General Duncan fixed a withering glare on her. “I don’t like this at all. This is the second time I’ve recalled you and you’ve refused.”
“I understand, General. Please. Just give us a few more days at the least. We also have some relevant information coming our way related to the construction of these Keeps. You might find that information useful, should you need to invade one of them.”
General Duncan let air puff through her nose. “Well, the information you describe does sound useful. Very well. You and your team may stay on the planet, but be prepared to withdraw at any moment. If this business escalates faster than we expect, I want you well out of the way.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
General Duncan turned back to her map. “We’ll make Assan Keep our base of operations. As far as we know, this and Harkniss Keep are the only Keeps with large open spaces around them for landing ships and supplies. It’s the perfect launching place to secure our position on this planet.”
Jasmine watched General Duncan’s finger trace its way over the map. This planet was nothing more than a logistical challenge to the Allies and hard-nosed officers like the General. Jasmine knew exactly how they thought.
General Duncan looked up at her. “Did you hear what I just said, Jasmine?”
“Sorry, General. I was thinking of something else.”
“I asked if you learned anything about the Krataks’ defenses since you’ve been here.”
Jasmine shrugged. She couldn’t exactly tell the General the Krataks were dragons who could incinerate the Allies ships with one puff of their fiery breath. What would happen when the Allies finally figured out exactly what they were up against? This planet wouldn’t be such an easy conquest after all.
They never would find out, either, unless someone on the team spilled the beans. Who would do that? Jasmine had to get back to her friends fast. She had to convince them to keep the Krataks’ secret as long as possible.
Jasmine herself fought back the urge to divulge everything she knew to the General. Turning against her own people proved a lot harder than she anticipated. Whose side was she really on? Why did she cling to the dwindling hope that she could go back to the way things used to be?
She could never go back to the way things used to be. She could never be the person she was when she landed on this planet. She sank her roots into this planet, and the planet sank its roots into her. She’d gambled everything by telling the Krataks the truth about the Allies’ intentions. She couldn’t go back if she wanted to.
General Duncan turned away from the table. “I realize you’ve only been on this planet a short time, and you’re a biologist, not a strategist. Don’t worry. We can get that information somewhere else.”
Another voice echoed across the room. “You wanted to see me, General?”
Jasmine spun around to see Rex stride into the hall. He smiled at Jasmine.
“Thank you for coming, Rex. I was just asking Jasmine about the Krataks’ defenses, but she couldn’t tell me anything. Maybe you discovered something that could benefit us in our efforts.”
Jasmine stared at Rex in horror. This scene came out of her worst nightmares. Rex would tell General Duncan everything. He would tell her the Krataks were dragons. He would tell her about the Ulasso having technology that could combat the Allies invasion. He would leave the Krataks utterly exposed.
To top it all off, Rex would surely tell General Duncan that Jasmine knew the truth all along. He would betray her as a traitor to her people. He would destroy her along with the Krataks. That’s how he would get his revenge for her spurning him.
Well, at least she tried. She would go down fighting this insidious force. She would do everything she could to preserve Kratak and the people she grew to care so much about. She gambled, and she lost.
Rex cast a casual glance at Jasmine before he answered. “None of us has seen much of the Krataks’ defenses. They’ve been busy preparing an assault against another Clan, and they’ve kept all their preparations and armaments locked in the basement somewhere. They say they don’t want civilians underfoot.”
General Duncan nodded. “That makes sense. We may be able to exploit their internal conflicts to our advantage.”
“For some reason none of us can divine,” Rex went on, “they have been extremely tight-lipped about their defenses. No one seems to know much about the Keep’s construction, but if you saw their archives room, you would understand this is a matter of extremely inefficient record-keeping. I don’t see any deliberate planning to confound us.”
“Good. Better and better. Anything else?”
Jasmine held her breath while Rex went on in his same nonchalant tone. “These people don’t have any weapons or defenses we need to worry about. As you know, they have only primitive technology. They’re the perfect chattel race.”
“That’s what I thought.” General Duncan waved her hand. “Thank you, Rex. You are both dismissed.”
Jasmine followed Rex out of the hall. They strolled side by side to the front entrance where they could gaze down at all the soldiers buzzing around the Keep. Jasmine could barely form the words to ask. “Why didn’t you tell her?”
Rex didn’t look at her. “Hmm?”
Jasmine confronted him. “You’re the Allies man on the ground here. General Duncan called on you to tell her everything you know about the Krataks’ defenses. Why didn’t you tell her the truth? You didn’t tell her about the Krataks being dragons, and you didn’t tell her about the Ulasso. Why?
He turned his languid eyes on her. “Do you really have to ask that? I did it for you, Jasmine.”
“Me!” Her hand flew to her heart. “Why for me?”
“Do you think I don’t see how attached you are to these people? You’ve given everything to preparing them for this moment. Do you think I would blow that out of the water?”
Jasmine’s mind raged in turmoil. “But I thought you would want to get me back for rejecting you. I thought you would tell the General everything I’d done since we got here. I thought you would expose me along with the Krataks.”
