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  From somewhere nearby, she felt a wash of…surprise and horror. Not big horror, just embarrassed horror. Like the sort when someone realizes that their sports-related inflated plastic ball is careening through the air toward—

  “Oh!” Roxanna gasped as something round and semi-hard hit her stomach. She sat up just from the force and saw the thing rolling onto the sand.

  Blinking, she looked around to see two very embarrassed young human men.

  “So sorry, ma’am,” one called as he jogged over and grabbed the ball. “It just got away from us. It won’t happen again.”

  Rubbing the sore spot on her stomach, she managed a faint smile. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “No harm done.”

  He flashed her a bright smile and nod, then turned and jogged off. Although she wasn’t normally attracted to human men, he was awfully pretty and she enjoyed watching him jog away across the sand for a few moments before chuckling and laying back against the towel.

  The emotional tenor calmed and she settled back down to enjoy the feeling of the sun on her skin and the sound of waves.

  5

  “I don’t know what this is, but it’s amazing,” Jade declared, staring into her glass and the blue liquid within.

  “You are old enough to drink that, right?” Andy asked with a teasing smirk. She had kept it simple with a dark beer of Earth origin, while most everyone else had chosen more exotic—and colorful—drinks. The blue concoction in Jade’s hand had absolutely nothing on the swirling, multi-colored thing in the triangle glass that Roxanna was drinking from, however.

  Anath was staring at it wide eyed at that moment. “Is that, like, a galaxy or something? Or maybe it will swirl up and just float right on out?” He lowered himself toward the table so he could be on a nearer level with it, staring into the glass.

  She made a face at him and pulled it away. “You’re just being silly.”

  “I had a proper day off,” he declared, sitting up, “so why shouldn’t I be silly?”

  “Fair point,” the sergeant agreed. “I spent the whole day on the beach. It was beautiful. I think I’ll spend every day there. I might just sleep there too.”

  “Aren’t you worried about too much sun?” Jade asked with an easy smile. “If I’m not careful, I turn into a giant freckle. Have to make sure I use the UV stuff Doctor Martin put together for us.”

  Roxanna returned the smile. “The Selerid people don’t tan, nor burn. So I’m not too concerned about that. It seems that a bigger danger is people playing sports on the beach. I nearly became the net in a game of, what did they call it, volleyball?”

  “What’s that?” Anallin asked, looking up from its glass of water. The Hanarans couldn’t tolerate alcohol, or caffeine.

  “It is a game where an inflated ball, about this big,” she explained, holding her hands out, “is hit back and forth over a net pretty high up. If your team misses and it hits the ground, the other team gets a point.”

  “Hmm,” Anallin said thoughtfully. “And this is fun?”

  “It is, actually,” she replied with a smile. “I joined them for a few games, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It turns out my hand to eye coordination is decent for it and I helped my team win.”

  Andy grinned. “Congratulations,” she said. “I never really got into that one myself, although there was a team in high school.”

  “What sports did you get into, sir?” Dan asked curiously.

  “Wrestling,” Andy laughed. “And boxing.”

  No one seemed terribly surprised, except by the timing. “They had boxing at your high school?” Jade asked doubtfully, obviously wondering just what school her major had gone to.

  That made Andy laugh. “No, that wasn’t part of the school,” she said. “There was a gym near the group home I was in. I went there.”

  “And they let a teen girl box?”

  “They didn’t want to at first, but I changed their minds.” She grinned again. “I can be very persuasive.”

  Anallin chimed in again, “We had a game on my world called Ikkaata. Though there was no…ball involved. It was a long stick and you would throw it through a hole.” The Hanaran mimicked the throw, and it looked somewhat like throwing a javelin. “I was rather good at it, though there were no teams. It was an individual sport.”

  “Dance,” Jade said with a light smile, resting her elbow on the table with her chin on her hand. “All us girls did, but I also liked playing with computers and pulling things apart, and that seemed to have a better future.”

  “What sort of dance?” Anath asked as he drained the last of his drink.

  “Ballet, mostly,” she said. “I wasn’t too bad, though my youngest sister was better.”

  Andy could tell by the look in Jade’s face that she was proud of her sibling. “Does she still dance?”

  Jade’s grin was so big that it nearly blinded them all. “She does! She’s great, too. I can’t wait to see her dance again.” The expression dimmed. “I can’t wait to see her, and all of them…”

  They were all polite enough to pretend they didn’t see Dan covertly rubbing her back.

  “What about you, Anath?” Roxanna asked with a kind smile. “Do the Arkana do any sort of gaming or sports like that?”

  “I wish they did,” he said ruefully. “But our society is pretty…focused, to say the least. I wonder what it would have been like to grow up with those sorts of experiences. Instead, I was trained to be a soldier. I learned only what my father deemed necessary to that end.”

  “Why?” Jade asked, her green eyes wide and a little sad.

  “He was preparing for this,” Anath said sadly.

  That made everyone quiet for a moment.

  “I suppose if you’re preparing to take over the universe, it takes a lot of planning,” Andy deadpanned, once more feeling that black loathing she felt for her father rise up within her. She once again wondered why in the world her mother had ever connected with him.

