Moonstruck by Susan Grant

desk, her head throbbing. Of all the things she hadn’t wanted the Drakken to become, human topped the list.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    W ELL INTO HIS FIRST SHIFT on the bridge, Finn went about his duties, cross-checking the route and star charts even though the shipboard computers did so much more than those he was used to on Imperial Navy vessels.
    What about the computers in his body? Would they be as efficient? He turned over his hand and scrutinized the plump veins in his forearm. Already a few small scratches he’d gotten from unpacking his few possessions had shrunk. More changes were taking place throughout his body; he could feel them. All his life, he’d lived with a faint humming noise in his left ear. It had gone away. As much as the thought of foreign bodies in his bloodstream made his skin crawl, he realized the accelerated healing would come in useful in a battle situation.
    If not, there was Dr. Kell. The man had poked and prodded, assuming Finn would give him a free pass into any orifice he chose. The doc soon found out otherwise. “Don’t bend over,” Finn told Bolivarr, who’d been on his way in as Finn was leaving. His warning had left the former wraith looking uncharacteristically worried.
    “That’s it—you got it. Bring her in, yes, like that.” One of the more experienced Coalition pilots was giving the Earthling Tango and Rakkelle the first of their official training on the flying of the Unity. Finn walked over to watch.
    “This is cake,” Tango told the instructor, completing a simulation of a docking and receiving with, from what Finn could tell, perfect scores. “Give me something hard.”
    “I know a few men on my crew who wouldn’t mind helping you out,” Rakkelle said saucily.
    Tango snorted. “I don’t blow that way, girl.”
    “That’s what you say.” Rakkelle took the controls for the identical docking simulation. “I’d have to see for myself before I’d know if you were telling the truth.”
    “Is that a dare?”
    Rakkelle’s eyes had that saucy spark Finn was well used to seeing. “In my world, men know the difference between a dare and an invitation.” She winked and turned back to the flying simulation.
    Tango’s smile was one of self-congratulatory speculation. Rakkelle was flirting, and the pilot was eating it up. Aye, but the woman flirted with everyone, Finn included. He decided not to enlighten the Earthling. Let him figure it out for himself.
    Rakkelle completed the docking maneuver with praise and a few pointers from the instructor. Tango stood, leaning over to tell her, “Looks like you might be better off concentrating on your flying for a while, Cadet. Hooking up with me would be too distracting. For the sake of our mission, and your chances at becoming an officer someday, I wouldn’t want to interfere with your instruction. And you’ll need it if you’re ever gonna be as good as me, Rocky.”
    Rocky? Finn choked on a laugh. Rakkelle looked shocked and amused, and maybe a touch annoyed. If he’d thought Rakkelle was cocky, she didn’t come close to Tango. The Earthling was full of himself, as a soldier and as a male.
    The pilot swaggered off, no doubt in the direction of the bar, which, at last report, was in full swing. Zurykk was keeping an eye on things, making sure no fights started that weren’t Drakken-on-Drakken. If trouble erupted between factions, Finn didn’t want anyone from the Pride listed as instigators. Although now that they were under way, if Bandar wanted to evict him or his crew, there would have to be some discussion involved.
    Or so you hope, Rorkken.
    Across the bridge in the office, Bandar sat at her desk, her hands in fists as she glared at data. Gods knew why. It wasn’t her shift, it was his, yet she was still up. Combing the crew manifest for more civilians or wraiths? Judging by her expression, she might have found some. Gods, he hoped not.
    They weren’t that far from the Ring that she couldn’t turn the ship around. Of