Grey smiled. “I checked them this morning. I think they might be happier here than they were at home. The air seems to invigorate them.” She couldn’t wait to show Rin the orphaned Tasmanian wolf cub Kildare’s son Jonah had found.
At the entrance to Jet’s personal chamber, Grey and Rin paused. A Yien drone saluted them, and Grey forced herself to return it. She’d never get used to drones, but at least she could be sure these were purely machines.
The size of the chamber caught her by surprise. It was almost as large as the entire lounge on Genesis. Jet had even placed what looked like live, exotic plants in massive pots along the perimeter. How had these withstood the rigors of flight?
In the middle of the room was a circular table burgeoning with food. Grey took in a long whiff, and her mouth started watering.
“Oh my word.” Rin’s eyes widened. “Look at the size of those strawberries.”
Grey had already spotted them, along with the wedges of dark chocolate, slices of kiwi, and a plate of a dozen kinds of cheese.
Jet approached them from across the room, bowing like always. “Might I interest you in some refreshment?”
They couldn’t help the huge smiles that instantly came to their faces.
Jet chuckled. “I take that as a yes? Please be seated.”
Grey reminded herself to be polite and not dive into the food.
It had been so different when she’d thought of Jet as a wealthy Mazdaar socialite. Now she was finding herself nervous in his presence.
“Do not wait on my account, ladies,” Jet said.
“Thank you,” they both said in unison. Grey reached for the cheese; Rin grabbed a strawberry and took a huge bite. The juice dripped down her chin and she giggled, quickly dabbing it away with a cloth napkin.
Grey smiled. She loved hearing Rin actually laugh like a fourteen-year-old girl again.
“I hope you are feeling better,” Jet said to Rin.
“Still sore,” she said.
His brow furrowed. “And you, Grey?”
“I’ll live.”
Jet sat down, folding his hands on the table. “I thought it fitting to invite the two of you up here first. Just like old times, correct? You have helped us immensely these past few years, and we are extremely grateful.”
Grey nodded, stuffing a hunk of nutty bread into her mouth and elbowing Rin to pay attention. She could hardly blame her for staring around the room. The walls were lined with what looked like real wood panels carved with delicate images of Earth’s trees, animals, and mountains.
“Let me show you something.” Jet leapt to his feet again, rushing over to the nearest wall, his black tailcoat swirling around him. He pressed his thumb on an invisible sensor and the wall slid back, revealing an alcove lined with bookshelves.
Grey stood too, walking over to it. Crowded onto the shelves were books of every shape, size, and color. A few were even bound in leather. Rin followed Grey, and they gawked at the ancient volumes. It would take a lifetime to read all of them.
“Beautiful?” Jet gestured at the books with a dramatic flourish.
“Where did you get these?”
“Actually, you helped me acquire many of them.” He pulled a title off the shelf and handed it to her. “Remember this?”
Apology by Plato. One of the books they’d sold him on that last mission on Earth. Grey carefully took it and held it in her hands.
“Mankind is doomed if we lose our history.” Jet turned somber. “If we are to begin anew on Jupiter, we must not forget where we came from. That is why I have brought these here. You cannot delete a paper book except with fire, and we will make sure that does not happen.”
Grey handed the Plato back to him. “This is amazing.”
Jet smiled as he oversaw the collection.
Grey returned to the table with her sister, eying a pastry smothered in white glaze and slivered almonds. “But surely you didn’t summon us here just for a good meal.”
“This is somewhat of a celebration.” Jet nodded toward the door.
They turned to see Mrs. March, Mom, Dad, and several other Yien leaders enter the quarters.
“First, I would like to announce that we have successfully seized Orion settlement,” Jet said. “Our next objective is to secure the others in order of proximity.” A map as large as he materialized in the air beside him. Jet indicated several points in quick succession. “These are the remaining Mazdaar settlements.”
“There are more?” Grey squinted to read the coordinates.
Mom nodded, looking every bit the part of Captain Sue Alexander. She’d changed into a starched, black uniform shirt and new canvas pants. The bandage on her temple added to her battle-worn image. She’d been on the front lines and come through.
“Two years ago, one of my scouts was captured and taken to this one.” Mom pointed to a spot on the map. “We were never able to penetrate it.”
Dad stood proudly beside his wife, his civilian clothes clean and pressed. This morning, Grey had finally heard the whole story of what happened to him after he and Mom were separated. He had hit the surface a thousand kilometers from Orion settlement and spent a year completely alone. Finally, he found a group of former Mazdaar convicts who allowed him to stay with them for a few years. When they were able to salvage enough parts to construct a transceiver, he learned that Mazdaar was looking for him on Jupiter. He started picking up broadcasts demanding he turn himself in. It was only when one transmission said Mazdaar had captured Grey that Dad felt he had to respond.
Jet waved his hand, and the map switched to a survey of Earth. He zoomed in on North America. Several bright, red dots were scattered across the continent. “We have over two hundred Yien military cosmoships like this one on their way now.”
Mrs. March stepped forward. “And forty-eight more like the one in the Alexander’s silo, all carrying civilians.”
Grey started to ask something but then stopped herself. She and Rin were lucky to even be allowed in this room.
