Jane
I pacedthe corridor of the landing bay. As the captain of Earth’s moonbase, the heavy burden of leadership laid on my shoulders. It was foolish to volunteer for this away mission and ask my first officer to bear the weight of command in my absence. Yet, I refused to send anyone else. I’d not dare put another in danger—and not withthatalien.
“You know you’re going to wear a hole in the floor, Captain.” My first officer, Mai Sato, stood with her back to the wall—out of my walking path—and held a holo-pad in front of her. Her thick bangs fell over her forehead, but I was sure it was scrunched in thought as she tapped the screen. “I’ve put together a list of personnel shifts for your approval and uploaded the Rhonars’ information regarding the Meta Sector to your personal device.”
I halted mid-step and turned toward her. Holding out my hand wordlessly for the holo-pad, I waited until she looked up at me. “You know, Mai,” I took it from her, signed the bottom without reading the list, and handed it back to her, “I’m not going to be in charge in the next ten minutes, you are.” I kept her gaze locked with mine and squeezed her shoulder. “And I trust you completely. Have faith in yourself.”
A small smile tilted her lips at the corners. “Yes, Captain.”
“And thank you for the Meta Sector information.” I tapped my holo-watch on my wrist and projected the files. I swiped through the folders, noting the names for later. “Does this include the details on the ergamite crystals we need for Earth’s defense system?”
“It does.” She tucked her holo-pad under her arm.
“Good.” I closed the projections. The ergamite was the reason I was stuck in the landing bay, waiting for the arrival of the alien warriors and my sister. Sage, second in line of us Kadaran sisters after me, was an engineer on the moonbase. But after an attack on the satellite station, she was propelled into space.
Even now, the memory of that day was enough to send me into a cold sweat. I’d never been so scared in my life. Although losing people was inevitable in a field as dangerous as ours, the thought of one of them being my sister gutted me.
She’s okay. She’s on our way here.I clenched my fists at my sides in the present.
Thankfully, she’d been rescued by a Rhonar warrior, and through a bizarre series of events that I was still trying to wrap my head around, she ended up mated to him. We’d held their wedding in secret to avoid tensions between the aliens and us as negotiations between our species were…complicated. My younger sisters were already planning a larger second ceremony and party when a deal was finalized between our kinds.
And that’s where the ergamite came into play.
Earth’s government, the Global Alliance of Nations, would agree to allow the Rhonar to seek brides from our population, if, and only if, the alien warriors proved they could protect Earth. The ergamite allowed us to create and power a defense system, according to the aliens’ shared technology, which would effectively surround the planet. The system, along with continued Rhonar presence in Earth’s orbit, were non-negotiable terms.
And it will protect Sage.As much as I wanted to believe I was doing this for the good of our planet, my heart knew the truth. I’d do anything for my sisters, even change the laws of the universe to see them happy.If the big lug is who she wants, then so be it.
At that thought, the ship carrying said big lug, my sister, and an alien that Ireallydidn’t want to see again touched down in the landing bay. “Chin up, Jane,” I muttered and readjusted my uniform jacket. “You do not let that bastard get under your skin again.”
Mai graciously kept silent at my decree.
The Rhonar space fighter was a sleek triangular shape with a silver sheen to the metal and equipped with stealth shielding. Ships just like it patrolled our orbit in intricate flight patterns. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t admire the design.
As the ship landed, Mai and I stepped forward to greet its occupants. But when the hatch opened, shouts from behind us caught our attention. “Wait! Wait!” Taylor, tech specialist aboard the station and Sage’s best friend, came running. Both arms loaded down with bags, she dropped them when she reached us and sucked in fast breaths. “Whoa. I am not cut out for sprinting.”
“Maybe not.” Mai smiled at the shorter, curvier woman. “You’re built more for strength than speed.”
Taylor straightened, her pale skin flushing which made her freckles stand out, and her blond hair flipping back in its ponytail. She flexed her bicep and patted the muscle. “You know it.”
Before I could respond, a short brunette with wide green eyes launched from the ship. “Taylor! Jane!”
“Hey peanut.” I wrapped my sister up in a bear hug and swung her off her feet. No one who saw Sage and I together would ever guess we were siblings. Adopted by the world’s greatest mom, and not being blood relations, we were polar opposites in appearance. I was tall and tan with blue eyes, a wide nose, and out-of-control hair, which my mother said was a blessing of my Polynesian heritage. I tended to disagree. Sage was short and fair with green eyes, a cute, pert nose, and easy to tame locks, which I envied.
Sage laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “You haven’t called me that in forever.” Her head cocked to the side and her smile dropped. “You worried?”
“Me?” I let my shock coat the question. “Never.”
“That’s a lie.” Taylor piped in, taking her turn for a hug, and whispering something in my sister’s ear. “The captain has been beside herself since you’ve been,” she cleared her throat, emphasizing her words, “away.”
“Well now, it’s you going away, sis.” Sage popped me lightly in the shoulder and waved at Mai. “You ready to be in charge, Acting Captain Sato?”
Mai’s brows rose to her hair line as she clutched the holo-pad to her chest. “Ah yes, Lieutenant.”
“She’ll be fine.” I grabbed Sage’s arm and brought her attention back to me. I couldn’t keep the excitement from my voice as I asked, “Now, is this the ship for the mission?”
“It ismyship.” A hulking alien warrior emerged from the hatch. His black hair streaked with silver was tied tight at the nape of his neck. Since he had to be seven-feet tall, I had to crane my neck to peer up at him. My jaw clenched at that fact. His purple rimmed gray eyes bore into mine. I kept my chin raised, refusing to glance again at his chiseled chest covered only by a black vest or his thick thighs clad in leather. The tattoos on his shoulders and biceps were metallic in nature, and as I’d learned from Sage, symbolized his family and his brathers. When mated, they’d flow to his forearms and wrists in a chosen pattern for his beloved as was the way of the Rhonar. Commander Torian’s arms were noticeably bare—not that I was looking.
“Sister,” the warrior behind him, who I liked infinitely better, walked around the sullen commander and held his arm out to me, “it is my honor to see you again.”
