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    Gemini Galaxy and Beyond
    Gemini Galaxy and Beyond
    Gemini Galaxy and Beyond
    Ebook339 pages6 hours

    Gemini Galaxy and Beyond

    By Crystal Dawn

    ()

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    About this ebook

    *Note: It is recommended the series be read in order.

    Planet Amazon III, Gemini Galaxy and Beyond picks up following Andrea where we left her in Planet Amazon II. She is about to embark on a historic journey further then she has ever been and further than she even expects to go. She will uncover some of the secrets of ancient Earth, legendary beings, and find herself caught up in a war between two kingdoms. When she is captured as an enemy soldier, what will her fate be? Will she find herself torn between a prince and a king or will those she loves find a way to free her?
    Andrea finds herself once again dealing with new situations and the men not only of Gemini Galaxy but also of nearby galaxies. In the end, she wonders if the men and the situations are really all that different after all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrystal Dawn
    Release dateSep 27, 2013
    ISBN9781301372676
    Gemini Galaxy and Beyond
    Author

    Crystal Dawn

    When she’s not out hunting rogue vampires and werewolves, you can find Crystal Dawn out exploring the galaxy. She can do it all without ever leaving her computer. She kicks ass, takes names, and puts it all down for the enjoyment of her readers. At least that’s what I think she told me. Writing came as a natural outlet for her overly creative mind. She has always told stories and even written some but publishing books didn't start until 2012 with The Rebirth, was the first of the Planet Amazon books. Crystal has also been lucky to have some wonderful beta readers who keep her on track and help inspire her.Secretly, she crushes on all her sexy heroes because all her stories end happily. That is one of the things that makes writing such a joy. Knowing that it makes her reader's day a little brighter. Not that she doesn't read sad books sometimes. While still in school, she read Where the Red Fern Grows and cried like a baby. It was a wonderful book and sometimes a bit of sadness has to be put in books because that's part of life. While she reads all kinds of books at some time or another, PNR and SFR, which she writes is what she reads the most for pleasure.When she started writing, she decided on going Indie after the first two books because an author has more control. She believes Indie will compete well and continues to grow. The need to give pleasure to her readers keeps her going and she sees a long career ahead. Growing up mostly in the NW Arkansas area, it has given her a good place to set some stories and many of her characters come from there or nearby SW Missouri.The start of her stories is the easy part. Finishing them is a little harder when all the stories are in there trying to get out. She loves reading, chocolate, fine sweet wine, and traveling among a large list of pursuits. Her favorite people, after her family and close friends, are her readers who she says are some of the most wonderful people in this galaxy and the next.

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      Book preview

      Gemini Galaxy and Beyond - Crystal Dawn

      Planet Amazon III

      Gemini Galaxy and Beyond

      By Crystal Dawn

      2013 Copyright by Crystal Dawn

      Cover by Eagle Covers

      Editing By Eagle Editing

      This book is a work of fiction. All

      contents, including names, places, and

      events are the product of the author’s

      imagination or used in a fictitious

      manner. Any resemblance to persons,

      living or deceased, businesses,

      locations or events are completely

      coincidental.

      None of this work may be used,

      reproduced, exchanged or transmitted

      by anyone but the person the book was

      purchased for. Any

      reproductions of this book in any part or

      any form must be done with

      the express written permission of the

      author or not at all.

      Thank you for respecting the work of

      this author.

      This is part of the Planet Amazon Series. The series is intended to be read in order. It is the continuous and ongoing story of Andrea Staton a soldier/scientist from Earth.

      Planet Amazon the Rebirth

      Parts 1 & 2

      Andrea has dreamed her whole life of finding the fabled city of Atlantis thinking it’s the doorway to Atlantis. With the army supporting her, she finally finds it, walks through the doorway, and discovers a primitive culture of warrior women preyed on by the more advanced planet Gallegos. She finds that she must hone her fighting skills to avoid becoming a pleasure slave. She finds love with two slaves, Jonne and Marcus. Marcus is a warrior and Jonne becomes one. She fights for their freedom claiming them both as mates. The prince of Gallegos is captured during a raid. No one realizes he is a prince until Andrea figures it out when questioning him. He is taken back home with a message of peace, but the king has no desire for peace. Daval, the prince, decides he wants Andrea, so they try to capture her until they succeed. But she escapes and eventually has Jonne’s daughter.

