by Andi Feron
I buried my face in his chest. What ensued was a tender, sweet moment of love declaration, a complete bond. I knew I had no other choice but to become John Trammel’s forever.
I laid my head back on his chest, feeling his heart beating, willing it to beat with mine forever. “Okay, I’ll marry you.”
The next day reality hit again, and we were off on another mission. The mission would be brief. We were playing courier through a heavily guarded Khalbytian system. Seraphine was at my door, wanting to see if we could walk together. John came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. I turned around and gave him a quick kiss. He walked to his quarters.
Seraphine smiled. “I knew something was up. You two have been too googly-eyed during our bowling nights.”
I locked up my quarters and we began walking toward the docking bay. “Yeah, things are going well. Really well. He asked me to marry him.”
“That was quick.”
“Sort of, I guess. John and I have been like an old married couple since we were five, I just never saw the romance side of things. Now that we’re there I almost regret the years we wasted. In this war, there’s no written contract that tomorrow belongs to us. I’ve decided to live now.”
“I see your point. Talon and I had similar thoughts when we got married. We’ve had a great six years of marriage, and I wouldn’t want to refund any of it. You going to tell Talon?”
I gave her a grin. “I don’t know. Maybe I should make him wait four years to find out.”
She grinned back. “Fair trade, I suppose.”
Our mission went flawlessly to the point it was boring, but boring was good in war. My mind was focused on one thing, and that was getting back to base with John. He was focused entirely on the mission. He could always compartmentalize things and take himself away from distractions. I often envied that about him.
When we docked back at base, John asked if Talon and Seraphine could come to dinner. Seraphine shot me a knowing smile, but Talon simply accepted, blissfully unaware that he was about to learn his little sister was getting married.
John had suggested we make roast and potatoes, which were Talon’s favorite. John fumbled with plates, expelling his nervous energy as he set the table. He told me he felt weird to be appointed Talon’s commanding officer. Talon had been in this war much longer, and his experience was greater by far. Now John was going to tell Talon he wanted to marry me. Talon was overprotective of me all of my life, and I knew that was most likely driving John’s concern.
We ate dinner and Talon and John exchanged jokes back and forth. The mood seemed light, and dinner was satisfying. After good-natured conversation, John directed everyone to the couch. That was a John move, ensuring everyone knew we were about to have a formal discussion.
John, seemingly unable to take the suspense any longer, got straight to the point. “I want to marry your sister, Talon, and I would love your blessing.”
Talon stared blankly for a minute. He turned to me. “You two are together? You keep this under wraps because of what Seraphine and I did?”
“No, we never got around to it. We’ve had a ton of battles and missions lately to steal our focus. We’ve been enjoying being together, and we were sorting through what was going on. But you know it, Talon. John has always been the other half of me.” I kept my tone excited, hoping Talon would follow suit.
“That’s true. I rarely saw you without each other,” Talon said and turned to John. He looked him square in the eye before continuing. “I know you love her. I’ve always known since the moment she walked down the stairs to go to prom when you both were around fifteen. But if my baby sister becomes your wife, you better hold onto her heart as if it is the most precious treasure you’ve ever been given. If you can do that, then I’d be glad to make you my brother on an official level.” Talon was tough, but he sure could get mushy at times.
“Trust me, Talon, there will be nothing or nobody that will come close to the level in which I will love and cherish your sister.” John could get mushy back, and I stifled a laugh.
“Wait, you’ve known since we were fifteen?” I asked Talon, surprised. “Apparently everyone knew but me.”
Talon nodded.
“It’s okay, Allie, denseness runs in the family,” Seraphine said, looking at Talon.
Talon and I both scowled at Seraphine and said in unison, “Hey!”
John and Seraphine laughed and shared a glance. Seraphine and I excused ourselves to clean up dinner while Talon and John started into guy talk.
Seraphine loaded the dishwasher. “So, when is the date?”
“I’m not sure. I think we’re kind of toying with the idea of the entire thing.”
“Sounds serious.” There was the Seraphine sarcasm I loved.
“I mean, things are moving quickly. They feel like they were always supposed to be, but I need to catch my breath a little first.”
“I get that. You move at your speed. Enjoy your time with him, no matter status.”
John put in a request for me to move to his quarters. I thought there might be a fraternization clause, but with all the rules on base, the Loctorians seemed not to limit our interactions unless it interfered with one of their visions. Our request was granted, and I took the few things that weren’t base issued with me. Seraphine was right, we should take the time we needed.
One night after dinner, John wanted to show me something in the library. The library was dark, but a switch to rectify this issue seemed challenging to locate. John located it quickly, and I realized he’d been here a lot. The lights were painfully slow as we aimlessly stood in the darkness. The wait was far from regrettable as the lights traced across shelves of books vaster than the Library of Congress, miles of books stretched far beyond our gaze.
