Katrina looked at all the tubes and wires around Lalia and wrinkled her face. “Um, I don’t think I can.”
“It’s okay.” The doctor moved some of the equipment around. “You climb up there, and I’ll run some tests on you to reassure your mom you’re okay.”
Katrina climbed on and cuddled up next to Lalia. Her mouth opened in a giant yawn. “I’m so tired.”
“Go to sleep, sweetie. It’s okay.” Over her daughter’s shoulder, Lalia mouthed thank you to the doctor. Amongst all she had to do, she needed to keep her daughter safe and healthy. She loved her too much to let anything happen to her.
***
Bryce paced the corridor outside Kimba’s office. The leader had called him up there to discuss his application for retirement. Would she grant it, or did she already know about Katrina? Did the entire ship know he had a daughter?
“You may come in, Major.”
He wiped his sweaty palms on the sides of his pants before entering the room. Her gave her a quick salute while ylafats battled in his stomach. “Kimba.”
She held out her hand in a gesture for him to sit. “I have received your application for retirement from the Defender program.”
“Yes.” He sat on the high back stool directly across from the leader. Eight seats completed the circle, one for the leader and the others for representatives from each of the solar systems in the Alliance.
Kimba folded both sets of hand on her lap. “Let me start by saying you have an exemplary record as a Defender. You’ve saved countless lives on planets across many galaxies, some part of the Alliance, and others where the beings aren’t even aware of life beyond their own planet. I cannot fault your record in any way. But new information passed on to me makes me question your integrity and honor.”
Bryce stared down at his polished boots. She had to know about Katrina. He could think of no other possible explanation. “I dedicated my entire life thus far to the Alliance. I have trained more Defenders than I care to count, and suffered the loss of many of my friends in fighting our enemy. My loyalty has always been to the Alliance.”
Kimba shifted back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other. “What will you do when you retire? Where will you live? Kalara?”
“No, Hemera. You are aware of my past relationship with Princess Lalia. I plan to help her rebuild the planet, support her in her new leadership role.” And love her, make up for all their time apart.
“And what about your daughter?”
He ignored the implication, knew she baited him. “Lalia’s daughter will live with us, get used to the idea of life beyond Earth, and decide what she wants to do.” Katrina had so many options. As a Kalaren, he had no choice but to become a Defender, yet he wanted his daughter to have other opportunities. And a chance to explore the universe kept from her during her childhood.
The short tentacles on the head of the Alliance leader rippled. “Are you denying she is your biological daughter?”
Bryce gulped. He’d tried and failed to protect Katrina from the Defender life. “No. She is my daughter, a fact I didn’t learn until recently.”
“Before or after you applied for retirement?”
Releasing a heavy breath, Bryce rubbed his palms across his lap. “Before.”
“So, you lied about having children, on your application.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I did not raise her. I have no parental rights to Katrina, no right to claim her to take my place.” All true, though he’d made the decision without telling Katrina about the succession. He loved having a daughter and finally meeting her, but nothing subdued his guilt for ripping her away from the life she knew. He didn’t want to do that to her again by forcing her to become a Defender, take her away from her mother as well.
Kimba pursed her purple lips and rubbed her knuckles across her forehead. “As I have children back home who live with their father, I understand your omission.” She adjusted her position in the chair, sitting straighter. “Unfortunately, I cannot grant you retirement at this time.”
Fornax! How was he supposed to help Lalia recover, get to know his daughter, and ensure another attack on Hemera didn’t happen again?
“There are several Defenders on Hemera helping to rebuild,” Kimba continued. “And the number of Erebus attacks to unenlightened planets is growing. A horrible way for them to learn there is life beyond what they know.”
Yes, he knew of all the threats, and how many of the Defenders hadn’t had any time off for hundreds of carrier rotations. But he’d never asked for time off before reuniting with Lalia, went from one mission to the next and trained new Defenders in between. Didn’t his dedication count for anything?
Kimba held up one of her hands. “Major, I can see by the expression on your face you are upset. Please wait until I am finished before you make any judgments on my ruling.”
He nodded, sure he wouldn’t like the outcome regardless of what she had to say.
“I’m promoting you to colonel.”
Great, more responsibilities to keep him away from his new family. “I, um.... Do I have a choice?”
“No.” Kimba stood and shuffled closer to him, a wide grin across her face as if she enjoyed crushing his hopes. “Not if you want to lead the mission on Hemera. We’d hoped you would assist in the rebuilding on the planet, share your ideas on how to make it more secure from another attack, and keep the royal family safe.”
Bryce launched off his chair and hugged the leader. “Thank you so much.”
With a shrug, Kimba took a step back. “I know it’s not what you wanted, but it’s the best I can do right now.”
“Thank you.” He bowed, reining in his excitement.
“Of course, if an emergency comes up, you will be expected to leave with the other Defenders.”
“Understood.” But he didn’t want to think about such situations, instead yearned to spend more time with the love of his life and his newfound daughter.
