Fury Of War E-Book

R.S. Penney

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Leyria’s defenses are crumbling.

The Ragnosian fleet has secured the planet and now stands poised to begin the final invasion. In a desperate attempt to save her people, Anna Lenai tries to negotiate with the ruthless Admiral Telixa Ethran.

But the Ragnosians have an ace up their sleeve, and as added insurance they have taken thousands of people hostage. Jack Hunter must lead a mission to find and disarm the weapon before millions of lives are lost. Meanwhile, Anna’s team infiltrates the Ragnosian stronghold, attempting to free the hostages and bring an end to the senseless war.

The fate of entire worlds hangs in the balance in 'Fury Of War', the fourteenth book in R.S. Penney's Justice Keepers Saga.

Leseprobe

FURY OF WAR

JUSTICE KEEPERS SAGA BOOK 14

R. S. PENNEY

CONTENTS

Author Note

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Epilogue

Next in the Series

About the Author

Copyright (C) 2022 R.S. Penney

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2022 by Next Chapter

Published 2022 by Next Chapter

Edited by Jourdan Vian

Cover art by CoverMint

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author’s permission.

AUTHOR NOTE

Hi there.

First, let me just say thank you. If you’ve read thirteen books in this series, you must be enjoying it. That means a lot to me.

By now, you must know how this series works. Each novel is divided into two parts, telling two distinct but connected stories. However, this one is going to be a little different. Though I didn’t intend it, the manuscript for “Book 13” was almost twice as long as every other book in the series. There were simply too many plot threads that needed attention.

Enormous books tend to be hard to publish. You run into binding issues with paperbacks, and they’re harder to ship because they’re heavier. As such, Next Chapter and I have decided to split the book in half.

Into the Fire represents part one of what was originally “Book 13.” The second half – part two – will be published in the sequel Fury of War. If you can manage it, I would recommend reading them back to back as there are thematic throughlines that link the two stories.

Most books in the series focus on one specific character, forcing that person to make difficult choices. No Shelter Here centred Jack as its main protagonist. The Firing Line was about Melissa.

Into the Fire and Fury of War both focus on Anna. Together, they represent a complete character arc.

Thank you again for supporting the Justice Keepers Saga. And get ready for the most explosive book yet!

PROLOGUE

The War Room was abuzz with activity. Generals in Army green stood with admirals in Space Corps black, all talking in hushed, frenzied voices as they watched the reports coming in. There must have been at least three dozen monitors bolted to the gray walls, and every one of them displayed an ever-growing list of ships that had fallen or retreated. The holographic globe that rotated in the middle of the room projected red dots where enemy battlecruisers had assumed orbit above Leyria’s major cities.

It wasn’t going well.

The air was so thick with fear, Jeral Dusep could practically taste it. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to help. Five seconds after he arrived, they sat him down at a small, round table in the corner. And they had been ignoring him ever since. Every half hour or so, some lieutenant would come by to give him an update, but otherwise, they left him to stew in his own dread.

Fleet Admiral Shanis came to speak with him every time he called, but she took her sweet time about it, arriving ten – sometimes fifteen – minutes after he sent the lieutenant to fetch her. She would stay for all of thirty seconds, just long enough to hear Jeral’s latest suggestion and assure him that her ships had been deployed in the most effective way possible. She never took his advice. Never.

Grand General Koss was even worse; the man simply refused to speak with Jeral. At one point, Jeral had been forced to pen a sternly-worded note and send it along with the lieutenant. That had gotten a response.

The general had stormed over to his table, shouting for all the world to hear. “If I wanted advice from idiot civilians, I would call Jarid Ponorsi and ask for his reflections on proper troop deployment! At least that guy has a personality!”

Intolerable!

Jeral was the Prime Council! How dare they speak to him in that way? He would have relieved the general of duty, except his office lacked the authority to do that. Only a quorum of the Armed Forces Committee could relieve a Grand General of his command. Jeral was here to speak for the Council, nothing more. He had no authority to give orders to any member of the armed services, a situation that he would have to remedy.

So, he sat at his table, wrapped in the Prime Council’s thick, blue robe, carrying the golden shepherd’s crook that served as his badge of office. Matao had told him that there was no need to bring such things – they were purely ceremonial – but he wanted these people to remember who he was.

General Paydron, a tall and lanky man with pale skin, bushy eyebrows and a hawk-like beak of a nose, stood with a tablet in hand. “They’ve landed another five thousand troops outside Denabria.”

Koss looked up from the conference table, baring his teeth in a snarl. The man was an ugly brute with a double chin and thick wrinkles across his brow. “Send the Sixty-Third and Seventy-First divisions to support.”

One of those young lieutenants was already relaying those orders through the comm-system. Jeral could do nothing but sit here and watch. “Sir,” the young man cut in. “Major Zindosa is recommending a retreat.”

“Is she now?” Koss growled.

“They say they can’t hold, sir.”

General Koss sat back with a hand over his mouth, lost in thought. Was he contemplating a retreat? That could not be permitted!

Jeral was on his feet in an instant, his face aflame with fury. “We will not surrender the capital!” he snarled. “Do you hear me?”

“Shut him up or get him out of here!” Koss barked.

“I will not be spoken to in this way!” Jeral screamed, pacing across the room. He tapped his chest with his index finger. “I am the Prime Council! And you will show me the proper respect!”

The young lieutenant twisted around in his seat, looking over his shoulder. “Sir,” he said. “Major Zindosa insists that if her forces don’t pull out now, they will be surrounded and overrun by Ragnosian troops.”

“Tell them to keep fighting!” Jeral shrieked.

No one listened.

Wheeling his chair back from the table, Koss stood up. At first, Jeral expected another outburst, but the man had his anger under tight control. “Mr. Prime Council,” he said. “You will sit down and remain quiet, or I will have you removed from the room.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Koss nodded to the two guards at the door. Both hurried over and seized one of Jeral’s arms, pulling him toward the exit. “Unhand me!” he wailed. “How dare you? How dare you? I am the Prime Council!”

