Royal Recruit - Susan Grant
Chapter One
CALIFORNIA POLITICIAN AND ALIEN LOVER SAVE THE WORLD
Reuters—one hour ago
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters)—After spending much of the night in emergency meetings, a visibly emotional President Laurel Ramos announced that the alien invasion force threatening Earth has been turned away. “Today we have two new heroes—California State Senator Jana Jasper and her extraordinary extraterrestrial friend, Cavin Caydinn. It is not an exaggeration to say that the two of them have saved the world. I hereby rescind the state of emergency and declare this day a national holiday. Senator Jasper, Major Caydinn, today we celebrate your courage and vision as one world newly united by a common cause. A very grateful world indeed.”
Over the weekend, Jasper, thirty-two, and Caydinn, thirty-four (est.) were taken by officials to an undisclosed location in the western United States, where the pair were successful in deterring the invasion. Because of possible monitoring of Earth communications by the aliens, full details on the operation will not be revealed. At the news, celebrations broke out all over the world.
The tale of terror and daring had a romantic beginning. Jasper, the youngest child of U.S. congressman John Jasper and former Soviet ballet dancer Larisa Porizkova, met Caydinn when they were children. Caydinn’s father, a scientist, traveled to Earth to determine its suitability for acquisition, a fact not immediately known by Caydinn at the time. Sources close to the couple say that after landing in the invisible spacecraft on the Jasper family ranch, young Caydinn sneaked away to explore on his own and encountered the girl. “It was love at first sight,” enthuses Evie Holloway, thirty-five, Jasper’s sister.
Despite the passage of over two decades, the pair never forgot each other. According to sources close to the couple, Caydinn abandoned his post as a high-ranking military officer to warn Jasper that plans were underway for a takeover of Earth. Despite several attempts on his life by a biomechatronic assassin (popularly known as a cyborg), now presumed dead, Caydinn seems to have triumphed, Jasper at his side.
“I wouldn’t get your hopes too high,” the state senator warned officials after leaving the remote location where she and Caydinn are said to have rebuffed the alien fleet. “It was a delay tactic, not a permanent fix. It buys us time to prepare and that’s all.”
“The Coalition Fleet is coming back, no doubt about that,” advised Jared Jasper, thirty-six, the senator’s brother. “And whether we like it or not, all of us will be on the front lines when they do.” The Sacramento real-estate developer and national guard fighter pilot assisted in turning back the alien invasion, although details on his role in the operation were not available due to security concerns.
A press conference is scheduled for later today at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, where legendary Jasper patriarch and former California governor Jake Jasper was rushed early this morning after suffering a massive stroke.
Three weeks later, near a planet far, far away…
The Coalition’s interim Minster of Intelligence wiped his wet palms on his trousers as he briefed his superior on the brazen conspiracy he’d uncovered.
Standing in his boss’s luxurious office, he swung between alarm and grogginess. An incident with an unaligned isolated world known as Earth had kept him up far too late. Combined with his sudden appointment to this post, a position he’d held for exactly one week, and now this bombshell intelligence, he was downright rattled.
Focus. He fought to collect his thoughts. The enemy is amongst us.
Outside a nearby porthole, he could see countless similar portholes, glittering like jewels on the enormous space station high above the icy planet Sakka, the Goddess Keep. The magnificence of the Ring, the seat of their parliament and the headquarters of their military, never failed to leave him awestruck. After finding what everyone else had so carelessly overlooked, he was confident he would be installed as the permanent minister, assuring job security for years to come.
His superior folded his hands on his desk. “You learned of a REEF dispatched to track down a high-ranking Marine officer who had gone AWOL. This isn’t that unusual, minister. Even good officers can crack under pressure.”
“True. But the REEF’s orders were to kill Prime-Major Caydinn, not take him into custody.”
“Perhaps he resisted arrest.”
“It appears to have been a kill order from its inception. An assassination order, although I can’t yet tell who gave the orders. It came from within my office. But of course my predecessor isn’t here to ask, goddess rest her soul.” He exhaled then proceeded. “The prime-major was to be