  Had that all been part of the plan too? Spread half-breeds throughout the universe to rise up like sleeper cells? It sounded like the plan had worked until her dad ran head-first into her. She didn’t know what made her different, but here they were…

  “What if we all hit up the beach tomorrow and play a game of volleyball?” Jade suggesting, drawing Andy right back out of her dark thoughts with something more cheerful. The major was grateful for that. “I can play and now Roxanna knows how.”

  “I know how, but I’m not any good,” Dan said with a laugh.

  “I’m game to learn,” Andy said. Anath and Anallin nodded their willingness as well.

  Jade grinned again. “Great!” she said excitedly. “Plus, you know, beach. We didn’t go yet today because we spent all day climbing a mountain.” She looked at Dan with a smirk. “Tomorrow is my turn. We go to the beach.”

  “I think it sounds like fun. I’m looking forward to—”

  The communicator hooked to her belt chirped, and dread filled her stomach. She looked up and around at her squad, and all their eyes were filled with the same look. With a heavy sigh, she picked up the communicator. “Dolan here.”

  “There are Arkana ships closing on the planet. We’re not sure how they got in so close without being detected, but Major, they’ll be here in an hour. And I don’t think we have enough ships to prevent them from landing.”

  6

  Every Marine on the planet of Azara was sprinting, full bore, for the landing ports.

  Andy’s footsteps pounded hard against the wooden planks of the boardwalk, sounding odd to her ears. They were used to running like this while wearing boots, not sandals. As Alpha Squad drove their way ahead, the other members of the 33rd poured in from various roads and entries along the way.

  There wasn’t time to get to the Star Chaser, suit up, and return to the planet, but Andy had made sure that they wouldn’t be caught with their pants down, just in case. In the event of some sort of trouble, she had made sure that the Marines brought their
gear. It took some song and dance with Azara admin, but they’d agreed. So long as it was left in a guarded crate at the dock.

  And so, that was where they were all rushing to.

  By the large, dark grey crates, there was a single armed guard provided by the planet’s administration. However, this guy was obviously well trained because he was already popping open every crate and carefully removing the contents.

  It was mayhem, but organized chaos with purpose. Like a beehive that had been kicked and all flew out in a swarm with the purpose of attacking someone. Marines were spread out all over the landing pad, pulling on armor. Some of the more dressed up ones were pulling off dresses and suits, tossing them to the ground. Anything that wouldn’t fit easily in the armor was tossed aside.

  As each one was armored up, they moved on to arming themselves with rifles and sidearms.

  “You sure came prepared, Major Dolan,” the guard said from beside her as she checked over her rifle. Now that all the crates were open, the guard didn’t have much to do.

  “Of course,” Andy replied without looking away from her check. “And you’re going to be glad for it.”

  “I already am, sir.”

  She turned to see him walking away, heading back toward the center of town where the city patrollers were already directing people to return to their places of work or their homes—whichever was closer—and to stay there until told otherwise.

  “Do we have any idea where they’re going to strike, sir?” Roxanna asked as she walked over, tying her long hair back into a tight tail that would fit under her helmet.

  “Do we have any idea why they’re going to strike, sir?” Dan asked as he joined them.

  Andy shook her head, slinging her rifle back and pulling out her pistol to check it over as well. “We can’t be sure of where until they land, but the most likely spot will be right here. This is the heart of the planet, and the Arkana usually aim for surgical strikes, so we’re positioned to defend, assuming the trend remains.

  “As for the why…” That gave her a moment’s pause, brows knitting and a sigh escaping her lips. “That’s harder. This planet isn’t resource rich in the way other targets of theirs have been. Not food or manufacturing, or anything like that. It could have a partial tactical advantage, in its position. Or just…morale. They want to make us hurt.”

  “Cheerful thought,” Dan said, although his flippant humor was tired.

  They were all tired. One day of downtime, no matter how wonderful, had not been enough for them to recharge their minds and rest their spirits.

  The rest of the 33rd showed up shortly after the others were outfitted, those who had come in from further out on the small planet, and they double-timed it to catch up with everyone else.

  Once they were gathered, Andy stood front of the group.

  “Well, folks, once again, the Arkana decide to show that they are jerks,” she said, projecting her voice to be heard by all. She heard her in-ear communicator chirp and held up a hand for people to wait.

  “They’re already here, Major,” Captain Wallace shouted over the sound of the ship amid combat. “The ships in orbit are holding them off as best we can, but they have already dispatched shuttles to the surface. They are determined.”

  “Understood, sir. We’ll stand ready. Dolan out.”

  “They are already on their way,” she continued to her Marines. “The Star Chaser and the other ships in orbit are fighting off the ships, but Arkana shuttles have gotten through and are coming down to the surface.”

  The guard who had previously been stationed around their crates of armor and guns came sprinting back up onto the landing pads waving, of all things, a piece of paper.

  “Major! Major!” he called. “The Arkana are on their way down to the surface!” His eyes were big with panic.

  “We know,” she replied as calmly as she could, trying to help him be calm by staying calm herself.