They tossed him out into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving him alone. Quivering, he braced a hand against the wall, hung his head and tried to take control of himself. “Tried” being the operative word.

This was not how it was supposed to go!

The war should have been over months ago with a decisive Leyrian victory. The people would hail him as a hero. Jeral Dusep: the man who restored Leyria’s former glory. Once Ragnos had been put in its place, he would turn his attention to the Antaurans who had been encroaching on Leyrian territory for decades. He would take back Belos and annex a few worlds on the Antauran side of the border. A little payback for the years of humiliation his people had suffered.

He would imagine it every night before he went to sleep: this golden vision of a Leyrian Empire that stretched across the galaxy. It was a beautiful dream. And now, it was all turning to ashes.

Jeral was fuming, unable to stay still, filled to bursting with rage. “I won’t let them take it from me,” he whimpered. “I won’t-”

“Sir?”

Taking control of himself, Jeral let out a breath. Calm. He had to display at least a modicum of dignity. “Yes, Matao, what is it?”

The other man was waiting halfway up the corridor, afraid to approach. Tall and broad-shouldered with a neat goatee, Matao Zaranthel wore his short, brown hair parted in the middle. “My apologies, sir,” he began in clipped tones. “But the Council is waiting to speak with you.”

“Yes,” Jeral said. “Yes, of course. Let’s go.”

Matao led him to a small conference room with a table of polished mahogany and a screen on the wall. Claiming one of the cushioned chairs, Jeral composed himself before his aid opened the conference call.

The screen lit up with dozens of small windows, each one depicting a different room. Most of the councilors had gathered in an underground bunker several hundred kilometres north of Denabria. A few of them had retreated to their own personal panic rooms. Four hundred and thirty-two people, each representing a different province, and they all looked like they hadn’t slept in days. Some of them probably hadn’t.

Adra Koliar, a short and plump woman with dark, tanned skin and voluminous, brown hair, stepped forward to address him. “Mr. Prime Council,” she said. “What is our status?”

Leaning back, Jeral crossed his arms and answered her with a frown. “It’s not going well,” he said. “Most of our ships have been heavily damaged. The enemy now controls the skies. The troops we sent to defend our cities are being overwhelmed.”

“That’s it then,” Garza Prell said. “It’s over.” Jeral couldn’t see the cowardly, old buffoon; he was somewhere in the crowd behind Adra. Regardless, such ideas could not be allowed to take root in their minds.

“It is not over,” Jeral insisted. “We will fight to the last.”

“Mr. Prime Council,” Adra began cautiously, “it seems the outcome of this battle is now a foregone conclusion. Further hostility will only result in more civilian casualties. Perhaps the time has come for a negotiated surrender.”

Jeral raised an eyebrow. “And how, Councilor, did you come to that conclusion?”

“The military has shared its assessment of the situation with us.”

“I see. And by any chance, did they tell you what the Ragnosians are planning to do with all of you?”

“With us?”

Chuckling softly, Jeral smiled as he shook his head. “I see that General Koss’s proclivity for keeping things on a ‘need to know basis’ extends to his own government. There is intelligence that you have not received.”

Adra was skeptical; he could see it in her eyes. The woman just stared him down, waiting for him to elaborate, and when he failed to do so, she asked, “And what is this so-called intelligence?”

“Matao,” Jeral said. “Please forward the document I sent you.”

“Yes, sir.”

That document was a complete forgery, a contingency plan that Jeral had created months ago when the generals started talking about ‘a negotiated surrender.’ He would not allow Leyria to become subordinate to any other world. Surrender was not an option. He would drive the very idea from their minds.

Multi-tools started beeping as each councilor received copies of “the intel.” He prayed that it would look official enough to convince them.

“What is this?” Tylar Krenik demanded. The old codger came forward, practically shoving Adra out of the way, and glowered into the camera. “Is this legitimate, Jeral? Are you convinced of its veracity?”

“I am.”

“They’re going to kill us?” Maleen Dorsavin stammered. “But why? What threat are we to them?”

Resting his elbows on the chair arms, Jeral steepled his fingers and regarded them with cool, calm composure. He was in his element now; convincing these fools to do what he wanted had never been difficult. “LIS was able to procure that document after successfully cracking the Ragnosian Central Command’s datanet.” No need to give them any further details. “General Koss thought it necessary to withhold that information from you. I wonder why.”

“Why indeed?” Valis Bradarin shouted. “This information should have been shared with us as soon as its legitimacy was confirmed! Why would the military withhold such a crucial piece of intelligence?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jeral replied. “If Leyria surrenders, the military isn’t going anywhere. We have an entire fleet of highly advanced starships that the Ragnos would love to get its hands on. And they will need crews who know how to fly those ships. But the only way to ensure the compliance of the civilian population is to eliminate any vestige of the former government.

“Koss wants to surrender because his skills will be in demand once Ragnos takes control of this planet. But all of you will be scheduled for immediate termination. To quell any thought of an uprising against the new regime. Unless the Council acts quickly, that is precisely what will happen.”

“What…” Adra wet her lips, working up the nerve to speak. “What do you suggest?”

Swiveling his chair, Jeral smiled behind his clasped hands. “Invoke the War Powers Act,” he said. “Give me direct control of the military, and I will ensure that we do not surrender. And that you have adequate protection.”

It wasn’t unanimous, but with a two-thirds majority, it was enough.

Half an hour later, he stormed back into the War Room, causing several generals to turn around. They gave him a dismissive glance and then immediately returned to what they were doing. Well, they would soon learn their mistake.

Koss rose from the conference table, his lips parting to show clenched teeth for only a moment. Just like that, he was the very image of poise and control once again. “Mr. Prime Council,” he said. “I do believe I-.”

