Jadrian of the Badari and @vscotttheauthor Sat Down With N. N. Light For an Interview #SciFi #SciFiR
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  • N. N. Light
    • Jun 22, 2018
    • 6 min read

Jadrian of the Badari and @vscotttheauthor Sat Down With N. N. Light For an Interview #SciFi #SciFiR


My name is Jadrian and I’m a genetically engineered soldier created by alien scientists to fight the humans in the Sectors civilization. Fortunately my pack and I made common cause with human prisoners and escaped into the wilderness of the planet where we’re all held. Now I wage war against the Khagrish scientists and rescue as many humans as I can. The most recent person I rescued, Taura, stays on my mind and I wonder if she could be my mate. I can’t stop thinking about her!

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

An afternoon at the lake in the sanctuary valley, sitting with Taura…maybe fishing, swimming a bit…just being peaceful and enjoying each other’s company.

What is your greatest fear?

Losing Taura. That she might fall back into the hands of the scientists. But I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.

What is your greatest extravagance?

We Badari don’t have money or places to spend money but I did take the liberty of outfitting a small place of my own in the valley, in hopes I might someday be blessed with a mate.

What is your current state of mind?

I feel determined – resolved to defeat the Khagrish, to protect Taura and to help her overcome the lingering aftereffects of her captivity and mistreatment.

On what occasion do you lie?

Badari never lie…except to the Khagrish. We never tell them the truth. (He laughs.)

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

I was put through an ordeal of mental and physical torture by the scientists when I was a young man and I was able to survive that and remain a functional warrior. I can’t take sole credit for my survival, however; the Great Mother (our goddess) lent me strength, as did my Alpha, Aydarr. We Badari are strong because we are a pack.

What is your most treasured possession?

It was a beautiful blue stone amulet but I’ve now given the necklace to Taura.

What is your favorite occupation?

I love to fish when I have time off from my military duties.

What is your greatest regret?

I’ll always regret the many Badari pack members who died over the centuries at the hands of the Khagrish scientists until our Generation 8 was able to escape and begin taking vengeance.

Title JADRIAN: A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance (Sectors New Allies Series Book 3)

Author Veronica Scott

Genre SciFi Romance

Book Blurb:

Taura Dancer has been pushed to her limits by alien torturers known as the Khagrish and is ready to die when suddenly the lab where she’s held as a prisoner is taken down by an armed force of soldiers.

The man who rescues her from a burning cell block is Jadrian of the Badari, a genetically engineered alien warrior with as many reasons to hate the Khagrish as Taura has. This set of shared past experiences and the circumstances of her rescue create an unusual bond between them.

Safe in the hidden base where Jadrian and his pack take her, Taura struggles to regain her lost memories and overcome constant flashbacks during which she lashes out at all who come near. Only Jadrian can recall her from the abyss of her visions and hallucinations.

As the war against the Khagrish continues, it becomes increasingly critical to find out who she really is and how she can help in the fight. Until she can control her terrors and trust her own impulses, Taura’s too afraid to pursue the promise of happiness a life with Jadrian as her mate might offer.

When he’s captured by the dreaded enemy, will she step forward to help save him, or will she remain a prisoner of her past?

Excerpt:

Gradually, she drifted out of sleep into full wakefulness and realized she lay in a medical bed, covered by a soft white blanket. More experiments? Had all the turmoil with the fire and the giant warrior rescuing her been nothing but a dream? Or a Khagrish illusion, brought on by their insidious medications?

Panic rising in her chest, constricting her breathing, she realized she still held the stone amulet Jadrian’ d given her. Momentary reassurance, but not enough to let her stem the tide of anxiety sweeping through her body. She was unrestrained—her captors were slipping up, lulled by her broken mental state perhaps. This might be her only chance to escape.

She slid from the bed, pausing to loop the leather thong over her head and settle the pendant between her breasts. Real or not, the warrior represented hope and strength. If she could get out of the building, perhaps she could hide, lurk unnoticed wherever this place was. Find him, if he actually existed. And if this was just another trick, maybe she could manage to get killed. Taura rubbed her forehead, confused why she couldn’t kill herself. Hadn’t killed herself during the hell of her captivity. Surely there was a way—

A red-haired human woman stepped through the doorway. “Oh good, you’re awake finally. But you shouldn’t be out of bed so soon—you were seriously dehydrated.”

As she advanced, Taura retreated, bumping into the bed and sidling sideways, until she found herself in the corner, fingers clenched around a medical instrument she’d no memory of grabbing, but now displayed as a puny weapon. “Keep away from me.” Her voice came out as an ineffectual croak. Wedged in by the walls, she had to struggle against vertigo not to fall. The other human’s face was kindly, her smile looked genuine, but treachery could lurk anywhere.

The woman held up her hands. “I’m Dr. Garrison and you’re safe now. We’re in the sanctuary valley where the Khagrish can’t get at you. Put down the cutters, and we can talk. No one wants to harm you.”

Taura bared her teeth at the doctor, afraid to trust, despite her visceral desperation to relax, to be taken care of, and to know she was safe among her own kind. There had been so many mind games forced on her by the Khagrish, some as real seeming as this room and the human doctor appeared to be. Crushing disappointment had come close to breaking her spirits when the alien torturers revealed their presence each time. “Prove I’m safe—let me go. Let me walk out of here right now.”

“I can’t—you’re disoriented and you don’t know where you are. Probably not even what planet we’re on. I can’t let you be a danger to yourself or anyone else.”

While she was thinking this over and assessing her chances of making it past the doctor, who didn’t present much of a threat, a man arrived, pausing on the threshold to assess the situation.

“Dr. Garrison, do you need help?”

“Our newest guest is a little unsure,” the doctor said, her voice calm.

“Where’s Jadrian?” Taura asked. The arrival of reinforcements for the doctor heightened her adrenaline levels. To make a successful break now she’d have to fight off two opponents. Gritting her teeth with anger-fueled determination, she made a demand to test their intentions. “I trust him. Bring him here, if he even exists. Let him tell me I’m safe.”

The doctor studied her face for a minute before addressing the man without looking at him. “Get Jadrian, would you, Rik? Ask him if he can come over to Medical for a little while.”

“It’s the middle of the night, Doctor. He and the rest of the pack were out on combat duty all day yesterday. He’s not going to appreciate us waking him—”

“He’ll come. He found her, is what I was told. He’ll understand her doubts better than most.”

Taura waited, fighting to hold onto consciousness. Her body felt heavy, sluggish and hard to command, and her head ached, making her dizzy. The doctor waited with her, not talking, but leaning on the wall beside the door, arms crossed. With surprise Taura noticed the woman might be pregnant, resting her arms on a definite bump under the lab coat. Who has a baby on a world like this? Maybe she was in a safe place, if women dared to become mothers.

Distracted by speculation over the doctor’s condition and her own aching head, Taura wasn’t sure how much time passed while she waited. She bit her lip to stay alert in case anyone was going to spring a trap on her.

An indeterminate time later, there was a bustle in the hall, and Jadrian came in, followed by the male assistant or whatever he was. The soldier’s handsome face was lined with exhaustion, but his golden eyes were exactly the way she remembered. She dropped the cutters and took a step forward, hand outstretched. “You are real.”

Buy Links

Author Biography & Links

USA Today Best Selling Author

“SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happy Ever After blog

Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.

Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances!

She read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”

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