Jager (Galactic Defenders Book 2)

by Jessica E. Subject

  A buzzer went off. They’d killed all the Erebus in this drill. Or, rather, Katrina had downed all but one, and he’d been lucky enough to find the other.

  After holstering his plazer on his hip, he headed out of the forest, ready for more bad news. Maybe they’d take his squad from him. Maybe they’d punish him by assigning him to guard duty on the prison colony. He’d go mad within four Galactic years, but that had to be less stressful than trying to train the members of his squad. He’d forget all about them by the time he returned to Kalara.

  When he reached the edge of the trees, he found his squad resting on a rock, panting, and looking as if they’d just survived an attack. Well, everyone except Katrina.

  “How many?” he asked the group.

  Dhranash shook his head.

  “Didn’t see any, sir.” Aram shrugged her thick shoulders.

  Silus put his head down. “None.”

  “Cosmos.” He sighed and glanced around for Katrina. She never stuck with her squad during drills. Why would she now?

  He spotted her leaning against the fence surrounding the forest, chatting with Jace, a Mingot, and a seventh-year Defender like him. His competition. They both had new squads and had to prove to the Alliance they were ready to go on missions. The new Zulu squad had already aided Echo on a humanitarian mission in the Tuey system. Probably because Katrina shared information about the drills with Jace so his team would perform better. Each drill was supposed to be different, but Jager couldn’t be sure. Katrina would do anything for the Defender who had helped saved her father when the Alliance had turned their back on him. How he wished he’d been sent instead.

  No. He didn’t like Katrina. He didn’t like her fraternizing with Jace, the only Mingot he knew with hair. Perfect hair some Defenders swooned over. And he definitely didn’t like what the guy did with Katrina behind closed doors. Naf and Oflan could shove it up their asses if they believed him to be jealous of the other Defender. Because he wasn’t. Jace belonged to a different squad, and Jager wanted to keep his own squad focused without having to deal with the drama of relationships. Maybe if Katrina hung around with her own squad, they could work well together for a change. Some of her skill could rub off on the rest. Who was he kidding? The other three were hopeless.

  Major O’Shaunessay motioned him over. “Your squad eliminated the enemy in record time.”

  Jager did a double take. How had that happened? “Yes, sir.”

  “I think you are ready for your first mission.” He handed Jager a com tab. “You’re going to Terra.”

  Jager returned the screen. He couldn’t accept the mission, regardless of how much he looked forward to leaving the training facilities. “Based on what happened today, I don’t think that’s advisable. You know Katrina took down most of those Erebus. The rest of the squad is nowhere close to being ready.”

  “I do not care what you think, young Kalaren.” The major crossed both sets of arms. “You will lead your squad on this mission.”

  “Yes, sir.” And three of them likely wouldn’t survive. Even if it was an easy mission. Maybe he could leave them all there.

  “Oh, and you will be missing one of your team members for the mission,” O’Shaunessy added. “Katrina will travel to Hemera before the carrier makes the jump to get to Terra.”

  Great, his best squad member wouldn’t be a part of their first mission. He’d be lucky if he survived. “Yes, sir. When do we leave?”

  “The shuttles will leave for the carrier in the morning. Until then, read the doc on your com tab and prepare your squad. The Terrans are still not aware of life beyond their own planet. No plazers. We have to be very careful.”

  “Yes, sir.” Jager saluted the major, two fingers to the forehead then brought down in front of his face.

  He headed back to the rock where his squad still looked as though they’d taken on an entire colony of Erebus. “Attention! I have some news.”

  “Did you hear?” Katrina raced up and slapped him on the back. “We’ve got our first mission. We’re getting sent to Earth with Zulu and Echo squad.”

  Jager clenched his fists. “Yes, we are.” He turned and glared at her. “But, you’re not. Your Royal Highness is required to attend a ball on Hemera.”

  Her nostrils flared. “You lie. There is no way in Gaspra I’m going to miss out on our first mission.”

