Tears of Glass (The Jana Darren Saga Book 1) (5 page)

They followed the signs that directed her towards the banquet hall. Jana couldn’t help but feel awkward and out of place, even with David here.
You’re being stupid.
Dozens of costumed soldiers passed them on the way over but it did nothing to settle her nerves.

The room was huge. Gold and black balloons covered both floor and ceiling. There was an exhilarating energy in the air, the kind that just made people feel good. The lights were dim, and the back wall of the banquet hall was lined with refreshment tables. To Jana’s right, a stage was set and a band played. Hundreds of people filled the room, dressed in colorful attire. When she strode into the room, she felt eyes boring into her.
It’s just your imagination. No one here cares who you are or even knows you exist.
Nonetheless, her heartbeat quickened and she felt the blood rushing to her face.
I’m going to pass out. What the hell is wrong with me?

Someone touched her shoulder. Jana whirled around, nearly losing her balance. “Jana? You okay?”

“David—yeah, I’m fine.” Her voice was mechanized through the com in her helmet, which she’d put on before they came in.

“Are you sure? Maybe this was a bad idea to push you into this.”

“Yeah, it’s okay. You just startled me is all.”

“Well here, let me go get you something to drink. You stay here.” He returned a minute later and handed her a plastic cup full of some red liquid.

Jana looked from it to him and said, “I don’t drink.”

“Good,” he said, sipping from the cup in his own hand, “because that’s fruit punch.” He smiled. “”Maybe you should sit down?”

“No, no. I’m fine.” She took a few sips of the overly sweet punch and put her helmet back on. If she was going to have a panic attack, it might as well be in private.

“Here, I want you to meet some friends of mine.” He grabbed her armored hand and gently pulled her through the crowd. David stopped in front of a small group of people—one was dressed as a pirate, another as Cleopatra, and a third as some sort of mad scientist. “This is Jana,” David said.

“Oh, so you’re the one who transferred to 311. How was that?” Cleopatra asked her. To her credit, she did look genuinely interested.

“It’s a much bigger station than my last. Takes a while to find things right now, but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”

“Where did you transfer to?”

“I’m the new TAME for the CHAOS program.” Out of the corner of her eye, Jana noticed the mad scientist turning red, and it wasn’t from the alcohol in his hand.

“What are you, like fourteen?” He asked rudely. A bit taken aback, Jana’s brows furrowed and she frowned. It was a good thing she had her helmet on.

“Shut up Lenny. Just because YOU didn’t get it doesn’t mean you can act like a jackass.” Cleopatra continued. “I’m Kelly, by the way,” she added, “and this is Sam.” The pirate waved.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jana forced the words out. Lenny still glared at her. She shifted her weight uncomfortably.

A few minutes of mindless conversation passed while the others, all SPEAR members aside from Lenny, talked about work and things Jana had no idea about. Jana looked around, regretting showing up to this stupid party. She felt out of place and uncomfortable. Kelly caught her looking around for an escape route.

“Looking for someone?” she asked.

“Oh, no. I’m just taking in the festivities. Some of these costumes are really creative.”

“Are you kidding? Yours is great. You’re a storm trooper, right?”

“Yeah.” The conversation was getting really strained. It was as if Lenny was sucking all of the good feeling out of the air.
Lenny, the fun sucker.
“I should get going; I see someone I know.” Jana lied. David looked at her quizzically, but held his tongue. “I’ll catch you later.”

Once safely away, Jana slowed down her brisk pace and took off her helmet once more, overheating in the crowded room. It felt good to be away from them. Someone slammed into her from behind.

“Oh, sorry.” It was the girl from earlier that week who Jana had almost knocked over.
Guess we’re even now.
She was dressed as a belly dancer, long blonde hair tied back tightly at the top of her head. It was so extreme, Jana thought she looked like some tribe’s future head shrinking victim.
Scary.
“Heyy! I know you.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing really. Just scoping out the guys,” she grinned. “What are you supposed to be, anyway?”

“A storm trooper.”

“A what?” Her face was expressionless.

Jana sighed. “Never mind.”

