Tasha "Sass" Sebastian has, by way of unorthodox commanding
skills, bonded well with her shipmates and advanced herself
to the rank of Captain on the side of the United Coalition
(the U-Cees), and has fallen under the condemning, undivided
glare of her enemy. Should the Admiral ever learn her
alter-ego was once the Lady Sass, she'd be thrown into jail
as sure as a furzel loves cream.
Beneath his biocybernetic exterior Admiral Branden Kel-Paten
of the Triad and Captain of the flagship Vaxxar is a man
with the pride and insecurities as any human male. Like the
six million dollar man, he was cut apart and put back
together: better, faster, but his doctors wanted a soldier,
a man who made decisions based on logic rather than
sentimentality. If the Psy-Serv should learn he harbors
cardinal feelings toward Tasha, it would be grounds for a
Section 46, he'd be removed from his command, and his mind
and who he was would be erased; reprogrammed but not for the
better.
Peace. Sometimes one has to be brought to it kicking and
screaming. As part of the Alliance Personnel Integration
Program, a combined crew of the United Coalition and Triad
is assigned to the Vaxxar during its transition. Admiral
Kel-Paten demands Captain Tasha Sebastian be his first officer.
Surviving an incoming interstellar thermal wave vortex, the
Vaxxar crew rescue the occupants of a floundering ship. Its
captain, Jace Serafino, has a standing warrant for his
arrest. While he is comatose and recuperating from his near
death experience, Dr. Eden Fynn discovers, with her empathic
abilities, she can communicate with him while in Novalis.
Jace isn't just a mercenary and traitor; he is a Nasyry
warrior-priest and a telepath.
Nature and discontents are not the only obstacles. Not
everybody wants peace. Hidden beyond the bitter animosity
between Serafino and Kel-Paten, an implant prevents Jace's
telepathy and memories of a Faction moving to stop the
Alliance. Does their hatred hide a guilty conscious for
crimes against humanity or something heroic that neither
man's ego refuses to confess?
Their troubles extend past their personal issues, past the
renegades against the Alliance, higher even than the
government is brave enough to speak about in whispers.
Retrieving the secrets isn't their only motive in removing
the implant. The device is malfunctioning and its ticking
deterioration will eventually kill Jace. Knowing that
somebody would go to such deadly lengths forces Tasha's
hand. She doubts Kel-Paten's pro position on the Alliance,
and instead she steals information from his personal
computer files for data on removing the implant from Jace.
But mixed into the files, she discovers Kel-Paten's true
feelings toward her.
In route to Panperra her secret agenda is to return Jace to
Vaxxar and continue piecing together his memories. Their
plans are throttled when the Admiral comes with, and their
ship is sent into a jumpgate unknown, unexpected, results
that places everybody's life into further jeopardy.
GAMES OF COMMAND by Linnea Sinclair is a science
fiction/adventure/romance novel that doesn't stop drawing
you in and wanting more, even at the end. It is a must read
for any reader who enjoys science fiction with a romance
that battles the odds of discrimination. I'll let you
discover the fine points of this novel other than saying I
had equal moments of cheering and crying. Oh, and I'll take
Kel-Paten any day.
The universe isn't what it used to be. With the new
alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition,
Captain Tasha 'Sass' Sebastian finds herself serving under
her former nemesis, bio-cybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten -- and
doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured
mercenary falls into their ship's hands, her efforts may be
wasted ...
Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could
expose all of Sass's secrets, tear the fragile Alliance
apart'and end Sass's career if Kel-Paten discovers them.
But the bio-cybe has something to hide as well, something
once thought impossible for his kind to possess:
feelings...for Sass. Soon it's clear that their prisoner
could bring down everything they once believed was worth
dying for -- and everything they now have to live for...