“Sit down, General,” Jeral snapped. “That’s an order.”

“You can’t give me orders, sir.”

A wolfish grin split Jeral’s face in two. “Oh, but I can!” He rolled up his sleeve to expose his multi-tool, his deft fingers gliding over the screen. “I suppose I can’t blame you for your ignorance. The notice was only posted a few minutes ago.”

Every other tool in the room started beeping. Disconcerted admirals and generals checked their screens. Within seconds, the whole place was a hurricane of angry mutters and shocked protests.

Quite satisfactory.

“The Council has invoked the War Powers Act,” Jeral said. “You’re all taking orders from me now. We’re going to take a different approach to this battle. Our troops will fight, and they will fight mercilessly until the enemy is broken at our feet! No more excuses! Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Admiral Shanis mumbled.

“Do I make myself clear?”

A chorus of booming voices answered him with a perfunctory, “YES, SIR!”

Standing tall with his hands clasped behind his back, Jeral flashed another smile. “Good,” he said, nodding once. “I’m pleased that we could come to a mutually-beneficial understanding. General Koss, I relieve you of duty.”

“Sir!” one of the comm officers shouted. “The Ragnosian Flagship is broadcasting a message to the whole planet.”

“Let’s see it.”

The rotating globe fizzled away, replaced by the hologram of a woman with a chin-length bob of brown hair. By the markings on her gray uniform, he knew that she was a Ragnosian vice admiral. So, this was Telixa Ethran.

She wasn’t exactly a pretty woman; her pale face had a dour quality to it. More to the point, she looked like she had been surviving on caffeine and painkillers for several weeks. “People of Leyria,” she said. “Your fleet has been scattered, your cities captured. This battle is over. There is nothing to be gained from further bloodshed. We urge you to surrender now. I promise you that our terms will be generous and that you will have an honoured place within the Ragnos Confederacy.”

Jaw clenched, Jeral trembled with rage. “Broadcast my image across the Link,” he rasped. “I want to send a reply.”

“Sir, are you sure that’s-”

“DO IT!”

One of the lieutenants, a tall and skinny woman with a blonde ponytail, started tapping away at her SmartGlass console. “Channel open, sir,” she said. “Your words are being broadcast to the whole planet.”

Drawing himself up to full height, Jeral tried to project calm self-confidence. It did no good. The fury he had walled off was about two seconds from bursting free, and when it did, it would incinerate anyone who got too close. “This is the Prime Council of Leyria responding to the admiral’s generous offer,” he said. “There will be no surrender! Our people will fight until every last Ragnosian who set foot on this planet is exterminated like the sub-human filth that they are! Know that you will pay a price in blood for your actions here today. We will hound your ships back to your worthless planet and reduce Ragnos to a cinder. Is that understood?”

The only answer he got was Telixa’s hologram disappearing.

“Now,” he said. “Let’s get to work.”

1

Slade’s cruel laughter echoed through the cavern, seeming to reverberate off its pale, blue walls. He was standing there in the middle of the chamber, submerged to his waist in some kind of glowing flesh, tentacles piercing his body. And his vicious smile mocked her. Somehow, he knew.

Her symbiont was gone. She had passed the Nassai to Melissa. There was no reason they should both have to die here. With any luck, Harry had gotten the kid to a SlipGate. Maybe the others would escape as well. But one way or the other, she would never know.

Jena's heart sank when she heard Slade's laughter. The man just hung there. He didn't seem to notice the pain. “It's too late,” he whispered. “Too late. The end has begun. The first domino falls, and soon the rest will follow.”

Jena felt her face crumple, then tossed her head about to clear away the fog. “You could be right,” she growled, hobbling closer to Slade. “But I can promise you one thing, Grecken: you won't be here to see it.”

She triggered the blasting cap.

Her world ended in fire.

Or…No.

Her world ended in water. She was definitely submerged in something, but it didn’t take her long to realize that it couldn’t be H2O. The strange fluid was much too thick for that. Oh, crap, was this the afterlife? She was betting so hard on there being nothing. Just poof, zip. One minute you’re there, and the next you’re gone.

Jena wasn’t looking forward to an eternity of…whatever this was. Come to think of it, shouldn’t she be drowning? She felt no pressure on her lungs. She could stay down here for hours.

But screw that!

She wanted answers.

Unsure of what else to do, Jena started swimming for what she thought was the shore. It was slow-going. This slimy stuff was just so damn thick. At one point, her hand broke through the surface. She struggled to pull the rest of herself up, but the goo held her down. The effort exhausted her.

She could feel her heart beating like a hammer.

That was when she realized that her super-strength was gone. Well, that sucked! But then what did she expect after giving up her symbiont? Her symbiont! The strength was gone, but so was that awful burning sensation in her skin. How was that possible? Once you Bonded a Nassai, there was no going back. Give it up, and you had at most ten minutes before you croaked. She should be dead, but with every passing second, she was more and more certain that this was not the afterlife.

At long last, she crawled onto the shore, finding springy flesh under her hands and knees. Just like the Overseer base under Earth’s moon. Except this stuff had a fierce, red glow instead of the soothing blue.

Down on all fours, head hanging with the weight of fatigue, she grunted as a stream of green slime dripped from her chin and formed a little puddle in front of her. She had to get this stuff off of her.

Frustrated, she wiped some off her shoulder only to discover the futility of that. Her hand…Shouldn’t it be tingling now that her Nassai was gone? Uncertain, she wiggled her fingers just to see what would happen. “I should be dead,” she whispered.

“It’s all right,” someone said. “You’re safe.”

She almost jumped at the sound. Her spatial awareness was gone, just like her super-strength. It turned out that two people were standing in this cavern, and one of them was…her. Or rather a version of her with a long, braided ponytail and a sexy, red dress that Jena would love to get her hands on. Yowza! She had never realized just how hot she was.

