Prime Obsession (23 page)

Iolyn choked back a laugh. “She said that would be your reaction.”

“She knew I’d be mad, and she did it anyway?”

“Uh huh.” Iolyn laughed at Wulf’s look of disconcertion. “She said, and I quote,

‘I’m not going to waste my breath arguing with the stubborn man. If he thinks he is going to try to go around me and endanger himself doing a job I am far more qualified to do, he can think again.’”

Wulf stared at his brother. “She didn’t trust me, Iolyn. I had good reasons why I should have been the one to do the EVI with Huw. The condition of the space dock alone should have convinced her that sometimes size is more important than experience,” growled Wulf. His voice quavered. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” He could’ve lost her.

“And she had good reasons for doing the EVI. She read your mind, you know. You had already made the decision to do it—and you didn’t discuss it with her, either. You keep forgetting, as she pointed out to Huw and me, that she is your
equal
on this ship,” Iolyn said, heaving a disgusted sigh. “And, why was this any scarier than her crawling through booby-trapped, pirate-infested tunnels or fighting off a whole ship of Antareans on Obam IV? Brother, you are going to have to trust her judgment. She has made it this far in the military and managed to stay alive. Something that her enemies cannot say.” His gaze fixed on the air lock’s pressure readings, Wulf ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. “I know. I know. But I just found her—and I’m afraid … well, I’m just afraid. She is so brave and fearless it terrifies—and pleases—me. She is a perfect mate for me and my way of life, but the thought of losing her paralyzes me. It would be like losing a part of myself that I never knew I’d even missed before meeting her.”

“I don’t
know
these feelings you have, Wulf,” Iolyn said, a look of commiseration on his face, “but I
understand
them. The poets of our planet have often written of the feeling of oneness with our bonded mates. I only hope to experience it one day.” Wulf laughed a short, rusty sound. “And I can’t wait to see how you’ll cope with the fear of loss of your woman. I’d rather face down an entire platoon of Antareans than risk losing her.”

The air pressurization readings finally reached one hundred percent.

“About damn time.” He ran into the air lock. All activity within stopped. It was like being in the eye of a cyclonic dust storm. Nothing moved. All eyes fixed on him.

Then Melina moved. With a muttered curse that had the crewman closest to her laughing, she shrugged off the last of the shredded EVI suit.

Wulf’s gaze frantically swept over her body, noting the cuts. The blood. The dirt.

More blood. The jagged tears in her uniform. And even more blood.

The knowledge that under her clothing there would be even more cuts, abrasions and bruises had him growling, a low, constant tone that built in crescendo as he stalked toward her. He couldn’t help it. She was hurt—and open to him now. He felt her pain—

her exhaustion—and some other emotion he couldn’t quite place.

He stopped one foot shy, then walked around her, marking once more, in even more detail, everywhere she’d been hit. Only her face was unscathed and only because of the extra protection of the titanium-shelled hood. He wouldn’t look at the helmet she wore.

Any serious dents in it would push him over the edge of the erratic fear/anger combination he struggled to control.

Coming around to her front, he stopped, his hands fisted at his sides. He wanted to pull her into his arms, but was afraid he’d hurt her even more.

“Where’s the damn medical team?” he gritted out, his jaw so tight he could barely open it to talk. His gaze never left her; he was afraid that if he looked away, she’d disappear.

“On their way,” someone said.

Her eyes, her jewel green eyes that had mere hours ago been drenched in the pleasure they’d shared stared back at him, dulled with pain, exhaustion, and the emotion that he now could clearly read as fear.

Agony threatened to drive him to his knees. “Melina mine,” he rasped, uncaring that they had an interested audience. “Please … please, don’t be afraid of me.” His eyes moistened with tears of regret that he’d caused her to fear him. He unclenched the fists at his side and held out his arms. “Come to me, little one.” Tears streaked down her face as she walked into his embrace. Her head lay on his chest, her cheek resting against his heart and the symbol that bound them. Her arms wound around his waist and held onto him as tightly as he held onto her.

