meet that criteria on board right now. However, there is only one that seems like a natural selection for the assignment. The ground force commander will be-”
Merric smiled broadly from across the table. Yen shrunk from that malicious smile. Merric outranked Yen and had nearly the same number of years in the Infantry. But the thought of spending an entire conflict fighting side by side with and taking orders from Merric turned Yen’s stomach.
“-Commander Xiao,” Captain Hodge concluded.
Yen sat in stupefied silence. His look of surprise hardly matched the combined look of horrific defeat and stunned disbelief that was painted across Merric’s face. His confidents smile was gone, though he still bared his teeth in a feral snarl.
“Commander Xiao?” the Captain prodded as the silence stretched on.
“I’m… I’m sorry, ma’am,” Yen finally stammered. “Thank you for this…”
“This is ridiculous!” Merric yelled, interrupting Yen in mid sentence. “To hell with this! I am better qualified, I am senior in rank, and I deserve this, damn it!”
“Merric,” Captain Hodge said sternly, “please calm yourself.”
“Calm myself?” Merric demanded, pointing wildly in Yen’s direction. “Are you serious? This poor excuse for a soldier gets promoted first to Squadron Commander and not even a week later is now in charge of the entire ground force! That is
“You forget yourself, Eminent Merric!” Hodge yelled as she quickly stood, her voice losing its melodic tone as it took on a screeching minor key. “And you will excuse yourself from this meeting before I find a reason to make you a Magistrate again!”
Merric scowled as he locked gazes with Captain Hodge. Growling softly, he turned back toward Yen, hate filling his eyes. “This isn’t over, Yen.”
“Leave now, Merric!” the Captain ordered.
Turning on his heel, Merric stormed past the rest of the stunned crowd and disappeared through the doorway. Breathing heavily, Captain Hodge sat back down and, reaching behind her, smoothed the ruffled feathers of her wings.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said musically, her composure restored. “Believe me when I tell you all that every aspect of this mission has been examined in great detail. Eminent Merric was actually correct when he said that he had seniority and should have, by regulation, assumed command of the ground forces. Under different circumstances, I would have gladly obliged him. He is not only an intelligent Officer, but he is well versed in combat. However, I am already putting Commander Xiao at great personal risk as he leads his Squadron against the Earth defenses. I will not put another of my senior Officers in harm’s way just to satisfy one man’s inflated sense of self- worth.”
The Captain’s eyes darkened as she glared at everyone at the table before her. “That being said, let me also explain one other simple fact. I am not required, at any time, to justify my decisions to any of you at this table. I’ll not abide someone second-guessing my decisions. If it happens again, I’ll take it as an act of sedition. Do I make myself clear?”
She hardly waited for their responses before continuing. “Good. This concludes our meeting. You’re all excused.”
Everyone stood brusquely and saluted before filing out of the room. As the briefing room began to clear, Yen felt a cool hand on his arm. Turning, he found himself face to face with Captain Hodge.
“Please stay behind, Commander,” she said. “There is something else we need to discuss.”
Yen looked over his shoulder to where Iana waited. He waved to her to get her attention, then motioned toward the door. Understanding, Iana turned and left, leaving just Yen and Captain Hodge in the room alone. Yen swallowed hard, knowing what she wanted to discuss. Merric’s outburst during the meeting, followed nearly immediately by the Captain’s desire to discuss a matter of importance, told Yen that Merric hadn’t kept quiet about their episode during shore leave.
“Please be seated, Commander,” Captain Hodge said politely as she returned to her own seat.
Hesitantly, Yen sat. “Ma’am, if this is about…”
Captain Hodge raised her hand, cutting him off. “I don’t care about Merric right now. There is more to the mission than what I briefed. I didn’t just select you to be the ground forces commander because of your previous experience in the Infantry. If that were my criteria, I would have selected any number of actual Infantry Officers instead of picking a pilot who has been moonlighting as a soldier.”
Yen nodded, taking the backhanded insult in stride.
“I selected you because of your unique talents. I hope I have not been misled about how far your powers have evolved since you first came aboard.”
Closing his eyes, Yen let the power coalesce in his hand. The blue serpent formed in his hand, weaving around his fingers and up his wrist.
“You have become quite talented with your powers, Commander,” Captain Hodge said, smiling. “I also notice that you don’t seem to suffer from the headaches you once had every time you used your abilities.”
Yen’s eyes opened slowly. Captain Hodge was right, though Yen hadn’t noticed in some time. After surviving Purseus II with Adam, Yen had suffered terrible headaches every time he used his psychic powers for anything other than the most mundane uses. Without his realization, the headaches had slowly lessened before disappearing all together. During his shore leave, he had used his powers almost haphazardly without any side effects. And the uses of his powers when with Keryn…
“After you disable the satellite grid and ensure all your teams are dispersed to their correct locations,” Captain Hodge began as she reactivated the hologram of Earth, “I want you to take your team here, to the Empire’s capital.” On the sphere hanging above the table, a large red dot appeared over a major city on the eastern coast of one of the continents.
“And once I get there?” Yen asked, intrigued.
“A team has already been prepared for you, with one of your former Infantry cohorts as your second in command.”
Yen frowned. There were few “former cohorts” of Yen’s still alive. “You mean Buren. I would prefer you sent someone else.”
“I don’t really care what you prefer,” the Captain said coldly. “You and Magistrate Buren will lead your team into their capital. There will be other teams on the ground that will keep their main force occupied. Your objective is to find and capture a Terran scientist, Doctor Solomon.”
“What did this guy do?” Yen asked.
“He was the lead researcher on two projects that you might find interesting. The first was a series of experiments using the newly discovered chemical, Deplitoxide. I think you remember its use during the last Fleet engagement.”
“And the other,” Yen asked, dreading her reply.
“He was also the lead scientist on a genetics project, working specifically with mutated genomes. Apparently, he found that it was possible to mutate a docile load bearing beast into a pathological killing machine.”
Yen could feel his jaw muscles clenching and unclenching. “If this doctor really is to blame for what happened to my team on Purseus, then I’m going to tear him apart.”
“No, you won’t. Your orders are to capture him and bring him back alive. He has too much information in that head of his for you to remove it from his shoulders. Can you handle this mission, or should I give it solely to Magistrate Buren.”
Breathing heavily, Yen looked down at the blue tendril that squirmed in his hand in eager anticipation. Smiling sadistically, he turned to Captain Hodge. “This is my mission. I’ll find your good doctor. Earth doesn’t have an army big enough to stop me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The room spun as Keryn was lifted from her feet and slammed hard onto the mat. Staring up at the ceiling, she tried to get her bearings, but the room refused to quit turning. Sighing, she covered her eyes with her hands
