by Andi Feron
Colin navigated us to the fourth planet, and our ship pushed through the hazy, orange atmosphere. A vibrant green grassland with patches of small yellow flowers appeared in our view.
“Brace yourselves. Landing is going to be pretty rough,” Colin warned.
We smacked into the ground and slid across the ground, tearing up the grass and flowers that passed under our craft. The craft bounced up a few more times, slamming down each time until it was stopped by a large rock formation. My head smacked against a console, knocking me unconscious.
I woke up and felt pain in nearly every spot on my body. I tried to stand up but it was difficult to move my left leg. My lower leg bone poked through right below my knee. My head felt as though a lobster was inside of it clawing it apart and there was a dull ache in my abdomen. I was unsure of the total extent of my injuries.
Lila hobbled over to me. “Good! You’re awake.”
She had a large gash on her head above her right eyebrow and a pretty nasty black ring was forming around her left eye. She also had a cloth wrapped around her right arm above the elbow.
“How’s Colin?”
I could tell by the look on her face the answer wasn’t good.
“He’s alive but still unconscious. He has a metal rod through his stomach. A piece of the ship broke off during our crash. We need to get him help soon.”
I forced myself up, and Lila ran to help me into a chair. I wanted to better assess Colin for myself. Sure enough, a metal rod as thick as a coffee cup impaled the middle of his abdomen. I heard him groan.
“Colin, don’t move!” I shouted.
He opened his eyes then glanced down and saw the rod through himself and began yelling and hyperventilating. His eyes were popping from his head and he began to shake.
“Colin, it’s okay. We’re going to fix this, but you have to stay calm,” Lila spoke soothingly to him and grabbed his hand.
“I’m going to die,” he murmured with a stuttered cry.
Lila moved closer to him and looked him in the eye. “No, Colin. We’ll get help and then Allie will heal you. You’ll be fine.”
“We have to try the distress signal again.” I moved over to a control panel, but everything was shot.
We were lightyears away, and no one expected us back for a week. I was unsure that the planet we were going to would report us missing, especially if doing so went against their strict customs and policies.
“I can’t find our hyperspace phones either. Everything is a jumbled mess,” Lila said.
I glanced around and realized she was right. We would be lucky to find anything. The inside of our shuttle had been torn to shreds. Most of the computer consoles were shattered, glass covered most of the floor, and it was difficult to define what most of the crushed objects had been. I wondered how any of us had even survived the crash. Lila released Colin’s hand to look for something.
He grabbed her arm. “Please stay with me. I don’t want to die alone.”
“Colin, you’re not going to die. None of us will. We’re going to get through this.”
“Please,” he pleaded, and Lila retook his hand.
“What do you need, Lila? I’ll find it,” I said.
“We need to find one of our bags so we can use the hyperspace phone and scanner to assess how bad each of us really are.”
Moving was excruciating, but I pushed through for my team. I found my bag crushed under some debris and my com device was of no use. The scanner looked like it might work. I scanned myself, and it notified me of my broken leg, arm gash, and several other injuries that the leg pain was keeping me unaware of. The one that worried me was the internal bleeding that the scanner urged me to pay attention to.
I tenderly lifted my shirt and saw a large bruise across my stomach. I wouldn’t tell the others. The focus needed to be on Colin. I scanned Lila, and she had a concussion and a list of five other injuries. Colin was a mess. The pole was all that was keeping him from bleeding out. The minute it was removed, he would die in about a minute. He also had brain swelling, and the pressure would need to be relieved soon. His right arm was broken as well as his left foot.
Moving edged me toward unconsciousness. I needed to quit looking through the debris for our bags, but at the same time I desperately needed to keep going. I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes. I needed a break. Lila and Colin were talking, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw Lila cradling Colin’s head gently against her, singing “What A Wonderful World” to him. I never knew Lila could sing so beautifully. Colin looked less panicked as Lila soothed his anxiety with her singing. We needed to do something, or we would all die. Once Talon realized we were missing, he would find us, but in a week, based on our injuries and lack of usable rations, we would be long dead. I was pretty sure after that long, not even Allie could bring us back.
I was going to have to attempt to project myself millions of miles, a task I had never accomplished before. The farthest I ever had was when Talon and I were kids. At that time, I projected myself several miles to get help for us. I was much more skilled now but wasn’t sure it would be enough. I concentrated on Talon. I only needed him to see me. As soon as he saw me, he would know something was wrong and track me. My first couple of attempts failed, and I was so tired.
“Lila, thank you,” Colin said quietly, then he closed his eyes.
“Colin?” Lila called.
I scanned him and realized he was crashing. Adrenaline surged. I needed to get him help now. I concentrated with everything I had on Talon and felt my projection move forward. I was on Saturn base in one of the tactical rooms. John and Talon were at a table with several others, and they had their backs to me.
“Talon!” I yelled as loud as I could.
He whirled around along with John and the others.
“Seraphine? What are you doing here?” Talon asked.
I shook my head and was pulled back to the shuttle. I knew he would track me now. I couldn’t stay awake any longer.
