Angel 6.0: Enslaved (Space Opera Romance): (Angel 6.0, Book 3)
Angel 6.0
Episode III
ENSLAVED
Published by Travis Luedke
Copyright 2015 by Travis Luedke
Book Cover Art by Willsin Rowe
http://willsinrowe.blogspot.com/
FIRST EDITION
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Adult Reading Material (17+)
Contains scenes of graphic sex and violence
unsuitable for underage readers
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UPON THIS ROCK 2015 (COMING SOON)
ANGEL 6.0: CONCUBINE ~ (#1)
ANGEL 6.0: eSCAPE ~ (#2)
ANGEL 6.0: ENSLAVED ~ (#3)
ANGEL 6.0: PURSUIT ~ (#4)
ANGEL 6.0: EMISSARY ~ (#5)
ANGEL 6.0 BOX SET (5 BOOKS IN 1)
The Blurb:
The product of illegal genome experiments to perfect the human race, my name is Angel, and I live with a slave collar, a tracking system I can’t escape. Torn from my lover’s arms and shipped across the galaxy, I am enslaved to the Gran, a fierce alien Catlike race of warriors. I serve as Captain Cronin’s concubine, and pray Cesar, my pirate lover, finds a way to beg, steal or barter my freedom.
Trying to survive among the Royal Family of the Gran, I find friendship and new allies in my bid for freedom. As translator, I have a chance to broker a trade agreement between Cesar and the Gran. Success might free me of the slave collar wrapped around my neck.
If not, I’ll surely go mad kneeling before the Captain, serving him in ways I dare not admit to Cesar. I pray my pirate lover never learns the truth of the wicked things I do to please Captain Cronin.
Angel 6.0 The Series:
Born of illegal experimentation on the human genome, I've been taken for a ride across the galaxy, enslaved to the warlike race of Cats called the Gran. They think I'm some kind of upgrade, a new slave stock to be bred.
Though many would resent me for the decisions I have made, they never experienced my struggle to find love and meaning in a world where I do not belong.
A freak of nature, the humans don't want me.
Far more valuable than they know, the Cats don't appreciate me.
Trapped in the conflict between two galactic empires, the pirates can't save me.
Thrust into the center of an interstellar war, the Earth Defense Council never saw me coming.
I am Angel 6.0 and this is the dark, wicked, violent tale of my life.
“The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Chapter 1
Tears blurred my vision as I stood alone at the airlock awaiting Captain Cronin, commander of the small fleet of Gran warships that had us surrounded and immobilized. My hands shook with adrenaline and my stomach turned queasy. I balanced on the edge of fight or flight and forced myself to stand still. Fighting the Gran would be a fatal mistake. They could pick us off any time they wanted. We were damn lucky Captain Cronin intended to board and meet in person – we were at his mercy.
It was my fault.
I fingered the metallic collar wrapped around my neck, the tracking device ensuring the Gran would always find me – and anyone who harbored me. The lives of the men aboard this Shadow cruiser depended on me to get them out of this mess. Though most of them didn’t even like me, wished I’d never been rescued from the Gran in the first place, they were stuck with me as translator for negotiations. No one else spoke the growl-click-snarl language of the Gran.
I had begged Cesar to order his men not to fight, to stand back and let me speak on their behalf. When he’d insisted on staying at my side, I begged him to leave me to it.
More useless tears streaked my face as I yearned to relive the past three weeks spent in Cesar’s arms, making love endlessly. I could still feel the warmth of his arms around me as I showered with him, ate with him, slept tangled with his hard body and woke in his strong embrace. I’d found all I ever wanted from life on this ship, with Cesar.
It seemed the universe conspired against my wishes.
Even if the Gran listened to me, even if my insane plan worked, there was little chance of ever seeing my lover again. I wished I did have Cesar at my side – now – holding my hand, telling me everything would be alright. But I couldn’t risk his life. The sick twisty feeling in my gut was the knowledge that the Gran would never let me stay aboard the Shadow cruiser with my lover. The thought of never seeing Cesar again terrified me. He’d mended the shattered pieces of my soul and given me new reason to live.
Now I faced losing him.
The Gran shuttle slipped into view and slowly glided in to latch on with its docking clamps. I was so tense and wired. Good thing I didn’t have my gauntlet blade. I’d be tempted to hack through every one of these Cats as they crossed the threshold.
