About Cause of Death:
The members of Space Force Fleet Command are renowned for their battle-hardened professionalism…except for one ship—the men and women who crew the ISS Griffin. Yet these misfits, screw-ups, and mutineers are Carmen Grey’s only hope at locating and destroying an alien research base concealed aboard a freighter deep behind enemy lines.
The Clairvoyant can fly and read minds, but even she can’t imagine the harrowing secrets contained aboard the freighter, which may be the key to stopping a menace poised to sweep across the entire galaxy. She has only a number of days to find the alien ship before it is lost forever.
When the situation grows desperate and when surrounded by enemies, sometimes the most dangerous adversary is the friend watching your back. The clock’s ticking.
Excerpt:
Inertia nodded casually. “We have to hurry. They’re holding the shuttle just for him. It’s in an auxiliary hangar.”
She nodded and increased her pace to keep up. In a minute or so, they entered another hangar vastly smaller than where The Lady was parked. Before them was open space, held at bay by a magcon field. The shuttle was a boxy, ugly craft meant to contain the maximum number of troopers as was volumetrically possible. Carmen could see the pilots in the cockpit turn to look at them when they entered. The deck crew, standing by to launch the shuttle when ready, did the same.
“Make it quick,” Inertia whispered to her before he moved away.
Carmen turned to face her charge and smiled. “End of the road for you,” she said. “I’m not going to have to worry about you, am I?” she teased tenderly.
“Do I have to worry about you?” Phaethon asked back.
She shook her head. “Inertia is with me,” she remarked, looking his way. Her partner stood impassively. “We take care of each other.”
“Still, be careful,” Phaethon said.
Carmen nodded a few times. “I’ll try. Come here,” she said, holding out her arms.
Handler and charge hugged awkwardly. It was not a skill taught at the facility, nor one they had much practice in. When it was done, she motioned toward the shuttle with her head, and Phaethon began walking toward it. Carmen watched him go. Each step he took produced a wave of emotions best described as bittersweet.
In time, she noticed that Inertia had come to stand next to her. With no prompting or conscious thought, she rested her head on his strong arm. She didn’t know he glanced down on her when she did so. Then he turned and left so abruptly that Carmen lost her balance for a moment. As she stood there alone, watching him make his way out of the hangar, she felt another emotion. It would never, in any sense, be described as sweet. She rushed to join him, but this time they didn’t walk side by side.
“So, what about us? Our mission?” she asked. “Can we do it?”
“I don’t know. But it’s definitely not something we can do on our own.”
“Who can help us?”
“There is only one person I could think of.” He took a deep breath before he continued, which made Carmen swallow hard. “I had to call in a marker—one I’ve been saving for an occasion like this. I just hoped I would never have to use it.”Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Apple | Google Play
About K.T. Belt:
Other than books, I’m a licensed pilot and certified jet nerd. I’m also interested in motorsports and a lover of the “sweet science.”
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