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“Once
we get down there, we’ll need to work together without a lot of tension so we
appear unified.”
    “No shit.” Torque checked their heading and
fuel supply as well as their environmental controls. The closer they got to
Earth, the more antsy he felt and the worse his mood got. There had to be a way
for this mission to succeed, something they could throw at the Egesa that the
creatures wouldn’t expect. A few hundred on-planet warriors, along with the
technically challenged Earth military—even a military able to heal quickly and
protected from the Egesa’s poisons and diseases—were not going to cut it in the
end.
    “You’ll need to follow my direction with
the U.S., otherwise you’ll get nowhere.”
    Torque looked over at him. “You’ve got one
chance, Briggs. We don’t have time to fuck around. If they’re not receptive to
our plans, we move on to another leading government.”
    “That would be a mistake. The United
States—”
    “Is not in charge of the planet. As much as
they would like to think they are. I’m aware of your history.” That was only
partially true. He hadn’t actually spent much energy on the political working
of other planets. Leila’s mate Kam was their Earth expert. Unfortunately he
wasn’t with them for this leg of the mission. A mistake in his opinion. But it
hadn’t been his call. All of them had been to Earth at least once before though
and were familiar enough with the culture. They’d make do.
    Briggs simply stared at him for several
moments then finally replied, “I don’t think Laszlo would agree with that
decision. If he did, our exchange—”
    “Laszlo isn’t here. I am.” Laszlo had
directed that they work with Briggs’ government to begin with, not with a
combined government unit, as he would have thought. But time was limited, so if
it didn’t go well, he had no problems altering the plan.
    Briggs’ gaze hardened. “You are not in
charge.” He glanced back toward Brianna. “My wife will be making the decisions
here, Torque. Don’t forget it.”
    Torque tapped the insignia on his uniform.
“This does give me a say. A big one.” He turned to the instrument panel, trying
very hard to hold onto his temper. If time started to run out, Brianna would see
the logic in changing the plan to their advantage.
    Briggs grabbed his arm. “You don’t have the
authority to go against Laszlo’s orders.”
    Torque’s gaze snapped to the man’s hand. He
slowly raised his eyes. “Are you telling me what my duty is?” he asked in a
low, tight voice.
    After a moment of silence, Sam replied,
“I’m pointing out the line of command. Abide by it. You and I both carry a lot
of weight in this mission, especially with Brianna in charge. Don’t make her
chose between us, Torque. You won’t like the outcome.”
    “If you want your hand back in one piece,
you best remove it from my arm. Now.” It angered the fucking hell out of him to
be challenged. Especially when he was in a position where doing anything about
it would just make things worse. Unfortunately Briggs knew that and was pushing
his advantage. Even so, the man removed his hand. Would Brianna listen to Sam
more than him? He didn’t know. And that bothered him.
    If Briggs turned out to be trustworthy in
the end, he’d be as respected as any Xylon Warrior. If not and he hurt or
betrayed Brianna or Xylon, Torque would personally rip him to shreds.

Chapter Two
    Ice Moon, Xylon System
     
    Braden Koll made the last fleet assignments
for Earth. They’d be meeting up with the others as soon as possible. Though
Xylon had been destroyed, their substation on the Ice Moon had survived a
half-assed attack by the Egesa fleet. Obviously they hadn’t thought the Ice
Moon much of a threat. If Daegal had known the actual strength of their
fighters here, he never would have made such an oversight and would have sent
in everything he had to annihilate them all.
    The main facility here, hidden deep under
the thick