Chapter 1
Vessa
Vessa would give anything to be naked on a beach with the heat of at least three suns warming her skin. Instead, she was forced to endure the constant frigid wind blowing through the wreckage, through her very expensive thermal suit, and straight into her bones.
How did the company expect her toworkin such conditions? She should have charged them more for the egregious weather alone.
The Halston Company could afford it. Her contact had been anonymous, but she always figured out where the money came from. On the surface, they were a tech company with such beautifully engineered designs they could be found across half of the known universe. This job, though, was for something much shadier, if hiring her was any indication. They needed a discreet independent contractor to collect and transport the valuables that had gone down with an otherwise unassuming freighter. In return, she would receive an ungodly amount of money.
A job was a job. Unless it had anything to do with the galactic slave trade or weapons of mass destruction—she still heldsomemorals.
This mission was particularly annoying, though. Not only had the ship crashed on the harshest, most desolate ice planet she’d ever seen, but the catastrophic event leading to the vessel’s demise had burned so hot that the hull hadn’t held up. Her client’s items were in an apocalypse-safe compartment, but in order to get to it, she had to cut her way through a mess of tangled metal.
Progress was slow. Too slow. The saw blade had overheated twice already and couldn’t cut through some of the thicker areas at all.
Vessa blew a strand of her hair out of her face only for it to fall right back in—a silvery blue annoyance that was driving her insane. “To the Pits with this,” she groaned. The echo of the saw’s vibrations pulsed through her body as she powered it down.
She needed something better. Quicker.
Studying the twisted gray metal, something flashed in her mind. Something she’d forgotten was in her possession.
Or had tried to forget.
Unfortunately, it would do the trick. Mentally preparing to make the trek from the downed ship to her own vessel, she rubbed her gloved hands together.
When she dashed out into the wild wind, she was certain the temperature dropped to some impossible degree just to torment her. Her skin-tight thermal suit was designed to withstand subzero temperatures and maintain her body heat. Allegedly. She looked damn good in it, though. So at least it wasn’t uselessandunflattering.
By the time she entered her ship, her lungs ached from the cold. “Damn this planet,” she said through chattering teeth.
She navigated her dark living room, running her fingers over the back of the large, rectangular green sofa, the cushions of which she wanted nothing more than to disappear into. As she stepped over a pile of discarded clothes from days ago, she made a mental note to do a thorough deep clean.
Her favored armory was between her suite and the front of the ship for easy access. She longingly stared at the closed sliding door that led to her bedroom. Who really needed a job and credits? She could take off now and head straight to the hottest planet she could think of, and no one would bother to look for her.
But since she was determined never to live on a planet again, a job was necessary to keep her ship operational. The Jax was damn expensive.
“Get yourself together,” Vessa muttered. The job would be simple enough with the right tool. But this fucking planetdidhave her reconsidering her stance on world-ending weapons. Was it really that unethical to blow up an uninhabited, frozen rock?
“Liv?” she called as she placed her palm against the armory’s scanner.
“Yes, Dark Queen of Jax?” the AI system responded, her voice drifting from hidden speakers.
Vessa smiled. The title never got old. “Can I get some heat circulating in here? It’s colder than the black hole of my heart out there. Also, please research the nearest planet with three or more suns that I can survive on long enough to get warm.”
“Affirmative, Queen. Would you like me to have the next episode ofBetween Dimensionsready to watch and a cup of hot chocolate nyur brewed upon your return?”
“Oh, gods, yes. You know just how to motivate a girl, don’t you?” The nearly undetectable armory door slid open, revealing dozens of weapons and tools arranged in neat displays liningthe inside. “I need to see which septuplet the Palashian prince chooses. If it isn’t Zazla Three, Iwillriot.”
“As I have said before, even an outdated model could determine Zazla One or Zaz Five would be the most compatible with him.If he wishes to stay in power, he must choose one of them.”
Their arguments over this arc had been the worst yet. Liv had at one point gone completely offline to give her the silent treatment. “It’s not about compatibility,” Vessa said. “Zazla Three won’t take his shit, and that’s what is truly important.”
“As you say, overseer. I am incapable of forming opinions different from your own. I am but a mere artificial entity existing in this quantum form to serve,” Liv said in monotone.
Vessa rolled her eyes. Livonlyused her robotic voice and called heroverseerwhen she was grumpy. She’d purchased Liv from a black-market station. The human dealer had been desperate to get rid of her because of her disobedience and constant threats. And by that, he meant Liv cut off his life support after he ordered her to pull up results for the most degrading and disgusting things the galaxy had to offer.
In the last seven years, Vessa had talked to her more than anyone else. Combined. Liv was her only companion. Her onlyfriend.
Ignoring the flashier displays of her weaponry collection, Vessa searched the unorganized mess on the floor. After pushing aside a crate of wires she was certain would come in handy someday, she saw it. Shoved into a corner behind a broken sim-axe was a gravboot box worn by time and disuse. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed it, the sim-axe falling with a clang as she did. She tossed the smashed lid aside.
