The Loctorian Chronicles Intercept

by Andi Feron

  “I’m not sure.” I told him what Jasper said, and he decided to come with me.

  She had only been asleep for four days, and with the amount of healing she had done, she should have been sleeping a lot longer. I wouldn’t complain by any means. Talon and I walked into Allie’s room, and she still looked asleep. As I got closer, she opened her eyes, but she still looked exhausted.

  “I want to go home. Tell Jasper to let me go home.” Allie closed her eyes as though her eyelids were too heavy to keep open.

  Jasper waved Talon and me out in the hall. “Allie is getting increasingly stronger. We know that healing is similar to a muscle in the sense that it can be made stronger the more it’s worked. Allie’s is growing stronger at a speed we haven’t seen. This means she can heal more and needs less recovery. This time I think she forced herself awake before her body was ready. Instead of being completely refreshed like normal, she can barely keep her eyes open.”

  “Can she go home as she wants?” I asked.

  “If you’re willing to keep an eye on her and make sure she stays hydrated, it shouldn’t be an issue.”

  I agreed and went back in to talk to Allie again. I liked having her back, even if it wasn’t at full capacity. I wheeled her back in the wheelchair Jasper provided, then I carried her to our bed. She slept for the rest of the day. That night she snuggled close to me and we slept. She gave pieces of her life up for those she healed. We discussed her healing several times. She was fully cognizant of the fact that our lives together were put on hold each time she burned herself out, but saving all she could was the only option that she was fine with.

  I missed her when she slept, but I would never wish away the time we had together. Having her in our bed while she recovered made things much easier. With her conscious but sleepy, I could make sure all her needs were met. Over the next three days, she regained her energy and was back to herself. I walked through the door to grab lunch and saw Allie was up and about, making sandwiches. The two plates on the table told me she was waiting for me.

  “You don’t have to make me a sandwich,” I said.

  “You don’t want one or you thinking I’m doing too much?”

  “The latter.”

  “Thought so. Already made it so what’s done is done, and you’ll have to live with it.” She sent me a smile.

  I gave her a kiss and filled glasses with water. “You sure you’re up for game night tonight?”

  “Of course.”

  “Would you tell me otherwise?”

  She grinned. “Maybe.”

  She brought me my sandwich, and we ate lunch together

  “You going to tell what your internal conflict is, or are you going to maintain a distracted conversation?” she asked.

  “It’s Colin and Gabriel. When Colin was drugged by the cactus plant, he tried to punch Gabriel again. He said Gabriel stole Lila from him.”

  “That’s the other way around.”

  “I know, but the point is I don’t think either are over it. We need to settle it, or one of them will have to transfer. We can’t risk discord of any kind in our team. Slip-ups cost lives.”

  “Maybe you should let them duke it out.”

  I squinted my eyes. “Let them fight?”

  “Yeah, they keep getting stopped. Maybe they need to settle the score. Winner takes Lila.”

  “What?” I raised my eyebrows and saw her smile.

  “I’m kidding about that last part.”

  “Yeah, figured that out. I don’t know about condoning violence among the team.”

  “If you are afraid they are going to fight on a mission, head it off in a controlled environment. Boxing tournament.”

  “What if they kill each other?”

  “I’ll bring them back.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal.

  “I guess we’ll talk to them about it.”

  “Okay, but let me talk to Lila first. I don’t want her to be hurt by it.” Allie went to coffee with Lila to discuss what we were thinking. She returned and told me Lila said to go ahead with it. She’d said she wanted the entire thing over so we could all at least go back to being friends again. She was put-off to the idea of being with either of them at the moment, but she didn’t want either of them to transfer.

  I called both Gabriel and Colin to my office. They sat across from my desk, and the resentment and anger radiated off of both of them. Their faces were strictly professional soldiers awaiting the reason their commanding officer requested their presence.

  I got right to the point. “How do you two feel about boxing?”

