Jax (Astral Mates #7)

Chapter 11

Eleven

Jax stormed into the hangar. Could he not leave his people alone for a second?! As he entered, he saw his crew split into two groups: Humans and Dragans.

The humans were on the left side of the hangar, inspecting the Hyena’s and doing their maintenance duties, as they should.

The Dragans, on the other hand, were in the break room, playing cards, shouting and laughing. Jax uttered a curse under his breath.

Why were the humans doing their work — and his own people slacking off?!

He opened the door to the break room. His top aces were playing Dragan Triple Draw, a fun and addictive bluffing game. It was a fun diversion and Jax had played plenty of it — but never on the clock.

“What’s the meaning of this?” He growled.

All his pilots suddenly scrambled, trying to snap to attention, and spilling their cards, chips, and drinks all over the table.

“Captain,” Zythar stammered. “You’re back.”

“Does it matter where I am?” Jax said. “You should be ready for an incoming Torian attack at all times. At all times . Explain yourself.”

The room was silent, and several of his people all looked at Zythar. The alien cleared his throat. “With all due respect, sir, it’s been… many, many rotations since we’ve seen actual combat. We’re all getting a little restless. I thought this was a good way to blow off some steam.”

Jax looked over his shoulder. His human crew members were listening with one ear while pretending to still be working.

“What about them?” Jax said, nodding at the humans. “They’re a lot more bored than you lot are, and yet they have no problem doing the work assigned to them. Imagine that. Humans, more reliable and trustworthy than a bunch of top Dragan warriors. You’re a disgrace, Zythar.”

Jax could barely believe the words coming out of his own mouth, but it was true. The humans, despite their many physical weaknesses, were trustworthy. They did as commanded without fail. Perhaps Jax had been too lenient with his pilots.

It had made them soft. Weak.

No more.

“Today, we’re switching roles. You’re going to polish every last ship we have until they’re sparkling — with nothing but a toothbrush. Meanwhile, our human crew members will get to kick back and play cards for a change.”

“Captain?” Vexel stammered. “You can’t be serious?”

“Try me.”

His crew took one last look at him, and averted their eyes. They got up from their seats, cleared the table, and headed into the hangar silently.

Jax crossed the large hangar in a couple of strides.

“Humans,” he growled.

A dozen people snapped to attention. “Yes, captain?”

“Today, I’m giving you all a break.”

The human pilots were all silent, with stern looks on their faces. Jax expected at the very least for them to crack a smile, but it was like they were expecting the other shoe to drop.

“Sir?” A man Jax believed was called Nathan Scott spoke up. “I do not understand. What do you mean?”

“I mean that is your turn to hang out in the break-room, and it is the Dragan’s turn to get their hands dirty. You are to play cards and have a good time. That’s an order. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” The human pilots answered in unison, with some confusion in their voice.

Jax walked away, shaking his head. Was there truth in General Kai’s words? Had he not fully integrated the humans into his crew? He thought he was running a tight ship, but now he only saw division.

Perhaps… perhaps Elara knew how to fix this mess.

Elara and Kylie walked into the hangar. They instantly noticed the mood had shifted. The haughty Dragans were grumbling under their breath as they polished the Hyena’s, shooting Elara and Kylie dirty looks, while there came sounds of laughter from the break room. Human laughter.

Had the world gone mad?

Jax marched towards the two of them. “Elara,” he said. “A word.”

“Sure,” she said.

The captain looked at Kylie and nodded at the break room. She raised her eyebrows, shrugged, and walked off.

Jax led Elara to one of the large windows, overlooking the endless expanse of space. Entire galaxies passed them by as the Ravenous continued its long journey back towards civilization.

“What’s going on here?” Elara asked when they were out of earshot of the rest of the crew.

Jax gazed at the stars.

“I don’t know,” he spoke softly.

Elara cocked her head to the side. “Sorry? The all-knowing Jax is stumped?”

“Why did you become a pilot, Elara?” He asked.

“What?”

Jax turned towards the small human. He reached out and tucked one of her stray hairs behind her ear. “You’re a pilot, Elara, and I must admit, a good one. Why? What brought you here?”