Jet turned toward Grey. “Please feel free to speak.”
She cleared her throat. “Once Mazdaar realizes what you’ve done, won’t they launch an attack to stop you and send for reinforcements?”
The room went silent.
“They already have,” Jet finally said. “They are on their way too.”
Which could only mean one thing—they were at war. Grey watched Mrs. March studying the map with her comrades. She was the first person who had tried to explain the importance of Jupiter to her back in the Preserve a lifetime ago. Grey was beginning to understand its significance. The Yien Dynasty wanted to give humankind a chance at the freedom they’d lost on Earth. But Grey knew breaking free from oppression never came without a price. More people would die.
She looked at her parents, then at Rin. Grey could’ve lost everything. Instead, she’d gained more than she could have ever hoped to. She knew Who to thank for that.
“There will be many battles,” Mrs. March said. “Mazdaar won’t give up easily; we’re sure of that.”
“Why do they want Jupiter?” Grey asked. “They already have most of Earth.”
Jet waved his hand in response. “Why did the great monarchs yearn to reach the ends of the world and the great outer sea? It is the nature of empires to conquer. My father is no exception, but we conquer to protect our subjects, not to enslave them.”
“How long before our reinforcements arrive?”
“A day at most,” Mrs. March said as she came closer to Grey and Rin. A goose-egg of a lump marred her forehead near the hairline, no doubt from the blow she’d sustained from Dana.
“However, we brought you in here for more than a briefing,” Mrs. March said. “We are here to officially commend both of you.”
“But I haven’t done anything,” Grey said. “Rin has, but I—”
“That is not true.” Mrs. March took one of Grey’s hands, looking her in the eyes. “I have watched you ever since you were born. Your bravery,
honesty, and loyalty are qualities we admire.
“You willingly put yourself in harm’s way numerous times to provide for your sister. And you allowed yourself to be captured to protect her. You also helped protect me.”
And she would do it all again in a heartbeat.
“Bravery isn’t always about wielding weapons,” Mrs. March continued, “though I know you have done that too. Your mother told me how you were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the prisoners here.”
The corners of the elderly commander’s mouth turned up. “We need more like you, Grey Alexander, which is why we are asking you to enlist.”
She glanced at her parents, who both gave her nods of affirmation.
Jet stepped forward. “We do not conscript in the Yien Dynasty. It is your choice. And if you decide against it, you will in no way be diminished in our eyes.”
Grey felt flustered, completely taken off guard at the invitation. It surprised her that anyone would want her to enlist after how she’d almost gotten herself and her mother killed yesterday. And no matter what Mrs. March said, she didn’t feel brave. She did what she had to do. That was it. Bravery belonged to someone like Rin, who’d tried to subdue a Mazdaar general, or to Dad for destroying his chip research to save lives, or to Mom for commandeering an entire refugee camp on a foreign planet for five years.
“I don’t really know why you’d want me,” she said. “But if you’ll have me, I’ll happily join.”
Everyone clapped, including Rin, and Grey managed a smile.
“We are honored, Specialist Alexander,” Jet said, giving her a bow.
“Wait . . . what?”
Mrs. March chuckled. “That is your rank, dear.” She turned toward Rin. “And you, Orinda. You have shown yourself to be quite valuable these past few days. You will have great potential in a few years.”
Rin flushed, and Grey was glad her little sister was getting recognition too.
“Your devotion to your family is precious and will never be forgotten. Your love for your sister drove you to make sacrifices and forego your own safety on more than one occasion. You are too young for us to ask you to enlist. But we look forward to working with you in a few years. You will be a rock others can lean upon.”
“I . . .” Rin stared at the floor. “I’ll do my best.”
Mrs. March reached out and gave Rin a hug. “You are more special than you realize. Someday I hope you will know it.” There was more applause as the sisters looked at each other.
Grey could feel herself blushing uncomfortably. But when Mom whispered in her ear how proud she was, nothing else mattered.
Thanks for Reading
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Turn the next page to read the first chapter of Jupiter Storm.
JUPITER STORM
* * *
Chapter 1
Grey Alexander approached the comatose young woman and wondered why she’d thought this was a good idea. Dana Yurkutz’s dark braid lay flat across her pillow, loose and almost undone. A smudge of Jupiter’s glittery rainbow dirt marred her pale temple where the medics had missed cleansing her face. Grey eyed the nearly translucent oxygen halo enveloping her head and wondered if Dana could hear through it.
“Why did you do it?” she whispered.
A flash of movement caught her eye.
She studied Dana’s slender fingers. Had her thumb just twitched?
Grey hesitated then touched Dana’s hand. It was cold.
“Dana, can you hear me?”
She waited for a response, but the girl under the blue sheet remained as motionless as one of the sandstone rocks back in the Preserve. It must’ve only been a reflex. Grey let go of Dana’s hand. This was definitely a bad idea. She was probably breaking more than one rule just by being here, but at least she’d seen the girl who had saved her life.
She was about to leave when Dana Yurkutz’s eyelids flew open.
