Change of Momentum – Liana Brooks

Newton’s Second Law of Motion

F = m*a
An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless a force acts upon it.
An object that is in motion will not change its velocity unless a force acts upon it.

Rowena Lee lost the man she was supposed to marry and with him any hope for a happy future in the war. Now, five years later, with a suspicious kind of peace brokered between the sides, Rowena lives a half-life in emotional isolation. Neither her former enemies nor her crew have any use for her, and her only joy comes from her new job training cadets—something made difficult lately by Commander Silar’s constant, irritating presence. If he got out of her way for just THREE SECONDS, she could actually DO her job.

Commander Hollis Silar came out of the war a hero, the golden boy who could do no wrong. Romance came easily too: easy come, and easy go. But Rowena? Challenging. Like trying to flirt with a rock. Especially since shouldn’t associate with her in the first place.

As politics heat up on Malik IV and factions begin to draw battle lines, an unknown enemy forces Rowena and Hollis into an uneasy partnership. Love is a battlefield, and on Malik IV, war is in the air.

A sensual enemies-to-lovers romance for everyone who believes in the power of one strong woman to change the world.

View The Pintrest Board

***

“This book is an intense, enjoyable Space Opera romp. It’s got hair-raising action sequences; super-cool tech that both ameliorates and complicates life in exactly the ways you’d hope … recommend the Fleet of Malik series to anyone who enjoys Rachel Bach’s Paradox Trilogy or Elizabeth Bonesteel’s Central Corps novels.”

~ Red, Ruminate, Write ~

“This series is the best futurism, altered-humans I have ever read in a sci-fi setting… One of the best books out there on many different levels: enhanced human sci-fi, friend-enemy romance, exploration of what happens when divergent cultures meet, and political intrigue. Five star all the way.”

~ Erin Penn ~

***

Teaser…

Rowena stepped back, dodging her attacker’s punch. He was unbalanced, leaning on his shield and hers. So she dropped hers for a millisecond. Stepped right. Brought a new shield up as he fell.

She dropped in for the kill.

Her opponent rolled, using his larger body mass to grab her and pin her with her arms over her head.

Hollis Silar grinned down at her in victory.

With a little growl, and a tight smile, Rowena bucked up. Using the telekyen in the mats that allowed for a tech-assisted telekinesis, she flipped Silar off her.

He stepped away, reassessing the situation.

She followed with a flurry of punishing kicks and punches that pushed him to the edge of the training ring where slack jawed cadets stood watching.

Silar punched, but she pivoted away.

Her knife came out, and she tapped him twice on the side of the neck.

“Combatant Down,” the deep, male voice echoed around the training facility.

Rowena nodded. “And, with that, there’s one less enemy in the world.”

Several of the cadets snickered. A few red-headed Silars crossed their arms and scowled.

“Now, that wasn’t a real fight. You can tell by a couple of things. First, no bruises.” She held up her forearms.

Silar followed suit.

“We both had training shields up so no was injured. Second, what would we do in a real fight? Besides kill each other.”

The cadets, the fleets new officer-candidates, stared at her mutely. Three weeks into drilling them on close-quarters combat and still they sat there like she was a holovid for their entertainment.

She sighed. “Guardian Silar, can you help the cadets out?”

“If this were a real fight, we would have worked to take down out opponents shield,” Silar said with an infuriatingly calm, but cheerful, voice that masked every emotion and drove her mad.

Rowena nodded, keeping her thoughts in check. “In a real fight, the shields would probably spark.” Spinning, she turned and stabbed at Silar. A flurry of green and blue sparks flew off their shields. The knife stayed in mid-air when she released it. “Pretty enough, but useless. What you need to do is take down your enemy’s shield.”

It took thought and focus, but she had Silar’s shield now. She forced it to break, kicked his feet out from under him so he landed on the pats with a thump, and dropped, one knee on his chest and a knife at his throat. “That’s how you kill someone.”