by Bianca D’Arc
Jit’Suku Chronicles
Arcana
DIVA
By
Bianca D’Arc
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Copyright © 2016 Bianca D’Arc
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
She needs only one name...Diva.
Galactic superstar. Brilliant musician. Chanteuse extraordinaire. But she has a number of deep, dark secrets. For a woman who lives her life in the spotlight of a billion lenses, she’s managed to lead a double life, full of intrigue. When her path crosses that of Captain John Starbridge everything changes. Here is a man who sees beneath the mask she wears for the public. Here is a man in love with the woman behind the music into which she pours her soul. Here is a man who could be hers…if they didn’t both have duties that must be fulfilled.
A Special Forces hero who sees the woman beneath the facade…
John’s allegiance has always been to the human race and his band of Spec Ops brothers, but Diva’s music has accompanied him on every deep space mission he’s ever undertaken. Her voice croons him to sleep in his lonely bunk each night and her intense lyrics haunt him throughout his days. When he finally meets the object of his fascination, he realizes there is even more depth to her than he expected. He gives her his heart, though he knows it’s likely a futile gesture. What would a superstar like her want with a plain old soldier like him?
A galaxy in peril…
Circumstances throw them together and tear them apart, while enemy forces gather to invade the galaxy they both try—in their own ways—to protect. She will have to walk into the lion’s den in order to save the galaxy…and perhaps, the man she loves. If there’s a way, she’ll find it, but it might just be the mission that finally breaks them both once and for all.
Or not…
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Excerpt from Angel in the Badlands
About the Author
Other Books by Bianca D’Arc
Dedication
With many thanks to Peggy McChesney for her counsel and support. Thanks also to my editor, Jess Bimberg, who always seems to come through for me. I can’t believe we’ve been working together for ten years!
Special acknowledgment to my Dad, who instilled a love of science and science fiction in me from a very young age. It’s pretty cool to grow up knowing your Dad is a rocket scientist, and he’s a great guy to boot.
Prologue
She was simply Diva. No last name, no first name, just Diva. The most famous of the human bards in a generation. She sang the great songs of Earth’s past for multitudes of humans and non-humans alike, who loved her and hung on her every crystalline note.
Diva sang the ancient songs of humanity, but she also wrote and performed some of the most poignant tales of modern times. She sang of the heroes of the Rim Wars and was a favorite entertainer among the troops out near the galactic edge, defending the Milky Way galaxy from invaders. In particular, from the jit’suku.
The jits were humanoid and could, in fact, pass for human on many worlds, but their natures always betrayed them. To a man—there were few female jit’suku outside their home galaxy—they had violent natures and aggressive tendencies. Some claimed there was a fire in their souls that could be quenched only in the blood of their enemies. And all creatures not jit’suku were considered enemies.
But even the jits found some small solace in the beauty of Diva’s words and music. They sent her discs to their home galaxy, and she had even received an invitation to perform for the jit emperor. It was an invitation she had turned down with the utmost care. It would not do to make an enemy of the jit emperor. His arm was far reaching and his anger legendary.
Plus, the invite might come in handy someday.
Chapter One
Captain John Starbridge poured on the last possible burst of speed from his fighter’s engines and made range to the jump mechanism just seconds ahead of the final activation burst. If he could shut it down before the final string of code transmitted through from some other galaxy, he would prevent the site’s activation. In simplest terms, no activation meant no enemy invasion. Today, at least.
But the jumpsite itself was a piece of equipment worth more than he could earn in a lifetime, in money, time, manpower and other currencies. He had to shut it down while causing the least possible amount of damage.
Not an easy task. But then, John Starbridge wasn’t an ordinary soldier. No, he was a Special Operator, who led a specialized team of men just like him. His team was taking care of the traitors on-station while John made a last ditch effort to shut down the jumpsite and prevent disaster.
Alone.
By taking off on his own, John was protecting his men. If he destroyed the costly mechanism, he alone wanted to be the one to take the fall for it. And if he failed to stop the incursion in time, he wanted his men far enough away to be able to sound the alarm. He’d called for backup, but knew it wouldn’t arrive in time, and not in enough quantity to do anything about a full-scale invasion. Only stopping the jits before they jumped would end this quickly and with no loss of life.
John had only one shot, and he had to time it just right.
With a final Hail Mary and a slight squeeze of his trigger finger, John let the missile go. He knew missiles would be more accurate in this case than a laser, and he’d need every bit of that accuracy he could get to save Last Spiral Station and the galaxy beyond.