  “It’s okay to watch if the opponents are good,” Colin said.

  “Never watched.” Gabriel shrugged.

  “I think the two of you need to have a match.” I sat back in my chair, waiting for their reactions.

  They both looked at me as though they thought Jasper needed to run a brain scan on me.

  Gabriel squinted his eyes. “You want us to box?”

  “Yeah, I figure you do it here instead of on the battlefield. One way or the other, this feud you have is getting squashed permanently.”

  “We squashed it,” Colin said.

  “Yeah, water under the bridge.” Gabriel nodded in agreement with Colin.

  “You two know I’m an empath, right?” They both nodded. I continued, “You both care about Lila. How do you think she feels about being in the middle of raging testosterone as though you are battling to own her?”

  “Okay, fine. Let’s do this,” Colin said.

  “You guys serious?” Gabriel looked back and forth between Colin and me.

  The next thing we knew, we were in the gym with a large mat covering a good portion of the middle of it. We discussed getting official gear, but both decided against it. They stood in fighting stance and Colin threw the first punch. Both knew how to fight. Colin was stronger, but Gabriel was faster. They each got in a few punches before Gabriel punched Colin right in the nose and blood gushed.

  “Really, you have to break my nose?!” Colin yelled.

  “Not like Allie can’t fix it.” Gabriel glared back.

  Before I could blink, they were wrestling with each other on the ground. Colin had Gabriel pinned.

  “How do you think it’s okay to steal your friend’s girl? You know I love Lila,” Gabriel said

  “I was going for it like John told me to.”

  Our entire team looked at me, stunned.

  “I didn’t know the woman was Lila!” I defended myself.

  Lila walked to the edge of the mat. “You love me, Gabriel?”

  Colin released Gabriel, and they both sat up with swollen faces.

  Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, of course, I do.”

  Lila smiled. “I love you, too.”

  Gabriel looked up at her and smiled.

  Lila walked over to the mat and kissed him. Colin got up and sat over in the bleachers, looking at the ground.

  After the kiss ended, she walked over to Colin. “I’m sorry, Colin. I don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t want to lose you from our team.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I should have realized you both were too important to me for me to ruin the amazing thing you two have always had. You’re one lucky man, Gabriel.” Colin walked toward the door.

  Allie healed Colin’s face before he disappeared down the hall. Allie healed Gabriel, and he and Lila walked out holding hands. I had a feeling they were going to be alright now. I was worried about Colin, but I noticed Allie had disappeared too. She was probably doing what she couldn’t avoid, interfering in the lives of her friends. She always magically made it better to some degree. A couple hours later, she climbed into our bed next to me. I savored the scent of her freshly showered hair.

  I put my arms around her. “How’s Colin?”

  “A little heartbroken, but he’ll be okay. He’s not angry at Gabriel anymore. He’s madder at himself now.”

  When our weekly game night rolled around, I was nervous to see how it would go.
Gabriel and Colin interacted like they never had a feud. It was as though the fight and Lila’s choice settled it for both of them. A couple weeks later, when I saw them give each other a hug and pats on the back, I knew they were brothers again.

  This would prove to be a good thing, as the next month was a whirlwind of battles and missions. Everyone seemed focused again. I did have a discussion with both Colin and Gabriel, and they confirmed what I had already figured out—that they were fine with each other now. The past would now be kept in the past. I hoped Colin would find the right person for him and that the loneliness I saw him reveal at the bar would disappear.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Seraphine-January 15, 2015

  “Your sister asked me to be her matron of honor,” I said to Talon.

  He sat long ways on the couch, buried deep in a book. The information I told him was met with silence.

  “Talon! Are you listening?”

  He glanced up from his book. “What?”

  “Allie asked me to be her matron of honor today.”

  “Oh, yeah? That’s good. John asked me to be his best man last week.”

  “Did you say yes?”

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” He put his book down to give me his full attention.

