Voyage of the Star Killer

Chapter 27

Section One

*Hello, Father.* 

Serena let out a shuddering breath, bracing herself for the mental invasion. 

*Serena. My daughter. My prize.* 

The attack came swiftly; his lack of tact meant to shatter her mental shields and cause as much harm as possible without damaging her powers. Make her pliable, willing, obedient. 

She gripped Gireau's hand in her own, tightening her fingers. 

Kelly and Phelps pressed close, halting only when Gireau waved them off. 

*Celeste warned me about you. She bit her lip, hoping her show of weakness came across as believable. *What do you want from me?*

"Complete obedience. You will kneel at my feet, Daughter, and do as I say."

Serena spun, coming face to face with the man who'd haunted her dreams for over two decades. "Captain Gireau, my father, Rafel the pirate king." The pirate sneered, his lip curling over a crooked tooth. Raising a hand, he curled it into a fist, grinning as Serena floated into the air. "Come, Daughter. Leave these men to their deaths." Serena flinched and began struggling. 

"Wait!" Gireau met Serena's searching gaze. "Kill us, fine. But know that if you do, you'll lose valuable intel." 

Rafel's eyebrows furrowed as he considered things for a moment. "Serena will tell me everything she knows." 

Serena stiffened in his psychic grasp, ready to break free. 

"Serena will be hard to break, Rafel. She's been trained by some of the best. Our own president, Green, saw to that." 

Rafel flung his hand, smashing Serena's body into the wall. Serena bit back a scream as her head bounced, causing her neck to snap. She hung, pinned, unable to move or heal herself. "She'll be dead in three minutes or less, Captain Gireau. Tell me what you know." 

Liam snarled and clenched his jaw shut, biting back the words he wished to say. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and bowed his head.

 *Serena, Love.*

Serena blinked back tears and bit her lip to keep from crying out. 

*I'm okay, Liam. Just do it.*

Gireau shook his head. "Heal her first, Rafel. Then I'll tell you all about how President Green hopes to betray you." 

Rafel loosened his fingers, allowing Serena to slide down the wall. "Heal yourself, Daughter. I wish to see what the captain knows." 

Serena shut her eyes on a long blink, allowing the nanites to work. She sped up the healing, gasping as the bones in her neck fused back together. She felt Gireau's longing, knew he wanted to come to her aid, and shook her head just the slightest bit. 

Gireau jerked his head at the security officers, giving permission for one to lend the linguist aid. He kept a wary eye on the pirate king, who watched everything with a smirk. 

"Your wedding was aired across the universe, Captain. My daughter is the strongest psychic ever born. You think I don't know that she's manipulated your feelings so that you want to do nothing more than protect her? How much does it hurt to deny those instincts?" 

Serena flinched, the implication too close to Gireau's original thoughts and feelings on the matter of her abilities. 

Gireau merely strode down the hall. "We'll need to retire to my ready room, Rafel. Serena needs a large area to project her memories."