“You are so angry at me,” she mumbled into his shirt, rubbing her cheek over his heart, which pounded in time with hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t realize how much my going outside would affect you.” She leaned her head back and looked into his eyes. “This is stuff I did—do—all the time in the military. I just … well, I just wanted to prove to you and the crew that I can pull my weight.”

“I know,
gemate lubha
.”

Wulf pulled her closer to his body, wanting to absorb the shudders that rippled over her slight frame, to smother her with love and protection so that she never hurt again. The fact he was the cause of her distress tore him apart inside. Other than the time she’d cried for the death of her parents, he had never seen her cry. He never wanted to be the cause of her tears again.

He brushed a kiss across her forehead, soothing away the worry lines he’d placed there. “I know. Please have patience with me. Most of my anger is at myself. Iolyn and Huw keep telling me I need to cut you some slack and trust you to do your job.” He pushed her head gently back to his chest and rubbed his cheek across the top of her head. “In the future, please come to me. Trust me to discuss things with you. Argue with me. Call me an alpha-male throwback. But, please, don’t go behind my back.” He let out a heavy sigh and whispered for her ears alone. “I woke up and you weren’t there.

Not physically. Not mentally. Not even empathically. I was so afraid. I thought I’d lost you—again.”

“I’m sorry.” She rubbed her cheek against his chest, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Sighing, she nestled against him, the shudders that had racked her body gone now.

“I know.” He kissed her hair, inhaling the fragrance that was uniquely hers and found a deep well of calm into which his residual anger and fear dissipated. They stood there for a few seconds, sharing in the calm that being fully open to each other always brought a bonded pair.

“Wulf?”

She shifted within his arms, but he refused to let her go. “What, Melina mine?” he mumbled against the silk of her hair, one hand caressing the nape of her neck.

“I hurt. I’m dirty. And I’m tired.” She let go of his waist and placed her hands on his chest, pushing until he gave her enough space to look him in the eyes again. “Take me to our quarters. I need you—and a shower and some sleep.”

“I want the doctor to check you over,” he said. “To calm my nerves.” She leaned back within the circle of his arms and studied his face. “Only for you.”

“Thank you,
lubha
.” He kissed her forehead.

Wulf turned her within his arms, then lifted her against his chest. “Send the doctor to my quarters, Iolyn. Huw, you are off-duty until we go to red alert.” As he reached the door to the corridor, he added, “Iolyn, you are in command. I’ll get Melina settled and then come to relieve you.”

Both brothers nodded, grins wide on their faces, their thoughts as clear as his own.

He’d have to talk to them about keeping their minds off what he and Melina might be up to in the privacy of their quarters.

“Wulf?” Melina’s hand stroked his still-tense jaw. “Don’t you have something to say to our EVI team? Huw and I could not have done the job without their support. When the meteor shower hit, they grabbed and pulled us in, endangering themselves in the process.”

Renewed fear pierced the relief at having her in his arms.
Diew!
He shuddered. He really had almost lost her.

“You didn’t. I’m here. Safe.”

“Next time you think about going into danger. I want to be the one at your side. It
was the not knowing what was happening. The not being there to help you that scared me
the most.”

“I understand.”

“Remember, we’re stronger together.”

“But we can’t discount our individual strengths either.”

“I understand what you are saying—and I’ll promise to try to be more reasonable
and less overprotective.”

“You are kind of cute when you get all growly, though.”
She flashed a mischievous grin at him and then spoiled it by yawning.

He kissed her. Abruptly, he realized that everyone in the room stood staring at them with silly smiles on their faces. These same men were the only reason she and his brother were alive.

“Wulf,” she urged. “Don’t you have something to say?” He swept a gentle finger over her cheek and rasped out, “I will want to know what happened, all of it, later. Once you are rested.”