Click, snap, thud, pop – the airlock opened and the strange spiced tang of Gran air wafted past. My senses flooded with intense memories of my time aboard the Gran ship. I tried to focus on the good memories – like Jason, Cesar’s brother. Enslaved for a time on the Gran jumpship, Captain Cronin had poured liquor aphrodisiac down my throat daily, keeping my senses drowned in erotic abandon. If only Jason had survived our escape from the Gran…
The sounds of growl-snap-clicking chatter snapped my attention back to the moment. Captain Cronin stepped through into our small airlock chamber, at the front of his Warriors. He was an impressive male, over two meters tall, slim and muscular, with broad shoulders, and tan-orange, striped fur. Stretching to full height above me, the Captain’s ears brushed the ceiling and lay back as he looked up to avoid hitting his head. To most people, the Gran looked like lanky, angular cats standing upright, with somewhat humanoid features and build. To me, he was the Captain, a male I knew too intimately. Though I wanted to hate him for all he’d done to me, all he may yet do, my emotions towards the Captain were a turmoil of conflict.
We had shared things that made us more than friends – yet still enemies. Aboard his ship, he’d adopted me as his concubine. Though he never actually fucked me, the Captain and I had done everything else possible. I still wore his metallic collar marking me as prope
rty of the Gran, the Captain’s concubine. Cesar and his engineer, Azad, had considered removing my collar, but when they analyzed the material, they found an alloy blended with highly reactive metals.
The thing wrapped tightly around my neck would probably blow my head off if they tried to cut through it.
I thought I was free of the Gran and their control over my life. Turned out this ride aboard the Shadow cruiser with Cesar was only a vacation – a delay of the inevitable. The prospect of returning to service as the Captain’s concubine stretched before me, a dark joyless future without Cesar in my life.
After a few seconds of assessing me and the hallway leading out of the airlock, the Captain moved towards me. He stepped in so close I was staring at his belt buckle. He looked down on me with his domination stare and I fought every instinct in my body not to kick him in his big furry balls. Apart from battle armor on his chest and shoulders, he wore only a belt with a skirt-like fabric that hung front and back. From where he stood, I could easily nail him in the jewels and send him to the floor puking. I’d tested the sensitivity of Gran testicles several times.
The Gran were larger than humans, towering over us, but had all the same basic equipment, and used it pretty much the same way we did. I was well-acquainted with the Captain’s equipment. The size of his cock made intercourse physically impossible, but that never stopped him from playing pretend as he sprayed female Gran mating pheromones all over me. The Captain was very creative in his games.
Cronin’s yellow, vertical-slit Cat eyes looked me up and down. I faced him with the knowledge that this large male controlled my future. The only advantage I held was his desire to use me as his personal plaything, and the lie that I could be bred to create more special humans like me. The Captain knew the secret of my birth, my unique qualities, and he wanted to breed me. In the eyes of the Gran, I was an upgrade – a new model of human slave to be exploited.
“Where are your men to defend you?” The Captain’s growling assumptions revealed his culture. He had considered me a female of value because two of the men in my life had fought and died to protect me. That’s why I insisted no one stand at my side to meet the Captain. Another male presence presented a direct challenge to him.
“I speak for Captain Cesar of the Shadow cruiser. I translate for Captain. He want negotiate trade with honored Captain Cronin of the Gran Traders Guild.” My Gran-speak wasn’t eloquent, but I made do. The Captain and I never had problems communicating. He’d proven an exceptionally observant and perceptive male.
Three more Warriors stepped up behind Captain Cronin and ducked their heads to avoid rubbing on the low ceiling of the airlock. The Captain looked back at his Warriors, then gave me another domination stare. I sensed he was unsure how to proceed.
“I have grievance with your Captain. Grievances are settled before negotiations.”
I feared as much. “Captain Cesar also have grievance with Captain Cronin.”
I’d never tried to verbally dance with the Gran in such a sensitive negotiation, but I had learned to read the Captain’s facial expressions and body language. Captain Cronin hissed and bared his teeth. The Gran do not smile out of pleasure. Seeing his teeth was a sign of aggression. This conversation would determine the lives of the men aboard this ship, the life of my lover, and the pressure had me shaking and ready to puke.
The Captain’s claws wrapped around my shoulders and he bent down to look me in the eyes, nose to nose. “What grievance?”
I suspected that if his Warriors weren’t standing behind him, watching us, this conversation might be less confrontational. The Captain and I had always been … close. I stared him directly in the eyes, facing him down with the same domination game – a mistake. I quickly dropped my eyes in submission and tried not to rub against his delicate sense of honor. “Your prisoner, the Criminal, he was brother to Captain Cesar.”
Dark memories of Jason’s death scraped at my soul yet again – my grief was still too raw. I clamped the strong emotion down and shoved it away to deal with later.
“The Criminal left my ship, taken by Captain Cesar. No grievance exists.”
Keeping my eyes down, I struggled to find the right words to manage the situation. “The Criminal died on Gran ship. Captain Cesar need recompense. Captain request talk … private.” I glanced quickly to the tall, powerful Warriors flanking Captain Cronin, and his vertical slit yellow eyes caught my meaning.
He looked to his Warriors, looked back at me, and inclined his head in the Gran indication of yes. “Bring me Captain Cesar – unarmed.”