He shook his head and clucked his tongue. “You don’t understand, do you? I still love you, even though you don’t care for me anymore. I would crush you if I told. I couldn’t do that. Maybe now you’ll understand what you mean to me.”
Jasmine choked back sobs, but they wouldn’t break free. “I had no idea you felt that way about me, Rex. I had no idea.”
He compressed his lips. “It doesn’t make any difference, though, does it? Your feelings for me won’t change. Not even knowing will change you now. You’re part of this planet.”
“I’m sorry, Rex. I’m sorry I can’t feel the same way about you. I really wish I could.”
“Don’t wish that. Someone else has already claimed you. Don’t deny it.”
Jasmine cast her eyes to the ground. “Is it that obvious?”
He chuckled. “It’s been obvious since you first walked in the door. Are you sure Rocor’s the right guy for you?”
“I don’t know about that, but I can’t turn away from him. Now more than ever, the Krataks need me. I have to throw my lot in with them. I didn’t choose this. It just sort of happened to me.”
He turned away. “I understand that, but it just sort of happened to me, too. I never wanted anyone but you, and I’ll never have you.”
“Isn’t there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
“You’ll never love me again, will you?”
She shook her head, but she couldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry. We can never be more than friends.”
“Then you can be happy. I don’t want anything but to see you happy. If you can’t love me, that’s all you can do for me.”
“I won’t be happy until the Allies abandon this planet for good. I can’t rest until Kratak is free.”
He stole a glance at her. “Then maybe we can be more than friends. Maybe we can be allies. What do you say?”
Jasmine’s eyes
flew open. “Do you mean it? Would you really help me protect this planet?”
“If that’s the best gift I can give you, I’ll do it.”
She threw her arms around him and kissed his neck. “Thank you so much, Rex. I do love you for this.”
His cheeks colored, and he pushed her away. “Stop that. If Rocor saw you doing that, he would break my neck.”
She couldn’t stop laughing. “Thank you so much, Rex. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Of course, I do. That’s why I’m doing it.”
Jasmine stood back. “This is great. What should we do first?”
He grinned at her. “You’re in charge here. You tell me.”
She looped her hand through his elbow. “I’m so delighted, I don’t know what to say. I never thought I could get you with us. You’re the best thing to happen to us in a long time.”
He cocked his head. “Us?”
She waved her hand. “You know what I mean. Just tell me one thing. Did you really change your mind because of me?”
“Well, you’ve been arguing so passionately about this for days. You’ve done everything you could to convince everybody. You convinced Freya, and now you’ve convinced everybody else, including me. If Kratak means that much to you, maybe it really is worth saving after all.”
They strolled arm in arm back inside the Keep. “Do you know something? I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Fawks.”
“What about him? He tried to kill us.”
“Maybe he did, but he also saved us. I still haven’t figured out why, but maybe it doesn’t matter. If Freya can put aside several hundred years of hostility to make peace with them, maybe the Ulasso will do the same thing. Maybe they’ll let bygones be bygones and help the other Clans defend the planet. Maybe the Ulasso will give the rest of Kratak a fighting chance.”
“Maybe,” he replied. “There’s just one little problem. We’ll have to convince the other Clans to accept the Ulassos’ help.”
17. Chapter 16
Jasmine halted in the passage outside her room and gasped. All her teammates congregated outside her bedroom. “What are you all doing here?”
“We have to talk to you, Jasmine.” Dana glanced around at her friends. Then she looked up and down the empty passage. “We just don’t know how.”
Jasmine gathered her resolve and walked up to her friends. “What’s the problem?”
No one would look at her. Dana and Sophia kept looking all around at nothing. “It’s just that.... well, no one knows what to do. We want to talk to you, but no one wants to do it out here. Isn’t there anywhere we can talk.”
“The whole Keep is crawling with Allied people,” Ron murmured. “There are spies everywhere.”
“Well, you better come into my room,” Jasmine replied. “At least we know the Allies haven’t planted cameras or microphones in there.”
The team followed her inside. They stood in a silent semi-circle until she bolted the door and faced them. For one second, silence filled the room. Then everybody started talking at once.
“What are we going to do?”
“Did you see how many ships they have parked outside?”
“General Duncan wants us to pack up and leave.”
“We haven’t even started our investigations. What sort of a research mission is this, anyhow?”
“None of the Krataks will talk to us anymore. They think we’re enemies.”
“How are we supposed to talk to them? They’re dragons. I don’t want to be in the same room with them.”
Jasmine waited for the hubbub to die down before she tried to speak. “I told General Duncan we wanted to stay. If anybody wants to leave, I’m sure she’ll be happy to make the arrangements. I’m staying, though.”
“I’m staying, too,” Dana replied. “I went through enough hassle getting down here and spent months on preparation research. I don’t want to blow it now.”
“I haven’t even conducted an examination on anybody,” Ron added.
“You better know,” Jasmine put in, “whatever you find out in your research will be used against the Krataks. If you find anything in your medical examination that could give the Allies a clue to the Krataks’ true dragon nature, that information will be used to conquer this planet.”
