by Andi Feron
Chapter Fourteen
Kais-October 3, 2013
Althea Cooper, the girl I thought about since I was twelve. I always thought she’d be so damn easy to fall in love with and here I was desperately in love with her. We returned from a moon a couple days earlier, and I wanted to take her to a ball. The dance floor of the ball would be surrounded by waterfalls.
There were species from all over the galaxy, and it was one of the most unique events that I had ever been to. I asked Allie if she wanted to go, and she became ecstatic. She had life in her on an entirely different level.
She contained a contagious energy, and no matter how difficult her day was, she could find something that made her happy about it. The thing that made her my addiction was the way that her eyes caught mine. With a single look, I became entranced by the spell that was every facet of her. I was obsessed with seeing her face light up from something I said or did. Her happiness gave me a new drive to pursue.
We flew into the planet the day of the ball. We went swimming in a lake. She splashed me with water, and I chased after her. When I finally caught her, I picked her up from behind and spun her around. When we stopped, she kissed me. We went back to our hotel room to get ready. I put on my tux and did my hair and was ready to go. Allie still had a long way to go, so I sat down and played a game on my computer.
“Do I look alright?” she asked, sounding unsure.
I glanced up and felt my heart skipping a beat at the mere sight of her. I held my breath as her alluring form made me forget that I needed to breathe. She wore a long blue dress that shimmered all the way through to the bottom. The dress gave way to a small amount of cleavage, and the thin sleeves extended to the edges of her shoulders. Her loose curls descended perfectly around her face. She was fantastically beautiful.
“Amazing. You look amazing.” I knew there was wonder in my voice, and Allie smiled.
We went to the entrance of the hotel where we caught a carriage pulled by three native animals whose heads resembled gazelles but each had three horns that twisted at various spots in spirals of blues and greens. Their bodies were multiple shades of yellow and orange. The carriage had a canopy on it which came in handy when we passed the waterfall entrance.
Music played and species of vast variants danced around us. A man who appeared to be made of glass with black eyes walked past us. I helped Allie down from the carriage, and her eyes were wide with astonishment as everything around her appeared to captivate her. She pulled me to the dance floor and we moved in perfect rhythm with one another.
We danced until our feet hurt. Bright red flowers floated by us, suspended in the air by some unknown force. We stopped dancing to watch three men who were inside giant bubbles doing amazing tricks. We were in a fantasyland, and I was pretty sure that we would both be content in existing here indefinitely. I pulled one of the red flowers from the air and wrapped it securely in her hair. She reached up on her toes and kissed me.
“I love you, Kais.”
“I love you too, Allie.”
It was getting late, and we were both tired. The carriage dropped us off at the hotel entrance. Allie took off her shoes and carried them in her hand.
“Sore feet?”
She nodded. “A little.”
I scooped her up and carried her back to our room. I laid her on the bed, and she pulled me down by my tie to meet her. I removed her dress, and she worked my clothes free. Her bare skin smelled like cherry blossoms, soft and sweet. We laid on our sides, facing each other as she gently kissed my lips. She moved herself closer to me, giving me every part of her.
I felt her silk skin all around me, forging our connection. This closeness was the only thing I ever needed to feel. To feel her like this, I would desert the war that I had wanted to fight in my entire life. She cracked away at the dead things inside of me until the abundant light inside of her revived them.
The two suns of the planet crept into our window, letting me know that we had slept until morning. There was something beautiful about waking up with our legs tangled together. I let Allie sleep a little longer. I soaked in her existence, longing for a forever where we could accomplish the simplicity of this morning every day for the rest of our lives. I waited until the last possible second was used up and we had to get back. I was forced to wake her. With reluctance, we left the enchantment behind and returned to Saturn base.
“What if we moved in together?” Allie asked me when we made it back to her quarters.
“Definitely! Let’s do that.” I grinned and pulled her into a playful kiss.
“When we get back from the next mission, let’s make that moving day.”
“Sounds perfect.” I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.
I swooped Allie downward, kissing her intensely. She smiled and almost laughed at my dramatic gesture.
“I’ll be back. I need to run a couple errands,” I said.
She gave me an alluring smile. “Okay, don’t take too long.”
I began walking to my quarters to put my bag inside before heading to the mess hall to meet Fayard for lunch. He was on base for the week, and I wanted to see him before leaving on my mission the next day. As I approached my door, I saw a man with white hair standing next to it.
“Can I help you?”
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Lucius.” He reached his hand out to shake mine.
I instantly put up defenses. I knew what he’d done to Allie, and I knew he was a manipulator.
I looked at his hand but didn’t oblige. “I’ve heard of you.”
“Can we go inside?”
“No. Whatever you want to say, say it here.”
“Very well. I’m on the mission you are going on tomorrow, and I heard your girlfriend is coming along as well. I have heard she has a reputation for being reckless.”
“Excuse me?” I liked this guy less by the minute.
“I’ve been told she runs into battle fearlessly.”