The other was a most welcome sight.

Jack Hunter stood before her in white tactical gear, his discarded vest lying on the floor. The poor kid looked like he had been through the Bleakness itself. His dark hair was a mess; dust and dried blood coated his face. Yeesh.

“Jack?” she panted. “Where are we?”

Dropping to his knees, the kid smiled, and some of her anxiety melted away. “It’s okay.” He laid a hand on her shoulder, then quickly jerked it back. Why? Oh. Right. Because she was naked, and Jack Hunter was ridiculously modest.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Jena wiped the slime off her face. She blinked a few times. “Did it work?” she mumbled. “Did we stop Slade from taking the Key?”

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but then he thought better of it, shaking his head in dismay. Somehow, she knew that she wasn’t going to like what came next. “No, Jen,” he said at last. “I’m sorry. He opened the SuperGates.”

“SuperGates?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I passed the symbiont to Melissa,” she said. “Then I hobbled my ass over to the room where Slade was doing his thing. And boom! Next thing I knew, I was here, trying to wade through all that slop.”

“That was eighteen months ago.”

“Eighteen months?” she stammered. “Where have I been in all that time?”

“Dead.”

“Oh…”

Jena got up on her knees, unable to suppress a smirk when Jack very forcefully looked away. It wasn’t going to work – the kid had spatial awareness – but she appreciated the effort.

She turned her gaze upon the woman in the red dress, narrowing her eyes to slits. “Just one more quick question,” she said. “What’s up with my unreasonable facsimile over there?”

“Well, she’s-”

The woman chose that moment to come over and offer her hand, pulling Jena to her feet. “My sweet daughter,” she said, wrapping a robe around Jena’s shoulders. “That we should meet like this.”

“…Your mother,” Jack grumbled.

Jena blinked, trying to put the pieces together. “Mother,” she whispered. “No, that isn’t possible. My mother was Ilia Morane.”

No longer burdened by the demands of chivalry, Jack stood up and spun to face her. He sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “Your biological mother, Jen,” he clarified. “You were adopted.”

Folding her arms, Jena frowned as she took an instinctive step backward. “Well, I knew that part,” she muttered. “We always assumed that my biological parents died in the attack on Arinas. I never knew I was a clone.”

The other woman’s eyebrows rose. “Very good,” she said. “I have so much to tell you, but I’m afraid we don’t have the time.”

“Can I at least get your name?”

“I am called Isara now,” the woman replied. “Though that was not the name I used when I was pregnant with you. Jack, you must get her out of here. He will awaken soon.”

“And who is he?”

“Slade,” Jack growled, coming forward to stand beside her. He eyed Isara like he expected her to pull a knife. Well, that told Jena everything she needed to know about the relationship between those two. “You really want my help? Stop bringing him back.”

Isara pursed her lips, cocking her head as she considered that. “Provide us with a better alternative,” she said. “You’ve seen now what we have to offer, what you stand to gain if the project is successful.”

“Yeah, about that…” Jack directed a glare toward a dark tunnel that led out of here. “What about the others? Ben? Raynar?”

“Ben’s dead?” Jena mumbled.

She squeaked when a man emerged from the shadows. And not just any man. A tall, broad-shouldered Justice Keeper with a face like a brick and lots of dark stubble. She had not expected to ever see Bril Adorak again. The man was dead. But then so was she. Obviously, the rules needed some rethinking.

“We were not present when your friends died,” Bril said. “As such, we were unable to preserve their minds. I am sorry, Jack. They are gone.”

Striding up to him, Jena stood toe to toe with the worst instructor she had ever had. She stared up into his eyes, waiting for him to flinch. “And who are you?” she demanded. “Because we both know you’re not Bril.”

“It’s an Overseer,” Jack explained. “Or one of their telepathic projections. I’m not entirely sure how it works, but they’re responsible for your…new lease on life. I’ll tell you everything once we get out of here.”

Jena tilted her head like a bird inspecting a worm that it wanted to gobble up. It dawned on her that Isara had done the same thing only a few moments ago. Shared mannerisms. How much of that was genetic? “So, if you can’t bring back Ben or Raynar, then how were you able to do it for me?”

“You died in one of our facilities,” the Overseer replied. “Our technology preserved you.”

“Well…Thanks.”

Jack came up behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Come on,” he said, nodding toward the tunnel. “We should get you back to the ship.”

“The ship?”

“Oh, you’re gonna like that part.”

The SlipGate bubble arrived in a gray room that was so very like the ones Jena had seen on every other starship. When it popped, she felt a chill as her bare feet touched the cold floor. Her hair was still slick, and she had only the thin robe for warmth, which – if she were given to excessive bouts of modesty – would have been a problem in the company of the three men who all pointed guns at her and Jack. “Is it him, ma’am?” one of them asked.

Anna stood behind the control console, frowning as she locked the Gate. She looked up to fix sharp, blue eyes on Jack. “It’s him,” she declared. “The real Jack Hunter. Accept no substitutes.”

“Can you be sure?”

Anna’s reply to that was a loving smile that warmed Jena’s heart. “I’m one person on this ship that Slade can’t fool. I know my boyfriend when I see him.” So, they were finally together! About damn time!

Stepping out from behind the console, Anna shut her eyes as she strode toward them. “But I do have one question, sweetie,” she said. “Why is Isara back on this ship? And why is she covered in goo?”

“That’s two questions,” Jena observed.

Jack raised a finger to interject, his mouth opening as he tried to form words, but his girlfriend rode right over him. “After all the trouble she went to, trying to escape,” Anna went on. “Traumatizing some of our crew in the process! Why is she back here?”

“Um, Anna…”

“Because I was supportive of the whole morally questionable alliance thing, but Isara has betrayed us enough times now to make that a non-viable strategy. So, again, I have to ask: why is she here?”

