Dead Moon Force

By Judith Leger

Each whisper of mistrust from her comrades turns Sion Knight’s gut inside out. But she’ll do anything to save her family, including taking on the mission that partners her with the one man she should avoid...Colonel Jordan Ryes.

She’s loved him from their academy days, but now isn’t the time, if ever.

The mission to the moon has turned deadlier than her worst of nightmares. Terrorists have released a virus that has turned everyone into flesh-eating zombies, and it’s up to her team to reverse the effects before it’s too late.

The terrorists have a secret weapon they didn’t count on...dragon shifters.

Between the dangers of terrorists and zombies, life and death flash before her as strongly as her desire for Jordan. Can she stay alive long enough to fulfill the dream, or will the nightmare take a deadly hold?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decadent Publishing
• Release date: Jan 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781683613107

Book preview

Dead Moon Force

By

Judith Leger

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Dead Moon Force

Copyright 2019 by Judith Leger

ISBN: 978-1-68361-310-7

Cover art by Fantasia Frog Designs

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All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden

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Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

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Dead Moon Force

Each whisper of mistrust from her comrades turns Sion Knight’s gut inside out. But she’ll do anything to save her family, including taking on the mission that partners her with the one man she should avoid...Colonel Jordan Ryes.

She’s loved him from their academy days, but now isn’t the time, if ever.

The mission to the moon has turned deadlier than her worst of nightmares. Terrorists have released a virus that has turned everyone into flesh-eating zombies, and it’s up to her team to reverse the effects before it’s too late.

The terrorists have a secret weapon they didn’t count on...dragon shifters.

Between the dangers of terrorists and zombies, life and death flash before her as strongly as her desire for Jordan. Can she stay alive long enough to fulfill the dream, or will the nightmare take a deadly hold?

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Dedication

Taingeld!

Chapter One

Outer Reaches: Volakis system, fifth world Xanthe

Orbit: Xanthe’s moon, Coris

Year: 3140

Once upon a time, my comrades in arms trusted me. Then I was separated from them, thrust into a world of unadulterated survival. They think I can’t hear the whispers behind my back and have no idea what I will endure to regain a position of trust.

What is she doing here?

Bitch. She’d be better off resigning.

The quiet comments came from Sion Knight’s right as she entered the assembly room aboard the Magnum Cruiser SS Argo. She didn’t stop to see who’d said it. The large room aboard the first-class midrange-intergalactic-patrol cruiser was packed with soldiers and officers. In this crowd, she’d never discover who was behind the words.

With her throat tightening, she lifted her chin, ignoring the continuation of the remarks floating to her. She’d been summoned for the mission briefing, but even here, the concerns of her fellow soldiers haunted her. She’d hoped they’d remain silent, and though she tried to ignore the insinuations, she never succeeded. Nausea roiled in her gut. If she was honest, part of the problem was her fault. She’d deliberately avoided getting to know them. Fear of losing someone she cared about had made her isolate herself from the other soldiers. Now, she didn’t even have to try. They treated her like a pariah.

Her gaze landed on Piket. The man had served with her on the last mission, the one where her partner had died. The prick had more or less implied she’d killed her last partner, Sau. Equal in height to her, shorter than the average male fighter, he met her look for a second before he broke eye contact. His jaw tightened.

Bastard.

She hoped he wasn’t chosen for the mission. What if he was assigned as her partner? He’d never trust her, and with mission protocol mandatory, they’d share a lot more than fighting time. Sex with him? No, she’d find some way out of it. Why the UEF insisted on using that old protocol from ancient Earth’s history as the basis for training their fighters was lost on her. The Spartans had long been dead, turned to dust after all these years, yet the UEF insisted on dredging up their methods of training the elite forces. That included sex before missions. Supposedly, this was to help alleviate any tension built up before disembarking to fight.

More hard-edged looks were shot at her, disrupting her train of thought.

Not a single person in the room needed to tell her they placed the blame of Sau’s death on her head. Didn’t matter. She was innocent of their accusations. Right now, she had to stay focused on the present and not the past.

Her home was below. The only family she claimed lived there. At the resort where her family worked, many high officials attended a summit to discuss continued intergalactic peace. The location was in a neutral sector so the participants could meet without any major conflicts between the leaders. The resort was a popular vacation spot for many species in the galaxy. She loved her home. Her peace was shattered after a day without contact with the surface. The order had come from the top echelon to discover what was wrong on Coris.

She’d volunteered to serve on this mission. Even went so far as to send an urgent request to the main server to be allowed on this mission. The server, in all its usual twisted sense of humor, had responded with a snide, We’ll see. That intellectual mainframe got on her nerves.

A soft whisper reached her. She should have been relieved of duty.

Another voice joined the other one, loud enough for her ears. Bitch.

Gritting her teeth, she moved closer to the front of the room. She searched the officers for Commander Ito, Argo’s admiral. There, off to one side, the short, older man stood, and next to him was….

She almost missed a step at the sight of the tall, muscular man at his side. Her heart seemed to stop before picking up speed. Damn! Double damn. Of all the officers she didn’t want to see, Colonel Jordan Ryes was at the top of her list. Please don’t let him have a part in this mission.

She’d known he was on board, but she’d managed in the past few weeks to avoid him. The less she saw of him, the better she liked it. Ten years ago, during her final year at the elite forces training academy, they’d had a very brief relationship. Those silver eyes had sent out rays of authority as he strode by all the students. He’d stood out among the other men with his six-foot stature and lean features. She’d fallen hard and salivated after his lean body—so attracted to him she’d forgotten…no, overlooked the truth of his character. Not anymore, though. She’d learned a difficult lesson about how he always put the military first.

The last time she’d talked to him all those years ago, he’d tried to explain what had happened after her graduation when he’d left her to go on a mission. They’d planned to celebrate with some hot sex once the ceremony was over. He hadn’t even tried to call her to let her know. So she’d cut him off. What was the use of excuses?

Duty came first in his life.

She’d hated him. She’d been so young and foolish while at the academy. So stupid. Growing up hurt a lot. Learning how to deal with mistakes took her a long time. That, added to being marooned on a distant planet for two years, fighting to survive, had forced her to mature. Fast, too. A sharp twinge rifled through her gut. Trembling, refusing to even consider other emotions where he was concerned, she turned her attention to Ito, ignoring Jordan.

Forget him. You’re an elite fighter. He’s nothing to you now. Stay focused on your sister and her family. They need you.

An ensign called the group of soldiers to attention. Everyone lined up to face the podium. Sion stood front and center. Keeping her gaze on Commander Ito, she stood at ease, her hands clasped behind her back. Ito stepped to the podium and started the briefing.

Due to the lack of communication over the past twenty-four hours from the resort area of Coris, the UEF has decided to send a team to assess the problem. This is a recon mission only. Do not take unnecessary risks. Once the situation has been evaluated, the squad will return to the cruiser. The squad chosen will have a twenty-four-hour window to complete the job.

Commander Ito turned to Colonel Jordan Ryes. Ryes will be the officer in charge. Colonel, if you please, inform them who will comprise your squad.

Sion suppressed a groan at Ryes’s name. She blinked, frustration landing on her