Gamma Raiders: Storm Squadron Alpha: Scifi Alien Romance Novel Read Free Page A

fighter closing in on her tail. She didn’t register what had happened until the cockpit glowed red and the simulation came to an end.
     
    ***
     
    Kira pulled the helmet off of her head as her vision returned to the training room. She felt the sweat pooling on her back as she pried herself up out of the battle simulator. Ja’al nodded to her and looked abruptly away. Gods dammit. She wished he hadn’t been watching. There was nothing more humiliating than failing in front of him.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
     
    “He’s going to go crazy when he sees you. You look amazing,” said Kira, lacing up the back of Lana Riley’s wedding gown. “Adaar is the luckiest man in the galaxy.”
    “I don’t know about that,” said Lana. She looked away. Lana had always been modest, and Kira understood that the attention probably made her uncomfortable.
    “Seriously, Riley. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve this. I always told you your prince would come.”
    “I never imagined you meant it literally.”
    “Neither did I. But here we are. You’re looking more beautiful than I’ve ever seen you, and you’re about to marry a prince.”
    “Don’t you mean space pirate? We wouldn’t be here if he had never hi-jacked our ship,” said Lana.
    Kira had to admit that her friend had a point. Adaar was the captain of the Gamma Raiders, the notorious band of space pirates. And they were only here now because he had kidnapped them. But the Raiders weren’t a typical band of pirates, and Adaar was not a typical pirate captain. Adaar was an errant prince, once heir to the throne of the ruthless Kamaran Empire. And he had left that life behind in search of a way to repair the suffering caused by his people. All the spoils of their heists went to aid the people suffering at the hands of the Empire’s tyranny.
    “Sure. The captain wasn’t what either of us expected. But you weren’t what he expected either.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Kira smiled and pulled the lacing tighter through her friend’s bodice. “It means, Lana, that he never expected to fall in love with you. And if it wasn’t for your ultimatum, this rebellion would never have happened. Things are changing, and we have you to thank for that. And look at you now. Marrying a prince. And a Kamaran, no less. It’s like I always told you—they’re not all bad.”
    She tried to hide the hint of bittersweetness in her voice. Kira was happy for friend. A bit jealous, perhaps, but Lana deserved it.
    Still, Kira was sure she’d be the one to find a husband first. She’d certainly tried hard enough to meet people back on Tarksis. And she’d spent plenty of her time vying for the eyes of the Kamaran marine recruits during their visits to the planet for training, before she became an “Enemy of the Empire”.
    She knew that none of them were interested in anything beyond a brief planet side tryst with a local, but she didn’t mind. At least, she thought she didn’t mind. But seeing Lana now in her wedding dress, made her wonder. Maybe there was no one in the galaxy for her after all.
    “Kira, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to …”
    “Nope. Don’t you dare apologize,” said Kira, smiling. “This is your day, Lana. You deserve to enjoy it.”
    Lana stood up from her seat, the soft light in the ship’s cabin glowing through her meticulously styled up-do, and looked Kira straight in the eyes. “I wouldn’t be here without you, Kira. You’re the best friend I could ever ask for. And some day, the right man will recognize the wonderful person you are. You deserve all the happiness in the world. And besides that, you look pretty damn amazing today yourself. Something tells me you’re going to turn a few heads. Ja’al won’t be able to keep his eyes off you.”
    Kira flushed, the bright crimson red that never failed to betray her emotions. “I’m sure Ja’al has more important things on his mind,” she said. Like telling