She nodded and turned to kiss the hand that caressed her. He kissed her once more, whispering against her lips. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. My heart can’t take it.” She returned the kiss. “I’ll try not to—I promise.”

Satisfied that he’d gotten his point across, Wulf turned his attention to the men who’d gone back to work cleaning up after the EVI. “Good job all. I’ll be recommending you, both individually and as a unit, for commendations. Huw, make a note of that.”

“That’s a good captain,” Melina mumbled into his chest as her eyes closed and she drifted off into sleep.

Well-rested after a solid seven hours of sleep, Mel entered the Captain’s conference room in search of Wulf.

He sat alone. Beyond him the expansive port window framed a fiery red, blue, white and peach display of a star cluster in a nebula thousands of light-years behind the
Galanti
.

How many times had he sat in the observation area, watching as the galaxy whizzed by? How many times had he sat in that chair, attempting to figure a way out of a tight corner? How many times had he questioned his place in the grand scheme of things, wondering when his number might come up and if he would live to see another mission?

“Too many times to count,
gemate
. Too many damn times.” Wulf turned and smiled at her. What had put that smile on his face? With a light mental touch, she read his emotions. Happiness. Love. Both emotions were tied to her—

only her.

A sense of well-being swept over her. This was right;
they
were right.

He held out a hand, beckoning her to join him. “I now have more to fight for. To live for. I have you and our future together. So, I expect that I will find myself in this chair, watching the galaxy whizz by many more times.”

Mel walked over and kissed him lightly on the lips. “But no longer alone.”

“Yes,” he whispered against her mouth. “No longer alone. Forgive me for my loss of control earlier?”

Mel pulled away from the luscious warmth of his mouth then leaned against the arm of his chair. “Nothing to forgive. We still have much to learn of each other. We are both used to being in control, to acting as we see fit. It’s a learning curve, this battle-mate relationship.”

She stroked the back of his sinewy hand with one finger. “More like a learning cliff.

The biological connection is there and has been ever since that moment we first met in the maintenance tunnel. For me, the emotional connection has been there also, almost from the beginning—though I tried to deny it.” She shook her head, laughing at herself.

“I didn’t trust it, at first. It’s the psychological connection, the learned trust, that I have trouble dealing with. Sharing command decisions goes against all my training and experience. But, I know that it, too, will come.”

Wulf reversed the grip she had on his hand and brought hers to his lips. “Thank you.

I’m not sure I deserve your understanding, but I’m grateful for it.” He rubbed his cheek against her hand. “For me, it is the emotional connection that is overwhelming.

Intellectually, I
know
you are strong and capable, but my fears for your safety override my brain and I react emotionally. I’ve never had that happen before. I will try to overcome that issue, but it might take time. Prime males have deeply rooted protective instincts when it comes to their mates, even strong battle-mates. Have patience with me?”

“Always. You’re worth the trouble,” she teased. Pulling her hand away, she cupped his jaw and stole another kiss.

His eyes glowed with love as he reached for her face and took control of the kiss. His tongue swept into her mouth and claimed every single millimeter like the conquering warrior he was. It was a kiss that promised hot nights on cool sheets. And even hotter, sultry afternoons of tangled sweaty limbs.

Mel moaned, returning the kiss, trying to get closer to the promise of passion.

The quarter-hour reminder of yellow alert status sounded, startling them both.

Groaning, Wulf pulled away and whispered, “Later,
gemate
.” Sitting back in his chair, his molten gaze traveled over her, setting her nerves ablaze.

One look from Wulf was worth more than all the foreplay any other male of her acquaintance had ever attempted.

“You are rested?” His voice was husky with restrained heat.

Taking a calming breath, Mel walked to his other side and sat down. “Yes.” Answering his unspoken question, she added, “My cuts and bruises were minor. I’m fine.”

Another of his heated searching glances and, now, a light mental touch had her pulling up the maintenance report on the status of the weapons systems to distract him from his intimate examination of her wellbeing. “I’m fine, Wulf. How’s the weapons’

recharge going?”

