Prime Commander

Prologue

Eighteen Years Earlier

Come on Jaxon, I dare you to, a skinny boy yelled at her.

Don’t listen to him Jax. He’s just trying to get you in trouble, a little red-haired girl called up to her from the ground below.

Jaxon Malone was a gangly 10-year-old girl with wavy brown hair. She stared down at her 12-year-old foster brother, Ricky, on the ground below. He wanted her to give up.

They had been playing truth or dare with a group of neighborhood kids. Ricky dared her to jump from the roof of their foster parents’ home. He didn’t think she would do it. But Jaxon chose to take the dare.

Jaxon looked down at the little red-haired girl, her BFF Cassie Tomlin. Cassie was the only good thing about Jaxon’s life. She wished she had been born in Cassie’s family instead of abandoned. I have to Cass, it’s a dare. And Jaxon never backed down from a dare. Not ever.

Randy turned to his buddies. She’s too scared to do it. Besides, she’s just a girl.

No Jax don’t! Cassie screamed as Jaxon leapt from the roof. That was Jaxon though, always taking risks without thinking it through.

It had been the most incredible feeling Jaxon had ever experienced, flying through the air. Actually, it was more like falling through the air. The thrill didn’t last that long. It was a few seconds of pure joy and then she felt the most excruciating pain she had ever felt in her young life.

The doctor said she had broken her right leg in two places. It was going to take six weeks to recover. She needed to stay off her leg and she would need assistance getting to the bathroom. Her foster parents were furious. Her foster mom, Janet, argued with the social worker because social services wouldn’t pay for Jaxon to stay at the hospital. Janet complained that she just couldn’t handle a child with special needs.

Cassie’s grandparents, the Tomlins, overheard the argument and offered to care for Jaxon while she was recovering. Her foster parents didn’t care as long as they still got paid from the foster care system. So for the next six weeks Jaxon lived with Cassie and her grandparents. It was the best summer of her life.

Living with the Tomlins was completely different from anything Jaxon had ever known. The foster home Jaxon lived in was crowded and noisy. The kids constantly fought over food, clothes, toys, and space. Jaxon never had anything that was her own. Her foster parents cared more about the money they got paid than they did the kids they took in. It was the same as all the other foster homes that Jaxon had been in and out of over the years. What had made this foster home bearable was that her best friend Cassie lived next door to her.

During her stay with the Tomlins Jaxon got see what a real family was like. They didn’t fight over anything. Whatever Jaxon wanted, Cassie was happy to give it to her. Jaxon became very protective of Cassie.

The day Jaxon’s cast came off was one of her best memories from her childhood. Cassie’s grandfather, a retired Air Force pilot, rented a Cirrus SR20 airplane. He took both Cassie and Jaxon up for their first flight. Cassie wasn’t really into flying and spent the whole time with her eyes closed eyes. Not Jaxon. She fell in love with the small plane the moment she caught sight of it. When Mr. Tomlin took them up in the air, the whole world melted away. It was just her, the plane, and the sky. It was heaven.

She and Cassie planned to live together as roommates when they got older. There was just one small problem, Jaxon was three years older than Cassie. When Jaxon had graduated from high school her foster parents insisted that she move out. Cassie’s grandparents offered to let her stay with them but Jaxon didn’t want to impose on them.

Then she had gotten the most absurd idea from her idiot foster brother. Ricky joined the Army when he turned eighteen. While he was visiting their foster parents he complained about boot camp and how hard it was. He told Jaxon that she would never make it in the military because she would never follow orders and would fail out of boot camp the first day.

The following Monday Jaxon took a bus downtown to the Air Force recruitment center and signed up. The Air Force was not going to let her enlist with them at first, but Cassie’s grandfather called in a favor. To everyone’s surprise, including Jaxon’s, she excelled in the military.

Her motto was to never back down from a challenge. She proved herself by accepting every mission offered to her. She preferred the more dangerous missions. She earned respect from her superior officers and advanced quickly through the ranks. Then she was given a mission that would change her life forever.

Chapter 1

Present Day at EWG Military Headquarters

Three generals sat facing each other at the small conference table: General Clarkson of the Army division, General Millian of the Navy division, and General Campbell of the Air Force division. They were all part of the EWG, Earth World Government, Military Force.

A few years before all the world’s government leaders had gotten together to form a one-world government, the EWG. They had two goals: find a way to resolve the overpopulation crisis the planet was experiencing and replenish Earth’s natural resources. Little did they know that the solution to their problems would come from the most unlikely place, an alien race known as the Katieran Nation.

General Millian appeared annoyed. Why are the Katierans being so stubborn about the military exchange? It’s like they want to keep us in the dark.

General Clarkson agreed. Of course they want to keep us in the dark. They know that we might pose a threat to them if we have their technology. That’s why we need Operation Eagle Star.

Operation Eagle Star was an intelligence-gathering operation that the EWG Military planned to initiate. It entailed selecting lesser officers from the EWG Military to be sent to the alien planet of Katiera. While under the guise of learning basic Katieran Military training and fighting techniques, they would gather intel on weaponry and other advanced military technology and report back to the EWG.

The Katierans agreed to a few hundred of our military. That Prime Commander of theirs turned down half the people we sent to apply for transport so far. Did he state his reasons for the ones he rejected? General Campbell passed out a copy of the most recent rejected applications.

The other two generals began to read over the report. It seems as though all the candidates the Commander rejects are either male, married, or over the age of 45, General Millian noted.

So it’s true then. They are only interested in unmarried women who are in their childbearing years, General Clarkson grumbled.

General Campbell nodded in affirmation. Yes it appears so.

