“Yes, it is.” Madelaine resumed reading: “This next journey takes you to Galactic Gulag XkR-9 in the Andromeda Galaxy.”
“Really? Galactic Gulag XkR-9?” Jack asked, his gaze leaving the fascinating circuit board to stare at Madelaine. “That’s a surprise. Like all of the locations have been.” He couldn’t imagine a woman would be allowed to enter the gulag.
Women convicted of serious crimes on Alpha-Prime were sent to Galactic Gulag YsV-13, nicknamed The Velvet Citadel. It was located deep in the lonely reaches on the edge of the Tri-Spiral Galaxy and the Caldera Forte Galaxy, very far away from Galactic Gulag XkR-9, although it was considered a sister facility to the one where men were incarcerated.
The Velvet Citadel housed the most dangerous female criminals from dozens of systems in the known galaxies. The prison planet was surrounded by perpetual electrical storms and accessible only through a treacherous and heavily monitored wormhole. He’d once read that the prison’s official motto was: “Distance is the first wall.”
“Truth,” Madelaine said and continued reading out loud. “As with several other places you’ve visited on this journey, women are normally not allowed to enter Galactic Gulag XkR-9. However, since you have a husband, he can escort you and be your personal guard while you retrieve the next package.
“The warden in charge of XkR-9—once notified of your presence at the docking platform—will personally escort both of you to the sequestered prisoner. It is hoped that none of the other prisoners will ever know you were there. Still, you must exercise extreme caution at all times.”
“That sounds ominous,” Jack said. “And given this trip, that’s saying something.”
“Also true. But I know you’re up to the task, husband-of-mine.”
Jack grinned. “Yes. I’m ready to be your personal guard, Madelaine. Always.”
“Thank you.”
They both reread the parchment before Madelaine folded it back up and stowed it with the other packages and instructions they’d collected.
Three packages down, two packages and a location left to go.
Jack couldn’t help feeling like his time with Madelaine was running out. The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to keep spending with her, no matter where they lived.
Madelaine hopped into the pilot’s seat and loaded the coordinates for the Andromeda Galaxy and the prison planet, XkR-9.
“How long until we get there, wife-of-mine?” he asked.
“Well, the portal to the wormhole is nearby, so approximately two hours. Why?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.
Jack shrugged and smiled. “I was just wondering, Mrs. Grey, if maybe you’d like to have another honeymoon before we get to the big house?”
“Funny. In fact, I would love to have another honeymoon with you before we get to the gulag, Mr. Grey. Great idea.”
She locked in the coordinates and stood up. Jack took her into his arms and kissed her like another honeymoon was about to start.
“I love you, Madelaine,” he whispered between kisses. He wanted her to know how he felt about her. How he’d always feel about her.
“I love you, too, Jack,” she whispered back. “I always will.”
The passionate kiss reengaged as they carefully made their way back to the scant sleeping quarters aboard thePaladin Seeker.
Two hours later, Jack was back in the pilot’s seat as they approached their next stop for package retrieval. He’d heard of this gulag, of course.
Everyone on Alpha-Prime had heard of the worst gulag in the known galaxies. Jack had even spoken to Draeken Phoenix, brother of The Calderian, about this gulag at a holiday party.
Draeken had gone to XkR-9 while on a secret mission to get some vital information from a prisoner. His horrific description of this place likely didn’t do it justice. Draeken said he’d only seen the inside of the gulag and not the actual approach from space, since he’d been locked in the brig and afforded no viewing window, which he thought was very uncool.
The first thing Jack noticed about Galactic Gulag XkR-9 was that it looked absolutely bonkers from space. The closer they got, the more insane the place looked.
The planet hung against the stars like someone had split it into two different worlds and somehow welded them back together.
One hemisphere glowed with fiery orange and gold beneath the relentless glare of the primary sun in this system. Vast deserts stretched across the daylight side, punctuated by black mountain ranges that looked as though they’d been forged from volcanic glass. Heat shimmered across the surface and could be seen even from orbit.
The opposite hemisphere was an endless white sphere covered in snow, ice and sporting frozen oceans. Entiremountain chains were entombed beneath glaciers that reflected pale blue light into space.