As he watched the final surge of flashing lights indicating the data stream still pulsing through the jumpsite mechanism, his missile hit its target, stopping the stream near the end of its sequence. The gate didn’t activate, and John breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Disaster, this day, had been averted. He discounted his own small role in the defeat of this plot and silently tipped his hat to Dalen, the spy who’d clued him in. The deepest of covert operatives, Dalen had contacted John on a super-priority channel. It was the first time John had ever received such a transmission, and he knew he had to keep it strictly confidential.
That unknown soul deserved all the credit as far as John was concerned. Without that last-minute warning, the Milky Way galaxy would have been taken completely by surprise. Dalen was the real hero of the day, though John suspected they’d pin a shiny new medal on his chest and leave the spy in the shadows to serve another day.
John backed away from the jumpsite, going back to help his men finish the mop up. Traitors had to be caught for interrogation and the Jumpsite Station secured. It was all in a day’s work for a special operator out on the rim of the galaxy. In the hot zone.
*
John went home on leave after the mission to save the jumpsite and Last Spiral Station. He’d been right about the commendation they awarded for his daring action to secure the outpost and thereby save not only his unit but the three hundred thousand troopers stationed there. John was well and truly a hero, though he would never admit to it. Humble and a fighter to his core, John was a strong, silent warrior, blessed with superior genetics and highly trained skill.
He had one vice. John loved music. He played a penny whistle—the one instrument small enough to keep on his person, even in combat. He had every disc ever made by Diva, and his men liked to kid him about it. At night, he would connect his earjacks and zone out to her melodious voice, the sound of it transporting him to a beautiful, peaceful place. She literally sang him to sleep each night.
So when the famous entertainer made a visit to the troops, John jumped at the chance to meet her. General Sokow had asked him what he wanted in the way of a reward when he’d pinned that medal to his chest, and John had his answer ready. He wanted to meet Diva, and he knew for a fact she’d be on Sol Station that very week.
The general had been only too happy to arrange a little meeting. Not only that, General Sokow had selected John to head up Diva’s military escort for her upcoming base tour. She was scheduled to do a few weeks of shows for the troops rotating out of the danger zone, and John would hitch aboard her private shuttle as both escort and liaison officer on his way back to the rim.
It was perfect.
More than he could ever have hoped for. John only prayed the actual woman could match the image in his mind every night when she sang him to sleep. A great deal was written about Diva in the news, some of it salacious and uncomplimentary, though the majority of the reporting about her was favorable. She was rumored to be an exacting performer, unwilling to tolerate sub-par performance from her equipment or personnel. She ran a tight ship, demanding exactness and receiving accolades for her astute hands-on approach to creating and performing.
John had never seen her perform live, but that would soon be remedied. As part of her escort, he would be attending each and every show she did for the troops. He could hardly wait.
The woman was lovely. Even prettier than the publicity holos on her vids and discs. John was momentarily struck speechless when General Sokow led him into the reception. The general was clearly enjoying his role in rewarding the latest hero of the rim. John had no objection. Not when it gained him an introduction to the lovely creature with the magic voice.
Seeing her in person, even from across the room, was impressive. She had a fresh smile and a vivacious energy about her that translated to whomever she spoke with. John noted Diva gave every person she came into contact with her full attention. Not what one would expect of a galactic superstar.
John had composed himself by the time it was his turn to meet her. The reception was a formality. Diva was being wined and dined by the defense forces’ top brass, all of whom wanted to meet her and, apparently, thank her for doing this round of free shows for the troops.
General Sokow lingered over the introductions as John stared at the petite beauty before him. Diva.
If the guys in his unit could just see him now.
“Captain John Starbridge will be acting as leader of your escort on this trip out,” the general was saying. Diva nodded but her eyes were on John. He felt the impact of her olivine gaze like a blow to the chest.
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Captain.”
Her speaking voice was just as lovely as her singing voice.
“Likewise, ma’am.”
She laughed, and it was like the tinkling of tiny silver bells.
“Oh, please don’t call me ma’am. That makes me feel ancient! Just Diva will do, Captain Starbridge.”
She said his name as if she was familiar with it. Perhaps she was. What he’d just done at Last Spiral Station was no big secret, and a few of the newscasts had mentioned his name. Perhaps one of the brass had told her about him, he mused.
“I’d be honored if you’d call me John.”
The general wisely excused himself with an indulgent smile.
“John.” She tasted the name, and he liked the sound of it on her sensuous lips. “I understand you just received the Medal of Valor. Congratulations.”
So she had been forewarned about him.
“Thank you, ma’am. Diva,” he corrected himself with a small smile.
Diva chuckled, and a teasing smile lit her eyes.
