Colliding Worlds Trilogy 01 - Collision by Berinn Rae Page B

practice session knocked Legian to the ground with tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. It pissed her off and was also a great motivator to get some mean shooting skills. Legian wouldn’t laugh now if he were here.
    Dammit . She stomped a foot. Right when she was getting peacefully distracted, why did she have to go and think of that big lug again? With a sigh, she slid the gun into the holster on her thigh.
    “I never thought you had it in you.”
    She snapped around and grabbed at her heart with one hand and the gun with the other. “Jeezus, Lea. Stop doing that. I could have shot you.”
    Nalea pursed her lips. “That would have been a bitchy thing to do. I don’t think I would be your friend anymore if you did that.”
    “Yeah. Because you’d be dead.”
    “Doubt it. Your aim’s getting better, but you’re not that good yet,” she retorted.
    “Better than your clichés.” Sienna tried to look serious and couldn’t help but smile. And they both laughed. She leaned back against the way and eyed her friend. “So, how’d the briefing go?”
    Nalea ran a finger down a line in the wall. “Fine.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the target — or, at least what had been the target. “I wondered if you might be here. Legian seemed out of sorts tonight. Everything okay?”
    Sienna shrugged. “Fine, I guess. We’re taking a breather right now. That’s all.”
    Nalea’s eyes widened. “I have never heard of tahren taking ‘breathers’ before.”
    “I bet you have also never heard of a human tahren before now, either, have you?”
    “Good point,” Nalea conceded.
    “So are you going?”
    “No, I’m just coming off rotation. However, nearly all troops are going. Over two hundred total. Only troops going off shift and the tecs are staying behind. We hit the jackpop. We received intel with the location of their primary camp.”
    “First, it’s ‘jackpot,’ which further proves my point that my aim is far better than your clichés. Second, that’s great news. If we could take a camp that big, we could handicap them in one blow. They’ll never see us coming.”
    “That’s the plan.”
    “How fresh is this intel? Has it been verified?” Sienna asked.
    The Sephian shook her head. “We’re going off Apolo’s intel from his scout, and he’s never let us down before. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to check it out. Word is they’re planning to move the camp soon. It was a risk we all decided was well worth taking.”
    Sienna scuffed the floor with the toe of her shoe. “Wish I could go.”
    “You’ll join the troops in no time. You pulled off the meeting with the human military with flying collars.”
    Sienna snickered, imagining a flurry of collars flying like origami in the sky.
    “What?”
    “Nothing. Never mind.” She covered her mouth with her hand until she could keep a straight face.
    Nalea eyed her friend strangely. “But seriously, Sienna. It’s better you stay behind on this one. Having a tahren is still too new for both you and Legian. He needs his wits, and if you were with him, I fear he would worry too much for your safety and not focus on the mission.”
    Sienna paused a moment, then snapped around and fired a quick succession of shots at the already demolished target. “I hate this,” she said without looking at her friend. “I’ve been training for three months. That’s as long as or longer than any basic training camp.” She slid the gun back in her holster, turned to face Nalea. “I’m ready. I can do this. I know I can.”
    “I know you can, too. It’s amazing how much you’ve learned. But remember, most of us have been training our entire lives.” Nalea stepped closer, invading Sienna’s personal space. Then she surprised Sienna with a hug — a clumsy but full-on hug. At first she didn’t move because her body was in utter shock. Nalea was notorious for her need for personal space, and her awkwardness showed that. Then Sienna hugged her right