  “Not my orders.” Jager raised his hands, hoping she took the challenge elsewhere. “That came straight from the top.”

  “Well, get them changed. You can’t handle a mission without me. You know that.” She shifted her head to the rest of the squad. “These three are useless.”

  “Hey!” Aram stood, fist raised. But Katrina had the Gersonian’s arm behind her before she had the chance to swing.

  Katrina released her. “Admit it. You sound like an elephant barreling through the bush.”

  Aram stared at the ground. “I don’t know what an elephant is.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I need to be going to Earth. I mean, Terra.” Katrina grasped Jager’s lapels in her fists, yanking him forward. “I grew up there. I know the planet far better than any of you. I need to go on this mission.”

  Jager clenched her wrists and tore her grip from him. “Don’t you ever do that again. I am your commanding officer, and you need to show respect.” A vein pulsed in his forehead. “And I will not change the orders. You need to reevaluate what you want away from the Defenders. You work on your own, without your team. And that’s not how a squad works.”

  “Maybe if we had a better—”

  “Enough, Princess. You will do as you’re told.” He’d had enough of her for one day. She could go cry to her boyfriend, but Jager wasn’t going to be the one to question Granil’s orders or Bryce’s demands. He would never deny that man anything, not after he’d saved his life.

  ***

  Katrina marched off the shuttle, through the docking bay, and straight to Granil’s office. She refused to be taken away from her squad. She was a Defender, not a princess. And if they kept making her return to Hemera for stupid ceremonies, no one would ever show her any respect. Every single day, she had to prove herself, prove she could take down the Erebus just as well as the best Defenders. Yet, behind her back, she only heard the sneers at her royal lineage. No one was ever impressed by how many Erebus she eliminated, or how fast. And regardless what Jager said, she did work well with her squad. She took out their enemy while their leader kept the rest of the squad alive.

  Why wasn’t he on her side? Did he really want to be stuck babysitting the other three? Couldn’t he see the danger he’d be in without her? If Katrina couldn’t change someone’s mind, she’d end up assigned to a new squad when she returned from Hemera, her current one having died on Earth. While the idea held some appeal, she actually preferred to be grouped with the misfits.

  “Excuse me? Granil?” No matter how outraged she was, she didn’t dare speak to the leader of the Galactic Alliance the way she did Jager. Not if she wanted to remain a Defender. With all the special provisions her mother had demanded, the Alliance would just as soon be rid of her. She knew they only put up with her at Bryce’s request. He had served the Alliance longer than any other Defender, and they were still trying to make up for Kimba’s mistake in leaving his squad and others on Niesgoo to die.

  “Come in.” The leader’s short tentacles waved before changing color from mauve to blue. She was calm, a promising start.

  Katrina saluted as she entered the room. “I would like to talk to you regarding my absence from my squad’s mission to Terra.”

  Granil pursed her lips. Her tentacles switched to orange and stood straight up, not a good time to confront a Yarwin. But, Katrina had no choice. “Proceed.” Though the woman’s lips kept moving. Had Katrina’s translation chip malfunctioned, or were there no English words for what she’d said?

  Katrina leaned forward, her hands behind her. She didn’t dare sit in one of the seven empty seats around the leader u
nless offered. Those were reserved for planetary leaders. Not lowly Defenders. “I ask that you allow me to join them on the mission. I have proven myself time-and-time again. Plus, Terra was my home for many years. I can be an asset to the entire platoon.”

  “While I don’t disagree with you, Katrina...” She stretched her jaw. “I am standing firm on your absence for this mission. Your presence has been requested on Hemera, and I must grant that request.”

  “But shouldn’t it be up to me?” She wanted to pound something as she’d done when Kimba had been leader. Though, that time, she’d been fighting for her father’s life, rather than upset they were making her visit her parents.

  “If people did what they wanted, the universe would be chaos. Sometimes we must do things we don’t agree with. That’s part of life.” Granil picked up a com tab from her desk. “You will go to Hemera, enjoy your graduation ceremony and whatever other celebrations they have planned for you. And then you will return to the carrier, train, and go on the next mission with your squad.”

