanced back down to his book. "All that dust can't be good for your lungs. Who knows what they used to store up there before the captain bought the ship?"

Mei frowned, and he sensed a wave of irritation. It was a strong emotion, too strong to have come just from his suggestion. She was mad at her husband. Jarek did tend to be overprotective of her, but Evan knew it was only because he loved her so much. Besides, being of Var descent, Captain Jarek was taught that women were the more fragile of the sexes and had to be taken care of. The delicate little Mei hardly needed caring for. She'd been raised in the Imperial palace on her planet, born into not only the power of her family's rule, but into actual power. She was like the wind, free-spirited and hearing its confidences. Acting on instinct, she could handle herself and had been training in the Virtual Reality rooms to prove it.

Evan grimaced as he realized he was picking up on Mei's emotions again. For the most part, he tried not to use his 'gift' to read into the other crew members' personal feelings, but sometimes it was unavoidable.

"Your husband is exasperating you again, isn't he?" Evan asked, resigning himself to the interruption.

Mei nodded.

"Still fighting over what you named the baby?" he continued.

Again, she nodded.

"I know that's not what's really bothering you." Evan gave her a meaningful look. He picked up on several things from her lately, but most predominate was the need for privacy and space on certain issues.

Mei shook her head. "No, it's not."

"He loves you. He will listen."

"I know, but I must first discover what it is I wish to say. There is no air here. I cannot listen to my own thoughts blowing through me."

"He's coming this way." Evan glanced meaningfully toward the door.

"Help me?" Mei asked, her tone soft and still burred with the accent of her birth. There was just something about the tiny woman that begged to be taken care of, and each and every member of the crew felt it. She was like their little sister.

Evan sighed and stood. Threading his hands together, he held them like a step. Mei placed her foot in his palms and lifted up, jumping to catch the end of the grate. She moved with incredible agility, especially for a woman who'd just had a baby six months ago.

Poking her head over the side, she whispered, "You didn't see me."

"Mei!" Jarek yelled, sliding to a stop at the doorway. Long, waist-length dark hair flew about his shoulders from where it was bound at the nape of his tattooed neck. It was clear he'd been running around the ship, chasing his wife. His eyes glowed, threatening with the tiger he could shift into at will. "Sacred Cats! Woman, get down here and talk to me!"

"There is nothing to talk about, ten nai," Mei yelled just as loudly. "We are not calling our son Parker anymore!"

"But that's his name," Jarek protested, his tone giving away how exasperated he was. "Besides, you liked it when we were at your parents' house. Your father even announced it as the baby's name before he was born. What else are we to call him?"

"Well, it annoys me now. If you keep saying it to him, he'll think it is his name for real!" Mei's voice was muffled, and they could hear her crawling away from them.

"Well," Jarek paused, sending a wave of frustration over Evan. "It is his name for real. Read the birth announcements."

"You put those out before I could agree to it, before he was even born!" Her voice had gotten faint and Evan knew she was already quite a long ways down the duct.

"Irritating fea," Jarek mumbled. "I cannot help it if I was excited. He was halfway born when I sent the transmission to my family."

Evan laughed, taking his seat once more. "I thought you'd decided on Parker before the birth."

"We did," Jarek grumbled. "Emperor Zhang is pressuring her for a family name to be added to Parker. I told her we could name him after my twin brother, Reid. Sacred Cats, any of my brothers for that matter, but she wants a Líntianese royal name. I'm sorry, but I'm not calling my son Jin. I knew a Je'en once and she was three-hundred pounds of slime. I'm not calling my son that. His Var cousins will beat him up for it."

"It's only a second name," Evan reasoned, knowing that Jarek's nieces and nephews would do no such thing-at least not in earnest. Var family ties were too strong. Evan often felt jealousy when Jarek was near his family, not jealousy on the Captain's part, but his own. Aside from his friends, Evan had no true family. It wasn't so much that his friends weren't good enough, as they were family in a way, but only being around Jarek and his brothers made him miss the family he'd lost.

