17. Chapter 16

Jasmine halted in the passage outside her room and gasped. All her teammates congregated outside her bedroom. “What are you all doing here?”

“We have to talk to you, Jasmine.” Dana glanced around at her friends. Then she looked up and down the empty passage. “We just don’t know how.”

Jasmine gathered her resolve and walked up to her friends. “What’s the problem?”

No one would look at her. Dana and Sophia kept looking all around at nothing. “It’s just that.... well, no one knows what to do. We want to talk to you, but no one wants to do it out here. Isn’t there anywhere we can talk.”

“The whole Keep is crawling with Allied people,” Ron murmured. “There are spies everywhere.”

“Well, you better come into my room,” Jasmine replied. “At least we know the Allies haven’t planted cameras or microphones in there.”

The team followed her inside. They stood in a silent semi-circle until she bolted the door and faced them. For one second, silence filled the room. Then everybody started talking at once.

“What are we going to do?”

“Did you see how many ships they have parked outside?”

“General Duncan wants us to pack up and leave.”

“We haven’t even started our investigations. What sort of a research mission is this, anyhow?”

“None of the Krataks will talk to us anymore. They think we’re enemies.”

“How are we supposed to talk to them? They’re dragons. I don’t want to be in the same room with them.”

Jasmine waited for the hubbub to die down before she tried to speak. “I told General Duncan we wanted to stay. If anybody wants to leave, I’m sure she’ll be happy to make the arrangements. I’m staying, though.”

“I’m staying, too,” Dana replied. “I went through enough hassle getting down here and spent months on preparation research. I don’t want to blow it now.”

“I haven’t even conducted an examination on anybody,” Ron added.

“You better know,” Jasmine put in, “whatever you find out in your research will be used against the Krataks. If you find anything in your medical examination that could give the Allies a clue to the Krataks’ true dragon nature, that information will be used to conquer this planet.”

She waited for her words to sink in. No one breathed. They stared at her in shock.

She took a deep breath before she went on. “Don’t be under any illusions about the purpose of your research. You’re tools of the Allies. All your research is designed to uncover details about Kratak the Krataks don’t want revealed. If you turn over blood samples to the Allies, you’ll be sealing the Krataks’ death warrants. Same with anything you find out about the Keeps’ construction. The General wants to know everything about the Krataks’ defenses, and no one has that information but the people inside this room.”

The team looked at each other. Then they looked at her.

“Every one of us here has to make a decision,” Jasmine continued. “Each of us has to decide who’s side we’re really on. If you want to help the Allies, you better march down to the hall right now and tell General Duncan everything. That’s the best way you can help this invasion. You’ll be giving the Allies everything they need to conquer this planet and turn Kratak into another vassal state. Is that what you really want?”

Charlotte Simons murmured to her sisters. “I could never do that. I don’t care what they do to me.”

“The only other option is for each and every one of us to keep the secret. I’m committed to keeping it and helping the Krataks meet this threat. Rex is doing the same thing.”

A gasp went around the room. Ron faced Rex. “Is that true, Rex? Have you turned?”

Rex’s mouth twisted into a grin. “I wouldn’t call it turning. I’ve simply reevaluated my situation. I’m helping Jasmine and the Krataks, and that means keeping quiet. I encourage all of you to do the same thing.”

“I agree with Rex,” Sophia piped up. “I don’t want to stand by and watch General Duncan destroy another planet. The Allies have hundreds of planets just like this one. They don’t need Kratak, too.”

“I can’t tell you how long you’ll have to work against your own people,” Jasmine added. “It will be tough. I won’t lie to you about that. The meeting I just had with General Duncan is the hardest thing I’ve done in my career. She’ll use every trick she can think of to learn what she wants to know. We’ll have to stand together and support each other.”

“We’ll do it.” Abigail smiled at her daughters. “We’ll all do it.”

Jasmine squared her shoulders. “I’ve got something else to say to you. I’m glad you’re all here together so you can all hear this.”

Everybody peered at her.

“It’s over between me and Rex,” she told them. “I’m sorry I let our relationship interfere with my command, and I give you my word I won’t let that happen again. I might be your Commanding Officer now, but I’ve decided to stay on the planet for good. I won’t leave, and if you decide to withdraw, you don’t need my permission to do it. Talk to General Duncan instead. As long as we all stay on this planet, we’ll be more like friends. Military protocols don’t count for much in this situation.”

Ron stared at her. “You’re staying—forever?”

“I don’t know about forever, but indefinitely. That’s all I can say right now.”

“I’m with you, Jasmine,” Dana told her. “We’re all attached to this planet and its people.”

Jasmine squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

One by one, the team left Jasmine’s room in a lighter spirit than before. They fell silent when they walked through the door, but they smiled more now. They all shared the secret. No one had to carry it alone.

Jasmine started to close her door when she noticed Rocor standing across the passage. “How long have you been waiting there?”

“Not long.”

She waved her hand. “Do you want to come in?”

He looked up and down the passage before he slipped inside. Jasmine put her arm around his waist and kissed him. He held her close, and they kissed for a moment before he sat down on the bed. “Is this what you tried to warn me about?”

She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“Soldiers crawling all over the place. The General setting up her headquarters in our home. Ships flying in and out. This is far worse than anything I ever imagined possible.”

“What did you think they were going to do? Did you think they would ask your permission first?”

He stared at her in horror. “This is all normal to you, isn’t it? You don’t find this horrific at all, do you?”

Jasmine’s shoulders slumped, and she put her arms around him. “It’s ten times more horrific because it is normal. You don’t want to know how many other worlds they’ve done this to. Just be glad you have some very good and very committed people helping you.”

He leaned his head on her chest and closed his eyes. “If only I had listened to you.”

She rubbed his neck. “It’s okay. It’s not over yet. Freya will come back soon. Then we’ll know if there’s anything we can do.”

He looked around the room with wild eyes. “How can you stand it? How can you stand having a foot in both camps? How can you pretend to go along with this?”

She pulled back to look at him. He looked as bad as the day the ships landed outside the Keep. He hadn’t slept well, no matter what she did to relax him. “Is there any way we can contact Freya? We should let her know what’s going on. The Ulasso should know the Allies are on the planet. Could somebody fly after Freya to warn her? Maybe you could do it.”

He shook his head. “No one can take off with all these soldiers everywhere. They would shoot a flier down on sight. The Ulasso have a reputation for shooting first, too. They may have shot down Freya, and another flier would take his life in his hands going out there. Freya made the decision for herself. I wouldn’t want to ask anybody to take the chance.”

Jasmine cradled his cheeks in her hands and drew close to his face. “Listen to me. The whole team has agreed to keep the secret. All your people have to do the same thing. No one can reveal the truth, or the game is up. That means no more fighting between you and your brothers. No more challenges, no more arguing—ever. Do you understand?”

He bowed his head to the floor and nodded. “I understand. We all understand, and we’ll do it.”