Chain Reaction Read Free Page A

you tech geeks come to combat is all-night Nifalian chess tournaments.”
    “I won the last three tournaments.”
    She tossed her hands up. “Exactly. I know you’re ranked in Engineering, but no matter what Admiral Gamlyn thinks, eventually this mission is going to boil down to a fight that Marek can’t survive.”
    “Agreed.”
    She released a breath, relieved. “Good. We’ll just tell the admiral that you will provide all the necessary tech info needed for the mission, and then I can pick a more suitable partner.” Celene started toward the door of the briefing chamber, but she stopped when she realized Calder wasn’t getting out of her way.
    He stared down at her, his jaw tight. “The most suitable partner for this mission is me .”
    “But we just agreed—”
    “I agreed that this mission will ultimately culminate in a battle, and that Marek won’t return to base for a court-martial. I didn’t agree to slink away so you could pick one of your Black Wraith hotshot buddies to take my place.”
    They glared at one another, neither budging. Apparently she’d underestimated him. She had never backed down from a challenge, and she certainly wouldn’t start with Lieutenant Calder. At least he didn’t try and lick her boots, the way some other crew members might.
    “So you believe yourself perfectly capable of handling yourself in a fight?”
    He lifted his chin. “Yes.”
    She planted her hands on her hips. “All right, Calder. Let’s put all that Nifalian chess knowledge to the test. It’s based on ancient war games, after all.”
    He raised a brow. “A tournament?”
    “Better than a tournament.” She took a step toward him and saw the faintest trace of alarm in his eyes. Perfect. “You and me. One round in the combat simulator.”
    “I’ve trained in SimCom,” he said, confident.
    “Fine. No problem, then. We go in together, fight a round against the generated opponents. If you leave on your own two feet at the end, then you can partner with me on this mission.”
    He nodded. “I agree to your terms.”
    She had to give him credit—he seemed undaunted. “Oh,” she added, “and the safety protocols will be off .” She smiled. “It’ll be much better than chess.”

Chapter Two
    “You’re out of your mind.”
    Nils glanced up from strapping on his protective gauntlets to see Commander Frayne standing at the gear room entrance. Frayne was big and could look mean as hells when he wanted to, but right now Nils’s mind was on the other side of the SimCom Room door.
    “I know how to fight.” Satisfied with his thick gauntlets, Nils checked the readings on his plasma blaster. Everything looked optimal. He never expected any less from his equipment, but he couldn’t risk any kind of failure. Not for this mission. And not in front of Celene.
    Don’t think about her. You’ll only fuck things up if you let her get into your head.
    “Not fighting the SimCom.” Frayne stalked further into the gear room and leaned against the storage lockers. “Celene.”
    “I can handle her.” His voice held a lot more confidence than he felt.
    Frayne chuckled. “If you think that, you’re definitely crazy.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and Nils fought the urge to check his own arms for bulging muscles. Sure, Nils trained, and hard, but when it came to sheer physical intimidation factor, Frayne’s readings were off the charts. It was rumored that the commander used to be a street brawler on his homeworld. Based on the available evidence, Nils didn’t doubt it.
    “I’ve seen Celene in combat,” Frayne continued. “Hells, I’ve even gone a couple of rounds with her in SimCom. She didn’t beat me, but damn if she didn’t give me a run for my creds.”
    “You can’t discourage me, Commander.” Nils replaced his plasma blaster in his thigh holster. He checked the rest of his gear on his belt. Everything was exactly in place, as he knew it would be. He didn’t get to the top of the