Grey jumped backward as Dana sucked in a gulp of air, her fingers clutching the flimsy sheet like it would protect her from whatever invisible enemy she saw.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Grey said, knowing it was partially a lie. Dana didn’t know about her mother yet, and when and if she was cleared medically she’d be heading to lockup as a prisoner of war.
Grey heard chiming in a barely audible, high-pitched frequency. She frantically scanned the room for a doctor or medic.
“Where is . . .” Dana’s body tensed, eyes shutting again.
Grey leaned over the bed. She wasn’t sure how much Dana remembered. “You’re in the med ward of a Yien cosmoship. On Jupiter.”
Dana grabbed Grey’s arm and gripped it tighter than she would’ve thought possible for a girl just coming out of a coma. Her fingernails dug into Grey’s wrist.
“They aren’t going to hurt you,” Grey said.
Dana’s arm started trembling, and Grey again searched for help. Why wasn’t someone here by now?
“Where is she?” Dana tried again.
She knew Dana was talking about her mother, Mazdaar General Evangeline Yurkutz, but Grey would not answer that question. It wasn’t the right time, and she was more convinced than ever she shouldn’t have come here. She did not want to be the one to tell Dana what happened after she had been shot with that laser.
“You’re going to get better,” Grey said, hoping it wasn’t another lie.
The young woman’s bloodshot eyes met Grey’s. There was clear recognition. A medic appeared before Grey had to lie again, and she edged from the cubicle. Dana needed medical attention, not disturbing news.
No one seemed to notice her leave. Out in the corridor Grey leaned against the wall and stared up at the cylindrical ceiling, suddenly yearning for her old home in the North American Wildlife Preserve. She’d only have to climb up to the top of the bluff where she could see for miles. Sandstone boulders, herds of zebra and elephant, scrub brush and sage blanketed the desert floor. On the bluff she’d breathe in the dry air and feel the wind rustle her sandy hair and know that everything her eye could see would be there in the morning.
But here on Jupiter she didn’t even know the names of the weird, twisty trees with the translucent yellow leaves. Or why the animals, many of them extinct on Earth, would often show up in hoards after the Jupiter winds, a phenomenon no one could explain.
“Specialist Alexander.”
Grey startled at the robot drone’s voice by her elbow. How had she not heard it approach? She turned to face the machine—she would never think of them as anything else—and forced herself to address the drone. The bioskin covering its metallic face looked as real as hers, but its dilated pupils were dead giveaway number one that this thing wasn’t anything close to the female human it was meant to resemble. Its long black hair flowed down a uniform of the same color, and the golden rising sun emblem of the Yien Dynasty was stitched to its shoulder.
“What is it?” Grey said.
“I am to take you to Commander March.”
“Why?”
“I was not informed.” The drone waved down the corridor. “Please follow me.”
Grey let out a sigh, hoping she wasn’t about to be reprimanded.
The drone led her up five levels to a ready room near the bridge. The outline of a door materialized in the wall, and the drone pointed for Grey to enter. This vessel was a Yien battleship that was currently berthed at Orion Settlement on the planet Jupiter, and its size still boggled her mind.
“Commander March is waiting for you,” the drone said.
Grey stepped inside, preparing an excuse for why she’d visited Dana unauthorized. Co
mmander Fleur March stood in the middle of a room furnished with two couches, a long polymer table with at least ten chairs, and a food bar. She held a chipped teacup and saucer, and a holographic map hovered in front of her with dozens of screens open.
Grey had to remember to call the woman Commander to her face even though she’d been her neighbor for years back on Earth. Mrs. March had lived over eighty years in a world dominated by the iron hand of Mazdaar. She was a survivor and had taught Grey and her younger sister Rin to be the same.
For a moment the snowy-haired officer didn’t acknowledge Grey as her eyes were fixated on the hologram. She wore a Yien uniform like the drone’s, but it somehow seemed sharper on her wiry frame.
Grey cleared her throat. She’d been told to salute her superiors, but back on Earth she probably would’ve given this woman a hug.
“Be at ease, dear.” Mrs. March walked through the hologram, and Grey caught a whiff of what could only be the sweet cactus tea the old woman had loved from the Preserve.
Mrs. March held up the cup. “Like some?”
Grey smiled, waving the beverage away. Mrs. March had served it to her each time she used to visit in the Preserve, but she’d never been able tell her she hated the stuff when her host offered her favorite delicacy so generously.
“You wanted to see me?”
“There’s not much time, so I will be brief.” Mrs. March’s normally erect shoulders seemed to droop slightly, and Grey wondered if she’d slept at all since arriving on the planet three days ago.
Grey nodded her understanding. War was coming. Everyone knew it, but no one was sure how bad it would be. Mazdaar was ruthless, and they’d fight with everything they had to claim Jupiter like they had Earth. Mazdaar’s fleet was estimated to arrive by tomorrow, and they were all praying the Yien reinforcements got there in time to defend the forces they already had on Jupiter.
“Jet Yien has ordered us to evacuate all civilians from the area by nightfall.”
The statement hung in the air like the hologram. Jet Yien was the emperor’s son and had come with the first wave of Yien soldiers. She hadn’t seen him since he’d commissioned her two days ago.
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