A disbelieving grunt was his only response.

Obviously, she hadn’t masked the lingering pain from the injuries she’d obtained during her EVI walk. If she could have, she would’ve denied all injury. But he’d seen the evidence in the EVI staging area and, later, after he’d escorted her back to their quarters.

Once there, the doctor quickly examined her, efficiently wielding the ice gun on her bruises and lasering her lacerations and abrasions.

Wulf had stood over them both, alternately cursing each hurt as it was revealed, then lecturing her on the prime importance of her safety for his mental health and the ultimate well-being of every single crew member—for every living being in the galaxy. Then he’d dismissed the doctor and tucked her in bed. As he kissed her, he had pressure-injected her with a sleeping agent that had put her under for over six and a half standard hours.

The sneaky bastard.

She would’ve done the same for him. They really did think alike. She grinned.

Still working on shifting Wulf’s attention back to work and from her physical status, she commented, “Looks like we’re still at least five standard hours away from full power on the two forward weapons and two standard hours on the aft.”

“They are making progress.” Wulf caressed her left hand as it hovered over the keypad. “When we get to Tooh 10, let’s take some time, visit Maren at the embassy on Tooh 2. Maybe stay at the resort for some rest and relaxation, and what the Terrans call a honeymoon.”

She smiled and turned her hand up to clasp his. “That sounds like a plan.” Wulf smiled. “Good.” He pulled his hand from hers and swept an errant lock of hair from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “Why don’t you pull up the nav screen? Let’s see where the unknown ships are currently.”

Wulf’s affectionate touch was distracting, but Mel sensed his need to handle her.

And, if the truth be told, she needed the contact. Something about their bond demanded that they reach out to each other often. If not mentally, then physically. Damn, this would never work on an Alliance vessel. Military protocol required decorum at all times while on duty. Married personnel were required to keep their affection under control and save it for the privacy of their quarters.

“Then, I will touch you mind-to-mind in front of the non-Prime crew. Our Prime
crew members understand the need to touch—and what we do here, in private, is not
against protocol. We are mated.”

“I can work with that. But if I snap at you from time to time, be patient. I’m not used
to being touched all the time.”

“I will be as patient with you as you are with me.”

“Well,
that
could make life interesting.”
Wulf chuckled, stroking a finger down her cheek. “Life with you is all that I want.”

“You’re an awfully smooth talker for not dating much. Did the sex surrogates teach you that?” Waving her hand, she said, “No, never mind. They are in the past.”

“Yes. In the past. They have nothing to do with us.” In a low, husky voice, he added,

“They meant nothing to me, Melina.”

“That’s good to know.”

A quick touch of his mind and she found that he told the truth—in his mind the sex surrogates had been a means to an end, nothing else. If they had, she might have had to hunt them up and bitch-slap them. Any of them approaching him on Cejuru Prime in the future would find out quickly that this battle-mate did not share. God, this was so not like her. Jealousy over a man. Of course, she’d never cared for anyone before. So maybe it was just a female thing.

Mel turned her attention back to the nav screen.

“Uh, the bogies are about a light-year away,” she said as she keyed in another set of numbers. “Gold Squadron has closed the gap and is now only about one and a half light-years away from intercepting the
Galanti
. It’ll be close. But, figuring the Gold’s better speed, Royce might get here around the same time as the bad guys.” Mel keyed in a few more variables to confirm her conclusion. “The enemy has to know that Gold is on its way. Do you think that will scare them off?”

“What do you think?” Wulf turned his chair at an angle to face her.

“No. They’ll attack us,” she said. “Because, if the rebels hired them, they don’t get paid unless they do the job. And, if, as I think, the bogies are allies of the Antareans, they’ll attack or the Antareans will make them wish they were dead.” Wulf smiled. “My thoughts exactly.”

“So, what’s the plan? Make them chase us all over the place until Gold gets in position?”

