Rynan stormed onto the bridge. He was in a bad mood and he made sure his scowl warned people he wasn’t interested in talking.

He went straight to his console and got to work looking at the readings for the small, rocky moon filling the viewscreen.

“Jeez, Ry, what’s up your butt today?” Justyn muttered.

“Nothing.”

Nissa cleared her throat, spinning her captain’s chair a little. “What have we got on scans?”

Ry swiped the screen. “Nothing unusual. Standard rocky composition. No atmosphere, no life signs.”

“Dare, you make him talk,” Justyn said.

Nearby, Dare stood with his hands resting at the small of his back, and his gaze on the forward viewscreen. “I forgot my torture device today. Ry will talk when he wants to.”

Justyn snorted. “Ry never talks.”

Ry ignored them. Inside, he was a mass of churning anger. Elana had chosen sex over him, her job, and the convoy.

The betrayal burned inside him. “Elana quit.”

Nissa gasped and Justyn shook his head. Dare glanced Ry’s way, his gaze unfathomable.

“You are a fucking idiot,” Justyn muttered.

Ry frowned. “Me? She was the one who quit.”

Justyn crossed his arms. “Yeah? And why did she quit?”

Ry pressed his lips together. Suddenly, he wished he hadn’t said anything. He didn’t want to discuss personal stuff with everyone.

Dare shook his head, his long hair brushing his shoulders. “When are you going to admit how you feel about her?”

“She’s my employee.”

“Not anymore,” Justyn said unhelpfully.

Another flare of panic hit Rynan. He couldn’t believe that she would leave. Leave the Nomad, her friends, a job she was good at. Leave him.

“She’s made her choice,” he growled.

Suddenly, a soft alarm sounded and he looked down at the scan results.

“Anything?” Nissa asked.

Ry shook his head. “No. A natural formation.”

Goldie bustled onto the bridge, her long shirt flowing around her. “What is it? Did you find anything?”

“Nothing yet,” Ry answered.

They moved into a lower orbit and Ry continued scanning the moon’s surface.

“Imagine an old Earth ship making it all the way out here.” Goldie’s voice held a dramatic edge. “Searching for a new home, but destined for tragedy.”

Ry had to work hard to stop from rolling his eyes. The Ventura had been a ship of thieves on the run. The console gave another beep.

Setting his hands on the console, Ry shook his head. “Nothing here.”

“This isn’t the moon we’re looking for,” Justyn said in a monotone voice.

“Damn the stars.” Goldie’s shoulders sagged.

Ry ignored his brother’s attempt at humor and looked at the screen. Then he frowned and peered closer. “Wait.”

“What is it?” Goldie demanded.

“There’s a second satellite inside the moon’s Hill sphere.”

Goldie frowned. “It’s what? Don’t tech speak to me, boy.”

Nissa cleared her throat, smiling. “The Hill sphere is the region around a star, planet or moon where an object must sit in order for it to be retained.”

“The moon has a moon,” Ry said.

Goldie made a face. “Don’t see many moons with moons.”

Ry nodded. “Over time, and I’m talking thousands of years, the sub-satellite’s orbit will decay because of the tidal forces between the planet and the larger moon.”

Goldie waved a hand. “Enough science speak, is it big enough for the Ventura crew to have landed?”

“Yes. I’m scanning it now.” Images filled the screen and he straightened. “Found something.” He zoomed in.

A small patch of dark-gray rock came into view.

He instantly saw the metal plaque bolted to it, and the engravings on it.

They were words. In English.

We, the crew of the ship Ventura, set foot on this moon on our journey to freedom, wealth and prosperity.

Goldie let out a wild whoop. “We’re on the right track, my boys. We’re close.” She grinned at them all. “Get ready to find a Viking treasure hoard.”

* * *

As Elana strode onto the bridge for her shift, she felt the heavy gazes of everyone watching her. She ignored the scrutiny and bent over her console. She didn’t once look at Rynan, standing beside her.

They’d left the rocky moons behind, and had been busy scanning for the ice world that had become the graveyard for the Ventura and her Viking treasure.

Data filled her screen. “Ice world on scanners.”

“Yes!” Goldie cried from where she was standing with Dare.

“Send me the info,” Rynan said.

Elana felt him glaring at her, but didn’t look up as she shot the info to his console.

“Wait.” She scanned the additional data popping up on her screen. “There are three ice worlds. All in a row.”

Now Goldie groaned theatrically.

“Finding treasure is never easy, Goldie.” Dare looked over at his wife and winked.

“Plan?” Rynan said.

“We need to check them all out,” Dare answered.

Elana nodded. “We’ll begin by running an initial scan for any signs of metal.” All of a sudden, an alarm started blaring on the bridge.