“Right. Hmm...well it’s not something I’d wear; wouldn’t be caught dead in it. But I’m not the one who’s wearing it, am I?” The grin twisted into a sneer.
What the hell? Where is this even coming from?
“Anyway, I’ve got to go. There’s a superhero over there who looks like he could use some of my attention,” she raised her eyebrows meaningfully and practically bounced away.
Whyy did I even come here? This is pointless. All I’ve managed to do is humiliate myself. I am so out of here.

Halfway back to the exit, she glanced to her left and stopped dead in her tracks. There he was, leaning against one of the white pillars on the wall. He wasn’t in costume and looked as un-enthused as ever.
I don’t think anything else could possibly go wrong tonight.
With that thought in mind, Jana marched straight up to him.

“Hi.” She said entirely too aggressively, clenching her hands at her sides to stop herself from shaking. He looked at her and said nothing. “I’m Jana.” Her voice broke and it came out as sort of a squeak. The corner of his mouth twitched.
He’s laughing at me!
“And you are?” Nothing. Still nothing. “Right, well I’ll let you be, then. I knew this was a waste of my time. Have fun.” She turned on her heel and started walking away.

“Don’t let her get to you.” His voice was smooth, full of honey and ice at the same time.

She topped, stood still for a moment, and turned her head back to look at him. “What?” she snapped.

“I mean, she doesn’t even know what a storm trooper is.” Very slowly, Jana twisted her whole body around.
Now he’s making jokes?

“Now
you want to talk to me?” she demanded. He said nothing, but his eyes tore into her. It made her shift uneasily. She broke eye contact first, focusing her attention on the floor. Up close, he was even better looking than her memory lended. Olive skin, soo tall, and his black hair. Jana was all of a sudden very self-conscious about the childish costume she had on.

“Aeronth.”

“Excuse me?”

“You asked my name. It’s Aeronth.”
Air-enth.
She repeated it in her head a few times.
His voice is beautiful. Quiet, reserved, but strong and insisting.
“I’ve seen you before.”

Okay, okay...be calm. Stay calm
. “Oh, really?”

He nodded. “The day you knocked into that girl.”
Smooth move, ace. He thinks you’re an uncoordinated moron.
Well, she conceded, it wasn’t really that far from the truth.

“Yeah, well, I had other things on my mind,” she defended.
What are you DOING? He’s actually talking to you and you’re being an ass.

“Not having a good night, then?” he asked. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest, in tactical pants and a black t-shirt.

“Not exactly,” she said dryly.

“You’re the new TAME, aren’t you?”

That threw her for a loop. “Y—yeah. How did you know that?”

“Heard someone talking about it. They don’t replace TAMEs often.”

“Oh.” Finally, curiosity for the best of her. “Why are
you
here? You don’t seem to be having much fun, either.”

“Morbid curiosity. There’s something so satisfactory about watching drunk people making fools of themselves. You should try it sometime; I promise it’ll make you feel better.” He gestured her over to him. She not-so-casually leaned back against the wall next to him.
So tall.
He was well over six foot, dwarfing her.

“So this is what you do? People watch?”

“You learn a lot about people by just watching. You should learn that if you’re going to be leading a team. Look.” He pointed to the belly-dancer girl. She was sloppily hanging off of some guy dressed like Superman, who was very obviously less drunk than her. Every once in a while she’d go in for a messy kiss and he’d expertly dodge it. He had a hand gently around one of her wrists, lifting it off his shoulder. His lower body was as far away from her as possible.

Jana couldn’t stifle her laugh fast enough. “Poor guy. He looks so uncomfortable.” She wasn’t sure the girl even noticed, or if she’d passed out against him. He slowly pulled her claws off him and set her down into a nearby chair. She slumped against it, eyes closed. Once out of her grasp, he made a beeline for the door.

As he passed Jana and Aeronth, she called out, “Nailed it!” He glanced over and gave her the thumbs up, flashing a timid smile.

“So what happened?”

“What?”

“Why the terrible mood?”

“I spent all day taking certification exams that I rushed into, not sure I passed one of them, and then spent half an hour being glared at by someone who applied for the TAME position and was declined, as if it was directly my fault. I don’t know anyone here and it’s incredibly awkward.”

