Page 1 of Her Alien Mercenaries
PROLOGUE
Beyond the edge of civilized space is a newly colonized planet. It’s a haven for the homeless, the hopeful, and those dreaming of freedom.
The beings who live here might be different species from vastly different worlds, but they all have one thing in common. Whoever they are, and wherever they came from, Haven is now their home.
The land is uncharted. The dangers are unknown. It’s a world full of possibilities—for those willing to risk everything.
Welcome to Haven Colony.
1
Jenna would nevertire of being able to walk outside. No matter what the weather, she went out every day, even if only for a few minutes. The freedom to move under an open sky and breathe air that had never been recycled was a gift she would never take for granted.
Mornings were her favorite time to go out. Sometimes she’d wake up early enough to watch the sun rise. Seeing the sky lighten as color returned to the world reminded her of how she felt the first time she’d stepped foot on this planet. Until that moment, her existence had been all shades of gray. Now she knew there was more to life than her old self ever imagined. She reveled in every new experience, even the ones that scared her. Adjusting to a life under an open sky hadn’t been easy. Not to mention that the dangerous wildlife and plants on this world gave her occasional nightmares.
Despite it all, Haven was everything she’d never dared to hope for, and so much more. Here, she could live instead of simply surviving. If she ever had to go back…
No. She tried to stop that line of thought before it could get any traction. If it happened, she’d find a way to cope. She always did. She might not have thrived in every situation the universe tossed at her, but she’d survived.
The little voice in the back of her head refused to be silenced.But what if survival isn’t enough?What if I want more than that?
The thought tore through her like a comet plowing through an asteroid field—bright, beautiful, and leaving nothing but chaos in its wake. Her stride faltered, and the beautiful morning lost some of its color. But only for a moment.
She spoke her next words aloud, though softly enough that no one else could hear. “This is my home now. I’m never going back. I’m a full-fledged member of the colony.”
The reminder helped. She and the other women selected to join Haven colony had completed the introductory training and assessment stage a week ago. Only a handful had washed out of the program along the way, with a single person opting to return to Earth. The others who hadn’t made it were on their way to Defiance Station, out in the Drift. The station was still under construction, but Siva and the others had been offered jobs as support staff for the logistical infrastructure already in place.
They couldn’t wait to get off the planet and back to a self-contained station. From her perspective, they were trading paradise for purgatory. Siva had laughed when she said so and pointed out that to some of the new arrivals, Haven was hell. The higher gravity, open skies, and even the weather had been too much for them to adapt to.
She’d miss them all. Well, most of them. Her lips pursed in a momentary grimace as she thought about the one person she wouldnotmiss. Reni. Unlike the others, Reni wouldn’t be going back to Earth or out to the Drift. She was in a cell somewhere, locked away from everyone, including the mysterious cabal who had recruited her to spy for them.
Everyone was shocked when the news broke that another spy had been sent to Haven. The rest of the group had spent days and nights talking about it, trying to understand why she’d done it and how she’d been caught.
Jenna had speculated right along with them, her fury at the betrayal as real as everyone else’s. The difference was she’d already figured out what Reni was up to. They’d been given the same offer by the same people back on Earth. But while Reni had chosen to accept it, Jenna had made a different choice. She’d risked her seat on the ship to Haven by reporting the offer a few hours after she’d received it.
Instead of losing her chance to escape, the Vardarians gave her an opportunity to protect her new home. She had to pretend to spy for this other group and report everything back to the Vardarians. She’d agreed, which made her the most unlikely double agent in existence.
The trouble with thinking too much was that you missed what was going on around you. While she’d been lost in thought, she’d managed to cover most of the distance to her destination. Winged forms soared overhead as the older children made their way to the education center. Laughter filled the air as they swooped and dove with reckless disregard for gravity or personal space.
The sidewalks were almost as busy as the air above as children too young to fly walked and chattered to each other, some of them looking up with obvious envy. None of them were human children, but the similarities struck her more so than the differences. Their laughter was high and light as they looked around with bright, curious expressions. A few looked dejected, their footsteps plodding and slow as they trudged along, some being coaxed by their parents or older siblings.
It was all so familiar, only this time she wasn’t bringing her charges to school for the day. This time, she’d be joining them as one of their teachers.
Her being a teacher was almost as unbelievable as being a spy, yet here she was.
Several of the children, or younglings as the Vardarians called them, eyed her curiously as they entered the center’s grounds. With less than fifty ordinary humans on the entire planet, she wasn’t surprised by their interest. Oh, plenty of cyborgs were around. Several hundred, in fact. And every single one of them was physically perfect—not just in function but in appearance.
She often wondered if that had been deliberate or if the corporations that created the cybernetic soldiers had never intended for their creations to be as beautiful as they were deadly.
A silver-scaled Vardarian with blonde hair streaked with silver and a bright smile popped out of a doorway and hurried over to meet her. “You’re right on time. Trying to make a good impression on your first day?” Director Saska Firt spoke in one of the more common dialects of Vardarian, but Jenna understood every word.
She shook her head and replied in the same language. “I think it would take more than that to impress you, Saska. I’m a morning person. Starting the day is easy for me. It’s the long, sleepy stretch at the end of the evening that is always a challenge.” She turned to smile at her new administrator. “Any last-minute advice for the newbie?”
Saska’s pale green eyes gleamed with amusement as she lowered her voice to a playful whisper. “Don’t be fooled by their adorable faces. All younglings are the same, no matter what species. If they sense weakness, they will exploit it. Stay strong.”
Jenna nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
Saska patted her on the shoulder. “I know you will. You might be new to teaching, but you have years of experience under your wings. Oops.” She winced. “Sorry. Wrong idiom. What do your people say? Under your feet?”