I could spend a million lifetimes reading, never quite holding all the contents of every page. John seemed to know when we walked to the right corridor, as he pulled a large black leather bound book from a tall shelf right in front of us. He opened it before I could gaze at the cover. There were dazzling pictures of a planet. The land was purple and red in most spots, and the oceans were coral colored. He turned a couple pages, and it revealed beaches of purple sand. The pictures were overwhelmingly beautiful.
“This is it, Allie. Let’s get married here,” John said.
“You know, it’s usually the woman that fusses over wedding details while the man just nods.”
“Well, we don’t follow stereotypes.”
I gave a small laugh. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Back in our new shared quarters, I snuggled into him and listened to his heartbeat. The rhythm rocked me to sleep, and I was content. All was right in my world. I didn’t care that mayhem was peeking over the horizon. I only cared how right it felt in John’s arms.
Chapter Nineteen
Talon-August 24, 2014
We were sent to search for some crystals that the council needed for new weaponry they were developing. The only place they could be found in was the rainforest of a distant planet called Mezhaltie. The foliage was thick, and after half our team had been swallowed by alien plants a few months ago, I was over exotic plant species.
This planet, however, had the joy of insects in abundance, which I hated more than alien plants. We hiked through the thick foliage, and Lila kept us informed on which plants to watch out for. She insisted that the flower swallower wasn’t on this planet, but she hadn’t been aware that they were on the last one either.
“They’re beautiful.” Seraphine watched a swirl of butterfly-like creatures fly around us. The insects carried a stack of three wings on each side and came in various colors. The trees were deep greens and blues.
I tracked the crystal, and we made it to the location in about an hour and a half. I scanned the area to make sure we wouldn’t be getting any surprise visits from Khalbytians. They were known to patrol this planet frequently, and we needed to keep our guard up. There was a thick, tan webbing blocking our path. It hung betwe
en two large trees and was so thick that you couldn’t see beyond it.
“Anyone hear that?” Deron asked.
“Seeing as you are heightened and are just now starting to hear whatever it is none of us can hear it,” Gabriel pointed out.
Deron pointed at the webbing material. “It’s buzzing right past whatever that stuff is.”
“That’s where the crystals are. And let me guess, a strange, horrible insect is waiting for us on the other side,” I said.
“Let me try to project and see.” Seraphine concentrated and a little while later returned to her body. “They are some type of black wasp. Large, probably the size of a golf ball each. I tried projecting a distraction, but I think they are entranced in the hive mentality and have no focus for my imagery.”
“Gabriel, can you go invisible to the other side?” John asked.
“Sure.” Gabriel vanished, and pretty soon we heard him yelling. He appeared back in front of us. He gasped for air. “Somehow they knew I was there.”
He shook as five quarter-sized welts were growing on his body, one on his face and two on each arm. Allie hurried over to him and healed each one.
John placed his hand on his chin. “Environmental suits?”
“Back at the ship,” Colin said.
Khalbytian fire struck plants around us. The Khalbytians were here to stop us from getting the crystals. I was too caught up in concern about the black wasps that I’d missed them getting close to us. We needed to grab the crystals and get back. I caught Allie out of the corner of my eye. She bolted beyond the barrier.
“Allie! What are you doing?” I yelled, shooting a Khalbytian and throwing my knife into another.
“Getting the crystals! Keep fighting,” she hollered back.
My sister was brave almost to the point of stupidity. She could heal but not if the wasps took her out too quickly.
John took down two Khalbytians. “Where’s Allie? Something is wrong!”
“No kidding. She’s being stung by hundreds of alien wasp things,” I said.
“She went after the crystals?” He grimaced, and I wasn’t even sure he was surprised.
“Yep, didn’t think twice about it.”
We finished off the second round, and I was debating going after her when she returned with her bag full of the crystal. She had welts all over her, but she accomplished the mission. She sat down on a log as she struggled to breathe. Each of the dozens of welts began to heal one by one.
I looked at her sternly. “That wasn’t the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”
“It worked, didn’t it? Someone had to get the crystals and with more Khalbytians coming there was no time to go get environmental suits. Whoever went I would have to heal, so might as well have been me.”
By the time we made it to the ship, all of Allie’s welts had disappeared.
“Allie, you may feel like you are immortal, but you are not. Please remember that.” I gave her one last chiding before climbing into the ship.
“And you may feel like I can’t handle big things on my own, but I can. Please remember that.”
I took a deep breath to keep myself from saying anything I would regret later. She was going to be the death of me. We made it back to base with no further issues.
*
The next morning, I met Allie for her weekly fighting lesson. We were in the base gym, which was much more than a few treadmills and weights; exercise machines and weightlifting were only one portion of what the gym held. There were sparring areas with foam mats and protective gear. There was also a running track and a weapons range where target practice was done. Allie and I were in the sparring area, but we never used gear. I needed her to know how to fight without it.
We worked on this every week, and I was tough on her. I demanded perfection because I needed her as safe as possible. The Loctorians brought her into the fight, and I was going to make sure she survived it.
“Don’t drive with your fist. Use your elbow. Turn to the side more.” I moved her stance to a better form.