      They discover that Marcus is a lost prince of Gallegos and Daval chooses to stay on Amazon with his brother. The king discovers Marcus is his son and ends up capturing Andrea and Marcus. His plan is for them to have a child so he will have an heir. Then he intends to kill Marcus and claim Andrea. Eventually Andrea and Marcus escape lead a rebellion where Marcus ends up King and Andrea becomes Queen. At the end of the story, the confederacy, a group of advanced planets, makes contact with Andrea to find out if she is trying to force Amazon’s and Gallegos’s development.

      Planet Amazon II, Into Gemini Galaxy

      We discover that Andrea’s brother has been sent in by Earth to see what she’s up to. Andrea starts a campaign against slavers and she and Marcus solidify there rule on Gallegos. Two of Andrea’s cousin’s, Billie and Bobbie, are also sent from Earth to report back on the happenings on Amazon. Bobbie is recognized as the along awaited Queen of the Taureacians, and Billie is claimed by the Julians as the ruler of their planet. The three cousins and the Queen of Amazon unite in a war against slavery. The confederacy is impressed with their results and asks them to help slavery end on other planets in the galaxy.

      Chapter 1

      Tracking Pirates

      Everyone was excited and Taryn was already here. Katie was in charge of the twins, all four of them, and a servant had Henry. Lydia and Danny had Sophia and they weren’t taking a servant. Taryn was organizing everyone into two groups. We would go to his ship and then to Amazon. I would be with the first group as would be Marcus, Jonne, Daval, Ajaks, Lydia, Danny, all the children, and at least one squad. We were on the deck of Taryn’s ship in the blink of an eye and on Amazon just as quickly. The other group was right behind us, and Gen had everyone that didn’t already have rooms on Amazon settled in. She had drinks brought in, we sat around the dining hall, and it was time to tell some stories.

      Billie went first and told the story of an African shaman who fell in love with an African princess who was promised to another. It was a twisted story of love and heartache; it didn’t end well. Bobbie went next and told the story of an Indian chief who captured a beautiful blonde settler, he made her his woman and even though it started with passion and conflict, it ended with love and happiness. I went next and kept to the telling of Earth stories by telling about Rumpelstiltskin. It was funny, ended well, and everyone enjoyed it.

      Now it was Gen’s turn and I worried what story she would tell since many of our people didn’t know much of my history. Gen told the story of the sea monster again. It seemed to be one of her very favorite stories. Everyone was caught up in it and I was getting looks of awe from some of the newer additions to our group. Next was Donel and she told of one of our missions where we had gone after slave raiders. She described the way Lydia and I looked and made us sound so seductive that no man in the universe could have resisted us. She talked about our dances, how we massaged our men, and how we had fed them. Lydia was next and she told of my first Fight Festival when I had won Jonne. She told of the side bet that Madras had forced me to take. Lydia finished with when I won and how everyone had cheered. Jonne went next and he told of when we had salvaged the Queen’s ship and he gave a powerful description of the mummies that scared everyone that hadn’t been there. He told of the procession and finally finished with the barge carrying the queen and her soldiers, burning and heading off into the distance to be carried away by the tide.

      Marcus was last and he told of the Fight where I had won him. It surprised me that he would tell of it. He told how great a warrior Gen was and how I had doubts I had to overcome, but I did it for him. He made it sound like the other battles that Gen and I had first were nothing and then we faced each other. My king made us sound like great gladiators and described the battle in detail. He made it sound like I might not have won had I not been so motivated to win him. When he was through, no one spoke for a few moments. I think some of them had a new understanding of my relationship with him and Jonne now.

