“Captain Sander?”
Her comms specialist’s voice came through her nano-earpiece. Nissa kept her gaze locked with Phoenix’s silver one and touched her ear. “Go ahead, Ensign.”
“There’s a Pri-One transmission for you. From HQ.”
A priority one meant something big. “I’ll be there in a minute.” She heard the distinctive step of Patrol boots headed back into the cockpit. Tryker entered, his face dark. He shook his head.
Nissa sighed. “One of these days, Phoenix, I’m going to catch you with your pants down.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she cursed herself.
The laugh lines around his mouth deepened. “Oh, I hope so, Captain Smooth. I hope so.”
She gave his handsome face one last perusal, then looked at her team. “Back to the Freedom.” The teletrans flared and the last thing she saw was Justyn’s silver-gray eyes.
Back on the bridge, she strode toward her ops room off the bridge. “Ensign Gat’nar, put the Pri-One through to my private console.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Nissa pressed the palm plate beside the door. The ops room was actually two rooms—the larger main room with a glossy conference table, and an adjoining room that was her private office. She loved that her office had a large, round window that gave a stunning view of space. Something inside her eased. The vista of the endless black—covered in a sprinkle of stars—never failed to speak to something in her. As she rounded her desk, she caught sight of the very back of Phoenix’s runnership. Her gaze narrowed on the engine intakes. If she wasn’t mistaken, he had some not-strictly-legal modifications.
She shook her head. Justyn Phoenix wasn’t her priority right now.
Dropping into her chair, she touched the screen built into her desk. Admiral Carmel DeRuyter’s stern face filled the screen, her ash-blonde hair a sleek bell surrounding features untouched by the popular anti-aging treatments. DeRuyter had been a mentor to Nissa since her days in the Galactic Security Services Academy. Nissa respected the older woman, who’d come through the Quadrant Wars with a slew of commendations, and was tougher than most sitting on the GSS Council. Most of all, DeRuyter was willing to do anything to protect the galaxy.
“Ma’am. What can I do for you?”
“It’s good to see you, Nissa. I wish I was calling under better circumstances. We have a situation and you’re the closest ship we have.”
Nissa waited for the woman to continue, anticipation sending a flare through her blood.
“Exactly seven hours ago, the US Constitution document was stolen from the Galactic Institute of Historical Preservation.”
“What?” Nissa sat forward in her seat. “The US Constitution? One of the five Galactic Constitution Codices?” It was one of the most revered manuscripts in the galaxy, used as a foundation for the Galactic Constitution. And it was priceless.
“Unfortunately, yes,” the admiral said.
“Do you know who took it?”
“We have some partial intel. Galactic Intelligence managed to intercept a transmission, but they only got a short section. We don’t know who stole it or why, but we know they’ve since passed it off to a gridrunner named Hewett Kenth.”
A gridrunner. A small transporter, not unlike Phoenix, who moved all manner of things around the galaxy. Usually legal cargo, but everyone knew that gridrunners were known to go off-grid and run all kinds of contraband.
Hewett Kenth was a familiar name. He ran through the Exodus quadrant in his runnership, the Trader’s Dart, and kept a small base at Galaxy’s Edge. She’d arrested him three times in the past…no, wait a minute, four. “I know Kenth. He’s strictly small-time. I can’t see him getting involved with something like this.”
“Well, he must have decided to join the big leagues. He’s to rendezvous with someone at Galaxy’s Edge Space Station and hand over the artifact.” DeRuyter’s blue eyes glittered. “I want you to get it back and bring in everyone involved.”
DeRuyter smiled. “Pull this off, Captain, and I can finally arrange a transfer back to one of the central quadrants in your near future.”
Nissa straightened. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Update me regularly.” The screen went black.
Nissa stood and strode onto the bridge. “Get the interstellar drives up. We have a priceless artifact to recover.”
The Phoenix Adventures
At Star’s End
In the Devil’s Nebula
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Return to Dark Earth – Coming 2015
Return to Dark Earth – starring Niklas Phoenix and Nera Darc will be available in 2015.
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Also by Anna Hackett
The Anomaly Series
Time Thief
Mind Raider
Soul Stealer
Salvation
The Phoenix Adventures
At Star’s End
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Perma Series
Winter Fusion
The WindKeepers Series
Wind Kissed, Fire Bound
Taken by the South Wind
Tempting the West Wind
Defying the North Wind
Claiming the East Wind
Standalone Titles
Savage Dragon
Hunter’s Surrender
One Night with the Wolf
Anthologies
A Galactic Holiday
Moonlight (UK only)
Vampire Hunter (UK only)
Awakening the Dragon (UK Only)
For more information visit AnnaHackettBooks.com
I’m passionate about action romance. I love stories that combine the thrill of falling in love with the excitement of action, danger and adventure. I’m a sucker for that moment when the team is walking in slow motion, shoulder-to-shoulder heading off into battle. I write about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.
My books are mixture of action, adventure and sexy romance and they’re recommended for anyone who enjoys fast-paced stories where the boy wins the girl at the end (or sometimes the girl wins the boy!)
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Table of Contents
What readers are saying about The Phoenix Adventures
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Read the first chapter of Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
Also by Anna Hackett
About Anna