He still did not doubt himself, but seeing the scavenger in the flesh made him realize he would have to call on all his discipline and training to keep his focus.
She had the tawny skin and almond shaped eyes of an Argenti, her cheekbones high, her lips ripe with erotic promise. Almost aristocratic, her features. Ivory-hued hair tumbled loose around her shoulders, and he wondered if it felt like cool white silk against bare skin. Her battered nyyrikki-skin jacket hid the shape of her upper body, but he suspected she was slim all over, as attested by her body-hugging cargo pants. But the slenderness of her body misled one to think she could be easily overpowered.
Kell had been in the 8th Wing for over fifteen years. Before that, he knew his way around a battle pit. He had learned quickly how to judge someone, how to read them and what external signs were deceptive. One look at this woman, and he knew. She was ferocious.
Never more so than when she felt herself cornered.
Bad enough Im being blackmailed into this. She folded her arms across her chest. But I draw the line at teaming up with anyone. Especially some 8th Wing puppet.
His own temper flared. Im not a damned puppet. Im a pilot, just like you. One of the Black Wraith Squadron, which meant he was a fucking great pilot.
She stepped nearer, so that the toes of her boots nearly touched his own. The closer she got the more beautiful she became, even as angry color stained her cheeks. Hundreds. No, thousands of missions Ive flown. Alone. You arent necessary, Commander.
Commander Frayne is the 8th Wings best pilot, Captain Esen said.
The scavenger looked unimpressed. Hes not touching my ship.
Its not your ship Ill be touching. Kell planted his hands on his hips.
Her eyes rounded. Her cheeks grew even more flushed.
Damn, that didnt come out quite right. Or maybe it sounded a lot more like what he wanted to do, rather than what he had to do. If Lieutenant Jur is too injured to fly her ship back to base, Ill have to pilot it.
The Arcadia s magnetic tow net can handle the lieutenants ship.
She flies a Wraith, just like I do. Theyre too valuable to risk to a tow net and if were being pursued, itll make too good a target. The safest option is to have me fly the Wraith if Lieutenant Jur cant. He stared down into Maras eyes, willing her into subordination with just a look. Hed made ensigns and new recruits shake in their flight suits.
Not this scavenger. She just glared right back up at him. Ive never lost a payload. Not once. Im not going to lose your damned ship.
We cant take the chance that this will be the first time. He didnt back down, either.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Captain Esen cut her off
before she could say something cutting.
The Wraith ships that the Black Wraith Squad pilot are extremely valuable, he explained, but its the tech they use that makes them of incalculable worth. If that tech fell into the wrong hands
PRAXIS, she said at once.
Theyve been trying to get their paws on a Wraith for years. Kells voice was hard as he recalled the skirmishes and battles fought just to keep that crucial tech away from the PRAXIS Group.
Lives lost, many of them his friends. He hoped that Lieutenant Jur wasnt one of them, but there would be no way of knowing until he got inside the Smoke Quadrant.
Provided, of course, that the stubborn scavenger gave in and took him on as her partner for the mission. Whether she agreed or didnt, he was going to the Smoke Quadrant. Her compliance did not matter, especially with a mission this critical.
Then Ill pilot the Wraith ship, she said, and put the Arcadia on auto pilot for the return journey.
Only members of the Squadron can fly a Wraith, he answered.
She snorted. Please. You 8th Wing hotshots arent the only ones with skills. Give me fifteen minutes and I can fly any ship.
Not a Wraith. He held up his left hand, revealing the square of slightly raised flesh in the center of his palm. Biotech implants. Without this, the Wraith is an inoperable hunk of metal. But with the implant, the pilot and the ship become one. And thats what PRAXIS wants for themselves.
They get a hold of a Wraith, they copy the tech, and the shitstorm that is the PRAXIS Group is going to get a whole lot worse. Even for scavengers.
Her lips tightened, but she wouldnt speak, wouldnt yield.
He had had enough of playing nice. One of my squad is missing. She could be injured. Or maybe whoever has Celene is torturing her. His jaw tightened, thinking of the lieutenant, alone, hurting.
They were all trained on how to survive and endure torture, but that didnt make it easier to contemplate one of the squad being abused. Were wasting time because of your temper tantrum.
You dont work with a partner? Tough. Now you do.
For a moment, he and Mara simply glared at each other. He saw the calculation in her gaze, saw her mind working to find some way out. But there wasnt one. Kell had a mission, Mara Skiren was part of that mission, and there was nothing further to discuss. Hed get the job done. He always did.