Held in Dome City as a prisoner of war, Sergeant Tanya Blake’s broken brain has attracted the attention of both human and nonhuman scientists. That’s exactly what the creature who tampered with it wants. The killing compulsion implanted inside her gives her quicker-than-human reflexes, which do not endear her to her doctors or guards.

Enter the Draguls. Draguls are human-looking, telepathic, winged creatures that take no sides in the human wars, but do attempt to broker peace between the fractured human groups. Sorin, a half mutant, half Dragul healer, is called in by Dome City’s Defense Minister to analyze Tanya. He’s immediately attracted to her, even though she repeatedly attempts to kill him.

Can Sorin manage to gain Tanya’s trust and heal her before she kills him? Or will the prison governor decide she’s too dangerous and have her murdered before Sorin can save her?

Soldier is a somewhat difficult and convoluted read, especially the dream sequences set in present tense. Once you negotiate that obstacle, however, the tale unfolds interestingly enough. Other than really disliking the cover art—poor Sorin looks like a badly rendered Michael Jackson—I can’t say anything unfavorable about the story. Tanya is an unlikable heroine, understandably so since she is trying to kill the hero, and Sorin’s motives are rather oblique. Perhaps it’s just the difficulty of understanding why the man would bother with a single deranged woman, even if his people are pacifists. There is mention that she is “the One,” which I take to mean she’s destined to be Sorin’s mate, but there’s not a lot of clarification around that subject. Ms. Treanor’s written a meat-and-potatoes filling read, but I’m not certain it’s enough to spur me into seeking out other short stories featuring her Dragul characters.