"I know. I'll probably give in, but the woman keeps running away from me whenever I try to discuss it." Jarek sighed. "I want to know what this is really about first before I start agreeing to changing my son's name or adding to it, or whatever other crazy idea she has in mind. I know Parker's name really isn't what's troubling her, but she won't talk to me."

Evan didn't answer. He knew better than to get into the middle of people's affairs, especially when the heart was involved. Jarek looked at him, hopeful. His voice flat, he said, "I'm not reading your wife, so don't ask."

Jarek gave him a funny look and said dryly, "Enough about me. What you reading now?"

Evan passed his handheld reader over to Jarek so the captain could see the screen.

"The Practical Impact of Líntianese Elements on Everyday Life-a translation from the original text," Jarek read, shaking his head. "You're still dwelling on that prediction, aren't you?"

"Just trying to make sense out of what Zhang An said." Evan sighed, taking the handheld from Jarek.

Zhang An was the ancestral spirit of Mei's Imperial family. Rick Hayes, their pilot, had angered the spirit and, as a punishment for his insults, she had partially predicted some of the crews' futures. The punishment part wasn't the reading, but the cryptic way in which it was done. Truth was, Evan didn't think there was any way to translate the ominous divination. He'd come to the conclusion that An had only said what she did to mess with them. It was working. He could think of little else since.

Closing his eyes, Evan leaned back in his cushioned seat as he remembered the day An had predicted their futures. The ability to remember things with crystal clarity was one of his gifts-or so he was told. There were some memories he wished would fade with time, some things he'd rather not see again, and it was hard to consider those vivid memories a gift.

A wave passed over the darkness under his lids and a blurry vision of what had once been came to him. The image of the past cleared, and he could see things just as he'd seen them when they happened.

Jarek had just brought Mei home to her parents. The two had been in love, but didn't think they could be together. Mei was a Líntianese princess and Jarek was a Var prince who, for all intents and purposes, didn't use his title. Instead, he went by Captain and kept to the high skies as a borderline pirate balancing on the edge between law and outlaw. Jarek was still loyal to his family, but the prince knew he had to live his own life. It took Mei awhile to learn the same, but here she was with all of them, wandering the universes in search of whatever it was they all sought.

Evan took a deep breath, listening to the past for clues and knowing it would bring none.

'Whoa, easy there, ghostly sweetness,' a remembered voice whispered in his head. It had been Rick speaking, insulting the ancestral spirit. He was the ship's pilot and a talented one at that. For all his devil-may-care attitude and rakish demeanor, Rick really was a good man. He'd give his life for anyone of his friends, just as they would give their life for him. But caring for the man like a brother didn't change the fact that he was downright infuriating at times. Evan knew Rick only said what he did to the old spirit to draw attention away from the captain at a tense moment, but the spirit hadn't taken kindly to the insolent tone.

Evan kept his eyes closed, trying to remember each detail of what had happened. It wasn't hard. He thought about it every day.

'I will teach you respect, little man. You will bow in the presence of my greatness ... Do not make me curse you.' An's spectral figure had glistened with light as her anger grew. Long, dark hair streaked with white flowed around her shoulders. Her sleeves swept over the ground as she drifted slightly over them. The delicate silk of her gown was made even more so by the fact that it traveled on air. Every movement was silent, like the breeze.

Evan had tried to get Rick to be quiet, but it didn't work. The man always pushed things a little too far, going on to comment about the woman's gown getting twisted or some such nonsense. Since Rick had a thing for twenty-first century Earth memorabilia and sayings, they couldn't always figure out what some of his expressions meant. The old spirit might have just let him go with a small personal curse, but Rick then made some comment about her powers or lack thereof. Instead of just bringing her curse upon himself, Rick caused her wrath to turn to the other members of Jarek's crew-at least those unfortunate enough to be present at the time. Evan, Lochlann, Jackson, and Dev still didn't fully forgive Rick for what had happened next.