Who do we have that they will accept? General Millian asked.

Colonel Stevens is bringing in a candidate as we speak, General Campbell replied. He passed out the candidate’s résumé to the other Generals. They all took a few minutes to read through it, finishing just as someone knocked at the door.

Come in, General Campbell called out.

Jaxon walked into the meeting room following behind Colonel Stevens. She glanced around the room with her sharp eyes looking for potential threats and possible escape routes, a habit from her training. Both Jaxon and Colonel Stevens stopped in front of the table where the three Generals sat watching them . . . no, they were watching her closely.

General Millian spoke first. Thank you for coming Master Sergeant Malone on such short notice. Do you know why you are here today?

Yes sir. Colonel Stevens says that you need me to infiltrate the alien nation of Katiera under the guise of becoming a relocating ‘refugee.’ I am to gather intel from the other side regarding all weaponry and advanced military technology and report my findings to you.

General Campbell nodded affirmatively. I hate that it has come to this but the Katierans are not being very forthcoming with anything. The medical advancements are great, but we need more than that.

I think they are keeping a lot more from us. We need to know what that is. We understand that what we are asking you to do is unusual and there are many unforeseen dangers facing you. We would like to compensate you by promoting you to the rank of Captain with all pay and benefits increased accordingly. Do you think you are up for the task? General Clarkson asked.

Captain? But I’ve only recently completed my advanced program to be promoted to Master Sergeant. I don’t qualify and don’t have the years yet for Captain. Jaxon didn’t like the idea of spying on this alien nation. But to be promoted to Captain so early in her career, it was an opportunity she would find hard to turn down.

"What is your answer, Captain?" General Millian asked.

When do I leave?

*****

It’s going to be okay, Cassie. I promise, Jaxon reassured her friend as they walk through the lobby of the hotel in Oklahoma City. Jaxon didn’t stop to ask the front desk for directions. Instead, she took an educated guess that the group of women heading towards a ballroom were here for the same reason: To apply for relocation to Katiera.

Jaxon tugged on Cassie’s hand. She hoped that this relocation would help solve her friend’s predicament. Cassie was now a fugitive from the Earth World Government. The EWG, in an attempt to resolve Earth’s overpopulation problem, created a law stating that all citizens had to apply for a license to have children. If you didn’t have a license you could resolve the unauthorized pregnancy by getting a government-mandated abortion.

Cassie’s loser ex-boyfriend had knocked her up almost six months ago and abandoned her. But Cassie wanted to keep her child so she had gone underground. Cassie had no license. If the EWG found her they could still force an abortion on her and send her to prison.

Jaxon had tried many times to persuade her friend to stay with her but Cassie didn’t want to put Jaxon at risk. After she had accepted the mission to Katiera, Jaxon contacted Cassie and convinced her to come and apply for relocation. Cassie needed help and this might be her only chance.

The interviews for relocation were being held in a small ballroom in the hotel. Inside the room, Jaxon noted there were about fifteen human women mingling with a group of large men. They smiled and laughed amongst themselves. All of the men were tall, at least 6’6", and built like linebackers with huge bulging muscles everywhere. Their skin had a golden bronze coloring similar to Native Americans. They had dark hair of various lengths and styles. They were the hottest group of men Jaxon had ever seen. Yummy.

As they approached the center of the room, the men raised their heads and took a sniff of the air before they turned towards her and Cassie. Jaxon squeezed Cassie’s hand for support.

One of the men walked towards them. He spoke to them in a strange alien language. The words were garbled and made no sense. It sounded like he was saying, Ayer token stada.

Jaxon responded back, Hey big dude, we’re here to apply for relocation. Where do we sign up?

Two more men came and joined the first one. All three spoke in the alien gibberish. Sa Sa talles ayer token stada.

Right, well, Sa Sa to you too. We would like to sign up for RE. LO. CA. TION. Please, Jaxon said slowly. She checked out the rest of the room. A few other women were also experiencing the same language issues.

One of the big guys attempted to talk to Cassie but she shook her head unable to understand what he was trying to say. Then he moved a little too close to Cassie. Jaxon could see Cassie panic, she reacted immediately by jumping in between Cassie and the big guy and yelled at the hulking man to step away. He spoke more gibberish and pointed at Cassie. The other men came over to support him. One of them tried to grab Cassie’s arm. Jaxon saw red. She pushed the man away roughly.

Back away King Kong! Don’t touch her again!

The other women noticed the confrontation and came to help Jaxon and Cassie. One of the women with really short blond hair pointed to Cassie’s stomach. Jaxon knew what she was silently asking her. They were trying to keep Cassie’s pregnancy quiet. Jaxon acknowledged the other woman’s question by nodding her head. The women formed a protective circle with Cassie in the center.

Two men tried to infiltrate the protective circle. Jaxon took them down to the ground within seconds. When she glanced back up it seemed that everything was in slow motion. Two more large men ran into the ballroom and screeched to a halt upon seeing her. Her eyes locked onto the darkest pair of eyes she had ever seen. Wow. Just . . . wow.

The newly arrived men yelled in gibberish. These guys were different, they seemed to be more in charge over the rest. Jaxon tried to keep her mind on protecting Cassie, but the taller man kept drawing her eyes to him. There was something about him that called to her. She shook her head and tried to keep her focus. Her gut told her that they were up to something.

The men surrounded the circle of women. This was it, Jaxon thought. They were going to make their move. She kept her eyes on the new big guy.

Don’t fight them Cass, she yelled to her friend.

That was all she had time to say before the men surged forward and each grabbed a woman. Jaxon admired their timing. It was a perfect strategic move. The new big guy grabbed her before she had a chance to maneuver