Ghosts of Memory (Shattered Stars, #22), page 1
Table of Contents
Ghosts of Memory (Shattered Stars, #22)
Ghosts of Memory | Copyright © 2026 by Viola Grace | ISBN: 978-1-997804-25-3 | ©Cover art by Angela Waters
Ghosts of Memory | Shattered Stars Book #22 | By
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Author’s Note
About the Author
Skylar took her ship on a road trip to a distant station. She finds the ship’s original owner, and from there, the world spins into road trips with the girls, a new captain, and raider attacks in the depths of space.
Skylar was compelled to head into space and directed to a specific station for supplies. Finding a Terran in bond to the station is strange, but the means by which she is tethered to the station is appalling. When the newcomer knows her way around the ship far better than Skylar does, she begins to think that this wasn’t a coincidence.
Chloe woke from her own death with the knowledge that she was to get up, dress, and to get into the ship that was waiting for her. She was never one to travel a predictable path. She got onto a transport and travelled the stars before ending up at the repair station, where she was tethered and made to work on interior systems repairs. Meeting her own ship again when it pulled in was coming home.
Joining forces is the most natural thing in the world, and they cross the cosmos and collect more stray Terrans. Margo lost a daughter, found a place in a warlike race, and now pilots the warship given by Chloe’s intended. Seeing the ghost of her lost daughter makes the fight for survival worth every scar.
Skylar was never supposed to have the bio ship. Chloe was never supposed to run from her destined mate, but together, they find those who need love and homes and help them find what they need, through life and death and the will to fight.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Ghosts of Memory
Copyright © 2026 by Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-997804-25-3
©Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.
Published by Viola Grace
Smashwords Edition
Look for me online at violagrace.com and other e-book sellers.
Ghosts of Memory
Shattered Stars Book #22
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Her ship rocked as she moved through the debris field. Skylar felt the pull in this direction, but all that was in this direction was garbage.
She got clear of the field, and her ship auto-answered the nearest station. She may as well get more water and try to find out who was calling her. None of the ghosts was saying.
She set the controls to take her to the station that was calling, and she went to lie down in her regeneration arbour.
She settled in her chair, surrounded by trees and moss and flowers. The life of the plants wrapped around her and perked her up. The song of the plants gave her energy and let her sleep. Breathing fire on Aten might not have been the best of ideas, but it had felt so very right at the time.
Skylar eased into sleep with a smile on her lips.
The ship was chiming, and there was a distinctive knock on the hull. Shave and a Haircut. Skylar fought her way to consciousness. “Ship, status.”
“Repairs to the biosystems have been requested. The station has a bio ship medic who is requesting entrance. Is clearance granted?”
“Single being?”
“Yes. Terran female.”
“Let her in.”
There was the hiss, and a very strange gait was coming toward Skylar. She paused and got her headgear on, and the normal step followed by a heavy thunk continued to approach. When the door to the interior garden opened, Skylar was stunned. The medic was actually human; she had her right leg encased in a thick framework that hobbled her.
The woman had a pack and a shaved head with a station mark on her. “Good day. I am here to take a look at your bio setup. Your ship indicates distress.”
Skylar answered in common. “Please do what you need to do. Let me know an estimate of time.”
“Of course. This is a lovely ship.”
“I like it.”
The woman went to the watering unit and made notes on a tablet. “I am ordering some more water and nutrients. I will clean your lighting lenses and check the output. You are having quite the energy draw from them, so I would recommend putting in some giving species. They are gossipy, like living with other plants, and get excited by travel. A basic consciousness, but a nice one to have.”
Skylar spoke in English, “Ship, are these recommendations reasonable?”
“They are. The captain is correct with what is needed. I am also requiring a filter change.”
The woman smiled. “I will get on that, Gertrude.”
Skylar gasped. “Gertrude? I would have pegged you for an Iris.”
The ship said, “My captain named me for her grandmother.”
The tech smiled. “She was a bitch, too.”
Skylar stared at the woman wearing a ton of bond markings. “This is your ship.”
The woman continued moving through the plants and trees, making notes. “It is. Was. If I try to leave the station, my leg rips through the hull.”
The ship’s voice said, “Calculating a means to divest you of the restraint. When calculations are complete, I will let you know.”
“Thanks, Gerty.”
The woman did the step-and-drag into the medical area.
Skylar stared. “Wait, wait, wait. If this were your ship, how did I get it?”
“I snuck up on your med bed and put the tablet there, told the ship about you and that we are nearly genetically identical, which meant that the cranky bitch accepted you right away.”
“I resemble that remark.”
“Yes, Gerty, I know.” The woman step-dragged herself as she did her job.
“Why are you doing that?”
“They are tracking the weight. If I don’t look like I am assessing your ship to start, they will cut a hole in the hull. Plants can’t patch that.”
“Right. Coming with you. Who are you?”
