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  Nadia spoke, keeping her voice low and atonal so as not to carry to the guards. “We clear on the plan?”

  The two men nodded.

  She handed her goggles and laser weapons to A’tem. “Hold these for me. I have some men to distract. As soon as they are focused on me make your move. I’ll attempt to lure them closer to you and away from the door.” She stripped off her borrowed uniform top under which she wore another garment—a lacy, sheer bra she’d borrowed from one of her female crew members who had a sexy lingerie fetish.

  At Bram’s sharp inhalation, she glared at him. “You never saw me like this, soldier.”

  Bram shut his mouth, which had dropped open, and nodded, but his fiery gaze did not budge. A’tem was unfazed since he was used to working with female soldiers who’d been trained to use whatever weapons they had at hand to defeat the enemy.

  She coughed and the Prime had the grace to flush along his high cheekbones and shift his gaze back to her face.

  A’tem chuckled quietly.

  Nadia snorted. She’d have to remember to tell Wulf they needed to run some simulations with the Prime crew members to get them used to female soldiers using their wiles and attributes to defeat the enemy. Sex was a powerful drive, and when used appropriately had taken down many an enemy soldier. The strategy wouldn’t be effective if their crew members were distracted right along with the enemy.

  As ready as she’d ever be, she muttered, “Let’s get these bastards.”

  She stood and stretched to her full height. Taking a deep breath in preparation to confront the enemy, she realized her breasts threatened to spill over the top of the low-cut bra. The cool night air had puckered her nipples, and they showed darkly through the translucent ivory lace.

  Both A’tem and Bram stifled low groans and she shot them a narrow-eyed glance.

  Bram’s lust felt like fur brushing over her skin and her mind; the emotion had a taste—wine and chocolate. She shivered from a combination of the cool night air and the waves of feelings coming from her Prime teammate.

  But she couldn’t fault either man for their reaction. She wanted the enemy guards to react in exactly the same way—it was much easier to lead a man thinking with his dick instead of his brain. If this weren’t a life and death matter, she wouldn’t be caught dead in the bra that barely contained her full breasts—she looked like a Terran whore. Men, all men, no matter the race or culture, could always be distracted by a nearly naked set of breasts.

  “Head in the game, soldiers.” Her voice was harsh and cold.

  A’tem recovered first and elbowed Bram. “Go, Nadia. We have you covered.”

  She ran fingers through her short, curly, blonde hair. The paleness of her hair and her cerulean blue eyes when set off against the golden skin of her Siberian ancestors gave her an exotic look. Licking her full lips, she slid around the protection of the stacked boxes and began the walk toward the soon-to-be dead enemy. She made an effort to put some sway into her hips, knowing her breasts would follow the laws of physics and move also.

  She stifled a laugh when she heard Bram say to A’tem, “Diew, she is a goddess.”

  Yeah, she was a goddess. A goddess of war.

  As she made her catlike approach, one guard noticed her almost immediately. His body stiffened as his gaze stripped her of her remaining clothing. She chanced a glance at his crotch. Oh yeah, he was alert all right. She sent him a sultry smile and then turned another on his buddy who’d moved to stand next to him. Both men concentrated on her breasts.

  Nadia stopped about three meters away from the men. Chill bumps covered her exposed skin and she hugged her waist with both arms for warmth. This thrust her 36-Cs further up until her perked nipples threatened to spill over the top of the demibra.

  She spoke haltingly in Prime, her two plus weeks of intensive language lessons being put to the test big-time. “You guys have an extra blanket or coat I could borrow? I’m cold.” She fluttered her lashes and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, calling even more attention to her breasts.

  Both men glanced at her face for a split second before turning their leering gazes back to her chest. After several seconds, one guy recovered enough to jab an elbow in his pal’s gut and mumble something she couldn’t hear.

  The jabber walked toward her, his side arm at ready, and his eyes now focused on her hands. Looking for a weapon she didn’t have. “Who are you? And where did you come from?” He spoke in standard Galactic.