  “You have a reputation is all.”

  “What kind of a reputation?”

  “You think John is the only guy who has wanted to date your sister?”

  “No, but he’s definitely the first. Those two were never apart growing up. I never stopped anyone from dating her.”

  “That’s because everyone else was too scared of you to try.” I crawled onto the couch and leaned my back against his chest.

  He wrapped his arms around me. “Just the same, I think she’s ended up with who she’s supposed to. Maybe my fear factor was a good thing.”

  “You know it means we have to throw the bachelor and bachelorette parties?”

  “Do we have to?” Talon sounded disgruntled at the pending chore.

  “Yeah, it’s an expectation when we accepted our wedding positions.”

  “I think I’ll secretly pass the duty onto Colin and Deron. Those two can pull off a party.”

  I glanced at the clock and realized we needed to get a move on to game night. We had dinner reservations at Verne’s restaurant, followed by bowling. I quickly reminded Talon and hurried to put my makeup on. I wore a white shirt to help my red lipstick pop. Talon wore a collared, green shirt and jeans. We were the last ones to arrive, which I hated.

  “Yay! We can order!” Deron exclaimed upon seeing our arrival.

  “You could have ordered.” I sat in the chair Talon pulled out for me. I had long ago given into Talon’s hopelessly romantic ways.

  “John said we couldn’t.” Deron seemed to sulk a little.

  I looked at John and he shrugged. His need to control carried over from the battlefield and was leaking into our fun night. The waiter took our order then I heard a familiar voice radiating from the entrance.

  “Seraphine and Talon Cooper! I was hoping I’d run into the two of you on this trip.”

  I jumped up and ran for Petra Ambrosia, my old teammate. We hugged and I invited her to sit with us. I introduced her to everyone.

  “Talon, you’re still divinely fine,” Petra said, looking Talon over.

  I hadn’t missed her hitting on my husband at every turn. I narrowed my eyes at her. She spoke again, “What? You know your husband is hot, everyone at his table knows it. Isn’t that right, dear?” She turned to Allie.

  Allie looked at Petra like she had no brain cells. “No, he’s my brother!”

  “Oh, that explains it,” Petra replied, unfazed by Allie’s annoyance.

  “What’s that?”

  “Your family has favorable genetics.”

  I agreed with Petra on that note. The Coopers were gifted in the appearance department. John, who had excused himself to the bathroom moments before Petra walked up, returned to his spot next to Allie.

  “My, my who’s this sweet eye candy? I could cuddle right up with you. How would you like to venture back to my place after dinner?” Petra said to John.

  Before he had time to answer Allie practically leapt across the table. “He’s mine! Back off!”

  John looked amused at Allie’s outburst.

  “Can’t he make that decision for himself?” Petra pressed.

  “Can’t you shut up before I knock you on your ass!” Allie didn’t take her eyes off of Petra.

  “I like you.” Petra smiled at Allie.

  Allie sat back down and our food arrived about five minutes later. I brought up the bachelor and bachelorette parties.

  “We can skip that,” John said.

  “No way, man! We are totally throwing you one.” Deron gave him an elbow jab.

  “I have the perfect place you men could go. There’s this planet in the Latm sector. An old friend of ours works at a club there. I’ll give you the info, Seraphine.” Petra didn’t expand on which friend she was indicating.

  We finished up the food and then it was off to bowl. I invited Petra to go with us, and she was excited.

  “I’ve missed the old game nights with you guys,” she said.

  We split up into our usual teams. John and Deron were leading the pack. They won four out of five games.

  “Dance party!” Deron yelled, turning up the music on the loudspeaker.

  We all slipped off our shoes. Deron pulled Petra to the dance floor, and the two of them went to town matching each other’s movements. Colin, Gabriel, and Morgan started a breakdancing competition. As they were feeling proud of themselves, Allie flew out onto the lanes and blew them all out of the water. John stayed parked in his usual chair, captivated by Allie’s movements.

