Military intelligence officer Lieutenant Barb Carolus is ordered to investigate Colonel Locke, a rogue officer suspected of selling military weapons on the black market. Colonel Locke is from Barb’s home planet and she knows exposing his crimes will tarnish the reputation of those rare people like her who’ve escaped the poverty and gangs of their home world to become officers. But orders are orders and she always does her duty.<br><br>For the mission she’s teamed with the unconventional -- and in Barb’s opinion, entirely unprofessional -- undercover agent Taya Borovsky. Working with Taya will test Barb’s by the book approach to the limits, especially when attraction overcomes her irritation with Taya. Bitter about upholding standards nobody else does, Barb gives in to her desires.<br><br>When the mission goes bad, Barb and Taya are on the run and outgunned. To survive, Barb must learn from Taya’s unconventional methods and improvise a solution to complete her mission and save their lives.

Loose Cannon

“Any sign?” she asked Taya over the open communications line.


“Yes.” Taya’s voice was tight. “Got them on sensors, heading for us fast. Must have picked up our energy signature as soon as we powered up. I’m setting course for the orbital.”


“Will they catch up to us before we reach it?”


“Yes. Get ready to do your thing, Peaches.”


Ten tense minutes passed. The airlock cycle finished, all the air pumped out, and the outer door waited on standby to open. Taya kept reporting on Locke’s ship closing in. Coming into visual range. Coming into weapons range.


“Firing,” Taya said. “Half power. You may be right about them wanting to take us alive.”


“The nearer we get to the orbital, the less fussy they’ll be about that. Slow down.”


“Let them think they’ve damaged us. If I’m going to hit that ship, I’m going to need it to be right up our ass.”


Chapter 21