  Reaching her, he panted and put his hands on his knees. “They’re heading straight for the capital, as best our sensors can tell, but Azara Station has already taken damage and that’s where our primary sensor array is.”

  Dolan nodded. “Thanks for letting us know. My Marines will protect your city as best we can. We’ll protect your planet with our lives. Now, you get somewhere safe. Our job is easier if we don’t have to worry about civilians getting in the way.”

  Gasping another few deep breaths, the young man nodded and then turned to sprint away back into the city center.

  She indulged in one moment to watch him, and the deep sigh that followed it. What could the Arkana want with Azara? And how did they manage to get so close before anyone knew they were there? It was unsettling on many levels, and she didn’t have the time to sort through those feelings to deal with them or to theorize answers.

  “Alright, folks! They are headed right for us, so at least they are saving us the trouble of running around trying to find them!” she shouted to the gathered 33rd. “So we better get into position to beat the bastards back and defend this city!”

  She started shouting squad defensive assignments, then led Alpha Squad off to their designated location.

  They had a city to defend, and an enemy to pay back for ruining their shore leave.

  7

  “How many people are on this planet?” Andy asked as she walked into the central administration building in the city center.

  The first chairwoman, a short human woman with flaming red curls, wrung her hands a little as she visibly tried to focus. “Only a small portion of this planet is open to visitors, so it’s the primary city we’re in now and surrounding tourist accommodations. There are fifteen observation posts with three to five personnel each.” She frowned as she blew out a breath. “Why?”

  Andy sighed. “I like to know all the information,” she said, “just to plan for any contingency.”

  Her vague answer didn’t seem to get past the chairwoman as smoothly as Andy had hoped. “You’re worried we’re going to need to evacuate,” she said.

  “It’s not impossible,” Andy said, “but I’m hoping not. Do you have evacuation contingencies?”

  “For the people, yes,” the chairwoman said sadly. “But not the animals in the preserves.”

  Andy offered a faint smile, the most reassurance that she could. “The Arkana usually don’t care about such things. Your animals should be fine, but I don’t want your people to be prisoners…or worse.”

  A look of fear passed over the chairwoman’s face, but the she quickly pulled herself back together. “The other issue is that our evacuation plan did not include combat in orbit. They were put in place when the war heated up as preventative measures, to leave before the enemy arrived. They don’t have weapons and only minimal shielding.”

  “There’s only so much we can do about that,” Andy said. “We have a squadron of fighters up there that can cover your evac if needed, but they can only do so much. If there’s anything you need to do to put others on alert for the possibility, please do so, otherwise, get yourself somewhere as safe as possible and leave the fighting to us.”

  The chairwoman nodded then hurried off. Andy sighed and looked around the inside of the building. There wasn’t much particularly defensible inside, but she hadn’t intended to fight from here anyways. She cracked her knuckles through her fingerless gloves and stalked back outside into the street.

  It had been just a few minutes since they were told that the Arkana were coming through the atmosphere, but they weren’t there yet. It was hard to imagine that this gorgeous day was about to be shattered by those bastards.

  As soon as she stepped outside, she watched Roxanna jog up with a human man that she didn’t know. He was wearing an ESS uniform, but not Marine.

  “Major,” Roxanna greeted formally. “All squads report being in place.” She nodded to the man. “This is Lieutenant James of the ESS Star Jumper, their security chief. The Jumper is in orbit of Azara right now as well, and he and half of his secu
rity staff are down here.”

  “Major Dolan,” James greeted with a nod. “Can we be of assistance?”

  Andy smiled tightly. “Yes, you can, Lieutenant,” she said. “You don’t appear to have the armor we do, so I don’t want you on the front line, but there are groups of people in some of these building that need backup, and they’ll need help if we have to give the order to evacuate.” She pointed out which buildings housed the groups and how many. James nodded quick and hurried off to rally his people.

  That was at least one thing she didn’t have to worry about as much.

  “We’re all set, Sergeant?” Andy asked, looking at Roxanna.

  “As much as we can be, sir.”

  “Look!” Jade called, looking at Andy while pointing at the sky.

  They saw the flaming red glow of shuttles breaking the atmosphere. Andy gritted her teeth and took a heavy breath.

  “Get into cover until the ground troops move in,” Andy ordered. “They may choose to fire from the shuttles!” The order went out verbally to her own squad right beside her as well as over her communicator to the other groups.

  It was a good thing too, because within moments, Andy was proven right as energy weapon fire began to drop on the city. The shuttles were still too high to provide heavy shots, but it was only a matter of time as they drew closer.

  “What I’d give for a surface-to-air missile launcher right now,” Dan said over the noise.

  “I left it in my other shorts,” Anath called back.

  “You’ll be shooting them, right?” Dan responded. “I mean, this is a definite interruption, don’t you think?”

  Anath laughed, although it was a mirthless, dark sound. “Oh yeah, I’ll be shooting them.”

  “Assuming they don’t bring a building down on our heads,” Jade said. When the others looked at her, all in the cover of a heavily-built building, she just shrugged. “Being pragmatic.”

  No one could argue with that, of course.