  “Sometimes you have to be more than an observer.” I winked at him.

  “Nah. The view is a little too good right now.” He didn’t take his eyes off of Allie.

  I grabbed Talon’s hand and we glided down the lanes together. Lila pulled Gabriel away from the breakdancing competition so he would dance with her. We all let loose. Dancing was a tool we often used to enjoy each other and escape the dark reality that was our second life.

  Petra met me the next day for lunch and gave me the info for the planet she thought the guys should take John for his bachelor party. I knew John would be fighting them the entire way, but the other guys on the team were insistent enough that he needed to enjoy this last excursion before jumping into marriage. I decided for Allie we would have a night out at a couple of the base clubs and end the night with a lingerie shower. Petra and I were eating brunch, discussing details for the event.

  “You have to make her wear the cheesy bridal sash and everything,” Petra said.

  “Do we even have a store that carries that here on base?” I took another sip of my tea and pulled out my com device to search the base directory.

  “Yeah, that party store on level one-twelve.”

  “Oh yeah, you’re probably right.”

  After brunch, we headed to the base shopping center. We found quite a few trinkets that would work to embarrass Allie enough. When I got back to my quarters, I saw Talon in the bathroom packing for the guys’ trip.

  “You really think this is a good idea to take several days off to gallivant around some foreign pleasure planet?” He was almost pouting about it.

  “I trust you to behave, so I see no issue.”

  “I’m more worried about the other guys, not John. We know he’s probably going to stay in the hotel reading and wishing he was back with my sister. But Morgan, Colin, and Deron? I’m going to have to keep them in check.”

  “You should make sure they have a little less fun, and John has a little more then.”

  “That’s going to prove a monumental task.”

  “I have faith you can make it work. You need to relax and go with things. You don’t always have to be responsible for everyone. Try to make it your goal on this trip not to be respon
sible for all of them. That’s the opposite of the intent of this trip.” I wrapped my arms around him.

  He turned around and kissed me. “I’ll try. I think I’m a little more with John. I’d rather stay here with my woman and explore her over an alien vacation world.”

  “Well, why don’t you explore me now?” I pulled him to our bedroom and felt no resistance.

  Chapter Thirty

  Talon-January 17, 2015

  I grabbed my bag and walked to the docking bay. As expected, John was there looking as reluctant as I was.

  Allie held out her hand. “Fork it over.”

  “I have to go over the war reports or I’ll have mountains to get through when I return,” John said.

  “This trip is for you to relax and take your mind off the war. Not to surround yourself with it. There’s a reason they promoted you to admiral so quickly.”

  “Because The Loctorian council has premonitions that I’m the right choice?”

  “No, because you drown yourself in work. I’m putting Gabriel in charge of ensuring you relax and don’t work. Now hand over the device,” Allie demanded.

  “Here I thought he was promoted because he’s really good at missions, battles, and things. Hmm… you learn something new every day.” Gabriel dished out sarcasm as he climbed into our vessel.

  John opened up his bag and handed her a tablet.

  Allie kept her hand extended. “Both of them.”

  “Fine!” He pulled out another device and handed it to her.

  Allie was the only one who could get John to listen. All she had to do was send him a look and he melted. We climbed into the craft.

  Morgan started right in on John. “A little whipped there, huh?”

  “Not quite. What she doesn’t know is I have another device in the bag I already loaded.”

  Morgan laughed. “You’re such a rebel, John.”

  We folded and went to the fourth sector, which was on the far edge of the Milky Way galaxy. We were told this quadrant was owned by a Loctorian named Scorch. Scorch was a nickname, and I didn’t know what his given name was. We landed the craft in the middle of a city. It was night on this planet, but the streets were lit up with neon signs and flashing buildings. It reminded me of the planet Seraphine and I were married on, the one that strived to copy the Las Vegas of Earth.