“That’s not Isara,” Jack said.

“What do you mean, that’s not-”

Anna froze in mid-step, her jaw dropping when she realized who was standing in front of her. “Bleakness take me,” she whispered. “Is it really you?”

She slammed into Jena with a fierce hug, squeezing her tight. Jena could do nothing but return the embrace, which lingered for the better part of a minute. The girl practically trembled in her arms. It was becoming clear to Jena that her friends had suffered a great deal while she was gone.

Pulling away, Anna brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. She blinked the tears out of her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I…I didn’t…I’m not sure how to react.”

Jena replied with a smile. “No need to apologize,” she said. “But is there a place on this ship where I can get cleaned up? Because slime is definitely not the new black.”

“Come on,” Jack said. “There are some empty quarters on Deck Two.”

The hallways had pristine, white walls and floor tiles that had been polished to a shine by the maintenance bots. Tired people shuffled about, sometimes in small groups but often alone. By the look of them, they had all been worked to the bone. Jack had told her that she had been…resurrected – she wasn’t ever going to get used to that – in the middle of a conflict between Ragnos and Leyria.

Ragnos and Leyria?

An hour ago, from her perspective, Ragnos had been an inconsequential concern on the other side of the galaxy. An hour ago, she had been conducting a meeting in Station Twelve’s science lab, preparing her team for the raid on the Overseer base. She hadn’t planned on dying. Bleakness take her, she was going to live another twenty years!

Wait a minute, was that still true? Her symbiont was gone, but she seemed to have the body of a young woman. How much time did she have left?

Jack and Anna walked side by side in front of her, talking quietly while she mused on her situation. “It’s not going well,” Anna said. “Telixa’s got ships hovering over most of our major cities. Corin had to pull the fleet back.”

“Where are we now?” Jack asked.

“In orbit of Laras with about fifteen other ships, some Leyrian, some Alosian. We set up a blockade there just in case Telixa decides to attack the Nassai. I don’t think she will, but she reacts badly when people interfere with her plans.”

“And the Nassai?”

Anna heaved out a breath, laying a hand on Jack’s arm. She shuffled along with her head down. “Palamo took them to the lab on Deck Four,” she said. “They’ll be safe there for now, but we were thinking about returning them to Laras.”

“There are Nassai on the ship?” Jena inquired.

“I’ll explain later, Jen,” Jack grunted. She was getting a little tired of hearing that, but she supposed there was no getting around it. You couldn’t bring someone up to speed on the eighteen months they had missed in an hour. Especially not when you were in the middle of a warzone. “What about the dropships? Did we get everyone back?”

“Corin sent down a fighter escort to protect them,” Anna said. “They managed to take off just before the Scrappy was forced to break orbit. It was a close call, but everyone made it home safe and sound.”

“Thank god.”

“There’s still fighting over the Telonoth and Southern Asrinar, but the Leyrian fleet suffered heavy damage. Most ships had to limp away and repair themselves before they could continue the fight. The Ragnosians are settling in for a planetary siege. And it gets worse. About half an hour ago, Telixa offered the Council a chance to surrender, and Dusep rejected it in the most destructive way possible.”

“What about the hostages?”

Anna came to an abrupt halt, shuddering as she drew in a breath. “I haven’t heard anything,” she mumbled. “So far as I know, Telixa still has them, and she’s still planning to execute them in two hours.”

Jack leaned his shoulder against the wall, his body slumping as the exhaustion he had been ignoring caught up to him. Jena’s heart went out to him. To both of them. Her friends had suffered so much in her absence. “Okay,” Jack mumbled. “When the others come aboard, we’ll assemble a team-”

“No, we won’t, sweetie.”

“What?”

Anna pressed her back against the opposite wall, her head drooping. The poor girl looked like she might pass out. “We’re both two inches away from collapsing,” she said. “The others aren’t any better off. Keli and Rajel can barely stand.”

She closed her eyes, one fat tear rolling down her cheek. “We board that ship, and they’ll cut us to pieces before we get anywhere near the hostages,” she croaked. “There’s nothing we can do.”

For the first time, Jena realized just how much things had changed. The Anna that she remembered would have hopped into a shuttle and flown off to rescue those hostages, exhaustion be damned. She probably would have gotten herself killed in the process. This older version was more cautious. And it was killing her in an entirely different way.

“So, we’re just going to leave?”

“I’ll call Telixa,” Anna said. “Make one last plea…”

“You know that’s not gonna work.”

Wincing, Jena spread her hands and then forced herself between them. “Wait. Time out,” she said. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I really need a few things answered.”

“Okay.”

“Back there, when we came through the Gate,” Jena began, turning to Jack. “Why did Anna have to confirm that it was you?”

A sigh escaped Anna as she pressed her fingertips into her forehead and started massaging away what appeared to be a budding migraine. “Slade thought that it would be a super, funny joke to make himself look like Jack and then go around killing people.”

“Wait,” Jena cut in. “So, you have an evil twin too?”

“Welcome to the club,” Jack said. “Membership dues are paid on the first Tuesday of every month.”

“I had one first,” Jena grumbled. “I should be welcoming you. So, what’s our next move?”

“My next move is to call the Ragnosian admiral and beg her to release the hostages,” Anna said. “Your next move is a sonic shower and then a visit to the sickbay. I want Dr. Tralis to take a look at you.”

“I feel fine,” Jena protested.

Anna shot her a glance that said there would be no arguing on this point. “I’m sure you do,” the girl insisted. “But this is the first time one of our people has come back from the dead. I think that merits a little caution, don’t you?”

Jena flinched.

So, it was official. This wasn’t the same Anna who used to leap through SlipGates with no idea of what was waiting for her on the other side. She had grown into a careful and confident leader. Jena would probably have to stop thinking of her as “the girl.”