“Seraphine!” I heard Lila frantically call me over and over, but I needed to sleep. I let go of any will keeping me awake.
I woke up to a soft touch on my stomach and no longer felt any pain. I opened my eyes and saw a concerned Allie above me.
Allie took a deep breath. “She’s back.”
Talon was at my side, and his face looked pale. I knew by his stern frown that I had given him a scare. His arms pulled me against him and I heard him let out a shaky breath.
“Colin and Lila?” I asked.
“They’re fine. For a minute, I wasn’t sure if you were going to be.” I didn’t know what Talon meant, but I could hear the strain in his voice.
“I was fine. Needed a nap is all.”
“You were dead for a couple of hours when we found you.” I could hear his voice shake, and he still hadn’t released me.
It was a toss-up for Allie when more than a couple hours passed after someone died. There were times she gave it all she had and was still unable to bring someone back. She wore herself to exhaustion and would usually have to be pulled away. As Jasper told her, sometimes not everyone could be saved.
Talon held my hand tightly and led me to the shuttle we would ride home in. Our assignment was given to someone else, as we needed to go back to base to be checked by Jasper. This was a protocol that was a bit silly since Allie was exceptionally good at her ability, but it was protocol nonetheless. In all honesty, I was glad I was out of the tedious gift-giving mission. As expected, Jasper said all three of us looked amazing and cleared us physically. Before he officially released us, he wanted us all to be evaluated by the base counselor to help us process the trauma.
Lila was pretty shaken. Colin and I had both died on her, and she hadn’t known I was able to project to Saturn base. She thought she would have to wait to die with her friends already dead around her. She’d experienced being centered in a real-life horror show. Gabriel ran into sickbay to find her, and she
bolted for him. She collapsed in his arms and cried as though at Gabriel’s comfort she couldn’t hold anything back any longer.
After I spoke with the counselor, Talon grabbed my hand, and we walked home. We crawled into bed, and I relished my closeness to him instead of a lonely bed on the planet I should have been on.
“When I saw you in the tactical room, it didn’t connect at first you were a projection. I didn’t know you could project that far,” Talon said.
“I didn’t know I could either. All I knew was we needed help, and I had to try.”
“I’m so glad you did. When I tracked you, I didn’t want to believe what I saw. When we arrived at the shuttle, and our scanners confirmed you were dead, I nearly lost it. Allie struggled getting you back, but she refused to give up. I wanted her out of this war, but without her, I would have lost you today. That’s a terrifying thought.”
“Luckily it’s one you don’t have to dwell on because she is here and I am fine.”
Talon kissed my head and held me tighter. We fought the war, but all we really wanted was to live our lives together. I remembered I was the one that was supposed to outlive Talon if Allie was left out of the war. I realized if Allie were not brought in, John probably wouldn’t have been either. There would have been no alliance to give gifts for and no shuttle crash. This to me was enough evidence to show that the ill-fated timeline Jerap saw had in fact been altered.
The Loctorian glimpses probably changed many things, and most we would never know if they were for the better. In this case, my near death was a circumstance I would take a million times over in the stead of Talon’s permanent demise. I pushed thoughts of time shifts aside and allowed gratitude for my husband’s arms to comfort me to peaceful dreams.
Chapter Twenty-Four
John-November 14, 2014
I kissed Althea’s cheek as she lay sleeping, momentarily at peace with the chaos we were continually catapulted into. For this minute fragment in time, I was enveloped in the way her loose, chestnut curls cascaded down her cheeks, framing her face ever so perfectly. Even while she slept, her beauty was not lost on me. I let her sleep. I grabbed my bag and gave a short pause to take in a final glimpse of her.
After a long shuttle ride, Talon and I arrived on the planet of Grochani. The prime minister of the Grochani home world yelled angrily at the chancellor of the Bawtooki Province in Grochani. The Bawtookians broke off from the rest of Grochani decades ago, and now they argued a peace treaty signed twenty years ago gave them the right to more land for their growing populations.
The Loctorians agreed to oversee the negotiations, which meant they sent me. The Grochani people appeared human. Most of the men had long mustaches that they braided together at the end. They also had dark blue fingernails, which was the main feature that set them apart from humans.
“We can’t give up the south end. It is too vital to our people!” the prime minister leaned over the table to yell at the chancellor.
“We are willing to part with half of the west bend, but we must insist upon the south!” Stibolic countered.
I got up from my seat at the long wooden table and pointed to the map of their planet that hung on the silver walls. “You both have an interest in the south bend. Why doesn’t the province take the southern half and, prime minister, your people take the northern? The southern is closer to the province anyway. Then you split the west bend as well.”
I spent the next hour convincing them as to why it was a good plan before both agreed it was a good solution. They set to work writing up the treaty. Talon and I traveled back to our home on Saturn base.
“How do you do that?” Talon asked.
“Do what?”
“You slam dunk alliances as though you’re getting everyone to decide on pizza toppings.”
“That actually sounds good right now. What I wouldn’t give for an Earth pizza. But honestly, when you can read minds, it’s helpful. I figure out what both sides want and what their obstacles are.”
