The Misfits rescue Romila

 

When you have three independent women who all buck the mould, things will never always be rosy. And that was true of Morgan's Misfits – Jirra, Chet, and Toreni. If you missed the story of how the ladies got together, read all about it here. But time has gone on and all’s not well within the team. Toreni and Chet have fallen out, Toreni is considering an offer that might be too good to refuse, and Jirra has doubts about her future.It's fun balancing the dynamics of these three very different women and their skill sets.

In the second book, Rescuing Romila, the team is stationed undercover on Shar Burk space station, a hive of corruption and villainy presided over by Governor Soldar. Their role is to collect intelligence about Soldar's operation for Fleet Intel but while they're there, they rescue Romila, who owns a souvenir shop, from an attack. They've stumbled across a drug-smuggling ring and, with Romila in tow, they set off to track down the perpetrators.

This story takes us to the cold planet Akhlut where Romila's paramour, archaeologist Sunil, is working on a dig. It's also where the statues of warriors that Romila sold in her shop are carved. They had been hollowed out to hold drugs. But there's more to Akhlut than cold temperatures and drug smuggling. On her own, Toreni learns of a secret hidden in the mountains and the drug-smuggling operation morphs into something even more dangerous. The Misfits must resolve their differences. If they don’t act together, and quickly, many lives will be at risk.

There's lots of action and adventure - but there's also romance. Toreni may well have found the love of her life. In this scene, Romila is having dinner with her new friend, Alric.

***

Alric gestured at the dance floor where two couples swayed to music provided by a trio of performers. "Come and dance."

Dance? The nerves flared again. Not that she couldn't dance. Where she was raised dancing came with growing up. Music played, you danced. Oh, why not? She was here for a good time. Alric took her hand and led her the four steps to the dance floor. His hand was warm and strong, but gentle. He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her against him, not too close. She gazed into his eyes. They were yellow, like hers, but with flecks of amber.

"Do you know the steps?" she asked.

"No. Doesn't matter, does it? It's a slow pace. We can just walk around in time to the music."

She giggled. "We can do that."

It was nice. The music floated around her, an easy two-part rhythm that she could follow without thinking. The man holding her guided her and soon it was just her, and him, alone in a sensual mist of their own making.

She floated back to reality when the music stopped.

"A pity," Alric murmured. "I enjoyed that." He hadn't let her go.

"So did I."

He leaned in closer to whisper, his breath warm on her ear. "Fancy dessert at my place?"

She gazed up into eyes dark with heat. Dessert wasn't going to be cake and cream. The little voice insisting it was too early and she wasn't ready was shoved aside by another woman shouting that tomorrow might never happen, seize the moment while you can. She smiled. "I'd like that."

*** 

 Buy the book at Your choice of vendor

 

Morgan Selwood - a real top gun

 

 In the last couple of weeks we've had posts about 'top guns' and top guns they were, indeed. But I doubt any of them could beat Morgan Selwood.

She's a Supertech, which is a nickname for a BI – a biological intelligence. You might call her a cyborg, but the 'human' element is very much to the fore. She is an enhanced human with a super computer in her brain and she's capable of controlling a battle cruiser by herself. As it happens, she's also a gun pilot – when she gets the chance.

And she does, in most of the books she's in. In Morgan's Choice she impresses her captors with what she's able to do with one of their stolen shuttles and in Morgan's Return she has to battle with another Supertech.

This is a scene from Kuralon Rescue. Chet, Toreni, and Jirra are in small freighter Trader's Dream trying to make their escape from Kuralon but they have been intercepted by a J-43 patrol ship, which is shortly joined by a J-500 Hunter, a heavily armed cruiser. Fortunately, Jirra was able to contact Morgan earlier and she has just arrived on the scene in the luxury yacht, Vulsaur. Here's what happens next – slightly edited to remove extraneous bits.

***

"Are you there, Jirra?"

Vulsaur, with Morgan at the controls. Jirra could have screamed with joy. But it wasn't over yet.

"We've been intercepted by the J-43. Shift drive's destroyed, one main engine gone, environmentals damaged."

"Understood. Oops, looks like the J-43 has seen me. I'll get back to you."

The J-43 moved sideways, then fired three missiles. Promolus appeared to know what she was doing. Jirra had seen that maneuver before. Enemies had little time to react and the way they moved was usually predictable. Jirra almost felt sorry for the captain. Vulsaur fired two intercepts and destroyed the third missile with energy blasts. Fragments vaporized on Trader's Dream's shields, providing a short-lived light show. If Promolus wasn't worried now, she ought to be. Vulsaur fired forward thrusters, slowing down. Morgan had probably given the patrol ship a chance to retire with dignity. For a moment, Jirra thought the gesture had been accepted, but then the J-43 jagged sideways again. The new blip on the proximity display explained that.

