Speculative Fiction Showcase: Hunter and Hunted (In Love and War, Book 9) by Cora Buhlert

Monday, May 21, 2018

Hunter and Hunted (In Love and War, Book 9) by Cora Buhlert

Release date: May 11, 2018

Subgenre: Space Opera Romance, Cozy Space Opera

**About Hunter and Hunted:**

Once, Anjali Patel and Mikhail Grikov were soldiers on opposing sides of an intergalactic war. They met, fell in love and decided to go on the run together.

Now Anjali and Mikhail are trying to eke out a living on the independent worlds of the galactic rim, while attempting to stay under the radar of those pursuing them.

On their way back from a mission, Anjali and Mikhail are ambushed by a squad of bounty hunters. Wounded and hunted through a frozen landscape, they find shelter in a mountain lodge.

But their pursuers are still out there, tracking them. And with Anjali too injured to fight, Mikhail must face down seven bounty hunters on his own…

This is a novella of 21000 words or approx. 75 print pages in the "In Love and War" series, but may be read as a standalone.

Excerpt:

I. Snow Ride

A ground glider shot across the snow-covered surface of the independent rim world of Harketon, en route from the luxury resort of Furuholmen back to the planet’s main spaceport.
The glider was small, a two-seater. Beneath the transparent canopy, the passengers, a man and a woman, sat huddled together in forced proximity. Not that either of them minded. After all, they’d spent the better part of the last year in close proximity, so that by now it was no longer forced, even if it had started out as less than voluntary.
The man was tall, with pale skin, striking blue eyes and long dark hair that he wore tied back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was clad all in black, a bright blue scarf the only flash of colour. This was Captain Mikhail Alexeievich Grikov, formerly of the Republican Special Commando Forces, now wanted as a deserter and traitor.
The woman by his side was a good head shorter, with brown skin, dark eyes and glossy black hair that fell down her back in gentle waves. She was clad in grey utility pants and a light blue sweater, topped with a shawl in a somewhat darker tone of blue. This was Lieutenant Anjali Patel, formerly of the Imperial Shakyri Expeditionary Corps, now also wanted as a deserter and traitor.
Almost a year ago now, Anjali and Mikhail had met during a mission. And even though their respective governments were at war with each other and had been for eighty-eight years now, Anjali and Mikhail fell in love and decided to run away together, leaving behind the only lives they’d ever known. They’d fled to the independent worlds on the galactic rim, eking out a living as mercenaries, doing any odd jobs that required their particular skills. And today, one of those jobs had brought them to Harketon.
The mission in question was a simple courier job. Deliver a sealed box containing some data crystals to a man called Norland, who was currently on vacation in Furuholmen, on behalf of a smuggler captain called Pekkalainen and return to Pekkalainen’s ship, the Jewel of Leskinen, in under ninety-six hours. All expenses paid, no questions asked. As jobs went, this one was as good as it got.
“Now that…” Anjali remarked, “…was almost too easy. Especially since we’ve still got…” She checked her wrist unit. “…almost forty-four hours until the Jewel of Leskinen leaves port.”
Mikhail briefly looked up from the controls. He was flying, because he had more experience with this particular glider model, a Republican manufactured Astral Avalanche.
“Would you rather have something go wrong?” he asked.
“No, but we could’ve spent another night in Furuholmen, especially since the client is paying all our expenses.”
Mikhail flashed her a quick smile. “Yes, the those thermal baths and the sauna were really nice.”
“Though they would have been even nicer without potbellied gangsters,” Anjali said with a shudder. Cause Norland, the recipient of the data crystals, was not the sort of person you wanted to see dressed only in a towel.
“But actually, I was thinking more of the hotel room…” she added, “…and particularly of the bed.”
By now, Anjali and Mikhail were both used to living and sleeping rough. After all, they’d been on the run for the better part of a year now and soldiers for most of their lives before that. That meant hard bunks, cramped barracks, tiny cabins or sometimes just a rough shelter and a sleeping bag on the ground.
Most of the time, Anjali did not mind. This was the life she’d chosen for herself, after all. But nonetheless, she appreciated a proper bed with a good mattress, fluffy pillows and a soft blanket on occasion. And the bed in the hotel room they’d shared in Furuholmen had all that and more.
Mikhail’s smile broadened, while his cheeks flushed ever so slightly. “Yes, that bed was… very nice indeed.”
Anjali reached out, her hand brushing against his. “And we put it to some very good use, didn’t we?”
Mikhail smiled at the memory and focussed his full attention on the controls again, as he piloted the glider through a narrow and winding canyon.
After a few kilometres, the canyon ended and the glider shot out onto a pleasant snow-covered slope lined with clusters of bluish trees.
“I’ve been thinking,” Mikhail said, “Maybe, once we’ve made it back to the ship and collected the rest of our payment, we could check into a hotel at the spaceport for a few nights. A proper hotel and not one of the flophouses we normally use.”
“Sounds tempting.” And it did. “But we don’t have the money for this. We need new power-packs and grenades and ammo for my Marcasona Mark IV sniper rifle and nano booster shots and…”
Mikhail put his hand on top of Anjali’s, silencing her. “I know. I just want to do right by you, want to give you the life you deserve, at least for a little while.”
“It’s all right. I have everything I could ever want.” Though a big soft bed now and then would be nice.
“Maybe, when once we’ve gotten all the supplies we need and we still have some money left over, we could check into a nicer hotel for a night or two,” Mikhail said.
Anjali did not reply, because at just this moment something attracted her attention. A gleam in a copse of trees, like sunlight striking the sight of a rifle.
“Mikhail…”
Barely a second later, the drive exploded and the glider spiralled out of control straight into a snowdrift.

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About the In Love and War series:

About Cora Buhlert:

Cora Buhlert was born and bred in North Germany, where she still lives today – after time spent in London, Singapore, Rotterdam and Mississippi. Cora holds an MA degree in English from the University of Bremen and is currently working towards her PhD.

Cora has been writing, since she was a teenager, and has published stories, articles and poetry in various international magazines. She is the author of the Silencer series of pulp style thrillers, the Shattered Empire space opera series, the In Love and War science fiction romance series, the Helen Shepherd Mysteries and plenty of standalone stories in multiple genres.

When Cora is not writing, she works as a translator and teacher. She also runs the Speculative Fiction Showcase and the Indie Crime Scene and contributes to the Hugo-nominated fanzine Galactic Journey.

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