An's eyes had turned white, as she foretold just a tiny piece of their future, 'Together you travel and together you'll remain. Tied and joined like the five elements of our people. The road to happiness is very rocky for all of you.' When her eyes had cleared, indicating she'd come out of her vision, she'd smiled vindictively at them. 'You will find your love hidden within the mystery of the five elements. One element for each of you. The corresponding element will hold the secret to your future happiness. But fate is not clear. If you do not recognize it, you will lose it and be forever alone.'

Since Evan was unable to psychically read spirits, he didn't know if she was lying or not. Part of him hoped she was, but in truth it didn't matter. Her words served their purpose. They tormented with just a glimpse of the unknown and no real guidance as to what it could mean. That was the true curse, not knowing the rest or what could be done about it.

Zhang An obviously had great powers. She could have told them more, could have said which element was assigned to each man, could have said when, where, more of the how. No, all they got was the ominous, 'If you do not recognize it, you will lose it and be forever alone.' Now, the secret to their future happiness rested in the mystery of the five Líntinese elements.

"Mei says it will come to you as soon as you stop dwelling on it," Jarek offered, drawing Evan from his thoughts, back into the present. "She also said that the words are not literal, but figurative. It could be a nuance of the intended's personality or she could love water or fire. Sacred Cats, the wood element could merely mean the woman was born at the same time a tree was felled outside her birth room door. It is impossible to tell. You should take your mind from it and live as you have. Nothing has changed."

Nothing? Evan wanted to laugh and scream at the same time.

"How? There is nothing to do on this ship and seeing you happily married doesn't help matters." Evan shut off the reader and set it aside. He had read book after book and they all said the same thing. Five Elements-fire, earth, wood, water, and metal. Simple and complex. Infinite possibilities. Ultimate insanity.

But how could Evan stop looking? Zhang An's words threatened the very thing he wanted most-to once again have a family. He wanted a family of his own so badly that the idea of missing his chance, of walking by the woman he should be looking for, tore at him.

Jarek laughed dryly as he looked to where his wife had disappeared. "Yeah, right. Happy."

"Love her. That is all you can do." Evan relented a little as he said just enough to ease Jarek's overbearing worry for his wife. "I think we all need a diversion, even Mei."

"Such as?"

"We need to find some mischief to occupy our time." Evan gave a sly grin. "Want to go kidnap your brother again? That was entertaining."

"Again?" Jarek shook his head. "No, you are not laying that deed upon my head. That was under Samantha's command. She was your captain on that fated mission."

"At least it was fated to end well." Evan chuckled. "Samantha and Falke did marry."

"This will end well, too." Jarek motioned toward the book Evan had turned off. "You're too good for the gods not to bless you."

Evan wished he had such blind certainty. The Var never seemed to struggle when it came to faith in a higher power. To them it just was, as real as the green-tinted sky stretching over their planet of Qurilixen.

Evan watched the captain leave, knowing Jarek was going to try and track his wayward wife down.

'If you do not recognize it, you will lose it and be forever alone.'

That statement haunted his dreams. Five elements for the five single crewmen who had stood before her. Unluckily, Evan was one of the five. If Rick hadn't saved his life so many times in the past, he would've thrown him off the spaceship thousands of miles away from any planet. The others were in the exact same situation as he was. Rick had saved them all more times than they could count, and that wasn't including the numerous times he'd flown them out of a dangerous chase. Well, admittedly, the number was significantly lower for the crewmen Lochlann and Jackson. The two men were originally part of Captain Jarek's crew.

Evan, Rick, Dev and the two brothers, Lucien and Viktor, were all originally part of Captain Samantha Dorsey's crew. When Sam married the kidnapped Prince Falke and chose to stay with him on his home planet, they were left without a ship or a captain. Prince Jarek, Falke's brother, needed a crew and they needed a captain. It worked out perfectly for all.

Evan's stomach tightened as his thoughts turned to Sam in perfect detail. She had saved his life long ago. It was an old, painful wound and a memory he didn't like to visit. In that memory, he'd lost everything-his family, wealth, legacy. Sam had been his bright spot, his reason for living. She'd nearly died to save him, and in turn, he'd nursed her back to health. Out of all the things he had, she was the most important. Though she was happily married and well taken care of, living like a princess, Evan missed her. Even so, he wouldn't change her fate. Never would he take a friend's happiness for his own.

