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She nodded, but her cheeks were still burning.
Draven lowered himself onto the seat behind the main control console. Flora eased herself onto the seat next to his, struggling to find a position that didn’t hurt. Noratu sat behind them. As soon as everyone was settled, Draven took off.
“I heard that Raina’s auction is on hold,” she said after the initial burst of acceleration. “Do either of you know why?”
The males exchanged knowing looks before Draven admitted, “We do, but it’s part of your surprise so it will have to wait until after the mission.”
She harrumphed. “We have time right now. Why can’t you tell me?”
“Because your surprise was postponed by your punishment,” Draven said firmly. “We are on duty. Center your mind.”
He was right. She needed to focus on the mission. Distracted operatives were a danger to themselves as well as those around them. She would do nothing to endanger her mates. “How will this work? Are we going to stream down to where the ships are?”
Noratu smiled at her. “You are greatly underestimating our power. We can push our energy through the hull of the ship.”
“Really? We can just stand there on the bridge and blow up a target hundreds of feet below us?”
“Thousands, love. Not hundreds,” Draven corrected. “We will be positioned two to threemilesabove the target for this mission.”
“That will keep us out of their weapons’ range,” Noratu added.
If the range of most power triads was greater than a starship, she was starting to understand why they were so coveted. There hadn’t been a formal briefing, so how had these two known what to expect? “Have you guys been on missions with power triads before?”
“Many,” Noratu told her. “Bonding with you expanded our abilities in ways we are still discovering, but we have been able to access them since puberty when we activated.”
“That’s why controllers and sources continue to train even though there are so few conduits.”
It wasn’t a question, but Draven nodded. “That and they all secretly hope they will be chosen by the governors.”
What was he talking about? “I thought bonding contracts were negotiated by the conduit’s parents.”
“They are, but each proposed triad must be approved by the governors before the bond is formed.”
She hated bureaucracy. All of this would be so much easier if they would just allow the triads to form organically. “And how many females are on this board? Do conduits get any kind of voice?”
“There are two,” Noratu said proudly. “Your mentor is one of them.”
This surprised and pleased Flora. Nadis had been a wonderful teacher, but could she stand up to someone like Zevon Raydo?
“The approval process is necessary and complex,” Noratu stressed. “The governors must keep the power balanced and that is not easy to do. The first concern is genetic compatibility. Triads have been allowed to form organically in ages past and it led to some horrific mutations.”
Clearly, he had heard her mental grumblings. She reinforced her shields with a sigh. She didn’t mind sharing her thoughts and emotions when they were in bed, but she valued her personal space.
“It also led to the Controller Wars.” Draven shuddered. “That was one of the darkest periods in our history.”
Flora suspected both of those topics required a lot more time than they had before arriving on Draven’s ship, so she let the topic drop. As Draven suggested, she centered her mind and calmed her spirit. If they proved themselves—ifsheproved herself—during this mission, they would be trusted with other, more important tasks.
They arrived a few minutes later and went directly to the command deck. It was an area of the ship Flora hadn’t seen before so she took a moment to look around. They emerged onto a raised area with a long, narrow control console. Three tall, lanky males stood along the counter. Unlike everyone at the Citadel, these males were dressed individually, and rather casually, in tunics and loose-fitting pants. Apparently, mercenaries were not into uniformity. Each had their own display but none of them were working. They just stared at her, their expressions semi-hostile.
She ignored their rudeness and continued her visual inspection. As in other parts of the ship, the inset lights gave off a bluish glow. She still wasn’t sure if it was just an aesthetic preference or if it served a purpose she didn’t yet understand. In front of her stretched a large, slightly curved display that featured an exterior view of the Citadel.
The lower level was lined with workstations. There was a large console in the center of the room, likely designed for the commander. Some of the crew sat while others stood, and every one of them stared wide-eyed at her. Had they never seen a female before?
Draven nodded to each crewmember they passed on their way to the command station. A male with reddish-gold hair and dark eyes vacated the tall-backed seat as Draven approached. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks for keeping my seat warm,” Draven teased as he sat down behind the curved console. Then to the room at large he said, “Everyone, this is Flora, my mate. Flora, meet my bridge crew.” The brusque introduction alleviated the tension and most of the males went back to work. “Anything I need to know?” Draven asked the male who had welcomed him back.
Was this Draven’s business partner, the one who was hoping to buy the security business?
