Downfall: Enemies to Lovers Sci-Fi Romance

By Alexandra Norton

Seething animosity intertwines with undeniable desire within the tightest of spaces.

Tez and her silent enemy had been at each other's throats for months, trying to shoot each other from the orbit of Arvex.

She always thought of the intruder as “it” because they were taught to eschew the enemy’s humanity for as long as possible. She’d studied its flight patterns intricately… maybe a little obsessively. It was an object—a target.

But then her target sent both of them crashing to the surface of the uninhabitable planet she was meant to be guarding. Now, trapped together in the remnants of a cramped fighter craft, Tez finds herself face-to-face with her enemy for the first time.

Fear grips her, yet it's not his forceful grip on her wrists as he towers over her that sends shivers down her spine. It's the electric charge that crackles between them, immobilizing her under the weight of his penetrating gaze.

Tez has been suppressing her compulsive curiosity about who exactly was in that enemy cockpit for weeks. Now, she's faced with the real thing... And he might be her downfall.

Downfall: Enemies to Lovers Sci-Fi Romance is a steamy novella in which seething animosity intertwines with undeniable desire within the tightest of spaces.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alexandra Norton
• Release date: Nov 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9791222474625

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

TEZ

It was like déjà vu, this dance. She’d seen it all before out here, in the liminal space between the station she guarded and the mined-dry planet it orbited. The way the intruder strafed to port, then did a one-eighty rotation to flop onto its dorsal fin for no reason whatsoever was infuriatingly familiar. There was no point in it.

She always thought of the intruder as it because they were taught to eschew the enemy’s humanity for as long as possible. Of course there was a pilot in that cockpit, but Tez still made herself think of it as an object—a target to either chase away or kill. This one had bothered her frequently enough for kill to have become the priority. She was sick and tired of getting interrupted on her breaks to suit up and ward off the pest. But there she was again, charging her weapons from the cockpit of her Raptor after having had her breakfast cut short.

Tez rolled her eyes and opened the comms.

Unknown vessel, leave Arvex Station Atlas territory immediately, she started with the official script. Or just stay very still, maybe.

She wasn’t expecting a reply. None ever came. She was expecting the volley of laser fire from the intruder, which she dodged with practiced ease. She knew its patterns now, after months of this crap. Tez responded with a burst of fire, and she couldn’t help but let out a whoop as one of her lasers grazed her opponent’s belly.

The weirdest part about these recent attacks, aside from the fact that their motive was entirely unclear, was the ships. They looked to be a highly modded Raptor class. Not a known mod any of their systems were able to identify, though. They had giant bulbous appendages on all sides, making them look like they were covered in oversized bubble wrap. Very tempting to pop.

They had managed to destroy a couple over the last months, but never this one. This one, not-so-affectionately nicknamed Gnat by Tez and her crewmates, was the worst. Gnats were tiny flying insects on Old Earth, always lingering and difficult to swat. Apparently, they were everywhere. She wondered what had died first when Old Earth was destroyed, the gnats or the humans?

In fact, her belly-singing maneuver was the first time any of them had managed to get a hit on this particular craft. There technically wasn’t a way to identify them since the vessels transmitted no call signs, but station AI had learned to tell them apart by their approach and movement patterns. And with how often Tez sparred with this attacker, she didn’t even need the AI to pick it out of the crowd. It favored port, was wobbly on starboard, and had this meandering way of zooming around the station for no obvious purpose. But once intercepted and cornered, drawn out of its obscure flight path, it would react like an Old Earth snake, striking out with incredible precision and speed. Each time this happened, it got on her nerves a little more. She had an unnerving feeling that she was being toyed with.

Tez narrowed her eyes, watching the gash in the belly of the beast ahead. Hoping she unbalanced the pilot, Tez fired another burst.

No luck—the ship righted itself and swerved expertly out of the way.

You’re getting sloppy, she droned over the comms channel.

She wasn’t supposed to communicate with intruders aside from instructing them to leave. It was a violation. But what were they gonna do, take her off her shift? She was due to be sent back to home base in a week, anyway. She wouldn’t really mind getting caught and being dismissed a bit early, never having to deal with this nuisance again. Breaking a little rule for once in her Hydra Company career felt good, letting her blow off some steam over the nagging grudge she’d been building. Even the thought of such callousness made her stomach twist with discomfort, though.

Damn—no, shit, no, darn it, she chastised herself for the unintended string of expletives and swerved down as the mystery vessel ahead fired off its own volley of beams.

Unlike her Raptor’s weapons, which had been designed to abide by Universal atrocity specs, the intruders’ ships were retrofitted with lasers which did not dissipate at the permitted distance of three to ten miles. They just. Kept. Going. That was why Tez always had to make sure not to position herself between the intruder and the station orbiting Arvex. It likely wouldn’t be a problem; Arvex Station Atlas had shields up at all times. But she’d rather not have it hit more than necessary. Heck, her entire job was to not have it hit at all, after all.

Tez prided herself on maintaining her composure under pressure, but this thing was such a pain in her ass. She twitched the yoke up, diving out of the path of another volley, which narrowly missed her own keel.

This particular Gnat was hers to swat. She may not have managed to squash it yet, but she was the only one who could come close. She’d studied its flight patterns intricately… maybe a little obsessively. It was weaving in front of her now, back and forth, arcing its way back toward the station.

No can do, Tez thought, cutting off its path with a line of fire.

The craft was wobbling, and smoke expanded in all directions from its keel where she’d hit it. Tez turned to take aim again, but the Gnat was already retreating. She gave chase until their mandated territorial periphery, stretching fifty miles around the station. She was tempted to follow, finish the job. But that was a sure sign that she was getting distracted, the pull of victory a bit too strong to think rationally. And being too emotional in the heat of battle helped nobody.

Besides, she really wanted to finish her breakfast. She begrudgingly turned back once assured the intruder was continuing its retreat.

Saw you hit that asshole. Good job! Reana smacked Tez on the shoulder, clambering over the metal bench of the canteen to sit next to her. Reana gave her head a quick sideways jerk to throw her overgrown bangs out of her eyes. Those broke the dress code, risking her vision being compromised in the cockpit.

Not my business, Tez reminded herself. She shoveled a spoonful of porridge, topped with a healthy dose of nutrigel, into her mouth.

Thanks, Tez mumbled through the mouthful.

Don’t know how you let it go, though. You had it for sure. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you like this. Life on station getting a bit boring for you?

Tez sent Reana a glare. If you want to chase bloodlust, better dig two graves.

Still listening to old Yeon’s training, huh? You’re a better woman than me. Reana sprawled her sinewy arms across the table and bent forward, resting her cheek on her inner elbows. I can’t wait to get out of this place.

Same, Tez agreed, stifling a pang of melancholy. She’d never encountered a pirate so persistent, and it sucked to think that she would never find out what they actually wanted. None of the guards knew for sure, but they all suspected the Gnat was the ringleader. It was the best pilot, anyway. They were pretty certain the group was small: they’d counted five of them. Having picked off two, there were three left.

This had been going on for months, and no matter how many reports they sent off to command, no backup came. The base contained a skeleton crew left solely for the protection of remaining equipment. It was due for full decommission and retrieval over the following week—the process had already started. Arvex itself was a husk of rock by now, all ice cracked, melted, and siphoned off. There was nothing more to mine, save for a few minuscule reserves left to hydrate the remaining staff.

One and only perk of the job: you get to have some water. It was why Tez joined up ten years back. It was why most of them applied.

Being a final guard at these mining stations was usually a relatively uneventful existence.