Excerpt from A Warrior's Strength

To celebrate the release of the third book in The Brethren series, here's an excerpt from "A Warrior's Strength":

“Take it easy with her, Jastl,” Galon instructed. “She’s got three times the power of a normal space skimmer, is highly maneuverable, and responds with barely a touch.”
“Damn, Galon,” Jastl said with a chuckle. “You talk about it like it’s your lover.”
Galon smirked at him, “Just wait ‘til you fly her. You’ll see.”
Galon touched Shiv on the shoulder and the two disappeared as silently as Mango had earlier. Jastl helped Adal into the skimmer, placed their bag in the small area behind the two seats, and climbed in. He waved a hand in front of him and the virtual controls appeared. He closed the skimmer’s top and engaged the passive restraints before glancing over at Adal. He heard the skimmer power up with a quiet hum
“Wanna see what this baby can do?” he asked.
“Just don’t crash,” Adal replied, cheekily.
Leaving it on manual controls, Jastl lifted straight up until they hovered just above the palace. He pointed it towards the towers in the distance and opened her up. The skimmer shot forward, pressing him back into his seat.
“Whoa!” Jastl said and grinned over at his mate. “Galon wasn’t kidding, was he?”
Adal had an excited grin, as well, letting Jastl know he wasn’t afraid.
“Can you pilot?” Jastl asked.
“Yes,” Adal said, nearly vibrating with eagerness.
“Okay, Angel, show me what you can do.”
“Really?” Adal asked, but took over the controls without waiting for a response.
“Yeah, just don’t crash,” Jastl repeated Adal’s words back to him.
Adal wore an expression of sheer joy, as he skillfully piloted the skimmer towards the towers. Jastl was impressed. His little mate wasn’t just good, he was very good. He’d have to let Mango and Galon know. Once they’d cleared the air space of the city, Adal giggled and performed a couple of maneuvers that had Jastl’s stomach roiling.
“Easy, Adal,” he warned. “I’ve never had air sickness before, but you’re pushing.”
Adal gave him a mischievous grin and increased speed. On second thought, maybe he shouldn’t tell Mango and Galon what his mate was capable of. As they neared the towers, Jastl saw a new cruiser lift into the sky and he whistled in appreciation.
“Follow her out, Adal,” he instructed.
“Wanna play tag?” Bostel’s teasing voice sounded over the com.
Before Jastl could respond, Adal answered.
“Catch me if you can,” he challenged.
All Jastl could do was grip the arms of his seat and pray the passive restraints held, as Adal sped past the cruiser, heading for space. Bostel’s laugh sounded over the com, as well as Galon’s curse. Adal allowed Bostel to almost catch them before he sped off again; repeatedly outdistancing the cruiser.
“Damn it, Bostel!” Galon snapped. “Jastl, what do you think you are doing?”
“Ah, come on, Galon, you’re in a cruiser. Can’t you catch me,” Adal teased.
“Adal? Why are you piloting the skimmer?”
“Jastl said I could,” Adal blissfully tossed Jastl under the skimmer.
Jastl groaned, knowing he was in for it now.
“If I’d known what you were going to do I’d have made Galon take you with him,” he growled. “Give me back the controls.”
“Nope,” Adal laughed. “Watch this.”
Adal pulled the skimmer into a high climb, before flipping it end over end and coming back down behind the cruiser.
“Fuck!” Jastl yelled.
“Not right now, I’m piloting,” Adal said, still laughing.
“Alright, Adal,” Galon’s amused voice came over the com. “Bring her in. Can you see the main cargo bay opening?”
“Yes,” Adal replied.
“Gently, Adal,” Galon instructed. “There’s not a lot of room in there because we’ve laid in some extra supplies.”
Adal deftly piloted the skimmer through the opening and set it down in the allotted space. Once the bay door closed and the tone sounded that it was safe, Jastl reached forward to release the passive restraints and open the top.
“I’m gonna be sick,” he muttered, stumbling out of the skimmer.
He went to his knees on the floor of the bay, before sitting and putting his head down, taking deep, gulping breaths and trying not to disgrace himself.