The story:
He rescued her from space pirates … but can he keep them both safe from the far greater evil stalking a deserted planet?
Space travel without Kidnap & Ransom insurance? Not a good idea. University instructor and researcher Sara Bridges can’t afford it, so when pirates board her cruise liner, she’s taken captive along with the mistress of a wealthy man, and brought to a deserted planet. When a military extraction team sent to rescue the mistress refuses to take Sara too, she’s left to the mercies of a retired Special Forces soldier, along as consultant.
Reluctantly reactivated and coerced into signing up for the rescue operation to the planet Farduccir where he once was deployed, Sgt. Johnny Danver just wants to get the job done. But when the team leader leaves one captured woman behind, he breaks away to rescue her himself.
As Johnny and Sara traverse the barren landscape, heading for an abandoned base where they hope to call Sectors Command for help, they find villages destroyed by battle and stripped of all inhabitants. A lone survivor tells a horrific tale of the Sectors’ alien enemy, the Mawreg, returning after being pushed out …
Searching for evidence to give the military, Johnny is captured. He regains consciousness in a Mawreg cage–with Sara next to him. Death is preferable to what the aliens will do to them… And even if they do escape their captors, can they alert the military in time to prevent another invasion of the Sectors?
The excerpt:
Johnny faded
to the end of the column and kept watch on their back trail. Once the group
ascended to the plateau seeking the designated landing zone, and he heard the
muted sound of the incoming shuttle, he sought out the captain, crouched in the
lee of a large boulder, close to Ms. Immer.
“Just fyi, I’m goin’ for the
other woman,” Johnny said. “You have a nice flight home to base. Don’t forget
to tell them I’m here. Good luck to you, Ms. Immer.”
“Who the hell do you think you
are, sergeant?” The captain’s voice was tense and angry. “You don’t get to
change mission parameters to suit yourself. I don’t care if you’re in the
goddamn Special Forces or not, I gave you a direct order. We’re not going after
any other civilians this trip.”
“No, you’re not, I see that.”
Johnny couldn’t keep the contempt out of his voice. “In my branch of the
service, we don’t leave people behind. In case it’s escaped your notice, I’m
not under your command. Special Forces operates independently.”
Holding his pulse rifle where it
could conveniently be considered a threat by Captain Scortun if he was feeling
paranoid, Johnny backed away. None of the other soldiers wanted to challenge
him.
“We’re not waiting for you,” Scortun
yelled. “When our shuttle lands, we’re gone.”
“Good riddance,” he said under
his breath, as he faded into the underbrush and slipped away down the steep
hillside.
Another small snippet from earlier in the book - the scene where Sara is taken by the pirates:
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