Switched, Too excerpt

 Switched, Too by Diane Burton, available June 10^th

 Blurb:
 

Be careful what you wish for . . . you might get it.

Down-sized astronaut candidate Scott Cherella leaps at the chance to go into space. He just has to pretend to be an Alliance of Planets starship captain. His lifelong dream quickly becomes a nightmare when sabotage erupts. To save the ship and crew he has to depend on an uptight, disapproving colleague.

The only time Veronese Qilana broke the rules, tragedy resulted. She vowed never again. Now, to protect the real starship captain, she'll have to deceive the crew by helping the imposter. They must work together to uncover the saboteur and get the crew safely home. In doing so, they discover opposites really do attract.

      Excerpt from Switched, Too

      "Emergency Alert!"

     The strident klaxon blared. Red lights flashed. The message repeated.

     Veronese Qilana's heart hammered against her ribs as she quickly stepped off the elevated transport platform. Her stomach clenched. Adrenaline raced through her veins. By the Intrepid Ones, the ship was under attack. Again.

     "Battle stations!"

     She checked behind her for her companion. Scott Cherella momentarily stumbled—a normal effect for one unused to a tele-transporter. His hand fell heavily on her shoulder before he steadied himself. She caught her breath and quickly stepped aside. The man would give himself away if he were not careful. If that occurred, her complicity would be revealed.

     "Prepare for attack." The command from First Officer Klegznef, his deep voice unmistakable over the general comm unit, replaced the computer-generated Emergency Alert. "A vessel with hostile intent approaches."

     That could not be. The war was over. According to Space Fleet Command, the rebels had abandoned this system. Alliance vessels were deployed in other sectors, routing out those who hid instead of surrendering. No starship should be in this system—not even the Freedom.

     While she and the captain were on the surface, the ship was cloaked to avoid detection by Earth's defense systems. Decloaking momentarily to transport Scott and her to the ship must have made the Freedom visible to this other vessel.

     The klaxon's blare charged every one of Veronese's nerve ending. Anxiety raced up her spine. Her stomach twisted. Her heart pounded in her ears. She had experienced those emotions once before. Tragedy resulted.

     For the past six months, the Freedom had been engaged in battle with the Praetorians, rebels who wreaked havoc on Alliance ships and outposts. After seeing death so recently—so close—she feared for the safety of the crew. Fear. Such a Terran emotion. One she could not totally suppress despite her Serenian conditioning.

     With a shaking finger, she tapped the communicator on her wrist before her companion forgot about the transport technician hidden from view and asked the way out. Her link opened the concealed portal. Scott Cherella did not even glance at her as he dashed through the opening she created. She quickly followed him through the portal.

     With surprising confidence, he strode down the corridor toward the bridge. The captain's uniform molded his long legs and excellently proportioned rear. Veronese recalled a video she watched during her first sojourn on Earth. Buns of Steel.

 

Diane Burton is the author of the Switched series. Book 1, Switched, is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Switched, Too will be released June 10^th. The final book in the series is slated for release in 2013. Readers can follow Diane on FaceBook, GoodReads, her blog, Twitter and her website.