“Fuck,” Ry muttered.

They both knew what that alarm meant. She tapped the screen, and her body locked. “Two ships in close range.”

“It’s the space pirates,” Ry said.

“Coming in fast,” Elana added.

“Open a comm line and send them a warning,” Dare said calmly.

“Goldie, find a seat and strap in,” Ry called out. “Elana?”

She nodded. “On it.” She sent the warning message. “They’re powering up weapons.”

“Bring ours online,” Dare said, voice darkening.

Elana looked at Ry. His strong hands tapped the controls as he joined her to bring the Nomad’s weapons systems to life. They’d come under attack before, and she and Ry had defended the Nomad lots of times. Her heartbeat was slow and steady in her chest, and she didn’t let her adrenaline spike.

She tapped the screen. “Right, what’s our strategy?”

He was staring at the screen, frowning, his face blank.

“Ry?” Dare called out.

Elana glanced up, and saw something shift through Ry’s eyes. He couldn’t remember. Her heart clenched in sympathy as she saw the struggle on his face.

Well, luckily he had her to help him.

She looked at the lead pirate ship on the viewscreen. It was a small, modified ship bristling with weapons.

“It’s small, Ry, but it’s got heavy shielding and decent weapons.” She waited until he looked at her. “We need defense protocol Phoenix-97, right?”

“Right.” Something clicked back into place on his face and he blew out a breath. “Fire up the forward laser cannon.”

Elana did as ordered, tapping in the commands. As the cannon fired, she felt the faint residual shudder rumble through the Nomad. On screen, she watched the pirate ship zip out of the way of the laser fire.

“Fire again,” Rynan said. “I’m bringing the missiles online.”

He tapped the screen and Elana fired again at the ships. Space pirates were opportunistic. If they realized they were outgunned, they’d slink off like the scum they were.

The ships zigged and zagged out of the way. Damn. They were incredibly maneuverable. She tapped a finger against her console. Way more maneuverable than she’d seen before.

“Firing first missile,” Ry said.

The missile clipped the wing of the lead pirate ship, and Elana smiled. It didn’t destroy the ship, though, and a moment later, the pirate ship limped away with its sister ship.

“Nice shooting, you two,” Justyn called out. “You scared them off.”

Rynan pressed his hands to his console, scowling at the screen.

“Ry? We won.” Elana wanted to touch him and suddenly hated the distance that had grown between them.

He shook his head. “I didn’t know what to do.” His voice was low and quiet. “I could’ve gotten us all killed—”

“You didn’t. You have a good team, Ry, don’t forget that. You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

“A good team.” Turbulent gray eyes bored into her. “But you want to leave it.”

She looked away. No, she didn’t, but she had to.

“We need to check these planets out fast,” Dare said. “I don’t like knowing these space pirates are out there, not far away, sniffing for scraps like hungry dogs.”

Rynan nodded. “We have to find a way to check all three planets, quickly and efficiently.”

Elana looked up and saw Dare was eyeing her and Ry thoughtfully.

Then he abruptly swiveled. “Justyn and Dakota, you take a shuttle to the closest planet. Run localized scans, and see if you can find any sign of the wreck of the Ventura. Nissa and I will check out the central planet in the Nomad, since it’s the largest.” His gaze skewered Rynan. “Elana and Ry, you take the Pathfinder and check the last planet.”

Elana’s gaze narrowed on the convoy master. Great. She knew exactly what Dare was doing. Meddling.

“Last planet is just far enough for us to be out of visual range,” Ry said.

“Your cuttership is armed to the hilt, Ry,” Dare said. “If the pirates come at you, you’ll blow them into tiny pieces.”

“I’d like to go on the Pathfinder too,” Goldie said. “I want to see one of these planets up close and personal.” She winked at Ry. “And I want a ride in that sexy cuttership of yours.”

“Sure thing, Goldie,” Elana answered quickly. The woman would be the perfect buffer between her and Rynan. “I’ll go get the Pathfinder prepped.”

She felt Rynan watching her, but didn’t look his way as she left the bridge.

* * *

As Rynan entered the hangar bay, he took in his cuttership. The medium-sized ship was designed for the perfect balance of speed and defensibility. It had top-of-the line shielding and weapons he’d enhanced himself.

Goldie, Daarn, and Arus were all standing at the base of the ramp, Daarn towering over the others. The man had several laser pistols strapped to his hips and a large rifle on his back.

“Ready to go?” Ry asked.

Goldie bobbed her head. “Very ready. I have a good feeling. Today is the day we make history and find the Viking hoard.”

“You need a box to stand on for that speech?”

She slapped Ry’s shoulder. “Stop teasing me, young man.”