The very instant she finished coming to terms with that, another revelation hit her like a smack in the face. She wasn’t in charge of this team anymore. Until now, she hadn’t given it any thought. She had been planning to pick up right where she left off, but that wasn’t going to happen. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “Okay,” she said. “Sickbay, it is.”

“Great!” Anna exclaimed.

The pair of them started up the corridor, walking hand in hand. “It’s not fair,” Anna said. “You get a doppelganger; Jena gets a doppelganger. How come I don’t get a doppelganger?”

“Because you’d just sleep with her,” Jack countered.

“It’s true.”

Jena hurried to catch up, unable to hold back a burst of laughter. It was good to see that some things never changed.

An hour later, Jena was sitting on the edge of a sickbay bed, dressed all in black: cargo pants and a t-shirt. The shower had removed the slime from her skin and hair. She almost felt presentable. Not bad for a dead woman.

Most of the other beds were occupied by unconscious soldiers and police officers. Jena had never seen those gray uniforms before, but she assumed they were Ragnosian. Anna was the type of person who would show mercy to her enemies.

She heard moans from some of those poor souls. One man wouldn’t stop wheezing. It broke her heart to listen. She hadn’t seen carnage like this since the Fringe raids, and that was a chapter of her life that she was eager to forget. She had Bonded her symbiont at the start of that conflict.

Her symbiont…

The Nassai’s absence was hard to ignore. Jena had always been an independent person, but that little bundle of emotions in the back of her mind had been a source of comfort.

Nurses in scrubs and lab coats moved from one patient to the next, administering drugs and salves. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled the air. Two young men pulled a gurney through the central aisle. The soldier lying on it – a blonde-haired woman with a gash across her forehead – was fading fast.

“Get her into surgery,” Dr. Tralis barked.

Short and plump with brown skin and thick, curly hair, she stood with a SmartGlass tablet tucked into the crook of her arm. Her glasses were smudged. “Move! Move!” Once they were gone, the poor woman deflated.

She found a second wind mere moments later, spinning around and marching toward Jena. “Now, for our miracle patient,” she said. “You can tell Captain Lenai that I can’t find anything wrong with you.”

Jena raised an eyebrow. “Captain Lenai?”

“Yes, well, I can’t remember who holds the title this week,” the doctor snapped. “They pass it back and forth like whiskey around a campfire. All your vital signs are normal. You are not carrying any pathogens that I can detect. So far as I can tell, you are a perfectly healthy twenty-year-old woman. Now, get out of my sickbay.”

“Except I’m forty-two,” Jena countered. “Or…I guess…forty-four now.”

Dr. Tralis frowned as she checked the data on her tablet, scrolling through window after window with a swipe of her finger. “Not according to these scans,” she said. “Your cellular structure, your telomeres, the general health of your internal organs: they all indicate a woman just out of adolescence. Congratulations, they gave you a completely new body. Now, go enjoy it.”

Jena hopped off the bed, nodding once to the other woman. “Thanks.” She started toward the door, then paused for one last question. “Doc, do you think I can Bond another symbiont?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Good to know.”

Out in the hallway, she found more people going about their daily routines. Most of them didn’t even notice her. So…what exactly was she supposed to do with herself? The crew of this ship was rundown and in desperate need of a rest, but she was bursting with energy.

“So, it’s true.”

Jena nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a familiar voice right behind her. She had gotten so used to spatial awareness. Living without it would be quite the adjustment.

She spun around to find Larani Tal standing in the middle of the corridor. The other woman leaned forward, inspecting Jena’s face. “They told me,” she mumbled. “But I did not believe until now.”

Folding her arms, Jena flashed a playful, little grin. “You know,” she said. “You’re probably the first person to sneak up on me in twenty years.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Larani took a hesitant step backward, shutting her eyes as she drew in a breath. “I am pleased to see that you are well,” she said. “But there are some things that require my attention. If you’ll excuse me.”

She stormed off down the corridor.

Same old Larani: all business and no pleasure. Someone should teach that lady how to relax. Jena filed that away for future consideration. She needed a new project now that she was no longer in charge of a lovable group of misfits. But first, she wanted some food. She hadn’t eaten in six hours…or eighteen months, depending on your perspective. And she wanted to get stupid drunk at least once before she Bonded her next symbiont. Second chances didn’t come around often.

Finding the mess hall wasn’t hard, though she did have to ask for directions twice. The place was pretty much what you would expect: a large, open room with a serving counter on one side and gray, plastic tables on the other.

Most of those were empty, but she did notice a group of disheveled people in the back corner. A pink-haired woman who might have been Anna’s little sister, a blind man who kept fussing with his smashed sunglasses, a big, burly guy with thick, red hair and a goatee. Jena didn’t recognize any of them.

Except for one.

She wouldn’t have expected to find Melissa Carlson sitting in a man’s lap, but there she was, cuddled up with a handsome guy who sported quite a bit of stubble on his firm jawline. Good for her! It was about time the kid got over her excessive modesty.

Melissa was on her feet the instant she walked through the door, smiling the most beatific smile Jena had ever seen. “Oh my God!” She rushed across the room to hug Jena. “It’s really you!”

Closing her eyes, Jena rested her chin on the young woman’s shoulder. “How you doing, kid?” she whispered. “How’s that Nassai of mine?”

Melissa pulled away, her smile deepening, tears glistening in her lovely, dark eyes. “Ilia is so happy to see you,” she said.

“Ilia? Wait. They resurrected my mom too?”

“No, no,” Melissa said, shaking her head. “Ilia is my…is our symbiont. She thought that taking your mother’s name would be a good way to honour you.”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re doing that too!”

Melissa fell in beside her, gently resting a hand on Jena’s back and guiding her to the table. “It’s not just me,” she said. “We all started naming our Nassai, building a true partnership with them.”

The pink-haired woman raised a hand and said, “Alys.”

