Claiming her Alien Warrior

Chapter 1-3

Oh crap, she shouldn’t have said that.

Jane leaned against the door inside her quarters and took a fortifying breath. The stunned, then hurt, then furious look on Karryl’s face when she’d lied and told him she didn’t like him had cut her to the quick. She did like him, way too much for comfort. That was the problem.

Well, no, that wasn’t the real problem. The real issue was she had morals. And she was a spy. She wouldn’t, couldn’t, use Karryl’s feelings against him like that.

The soft ping-ping-ping of the comm center in the corner of the room called for her attention. She sighed. Time for her scheduled call with Terran Command. She had to report in every day to let them know more about the alien culture she was immersed in.

What they really wanted to know was how to defeat the Lathar.

Heart heavy, she walked across the room and slid into the seat in front of the console. A touch on the screen activated it. Myles smiling face filled the screen. She smiled a false smile. If the guy were in the room, she’d break his f*****g nose.

“Greetings, Major Allen. How are we today?” he asked, rubbing his ear. “I hope you and your lovely companions are having a pleasant break on Lathar Prime.”

His words were in code, a predefined speech pattern and set of phrases all high-level command officers knew by heart for just such instances as these. Translation: Sit-rep.

“Doing well, thank you, Colonel. And yourself? How’s your lovely wife?” Her words followed the same protocol as she flicked her gaze to the top right corner of the screen. No change. Nothing to report.

She didn’t have anything past the information she had already given them. As charming as the Lathar were, they were careful to keep guests out of sensitive areas. So far, she hadn’t been able to gather any information on military numbers or weapons capability.

Myles’s expression darkened for a second. “Oh, I’m afraid she’s not been well…” Information required urgently. Yes, asshole, she knew that. “So she’s taken a short break to my uncle’s cabin near the lake.” Defense perimeter on high alert. “If she doesn’t get better soon though, I’m insisting she go to St. Michaels.”

Shit. Ever the professional, she kept a straight face at the last line. The Terran defense perimeter, comprised of bases and automated defense satellites, worked on a series of named levels. On a normal day the alert was low, at level George, but it went up through Jeremy, Roxanne (she’d love to know who got that one in) and up to Michael. If the defense net was that high, it meant the president had authorized nukes.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she frowned. Stand down, I got this. “I’ve always found Dr. Roxanne at All Angels to be an excellent doctor.”

Myles rubbed at his chin. “You think? We’ll see how she rallies in the next few days. If she doesn’t come through then, I’m going to take her to St. Michaels.”

She nodded. “Understood. Please pass on my regards to her.”

They weren’t going to let this go, so the clock ticked. Find out something they could use, or they were arming nukes. And if they fired nukes at the Lathar, long-lost genetic relations or not, humanity was f*****g toast.

“Of course, Terran Command out.”

She sat for a moment and closed her eyes as tiredness washed over her. President Halland had always been an asshole, but she couldn’t believe he’d be stupid enough to arm the nukes. It shouldn’t have surprised her. Once a person gained enough power, they seemed to stop listening to common sense and believed whatever their yes-men told them. After his mismanagement of colony farming resources, Halland would never be re-elected so a war was his best bet for retaining power.

With a sigh, she stood and brushed nonexistent lint from her pants and headed for the door. Damned if she did, damned if she didn’t, but to prevent an all-out war, she needed to find something to give to Myles.