She waited for her words to sink in. No one breathed. They stared at her in shock.
She took a deep breath before she went on. “Don’t be under any illusions about the purpose of your research. You’re tools of the Allies. All your research is designed to uncover details about Kratak the Krataks don’t want revealed. If you turn over blood samples to the Allies, you’ll be sealing the Krataks’ death warrants. Same with anything you find out about the Keeps’ construction. The General wants to know everything about the Krataks’ defenses, and no one has that information but the people inside this room.”
The team looked at each other. Then they looked at her.
“Every one of us here has to make a decision,” Jasmine continued. “Each of us has to decide who’s side we’re really on. If you want to help the Allies, you better march down to the hall right now and tell General Duncan everything. That’s the best way you can help this invasion. You’ll be giving the Allies everything they need to conquer this planet and turn Kratak into another vassal state. Is that what you really want?”
Charlotte Simons murmured to her sisters. “I could never do that. I don’t care what they do to me.”
“The only other option is for each and every one of us to keep the secret. I’m committed to keeping it and helping the Krataks meet this threat. Rex is doing the same thing.”
A gasp went around the room. Ron faced Rex. “Is that true, Rex? Have you turned?”
Rex’s mouth twisted into a grin. “I wouldn’t call it turning. I’ve simply reevaluated my situation. I’m helping Jasmine and the Krataks, and that means keeping quiet. I encourage all of you to do the same thing.”
“I agree with Rex,” Sophia piped up. “I don’t want to stand by and watch General Duncan destroy another planet. The Allies have hundreds of planets just like this one. They don’t need Kratak, too.”
“I can’t tell you how long you’ll have to work against your own people,” Jasmine added. “It will be tough. I won’t lie to you about that. The meeting I just had with General Duncan is the hardest thing I’ve done in my career. She’ll use every trick she can think of to learn what she wants to know. We’ll have to stand together and support each other.”
“We’ll do it.” Abigail smiled at her daughters. “We’ll all do it.”
Jasmine squared her shoulders. “I’ve got something else to say to you. I’m glad you’re all here together so you can all hear this.”
Everybody peered at her.
“It’s over between me and Rex,” she told them. “I’m sorry I let our relationship interfere with my command, and I give you my word I won’t let that happen again. I might be your Commanding Officer now, but I’ve decided to stay on the planet for good. I won’t leave, and if you decide to withdraw, you don’t need my permission to do it. Talk to General Duncan instead. As long as we all stay on this planet, we’ll be more like friends. Military protocols don’t count for much in this situation.”
Ron stared at her. “You’re staying—forever?”
“I don’t know about forever, but indefinitely. That’s all I can say right now.”
“I’m with you, Jasmine,” Dana told her. “We’re all attached to this planet and its people.”
Jasmine squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
One by one, the team left Jasmine’s room in a lighter spirit than before. They fell silent when they walked through the door, but they smiled more now. They all shared the secret. No one had to carry it alone.
Jasmine started to close her door when she noticed Rocor standing across the passage. “How long have you been waiting there?”
“Not long.”
She waved her hand. “Do you want to come in
?”
He looked up and down the passage before he slipped inside. Jasmine put her arm around his waist and kissed him. He held her close, and they kissed for a moment before he sat down on the bed. “Is this what you tried to warn me about?”
She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“Soldiers crawling all over the place. The General setting up her headquarters in our home. Ships flying in and out. This is far worse than anything I ever imagined possible.”
“What did you think they were going to do? Did you think they would ask your permission first?”
He stared at her in horror. “This is all normal to you, isn’t it? You don’t find this horrific at all, do you?”
Jasmine’s shoulders slumped, and she put her arms around him. “It’s ten times more horrific because it is normal. You don’t want to know how many other worlds they’ve done this to. Just be glad you have some very good and very committed people helping you.”
He leaned his head on her chest and closed his eyes. “If only I had listened to you.”
She rubbed his neck. “It’s okay. It’s not over yet. Freya will come back soon. Then we’ll know if there’s anything we can do.”
He looked around the room with wild eyes. “How can you stand it? How can you stand having a foot in both camps? How can you pretend to go along with this?”
She pulled back to look at him. He looked as bad as the day the ships landed outside the Keep. He hadn’t slept well, no matter what she did to relax him. “Is there any way we can contact Freya? We should let her know what’s going on. The Ulasso should know the Allies are on the planet. Could somebody fly after Freya to warn her? Maybe you could do it.”
He shook his head. “No one can take off with all these soldiers everywhere. They would shoot a flier down on sight. The Ulasso have a reputation for shooting first, too. They may have shot down Freya, and another flier would take his life in his hands going out there. Freya made the decision for herself. I wouldn’t want to ask anybody to take the chance.”
Jasmine cradled his cheeks in her hands and drew close to his face. “Listen to me. The whole team has agreed to keep the secret. All your people have to do the same thing. No one can reveal the truth, or the game is up. That means no more fighting between you and your brothers. No more challenges, no more arguing—ever. Do you understand?”
Rocor (Dragons of Kratak Book 5) Page 11