“Is that what you would do?” Wulf asked, one dark brow raised in query.

“Depends.” She pursed her lips and thought for a bit. “We have shields. We have outstanding maneuverability. We have fighters that can harry the enemy and deliver some knock-out blows to their weapons and shields. We have two aft weapon systems fully online.”

She looked at him. “I’d shift course and see if they followed. If they did, then I would plot a course for them, hailing them to ask their purpose in this sector. See how they react. If they prepare to fire upon us without responding, then I’d go on the offensive and take out as many of them as I could. If they’re smart, they’d retreat and then we send some of Gold’s light battle-cruisers after them and force them to yield. Then, I’d drag their asses back to Tooh 10.”

“Sounds very similar to what I would do,” Wulf said. “Another advantage that we have that you are not as familiar with is the beta-weapon we used on the pirate’s ship that attacked the
Galanti
.”

“What does that do exactly? When we came upon the pirate’s mother ship, they were dead in space. No power to the engines and no weapons, but the ship itself looked as if it had not sustained any battle damage.”

Wulf swivelled his chair back so that he once again stared into streaming space. “The beta-weapon disrupts the ship’s energy source. Thus, if the beta-weapon is aimed at and manages to hit the correct spot in the ship’s reactor, it interrupts the production of energy.

No energy—no weapons, no power. The ship is relegated to using emergency back-ups to maintain even the most minimal of life support.”

Mel frowned. “But the types of power sources are different from ship-to-ship, and even among the same type of ships within different militaries. If it is the wrong kind of power source, and you manage to hit exactly the right spot—which in and of itself is no mean feat—you could destroy everything within the vicinity.”

“Exactly. We were lucky to have the specs for that particular type of Volusian battlecruiser that the pirates had stolen. The weapon will not work with every type of power source. And, as you mentioned, some ships are harder to target with precision. But for the ones that it will work upon, it is an effective weapon that can take out an enemy without killing everyone on board,” Wulf said. “For our current situation, I have Huw seeking the specs for the light battle-cruisers that are speeding toward us. If the C-Class battle cruisers are as old as Commander Sinclair says, they might be a simple fusion reactor, easily disrupted by changing the nature of the core material.”

“We can only hope. So, what we do now?” Mel asked.

“We wait.” Wulf stood and held out his hand. “Dinner with the crew?”

“Yes. I’d like that. I want them to become comfortable with a female around, since I have in mind several female soldiers from the
Leonidas
to bring over.” She took his hand.

“Plus, I’ve always found the crew appreciates their captain acting as if death wasn’t waiting around the next corner.”

“A definite morale booster,” agreed Wulf as he guided them from the conference room.

* * * *

Red Alert—Battle Stations

After no response to their hail and after a slight change of course, which the bogies mirrored, Wulf ordered the
Galanti
to red alert. The hunted was now the hunter. Just the way Wulf liked it.

“Commander Nowicki has communicated that they are less than one standard hour away,” Huw relayed.

“Tell them we plan to proceed with the attack on the ships operating under false Alliance Military identity codes,” Wulf said. “Relay this information to Alliance Military Command:
The five unknown battle cruisers have refused to identify themselves and have
acted in a threatening manner. We now consider them to be a threat to this ship.
Galanti
will attack and subdue the unknowns.
”

“They’ve been informed, Captain.” Dakkin, the communications officer said.

“Mel is in Weapons Control,” Huw reported from his position at engineering control,

“in case you didn’t know.”

Wulf turned and smiled at his brother. “I know. She told me—her mind is totally open. We made a pact to keep the line of communications accessible during battle.”

“That’s a relief,” Huw said, a smile on his lips. “Iolyn and I didn’t want to continue in the roles of interpreters and mediators for each of your actions.”

“Don’t worry about it, Huw. I’ve always known that Melina was strong and smart and quite capable of running this ship without me. And she now knows that my emotional responses to her being in danger are just that—emotional—and not based on a lack of trust in her abilities. I’ve promised to have patience with her when she acts precipitously—but with the mental link open, I will not be as apt to overreact.”