Chapter Nine
Lalia wrapped her arms around the shoulders of her Warwa doctors, anxious to finally get out of bed. She’d managed to stay sitting up with support, and couldn’t wait to start walking again. But her doctors wanted her to do things step by slow step. They locked their arms together under the back of her thighs and lifted her over to her new wheelchair. Made of a yellow-molded plastic-like material, it had two sets of x-wing wheels that, along with a pair of stabilizing wheels, could carry her across any terrain and even travel up and down stairs. As the doctors set her down, the seat and backrest of the chair formed to her body. Then harness straps slid down from her shoulders and across her waist to hold her in like a child’s car seat back on Earth. Awkward, but she’d deal with it to be out of bed and moving around. At least until her legs proved strong enough to support her again.
“So, what do you think?” The male doctor tapped on the arm of the chair. “Ready to head back to Hemera?”
“Yes!” She had so much to do, so many changes to implement. Her people needed to live in better, safer homes, have the chance to feed themselves rather than begging for rations. She no longer wanted them to work for her, but for each other, be treated as equals. But she couldn’t do anything from the carrier.
“Mom, you’re out of bed.” Katrina rushed into the room followed by a smiling Gwenodyn. “Every time I come to visit you lately, you’re doing something new.”
“Yes, I can’t handle lying in bed any longer.” She hugged her daughter. “And I’m glad to see you looking better. Have you gotten more sleep?” She couldn’t believe the difference. Color had returned to Katrina’s cheeks, and she actually smiled.
“A little bit. Taking care of Gwenodyn definitely made me sleepy.” She pulled the little girl forward, but gave her a hard stare, as if they shared some secret. “Speaking of her, she has some exciting news to share with you.”
“Hi, Princess, guess what?” The little girl bounced up and down while holding Lalia’s hand.
“What?” Lalia a
sked, remembering Katrina at the same age, always with something exciting to tell her.
“My dad was a Defender,” she blurted out.
“Really?” Though many of them had visited her home planet, she didn’t remember any Hemera leaving the planet to become a Defender. Families couldn’t afford to lose anyone. The Alliance took care of a Defender’s basic needs at no cost, but they failed to compensate the families they left behind.
“Yes!” The little girl pointed to a bandage on the inside of her elbow. “Because I can read thoughts, they took my blood and found out my father was a Mingot. And then they said the only Mingots who ever visited Hemera were Defenders. And when they checked the records for the Defenders, the found out my dad was Gib.”
Gwenodyn sucked in a deep breath after relaying so much information. “So, I’m part Hemera, and part Defender.”
“Well, that’s something you have in common with my daughter.”
Lalia gasped as she glanced at Bryce standing in the doorway. Was he now admitting Katrina was his daughter? She eyed him warily, her gut twisting. He’d promised not to tell anyone, to keep her from being drafted into Defender life. Had substituting Katrina in his place been his plan all along?
“Really?” Gwenodyn rushed over to him and tugged on his hand. “Who’s your daughter? You have to tell me. I might know her.”
Bryce laughed. “You do know her.” He shuffled over to Katrina and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “This is my daughter.”
Holding her breath, Lalia waited for Katrina’s reaction. Would she be happy he’d finally admitted the fact, or mad he’d waited so long to tell anyone? Though, if she learned the implications of his confession, she might hate both of them.
“I….” Katrina started.
But Gwenodyn grabbed her hands and began to dance her around the room. “We both have Defender daddies!”
Katrina shrugged and danced with the girl, smiling and laughing. Her true reaction, or a cover for the words she would say later?
Still in the doorway, Bryce beamed. He looked like a weight had been lifted off his chest, along with twenty years from his face. Had he been approved for retirement? Would he come home with her and leave Katrina behind? Why had Lalia confessed their relationship anyway? He hadn’t been there at all, and now she’d put her daughter’s life at risk. Yet again.
“What’s going on?” she mouthed to him.
He only smiled more. What news did he have? She wanted to like the new demeanor, but wondered the cost.
Katrina stopped and stared at Bryce. “Why are you admitting this now? Why are you suddenly telling everyone when you insisted I keep it a secret?”
A grimace replaced his smile. “I….” He brushed a hand through his hair. “I’d rather talk about this in private. The three of us.”
Gwenodyn turned to Bryce. “I’m half-Mingot, remember? I can read minds you know.” She spun around to the doctors. “How about you two give me a tour of the rest of the medical wing since the family wants some privacy.”
Shaking her head, Lalia watched the young girl leave, towing the Warwa twins behind her. For such a little girl, Gwenodyn held onto so much responsibility. Even more now without any surviving family.
After the doors slid shut behind them, Bryce shuffled closer and placed a hand on Katrina’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I had to keep our relationship a secret. I had my reasons, but they don’t matter anymore. I am returning to Hemera with you.”
“You are? You were granted retirement then?” Time seemed to stop as she waited for his answer. Would she have to trade in her daughter to have him as part of her life? She couldn’t do it, refused to make the sacrifice.