  She dropped her arms and waved a hand toward him. “Oh, I guess you aren’t Prime.

  I thought everyone on this desolate rock was Prime.” She replied in the same language, allowing her native accent to appear. “I asked if you had a blanket or a coat. It’s cold out here.”

  “And I asked who you are and where you came from. Answer me, bitch.” The man, with his comrade following closely behind, stalked toward her, narrowing the gap to less than one and a half meters. Close enough that she could smell the liquor they’d drank wafting on the now brisk night breeze. They also stank of sweat and dirt.

  “I’m … um … well it’s embarrassing … I’m really not the sort of girl who runs around in her underwear … but this Prime soldier brought me here in a shuttle from Jump Station Ursa II and we’ve been…” she waved a hand over her exposed upper torso, “…um, you can probably guess what we’ve been doing.”

  Nadia backed away from them, slowly leading them toward the palette stack where her men waited. The minutes on her internal mission clock ticked away in her head. She needed to close the deal and get these two out of the way.

  “The bastard was gone when I woke up. He’d taken my shirt and coat … I couldn’t find anyone…” She allowed her words to trail off and looked at them with what she hoped was a pleading look. “I could give you both a blowjob if you’d find me a coat.”

  The man who’d done all the talking closed the distance between them in several large steps. The brute grabbed her arm, jerking her up against him. She gasped at his action. Big mistake since it meant she also inhaled. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and breathed through her mouth. It didn’t help. He smelled worse than a garbage scow.

  The man muttered against her ear. His touch, his breath, made her skin crawl. He also continued to shove her closer to the palettes. “Oh hell yeah, a blowjob and anything else we want, you beautiful bitch. I’ve got dozens of friends on this rock who’d like that and more. You won’t be needing a coat—we’ll keep you warm.”

  Dozens of friends? She wanted to ask how many, specifically, but that would blow the plan. She sensed her men’s rage at her being manhandled and their wavering patience.

  They couldn’t attack while the man held her so closely with a laser pistol to her side.

  His friend closed the distance and now flanked the man holding her so tightly. The other male’s greedy stare never left her exposed skin. This was the best chance she and her men would get.

  “I don’t think so, kozyol yobanniy.” She muttered the Russian for “fucked goat.”

  Letting her knees go weak, she threw the bastard off-balance. Using his momentum against him, she twisted to throw him over her hip. He crashed into his buddy and both men fell to the ground.

  A’tem and Bram burst from their cover and broke the guards’ necks with a strength and skill she admired.

  Before his victim hit the dirt, Bram dashed toward the door to get them inside. A’tem dragged first one and then the second guard to the doorway Bram had opened within seconds. No alarms sounded.

  Nadia picked up the guards’ weapons and followed her men into the building, keeping an eye out for the enemy.

  All was quiet. She wondered where everyone was. They’d seen one or two enemy scouts in the foothills who were easily avoided, but nothing like the dozens mentioned by the lecherous guard. They’d need to keep a sharp eye out; three against a dozen enemy soldiers weren’t good odds.

  Once all were inside the building, Bram closed the door and then did somethin
g to the locking mechanism, which began to flash orange and kept blinking.

  “What did you do to the door?” she asked as he led the way deeper into the building and down a set of emergency stairs that paralleled an elevator tube.

  “It is another one of those Elite safety features I was to tell you about.” He flashed a grin over his shoulder. “I thought I’d just show you instead.”

  Nadia glared. “What safety feature?”

  Bram stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned. “I recoded every lock in the facility. Any of the enemy in a room with a door code is now trapped. And any Elite-trained Prime in such a room now knows he can get out at any time or stay safely inside until help has arrived.” He smiled. “This will be a big help in eliminating some of those dozens of mercenaries the guard mentioned.”

  “How will the Elite soldiers know the door codes have been changed?” A’tem asked.

