Taken by the Mercenary by Stella Rising

Author:Stella Rising [Rising, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2021-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Keelah

“How long have you been associated with Captain Degan Cor?”

I don’t answer. The Sovereignty agents hover over me. With my hands cuffed behind my back, I can’t find a comfortable position, but I’ve had much worse.

“Why did you sabotage and rob transport B8R7?”

Two hulking men hover over me, hoping to intimidate me. They haven’t laid a finger on me—that would result in their immediate expulsion, but they do blow tobac smoke in the air all around, causing my eyes to water.

“Who else were you working with?”

They keep at it for hours, only giving up when I refuse to crack. Maybe if they hadn’t been so heavy-handed I would have told them the truth willingly, but they haven’t earned my respect.

“We’re just going to find out everything from Degan,” one says.

I wish them the best of luck with that.

Eventually they give up, and the Order sends me an advocate, the priestess Janella. It takes her two days to arrive. The Sovereignty keeps me in a sterile cell and treats me decently, but no one tells me anything about Degan. I don’t think he’s even at this same facility as me, a human-only prison space station close to Ivlic.

When Janella arrives, we speak privately for an hour. I tell her everything that’s happened, leaving out no detail. She’s sworn to secrecy and doesn’t flinch at the more salacious moments. She’s no doubt heard everything in her line of work—probably not from a novitiate, but still. When we’re done, they call in the Sovereignty adjudicator to hear my case. Maybe I’m not feeling very novitiate-like right now, or Degan has rubbed off on me, because all I want to do is punch him in the face. Instead, Janella explains to the pale, old man—who won’t stop staring at me—what happened and how I’m not to blame.

“Keelah was just trying to recover what had been stolen from her, as well as the Order as a whole,” she says.

“Your novitiate evaded arrest and abetted a known fugitive,” argues the adjudicator. “It was her duty to turn herself in and let the Sovereignty sort out the matter.”

“She attempted to! Captain Cor wouldn’t let her. He was keeping her captive and gave her no choice.”

“Keelah had numerous opportunities to flee.”

Janella shakes her head and waves her hand in a slash. “No, if she fled, Cor would have tracked her down and likely hurt her. He’s a savage mercenary, responsible for hundreds of violent altercations throughout the galaxy. Keelah was in an impossible situation.”

It pains me to listen to her lie about Degan. I want to jump in and defend him, but Janella warned me very explicitly not to interrupt her—that there’s nothing we can do for him.

“Forgive me if this comes off as judgmental,” says the adjudicator, “but Cor and your novitiate were found together at a chateau, post-coitus. Seeing as how she hasn’t denounced Cor for violating her, it’s our impression that she didn’t object to her captivity.”

“Do you have evidence of that, or just opinions?” Janella snarls.

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