“Is it going to be hard to break you of that military formality, John?”
He had to chuckle too. “Probably. The military is all I’ve ever known.”
She nodded. “Most people don’t know this, but my father was a military officer, like you. Spec Ops.”
“How’d you know I was SO?” Most civilians in John’s experience couldn’t tell one branch of service from another, much less what the various insignias meant.
“Aside from the fact that it’s written all over you—the eyes, the stance, the demeanor, the insignia,” she tapped a finger to the trident on his chest, “there’s the fact that only a Spec Ops warrior could pull off the kind of maneuver you are rumored to have orchestrated out on the Last Spiral.”
“So you pay attention to the news then? Playing for the troops isn’t just some publicity thing for you.”
Someone behind him gasped, and John realized he’d asked a very impertinent question in a very public place, but Diva just smiled, taking him by the arm and leading him toward the buffet tables.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so rude, ma’am.”
She stopped to face him. “No, John. You can ask me anything you like. I’d rather have a real conversation any day over being pandered to by sycophants. And to answer your question, yes, I do pay attention to the reports from the rim. My dad was lost in the Rim Wars. What you men do out there means a great deal to me and to a lot of others. Doing a few shows for returning troops once in a while is very little in comparison.”
John liked her forthrightness, her passion. Even as they resumed their walk toward the buffet tables and a three-star general came over to take her away, she held to John’s arm as if she didn’t want to let go. But duty called. He thought he read regret in her eyes as she turned to him and said farewell. She promised they’d resume their conversation sometime soon, but John didn’t hold out much hope of that. Nor did he begrudge it. She was very much in demand, with people much more important than he vying for her attention.
John faded into the background, well pleased with his brush with fame. Diva hadn’t disappointed him. She was every bit the beauty she appeared on her vids and every inch the class act he had always assumed she’d be. Diva had also made him feel welcome and important, though by comparison to the top brass gathered all around fawning over her, he was nobody. Still, she’d taken the time to tell him about her father and demonstrated that the keen intelligence in her songs had foundation in the woman herself. She was the real deal.
A week later, John gave the all-clear for Diva’s interplanetary shuttle to launch. As head of her escort and security detail for this run out towards the rim, it was up to him to coordinate with the military escort ships and the onboard escort he had hand-picked from the available troops. These were men being sent back to the front after earning some R&R like himself, or those who’d been heroically wounded and now wanted to return to their units. The military took every opportunity to transport troops with the least amount of fuss, and a “cake” mission like this was as good a reward as any to a man who’d faced death for his fellow man.
John had never worked with any of these men before, but they came with good reports and accepted his leadership. Apparently, word was spreading through the ranks about his single-handed stunt that wound up saving the lives of his unit and all those souls on Last Spiral Station.
John hadn’t intended to do anything heroic when he’d gone out on patrol that morning, but a sudden signal from a source id
entified only by the top priority code name Dalen had him scrambling to the jumpsite and calling for backup. As it turned out, the backup didn’t show in time, but John’s well-placed, last-ditch effort to shut down the jumpsite mechanism prevented an attack fleet from entering en masse right next to Last Spiral Station.
Sabotage had later been discovered, as well as dead guards. Traitors or moles on this side of the jumpsite had killed the contingent left to guard the vulnerable mechanism at all times and fixed it so that even without the proper ident codes, ships could jump in. As a Spec Ops captain, John was one of the few who knew enough about jumpsite mechanisms to be able to take it down with one single shot, leaving the multi-trillion credit mechanism easy to repair but non-functional for the enemy troops trying to infiltrate their system.
John could only guess where that warning signal had come from. He assumed it had been from some kind of spy ship, though he’d never caught trace of anything on his screen. But then, if it really were a spy vessel, he wouldn’t. They were able to run silent, it was rumored, and completely incognito. No one knew who ran the spy contingent, but they were damned effective. And the rumors of the spy known only as Dalen were legend. John understood first-hand now, and blessed the invisible helping hand he’d received that fateful day. Without that advanced warning, hundreds of thousands of souls would surely have died and a new war begun with a sizeable invasion force already having a solid foothold in our galaxy.
John went off duty ten standard hours into the trip. They’d made the transition to hyperspace with little fanfare, and he was tired after a long shift. Time to hit his cabin and settle in for some sleep, but first, he checked on the crew as he made his way toward the aft section where his cabin was supposed to be. Truthfully, he hadn’t even had time to check his accommodations, merely sending a yeoman ahead with his duffle, assuming any sleeping quarters on this comparatively cushy transport would be a far cry above what he was used to.