Tuesday, December 28, 2021

New Release: CADETS, Young Defenders, Book 1


 Jorgan saw the way his parents’ eyes widened and they sat up a little straighter and exchanged those looks parents were so good at. The looks that said lots of things in total silence, so that he could believe his parents could read each other’s minds.

Then he understood. People from Nisandros liked nothing better than to get into fights. The more dangerous, the better. The more scars they got in fights, the happier they were. They made sure people knew all the scars they had by marking them with tattoos. At least, that was what he had read in textbooks talking about the cultures on the many worlds the Alliance had discovered so far. Nisandros wasn’t part of the Alliance yet. They kept delaying, talking with diplomats and ambassadors, and arguing over details Jorgan just didn’t understand. Who wouldn’t want to be part of the Alliance?

Nisandrians didn’t agree with what the Alliance believed and what the Academy taught. They believed in Enlo, but they didn’t really worship the All-Maker like Neoma and the Le’ankan masters taught. They preferred to ask the spirits of their ancestors what to do, rather than pray to Enlo. That just didn't make sense at all to Jorgan. Another big difference was that Nisandros disagreed with the teaching that long ago, the homeworld of all Humans, Core, was endangered. A group of people with superior technology, known as the Gatekeepers, opened up doorways in space, called Gates, and took all the Humans from Core to save their lives. They scattered Humans across the universe, on different planets. The Alliance was formed to find all the scattered Human worlds, unite the Human race, and find the Gatekeepers if they were still alive.

Nisandrians claimed they were different from ordinary Humans. Better. Stronger. They didn’t need to do things the way Enlo’s teachers taught. So they didn’t want to join the Alliance, because they didn’t want to admit they were wrong.

At least, that was how Jorgan interpreted all the things he read and learned about Nisandros.

“If she’s in the Fleet, that means she believes in Enlo and Neoma and the Gatekeepers?“ he asked.

“Oh, yes, most certainly.“ Maenta nodded. “Very good question.“


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