The Real Story
Stephen R. Donaldson
 An ugly and evil space pirate walks into a bar with beautiful woman--a former police woman who (everyone knows) he has captured, enslaved, and brainwashed. Everyone is terrified of even looking at them, for fear of being murdered. A dashing young swashbuckler confronts him, and rescues the woman. That, and the background of the intergalactic society in which they live, is what the first chapter is about. The rest of the book is the *real* story. Things are not always what they seem. Morn Hyland, an ensign with the United Mining Companies Police ("UMCP"), is on her first mission aboard the UMCP destroyer Starmaster (which is crewed by members of her extended family). When they arrive at Com-Mine Station, a ship, Bright Beauty, piloted by the pirate Angus Thermopyle, flees, and Starmaster follows. In his haste, Angus left the station without picking up some essential supplies including air-scrubbers. Out of desperation Angus incinerates a small mining settlement in hopes of stealing their supplies. Starmaster witnesses this slaughter and attempts combat, but is almost destroyed by a massive internal explosion. Morn suffers from gap-sickness, a mental disorder that inflicts itself on a small portion of people who travel through the Gap. Symptoms of gap-sickness vary wildly; in Morn, it manifests itself as an uncontrollable urge to engage self-destruct, and is triggered by exposure to 'heavy g'. Morn, left alone on the auxiliary bridge when Starmaster engaged Angus' ship, experienced gap-sickness for the first time, and attempted to destroy the Starmaster. Angus boards the wreck hoping to salvage some air scrubbers, murders Morn's father (who had survived Morn's attempted self-destruct) and kidnaps Morn. Seeking both control of her gap-sickness, and Morn herself, Angus places a zone implant - a remotely-controlled electrode - onto her brain, which allows Angus to control Morn's every feeling and action. By giving Morn an unauthorized zone implant, Angus has committed a capital crime, and will be executed if he is caught. On the way back to Com-Mine, Angus activates Morn's zone implant, allowing him to repeatedly rape and abuse her. Unwittingly, he also starts to form an emotional attachment to her. Back at the station, Morn makes contact with another pirate - Nick Succorso, captain and owner of the ship Captain's Fancy, who she sees as a potential rescuer. She aids Nick in framing Angus for stealing station supplies, and Angus is arrested.