Free Sleeping With the Enemy by Kaitlyn O'Connor

thought it was alright to lecture her, tit for tat. “We don’t know anything about them-and I haven’t seen anything to make me believe they’re aggressive or cruel-but we don’t know that they’re a lot different from us either.”
        “Meaning?”
        Sybil gave her a look. “It’s safer to be passive.”
        Holly stared at her blankly for several moments before that sank in. The look of horror and revulsion that crossed her features made her sorry to have spoken at all, but she thought the woman should try to prepare herself mentally. Captive women always had to worry about rape. “I don’t believe they would,” she added hurriedly. “I’m just saying, it’s safer to be passive. It’s usually more an act of aggression than anything else and fighting is the wrong thing to do. It only encourages them to more violence.”
        “Did he…?”
        Sybil resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “No. He didn’t try anything.” She wasn’t sure it would’ve constituted rape if he had, because she was uncomfortably aware that he wouldn’t have had to try very hard to convince her, but that was beside the point. “I have the feeling he hasn’t really decided what to do with us… yet, but I don’t think he’d encourage that or allow it-if he knew. We don’t know that everyone agrees with him, though.”
        “You said he was the commander!”
        Sybil did roll her eyes that time. “Do you think the base commander is aware of everything that happens on the base? Yes, he would probably hear about it, but that wouldn’t do you any good-not if it was after the fact.”
        “What kind of creature is he?” Holly demanded as if she hadn’t heard a word she’d said.
        Anger surged through Sybil but she tamped it, examined it, and realized why she’d felt it. “I think he’s a good man.” The kind that would try to protect a complete stranger from harm by shielding her with his own body.
        
    * * * *
        
        Anka cursed himself for being ten kinds of fool all the way down to the command center. He arrived to find chaos, however, and that, thankfully, distracted his mind for a time. “What happened?”
        “The volcano in sector ten blew!” Loka, the captain on duty reported.
        “I deduced that,” Anka said dryly. “It was too close to be anything else. What’s the damage?”
        “Damage to the shutters on the southern observation room, Sir! The translucent is cracked but holding. I don’t know how long it will continue, though, with the atmospheric pressure. We sealed the room off and I sent a crew out to repair the damage to the shutters as soon as the volcano ceased to bombard us.”
        Anka nodded grimly. “What’s the estimated time on patching it?”
        “Within the hour, Sir.”
        Anka relaxed fractionally. “Send another crew out to examine the hull for any other damage. We can’t afford a breach.” He scanned the other workstations in the room finally settling his attention on Cerek. “Any damage to any of the terra-forming units?”
        Cerek saluted. “I’m still checking, sir. The unit that lies between us and the volcano seems to be working alright, but there was quite a bit of debris deposited around it and there’s interference in communications-which could be damage to the unit or simply damage to communications. We need to site check it. Unfortunately, the conditions aren’t safe right now for flight and there’s a lava river cutting us off from it.”
        Anka nodded. “Ready a team to go out as soon as it’s deemed safe enough. No heroics. We can afford to lose anybody.” As he turned to go, he met up with Onur, one of the civilian engineers attached to the project. His expression was eloquent of doom and Anka felt his belly clench in anticipation. “Yes?”
        “We lost at least six droids at the new construction site.”
        Anka ground his teeth to keep from cursing long and loudly. “You’re certain?”
        Onur