“Rix,” the blind man added.

Pressing her lips together, Jena nodded to each of them. “Nice to meet you, Rix,” she said. “Alys.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Pink-Hair replied. “I’m Cassi. Alys is my Nassai.”

“And I’m Rajel.”

Jena dropped into a chair, stretching her legs out and smiling up at the ceiling. “The world went and turned crazy on me,” she said. “I guess I’m going to have to get in on this fun, new trend.”

Reclaiming her spot on the young man’s lap, Melissa wrapped an arm around his neck and gave him a smooch on the cheek. “You’ll be glad you did,” she promised. “It strengthens the Bond between human and Nassai.”

“Speaking of,” her boyfriend interjected.

“What’s up?”

The man licked his lips, shutting his eyes as he worked the nerve to ask what was obviously a difficult question. “We’ve got thirty of them waiting in the science lab,” he began. “How would you feel if I Bonded one?”

Melissa laid a hand on his cheek, turning his face toward her. That look in her eyes…So, the girl was in love. It warmed Jena’s heart to see it. “It would make me very happy if you chose to Bond a Nassai,” she said. “But are you sure that’s what you want?”

“I felt useless down there,” the young man lamented. “People dying all around me. And I could do nothing.”

“It’s not that simple,” Jena said. “Bonding a Nassai isn’t just about gaining superpowers.”

The young man winced. “Yeah, I know,” he mumbled. “It’s about service. I just…I saw what Arin did.”

“Wait,” Jena protested. “Arin did something heroic?”

“He got himself shot pulling wounded people off the battlefield,” Melissa explained. “He’s not the same man you knew, Jena. He’s changed.”

“Seems a lot of things have changed.”

It was only then that she noticed just how beaten-down everyone was. Rajel looked like he wanted to drink himself into oblivion. Melissa’s boyfriend was still on the verge of tears. War did that to people. She should have seen it earlier. She had been lost in her own drama ever since she crawled out of the pool. Then again, given the circumstances, who could blame her?

“Seems I came back at just the right time,” Jena said. “Because I think you guys all need a chat with the team mom.”

“I’d say that’s accurate,” Melissa agreed.

“Great. Then let’s get started.”

2

The burning in Anna’s skin had faded to a mild tingle. Her pounding headache was now just a dull throbbing behind her eyes, but she was still bone-tired. She needed a hot meal and some sleep. A bath would be nice too. Sonic-showers were great for scrubbing the dirt and grime away, but they didn’t help you relax.

Part of her wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. The other part wanted to stay awake forever. She knew that the instant she sat down to rest, the instant she wasn’t distracted by the million things that required her attention, the faces of the men she had killed would be there, waiting for her

Well, they could wait a little longer. Right now, she had to focus on the seventy-eight people that she might still be able to save.

A hologram of Telixa Ethran materialized in the middle of the empty briefing room. Standing at just over five feet tall, she wore a rumpled, gray uniform, and her bob of short, brown hair was a mess. Bleakness! She looked about as awful as Anna felt. Hard to believe since the admiral had spent most of this battle sitting on the bridge of her ship.

Jack paced a line behind the hologram, studying the back of Telixa’s head. He was about ready to spit fire – Anna could tell – but he wisely kept his thoughts to himself.

“It’s so good to hear from you, Anna,” Telixa said. “Have you come to offer more threats? Perhaps you’d like to describe, in vivid detail, how you plan to exterminate my people like the sub-human filth they are.”

Crossing her arms, Anna held the other woman’s gaze. “That was Dusep, not me,” she said, shaking her head. “Don’t judge me by what that monster says.”

“No, of course not,” Telixa agreed. “I’ve been most unfair. You only threatened to board my ship and hunt me down. Clearly, you’re much more reasonable.”

Chagrinned, Anna looked down at the floor. “I won’t pretend to be blameless,” she said. “But those hostages in your cargo bay are. Let them go.”

Telixa replied with a menacing grin that sent chills down Anna’s spine. “If you want the hostages,” she began, “all you have to do is turn over the Nassai.”

“We’re not giving you the Nassai!” Jack growled.

“Then I suppose you can live with the consequences.”

“You really wanna execute some civilians?” Anna barked. “Cross the line into full-on war criminal? ‘Cause I’m telling you, Telixa, there’s no coming back from that. You do this, and there’s gonna be a tribunal.”

The admiral strode forward, forcing Anna to retreat. Her face was a looming storm cloud. “I will do what I have to,” she insisted. “I would expect no less from you.”

Anna chose to stand her ground, prompting the hologram to halt its relentless advance. She stood toe to toe with the other woman, staring into her ghostly eyes. “Then I guess I was wrong,” she hissed. “There is no humanity left in you. You’re just as bad as Dusep.”

“History will be the judge of that.”

“So, I’m gonna make you a better offer,” Anna pressed on. “You free the hostages, and you can have me.”

Jack tensed up.

She hadn’t told him about this part of the plan. She knew that he would try to stop her, and she wasn’t going to give him the chance. This was the only move she had left. She couldn’t free the hostages with some daring rescue plan, and appealing to Telixa’s conscience wasn’t working. So, that left her with one option.

Bargaining.

Anna had communed with Seth before coming in here. She had to be certain that he was on board with this scheme of hers; after all, it was his life too. On some level, she had known what he was going to say, but it still felt good to hear it.

Seth was more than willing to make this trade. Anna had risked her life to protect innocent Nassai; so, he would sacrifice his to protect innocent humans.

The hologram raised a transparent eyebrow, seemingly amused by her offer. “And why would I want to have you as a prisoner, Anna?”

“You’re conducting experiments on the Nassai, right?” Anna inquired. “Trying to break them so they’ll Bond with anyone? Well, I’ll be your guinea pig. You can perform your experiments on me.”

