by Jade Waltz
“Get a hold of yourself!” She growled. “That attitude isn’t going to solve anything—it’s only going to make you fail.” She gripped his shoulder and flipped him around, drilling her gaze into his matching eyes. “I didn’t waste all my free time trading information about the Daextru with you just so you can throw it all away. You have the knowledge. You have Lian blood in your veins. Use it.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“And this is why you need to listen to your big sister.” Jaiya tilted her head and smiled. “Now, let’s get you packed. I need to go do the same before the night is over.”
“How can you be so calm?” Aydin asked, eyes and tone confused.
“If I panic, I’m not only putting my own life in danger.” She released her hold on him and stepped away. “My wing’s lives are my responsibility as well, along with all the other lives the military protects.” She shrugged. “While your supervisors are busy being cowards, my fellow comrades are risking their lives in constant battle.” Jaiya turned toward his only window and stared at ships flying about the moon base. “After a while, you give up your fear of death and learn to live in the present, because any day could be your last—especially in times of war.”
“I’ve never thought of it like that . . .”
“Fear not.” She glanced at him as he stepped up next to her. “I won’t leave your side. I am willing to share a room like old times, if needed.” She bumped her shoulder with his playfully, trying to lighten up the mood. “I may not be a diplomat, but I know a lot about the Daextru, both from trading knowledge with you and from fighting against them. I won’t let anyone push my little brother around.”
“Thank you, Jaiya.”
They fell into a comfortable silence as Jaiya helped Aydin pack. As time passed, she could see Aydin’s mood slowly slip back into doubt. He would pause and sigh as he stared at the items he was packing with his shoulders slumped.
It was as if their conversation had never happened, the way he fell back into his original mood.
There was no way he would be able to handle the Daextru. They would take advantage of him and his submissiveness. They could dismiss him altogether, instantly sending him back and cutting off any thoughts of peace.
His inner turmoil may even offend them, fueling the war to continue until one side was the victor and the other was utterly destroyed.
Jaiya couldn’t have that.
“Do you feel better now that you packed all of your belongings?” Jaiya asked, surveying the room. Everything he owned was packed into the two travel packs sitting next to his table. His empty liquor bottle and glass sat next to his mission files and ID badge. “You know I will make sure you return, right? This isn’t the end.”
Aydin was stretched out on his couch, laying against its back with his head pointed towards the ceiling, eyes closed, and legs spread. In his current state of undress, he didn’t look at all like a politician—or a diplomat. Instead, he had the appearance of a drunken male about to face his doom.
An embarrassment to both her and the human race.
“Hey, little brother!” She tapped his foot with her boot to grab his attention. When no response came, she did it again.
“Great. My coward of a brother drank himself into a stupor.” She sighed and surveyed the room once more. Her gaze landed on Aydin’s ID and mission holodisk.
An idea formed.
If Aydin believed that the mission was already doomed and neither of them was going to return from it, then why not take his place? They were fraternal twins and had always looked alike. She was often mistaken for Aydin when she wore civilian clothing or her hair up in a tight bun—or shaved it whenever she got sick of dealing with helmet hair.
Jaiya shot a glance at her brother, observing his current hairstyle.
Could she do it?
She ran her hands over the buzzed sides of her head to her tight top bun. It would be easy to chop it off and part the hair to the side, letting it fall. As long as her hair was short and neatly styled, she could easily pull off her brother’s hairstyle.
There weren’t going to be any other people on the mission, so she didn’t have to worry about his colleagues wondering why she was acting differently. Jaiya always wondered if she knew more about the Daextru than Aydin, having witnessed their interactions with their leaders. It was common for their kind to mock the enemy in battle by overriding their communications.
It wasn’t until recently that they’d started targeting their fighter’s wings instead of the cockpit. Her higher-ups decided to do the same and slowly reduced all of the planned attacks, only focusing on defending their three-star systems—the Cosmic Trinity Alliance.
She had a few choice words with a certain golden-horned, blue-scaled pilot. He was known as the Black Hole—if anyone faced him, they always faced their doom.
Jaiya smirked at the memory of the last time she’d gone against him. He had spent his time harassing her in battle, taunting her as he prevented her from doing any damage to his fleet. After a few occurrences, it became a game to her as she focused on distracting him with fancy flight maneuvers to try to shake him.
Their last battle was different, though. Instead of aiming to kill, the Daextru disabled their ships instead. She had repaid his generosity by damaging his engines, leaving him stranded in the midst of battle. His reaction had been priceless, the way his bright aqua slitted eyes widened in shock at being bested. The once undefeated male met his first defeat—at her hands.
Jaiya had a feeling they were going to request peace talks but didn’t think it would be this soon.
She reached for her brother’s mission holodisk and activated it. A request for a password filled the small projection. Jaiya smiled at her good fortune. A DNA scan would have complicated things, but the security program was asking for something she already had access to.