“She is a healer. We tend to do that.” I narrowed my eyes as I spoke, trying to gauge his motive.
“Aww yes, you both are. That’s right, but you know healing doesn’t come with immortality. If she isn’t a little careful, something terrible could happen to her.”
“What do you want?” I cut to the chase before my aggravation accelerated too far.
“Not much. I want Althea to come home safe.”
“I’m going too. Nothing will happen to her while I’m there.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” He gave a creepy grin.
A chill ran through me as he disappeared down the hall. That was the strangest conversation I’d had in a long time, if not ever. I dropped my bag in my quarters and went to see Fayard. He sat at a table in his admiral uniform. I was proud of him, he’d done well. When I was a kid, he used to let me hang out with him while he did things on one of the Earth bases. Now he was my best friend and the one whose advice carried the most weight.
“You look troubled, my friend. Not at all like the lovestruck man I’ve seen lately,” Fayard said.
“Still fully lovestruck but I had a weird conversation with Lucius before heading here. You know, the manipulator. He told me Allie tends to be fearless and she could get herself killed. It felt like a warning or a threat even.”
“Yes, Lucius Baraud. He always has an agenda. He’s not a fortune teller, only manipulates events to suit his purpose.”
“I’ve had this feeling of dread, like maybe I’m not coming home very soon. I want you to promise me if at some point I don’t make it back you’ll keep an eye on Allie for me. Make sure she’s okay after I’m gone.”
“Kais, my man, you are not going anywhere anytime soon. You love her, don’t you?”
“Very much. I’ve never felt this way before. I fall asleep and wake up thinking about her. I’d give anything to see the light she has in her eyes. She makes me feel alive.”
Fayard smiled. “Now have you told her brother you’re dating her?”
“Talon. No, haven’t done that yet. Allie wants to soon when he gets back from the base he’s been stationed on for the last few months.”
“That is what you really should be worried about.” There was laughter in his voice.
“I heard that’s why other men on base haven’t asked her out.”
“I could see that as being true. Talon has a reputation.”
“Fayard, promise me you’ll check on Allie for me if something happens. Take care of my girl if I can’t.”
“I don’t think this will be an issue, but if something is to happen, I will make sure to be there for Allie in any way I can.”
“Thank you, man.”
We gave each other a brief hug. I wanted to get back to Allie so we could have some time together before we headed out for our first joint mission. I knocked on her door and she opened it almost immediately.
“You know, you don’t have to knock anymore since we’re going to be living together,” she said.
“Okay, good to know.”
She yanked me inside and kissed me. We spent the rest of the evening in bed watching a movie. When the movie ended, I kissed her and pulled her close to me. The warmth of her skin against mine made her irresistible and ignited a blissful pounding in my chest. She was the missing piece of my soul. A vital life-altering component that I thought was lost forever was found in Althea Cooper.
We fell asleep with our legs once again entangled. I held Allie tight against my chest, breathing in every molecule I could of her. When morning arrived, Allie rolled out of my arms and gave me a quick kiss. She put on my white t-shirt which swam on her tiny frame.
“Where are you going?” I groaned, willing her back to my embrace.
“Breakfast. We both need the energy.”
I got dressed, grabbing a different shirt that I had left in her dresser the week before. She was flipping pancakes, and I came up behind her and kissed her neck. I felt her ease into my arms.
“I love you, Althea, so incredibly much.”
She paused for a minute to kiss me, then said, “I love you, too, Kais.”
I set the table. “When we get back I want to talk to Talon about us.”
“Yeah, I haven’t told him or Seraphine yet because they’ve been gone on the other base. I want to tell them in person. This mission will be the first I’ve seen them since they left for the base months ago. When it’s over, I want to have dinner and tell them together.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
We ate breakfast, and I made Allie laugh a few times. I loved to watch the way her hair fell as she laughed and how she looked at me like I made her day. We put on our uniforms to leave for the docking bay.
The admirals decided that they needed two healers for this mission, not because we were expected to go to battle but because the planet suffered from an unusual sun toxicity that would come in random waves. There were times when the aliens on the planet needed to venture to the surface and a solar wave would catch them before they could gather the supplies that they surfaced for. They utilized specialized blankets that helped but didn’t adequately protect them, and those under the blankets would be injured but alive. If caught without a blanket, you would be charred to ash.
We were meant to help heal some of the injured in hopes that it would aid in the alliance the Loctorians wanted to forge. Allie and I were excited that we would get some extra time together between negotiations. When we got back, we would tell everyone about us. I was excited to see where our relationship would go.
Chapter Fifteen
John-October 5, 2013
I still held Allie at a distance, being careful to heed the council’s warning. Allie barely spoke to me as we loaded the ship for our next mission. I hoped one day she would forgive the distance I put between us. But even if she didn’t, her safety had to be my main priority. Seeing her dead in my nightmare stayed with me along with the genuine feelings that it induced. Allie took her seat at her designation, barely acknowledging my presence. I could feel that she was trying to contain her emotions, but I could feel her disappointment in me.