She had no intention of honouring that promise. She had discussed it with Seth, and they both agreed: Telixa couldn’t be allowed to complete her research. An army of super-soldiers with the power to Bend space-time would be the worst thing this galaxy had ever seen, a disaster for both humans and Nassai.

Anna would not surrender herself until she had confirmation that the hostages were safe. At that point, all bets were off. Her first move would be to attempt an escape – she wasn’t above pulling out the old double-cross for a tyrant like Telixa – but if that failed, Seth would Unbond her, and they would both die. No experiments, no data. Two lives in exchange for seventy-eight. Fair trade.

It seemed like such a good plan, but then Telixa started cackling. “No, Anna,” she said. “I’m not going to fall for your little trick. First off, there is very little that I can learn from a Nassai that has already taken a host. And second, I know you. Once the hostages are free, you’ll renege on your promise. If necessary, you’ll even take your own life.”

Telixa backed off, smiling and shaking her head. Her soft laughter left Anna feeling cold inside. “I meant it when I called you a tactical genius,” the admiral went on. “And a tactical genius does whatever it takes to frustrate the enemy’s plans. My ultimatum stands. You have one hour to turn over the Nassai, or the hostages die.”

The hologram winked out.

Whirling around, Anna kicked the wall hard enough to send a jolt of pain through her foot. “Bleakness fucking take it all!” She stepped forward and followed that with a punch that left a small dent in the bulkhead.

She sensed the misty figure of Jack coming up behind her. He laid a hand on her back, waiting patiently until she calmed herself down.

Shutting her eyes tight, Anna trembled as the tears flowed freely. She wiped them away. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I don’t…I don’t know what else to do. I don’t have any moves left, Jack!”

Before he could say one word, she turned around and buried her nose in his chest. Sobs ripped through her body. “I have to save them!”

Jack said nothing.

He just held her, gently rocking her from side to side while she cried herself dry. After a minute or two, her anguish receded, but Seth’s grief was still a blazing bonfire in the back of her mind.

“It’s not your fault,” Jack whispered. “It’s not your fault.”

“I should have been able to do something. There had to be a way.”

“Sometimes, there isn’t one.”

Novol sat forward with his elbows on the gray, plastic table, his fingertips digging into his temples. “They train you for this sort of thing.” His eyes flicked up to the woman across from him. “It’s very specific. There’s ‘us,’ and there’s ‘them.’ Protect the us, and destroy the them.”

Jena Morane, the miracle woman whom Melissa seemed to view as a surrogate mother, sat on the other side of the table, nodding slowly as if she had known what he was about to say. “You think maybe the wires got crossed?”

“What do you mean?”

“Other Ragnosians used to be the ‘us,’” she said. “Leyrians used to be the ‘them.’ But then you went and switched sides. They conditioned you to see the world a certain way. You can’t just flip a switch and turn it off.”

Novol sat up, blinking. “I should be able to compartmentalize,” he said. “That’s part of a spacer’s job.”

He could feel Melissa’s eyes on him, though he didn’t so much as glance in her direction. She sat behind him, at the next table over. She had offered to leave so that he could have some time alone with Jena, but he had asked her to stay. What must she think of all this?

She was probably remembering the way he had fired on that Ragnosian base when they stole the shuttle. One more reason why he shouldn’t even bother trying to Bond a symbiont. Why would a Nassai want him?

“It’s not that simple, Novol.”

“I’ve killed other Ragnosians before.”

“And how did that make you feel?”

Unable to sit still, Novol slid his chair back and stood. He started to pace through the gap between the tables, restless energy surging through every muscle. “At first, I was just kind of numb inside,” he answered. “You know, you don’t really think about it. You just do the job. But after…”

Jena sat back with a hand over her mouth, lightly tapping her lips. “I want you to consider something,” she said. “And it won’t be easy for you to accept. Do you think you’re up to it?”

“Hit me.”

“There is no ‘us,’” she said. “There is no ‘them.’ There’s only people, each one a mix of good and bad, and every life precious.”

He stopped in his tracks, shutting his eyes as hot tears slid over his cheeks. “You’re saying I shouldn’t have killed anyone. Somehow…” He shook his head.

Melissa was out of her seat in an instant, rushing over to grab his arm and rest her head on his shoulder. His guilt laid bare, but still, she ran to him. He loved her for that. More than words could ever express.

Jena rose in one fluid motion.

Standing there on the other side of the table, she looked almost like a queen on her dais. “It’s not that simple,” she insisted. “I’ve killed, Novol. More than once. And while I regret the necessity, if I had to make the choice again, I would.”

“So, how do I learn to live with this?”

“There’s no easy answer for you, son,” Jena replied. “This is probably the most morally complex issue a human being can grapple with. All I can tell you is that the grief is part of the process. Don’t run from it.

“But I think why we do things matters. So, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to take a life, don’t do it because your enemy is part of some amorphous ‘them.’ Do it as a last resort. Because the alternative would be worse.”

Novol sighed.

Melissa clung to him, and he let her. Her presence was a comfort. That she could still love him after all this…

“I never wanted to switch sides, you know,” he said. “I just couldn’t stand by and watch them treat Jack like a caged animal. It wasn’t a plan. I just made one choice to follow my conscience, and after that, I kind of got swept along with the current.”

Melissa kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you did.”

“You’ll be all right, kid,” Jena said. “Trust me.”

Rajel wandered the Scrappy’s corridors with no particular direction in mind. Jena had tried to prod him about the turmoil she sensed in his heart, but he was in no mood to discuss it. Especially not with a woman he had known for all of five seconds. He had been all but useless in that last battle.

It galled him.

The drones were always up there, on the edge of his spatial awareness, never quite coming close enough for him to get a sense of their shape. He had a vague idea of their position, but spatial awareness was tricky. It didn’t just stop at a hard line, beyond which he could feel nothing. Rather, objects became less distinct the further away they were.