“No.” He knelt in front of her and held her hand on her lap. “It’s not possible at this time. But, I’m stationed on Hemera to help restore the planet and re-establish a governing body.”
“So, Katrina...?”
“Will be with us. They know, but I refuse to use her to get what I want.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “It will be my honor to help the Queen of Hemera in any way possible.”
Her heart swelled. They’d have a chance to be a family, and she would have the other piece of her soul back in her life. “That’s wonderful. Katrina, aren’t you happy?”
“Yeah.” Her daughter smiled, an obvious fake, her eyes not in it. “You’re going to need someone when I…. Never mind.” She nodded, the corners of her lips upturning for real. “It’s about time.”
The doors swooshed open, and Lalia glanced over to the entrance. Instead of the doctors or Gwenodyn as she’d expected, Kimba rushed inside, a pained expression on her face.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need you, Bryce. You and your squad are shipping out in thirty Galactic minutes.”
Lalia gasped. “Did the Erebus return to Hemera?” And she’d been stuck on the ship, not there to help her people.
“No.” Kimba winced. “There was a massacre on Niesgoo. Princess, you and your daughter will be sent back to Hemera before we jump through the Vesva portal. We will station Defenders there with you, but right now, we need our colonel.”
Katrina stepped between her father and the leader of the Alliance. “Let me go. My mom needs Bryce with her.”
“No, Katrina.” Lalia reached for her daughter, Bryce pulling her back at the same time. She didn’t want to lose either of them.
“I’m sorry, child.” Kimba bowed. “You are as brave as the stories I have been told. But, it is your father’s experience I need. Maybe it will be you I call upon someday.”
No! The Alliance couldn’t have her daughter. She’d return to Earth, leave it all behind to keep Katrina from becoming a Defender.
A growl escaped from Bryce, his reaction echoing her own. “I will report to my quarters shortly,” he said through gritted teeth. “Give me a chance to say goodbye to my family.”
The Alliance leader nodded then left.
Lalia swallowed the lump in her throat. Would this happen every time she thought they’d have a chance to be together? She’d just got Bryce back, and he had to leave again. Fighting back tears, she sniffled. “Do you have time to see us off?”
“Of course.” He took each of their hands in his. “I love you both and I will be back. This is temporary.”
Lalia sure hoped so. On Earth, she could survive on her own, but she’d been away from Hemera too long, molded into someone else instead of the leader her people needed her to be. And who knew how long it would take her to walk again?
She squeezed his fingers. “I love you, too. And I will hold you to that.”
***
Bryce sidestepped along the wall of the mud hut, his plazer at the ready. The sudden stench of Erebus waste made him gag, and he pulled his gas mask over his face. With the concentrated scent, there had to be at least five Erebus nearby.
Turning to his company behind him, he stuck his arm in the air then tapped his helmet. Cover me. He made sure they signaled they understood before rushing around the corner.
A group of Erebus, as he suspected. They huddled together in a patch of fading sunlight that had fought its way through the thick cloud cover overhead.
The second they spotted him, all five charged. He shot the one directly in front of him. And the others fell an instant later, downed by his team. An easy kill, like all the other squads had found every Galactic day since he’d arrived. An operation possible to win without him. With no survivors on the planet, they simply had to kill Erebus to prevent them from dropping seeds and moving on to other planets. Why had Kimba insisted he lead this one? Did she want him away from Lalia, or was there something on Niesgoo he hadn’t yet encountered? He’d yet to find any reason to have abandoned his family.
“Good work, team.” He couldn’t fault those under him. Everyone worked well together to accomplish their task, defeat the enemy.
“Always great to work with you again, Colonel,” Rebreg said, as if several Galactic years had passed since Bryce had been promoted.
When Rebreg called the cleanup crew to indicate another cleared area, Bryce removed his mask, leaned back on the mud hut, and took a swig of water. He had missed some key piece of information about the campaign. All those who’d lived on Niesgoo were supposed to be dead, yet the strikes proved too easy, a waste of time and Defenders. Kimba had never mentioned where the intel had come from, only called it a disaster far greater than what had happened on Hemera.
Yet, no bodies had been found. If the inhabitants had perished, their bodies had disintegrated in Erebus waste long before the Defenders had arrived. Nothing made sense.
Bryce glanced beyond the village to the horizon, where the distant sun turned a line of clouds orange. What daylight they did have would disappear in Galactic minutes. Any Erebus still around would not be looking to hunt but have already left the planet or be gathering in a group to stay warm like the five they’d just killed. The temperature would suddenly drop to below freezing once the sun retreated beyond the horizon, a time when no one wanted to be out in the frigid air.
“Okay, team, time to head back to camp.” And away from the planet, if up to him. But Kimba had the final say.
“Great!” Rebnaan rubbed both sets of hands together. “And with you not there making chow tonight, we’re less likely to get food poisoning.”
Bryce spun around and knocked her helmet off. “You’re welcome to KP duty any time you want.” He pointed to the rest of his team. “That goes for all of you.”
BRYCE (Galactic Defenders Book 1) Page 8