"Holy Space Balls!" Rick's voice intruded on Evan's thoughts, startling him. The pilot grimaced, halfway into the commons as his brown eyes widen in mock concern. "You're dwelling, aren't you? Now, don't lie. I can see it in your furrowed brow. You're not going to try and beat me up again, are you?"

Evan frowned. "I didn't try to beat you up."

"Yeah, but you didn't stop Jackson and Lochlann from having a go at me, did you?" Rick grinned, his expression saying he was hardly concerned.

"You talking about me?" Lochlann asked, suddenly appearing at the door. He was a dragon shifter, a Draig, who came from the same planet as Captain Jarek. The two were long time friends who had run away from home while their two races were at war. Neither one of them had wanted to fight so they chose the high skies. In space, things like a person's race didn't matter as much. Everyone was different. Though the war on Qurilixen was over, Lochlann and Jarek's families didn't fully accept their friendship.

"No," Rick lied.

"Hmm, 'cause I'll beat your ass again." Lochlann laughed. "Just for the fun of it."

"I'll help him." Jackson joined them, falling onto a seat with a big sigh. He was a security officer who kept mostly to himself. Evan knew he was a good man, could feel it with his 'gifts'. Jackson spent a lot of his time in the Virtual Reality training room with Dev, fighting computer simulated beasts. Evan knew Jackson had plenty of his own demons to fight.

"Ah." Rick waved his hand in dismissal. "Shut your black holes."

"What's all the yelling about?" Viktor asked, carrying a tray of Qurilixen blue bread and a steaming bowl of liquid for dipping. Lucien and Viktor had gotten lucky. When the rest of the crew was cursed, they'd stayed on the ship guarding a prisoner while the others were at the Zhang palace.

"Lucky bastards," Evan mumbled to himself at the thought.

"Who's the bastard?" Lucien joined them, moving by to swipe the tray from his brother for himself. Viktor protested, as Lochlann and Rick moved to block his pursuit. Lucien tossed pieces of bread to his helpers, only to hand Viktor back the empty tray.

The two brothers constantly bickered even though they were really quite close. They were half human, half dere, and had a milky white complexion which contrasted the strangest red-brown and red-green of their eyes. Lucien was a communications genius and Viktor was one hell of a mechanic.

"You are," Viktor grumbled, eyeing his empty tray. Turning toward the door, he added, "Good thing I fixed the food simulator."

"Hey, bring me something," Jackson yelled. Viktor waved his hand over his head by way of an answer. The three bread-thieving men chewed on their stolen goods as Jackson and Evan watched.

"So? What's the yelling about?" Lucien asked, popping the last bit of bread into his mouth.

"Jarek and Mei." Evan didn't need to expand upon the comment.

"What's with you?" Lucien asked.

"He's dwelling on what that old bag of air said," Rick answered. Then to Evan, he added, "Why worry about it? I bet she couldn't predict her way out of the palace, let alone tell us what our future holds. Holy space balls, she couldn't even walk toward the light when she died and now is stuck annoying people. She's just a dead broad, that doesn't mean she's smart."

Evan quirked a brow. "Then why were you trying to make amends with the rest of us last time we were on Líntian?"

Rick shrugged. "She's pretty sexy for an older lady and I've never done it with a ghost."

He looked so sincere, and they couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I'm sure it's just like having sex with air," Jackson said thoughtfully. "And you've done that often enough."

Rick lifted his hand, wiggling his fingers. "Never air, space cadet. I've got my lady right here."

"Maybe old Zhang An is your fate," Lucien teased. The two dere brothers had enjoyed tormenting 'the cursed ones' to no end. "You've got the element of air."

Rick shivered. "Married to an old dove like that? Spare me the horror."

"Dove?" Jackson asked. "Broad? Walking toward light?"

