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Every Apexian working alongside the biologists used to be in the elite squad. They’d only wanted the best on this mission, and they had the funds from High Command to make sure that happened. It was dangerous going to these planets to rescue rare specimens. Rare meant valuable. And whenever something was worth a lot of money, it attracted attention from scum wanting to make a quick win.
“You must have seen a lot of action in your time in the squad,” she said.
He grunted. “You could say that. I bet you don’t see much action when you’re in the labs learning how to identify alien creatures.”
“Don’t be so sure. It can get wild in there. Especially when we cultivate a new strain of bacteria. Biologists know how to party.”
Striker grinned at her. “I can imagine you in your lab coat having a mug of hot chocolate and celebrating by staying up an extra half an hour after your bedtime.”
Her nose wrinkled. Actually, that did sound like her. Partying hard wasn’t her style. “I suppose you celebrate a win by dancing the night away with half a dozen random hot females and getting so drunk you can barely stand.”
“That’s a typical night for me. I can go for days when we’ve had a big win.”
He was playing the joker as usual. He shouldn’t. When Striker was serious about something, he revealed there was more to him than his devil may care attitude. A side that made her think he wasn’t such an ass.
“Did you lose anyone when you were in the elite squad?” she said. “You must have been sent on tough missions.”
“There were losses but not many in our squadron. Best of the best, you see.” He rubbed his knuckles on his sleeve.
That was the door slammed on that conversation. She checked the scanner then shuffled down onto her stomach.
Striker joined her, leaning his face into his hands and setting the scanner between them.
“I lost people. I lost my family.” She kept her gaze on the scanner.
He exhaled slowly. “Sorry to hear that. You have that picture of them in your quarters. You never talk about them, so I figured they weren’t around. You must miss them.”
“Every day. I wanted them to be so proud of me for taking this position. My dad, he was a scientist, too. He loved physics.”
“Professor Tulloch. I know of his work,” Striker said. “He worked with the Draxians on a prototype warp technology. The tech that now zooms you into space.”
Huh! Striker was full of surprises today. “That’s right. He’d get so excited discussing it over dinner. He’d forget there was food on his plate and talk for hours about the latest discoveries. He was so thrilled when contact with aliens was established.”
“Yeah, that was something of a surprise to us discovering this galaxy. If it hadn’t been for the wormhole stabilizing twenty years ago, we’d never have known of your existence.”
“Yay for wormhole stabilization,” she said. “My dad always knew it would happen. He championed hard to put beacons near wormhole event horizons. He wanted to make sure there’d be a welcome for anyone coming through.”
“Your dad sounds almost as smart as you.”
Her cheeks flushed. “He was a brilliant man. I work hard to live up to his expectations.”
“I bet your whole family was proud of you,” Striker said.
Her heart clenched with sadness. They wouldn’t have been at the end of their lives. “What about your family? They must be worried about you always out fighting.”
His shoulders stiffened. She couldn’t catch the look on his face because he turned his head away. Had he lost someone, too?
“I guess they must,” he said.
“Do you get to visit them much? None of the warriors seem to take any leave.”
“I haven’t been home for a long time.” His gaze shifted to the scanner. “Hey, look. There’s movement.”
Wren’s head snapped around. She stared at the small red dot moving toward them. “That could be it.”
Striker reached over and rested his hand on her arm. His heat slid through her skin like a welcome touch she’d miss when it was taken away.
“I promise there’ll be no snatch and grab this time,” he said.