      Gen suggested we have a sparring session and see how the new soldiers would do. We went to the throne room and Katie and the twins began. The twins faced off with each other and Katie picked some of her squad to spar with. You could see how good she was as she fought three of them and seemed to have no trouble; of course, they were new and not trained yet. After they had fought a little while, Gen and I sparred. We switched and I fought Billie and Gen fought Bobbie. Everyone ended up with a turn and we all got a little work out. I suggested that we go for a ride before lunch and Gen said, Last time you suggested that it didn’t work out well.

      I blushed as I remembered what had happened. Somebody asked what happened then and Gen told the tale of what she now called the hounds of hell. Most everyone knew of my dogs, but they had not known where they had come from. Katie spoke up and said, Maybe Mama can get us some more dogs. Everyone laughed, but we decided not to go on a ride till tomorrow. Everyone split up and we would meet again for lunch.

      Bobbie, Billie, and I were walking past the prisoners, and I noticed the captain that had kissed both Billie and me. He was looking at us and watching as we walked by. He yelled at Bobbie and said, Are you going to give me a kiss too? I have kissed the other two.

      I noticed Cos was standing nearby and had stopped to see what was going to happen. He walked over to us and said, At least you are not alone this time! Bobbie and Billie asked him what he meant, and he told them what had happened when I was here alone.

      Bobbie walked up to him, making sure to keep a proper distance, and said, Why do you want to force yourself on a woman? Andi was just trying to help you and now no one will want to help you.

      He said, She did help me, it felt really good. Why don’t you help me now?

      We walked away and I could hear him laughing. Since we had a couple hours till lunch, and I suggested we go for a swim. Running to our rooms to change we met up back where we had been. Now we headed out to the ocean and went swimming just below the cliffs near where the queen’s ship had once been. We had a nice time swimming and diving under the water until we decided it was time to head back. Perhaps we were foolish to go alone, but we did. At least we were armed with staffs as we dried off a little and started to head back.

      I had a flash of forewarning just before I saw the ship. When I looked at Billie and Bobbie, I saw they now knew as well. We extended our staffs, and our only thoughts were of fighting the enemy. The ship landed between us and our way to the castle. There was no help to be had, we were on our own. The door opened and several men stepped out. There were no Julians or Taureacians, they had lost all of those.

      I knew who the captain was, and I addressed him. Who are you and what do you want?

      You know who we are, and we want the three of you.

      You know we won’t be easy to take so why have you decided to try?

      He said, You are in a position where you have no help. I think we can take you. Just give up so we won’t have to hurt you.

      Surely you know that we will not give up and that you won’t win.

      We will see. Calling more of his men, he had about twenty, the fight was on.

      Several had stun guns, but we knew how to avoid them now. We were knocking out some of his men and we were hitting hard. I thought we could win on our own, but men started disappearing. He finally realized what was happening, but he didn’t know how.

      He said, What kind of magic is this? Then he disappeared.

      A moment later, we were on the bridge of Taryn’s ship, and he hurried us off as everyone stared at our state of undress and the way our still wet clothing clung to our skin. Taryn had someone find us something to wear; we showered and changed before he took us to interrogate the captain and he refused to talk. I sat near him, examined him closely and decided to try reading his mind. I could see shadowy thoughts and I could sense his feelings. He was angry, but he was also concerned about what would happen to him.

      I feel you in my mind. It is not right to use that on me.

      Talk to me and make a deal for better treatment. You don’t want to be an Amazon’s plaything.

      He said, Could I be yours?

      I have too many men as it is and I don’t take slaves or prisoners, only willing men.

      I could be a willing man if you would choose me.

      Taryn moved closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders. He gave the captain a look that said, Leave her alone, she’s mine.

      He laughed, I see one of your men is with us now.

      If you want leniency, you’d best make a deal now.

      What do you want to know?

      Who is your leader?

      We have broken up into small groups because no one could agree on a new leader.

      Who made the decision to come after us?

      He said, Our group leader, Jimson, we have five ships or at least we did.

      Will he try again?

      I’m not sure, he is not very confident and now he will be less so. He has turned to piracy mostly. What will you do for me?