  “The orange light blinks in every room where there is a door that can be sealed.”

  Nadia frowned. “But if there were traitors on the inside, they’ll know we’re here also.”

  “Agreed.” Bram scowled. “But they do not know from where the alarm was set off.

  The alarm has disabled all the security monitors. Plus one must know the override codes to get camera visuals. Only certain Elite soldiers would know of these measures and if they have turned, well, we will deal with them as they come.”

  Bram turned to the door at the bottom of the stairwell and entered a code. A monitor popped up from the door pad. “It is clear on the other side.”

  Bram keyed in yet another code. A metallic-sounding snick echoed loudly in the stairwell. The light on the door turned green, and he opened the door. “Remember these codes.” He repeated two alpha and numeric strings of numbers. “The first is the door code, and the second is the monitor code. You both are now in control of any door to a locked room in this facility.”

  Bram led the way into the hallway beyond and turned right. He walked briskly and kept scanning from left to right as he moved along the corridor. “The communications center is this way.”

  “I will bring up the rear, Nadia.” Taking the enemy’s weapons from her, A’tem handed Nadia her goggles, jacket, and weapons.

  Following Bram, she shrugged into her cold-weather jacket, but left the garment unbuttoned. Who knew when she might have to use her secret weapons to distract the enemy again? After fastening on her side arm, hooking her goggles onto her belt, and slinging her laser rifle over a shoulder, she took one of the extra weapons from A’tem.

  Bram waited patiently for them farther down the corridor. With Bram as a guide and the little fail-safes built into the Prime security systems, they might breeze through this mission and come out the other side alive. She mentally shifted mission success odds up from sixty-five percent to seventy-five—the other twenty-five was up to fate, luck, karma, or whatever you wanted to call it. The unexpected shit was what always got you killed.

  Chapter 5

  Nadia and A’Tem crouched in the shadows while Bram scouted ahead. Bram’s anger reached her before he did. His raging emotions scraped over her empathic sense like fingernails on slate. She choked back a hiss of pain and raised the psychic shields she’d perfected since her first encounter with Huw. She let out a relieved breath as Bram’s ire now merely brushed across her shielded mind like a cobweb floating on a breeze.

  “Nadia?” A’tem looked at her with concern. “What is it?”

  “Did you feel it too?” Maybe the Prime’s emotions affected everyone. Volusians were not known to be psychic, but their other senses and their skills at observation were sharper than most hominid species.

  “Feel what?” A’tem frowned, a puzzled look in his eyes.

  “I felt Bram coming. He’s very … very angry.” A’tem looked as if he might’ve probed for more information, but Bram turned into the small side hallway in which they waited. “What’s wrong, Bram?” she asked.

  The Prime soldier appeared shocked at her question. With him only inches away, she bolstered her shields to protect her senses from the volcanic flow of emotions coming from him. It was like a pyroclastic blast against her shields. She wasn’t sure she could keep his emotions at bay.

  A’tem touched her arm. “Nadia, what is it? You went ashen all of a sudden.”

  Nadia jerked her arm away from A’tem. His touch threatened what little control she had over her sensory intake. A’tem’s eyes narrowed and worry lines formed on his forehead, but he gave her more space.

  “Bram’s anger is trying to breach my shields.” Nadia ran shaky fingers through her hair. “My mental shields are weakening. It hurts.”

  A’tem nodded, his forehead smoothing out; he’d seen her empathic abilities in play before during battle. Not like these new, improved abilities, he hasn’t.

  Bram jerked in surprise. His eyes glowed with something akin to amazement. The anger beating on her psi senses dropped back to bearable levels. “Sorry, Commander. I didn’t realize you were a sensitive. I slipped into the early stages of batel rabia, Prime battle rage. I will shield you as much as possible.”

  She’d experienced Joen’s battle rage, but Bram’s seemed stronger—or she had become more sensitive.