I took my spot in the captain’s chair. I’d gone from average American college student to captain of an elite team in a galactic war all in about a year’s time. I was told that a manipulator caused my family to believe things were fine but I was still unsure of the story they were sold. I felt confident that my mother was still hurt I’d missed Christmas, mind control or not.
We folded, and Talon got us within the perfect distance of the planet to make a proper landing. A scorched landscape spread across the view screen of my ship. Black dirt was all that could be seen for miles. We were to land the ship within a large docking bay below the surface. The sun had toxic waves that occurred due to some type of experiment gone wrong. We were restricted to the underground tunnels.
Once we were safely enclosed in the charred mountain, we exited and were greeted by an alien who called himself the Valdonrian ambassador. The Valdonrians were an unusual species. They had wings that were strapped behind their backs. They had dragonfly-like wings that could be straight out or flat against their backs. The wings were clear with random ribbons of blues and pinks.
With the toxic sun, they were no longer able to fly. They were humanoid, but their skin was made of broad scales throughout all of their body. Their faces carried two noses that looked like one human nose sliced in half. Their eyes were smaller than a human’s but similar in shape.
Our mission was to get them to agree to an alliance with the Loctorians. The Valdonrians refused any previous attempts to persuade them to any type of Loctorian agreement. We offered them a planet with lush forests and clean skies to fly again, and in return, they would allow us to mine their old planet. It contained an ore that, when broken down, created powerful weaponry and faster ships. The problem was that the Valdonrians, or more specifically their chancellor, did not want to leave. He maintained an extreme attachment to their damaged planet.
Another added bonus of the alliance would be that they could join the fight if they wanted. Having soldiers who could soar down onto enemies would prove useful. The fate of this needed alliance was now pressed onto my shoulders. We rounded a corner and headed down a ramp which took us deeper into the crust of the planet. As we neared the end of the ramp, I shook my head in disgust, at the sight of Lucius. I thought this guy was out of our lives.
“Well, I see this may prove more difficult with you as my assistants, but it’s not that I need any help either way,” Lucius spoke like a disgustingly arrogant snake.
I was a little disturbed by the fact that they sent a second manipulator. The idea seemed unethical, but then again, what good were manipulators if their abilities couldn’t be used to persuade reluctant or defiant people?
Negotiations began the next morning, and I pretended that Lucius and I were a team. The negotiations took place in a single room that had a shiny silver carpet and orange walls. There were twenty white chairs that surrounded an oval-shaped metallic table. Dozens of long, thin lights hung low enough from the ceiling that I almost had to duck. I sat down next to Lucius, and then Allie walked in.
Lucius’ gaze looked her over. I could sense his desire for her. He really liked her, or at least his attraction was real. I found that disturbing. She ignored us both and sat to our right a few seats down next to Kais. I noticed him look at her and smile. The look she shared back caught my attention.
I knew my best friend well enough to know the look she sent a guy that she liked. Her intense stare told me that she more than liked Kais. There were too many people in the room for me to automatically pick up on their emotions. I pushed back the temptation to concentrate on what they were feeling, knowing it was none of my business.
What did I expect? I thought back to the night at the bowling alley, specifically the fact that I left when Kais slow danced with her. It would have to be a subject for a different time as I needed to focus my mind off Allie and back to negotiations.
The Valdonrians sat on the opposite side of the table, and by the end of the day, negotiations became tedious. We called it a night.
The same occurrence went on for the next three days, and it was frustrating that even with two manipulators in play we couldn’t seal the deal. There was a strict rule of the actual decision not being manipulated to prevent the treaty from being forfeited out of fraud. Lucius and Lila could use their manipulation skills to persuade particular viewpoints, but the rules made it a fine line. When an agreement was made a Loctorian would oversee the signing of the contract because Loctorians could tell when someone was manipulated into a decision. This prevented Lucius from breaking the rules.
We had grown used to the alarms. They would occur every time a solar wave would increase radiation. It gave everyone twenty minutes to make sure they were deep enough in the cave to be unaffected. If you came in contact with a wave, you would first become blind, then your skin would be scorched beyond recognition.
On the fifth day, as we were deep within a heated discussion, the alarm sounded. We were unfazed as we were highly protected at our location. Five minutes after the start of the alarm, a Valdonrian entered crying and screaming. She said something in her native tongue, and she was too far for our internal translators to pick it up. Several of the Valdonrians stood up.
The ambassador spoke, “It seems the chancellor’s son and several other children have gone missing. They were playing in a couple of the upper tunnels when last seen, and it is now feared they made their way to the surface. The clock leaves fifteen minutes to collect them. They are very aware of the danger, but children often don’t mind, and the waves are random. They may have thought they would have plenty of time.”
“Seraphine, can you project to the surface and do a sweep?” I asked. Seraphine’s eyes went vacant. “Talon, can you track them and give Seraphine direction?”
Talon stared at the cave wall as though he could glance through it. “There are several life signs on the planet surface about a quarter of a kilometer west,” Talon informed Seraphine.