Jaiya and Aydin always exchanged passwords. It made trading knowledge easier, and she wanted her brother to have access to all of her private belongings if she ever died on duty. Their father was on Gaia, living a lonely lifestyle as a fisherman. He wasn’t easy to get a hold of—whether it was due to his intentional avoidance of human contact or the unstable communication connection within the Azophi star system, between Azophi-2-Gaia and Azophi-5’s moon base. Jaiya wanted to believe the latter, but she had a feeling he was too ashamed of himself to keep in contact. What few conversations they did have were complicated by his conviction that his children were following the wrong careers.
Her mother had been an assistant to the lead diplomat sent on the original peace treaty mission. She had died, along with the fifteen others on their transport ship, which exploded upon their return. Jaiya hardly knew their mother, because just like their father before the war started, she was rarely around. When her mother died, her father’s career was ruined, and he’d spiraled into a state of isolated depression. Aydin and Jaiya had been raised by nannies and placed in special academies while growing up. Once they had graduated, Father couldn’t take life in space any longer and left for Gaia, never to fly again.
Aydin and Jaiya only had each other—no lovers, no children, and no close friends. Aydin was an outcast among his coworkers, and even though Jaiya was the captain of her own fight wing, she never hung out with them outside of their duties. All of her time was spent training or studying with her brother.
She typed in Aydin’s favorite password, unlocking the holodisk and did a quick scan of the mission’s details. It mirrored the document she’d received. He was directed to go alone to the Daextru’s nearest starbase and discuss establishing a peace treaty, with her being his escort. They wanted him to make certain demands, including giving new technology to the Cosmic Trinity Alliance, the CTA, as reparation for war damages. There was a ranking of what type of technology they wanted him to request and a list of concessions they weren’t willing to make.
She could do this.
In fact, I can do this better than Aydin can.
&nb
sp; A loud snore erupted in the room, startling Jaiya. She glanced at her brother as she scrambled to shut down the holodisk, nearly dropping it. She hoped he wasn’t waking up. Another snore erupted from his mouth.
She let out a deep breath that she didn’t know she’d been holding. He was still asleep. Her secret was safe.
Pocketing the mission holodisk and his ID badge, she searched for the container where she’d seen Aydin pack his office supplies. She found it along the far wall and dug out his tablet. Pulling the stylus out, she left a quick note with a coded phrase only they knew.
Gone fishing. Meet me by the fruit tree.
She placed the tablet on the table, where his holodisk and ID used to lie, making it obvious that she was the one who had taken his items. Jaiya quietly walked to her sleeping twin brother and leaned over him, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. This may be the last time she ever saw him, even with him in such an embarrassing state of undress.
She sighed and pulled her gaze away, refusing to linger any longer than necessary. She still had much to do. She needed to cut her hair, change into one of his dress robes, and find a way to leave the base without getting caught.
Grabbing his two packed travel bags, she left his apartment. The sound of his door sliding shut and locking followed her out.
It would be up to her brother to stay hidden until she returned. If he couldn’t accomplish such a simple task, it would only complicate her life when she returned.
That is—if I return.
She shook her head, clearing the sudden doubt. There was no room for any negativity in her personal mission. Jaiya wasn’t going to allow herself to fall into the hole her brother was in.
She was one of the fleet’s only female Captains—and she was going to bring honor back to her family’s name. She would end the war.
“Why must I do this, sister?” Idris growled. His tail flicked back and forth, reflecting his irritation.
“Because you are fully capable of playing the role of diplomat and working out the peace talks with the humans.” Ushyaz’s stern tone left no room for argument. Her golden-slitted eyes filled with mirth as her lips curled in a sly smirk. “Plus, my reports state that you are still grounded from your last time out.”
A silent hiss escaped his lips as he shot his older sister a glare.
They both knew that he could take another’s fighter ship while she ran the negotiations. Just like him, she would rather battle amongst the stars than over a table.
He was fully aware why she was having him stay behind while she took the fleet to the front lines. Idris was the youngest out of five, and she was gently pulling rank on him, knowing the reason behind his request to be sent to war against the humans.
Idris was annoyed and tired of all the unmated females who propositioned him into bonding, even though he wasn’t needed to preserve the royal line. Not yet, at least. His father, the Sovereign, was defending their home planet Dzenshju and protecting its star system. His mother, the Overseer, kept resources flowing to the war front and ensured the severely injured soldiers who traveled back with supply transports were treated well.
It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the next in line to rule; unmated females only cared about gaining connections to the royal line. A few even offered to bear his offspring with only monetary support from his end. They were desperate to climb the social ladder in hopes of a better future in times of war. Even during his free time, he couldn’t find a moment of peace without someone interrupting him.
Idris pleaded with Ushyaz to convince their father to allow him to join her. He owed her his life. If this was how she wanted him to repay her, so be it. He was fully capable of handling the peace talks and preventing history from repeating itself.
He would not allow the humans to stage another self-destruction and frame them for it.