“I’ll pass that along to Iolyn,” Huw said. “He’ll be relieved. And Mel? What did she promise to do?”

“She has promised to trust me.”

“Didn’t she trust you before?” Huw asked, shock evident in his facial expression.

“She didn’t come to me with her plan to go outside the ship on the EVI because she felt I would have forbidden her.” Wulf shrugged. “She was probably correct. To that point, I had acted the overprotective male and she feared that I wouldn’t listen to reason.

Now, she knows I might huff-and-puff but I’ll listen to her with an open mind.”

“It will be hard for you, won’t it?” Huw said, a deep crease of worry drawing a line between his brows.

“If you mean, letting her walk into
known
danger? Yes—but I will always try to be by her side during those times—to lessen her exposure.” He laughed. “And she’ll cover my ass, too. We are very much alike in that way. Both of us are protectors as well as warriors.”

“Captain!” Commander Ard, the Science Officer broke in. “The five unknown ships are on screen and within firing range. They are powering up their weapons.”

“Battle stations,” Wulf ordered. “Full shields. Prepare the beta-weapon. Put all fighters on standby.”

Each station reported in affirming battle readiness.

“Melina. The bogies are preparing to fire upon us.”

“Hold the fort, Wulf. We may have a way to get you full weapons fairly soon.”

“We’ll manage.”

“Of course we will. I’ll be up as soon as we get things straightened out down here.”
Wulf turned back toward the large monitor on the command deck. The forward view showed the bogies approaching the
Galanti
in a V-wing formation, definitely an attack formation.

Turning to Huw, he asked, “The lead ship is a first-generation Volusian C-class light battle cruiser. How about the others? They look different.” Huw frowned over his monitor. “They are all C-class in specs. The modifications seem to be in the superstructure. Power sources on all five seem to be upgraded from first-generation. But they are still using nuclear fission in their reactors. The beta-weapon might work if we can target around the mods on the superstructure.”

“Weapons, prepare the beta-weapon to fire.”

“Aye, sir,” the Weapons Officer responded. “Beta-weapon firing solution is programmed. Will record for study later.”

“Take out the lead ship and then target the others. First, the ships on either side of the leader, then the last two. Make them count, Ensign. This fight could be over before it even begins.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Fire,” ordered Wulf.

The sound of the beta-weapon reverberated throughout the command deck due to its proximity to the upper levels of the ship.

The enemy ships returned fire with the exception of the lead ship and the one to its immediate right. The beta-weapon had done its job on two of the five ships.

“How are the shields holding?” Wulf asked, gripping the arms of his command chair as the ship rocked from a hit.

“Holding,” Huw replied.

“Weapons, fire the beta-weapon again. Helmsman, use Delta-A evasive maneuvers.”

“Firing, sir.”

“Delta-A evasive maneuvers engaged, sir.”

The command deck crew seemed to hold its breath as the beta-weapon fired and hit each of the three remaining ships. Two still had maneuverability.

“One of the ships is breaking away, sir. They are making an attempt to come in behind us.”

“Use the active aft weapons and take them out if you can, Ensign.”

“Aye, sir.” A slight pause. “Direct hit, sir. They are crippled and heading away from us.”

“Sir, three of the five enemy ships are now dead in space,” Ard reported. “My readings show environmental is cut in half on each. Life signs have congregated amidships. All shields down, no weapons, no power to the engines.”

“The fifth ship is also retreating, Wulf,” Huw said. “We are losing two of the five.”

“Contact Gold, let them know what heading the remaining two bogies are following.

Ask them to pursue and subdue.”

“They have been so informed, sir,” Dakkin replied. “Gold is plotting an intercept course for the remaining two bogies. Commander Nowicki asks our status.”

“Advise him that we are fine and will remain with the three dead ships until either he or Blue arrives.”