He smirked. “I guess I can understand the sour mood, then.”

“Why are you always alone? I never see you with anyone.” Immediately, Aeronth’s face hardened again into the apathetic expression she was used to seeing. She instantly regretted it.
You idiot. He’s a SOFT member. His friends are probably all dead. I wouldn’t want to make new ones if it meant inevitably losing them.

“
Whatever. I’ve got to go,” he said roughly, pushing past her and walking out the door. Jana was rooted in place, unsure of what to do. For a moment she considered going after him, but decided it could only make matters worse.

Defeated, she went back to her quarters. David would be fine without her. She kicked the metal case outside the door, immediately regretting it. With some difficulty she shoved it inside and began ripping off pieces of white armor with no consideration for them. Instead of putting it away carefully as she normally would have done, it was left lying on the floor. She even kicked a shin guard into the wall.

Jana crawled into bed and glanced at the picture sitting in its frame on the stand, wishing with all of her being she could be back there, frozen in that moment.

And cried.

The next morning, it took a minute before the memories of the night before flooded back to her. Jana rubbed the sleep from her eyes and licked her dry lips. She could taste the salty remnants of the tears from last night.

Angry with herself, she took great care in picking up the pieces of armor and placing them gently in their foam lining. When she snapped the locks shut, she imagined locking the memories of the night before in there, too. She took a shower, hoping it would wash away all the tension and negativity bottled up inside her.

It didn’t work. Jana’s stomach grumbled, and she begrudgingly made her way to the mess hall. So awful was her mood that she didn’t even stop to look out the orbital station at the planet below. It was rust colored and tinged with blue, composed of mostly iron and cobalt. From here, the planet sparkled. It’d been more than five hundred years since the Fall, since the Government came to power and instated the Planetary Restoration Act. Jana often wondered if she’d ever get the chance to look up through the atmosphere of a planet instead of down at one.

She brought the food back to her room. Everyone in the mess hall was talking excitedly about the party, and she wanted no reminders. She sat on the couch and logged into the mainframe.
URGENT MAIL
flashed across the screen.
And urgent is never good.
“Open.”

A buzzer went off in her room. The little video monitor on the wall next to the door showed a fully-uniformed soldier Jana didn’t recognize. Before she could get up, the door opened on its own. Only the station security team had override capabilities for dormitories and other lock codes.

He pushed his way into the room. “Ma’am, I need you to come with me immediately. Colonel Vacero has been looking for you.”
That’s probably what the message was.

“What’s going on?” Jana stood up, frowning.

“I don’t know. I don’t have that information. All I know is that I need to get you to the briefing room. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have to go.
Now.
”

Jana grabbed her shoes and looked down at herself. Shorts and a tank top.
I’m gonna walk in there looking like a hobo.
It couldn’t be helped. They’d just have to be understanding. He led her from the room. She barely managed to get her shoes on without falling over at the pace they were going. A few times she knocked into him. He grunted, but knew better than to complain. Jana cursed her short legs; his strides were twice hers, so she gracelessly half jogged alongside him.

They found the room and he opened the door for her, shoes untied, hair in a sloppy ponytail, face still puffy from all the crying. She caught her reflection in the door as it slid open.
I look like a sea creature.

“Nice timing. We were just about to begin.”

“Yeah, nice timing.” The comment reeked of sarcasm. Jana’s mouth tightened into a hard line.
Are you fucking kidding me right now?
Of all the people...
The rude girl from the party sat at the rectangular metal table.
Passed out drunk last night and she still looks better than I do right now.
She’d at least been able to get dressed properly in her uniform.
And when I first met her, she seemed like such a nice girl.

Colonel Vacero stood near the wall opposite the door, and the three other people sitting at the table all faced him.

“Yeah, nice to see you, too.” Killing her with kindness seemed like a wonderful idea.

“Please be seated, Lieutenant Darren. We don’t have much time.” To her complete surprise—and relief—David was there too. She took the seat next to him. A thick burgundy folder lay in front of each of them.
A mission? What?
“You may open your folders. We had to put this team together in a hurry because of the urgency of the situation. As you can imagine, your mission is top secret.”

