9781618852014TheSpaceCougarsCadetPierce Read Online Free PDF

net and entered a quadrant rich in resources and settlers.
The assembled faculty members drew in a collective gasp when the Chancellor announced
that some of the colonized planets had already been plundered, while the rest
were bracing themselves for violent raids.
    “Earth’s
Central Command informs me that we will be stepping up our military presence
all over the quadrant,” the Chancellor continued when the auditorium quieted
again. His stern brow wrinkled and his chilly eyes swept the room. Though he
was in late middle age now, his tall, lean frame still exuded tightly
controlled physical strength and authority. “Our new graduates can expect to be
put on patrol ships right away. The Institute is temporarily suspending all
applications for post graduate research fellowships and tutorial posts.”  
    The
words made Layla’s pulse speed up. Once Jaret was assigned to a ship, she would most likely never
see him again. He would segue into a distinguished military career, while she
welcomed a new class of students to the Institute, and the younger cadets would
move into their natural roles as upperclassmen. At least she knew that she
would never get involved with one of her students again, no matter how close he
was to graduating. She couldn’t think of her time with Jaret as a mistake, but she didn’t care for the ache he’d left in her heart, either.
After the assembly, she and Xath walked together
across the campus arm in arm. Layla couldn’t hide her
sadness from him. He’d always known her better than anyone.
    “I
won’t ask for any specifics,” he said, reaching up to pat the hand resting on
his bent elbow. “I assume it ended badly, though.”
    Layla sighed. “No…I wouldn’t say that, not exactly. The
truth is, my first responsibility is to the Institute. That hasn’t changed. I
don’t suppose it ever will.”
    They
stopped walking. Xath bowed his head and touched his
thick, fleshy horns to her forehead in a gesture of affection. “Loyalty and
responsibility are admirable traits, to be sure. Yet in some cases it is no
crime to put your own happiness first. If this young man has made you feel
something you long to feel again, you must reach out and grasp the opportunity
with both hands.”
    The
tenderness of his gesture, and the sincerity of his words, brought tears to her
eyes. “That would be a bit like grasping at air, I’m afraid.”
    “Isn’t
air a bit like love, though? You can never see or weigh it, at least not
without specialized instruments and years of training in atmospheric
simulation—you just have to have faith that our engineers have put it there.”
    Love?
Funny how that word kept coming up lately—but yes. She did love Jaret . Loving him also meant respecting the future he had
with Starforce , and she would not take that from him.
    When Xath dropped her off at the lift to her quarters, Layla went directly to her room, threw her uniform on the
floor and crawled naked into her empty bed. She forced herself to go to sleep,
her cheek resting on a pillowcase already damp with tears.

     
    * * * *

     
    She
saw nothing of Jaret for the next two solar days,
though his name came up several times in conversations with faculty members who
praised his nearly perfect exam scores. She also heard more talk of the cadets
mobilizing as soon as the graduation ceremony was complete. Rumor had it that
within an hour after the last exam, each would receive orders. Jaret would get an excellent assignment befitting his
skills and bravery. Of that, she felt certain.
    As
she left her office on the second day, she spotted Jaret himself across the courtyard. He stood among a group of fellow seniors, male
and female, all of whom had presumably just come from an exam. The cadets
discussed and debated the answers they had given with animated gestures and
earnest expressions she found endearing and yet tragic. In a few short days,
academic conundrums and philosophical debates would be the least of