"It's a-" Rick began.

"Never mind, I don't want to know," Jackson said. "I think it's better if we don't get your meanings."

"I'm not fated to be air," Rick informed Lucien. "It's pretty obvious that I'm metal." He pounded his chest. "Hard as ship's steel."

"Your head is full of air," Evan mumbled. If the old spirit had wanted to drive them to madness, she'd picked a brilliant way of doing it. Being part telepath, Evan knew the dangers of revealing too much of the future, but there was also danger in not saying enough. It's why he often said nothing about what he sensed in others, or what fate had in store. In fact, the other crew members didn't exactly know how much of the future he could see. But, since tomorrow was forever changing, it was pointless for him to give hints and change fate. Intentions could be misread. Knowing the future often changed the way people acted and could sometimes cause dangerous outcomes.

"Ah, stop being so melancholy. You should be happy to know how to avoid marriage," Rick said. "Can you imagine? Being bound to one woman? I like Mei, but I feel sorry for Jarek. Forced to sleep in one woman's bed for the rest of his life, stuck banging the same old piece of-"

"Rick," Evan warned.

"Hand?" Lucien finished for Rick, chuckling.

Rick gave them an ornery look and kissed his knuckles. Whispering to his hand, he said, "He didn't mean it."

"The captain's in love. Why feel sorry for him?" Jackson asked, though the look on his face wasn't as certain as his tone.

"Jackson, come. I've reset the program." Dev appeared at the entryway and Jackson instantly stood.

"Ah, lay off, would you, Dev," Rick grumbled. "I'm trying to start a party here."

"I don't want any part of the party you're trying to start," Viktor teased.

"The last time you started something, we kidnapped a prince," Dev answered. He was the ship's muscle and a bit of a loner. Being of half Belvon descent, Dev was of a demonic looking race with red skin and a very stern temperament. Aside from the intense coloring, he appeared humanoid, only larger. Because of his human features, the Belvon rejected him and, because of his Belvon features, the humans feared him. He was an outcast to either race, but on this ship, he was a brother. Rick was the opposite of Dev. The Bevlon was all about maintaining order and Rick was all about breaking it.

"And Sam got married to him," Lucien said. "It worked out."

Evan felt his gut tighten at the mention of her name.

"That gives me an idea." Rick winked at the group in general, as he crossed toward the gaming table. "Wanna play Kiss My Comet? We could always see what we kidnap next? You never know, we might find a sexy woman with five breasts locked in one of our quarters tomorrow morning."

"We're not drunk," Evan said, by way of denying the request to play a kid's game. It's the only thing the crew could remember the rules to when they were blitzed.

"Mm, not yet," Rick corrected, reaching behind a seat and pulling out a half-full bottle of Earth whiskey. "But that's easily rectified."

"It's early," Lochlann protested, even as he stood.

"Not on the west side of Qurilixen." Rick grinned. "Come on, it'll take your mind off of that stupid premonition."

"Jackson?" Dev asked.

"Yeah, coming." Jackson followed Dev out of the commons.

"You need space credits again, don't you?" Evan laughed.

"I do," Rick admitted. Then, lowering his voice, he said, "I just picked up a loose transmission wave in the cockpit. Rumor has it the Galaxy Playmates are doing a show near the Siren Mining Colony. If we have just the right amount of engine trouble, his royal princeliness will have to let us land there for repairs."

"You're going to sabotage our ship?" Evan quirked a brow.

"Ah, 'sabotage' is such a harsh word." Rick took a long pull off the whiskey bottle. "I'd like to think of it as saving the crew. Ever since Jarek got married, or mated, or whatever it is those Var do, he hasn't put in for any shore leave." He paused, motioning down to his crotch. "Little Rick is feeling mighty neglected these days. He's not too happy."

"Watch a download," Evan quipped, reaching for the bottle. He paused, looking at the old fashioned label on it to make sure it wasn't anything strange.

