Chapter 15
Nika knew where she was going, but still wasn’t prepared for what she found there.
The Peleliu’s Well Deck was deserted. The LCAC sat there with its bow ramp raised, still looking like a murdered steel shoebox. The only light in the whole cavernous space came from red-and-green Christmas lights that had indeed been strung between the two control stations. It looked just like the cookie she still cradled carefully in both of her hands.
With a sharp hiss that made her jump, the bow ramp released and then folded open before her. She had started to look up toward the shadowed control station. Instead her eyes were riveted to what was revealed as the ramp lowered.
Sitting in the center of the deck stood a two-foot tall Christmas tree. When she boarded and moved closer, she could