  When the leader’s attention turned to the tablet, Katrina knew she’d been dismissed. Fornax! Didn’t anyone understand the danger they were putting Delta squad in? They were already cursed by the squad’s name, Jager having been the only survivor after a mission to Hoggins where Bryce had saved his ass. And she was just starting to like that ass, too. Even though the person attached could be a pigheaded asshole sometimes.

  Shuffling down the hall, she pounded the wall a few times. Nope, it did nothing to squash her anger. She wanted to beat on someone. Maybe her squad leader would be in the sparring room.

  “No luck?”

  She spun around to find her best friend, only friend, Jace, holding her hand wraps out to her. “No. You’ve got to promise me you’ll protect them. Or just him, that’s okay.”

  Jace grinned, the smile lighting up the sparkle in his eyes. “When are you going to scratch that itch? You’ve been craving a piece of him since you first arrived for training.”

  “Never.” She grabbed the wraps from him. “Though if he calls me princess one more time, I’m going to shove one of these down his throat.”

  “I’m sure you’d like to shove your tongue down his throat if given the option.”

  She smacked her arm against Jace’s chest, knocking him back a step. “Keep it up and you’ll be first.”

  He raised his hands in front of his face. “Okay, okay. Take it out on the simulation. I’ve programmed one for you. It’s all set.”

  “Nah.” She frowned. “If I’m really heading to Hemera, I have to leave in an hour. I should call my sister and find out what’s happened since I was last there.”

  “Not your parents?” He strolled alongside her toward the lift to Defender quarters.

  “Are you kidding? They still haven’t accepted I actually want to be here. Or at least my mom hasn’t.” Katrina sighed, remembering her last conversation with the queen of Hemera. “I’ll get enough of her loving concern when I get there.”

  “Well, come here.” Jace held his arms open, and she went into them, his hugs always able to relieve some of her tension. He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll see you when we all return. And I’ll guard that ass you like so much.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “Thank you.”

  In her room, Katrina dialed up her sister’s private line at the royal palace on Hemera. After the screen flickered, a young woman appeared, sitting on the bed that had once belonged to a precious little girl who’d lost both her parents in separate Erebus attacks. Queen Lalia had adopted her after ensuring the planet was safe from further attack, and Katrina had the sister she’d always dreamed of when growing up on Earth. But, the little girl was gone, a young woman with some obvious teenage angst in her place. “Gwenie, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s Gwen.” She huffed and tilted her head to the side. “And I’ll give you one guess as to why.”

  “Mom’s making you dress up again?” Something she hated, too; part of the reason she dreaded returning home.

  Her sister picked up a bunch of material and threw it toward the screen. “It’s hideous. And all because you’re coming home. Because you’re officially a Defender now.”

  “I hate to see what she has for me, then.” Probably something that covered every inch of her body, unlike the dress she’d worn at the coronation when her mother hadn’t had the time or opportunity to plan for anything.

  “Take me with you, please!” Gwenodyn stuck out her bottom lip. “Scrym has less than a year before he’s eligible to enlist for Defender training. After that, I don’t know how I’m going to keep my sanity. They’ll smother me.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Katrina knew the feeling, had experienced her mother’s overbearing love when they’d still lived on Earth, and it had only been the two of them. Before she knew of the Defenders, her real father, and life on a multitude of other planets.

  “Sneak me onto a ship. I don’t care. I’ll be quiet, stay squished in a cupboard somewhere.”

  That’s it! Katrina could sneak off the ship to Hemera and sneak onto one going to Earth. Though not the one with her own squad. That would be too obvious. “We’ll see. I’ve gotta go.”

  She switched off the screen. Her sister would have to wait. Katrina had to visit her real home first.

  Chapter Two

  “Incoming video message, Lieutenant.”