"Not as fun as the real thing." Rick grabbed the bottle back to take another swig, his look telling all that the whiskey was untainted. He started to drink, but Lucien swiped it from him, spilling liquor down Rick's chin. "I keep saving up to buy one of those pleasure android girls, but I can never seem to hold onto enough money. In fact, I think I might end up lifting one next time I get the chance."

"We are not kidnapping anyone or anything tonight." Lucien took a drink. "I don't want that kind of adventure. Besides, pleasure robots ... droids, whatever you want to call them, are chipped. I heard if you steal one and then try to use it without the right codes, it'll blow your manhood right off. It's a built in security measure." Then to Evan, he added under his breath, "Unless this time the adventure leads to Rick getting married and left behind."

"Ha, ha." Rick pretended to growl as he took the bottle of whiskey away and passed it again to Evan. "I miss Sam. She would've played cards with me. And she would've gone to Siren just for the adventure of it. She had the best ideas, like the time she entered us in the great space race."

All but Lochlann laughed. He'd not been part of their crew when it happened.

"And, as far as the future Mrs. Rick Hayes is concerned," Rick continued. "Viktor can overwrite any programming glitch she might have."

"You'd put your balls in my brother's hands?" Lucien snickered, knowing just how bad the question sounded.

Rick growled at him. "Keep it up, space cadet. I know the launch codes to the pods. I'll shoot you so far into deep space you'll-"

"Finally get some peace because I won't have to listen to you run your mouth all day?" Lucien offered.

Evan took a drink and then another before handing the bottle back. "Sam and Falke. Funny how things work out, eh?"

"Yeah. Funny." Rick's face turned serious for a brief moment before again lifting into an easy smile.

"I'll deal." Lucien pulled a chair to the gaming table.

"You cheat," Lochlann said, doing the same. "I'll deal."

"Do not," Lucien protested.

"Yeah, you do," Viktor said from the door. This time he carried a huge tray, overflowing with food. He set it down in front of them.

"Sam wasn't the woman for you," Rick said, leaning close so only Evan could hear. Though he didn't look it, Evan could feel the concern in his friend. Rick placed his hand on the arm of Evan's chair, leaning over him. "She never was."

Evan nodded.

"She is Falke's wife, Jarek's sister-by-marriage," Rick reiterated, handing up the bottle. "And our friend."

Evan nodded again. He knew all that and didn't need the reminder. "Enough, I'm fine about it." Then louder, he said, "Now, let me deal the hand. I'm the only one of us who doesn't cheat and I don't want to stop playing until we all pass out."

"That's the spirit!" Rick clapped his hands. "And I promise you won't regret it!"

* * * *

Evan didn't move as he stared up at the commons' metal ceiling. Getting drunk had been a rash, horrible decision and he regretted making it. His head throbbed, radiating pain through his temples, his eyes, his neck and shoulders. Beyond that, he couldn't feel anything.

"All right, you've suffered enough." Mei's voice came from a fog, booming abnormally loud for the soft-spoken woman.

Evan felt a tug on his arm and several burning pokes. By small degrees, he started to feel better. The ache lessened and his eyes no longer hurt when he blinked. Turning his clearing head toward the princess, he saw her holding the handheld medic unit to his arm and weakly nodded his thanks.

"I should leave the lot of you to rot in misery, but I found something," Mei said.

Evan mumbled, but even he didn't know what he was trying to say.

"In the ducts," Mei explained. "It's old. Really old. Well, old like my husband at any rate."

"I'm in the prime of my life," Jarek's voice protested.

"Mm, yes you are," Mei agreed.

"I've got hundreds of years left in me," Jarek continued.

"Whatever you say, ten nai." Mei giggled, teasing him.

Evan pulled himself up, the slow movements of his body hampered by the lingering grogginess in his head. He'd slept on the floor and had the stiff muscles to prove it. Blinking several times, Mei's words registered. "What did you find? Another broken communicator? Or a phaser?"

"No," Jarek said. "She really did find something this time."

Evan glanced at the captain. He'd spent the evening with his wife and it looked like they'd worked out whatever they'd been fighting over.

