Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem

Chapter One

Cali slid into her seat in the middle of the transport and watched as Star Base Commander Jamis Dexxirs flirted with the stunning Si female who had sat down next to him in the front. She followed the interplay between the two openly, unconcerned about being caught. Cali knew she would never attract the attention of such a prime specimen of male. Not because Cali was unattractive, because she wasn't even if she did say so herself, but because she was Earthan and he was an Apre.

The Apre were one of the most powerful, long-living beings in the universe. They were also elitist snobs as far as Cali was concerned. Many chose to serve in the military to defend those they considered weaker than them and, therefore, inferior.

No, she never would attract his attention, and in all honesty, she didn't want to. While Apre had brawn, they also had brains, and she had secrets, big secrets, that she didn't want anyone discovering.

Earthans were considered an inferior species since their life spans were so much shorter than nearly all others, and their bodies didn't tolerate the rigors of space travel well. Cali wasn't thrilled with space travel herself, so she only did it when absolutely necessary, and this trip had been necessary.

She watched the Commander lean down as the Si female ran a blue hand up and down his bare forearm. The Commander had taken off his Coalition jacket before sitting down. His deep chuckle told Cali he was amused by whatever the other female was whispering in his ear.

Not interested in watching where she knew this flirting would lead, Cali leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Commander Dexxirs was renowned for his very active sex life. Although to his credit, she'd never heard of him becoming involved with any female under his command. It was also well-known that he and his second-in-command, Sub Commander Taarig Ynn, liked to share partners, separately and together.

She could understand the attraction. After all, both males were prime specimens, with Sub Commander Ynn being only slightly shorter and leaner than the Commander. They both had the black hair and dark eyes swirled with silver, indicative of their species, but that's where their likeness ended. From what Cali'd heard working in The Brink, the Commander was the strong, silent, forceful, and abrupt one, while the Sub Commander was the more gentle, easy-going, flirtatious, and caring one. To experience both those things at the same time??/p>

They were midway through their flight from Vavis Prime to Star Base Twelve when Cali was jolted from sleep and flung sideways in her seat when the transport suddenly shifted. Those not belted in went flying out of their seats as emergency lighting came on along with the strident sounds of the evacuation alarm.

Her gaze immediately traveled around the cabin, searching for the cause of the disruption. Some passengers were helping the injured, while others only thought of saving themselves by getting into the two escape pods at the back of the transport. It never ceased to amaze Cali how selfish some beings could be when she watched a male push a female out of his way so he could get into one of the quickly-filling escape pods first.

Unfastening her safety harness, Cali started to rise when an unexpected blow forcefully shoved her to the floor, knocking the breath out of her. By the time she was able to get herself up on her knees, the cabin was empty, and the hatch to the last pod was closing. The Si female standing inside smirked, wiggling her fingers at her in farewell as the pod launched.

Knowing her only hope now was to either somehow stabilize the transport or get into the pilot's escape pod in the cockpit if it was still there, Cali pushed herself to her feet and used the back of the seats to move forward. As she did, another alarm went off.

Ignoring the pain in her back, Cali ran down the narrow corridor. Shoving open the door, she entered the cockpit and found the Star Base Commander slumped over the transport's controls, the pilot on the floor. The angle of the pilot's neck told her his life span had ended. Looking to her left, she breathed a sigh of relief, seeing his escape pod was still attached to the ship.

Moving to the Commander, she found a strong, steady pulse. Cursing, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the chair. No easy feat as