Mercenaries (12 page)

“KEEP up your guard, Trin,” Nathan called. “That left hand is dropping.”

Her expression fierce with concentration, Trinity raised her left fist into position as she and the sparring robot circled.

Nathan watched, his sensors doing a running evaluation. He wanted to make damn sure she was ready before he took her into her first battle as a member of the
Starrunner
's crew. So far, everything looked damn good.

So did Trinity, on a lot of levels. She wore the brand-new suit of combat armor he'd ordered for her, its sleek lines emphasizing her lean grace. And she had plenty of strength to back up the look, too, because Nathan had advanced her the money for the nanotech implants soon after they'd left Orville's Paradise. He'd wanted her to feel safe in the knowledge she'd never be vulnerable to bullying bastards again.

Now the implants were fully grown at last, extending through her body in a network designed to strengthen her bones and muscles. All she needed was practice in how to use them.

That was the tricky part. Since she was still getting her body under control, Nathan had her working with the sparring robot. It was safer for everybody; only an idiot stepped onto the practice mat with a fledgling cyborg who didn't know her own strength.

Just looking at them, though, you'd think the robot had the edge. The thing towered over Trinity, an intimidating armored colossus designed to get new recruits used to fighting things that were big and nasty.

The
Starrunner
encountered a lot of things that were big and nasty.

Trin, however, didn't seem the least bit intimidated. She called the thing Andy. Nathan strongly suspected it wasn't short for
android
.

The 'bot swung at her, its massive metal fist a blur. Trin ducked just as fast and thrust a forearm up to block the strike, exactly as Nathan had taught her.

He concealed a smile. Coming along nicely. “Little slow on that block, Trin!” There was always room for improvement.

Her green eyes narrowed in icy determination.

Oops. Seems he'd fired up that redhead's temper.

With a snarl on her pretty face, Trinity went after her hulking opponent, throwing punches and kicks in a sizzling assault that had the robot backpedaling as it blocked her blows. Just as its long arms were spread wide for one of those blocks, she powered a kick straight up into its metal jaw.

Backed by every erg of her new strength, the ferocious blow sent the robot's head flying off its shoulders. It hit the deck and bounced, clanging.

Nathan winced. Yeah, she definitely wasn't ready to practice with humans yet.

“Take that, Andy!” Trin crowed, bouncing on her toes, as the robot's headless body toppled slowly backward.

“Nice shot,” Nathan drawled, walking across the combat ring's padded floor toward her. “But you've really got to work on your control. Sometimes we don't want to tear the bad guy's head off.”

She smirked and sauntered over to meet him, mischief bright on her pretty face. “Depends on the bad guy.” The impish grin widened. “Speaking of which, Captain—I don't suppose we could make a little trip to Orville's Paradise?”

Nathan thrust his tongue into his cheek. “Now, why, I wonder, would you want to do a thing like that?”

“Ummmm . . .” Trin pretended to consider as she rose on her toes and looped her arms around his neck. “I'm homesick? No? Ummmm . . . I want to thank them for all their years of kind instruction in the Way of Orville?”

“How about”—he tilted his head back and pretended to think—“you want to kick their fat asses all the way into orbit.”

Green eyes widened with mock innocence. “Me? Engage in petty revenge?”

“You. Engage in petty revenge.”

Trinity smirked. “Okay, you've talked me into it.”

“Bloodthirsty little wench.” He took her mouth in a long, sweet kiss.

No matter how many times Nathan had kissed her—and he'd done that a lot over the past three weeks—he never got tired of the taste of her lips, or the way her body melted into his.

Though he had to admit, it didn't melt half so comfortably in fifteen kilos of combat armor.

Still, they made the best of it. The kiss went on and on, an intoxicating duel of licking tongues and gentle bites. By the time Nathan drew back, they were both panting.

“You know, all of a sudden this armor isn't as comfortable as it was a minute ago,” she told him in a husky voice. “Want to go back to your quarters and get naked?”

“I love you.” There. He'd finally said the three words he'd been thinking since he watched her confront Elder Jones and the rest of the Orvillian lunatics.

Trin's green eyes widened. She looked utterly stunned. “What?”

“I love you.” Saying it felt so good, Nathan suspected he'd be repeating it a lot. He threaded his hands through her silken red hair and caressed her delicate cheekbones with his thumbs. “Marry me.”

She blinked rapidly, searching his eyes, as if trying to determined if he was playing some kind of cruel joke. Slowly he watched the belief grow as she read the truth in his face. “You mean it.”

“I've never meant anything more.” Resting his forehead against hers, he looked into her eyes. “Put me out of my misery, Trin. Please.”

“I love you.” The words were a faint whisper. Then she, too, said it again. “I love you!”