“So I did hear you correctly. Wasn’t expecting that question. Uhm, well, it started with my parents. They were scientists, so growing up my room was filled with posters of stars and planets. I was always drawn to them, I guess. There is so much mystery out there, so much to be explored.”

Jax nodded, his hands clasped behind his back.

“I tried out a flight simulator when I was only eight years old, and I was hooked. Turns out I had a knack for flying. And then…”

Elara sighed deeply. “Then both my parents died. An explosion at their lab. They don’t know what caused it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Elara.”

“Thank you, Jax. In a moment, I lost everything, and I threw myself into flying. It was my way of making them proud, I suppose? I don’t know. All I know is that when I’m out there, when I’m flying, I feel…”

“Free,” Jax said.

“Yes. That’s it. I feel free.”

“I know that feeling,” Jax said. “I long to be out there. Being here, being captain, giving orders — it’s not what I want, but it is what my people have asked of me. And I have listened. I thought I was doing a good job, but now…”

Jax looked over his shoulder. The humans had put on some music, and several of them were dancing in the break room. Meanwhile, the Dragan pilots worked away, sweat dripping down their backs. At least they were working now, but the division between his two crews might only be growing.

“Now I don’t know.”

“What’s this? The mighty Jax has some doubts?” Elara teased, poking him in the stomach.

Jax grabbed her hand, breaking into a smile. “I’m serious, Elara. My crew is divided. How would you go about fixing this?”

“So you’re really asking for my help? Wow. Okay. Well, first of all, you should treat everyone equally. So I don’t want to break up the pizza party my friends have got going on, but we probably have to. And that includes giving human air-time in the Hyena’s.”

Jax growled. “Do I have to?”

“Yes. You can form Human/Dragan teams if you wish; pair everyone up with a human co-pilot. That way the humans can learn from their Dragan counterparts.”

“Hm. That is not a bad idea.”

“ And we need some type of team-bonding exercise, to start things over.”

“Team… bonding?” Jax said, clearly not understanding. “Bonding is what one does with a mate. It is not a team-exercise, little one. Not usually, anyway. I have heard of females bonding with two or even three mates at the same time, but that is rare. I do not wish to share you — but perhaps that friend of yours, Kylie? She was talking about group-mating before, right? If you believe it will solve our issues, I can ask Zythar and Vexel if they’re interested.”

Elara’s eyes were as big as saucers as her mouth hung open. “That is… quite a mental picture, but very much not what I’m talking about, Jax. Like, not at all.”

She was silent for a moment, trying to shake that mental image. It was difficult to do so.

“Are you sure? It might bring unity to our crew.”

“I’m fairly sure,” Elara said. “And if that’s something Kylie wants to get up to, that’s her business. No, I was talking about fun and games. You know, taking a break from work. I’m sure you did something like that in training, right? Something that brought you closer together as a group?”

Jax stared off into the distance, his thoughts returning to his days as a cub. “Ah, yes. We had to cross the sulfuric planes of Dzar without any gear; a journey that took weeks. Licking hallucinogenic, toxic moss for sustenance. Helping each other navigate what was real, and what was not. Clinging on to life as we made our way across the extremely inhospitable planes. Good times.”

He turned his attention back to Elara, the good memories bringing a smile to his face. “Is that what you suggest? Good idea, Elara. It certainly brought our team of recruits closer together. I could ask the general if we could make an excursion to a volcanic planet.”

Elara bit her bottom lip. “You’re almost getting there, big guy. I’m looking to foster that team-spirit, but without the almost dying and having to lick moss part. By playing games, and getting people out of their comfort zone.”

“Hm,” Jax nodded. “I do think the almost dying part was very important, but you know humans better than I do. Very well. I will leave you in charge of planning this team-bonding, though I will procure some toxic moss just in case.”

“You do that,” Elara said. “I will take care of the rest.”

“What were you two schmoozing about?” Kylie asked the moment Elara walked into the break room.

“How do you feel about spit-roast?”

“Like a pig you mean? The food? What ?”

“Nevermind — we’ve got a job to do,” Elara said. “And I need your help.”