“You are lucky—mother wanted me to follow her footsteps. She tried to train me as an assistant to the next Overseer, but we both know how that went.” Crossing his arms, he sighed. “The engineers report that it will be some time before I am able to use my starstorm again. You’re the one who asked us to disable the human ships in hopes of getting into their good graces—I didn’t think I would be the one targeted.”
“It is not often someone has bested you in star battle.” She crossed her arms, mimicking him as her questioning gaze searched his. “Should I be worried?”
“About what?”
“There have been so many losses.” Her voice softened. “I don’t want to lose you, too.”
Idris pulled her closer, unable to handle the sudden vulnerability in his sister’s voice and wrapped his arms around her. Gently, he placed his forehead to hers, sending comfort as he lightly tapped their horns together.
Ushyaz was the perfect example of a female warrior, even without the princess title. She was a determined and strong-willed leader. Idris knew that behind her stony emotionless mask, she hid doubts and feelings that only he got to see.
Idris could tell that something worried her. It was safe to assume that the length of the war had finally gotten to her, just like it had to her soldiers. Not that she would let them see that. The next few days would determine the future of the war—and whether the Daextru finally had a chance at peace.
“We both know that I am fully capable of defending myself, but if it gives you comfort, I will keep Erlyn beside me at all times.”
Ushyaz pulled away, and Idris allowed her. She placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Be safe, brother.”
“I believe I should be the one telling you that,” he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “May the Stars shine upon you.”
“May the Fates guide you.”
Ushyaz released her grip and stepped away. She shot a glance behind him, where his assistant Erlyn waited for him at a respectful distance, and nodded. She turned and exited the hangar’s viewing room, head held high as her silver tail swayed with each step.
Idris stepped to the window and watched as she elegantly jumped into her custom starstorm fighter. Most of the fleet was already in formation, waiting for her within viewing range of the starbase.
He ignored Erlyn stepping beside him as he watched his sister’s ship take off. They were involved in a war with two fronts, and any moment could be their last one together.
As soon as her ship joined the others, they blinked out of existence, warp jumping to the front line.
“She will be fine,” Erlyn assured. “If you do your part, we can turn the tides of the war and finally have peace.”
“You make it sound as if it is that simple.” Idris crossed his arms, not willing to pull his gaze away from the fleet’s last location. “I have to convince the humans first.”
“Which you are fully capable of.”
“That may be true.” Idris turned toward his assistant. “But we both know how unpredictable they can be.”
“Even so, we can’t continue this war. We have wasted too much time, lost too many lives and resources fighting two different fronts. Something needs to be done.”
“I agree with you, which is one of the reasons I am here.” He shot one last glance at his broken ship, sitting in the engineering section of the hangar bay. “I just wish I could fight alongside her, instead of being stuck here.”
“She is trusting you, above all others, with this important task. You should feel honored.”
“I am honored.”
“Then allow me to do my job,” said Erlyn pointedly, crossing his arms.
“I have been.”
Guilt ate at him.
Erlyn had stood by his side since the beginning, trained to be Idris’ personal assistant since he could walk. Idris knew now what rising through the ranks entailed—it was a cutthroat process, especially during these times of war. A royal’s assistant already held a dangerous position during times of peace, and the currently hostile galactic relations placed a bigger target on Erlyn’s head. The purple-scaled male had stood by his side for
thirty-five years. They were practically brothers, of the same age of forty-five. It was common for assistants to grow with their liege, and the two of them had grown close. However, every time Idris flew his starstorm out to fight, Erlyn was left behind in the starbase—or, in a long-distance battle, the carrier—to wait, hoping to catch glimpses of the battle from afar.
If an assistant’s liege dismisses them—or worse, died—they were placed in a pool to be assigned to another. If anything were to happen to Idris, Erlyn would be assigned to someone of lower standing, as there was no other person with similar status who currently needed an assistant. It wasn’t just Idris’s life that was affected by his actions; it was Erlyn’s as well—and the rest of his people.
Idris grabbed Erlyn’s shoulder and met his guarded, pale green gaze. “I know that my most recent performance in battle wasn’t ideal—”
“‘Ideal’ doesn’t cover it,” Erlyn snorted. “You allowed your cockiness to cloud your judgment and got yourself stranded. Who knows if the humans were going to hold off? You just cared about trying to be the best and look what that got you.”
“I was surprised to see a female pilot. All the others that I’ve attempted to communicate with have been male.” He sighed and let his hand fall. “She faced me without fear and something about her—”
“Don’t tell me you acted like some lovesick male, and that is what almost got you killed.”
“No! Of course not!” He hissed.
“I know you love to try and make my hair fall out with worry.”
Idris glanced at Erlyn’s long silver hair that flowed back between his large, curved, tan-colored horns and fell past his shoulders. Nothing seemed amiss.
“Don’t worry about your hair falling out. We have many years to come, working together,” Idris assured, sending him a quick smile. “We will grow old together and watch our offspring make fools of themselves. Let them turn your hair white and make it fall out with stress.”