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All characters
in this publication are fictitious, any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A Galactic
Coalition Academy Series

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Book One of
Ouroboros

Copyright ©
2014 Odette C Bell

Smashwords
Edition

Cover art stock
photos: Handsome adult man looking up © konstantynov, Closeup
beautiful woman portrait © chesterf. Licensed through
Depositphotos.

This book was
previously published under the pen name Monica Shepherd.

This series is
in Australian English

Book One of
Ouroboros

• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  
• Chapter 22
  
• Chapter 23
  
• Chapter 24
  
• Chapter 25
  
• Chapter 26
  
• Chapter 27
  
• Chapter 28
  
• Chapter 29
  
• Chapter 30
  
• Chapter 31
  
• Chapter 32
  

Chapter 1

Cadet
Nida Harper

The
planet around her was dead. Not a single thing remained alive.
There were no trees, no plants, no life. Just the cold colours of
rock, stone, and metal.

Nida
took a step forward, forcing a deep and reassuring breath as she
did.

The
rest of the team was behind her somewhere, and she indulged in a
moment of solitude.

She
stared up at the horizon. Dusk was settling in, and with it, a
stunning array of colours lit up the sky. There were a few scant
clouds scooting through the oncoming darkness, and their undersides
lit up with vibrant oranges, purples, and golds.

Beyond
the clouds, the first few stars were blinking on, like lights in a
darkened city.

It was
beautiful, especially when you considered how different it was to
the stark, cold view of the planet around her.

This
was one of her first missions away from the Academy, and she hadn't
expected it to be
so . . . confronting.

She
could see the outlines of buildings in the dusty valley below her,
hints at what this planet had been long in the past.

Apparently, a great civilisation had once inhabited this
world, and now all that remained was the dust, rock, and
rubble.

Sighing at how sad it was, Nida soon shook her head and
realised she had to get back to work.

Pushing off, her regulation black boots kicked through the
dust until she made it down the short incline in front of
her.

“Hey,
Nida,” someone called from behind.

It was
J’Etem, her good friend. The young woman was not human, and was
rather from an alien race known as the Barkanas. She had lustrous
golden hair flecked with flashes of orange and red, like flame
licking through a field of summer hay.

“What
are you doing so far from the group?” J’Etem asked with a
semi-cross look crumpling her smooth brow. She had perfectly even
and shiny skin. Not a mark, not a wrinkle, nothing but silky black
flesh.

Nida
made a face and quickly looked behind her, checking to see whether
she was about to get in trouble again. “Is the commander around
here? Did he tell you to come get me?”

J’Etem
shook her head. “Nope, I just saw you wandering off and figured it
was a good idea to come and get you before you get in even more
trouble than usual.”

Nida
gave a small laugh, then nodded at J’Etem before turning to follow
her back to the rest of the group.

“Isn't
this planet fascinating?” J’Etem pointed out after she gulped in an
excited breath. “I mean, how cool is it that we're getting the
chance to go on an actual mission? With Carson Blake, of all
people,” she added in what could only be called a
squeak.

Nida
had to laugh at that. She already knew J’Etem was a major fan of
Lieutenant Blake. Because, seriously, who wasn't? He was a living
legend at the Academy, and every cadet, man or woman or somewhere
in between, loved the guy to bits.

“It's
cool,” Nida managed after a lengthy pause.

“Come
on, I think you can muster a bit more excitement than that. The
Academy is finally trusting us with a bit of responsibility. And
considering your track record, that's a really good sign,” J’Etem
added subtly.

Nida
had to laugh; J’Etem was totally right. Nida had one of the worst
records of anyone in her class. She was barely scraping by. But she
stuck with it. Though she could have quit the Galactic Coalition
Academy many times, she found herself coming back every
year.

Soon
she would graduate, then a lifetime of missions in space would
welcome her.

. . . .

Which
was what she wanted, right? It's what everyone at the Academy
wanted. They all worked towards the same goal: space exploration,
and the honour of forming the group of men and women that kept this
galaxy safe.

“You're doing it again,” J’Etem announced as she offered Nida
a pointed sigh.

“What?” Nida looked up sharply.

“Thinking. You always get that look of profound consternation
on your face when you are deep in thought, and I have to say, it
reminds me of a nagar toad about to squirt poison on
you.”

Nida
laughed. It felt good, but even that couldn't chase away the
melancholy that had descended over her.