I looked pointedly at Cronin’s battle gauntlet on his right hand. He didn’t attempt to remove it. He was willing to talk privately with an unarmed man, but not without his blade. The Captain’s sense of fair play left something to be desired.
The Gran battle gauntlet, when activated, lit up a ten inch arc of white-hot energy around the outside of the knuckles. Those wicked blades cut through anything. I’d learned to use one trying to save Jason’s life. I wished I had my stolen gauntlet now. I enjoyed the sense of power and security the weapon gave me.
When the Warriors departed to their ship through the airlock, I nodded to Captain Cronin and retreated to the hallway to get Cesar. Technically, Cesar wasn’t a Captain, but he was the leader of the pirates aboard this stolen Shadow cruiser. I tacked on a fancy title to give Cesar parity with Cronin.
Standing around impatient in the galley, Cesar and his pirate crew watched me suspiciously as I walked in the doorway and tried to still my shaking hands. “Captain Cronin of the Gran Traders Guild is willing to speak with Cesar alone. Captain Cesar.”
Cesar’s right hand Irishman, Chancy, chuckled along with some of the other men. Chancy and I didn’t exactly get along – could have something to do with that time I’d broken his nose. He didn’t trust me, but he wasn’t man enough to toss me out the airlock – even when I begged him to do it.
Chancy settled a hand on Cesar’s shoulder. “Don’t let it go to your head, man. You’re still Cesar to me.” No one held an official title among these pirates, but Cesar was definitely their leader. When push came to shove, Cesar called the shots.
Cesar nodded at his friend and then his piercing, dark eyes caught me with that severe, probing look. “Where do you think we stand?”
“He’s armed, and requested you to come unarmed. He says he has a grievance with you. I told him you have the same, regarding Jason. Hopefully the two debts will balance out, and we can start negotiating.”
Chancy cut into our conversation. “Nobody’s goin ta meet with a bloody Cat when his arm’s strapped with a bloody cutting torch. Don’t fucking listen to this shite, Cesar. She’s manipulating us all!”
Cesar’s sharp eyes speared Chancy. “I trust Angel’s judgment in this. You would be wise to do the same.”
Cesar laid a hand on my shoulder. “And what about you? Has he stated his intentions for you?”
“He hasn’t said yet, but don’t get your hopes up. No matter what happens, I doubt he will leave the ship without me.”
Cesar’s face graduated from severe to ferocious. He took my arm and led me out of the galley and through the hallway towards the airlock. His grip on me tightened and his voice dropped to a whisper. “I don’t know if I can allow that, Angel.”
I realized then he wasn’t willing to talk this way in front of the men, certainly not in front of Chancy. The men aboard the Shadow cruiser had never really trusted me – some of them probably hated me. Chancy hated me.
I wished there was some way Cesar could change my situation, but my gut instinct said that Cronin would get what he wanted out of this deal, and that included me. “Cesar, I need you to understand that whatever happens, my priority is saving you and your crew. You have to trust that Captain Cronin isn’t going to hurt me.” Well, not more than I could handle.
I stroked the prickly stubbles on the side of Cesar’s face, loving the feeling of him against my palm. “We’re not in a position to m
ake demands, but if we’re careful, we can make an arrangement that gets all of you out of here safely … and maybe we can see each other again.”
Cesar closed his eyes. His jaw squeezed tighter in frustration. He pulled me in and drilled into my soul with the intensity of his look. When he looked at me like that, I could almost believe I meant something to him. His fingers brushed my black hair away from my face. “You’re asking me to stand by and watch as these Cats take you off to God knows where, for God knows what. That’s not what I want, Angel, and that’s not what I’m negotiating for. You’re asking too much.”
“I was a mess when you rescued me. I’ve been a mess ever since. If the Gran take me off your hands … that’s one less mess to complicate your life.” Cesar had told me as much, and he was right. I’d been a mess from the day the Gran kidnapped me from Nugene Station and sent my life spiraling into insanity.
“Don’t you dare use my words against me! If we pull this off, and that bastard Cat insists on taking you, it won’t be for long. I’m coming for you, Angel. That’s a promise! If I have to trade off this ship to buy you back, I’ll get you out.”
My vision blurred again with tears, and I fought to contain the chaotic mix of love and anguish wreaking havoc on my chest. I wanted to believe him so badly. I wanted to trust that somehow it would all be okay, that we could find a way to be together, but I had learned hard lessons about men and their promises.
“Thank you, Cesar. We haven’t known each other long, and I have no right to expect this of you …”
“Shh. Don’t talk like that. I’ll find a way. I always find a way.”
I prayed he was right.
Chapter 2
“He looks like the Criminal.” Captain Cronin’s gaze pierced Cesar with a predatory ferocity.