The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) by T.R. Harris Page A

bridge. Sherri and Billy had become constant companions, and except for training sessions, Adam rarely saw them outside of their respective staterooms. Even Riyad was spending more time alone, apparently in prayer in his cabin.
    Adam was so starved for Human companionship that he almost felt like an outcast – again.
    But then he and Chris Mullis began to spend more time together, trading war stories. Chris had been in Desert Storm, while Adam came in much later, during Iraq and Afghanistan. But still, as one Special Forces member to another, they shared a bond as none of the other crewmembers could.
    The two also spent time with Kaylor on the bridge, learning the basics of piloting a starship the size of the Juirean battlecruiser. Chris had been especially excited with the prospect of piloting the starship. As he stated, it sure beat helping people fill out mortgage loan applications back home in Sacramento.
    Adam was already pretty well-versed in the operation of Juirean spacecraft, thanks to his experience with the Cassie 1 , but something the size of the battlecruiser was a whole other matter. Kaylor was a good teacher, even though he was winging it most of the time. The alien had piloted a number of different spacecraft during his career, but again, something this big was a new experience for him. Yet as the weeks past, Adam began to develop a new level of admiration for both he and Jym. They may be aliens, but they made an effort to do their best in everything they attempted, and that you had to respect.
    Soon the two Humans had reached a level of competency where they could adequately serve as backups for Kaylor, should the need arise, and the rest of the crew was jelling as well with their respective responsibilities.
    Now if they could just get back to Earth without being detected…
     

    In his off time, Adam found he was growing ever more anxious about the prospect of seeing Maria and Cassie again. It was both an exciting, yet nervous time for him. So much time had passed, and the circumstances of his disappearance would have changed the whole dynamic of their relationship, if one even remained.
    Hell, he wasn’t even sure if she hadn’t remarried.
    He wouldn’t have blamed her if she had. If fact, in some ways he hoped she had. The idea of having her go through life alone, with just her and Cassie, made him feel guilty for what had happened. He could only imagine what pain she went through over the past year. But by now – hopefully – the grieving process would have played itself out. She would have moved on, and begun to build a new life without him.
    Yet his family meant so much to him. Throughout his year-long ordeal, they had been his light, his rock, his goal in life.
    In his quiet contemplations, he often found it strange that he, of all people, would feel this way, since he had never fancied himself much of a family man.
    His mother died when he was only 11, and his father had raised him as a single parent, having never remarried. Adam had a very doting Aunt Jennifer, with whom he would stay when his dad was on deployment, which was quite often during his teenage years. Yet even then, he never felt a great attachment to his aunt and her two children, Mark and Heather. Even at this young age, Adam could already see himself in the uniform of the U.S. Navy – and particularly wearing the trident of a Navy SEAL. And he knew from experience that trying to maintain a long-term relationship between dangerous deployments would be next to impossible.
    And then along came Maria.
    Not surprisingly, he had met her in San Diego, right after BUD/S. With the testosterone raging in his system, he and his buddies would raid the bars and nightclubs in the Gaslamp District nearly every night, exuding the confidence that came from having just survived the hardest initiation of any club in the world. Nothing was beyond their grasp. They could conquer any foe, and bed any woman.
    That was until he met Maria. She was a