They boarded the Pathfinder and instantly Rynan felt a sense of coming home. He loved the ship, and had spent years working on it and adding special upgrades. She’d gotten him out of quite a few tight situations in the past.

When he stepped into the cockpit, he was confronted with Elana leaning over a console, giving him the perfect view of her firm, curvy ass.

Dammit. He ruthlessly controlled his body’s response.

“Ready?” he bit out through clenched teeth.

She straightened and looked over her shoulder. Her face was as cool as deep space. She nodded.

Rynan ducked back out, and took a few minutes to get the others settled in the passenger seats in the main cabin. Once he was happy they were all safely strapped in, he moved back to the cockpit and took the pilot’s chair beside Elana.

“Let’s run through the prelaunch sequence,” he said.

Elana needed no instruction. They ran through the steps like clockwork, and soon had the engines warmed up. Ry’s jaw clenched. It just reminded him how well they worked together.

How the hell was he going to do his job without her?

“You really going to quit?”

She looked straight ahead. “Yes. I’m getting off on Alfra.”

His gut dropped away. Alfra? The trade world was only a few days’ travel away. Clearly, she couldn’t wait to see the back of them.

“Ready?” she asked in a cool voice.

“Let’s go.” Gritting his teeth, Ry touched the controls. The Pathfinder rose from the bay floor, and ahead, he watched the cargo bay doors open.

“You are clear to go.” Nissa’s voice came through the comm line. “Have fun out there.”

Rynan carefully maneuvered the ship out through the doors. He was excruciatingly conscious of Elana sitting beside him, but as space opened up before them, he blew out a harsh breath, and forced himself to focus.

He turned the Pathfinder, and aimed it toward the ice planet to which they’d been assigned. His ship responded perfectly, moving with a graceful ease.

He heard the murmur of conversation in the back of the ship, which underscored the faint tension between him and Elana.

“I don’t want you to go,” he growled.

She sighed. “I know. I don’t want to go either.”

He gripped her hand. “So don’t.”

“Ry, it’s time I find where I’m supposed to be.”

“You had a place on the Nomad.”

She shook her head. “You know I grew up on an ice-mining ship. You only have two brothers and you get on so well. I had ten brothers and six sisters.”

“What?” He made a choked sound.

“My dad had two wives. Not to mention all the aunts, uncles, and cousins on our ship. Everyone worked, everyone was a part of the family team, and there was no privacy, no individuality, no being different.” She stared ahead. “Sometimes, my father couldn’t remember my name. It wasn’t a horrible childhood, but I felt stifled and invisible. That’s why I left.”

“And you feel stifled now?”

She shot him a look, her dark eyes sad. “I need more in my life.”

Silence fell again. Ry’s chest was tight as space rock, but he didn’t know what the hell to say to her. She was a vital part of the convoy, of him, but she couldn’t see that.

Not knowing what else to do, he touched the controls, and music flowed out.

“Hey, this is from Dragoff II.” She smiled. “I’ve been wanting some of their music for ages.”

“I know. I ordered it for you and picked it up on Galaxy’s Edge.”

She stared at him.

Ry shifted restlessly in his seat. “Ah, Dakota was going on about an old Earth tradition called Christmas. Apparently, it’s coming up to when it was celebrated and it’s traditional to give people gifts.”

Another beat of silence. “Thanks, Ry.”

“You’re welcome.”

It wasn’t long, before the icy orb of the planet filled the viewscreen. A big hunk of snow-covered ice.

“You can come and see,” he called back to the passengers.

Moments later, Goldie appeared in the cockpit, the men behind her. She hung over Ry’s chair, her gaze glued to the planet.

It was a desolate place covered in snow, and, according to scans, cursed with freezing temperatures. The only thing that broke the monotony of white were a few darker-colored mountain ranges sprinkled here and there.

“Several mountain ranges on scans,” Elana said. “There appear to be multiple sources of underground thermal energy.”

“Life signs?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“They may be undetectable,” he murmured. “I’ve read that some lifeforms on other ice planets have adapted to the cold, and don’t generate heat signatures.”

“We’re in orbit now,” Elana said. “I’ll start the in-depth metal scans.”

As they orbited the planet, Goldie chattered away, Arus adding a few tidbits about Earth here and there, when he could get a word in edgewise.

The comp pinged and Elana leaned over the screen. “Metal detection.” She frowned. “It’s at the northern pole, and extremely large. Likely it’s natural.”

“Note it,” Ry said.

Another ping.

“What’s this one?” Goldie asked, excitement in her voice.

“At the equator,” Elana said. “A much smaller reading. It looks promising.”

Ry stared at the unforgiving landscape below. He thought of the Ventura crashing on this inhospitable place. Poor bastards.