“Acknowledged, sir.” Dakkin said.

The doors to the elevator swished open. Wulf scented Melina before he felt her touch his mind to tell him she was here. Without turning around, he asked, “I take it we have all weapons online?”

“That is so freaky,” whispered Huw. “That you know when she is near you without looking.”

“It is wonderful, Huw, not weird.” Wulf smiled as Melina sat in the chair next to his.

She shook her head, her long, dark hair settling about her shoulders like a glossy silk cloak. “Yes, all weapons are online. The weapons engineer and I found a way to replenish the power to them faster.”

“Good work, Melina.” Wulf smiled at her.

“Looks like we didn’t need them after all,” she said, smiling at him. “Well done, Wulf.”

“We have an excellent crew,” Wulf replied.

“Yes, we do. The weapons engineer was willing to accept my outside-the-box solution to rerouting power to the damaged weapons. Of course, what we did isn’t something I’d recommend doing every day, but it worked.” She added under her breath,

“Just don’t plan on using any of the recreation decks any time soon.” Wulf snorted back a laugh. “Borrowed some power from the simulators, huh?”

“Took
all
the power from the simulators. The time on Tooh 10 for inspection and maintenance is now an absolute necessity. I don’t want to be present when they try to unravel our creative jury-rigging. The head of Alliance Military Command maintenance might shoot me.” Hesitating a moment, she said. “And, damn, don’t you men ever clean your maintenance tunnels? They are filthy. I had to stop and change again.”

“I take it that we will be doing so in the future?”

“Count on it,” Melina added. She angled her head toward the three dead ships, sitting dark and motionless. “So, what’s the plan? Wait until their auxiliary power starts to fade, then board them?”

“We won’t have to wait that long. Blue should be here soon and we can send in fully armed boarding parties to take control of the prisoners for transport to Tooh 10.” Wulf turned to face his Science Officer. “Mr. Ard, can you give me any idea of exactly what we are dealing with on these three vessels?”

“As I mentioned earlier, life signs are congregated amidships on all three vessels.

They are oxygen-breathing, carbon life forms. Seem to be a mixture of species. None are Antarean, although some are close and are probably Erian. Ships are at full complement for a C-Class light cruiser. Thirty crew each, for a total of ninety.”

“Definitely too many for us to handle alone,” Melina agreed. “Sounds like pirates.

So my guess was wrong. They aren’t Antarean allies, but mercenaries hired by the rebels.”

“It looks like it,” agreed Wulf. “I’m sure they were unpleasantly surprised to find we were not helpless, as they were probably promised by their employers.”

“Yeah, I bet that whatever they were paid, it wasn’t enough to serve the rest of their natural lives, freezing their asses off on Umbraxi 9,” Melina said, smiling wickedly. “So?

Who leads the three boarding teams?”

Wulf sought the mood behind the question. Her aura stated she’d be fine with whatever he decided. Obviously she’d touched his mind and read the normal Prime protocol in cases such as this: Prime military never risked their captains on potentially hazardous boardings of unknown enemies. That’s what they made First Officers and Security Chiefs for.

“After Blue arrives, Iolyn will lead the team from our ship. Garth has signaled he’ll be here within one half a standard hour and has two boarding teams ready to go.”

“Good,” Melina smoothed her hand down Wulf’s forearm. “Just tell me how I can help.” She pulled up the current data on the ships. “I’ll study their environmental systems. We might need medical teams to follow the armed boarding parties. Also, the mods made on the superstructures on two of the three are very odd. Want to make sure there are no surprises waiting for our guys.”

“I’m a very lucky man.” Wulf gently shoved a lock of her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on the curve of her cheek. He’d never realized how lonely command had been prior to meeting Melina. All he knew was that he never wanted to be that alone again.

“Damn right, you are.” She shot him a cheeky grin as she turned to her data link.

“You got a
gemate
, a co-captain and an engineer to boot. Now let’s figure out what our boys will be facing when they board those ships.”