Void Wraith (The Void Wraith Trilogy Book 2) by Chris Fox Page B

Shipwarming Present

    Nolan circled warily, prowling the edge of the dueling circle as Fizgig did the same just a few feet away. The pair watched each other, each waiting for a weakness.
    "Hey, Nolan, if you're through getting your ass kicked I brought you a present," Annie said, drawing Nolan's gaze.
    It was a fatal error. In the split second Nolan's gaze was averted, Fizgig darted forward and rammed her plasma blade into his chest. His muscles spasmed in the by-now familiar pain of paralysis, and he flopped about for several agonizing seconds, clawing the deck as he waited for the pain to subside.
    "You let Annie's arrival distract you. Such distractions are common in combat. They separate the warriors from the kits. Kits will chase whatever draws their attention," Fizgig said, offering Nolan a paw. He accepted it and she effortlessly heaved him to his feet. "You must be more than that. You must be a predator, fixed on your prey. If your focus is greater, then you will be ready to take advantage of their lapse in attention."
    Like all of Fizgig's lessons, this one was practical and easy to understand. Nolan nodded, bending to pick up his towel as he walked over to the doorway. "Same time tomorrow?"
    "Of course," Fizgig said, nodding. She leaned forward to lick her forearm, then glanced back at him. "You have impressed me, Nolan. You learn quickly. Pursue this with the same persistence you have pursued strategy, and you will become deadly."
    Nolan gave her a grateful nod, then joined Annie in the hallway. She carried a large brown sack that bulged with a rectangular object. A trail of red and yellow wiring, long enough to brush the floor, hung from the bag.
    "Is that what I think it is?" Nolan asked, toweling sweat from his face.
    "Yep," Annie said cheerfully. "I figure Bock will get by without one for a few days, and none of the miners care. Coronas will pay for a replacement. I can have it installed on the bridge whenever you like, but if you want something quick and dirty all it needs is power. There are conduits all over the ship."
    "Okay, let's get it installed then," Nolan said, starting for the bridge. He was quiet as they walked, considering Annie's actions. They were a little ruthless, but also pragmatic. They'd needed a quantum transmitter, so she'd acquired one.  
    Underhanded, but the longer Nolan played this game the more he realized principles could get you killed. Principles were the reason Admiral Kelley had died in his sleep. Yet if one gave up one's principles, what was left? It was a troubling line of thought.
    He trotted up the last set of stairs, striding onto the bridge. "Set it up on the far wall there; you can wire it to that access panel."
    Nolan moved to the hastily-installed captain's chair, sitting stiffly on the sharply angular metal. It wasn't comfortable, but it beat standing for the entire shift. He watched as Annie worked quickly and efficiently. She had the access panel off and the wiring exposed within seconds. It didn't take much more than a minute for her to connect the red and yellow wires to the pulsing blue lines that powered their ship.
    "The nice thing about these portable transmitters," Annie said, closing the access panel, "is that they have limiters built in. It will automatically regulate the flow of power it draws from the ship."
    "That's it? You installed a quantum transmitter into an alien vessel, and all it took was two minutes of your time?" Nolan asked, raising an eyebrow.
    "I'm pretty good with this stuff, but it's just not that hard," she said, shrugging. She pressed the green button on the front of the transmitter and it hummed to life. "The network strength is really weak. You can't check your messages in your bunk or anything, but at least we should be dialed in now."
    Nolan got out his comm. It was already syncing, the tiny QN logo swirling across the screen. A moment later, his home screen began to populate, and he saw he'd missed several messages. He thumbed open