"Fea, get the others so we can all look at its contents," Jarek told his wife. "Please."

She nodded, moving toward Lucien and Viktor with a handheld medical unit. Soon the others were moaning as they came to.

Evan rubbed the back of his neck. "What did she find?"

"She found an old holographic box," Mei answered.

"It looks political, maybe fifty or so years old," Jarek added.

"What's a political holo-box doing on this ship?" Evan frowned. "There wasn't any mention when you bought it that it was once a Federation ship, was there?"

"There wasn't mention of anything when I came in possession of this ship," Jarek admitted. "The guy who had it before me didn't have the original ship's logs so we just kind of...."

"Made them up," Jackson offered bluntly.

"Made them up?" Mei repeated.

Jarek shrugged, unapologetic. "The ship was a bargain."

"A holo-box?" Lucien and Viktor said in unison.

"It could be weapon schematics," Lucien said. "Or some stolen piece of evidence."

"I'll know if it's a weapon," Viktor countered. "There is only so much the Federation could do with weaponry that long ago."

"Fine, but if you blow us up with that old-" Lucien couldn't finish.

"Hey, fifty years is not that long ago," Jarek protested.

"Whatever you say, pops," Rick laughed.

"Pops?" Jarek repeated. "I don't know what you're calling me, but I'm sure I'll put a fist in your face if I ever find out."

"Ah, stop arguing," Rick grouched. "My head still hurts."

"No one made you down that entire bottle by yourself," Lochlann said.

"We need Dev," Mei made a move for the door. "He's with Par-my son. I'll go get him."

"What's with her lately?" Jackson asked. Jarek waved his hand and they all knew better than to pry.

Jackson's green eyes were rimmed with red and he looked like someone had punched him in the jaw. Evan vaguely remembered a punching game of cards the night before. He glanced at Rick. The man had a matching bruise near his left eye. Yep, they'd had a game where the person with the losing hand got punched. Good thing he was too smart for that foolishness.

"You guys look like you've been to battle," Jarek smirked, motioning to Rick's face. "Now, Rick I understand. We all want to hit him."

"Hey!" Rick protested, gingerly touching his eye. "I can't help it you're jealous of my dazzling good looks."

"And Jackson is always bruised from the VR training." Jarek pointed at Jackson before giving a pointed look at Evan. "But you, Evan? I expected more out of you."

Evan frowned, stood up, and went toward the metal wall where Rick had buffed it to a sheen. Seeing his reflection, he grimaced. A sharp pain radiated down the side of his face, and he instantly relaxed the muscles. Both of his eyes were bruised and the bridge of his nose appeared swollen. No wonder he felt like he'd been dragged behind a space ship. He turned back around to look at the other crewmen.

"What?" Rick said to him, smiling innocently. "You had a lousy run of luck."

"Come on, let's go get some food into you men," Jarek said. "You'll think better with clearer heads and fuller stomachs. I'll have Mei meet us in there with the holo-box."

As Jarek left, Evan made a move to follow behind. Rick came up beside him and slung an arm around his shoulders. "So, my little friend. I hope you weren't too drunk last night and forgot our bet."

"Bet?" Evan repeated, not liking the sound of that.

"Yes, bet. You promised to read the next sexy woman we saw and tell me all her deepest sexual fantasies." Rick grinned.

Evan pushed the man's arm off of him. "I would never bet any such thing."

As he walked toward the dining hall, curious to see Mei's newest treasure, he heard Rick laugh, "Well, can't blame me for trying."

© copyright Michelle M. Pillow, 2007-2008

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

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"5 CUPS! Michelle Pillow shows us the scope of just how far a faction is willing to go to control the out come of a situation. This story is one of misery, death, tragedy and hope. The tale she paints takes you to some very dark places, and then pushes you back up into hope, love and light. Frost Maiden is wonderfully well written, and the story pulls at your heart strings in every way imaginable. I can not wait to read more stories by this author, and hope that her next installment of Space Lords is not to far off." - Lee Ann, Coffeetime Romances, March 2008

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