Base Instincts

by R.Z. Held

In Pure Motives , Chloe and her partner, Logan, escaped the authorities from two planetary empires willing to kill her to neutralize her hijacking implant, which allows her to control others through their own implants. Now their temporary refuge has been shattered—criminals known as the Hawks have kidnapped Logan and will kill him unless Chloe hijacks a true AI ship and uses her to touch off an inter-empire war. Chloe plays along while her allies work to rescue Logan, but between authorities and criminals, it seems there will be no peace for her in the universe…unless she goes to the edge of death to forge it herself.

123 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 16, 2023

About the author

R. Z. Held is a pen name of Rhiannon Held. She writes speculative fiction, much of it in the apparently disparate subgenres of space opera and weird western. She lives in Seattle, where she works as an archaeologist for an environmental compliance firm.

Reviews

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second of the novella pair featuring Chloe. Strong beginning and a nice twist around the 2/3 mark.