Woot! The countdown to Strike Zone’s release day has started! Woot!
I will be sharing the first chapter while we wait.
Today, I’m sharing the very first scene.
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Chapter One
Strike was second-in-command on a battle station that was now on secondary patrol along the most-isolated section of the cyborg sector’s border.
Being second meant waiting.
He fully embraced that state. There was no urgency in his processors or organic brain to gain control of a vessel.
Becoming a captain had never been a motivating goal for him. It was merely the path he’d stepped onto when he’d followed Intrepid, his current captain, to the Dauntless.
That male had helped to orchestrate his escape from the Humanoid Alliance, their cruel manufacturers. Intrepid had earned his full loyalty.
Strike would do anything for him. And, as second-in-command, he served his captain as best as he could. He protected Intrepid, the beings under the male’s leadership, and the battle station Intrepid commanded, constantly surveying the space around them for danger. He solved problems.
And he monitored the mood of the crew.
At the moment, the mood was one of extreme restlessness. The excess energy on the bridge was palpable.
Grid, their navigator, was especially impacted by it.
We should test the Dauntless’s shields. The chaos-loving male shared that suggestion through the officer-transmission lines.
Captain was excluded from those communications.
We’ve already tested our shields. Drift, their pilot, pointed out that truth. They passed that test.
We tested them with dummy missiles. Grid countered. We should test them now with fully functional missiles.
All the officers on the bridge, including Strike, turned their heads and simply stared at the male.
You want to shoot fully functional missiles at our battle station? Drift laughed. Are your systems damaged, warrior?
My systems are fully functional. Grid’s tone was serious. We’ll aim at the Dauntless’s wings. The potential for damage will be minimized.
But there would be damage. Strike stressed that fact. And the probability another part of the battle station will be hit by the missiles isn’t zero.
Cyborgs were skilled warriors. They weren’t infallible.
You’ll kill us all. Drift was less tactful.
We only risk death if our shields fail. Grid wasn’t backing down.
That’s not comforting, Argot, their communications officer, muttered.
The male’s human female sat next to him. She was the daughter of the Valkyrie, Captain’s genetic match.
Are all navigators like this? Choice, their engineer and newest member of the team, glanced at Strike.
Grid is…unique. Strike had met less-extreme beings holding that role on other ships.
His processors must be overclocked. Cure, their medic, pointed a handheld at Grid. But I can’t detect any variances from spec.
I’m not damaged. Grid waved his arms.
Captain’s head lifted. He gazed at the male. “Is the cause of your agitation a threat to the Dauntless, to its crew, or to the rest of the sector?”
“No.” Grid frowned.
“Yes.” Every other officer said that at the same time.
Captain’s female’s lips twitched. The Valkyrie was seated by their leader. Her left hand and Captain’s right hand were hidden under the console.
Strike suspected their fingers were linked. Physical contact was soothing to cyborgs and their genetic matches.
He didn’t process that from his own experience. Strike hadn’t located the one being he was fabricated to bond with, care for, protect.
And he projected he would never find them.
His lifespan would be devoted to safeguarding others, including his captain. And battling to maintain the peace on board the Dauntless and in the cyborg sector. “Requesting authorization to plan another mock battle, Captain.”
Pick me as one of the leads. Pick me. The mock battle, as Strike projected, distracted Grid.
“Authorization granted, Second.” Captain’s gaze didn’t shift from the navigator. “What is the threat?”
Strike silently groaned.
“There’s no threat, Captain.” Cyborgs couldn’t lie. That was written into their programming. Grid projected…incorrectly…they wouldn’t face any danger as a result of his bizarre plan. “Requesting authorization to test our shields, utilizing fully functional missiles.”
“You want to erect a shield around some space debris and fire missiles at it?” Intrepid narrowed his eyes at Grid.
The male tilted his head to the side. “That’s one option.”
“If your plan is to shoot missiles at the Dauntless and place everyone on board in peril, that request is denied.” Captain frowned.
Olrun’s shoulders shook. The captain’s Valkyrie was holding in her laughter. She didn’t process, as Strike did, that shooting missiles at their battle station was Grid’s plan.
***
Read the next scene (available February 5th) here:
https://tasteofcyn.com/?p=11562
***
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Strike Zone
A cyborg devoted to duty…and to her.
***
While attending a party, Kesser, the daughter of her planet’s leader, witnesses the abduction of her best friend and her best friend’s mate.
She’s determined to rescue them. Preferably without fracturing the fragile peace agreement her mom has crafted with the abductors’ planet.
The only issue is…she has never participated in a retrieval mission.
Searching for assistance, she approaches the mate’s guard. The male, with his big broad shoulders and deep growly voice, affects her like no other being ever has.
Kesser wants him. She trusts him. And she requires his stealth combat skills.
Desperately.
Strike is no guard. The D Model cyborg has been sent to the sector to discreetly investigate a potential planet-destroying situation.
When a curvy human female with big brown eyes requests his help with a rescue, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes. She’s his genetic match, the one being he was manufactured to protect.
She’s also traveling to the next planet he has to search. He plans to claim his female while he fulfills his responsibilities to his kind.
Neither Strike nor Kesser realizes the dangers facing them are far greater than they imagine. Their enemies are converging, and one failed mission could doom the entire universe.
***
Strike Zone is a standalone, mistaken-identity, Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a cyborg warrior with a finely honed sense of honor, a human support being taking on her first dangerous mission, and an evil that threatens everyone in existence.
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Strike-Zone-Romance-Dauntless-Cyborgs-ebook/dp/B0CL5QZBQ8/
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strike-Zone-Romance-Dauntless-Cyborgs-ebook/dp/B0CL5QZBQ8/
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Strike-Zone-Romance-Dauntless-Cyborgs-ebook/dp/B0CL5QZBQ8/
Amazon Canada:
https://www.amazon.ca/Strike-Zone-Romance-Dauntless-Cyborgs-ebook/dp/B0CL5QZBQ8/
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/strike-zone/id6469583228
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strike-zone-cynthia-sax/1144231998
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/strike-zone-13
Smashwords:
