Page 13 of Rogue Starfighter

“The program matched your preferences to an existing warrior.”

“Wait.” Alvarez held up both hands. “The alien is your pixel boyfriend? The one you picked over tacos?”

“This is not the time, Alvarez.”

Vesh’s gaze snapped to him. “What is a pixel boyfriend?”

“Definitely not the time,” I repeated.

My supervisor stepped closer to me. “Anand, airport police are on the way. Are you in danger?”

Good question. I looked at the unconscious guards on the camera feed, then back at Vesh. “Did you kill anyone on the way up here?”

He looked offended. “No.”

“Permanent injuries?”

“No. Your guards attempted to stop me. I disabled them. They will wake with headaches.”

“How bad?”

“Moderate.”

“You couldn’t have asked to see me?”

“I did. They refused.”

Of course they had. A giant armed man had walked into a secure, federal facility and demanded to be taken to an air traffic control tower. There was no version of that request that ended with Hollis handing him a visitor badge.

“I am sorry,” Vesh added, clearly lying.

“No, you’re not.”

“No. I am not.”

I almost smiled. He came closer. My coworkers moved back. I stayed where I was. The heat at the base of my neck intensified with every step he took. When he stopped in front of me, the heat settled into a low pulse. His eyes narrowed. He felt it, too.

“It was never a game,” he said.

"How are you speaking English? You're an alien. How do you know my language?"

He shrugged. "I have had years to study Earth and your peoples. I have come to take you to Velerion. You completed the training. You are my bondmate and an Elite Starfighter. You are needed to help fight the war."

"The war? The one against Queen Raya and the so-called Dark Fleet?"

"Yes. That is what they are called."

“If you need my help, why did you electrocute airport security?”

“The weapon is not electrical.”

“That is the part you want to correct?”

One corner of his mouth almost shifted into a grin. There he was. My impossible, humorless wingman.

“Starfighter Training Academy is a recruitment and training program,” he continued. “The missions are simulations of real battles. You completed the reconnaissance training and accepted my crest. You are now an Elite Starfighter.”

“And the war?”