“Chloe. Seed of Terra. You are Skylar, Dyturan of Terra.”
Skylar pulled her headgear off. “What the hell is going on?”
Chloe grinned and went to a storage locker, got a filter out, opened a hidden cabinet, and replaced the soggy filter. “I was activated the moment of the strike and managed to keep myself awake for a few months. I met your friend Zoey and Will and her grandfather, and then I fell into a coma and stopped moving when the Earth came to a slow grind of survival. I was lucky that no one ate me.” She chuckled and kept moving, replacing filters and dragging that limb. “When I felt you die, I called for help, and help came. They got me and collected you.”
“Who did?”
“Collectors, I guess. They don’t talk much. I was settled with Gertrude and told that I was here to encourage Terran survival where colonies were being established.”
“What does that mean?”
“You are death and grieving and hope. I am lust and rage and reproduction.”
“The green ship.”
“Yup. It takes my extra energy when I can’t hand it off. Anyway, I knew you, I felt your interaction with the people and felt that you needed to be with people more than any of your kind ever had. We were scattered, are scattered. We each have different people we want to contact. Well, I don’t. I was in the area on a solo vacation, have no relatives, and my friends are my plants. I was doing greenhouse tours when the hit happened.”
Skylar stared. “So you wanted me to be able to talk to the people I had missed?”
“Yeah. In general, Dyturans are pretty stationary. They sit around and focus on their different species and offer the memories of the dead to those who can reach them. Spoiler alert... no one can reach them from a newly acquired species.”
Skylar sighed. “Right. Is that why they are following me?”
Chloe smiled innocently. “They are following you? How unusual.”
There was an outrage that swept through her, followed by amusement. “You knew they would come after me.”
“Yeah, but they won’t do anything to you. They are chasing the ship. Gertrude’s a babe.”
“Funny, Captain. They are after your potential.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Skylar watched the plants as Chloe moved through the ship. Everything was blooming.
“Wait. So, the Dyturans want you...”
“To see if we can cancel out and have a little baby dragon person.” She smiled. “I wanted to see more of the worlds than their home world. Now that I am awake again, I want to live. I was asleep for nearly two years until the collectors warmed me up and gave me a snack.”
“Wait. I thought you were dead.”
“No. I was just motionless. No food, no water, not hot, not cold, just dormant. That’s apparently the difference between us on paper. I keep a heartbeat. Slow but steady.”
“Right. Well, hell. You used me as bait!” Skylar was laughing.
“Yes. Yes, I did. I wasn’t counting on my bond ship getting hijacked and locking me to this station, but it is what it is.”
“You brought us here?”
“Death whispers, life screams. I am so done hauling this around.” She wrapped her knuckles against her leg. “My kryptonite... Terran metal. They built it this way on purpose. I am going to need a ton of physio if this ever comes off.”
She laughed and changed another filter. “There we go, girly. Breathing easier?”
“Yes, Captain. We have a solution for your brace, but you need to get to the nekko vines and sparin flowers.”
Skylar saw the dawning hope in Chloe’s eyes. “When it comes off, I will chuck it out, and we can take off.”
Chloe said, “Have you gotten the water delivery?”
“Yes, Captain.”
She smiled. “How long to drop and run?”
“We are in electromagnetic clamps, so if you are willing to assist with power, we can blow out half the station and go when you are ready.”
Chloe looked at Skylar. “Do you mind a stowaway?”
“No, ma’am. Just tell me what I need to do.”
“There are cables underneath the control console. Gertrude will extend them to you, and you need to get them to me as close as you can. We are also going to put a separate seat out for her so you are shielded. Put any tech you want to keep on it.”
Gertrude said, “Cage is ready. Please insert any tablets you wish to keep.”
The wire-wrapped cage descended from the ceiling, and Skylar nodded and moved around. A pad on insulation rose from the floor. That was Skylar’s safe spot.
Chloe wiggled into position near the vines and flowers. “So, what is going to happen is the vines are going to pull and ease the joints apart, and the flowers will slide in between. When the vines release, the flowers will explode under pressure. The cage will fall away, and the vines will pull it. When you dump the cage and call out, we will blow the connections to the station with a pulse. At that point, the ship will be running off my power until we can fully boot up again. The plants help with that. We should be on our way out of the system in ten minutes.”
Skylar nodded. “Grab the cage and dump it. Got it.”
Chloe smiled. “Yup. I will be bleeding a lot, but ignore that. The plants will take care of me.” She pointed to the brace. “These bolts are going to shoot hard right when it is loosened, and I am going to scream. If they don’t come out, can you use one of those claws and pop the bolt loose. It has to come out through my leg.”
Skylar paused and walked over, looking at the unit. “I can just cut this loose now, and we can pull the bolts after the mechanism is out. Would that work?”