      I asked, What are you looking for?

      Will one of you take me? I will do as you tell me.

      None of us have need of another man, but we will spare you being used by an Amazon warrior.

      Thank you. We left and Taryn sent Billie and Bobbie to Lydia’s castle, but he kept me with him a while.

      I noticed when he mentioned piracy, it interested you.

      We have had reports of a high level of piracy in places where there was none. It is becoming a serious problem, more so because they are not good at it and damage more than they take.

      Perhaps sending some decoys to lure them out into the open would help you capture them. We have older ships that would appear as easy targets.

      And who would you suggest would fly these ships?

      Anyone could, but me because I am with child, and it is Ajaks.

      He said, At least you are trying to be careful though you did fight against the slavers.

      When he sent me back to Amazon, Ajaks quickly found me. Did you have to fight? You know you should be careful with our child!

      He held me close, kissed me, and he didn’t seem to need an answer as he touched my stomach as if to assure him everything was still alright. Then he went with me to see to Henry, and he led me to his room where we wiled away a few hours until suppertime. When we entered the dining hall for supper, everyone was glad to see me. They all already knew what had happened because Bobbie and Billie had told them. Wynn took me off to the side and told me I had been unwise to go without protection and that he would not allow any of us to do so again. I had little doubt that everyone shared his opinion, so I said nothing. Honestly, I had not felt there was any danger, but now I knew it was there still.

      We waited for supper, and it was story time once more. Mars told the story of when I had come to his property, and he had pointed a sword at us. He told of how he had heard so many things about the queen he had thought me to be eight foot tall and look like a scaly, fire-breathing dragon that inspired fear in all. He said he had not known who I was and thought me to be some tart that Daval had taken up with that was given administrative duties to justify keeping me around. He was able to project the shock he had felt when he had found out who I was, and everyone got a good laugh from his story. Mars seemed to have a talent for drama and humor.

      Katie wanted to take a turn and I feared which story she might tell, but she told the story of when Lotharo abducted me. She told it well and everyone marveled at how calm she had remained. Only Jonne and Marcus shot Lotharo disapproving looks.

      Lydia noticed I once again had my bracelet and asked how I had found it. I told her Lord Malbin had found it and returned it to me. Everyone now was looking at him, so he said, "Steffan found me and told me the queen wished to see me. Apparently, she was helping some unfairly treated nobles reclaim their lands, but he hadn’t told me that. When my lands were taken, I got a job in a bar, which I soon was managing and eventually was able to buy. Steffan took me to the queen, we danced, and I found out what she wanted to see me for. I hadn’t been to the castle in many years, but I noticed a poster that asked for the return of a bracelet and described it. It sounded familiar and I knew I had seen it somewhere.

      After I left the queen and returned to my bar, I remembered the bracelet was in a box of items one of my barkeeps had accepted in return for an unpaid bill. The next morning, I took it to her, and it was indeed her bracelet."

      Marcus asked, Did you not asked for the reward?

      The queen has been so good to me already, I would ask for no more.

      Marcus gave him a long assessing look but said no more. Our food came, everyone ate, and we talked among ourselves; it was a festive atmosphere. Marcus claimed me for the night, and we went to our old quarters. It always made me think of when we had a simple life and sometimes, I missed the days when it was just him, Jonne and me.

      Morning came swiftly, but I felt rested, and I was in a great mood as was Marcus. He looked like he used to before he was king. Marcus had managed to leave behind the weight of his responsibilities and just enjoy our trip. I hoped he would be able to do it the whole time and I would do anything I could to help him do so. After breakfast, we would all go riding and all the children except Henry and Sophia would go with us. The children were a joy to be around, and they added a level of excitement whenever they came. If anything unexpected happened, Katie’s squad members were each assigned a child to get to safety, though I pitied the one assigned to her.

      She would expect to stay and join the battle if there was one. We hadn’t yet given her squad a leader because they were still untried, they were under Wynn’s leadership or Lotharo’s if Wynn was not present. I would help her when the time came to select a leader and right now, I couldn’t even guess who it might be. We started off riding and I was surprised how perfectly the children behaved. It was especially surprising for Sammy and Rena, the oldest twins, since they had been acting up a little lately.