Jana listened as she rifled through the clear plastic sheets; instructions, data, charts, statistics, and other information deemed necessary to their mission.
But this doesn’t make sense.

“If you’ll turn your attention to the photos provided...” at the back of the stack were more sheets, with pictures on them. A cloudy blue and green orb shone from the glossy plastic. “We need you to travel to this planet and recover a case from a crashed Scientific Exploration Ship. The SES was en route to S-1M when it dropped off the scanners. It crashed on this planet early this morning.”

“And does this planet have a name?” asked The Bimbo.

He hesitated before answering, knowing the weight his answer carried with it. Jana already knew what he was going to say. “E-1.”

“Wait a second...you mean—“

Earth.
More than five centuries ago, the human race had abandoned their home world after global war over dwindling resources and overpopulation gave birth to a mutated virus that nearly wiped out the whole population. Knowing there was no hope to recover from the catastrophe, world leaders organized a mass exodus of survivors to orbital colonies.

“As you well know, the planet is strictly off-limits and serves as little more than a wildlife preserve now. There is no human contact, not even scientists, until now.”

“Yeah, well there’s a reason for that. There is no cure for that virus, and we don’t know if it’s still around down there. We don’t know if it’s mutated further. It could still be really dangerous down there.”

“That’s why you’re going, Sgt. Gordon. You’re the team medic and SCORPION.” Vacero’s eyes swept the table. “It’s just a precaution, I assure you. Nothing is going to happen to any of you. You are to secure the case. If you encounter any wildlife during your stay, you are not to harm said wildlife under ANY circumstances whatsoever.”

Great, so if a herd of monkeys ambushes us in the jungle, we’re expected to just stand there and wave?
Jana tried very hard to stay focused on the mission briefing, but her mind kept turning to thoughts about whether or not a group of monkeys could be called a herd.

“There will also be no Mech or vehicles. You’ll drop in a skiff in the grassland area where you will have the least environmental impact.” Jana didn’t like the sound of that. No vehicles meant no protection if something went wrong. Jana vaguely heard the door open again behind them. “How nice of you to join us...” Vacero glared over their heads.

“Yeah,
thanks.
Those damned MPs you sent after me wouldn’t go away.”

For the love of god, NO.
Jana knew that voice. Instinctively, she slouched in her seat and tried to disappear. The blood rushed to her face. She spent the rest of the briefing trying to pretend she didn’t exist. By the end of it, her palms ached and her knuckles were white from clenching her fists so tightly.

“Your ship leaves in an hour,” Vacero said, concluding the meeting. As soon as they adjourned, Jana rushed out the door, folder clutched tightly in hand. Moments later, she felt something like a vice grip clench her arm and jerk her backwards.

“Ow!” she cried out. He pulled her backwards into the shadow of an alcove in the hall and lightened his grip, but didn’t release her. She caught a glimpse of surprise. He obviously hadn’t meant to hurt her and just didn’t realize how light she was. That didn’t stop him from scowling at her.

“
Why?”
He demanded.

She glared up at Aeronth. “Why
what?
” She spat.

“Why did you do this?” he asked through gritted teeth. Jana struggled to understand.

“I didn’t do anything!” she insisted. It dawned on her. The mission. He thinks I picked him for the mission. He wasn’t there when Vacero explained that he was the one who put the team together.

“I don’t want to do it. I don’t have a choice.
You
did, and you chose me. Don’t you
understand?
Stay away from me.”

Jana pursed her lips to hide her devastation, but not well. “Well obviously you’ve got it all figured out. You caught me!” She yanked her arm, trying to free it. No such luck. “Let go of me. You know
nothing
about me.” She said slowly, evenly. He released her, and she could have
sworn
she felt his thumb brush over her arm where he’d held her, as if silently apologizing. Jana stalked off in the opposite direction, never looking back. She had no tears left to cry. Even if she had, she wouldn’t. There was no sadness in her, only anger.

