My name is Tess Reynolds, and I’ll admit few people would think I’m a badass Army sniper called the Scorpion. Afterall, women snipers were unheard of in 1990. People look at me and see a petite blonde who is cute as a button. My father calls it my natural camouflage.

My time in the Middle East has been full of unforeseen complications. I have a rogue CIA agent trying to kill me and I caught the attention of a Force Recon Marine by the name of Alexander Stone. Wowzer! He’s hot but he’s also the biggest jackass I have ever met. To make things even more interesting, I need the Jackass’s help to stay alive.

This novella is the prequel to the Gemma Stone series. How it all began.

Much to her parents' delight, Zadie's angelic appearance and unique psychic abilities won her the title of master thief by the time she was twelve years old. Zadie wasn't so elated, she hated stealing.

Her parents' life of crime was how they ended up on Gliese, the hellhole of the galaxy, where every day was a fight for survival, and the inhabitants would slit your throat for a scrap of food, or a bottle of clean water. Zadie's innocent appearance hides the feral warrior she's becoming.

Jedrick, commander of a Coletti battle group, is stunned to discover this dangerous child is his future mate and it's a full-time job keeping her alive. Will she live to see twenty-one?

My name is Gemma Stone. I'm a Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy and not only must I deal with the sweat-soaked misery of the Arizona desert, I get to respond to a bunch of crazy 9-1-1 calls all day long. Like a parakeet up a tree, or a car accident where a tractor trailer full of fireworks is hit and the 4th of July comes a bit early.

But some days crime takes a deadly turn. Police cars are suddenly blowing up. Detective Sergeant Dante Delgado, the love of my life, was assigned to track down and stop the bomber. Am I worried? You betcha. There's a madman on the loose and he is very, very good at making bombs.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, the Feds think I'm in cahoots with an Iraqi warlord who deals in stolen antiquities. Ichabod, my murderous ex-dance partner, escapes from prison and I'm suddenly in everyone's crosshairs.

After a yearlong separation from her soul mate, all Casey wanted was to have hot, mind-blowing sex with Hothar. That little fantasy went up in smoke when she's stuck babysitting Aphrodite, a cowardly witch, who is the galaxy's only hope of survival. To add to the fun, Casey has picked up an invisible hitchhiker who she named Hitch. Is he friend or foe?

Can a kickass psychic, an invisible hitchhiker, a deadly warlord and a cowardly witch stop the brain-eating aliens from destroying the galaxy? Only time will tell.

Author's note: This book was originally published in Pets in Space #8. It has been retitled, revised, and expanded.