With a
quick move, she looked over her shoulder again at the view.
Specifically the small ridges and bumps that hinted at the remains
of some building destroyed long ago.

This
planet had once been thriving with people—with real, live
things—and now it was nothing more than a testament to destruction
and death.

Okay,
so it had sat desolate for over 2000 years according to
archaeological reports, but that didn't matter. It felt wrong to
come here and dig up the place looking for its secrets without
mustering just a little respect for its previous inhabitants, no
matter how long ago they'd existed.

“What's the matter?” J’Etem asked again, pressing her
perfectly plush, purple lips together as she gave Nida a knowing
look.

“Just . . . thinking about the people that
once lived here,” Nida answered truthfully as she gestured to the
planet with a sweep of her arm.

“What's there to think about? Nothing but the occasional blob
of bacteria has inhabited this world for the past 2000 years. All
that remains now is dust and a couple of old buildings. I'll grant
you, some of the archaeology is interesting, and Blake clearly
thinks this planet is important for some reason. But apart from
that, this place is nothing more than dust and stone.”

Nida
offered her friend a smile and remained silent.

Then
they both made it back to the main group, and Nida carefully walked
over to a deserted corner, trying to pretend she'd always been
there when a few people glanced her way.

“Don't
make me go find you again,” J’Etem whispered under her breath as
she strode past.

Nida
nodded, then leaned down on her haunches.

She
didn't have much to do, to be honest. Both her and J’Etem were only
here as ‘observers’. Neither of them were out of the Academy, and
they certainly couldn't be trusted with any real work. Okay, J’Etem
could—she had fantastic scores when it came to xenobiology and the
study of alien civilisations. Nida, on the other hand, didn't. In
fact, she was only here because J’Etem had somehow managed to
convince the commander to bring her along.

Just
sit tight and don't get in trouble, Nida thought to herself as she
brushed her fingers through the dust.

She
wasn't wearing armour or an environmental suit; she was merely
dressed in the usual garb of a Galactic Coalition Academy recruit.
A standard black and blue uniform with absolutely zero pips on her
collar, because she had no rank, and considering her lacklustre
abilities, would likely never get one.

Dragging her fingers through the dust, Nida enjoyed the
distinct feeling of it tracking over her skin. It scratched and
played at the edges of her fingernails.

Looking up, she glanced at the rest of the team. Everyone
seemed locked in some important task, their collective expression
one of concentrated work. And yet here she was, actually playing in
the dirt like a three-year-old.

Scrunching her lips together and feeling perfectly silly, she
stood up, turned her head to the sky, and stared at the clouds
pressing in from the horizon. Dusk was beautiful. The colours were
so vibrant and exquisite. It was such a contrast to the dull
gunmetal grey and black of the planet. It was almost as if all the
life of this place had drifted up into the sky.

With
that philosophical thought ringing in her mind, she turned to stare
behind her.

There
was a large broken-down building there, and it stretched for almost
200 meters on one side. It had a low, flat roof, and several large,
sweeping sets of stairs leading up to it.

A
small, flat path ran around the outside of the building, and even
in the dwindling light of dusk, she could make out five people
standing on it.

She
recognised all of them. Every cadet at the Academy would. Hell,
most citizens of the United Galactic Coalition would
too.

Lieutenant Blake and his incredible team.

They
were called the Force, and they were always sent on the most
important and dangerous missions.

And,
for some reason, they’d been sent down to this planet. Though Nida
wasn't ranked high enough to know the details, she could imagine it
was fabulously important, otherwise, it wouldn't demand the
attention of Blake and his Force.

She
stared at them as they stood there, their bodies stiff with
concentration as they listened to Blake.

He was
resting with his back against a broken statue, his arms crossed in
front of his chest. He was too far away for her to see his
expression, but she could bet it was one of disciplined
concentration.

The
other four members of the group were Piya, Travis, Sa’oq, and Bor.
All the best in their respective professions.

They
were the top of the top. The absolute cream of the Academy. When
they weren't running off saving the galaxy, they occasionally
popped in for guest lectures, or to assess the up and coming
recruits to see if any were worthy enough for entry into the
Force.

Nida,
needless to say, would never get a tap on her shoulder and an
invite into that selective group. She was way more likely to get a
smack on the back and a swift kick in the butt instead.

Pursing her lips together and breathing through them, she
turned on the spot again, surveying the whole scene before
her.