“Can’t I just melt my opponent?” She started into the same argument she used when she was growing tired during one of our sessions. I pushed her further each time. She would sometimes argue to quit, but she never did.
“You can’t rely on your ability alone to get you out of a situation. What happens if you find yourself surrounded by plating? Plating stops abilities, you’ll be defenseless.”
“Plating is so rare I bet it will be a non-issue.”
I dodged her swing that almost met my jaw. “Rare for now. We don’t know yet the extent it is throughout the galaxy. The fact it is rare is an assumption. Besides, you could also find yourself wanting only to disable or injure an opponent.”
“Can do that too by controlling how fast and high I heat someone up.”
Plating was a metal that had been discovered by Khalbytians in the last couple of months. The threat it posed was grave as it rendered all gene-activated abilities useless in humans. The enemy fleet only had five known plated ships but if a larger amount of the metal were discovered, our side could be in big trouble.
We sparred for twenty more minutes. My sister was tiny and lacked physical strength, but her determination and perseverance gave her a leg up. I taught her how to dodge her opponent, and we worked on her speed. She needed to touch an opponent to use her ability, which meant she had to survive her approach.
After hand to hand, we moved on to weapons. She didn’t like using weapons and always said they weighed her down, but I made sure she could use one if it became necessary. She was excellent at dodging weapon fire, and that was one of her biggest advantages. I had a feeling her biggest opposition to weapons was what they were used for. She hated killing. I watched her on the battlefield. She was injured more than she needed to be because she tried to avoid hurting Khalbytians. She could heal, but healers weren’t immortal. Helen and Kais taught me that. I was beginning to have the opposite problem; I was numb to the violence. I didn’t find it enjoyable, but I no longer felt anything at all when I killed a Khalbytian.
Allie’s eyes drooped, and her breathing heavy. I had pushed her far beyond when she first said we should stop. I told her I would see her later at game night. I watched her leave and thought about how much the war changed her. It concerned me frequently that we could still have years before I could get her out of this fight and back into the life she deserved. I needed her to get to the other side of all of this before too much damage was done to her.
I went over to the weights and began my routine. After the gym, I went home. I soaked in the warmth of the water falling around me in the shower. I heard my com device ding and jumped out of the shower. I had been planning an afternoon of watching a football game with the guys. Instead of junk food and touchdowns, my day now required my uniform.
Seraphine was teaching her art class, and she had at least another hour when she made her way in to clean up quickly. Unexpected missions were always dreaded. We would be enjoying our lives then be snatched back into a place we didn’t want to be. I waited for Seraphine to finish getting ready before I left. We always tried to take whatever bit of time we could squeeze in to see each other. We held hands and walked to the docking bay.
John greeted us with an explanation, “Sorry, everyone, for ruining your Sunday. It seems the council has placed a priority-one mission in our charge. A radioactive dust storm is coming for one of the colonies, and we need to evacuate it as soon as possible. On top of that, there is a rumor the Khalbytians have had their eye on this colony as their next target. If we are attacked, it will obviously delay relocation.”
Human colonies were established by Loctorians with the idea of preserving humanity. The Loctorians had worried because humans were not space travelers, and that our species would be wiped out with one planetary disaster. They didn’t activate these humans, as they wanted them to be in their natural state. I wasn’t entirely sure about the reasoning other than maybe they didn’t want them t
o fight because they saw them as valuable for humanity’s preservation.
After John’s briefing, we folded to the location of our mission. The planet we arrived on was barren and only held grey dust. There was no variety, and a wild wind blew steadily. I couldn’t gather why the Loctorians would have chosen to subject colonists to this sand pit with so many other planets to choose from.
The villagers made their houses out of a plastic-like material that they created out of an unusual element that grew in various patches throughout the planet. All the buildings were domes and connected to each other through tunnels. Going outside was unnecessary, and I could see with the blandness of the landscape why staying indoors would be a preference. When we arrived, we discovered that the village had already been attacked by Khalbytians, but most of the villagers were able to hide in their underground system. We would have to check each enclosure to locate everyone.
This was my area. I could easily locate all of them efficiently, but the radiation storm was rapidly approaching, and I wouldn’t be able to get to all of them. We spread out, searching all the buildings thoroughly and explaining the urgency of us leaving. Radiation storms were rare, and most of the villagers had never seen one. For this reason, it would most likely require a great deal of effort to convince them that leaving was imperative. We set to work and finally got most of them to board our ship where they could safely wait out the storm.
“Is everyone in your village accounted for?” John asked.
“I believe so, but we have around a hundred and fifty, so I can’t be sure,” the colony leader said.
“I got it.” I began to track the village for life signs.
We had forgotten a small girl and boy whose parents somehow didn’t notice they were missing. I told John, and he sent Gabriel with me to retrieve them. They were located on the outer rim, and we needed to hurry. We only had twenty-five minutes before the storm arrived, and being radiated was not something I wanted myself or anyone to endure. We got there and found the children huddled in a corner.