Gertrude said, “Yes, pilot. It would work. You need to work fast, though. The unit will begin to fire off distress calls.”
Skylar looked at Chloe. “I am willing if you are.”
Flowers bloomed next to Chloe’s face, and she turned her head and munched them. “Pain killer and muscle relaxant.”
She nodded and gripped a vine. “Ready when you are, Skylar.”
Skylar flicked out her deadly claws and slid them on either side of the thigh bolt, working through it evenly. Then the bolt above the knee, below the knee, and finally the top of the foot.
Chloe swallowed and said, “Ready to break it?”
Skylar snapped the top and then the bottom link and eased it away from Chloe, going to the hatch and dumping it on the walkway. Plants were pushing the bolts out of Chloe’s leg. Chloe spoke. “Main control, this is shuttle Freedom Break, permission to leave? Staff member is outside of the vessel, and the account for repair has been paid.”
There was a pause, and someone said in common, “Shuttle, release is authorized, please consider us for your repair needs.”
Gertrude got them moving and then pushed them away from the station. “Two vessels following, Captain.”
“Engage drive and head for...” She looked at Skylar.
Skylar grinned. “Sanctuary Base.”
“Sanctuary Base. Setting course. Skylar, hold on.”
Vines descended from the ceiling, and the ship darted forward with a light hum.
Chloe was laughing as the last bolt was removed.
The blood on her legs sealed quickly. The mossy ground of the shuttle absorbed it.
Chloe sighed and laughed. “I love having a backup plan. I get a kick out of it when they think they can catch this ship.”
“How fast is it? Gertrude won’t say.”
“Not as fast as the slip ships, but faster than Nebel’s vessels.”
Skylar grinned. “I am buying a slip ship. A friend’s sister is consort to Orex, and he agreed to sell me one for a friend and family discount.”
Chloe smirked. “Can I ask you to carry a beacon to make the Dyturans chase you?”
“Nope. It is fucking unsettling to feel the energy wave seeking you out. I thought it was looking for me, not Gertrude.”
She had a thought. “I am going to call my cousin. I think they saw the Dyturan, and she isn’t afraid of anything.”
Chloe was still on the moss and had started moving her leg carefully. Skylar checked the com availability and sent a call to Aten. She watched as the call headed out and grinned when it went through. Harwin’s gold face filled the screen. “Skylar! How are you doing?”
“I wanted to ask you the same, Harwin. Did the Dyturan show up?”
“Yeah. He and Ra walked off and had bro time, and then he left. Weirdly, he seemed surprised that you were one of his people.”
Chloe called out from the floor. “Ha!”
Harwin asked, “Who was that?”
“The owner of my ship, apparently. Chloe... what was your last name?”
“Harwin. Chloe Harwin.”
Harwin’s eyes bugged out. “No fucking way.”
Skylar looked at her and pointed to her own chest. “Skylar Harwin. The Queen of Aten is known as Harwin but was Charlotte Harwin, and you are Chloe Harwin?”
“Yup. It does explain our genetic similarities.” Chloe leaned back into the greenery that moved to support her. “Gertrude, split screen and visual on my face.”
Skylar saw both of them, and there was a definite similarity in the cheekbones and the curve of their lips. “Oh. I see it now.”
Harwin nodded. “I see it as well.”
Skylar nodded. “Chloe, can you name a few of your grandparents or great-grandparents?”
“Well, Gertrude’s husband was named Morris. Morris had seven siblings, five boys and two girls.”
Skylar asked, “Was one of the men named Melvin?”
“Melvin, Argus, Theodore, Morris, Wendle, and Charlie. Those were the great uncles.”
“Our grandfather was Theo.” Harwin smiled. “Does Skylar have access to any of your relatives?”
Skylar shook her head. “Nope. There is no one. They all died before I was born.”
Chloe smiled. “I am thirty-five. My parents died in an accident when I was two. Grandparents were already gone.”
Harwin teared up.
Skylar explained, “Harwin just had a baby this week. She’s very in touch with the idea of lost family.”
Chloe smiled. “Friends of the family raised me, many friends of the family. They taught me about farming and planting and listening to the land. Nature became my caretaker and babysitter.”
Harwin frowned. “Are you lying down?”
“Yup. I just got a brace lock off my leg, and I will have to get Skylar to help me to a med bed. Right now, I am just admiring the ceiling.”
Harwin grinned. “Skylar, I am feeling the need for another visit. Your godson wishes to see you.”
“His biggest focus is your boobs.”
Harwin shrugged. “Just like his dad. Anyway, please come by. We have the best healing units geared toward enhanced humans. Seriously. We can also fix your hair.”
“I am not worried about my hair. I have been in that lock for sixteen months. Walking is going to take some doing.” She paused. “I wouldn’t mind getting the station tattoo off my head, though.”
Harwin’s lower lip wobbled. “Done.”