Obviously forgetting her strength, Trin threw herself against Nathan so hard both of them tumbled to the floor. Unabashed, she started pressing kisses against his mouth, his cheek, his eyebrows.

Chuckling, he grabbed her shoulders and managed to pry her off. “Does this mean you'll marry me?”

“Yes! Maker's Beard, yes!”

Relief made him close his eyes. He'd thought she cared for him, too, but he hadn't been sure. Now he was. The joy and love on her face was unmistakable.

Long fingers clamped over each of his wrists. Startled, Nathan looked up at her as she straddled him and forced his hands to the deck. “Hey, what's this?”

“I was just thinking,” Trinity drawled, her green eyes bright with laughter and wicked passion, “that it's past time I tied
you
up.”

After a startled moment he grinned. “You know, I guess it is at that.”

THEY were married a week later in the
Starrunner
's primary landing bay, the ship's chaplain doing the honors as the entire crew watched.

Nathan wore his dark blue dress uniform, his tall boots gleaming as brightly as the medals on his chest. Trinity, too, wore brand-new dress blues, and was much prouder of them than the frilly wedding gown she'd have donned back on Orville's Paradise.

Later, as the bride and groom danced the first dance, they saw Sebastian working the crowd. “What's he up to?” Trin asked as Nathan whirled her around in dizzy circles.

The captain glanced over her shoulder as his friend counted a stack of credchits. “I think he's collecting from everybody dumb enough to take his bet.” He grinned at her. “After all, it only took you three weeks to get me on my knees.”

She shuttered her lashes at him. “Actually, I think that's the one position I haven't had you in.”

Nathan's grin broadened. “Believe me, darling—I'm looking forward to it.”

S
TEPPING out of the
Starrunner
's shuttle onto the soil of Bedesem Colony was like traveling back in time.

A long, long way back.

Sebastian Cole stopped on the ramp to stare, taking in the horse-drawn wagons rolling past the field where the shuttle had landed. Picturesque stone cottages stood just across the rutted dirt road, surrounded by neat beds of vegetation and flocks of geese and chickens. Each of the cottages seemed to have a dog out front, every one of them barking in hysterical chorus at the the shuttle's arrival.

Somewhere in the middle of the canine hysterics, a shout went up. A gaggle of kids poured out of one of the larger buildings, headed for the shuttle at a dead run. The whole crowd pelted across the road to stop at what they evidently considered a safe distance, eyes wide in wonder as they stared at their starfaring visitors.

Like everything else in sight, they all looked distinctly medieval in their bright tunics, tights, and ankle-length boots. One young lad had what appeared to be strawberry jam on his face and a wooden sword thrust in his belt.

“Damn,”
Sebastian commed, using the computer implant that allowed him to communicate silently with his
Starrunner
crewmates.
“Did this colony just blow off the past fifteen hundred years, or what?”

Beside Sebastian, Captain Nathan August frowned as he looked out over the scene. He was a big, hard-faced man, good to follow into battle, bad to meet in combat.
“They do seem to be a lot more primitive than I expected,”
he admitted.
“They evidently lost a lot during the Time of Isolation.”

“Maybe, but I wonder why they haven't started upgrading yet. You'd think they'd have started importing tech from off-world by now.”
Nathan's wife, Trinity, stepped from the shuttle to gaze around them.
“This place makes Orville's Paradise look high-tech.”

The thud of hoofbeats had the three looking around. A troop of men on big, muscular horses galloped up with a rattle of swords and a jangle of tack, sending the children scattering like geese. The whole bunch was kitted out in leather breastplates, loincloths, and thigh-high boots, a rig Sebastian would have hated to wear into battle. It wouldn't have stopped a beamer, a bullet, or even a sword stroke worth a damn.

On the other hand, he could see how the same costume might be fun in the bedroom, given a kinky partner with a sense of humor. Sebastian the Barbarian? He smirked.

“Which one of you is Captain Nathan August of the
Starrunner
?” the leader of the troop called.

“I'm August,” the captain replied warily.

The man nodded his helmeted head. “Greetings. We're your escort to the palace of His Dominance.”

“Oh, this is going to be good,”
Sebastian commed as the three of them started down the ramp toward the horsemen.
“Nothing says, ‘I've got balls' like making people call you ‘His Dominance. ' ”

THE palace was a dark, towering structure built of brooding gray stone, embellished with gothic spires and stained-glass windows.

That churchlike impression was instantly shattered when Nathan, Sebastian, and Trinity walked into the gleaming white foyer. Dead center under the vaulted ceiling stood a towering black marble statue of a naked woman kneeling before an armored man. Her wrists were bound behind her back, and she was sucking her conqueror's cock with submissive enthusiasm.