      Maybe it was because of their psychic talents, it may have caused them to mature more quickly and crave more responsibility. I would watch them and see what should be done. It could also be that they saw Katie doing more and wanted to as well. Sammy would be king someday so maybe it would be wise to develop a plan for him to pick up responsibilities early, but he needed to enjoy being a child as well.

      We hit a field and stopped to rest. Katie wanted to ride to the top of a nearby hill while the others were resting. She was an excellent rider and was keeping pace with me when suddenly we were on a strange ship. I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me and then I recognized Prince Harlow. I asked, Why have you transported us here? I am not even your queen.

      He stepped forward. I wish to speak to you. Then he looked at Katie and he said, My princess, I am pleased to meet you.

      Harlow had one of his lords stay with Katie and he looked like he had been granted a great honor. The prince escorted me to an empty room with just a chair and a bed so I sat in the chair. He said, I didn’t sense the strength of your powers when I met you. What has changed?

      I answered, Powers can grow; it is not such a big thing.

      I must disagree, the change in your powers is a big thing. I must thank you for helping save our queen, but the way you did it caused me much distress.

      How could it cause you distress?

      He said, "That message you sent out was intercepted by many, including me and I’ve done nothing, but dream of you since then. I must know what it would be like to be with you in that way.

      I am sorry that I caused you problems, but that was not the intention. You must find another way to resolve your difficulties. My people will be concerned, I must be returned to them.

      Why would you want Valen and not want me? Am I not as worthy of your interest?

      Sometimes something just is and there is no reason why. I replied. He stood and walked toward me, so I stood as well.

      He said, If I agree to return you, will you give me a chance to convince you that you would enjoy being with me?

      Have I a choice?

      Not if you wish me to return you.

      I asked, What exactly must I give you?

      Show me your passion; I do not believe I repulse you. Let me show you mine in return. If after that, you can fight my lure and pull away, I will let you go.

      Very well, if you insist, I will do it. I said.

      Come to me now!

      So, I did, and I pulled him to me. I slid my arms around his neck, leaned my body into his, and I pulled his head down and gave him a kiss with fiery passion, which he returned with such heat, I was caught off guard. Before I could recover, his lure hit me. It was not quite as strong as Valen’s or even Kalen’s, but what it lacked in strength, he made up for in raw enthusiasm. I felt my resolve slipping and he seemed to be winning the fight. He was holding me so tight, there was no way I could pull away so I needed a plan, and I could hardly think.

      I remembered how I had handled Kalen, but I could hardly concentrate with the sensations his hands were giving me. So, I would try once and it had best be now, I turned all my passion loose on him. He stepped back from the sheer power of it, and I pushed off of him. We were now apart, and I stepped back as he reached for me again.

      Harlow, we had an agreement. Please keep to your side of it. I said.

      He looked dazed and confused for a couple seconds. I am not sure you really want me to. You had much passion for me, and I am amazed you can show such control. It makes you a truly incredible woman. Someday I think we will be together, but for now, I suppose I must return you to your people. I will see you soon. He led me out to where Katie was, and we were put down next to our group.

      Everyone wanted to know what had happened and I told them it was just one of Billie’s people wanting more information. They could see I didn’t want to discuss it, so they let it drop for now. We finished our ride and made it back for lunch.

      Daval sat by me, he said, I want to see you after lunch. I told him alright and once lunch was done, we slipped away to his room.

      Who came to see you? Was it Harlow again?

      I asked, What would make you think of Harlow?

      Daval replied, It is just a feeling I have, was it Harlow?

      It was.

      What did he want?

      I replied, He wanted to warn me that the message I sent Billie’s captor may have been intercepted by some of the Julians that have strong powers and it might give them the wrong impression.

      Daval said, Like him? What did he do?

      Daval, why do you dislike him so? He is not so bad really. I said.

      I think he is arrogant and insufferable.

      Really, I know someone who used to be much like that himself!