“I guess that’s why they’re making you admiral tomorrow.”
“Yeah, but it’s a little weird for me. I feel you deserve it more than me.” And I did. Talon had been in this fight a lot longer than me.
“Not a possibility for me. And honestly, I’m good with it. I’m not in this for recognition.”
“Yeah, recognition is pretty uncomfortable for me as well. Why is this not possible for you?”
Talon had said nothing about it before.
“It’s a long story, but basically I have a formal reprimand on my file. The way that it’s on my record prevents me from rising above the rank of captain. I reached my limit years ago.”
Talon didn’t elaborate, and I wouldn’t push it, but I was definitely curious about what he possibly could have done, especially for that large of a punishment. He was always responsible and following protocol to the letter. I thought about asking Allie about it, but Talon shut that avenue down.
“By the way, my sister doesn’t know, and I’d like to keep it that way. If we could keep that between us, I’d appreciate it.”
“Yeah, of course,” I agreed, a bit disappointed I couldn’t be nosier.
I went to the negotiation’s debriefing, and Admiral Parks gave me a statement on how much my successful negotiation would pay me. I saw the six-figure payment and didn’t even blink, as the Loctorians paid us well to sacrifice our souls. I was not looking forward to my promotion ceremony. I had risen quickly up the ranks but I felt it was not by my own aptitude. Psychic visions were leading my ascension, along with the pressure that I was meant to embody greatness.
When I didn’t find Allie in our quarters, I called her com device. When she didn’t answer, I left a message that I was back and needed to see her beautiful face. I went to the bar. I needed a drink after listening to intense arguing for two days. I was glad this had been a brief trip, as many times negotiations went on for weeks. Colin sat at the bar drinking, and I sat on the stool next to him.
“Stressful week?” I asked.
“More like a lonely one,” Colin said.
“There’s plenty of good catches on base.” I downed the whiskey shot the bartender sent me.
“Yeah, but what happens if you already know the one you want but she’s taken?”
“I guess you have to decide if you should tell her how you feel. Give her the chance to decide if she wants to stay taken or move on with you. It took me a really long time to tell Allie how I felt.”
He laughed. “Yeah, a decade, right?”
“Yeah, something like that. So unless you want to be like me, pining for a decade, either tell her how you feel or move on to someone else.”
“Back before you and Allie were together, why didn’t you do that? Why didn’t you find someone else instead of waiting for so long?”
“Because to me, there would have never been anyone else. She was the one I loved, whether I ever got to be with her or not. The day she became mine, I became the luckiest man, and every second I spent wishing she was mine was worth it because it eventually led her to me. My only regret was that I shouldn’t have let my fear keep me from her for so long.”
Colin took another swig of his beer then left some money on the counter. “Thanks, John, that’s really helpful.”
“Sure. Good luck, man.”
My com device went off, and I looked to see Allie calling me.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” I asked.
“I got your message and came home, but it’s empty here. I need you to come home and cuddle with me. I need warmth. I need all of you.”
I smiled at her exaggerated drama. I downed my last shot and bolted for my waiting fiancée. I barely got the door closed before she jumped on me, kissing me. She wore one of my white T-shirts. She pulled off my pants, and I thought I should hang them up since they were my uniform. Allie turned my face back to meet her lips, and I realized steaming them later was perfectly acceptable.
I carried her into the bedroom and plopp
ed her on the bed. She sat up and wrapped her legs around my back and pulled me down on top of her. Our thoughts and emotions were breathing together as a single being.
What I told Colin earlier was right. I spent way too long worried that I would lose her. I had missed out on the intensity of feeling every part of her for a long time. She fell asleep on my chest, and I gently played with her hair. I kissed the top of her head, breathing deeply the sweet scent that flowed from it. This was all I wanted from life, all I could ever want and need was wrapped up in the energy that was my Althea.
*
The day of my promotion ceremony arrived and Admiral Parks called me into her office. I asked her if I could be promoted without the ceremony, which then caused her to drone on for twenty minutes about formalities and protocol. I took that as a no and went home to get ready. Allie was already in her black, strapless gown. It flowed nicely to her ankles, and she had her hair pinned up neatly in a braided bun. She was putting on the finishing touches of her makeup.
I kissed her neck. “At least something good has come from this promotion ceremony.”
“What’s that?” She grinned.
“I get to see you in this dress.”
She shook her head. “You better hold it together, Trammel. We have to get through all the pomp and circumstance.”
“Can we skip all of that and go right to the part where I unzip this?”
Still smiling, she dodged my arms. “Get ready, you silly man. You have to become an admiral and obtain all the prestige that affords you.”
“I think all it really affords me is more responsibility and less time with you.”
“Seriously, John, I’m proud of you. I know you don’t think you earned this, but dozens of successful alliances, missions, and battles say otherwise. Who would have thought my introverted best friend would have a natural knack for leadership? You amaze me every day, Trammel. Even if it means I have to share you more than I want to. Now go get ready. This night is yours whether you like it or not. “
She gave me an alluring smile, and I wanted to get lost in it, but I listened to my girl and got ready.