  “Thank you.” She took a few cleansing breaths and found she could think without pain. “What made you so angry?”

  Bram growled under his breath, the sound vibrating the walls around them. “I checked the communications command center. It is manned by two Prime soldiers … two men I recognized.” He clenched his hands into fists so tightly Nadia could see whiteness appear around his knuckles. “They laughed and joked. The traitors.”

  “We knew someone on the inside had to have helped the mercenaries.” Nadia’s voice was gentle; even through her shields, she sensed his disappointment, his hurt, mixed in with his rage. She could taste the acridity of his emotions on the air. She would have to monitor her empathic skills and the sensory side effects carefully. If she needed to learn to construct stronger mental shields, she would. She couldn’t allow the extreme emotions of any Prime soldier—friend or foe—to affect her in battle.

  Bram scowled and nodded. “Yes, Commander. But one of them is my cousin. That makes it worse.”

  Yes, it would. Nadia’s heart ached for the honorable man.

  A’tem swore under his breath in Volusian and squeezed Bram’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, my friend.”

  Bram clasped the Volusian’s other arm and squeezed, a warrior’s acknowledgment.

  “Thank you.” He took a deep breath; his emotions disappeared as if encased in ice. He turned toward Nadia and inclined his head. “Commander, I will take the traitors out.

  They are Prime, and they should die as Prime traitors die.”

  Nadia made a mental note to find out what that was from Wulf. Whatever the method of killing traitors was, it wouldn’t happen now. Bram didn’t need that on his conscience and she needed to question the bastards.

  Bram continued, “Once the room is secure, we can fix the off-planet communications and contact Captain Wulf and Prime Command.”

  “Bram…” Nadia reached for his shoulder and clasped it as A’tem had done. “We’re in this together. You risk too much going in alone. I need you on this op.”

  Nadia let go of Bram and shrugged off her jacket. “I’ll distract them. Same plan as before. We need to question them, soldier. They can stand before the Prime Military for their punishment later. Understood?”

  Even in the throes of misery and anger, Bram couldn’t avoid looking at her breasts.

  His lust lightened his despair for a brief moment before the acrid taste of his anger buried the wine and chocolate.

  Bram took her jacket. “Commander, I will try. But if they make a move to harm you, I will kill them. They are not honorable.”

  “Bram is correct. One wrong move, the traitors will die.” A’tem picked up her laser rifle. “Go. We’ll be right behind you.”

  When she st
arted to remove her laser pistol, A’tem said, “Keep that. You might need it.”

  “Who’s the boss here?” Nadia was amused despite the mini-rebellion ensuing on her team. A’tem was her equal in rank; she was only his superior because of her command deck position as science officer and her position as head of the team on Tarn.

  “I believe this is what is called a team consensus,” A’tem said in a dry tone.

  Nadia snorted. “Well, that was the underlying reason for the joint maneuvers.”

  She brushed past Bram. His low rumble and muttered words in Prime which she roughly translated as warrior-female-who-rules-as-a-goddess made her smile. She caught herself wondering what Huw would say if he knew another Prime male lusted after her.

  Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of Huw. She had a job to do.

  Nadia led her team down the hall. When she reached the door, she motioned for her men to stay back. “Let me get into the room about halfway before following me.”

  She entered the door code Bram had provided; the lights on the security panel went from red to green and the door slid silently into the walls. She strode into the room as if she owned it. The two men who lounged in front of the main communications control panel jerked upright in their chairs and swore in Prime.

  “You two need to get away from the controls and surrender your weapons. The Alliance is taking over this facility.” She spoke in Prime and hoped she hadn’t asked for directions to the nearest restaurant.

  The man to her left stood as the other reached for a control on the panel. She pulled her laser and stunned the man who’d reached for what she suspected was an alarm. She couldn’t have that, even if Bram’s changing door codes had secured part of the enemy in locked rooms, there would still be roaming guards who could respond.