      Daval turned a little red and I kissed him passionately, effectively distracting him from his current train of thought. I kept him busy and soon he was past the point of caring about anything, but what I was doing to him. When we were through, we were both so tired that we fell into a deep sleep and barely woke in time for supper. We hurried to get ready and join everyone in the dining hall, but we were not the last to make it, Ajaks and Billie were last, everyone else was there.

      I sat by Lydia and Danny because they had decided not to go with us, and I wondered why.

      Lydia said, We just want to enjoy being a family for a while. There are a lot of you going and we won’t be missed.

      You are always missed, but we understand. I said. Now it was time to tell stories again and Billie told about a mission the two of us had worked together. I would have preferred she not tell it, but once she started, it was too late.

      She said, We were sent in as pleasure slaves and we were sent to two brothers who were terrorist leaders. It seemed they were working with someone in our government getting weapons, diplomat’s schedules, and other inside information and that could not be tolerated any more. They were smart, attractive, and charming, but they had a weakness for pleasure slaves, and they were both crazy about Andi. Neither wanted to share so they had to find a way to decide who would get her.

      Mairi said, Didn’t that make you feel bad?

      No, I’ve always thought a lot of Andi too.

      Then she continued with the story. They decided to fight over her, and they had a real serious brawl with no rules at all. When they were through, they both looked terrible and could hardly walk, but the youngest one had won. Andi fussed over her conquering hero until she got all the information that she needed out of him. I took his brother and consoled him, and he told me what I needed to know. All we could find as weapons were throwing knives, we took out the guards and the lookouts so the team wouldn’t have any trouble getting in. We took our targets with us when our guys came after us and we went out hot. It was a very successful mission, but Andi broke two hearts. They both ask to see her later, but she never bothered. We already had everything we needed from them so why go? I was blushing and everyone was looking at me with interest.

      Now Bobbie decided to do the same thing and tell a story of a mission where we ended up together. Bobbie went in with another team. She went in as a linguist because she could speak Arabic. They were looking for some papers; an artifact, and possibly a target, which they could not be sure, but might be there. Normally, my team would have gone, but we were sent to another location the target might be at. We never made it because we were rerouted when Bobbie’s team was captured.

      She said, "I don’t know how things went so terribly wrong, but we were lucky that Andi’s team was nearby. They took the men and started with them first. I could hear screams, but I didn’t know what was going on, I only knew it wasn’t good. When her team came, I knew, I don’t know how; I just did. Andi came, opened the door, untied me and we continued down the hall. We went to the next room and Sanderson was in it. He had been tortured, he thought he had died, and he was in heaven when he saw Andi. She untied him, he held onto her, gave her a kiss and said, I must be dead since you let me kiss you. That boy had it bad for her. We moved toward the door, and we saw two enemies and I helped Sanderson while Andi took them out like they were nothing. She didn’t even use her gun because they were trying not to let anyone know they were there. Andi helped us to the helicopter, and she went back to finish up. I heard later from the team that she unleashed some pain on them. I was glad to hear it because they tortured some of my guys terribly. Sanderson said later that it was worth it to get a kiss out of his girl."

      I fought the tears that came to my eyes every time James Sanderson came up, but failed, I got up and left quickly. I heard Billie say, You should know better, Bobbie!

      Now I went to my room and laid down to have a good cry alone, but Jonne came, he got in bed next to me and just held me until I cried myself to sleep.

      When I woke up in the middle of the night Jonne was still holding me close. I turned and woke him with a kiss then I showed him how much I appreciated him. Later, I told him that I wouldn’t know what to do without him. We went back to sleep, but Jonne woke me early in the morning just as the first signs of light began to show. Now it was his turn, he showed me how much he appreciated me, and it felt good. We prepared for breakfast and most everyone was there already even though it was early. Taryn was here this morning too. I motioned to him to sit by me so I could speak to him.

      I asked, Could you send Suzi and me to Gallegos? Steffan’s not been in charge before, and I want to be sure he is alright.

      Taryn said, "You’ll

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