The scans continued to run, with Elana noting several other locations. Alarms began to blare through the cockpit.

Dammit. Ry studied the screen, and watched as a familiar image appeared on the scanners.

“Our pirate friends are back,” Elana said darkly.

“Strap in,” he roared at Goldie and the others.

The two ships moved to face the Pathfinder. The idiots weren’t going to know what hit them. The cuttership was very well armed.

“What the hell is that?” Elana said.

He frowned and followed her gaze. A third pirate ship, this one a lumbering old starfreighter, was heading toward them. A huge weapon was aimed at the Pathfinder.

“It came out of nowhere, Rynan!”

“How? We should have seen it.”

“It has some sort of stealth shielding I’ve never seen before.”

“A pirate ship beyond the central systems shouldn’t have tech like that. Send a message to the Nomad.”

She tapped. “I can’t. They’re blocking all comms.”

Fuck. Ry focused on the incoming ship and weapon. It wasn’t a cannon or missile launcher. His frown deepened. It didn’t look like any weapon he’d seen before, and Ry knew his weapons.

He saw the weapon spool up, a glowing blue light gathering in the center of it.

“Evasive maneuvers!”

“What the hell is that?” Elana threw the Pathfinder into a sharp turn.

“No fucking clue—”

The blue light shot out of the weapon and engulfed the Pathfinder. The ship shuddered and then lost power. All power. The engines cut off and they were plunged into darkness.

“Elana?”

“All power is gone! No engines. Nothing.”

Fuck. It was some sort of electromagnetic pulse weapon.

“Backup power isn’t coming on,” Elana said. “Whatever they hit us with, its knocked out everything.” In the faint light from the viewscreen, he saw her glance his way, her face tight. “We’ve got no controls, Ry.”

Damn. He stared out at the icy planet below. The Pathfinder was adrift, and starting to pitch forward. It wouldn’t take very long before the planet’s gravity would pull them in.

“Phoenix? What’s happening?”

“Busy right now, Goldie. Stay strapped in.”

The ship shuddered.

“They’re firing on us,” Elana said, her voice clipped.

Bastards. Another laser blast hit them and the Pathfinder rocked. Sparks exploded from the console in front of him.

“Fuck.”

“They’ve knocked us completely out of orbit,” Elana yelled. “We’re entering the atmosphere.”

They were going to crash. And there was nothing Rynan could do.

He looked at Elana. No. He wasn’t giving up. He reached for his harness. “I’ll go and see if I can manually get the emergency power on. At least then, we can steer the damn ship in for an emergency landing.”

Elana shook her head. “You’re the better pilot, Ry. I’ll get the emergency power on.” She unclipped her harness.

“Elana, strap back in,” he ordered. He did not want her unstrapped while they were damn well crashing.

“We are not dying today, Rynan.” Her gaze locked with his for a long second, then she spun and rushed out the cockpit at a jog.

Dammit! He wanted to follow her, but he knew she was right. He rested his palms on the console and prayed she got the power back on.

From his passengers, he heard a whimper.

“Everyone stay calm,” he called back.

“Man up, Arus,” Goldie snapped. “Phoenix and his girl will get us through this.”

Ry appreciated her optimism, even if he didn’t share it. He stared at the darkened console. Come on, Elana.

A second later, red lights flared on the console.

“Ry?” Elana’s voice on the comm.

He touched the controls. “I’m here.”

“I got some emergency systems on, but not the ship controls.” A feminine grunt over the line. “I need a few minutes.”

“Good work. Do what you can.” Ry looked out at the white orb rushing closer. They didn’t have a few minutes. His heart banged in his chest. Fuck. “You have about thirty seconds, Elana. Then I need you back here and strapped in.”

She didn’t respond.

“Elana?”

“I heard you.”

And was ignoring him. Stubborn woman.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light from outside. Flames licked up the hull and viewscreen as they entered the planet’s atmosphere.

The Pathfinder vibrated violently, and he watched as the snow-covered ground got closer.

“Elana? Back here now!” There was no answer. His gut clenched. “Elana!”

Emergency power flared to life and he touched the controls. He didn’t have time to do much, but he adjusted their angle of approach.

“Everyone brace for impact! Elana, get your butt strapped in.”

This was going to be bad. Really bad.

The ship rushed past tall mountains on the left, jagged peaks reaching into the sky. There was still no word from Elana.

Where the hell was she?

Ry gripped the console and watched the ground rush up at them. Fast. Too fast.

They hit with a bone-rattling thump. White snow sprayed over the viewscreen, and Ry heard screams, the crunch of metal, and the crash of breaking glass.

He was tossed roughly against his straps, and then there was a snapping noise, as something broke free from the wall, flying at him. It cracked against the side of his head.

And then there was nothing.