Burning Love [Flights of Fancy 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Read Free Page A

danger." She glanced at Harris. "Any problem with that, Chris?"
    "No, not for me, but I would like to hear the conversation. As combat officers, you and I may pick up on something the diplomatic team misses."
    The captain nodded. "Good idea. Call him now, Lieutenant."
    Star swallowed and activated the communicator. She still wasn't used to dealing with the captain directly, and having the woman looking over her shoulder while she tried to work made things even worse.
    Since the planet had no video capabilities, the contact was voice only. After going through a couple of flunkies on the ground, the communicator hissed and Krell's familiar voice came through with its slightly musical, singsong qualities. His English improved each time she spoke to him, and the Hendri clearly had a much better aptitude for languages than humans.
    "Yes, Lieutenant? It's good to hear from you."
    "Good morning, Krell."
    "Will you and your team be arriving soon?"
    "There's a small problem you and I need to discuss first." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "About six hours ago, we detected a small firefight southwest of the city along with life signs of both Hendri and Rangor. I'm hoping you can explain that to my captain and me."
    His voice didn't hesitate at all. "Of course, Lieutenant. Sometimes the Rangor raid the granaries outside of the city, and they chose last night to do so. Looking back, I should have told you about these occasional confrontations."
    "That would have saved us a good deal of concern up here." Captain Davis slid a note across the table to her, and Star read it quickly. "Why didn't you tell us?"
    "I don't mean to insult you, but have you told me about the battles and wars your kind fight? Looking at your ship through our telescopes, it's clear the design is based on a warship. Your structure of command also hints at a military underpinning. You haven't concealed your warlike nature, but you have hidden the details."
    Star thought quickly. "But we haven't hidden the nature. There's a good argument that you have."
    "Not really. We can see your ship." He laughed. "We have no ships for you to look at, but surely your scans have seen our defensive structures."
    The scans by the science and tactical stations had indeed identified probable defensive structures and even small gun emplacements, but nothing too alarming to anyone. Star looked at Captain Davis, and she only shrugged. "Alright, you have a good point there. I'd like to discuss this in more detail when I arrive."
    "I'll be happy to talk about the Rangor and all your other questions. When can we expect you?"
    The captain nodded at her.
    "In about an hour. Goodbye for now." Star closed the link and wondered just what she had gotten herself into.
     
    * * * *
     
    "I want it perfectly clear that while you're in nominal command of this mission, if things get tense, I'm in command. If I say 'jump', the only thing I want to hear from you is bouncing noises."
    The sound of Spence's voice made Star snap out of her ruminations about her small command. In addition to Spence and his four warriors, she had a linguist, a science officer, and two other diplomats. The idea of being responsible for ten souls, including her own, gave Star a bad case of butterflies in her stomach and an even worse case of shaky knees.
    "I understand, Spence." She smiled at him. "Thanks for coming along yourself."
    He looked good in his battle armor. Solid flat-black, it covered him from neck to feet, and down both arms to meet the gloves. Made from a material that flexed easily as he moved and hugged his body like a second skin, the armor accentuated the bulging muscles of his arms, chest, and legs. Under impact from projectile or energy weapons, the armor changed to a rigid, nearly-impenetrable barrier to protect the wearer.
    A helmet with a visor, now flipped up, covered his head and bristled with sensors, cameras, and communications gear. The helmet completely hid his hair, jet black and short even for a