Page 37 of Krin

Without thinking about it, I stood at the weapons control panel. Waving my hands over the buttons, I asked, “What do I press?”

The Commander called out. “The green buttons on the upper right of the panel. Press them one after the other.”

“Any order?”

“Yes.”

I did as he asked, while voices around me were drowned out by the sound of my own pulse in my ears.

My heart raced and my hands shook.

I froze a moment, staring down at the panel. A large part of my time had been studying the weapons system. There were a couple of details I knew about how the control panel functioned. Pressing my lips while I tried to remember what I learned, I was brought to the present when I heard Dril calling out that he’d raised the ship’s shields.

“What now? Should I keep firing?” I asked with my hands hovering over the control panel, waiting for the next set of orders.

“We have to realign the cerium ray before launching more phase cannons,” said Commander Ezan as he stepped next to me.

I moved to my right to give him space at the console, but watched carefully as he swiftly moved his hands across the panel.

Fortunately, I had some idea what he was talking about. Angling my head to look up at the Commander, I asked, “Am I right that we also have to sync the weapons?”

A surprised smile spread across his face, and he nodded. His expression showed how impressed he was at my knowledge.

The Krilex stopped shooting, but we were still in danger.

In the background, the sound of a door sliding could be heard.

“Report,” Krin said aloud.

The sound of Krin’s deep, authoritative voice sent a pulse of arousal through me. I felt my face grow warm as his gaze shifted in my direction.

His head tilted in surprise as he tried to make sense of why I was standing at the weapons console instead of being at the helm.

Ezan explained. “We were under attack by two enemy ships.” He waved his hand in my direction, grinning. “Riley did not hesitate to jump in to help. She took out one of the Krilex ships.” The Commander gave me a brief smile. “Well done.”

My chest puffed, and I held my head high.

Krin’s lips curled into a proud smile before Dril interrupted, “The Krilex ships are retreating.”

“They do not normally engage us in battle unprovoked. Did they attempt communication before attacking?” asked Krin.

Ezan shook his head.

Dril piped, “They were suddenly there, with no prior warning. No communications were received. I was unable to identify any other life signs on their ships, aside from Krilex.”

Krin’s brow creased and his head bobbed. “Notify Protectorate vessels in the area to be on the lookout for them. If they are found, they need to be interrogated,” instructed Krin.

16

Riley

THE MOMENT THE DOORto Krin’s meeting room closed, he flashed me another proud smile. “Great work out there.”

He gave me a tight hug, planted a quick kiss on my lips, then stepped back and gazed at me.

“How did it feel?”

His reaction left me momentarily breathless. In that moment, all I could sense was the electric energy flowing through me from his brief touch.

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