  Jager nodded to Silus, his second who was also a shuttle pilot. If only the Kalaren had as much confidence fighting an Erebus as he did flying through space. “Put it on screen.”

  With the flick of a button, the monitor beside his captain’s chair lit up, and a familiar face came into view.

  “Prince Bryce.” He hadn’t seen the famed Defender since he’d retired but would always make time for him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “First of all, don’t ever call me Prince.” The man glanced over his shoulder. “I am, and will always be a Defender until I die.”

  “Got it.” He was just as touchy about his royal title as his daughter. “Now, how can I help you?”

  Bryce leaned forward and stared into the screen. “You can tell me where my daughter is, to start.”

  “Um...” Had he heard the man correctly? “What do you mean? I thought she was supposed to be on Hemera by now.”

  “That’s what I thought, too.” The older Kalaren rubbed the back of his neck. “But when I went to meet her, she wasn’t there. In fact, she wasn’t on the shuttle at all.”

  “Oh Gaspra.” Jager gripped the arms of his chair.

  “Exactly. And when her mother finds out, she’s going to be livid. I need to know where she is before I have to tell the queen.” He glanced behind him again. “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “On Kalara.” The time he saw her on the carrier wrapped in her boyfriend’s arms didn’t count. Or did it? She was saying goodbye to him, wasn’t she? “No, on the carrier. She was mad at me when I told her she was going to Hemera, but she seemed to accept it by the time we reached the carrier, was saying goodbye to her... another Defender who is on the mission with me.”

  “Did you actually see her get on the shuttle to Hemera?”

  “No.” He wasn’t her keeper, had a mission to get ready for, and the rest of his squad to prepare. “I wasn’t on the docking bay when her shuttle left.”

  Bryce rolled his shoulders, seemingly more afraid to tell his wife their daughter hadn’t arrived on Hemera than to face a hoard of Erebus. “Granil can’t locate her on the carrier, so I suspect she’s on one of the shuttles heading to Terra. Please be on the lookout for her and report to me if you see her. She knows the planet far better than any of you, and your destination is right around where she grew up. I don’t doubt she’ll try to go off on her own. Maybe attempt to stay on Terra for good.”

  He doubted that. Not with a boyfriend who would never fit in among the Terrans. In fact, he was pretty sure it was Zulu’s shuttle she’d sneaked onto, the goodbye
on the carrier for show only. “As soon as I find her, I will let you know.”

  “Thank you.” The screen went black, and Jager glared at the shuttle on the view screen ahead of them. If the princess was on there, he’d make sure she went to Hemera for good.

  “Lieutenant, we are entering Terra’s orbit.” Silus magnified the picture on the view screen, revealing the planet’s moon and the other two shuttles blocking the view of their destination. “In thirty mins, we will enter their atmosphere.”

  “Okay, reduce speed and put on the masking shields.” The last thing they needed was the natives witnessing their shuttles arrive and shooting at them with their ancient weapons. When it came to beings from space, the uneducated planets couldn’t recognize the difference between friend and foe. “And, everyone, buckle up.”

  Jager pulled on his five-point harness system then his helmet. He would be able to breathe the air on Terra, but the trip through the atmosphere was like riding a wild rehn, unstable, and he’d be lucky to survive in one piece. He glanced around at the other three members of his squad. They were all secured in. He just had to wait for the other two shuttles to complete their maze through the orbit and take the plunge down to the planet.

  Silus touched down for his smoothest landing yet. No wobbling, rolls, and especially no crashing. They’d made it safely to Terra. Hopefully, finding Katrina would be as easy.

  Snapping his harness open, he launched out of his seat. “Stay here,” he called behind him. “I’ll brief you on our mission in a moment.” If he had any chance of finding Katrina, it was the moment they landed, before she had a chance to take off.

  He sprinted out the open door, looking around for an extra Defender, one-too-many for the other squads. And he found her. She stepped through a wormhole to his left just before it closed behind Echo squad. The princess had stowed away on the shuttle of her father’s former squad. How had none of them noticed?