Jirra guessed the newcomer was the J-500 even before the display confirmed. They thought they'd trap the arrogant civilian in the middle, did they? Jirra chuckled. Two ships against Vulsaur with Morgan Selwood at the helm? Still no contest.

A movement beside her made her glance around. Chet, still in the silver survival suit.

"What's happening?"

Grinning, Jirra gestured at the screen. "The J-500 is coming to play. They think they can finish off a civilian yacht. Although I think the J-43's captain may have some other notions."

"A civilian yacht? How can it be a match for a Hunter?"

"That's a lot more than a civilian yacht. It's fast, maneuverable and bristling with weapons. And Morgan Selwood is at the controls."

Chet shook her head. "Against two ships?"

"You don't know much about her, do you?"

"Not a thing. Except a few stories about the Yogina and Ravindra."

Vulsaur had a flexibility the other ships did not possess. Morgan had built her with flexible nozzles on her thrusters, so she could move diagonally more easily. The J-500 fired four missiles at Vulsaur's stern, the J-43 fired three missiles at her bow, attempting to stymie and maneuver. They must have thought they had her. Morgan destroyed the bow missiles with counter missiles. She fired her upper thrusters, dropping the ship. Three of the four stern missiles exploded on Vulsaur's shields in a sparkling display of writhing blue energy. Vulsaur dodged beneath the fourth, which could not match her change of direction. The J-43 was exposed. Promolus tried desperately to avoid, dodging sideways. Too late. The missile impacted the patrol ship's bow. Debris poured out with the pressure of the air venting into space. Jirra almost cheered. If they had any sense, they'd back off while they still could.

Vulsaur had slipped in behind the Hunter. Morgan fired one missile, waited until the counter missile came back from the J-500 and fired a second missile before dropping beneath the ship.

"Wow. She's good, isn't she?" Chet said. "Or is that the ship's systems dodging at the last minute?"

"Both. Morgan overrides the systems so she can leave her dodge to the last possible moment."

Chet stared. "She's better than a computer?"

"She is a computer. In a way." Jirra pointed at her head. "She has a computer in her brain. She's quite capable of handling all the systems on a battle cruiser on her own."

Chet was silent for a long time, absorbing that information as she watched the three ships in their deadly dance. "Why hasn't she blown them apart?"

Jirra glanced at Chet. Siena had asked a similar question, phrased in a very different way.

"What's Morgan like?" she had asked.

"Incredibly smart, a brilliant engineer—"

Siena had waved a hand. "As a person. I know she's not really a person, but you know what I mean."

"Yes, she is really a person. I think if you painted her skin brown," Jirra had raised her own arm to illustrate, "she wouldn't be any different to us. Apart from her eyes, and contact lenses would hide them. She's a wonderful dancer and she can be lots of fun."

"Because although she's got that computer in her head, she's a living, breathing, woman with all the same emotions as you and I. She probably thinks they're just doing a job and doesn't want to kill them. But I don't think the Hunter is listening. And I think the captain isn't thinking straight. If he proceeds with that vector, he'll impinge on the J-43."

The Hunter raked Vulsaur with energy weapons from its flank. The yacht's shields sparkled with a brief blue glow. A missile followed. That wasn't silly. The captain expected to weaken the shields and pierce with the missile. But Morgan dropped the yacht out of the way seconds before impact. This time, she set Vulsaur up at right angles to the Hunter's underside. Three missiles, each sent within seconds of each other, slammed through the Hunter's shields and into its engines. The shock waves from the explosion rocked Trader's Dream.

Chet cheered, both fists raised above her head. Jirra knew Morgan Selwood wouldn't be doing that.

The Hunter continued in a straight line. With the main engines gone, so was the power to the thrusters. Jirra leaned forward. "Grief. If Promolus doesn't shift her ship soon —"

The ships collided in absolute silence, the hulls bending and crumpling and twisting under the pressure. The smaller ship's shattered nose rose over the Hunter's bow. The larger vessel split the J-43 down its underside, until the Hunter reached the engines. The explosion tore both ships apart.

***

That's a space battle, so different from what would happen in atmosphere. That is, not like the attack on the Death Star in Star Wars 😀.

Find out more about the Morgan Selwood series here.