Her mission suits were at the bottom of a folded pile in her closet. Jana tossed her PT clothes in a pile and donned one of the black tactical suits. It took a few minutes of digging around to find her brush.
Not today,
she pleaded with the unruly strands of hair.
Don’t fight with me today, please
. She tried and failed for the sixth time to pin it within regulation. “This is ridiculous. I give up.” Jana chucked the comb onto the desk and sent a few hairpins flying in all directions.

The thought of calling Joey crossed her mind. He was probably sleeping, or trying to sleep. In the end, Jana decided she would call him on the way there.

The ship was in docking bay five. It was built for speed. She spotted Aeronth as she sauntered up the ramp, but ignored him. Finding her compartment, she set down her things. Important as it was, this mission was supposed to be an open-and-shut case, and they wouldn’t need guns.
Hopefully.

“Are you alright? You seem a little shaken.” David stood a few meters away.

“I’m fine, David.”

“No you’re not, just like you weren’t fine last night. You disappeared on me. If you want to talk about it, I’m here.” Halfway through the doorway into another part of the ship, he stopped. “Is your arm okay?”
What had he seen?

“Yeah. It’s fine, why?”

“You keep rubbing it.”

“Well it’s okay,” she insisted, trying to sound pleasant.
You really need to learn to lie better, Jana.
In truth, she wasn’t hurt at all. She’d stopped herself half a dozen times from absentmindedly rubbing the spot his thumb had grazed her bare skin.

Thankfully, he got the hint. “Alright, I’ll see you later,
Lieutenant.
” She was alone in the room.

Joey didn’t pick up the call, so she left a message. “Joey, it’s me. I’m being sent out on a mission. Actually, I’m on my way there now. I have a lot to talk to you about when I get back. I miss you. Talk to you soon.” She lay back onto the floor and stared at the ceiling as the ship powered up. She felt the familiar, lulling hum and gentle vibrations, and knew the pilot was doing a Systems Check. A few minutes later, she felt the ship begin to move.

The door to her room opened, and Jana turned her head, not caring who or what was coming to see her. She was beyond caring about much right this moment aside from the glorious purring of the ship.

“I’m sorry ma’am. I—I was sent to tell you that the equipment is all set and ask if you wanted to address the team at all.”

“Sergeant Gordon, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Call me Jana.”

“Okay.”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Okay.” He left the room, leaving Jana to herself once more. Sighing, she realized there was no longer any point in lying there, so she got up.

In the meeting room, David was explaining to Gordon about some technical mumbo jumbo, the girl—Lexi, as Jana had learned—was staring at herself in a small compact mirror, and Aeronth was sitting alone on the couch, arms crossed in front of his chest and eyes closed.
Is he napping?

“Okay, here’s the deal,” she began, leaning back against the small round table on one side of the room and pushing herself up to sit on the tabletop. “My name is Jana. I don’t care if you like me,” she said, shooting a glance to Aeronth, who’d woken up, “but I don’t want anyone making trouble. You don’t have to like me, but I expect you all to be respectful. You all know your jobs and I’m not here to babysit you or tell you how to do them. Any questions?”

“Speaking of babysitters...how old
are
you? You look a little young for a lieutenant.” Lexi raised an eyebrow.

“I’m twenty-two.”

“You’re only twenty-two?” Gordon asked. “And you’re an officer?” He thought for a moment. “Darren? Senator Darren’s daughter?”
Am I never going to get away from this?

David interjected before Jana had the chance to answer. “Maybe we should all introduce ourselves?”

“Sure, I’ll go.” Gordon said hurriedly, before Lexi had a chance to retort. “Josh Gordon, SCORPION member. I’ve been at 311 since the academy, and I lived on C-32 before I joined.”

“Colony 32? What housing block?” Jana asked excitedly.

Gordon looked confused. “A-7.”

“You lived in A Block?”

“Uh, yeah?” He raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Enough chit-chat. My turn!” Lexi gushed. “My name is Lexi—with an I—Carroll. I’m twenty-seven and yes, this is my natural hair color.” Jana felt her jaw drop.
Is this girl for real?
“I like romantic movies...and handcuffs.” She winked.