Prisoners of Paradise

by Brandon Lars Erikson

  He remembered how he tried to mask his fear as he told her, “How did I get here? I asked myself that every time they locked me into a launch pod. The trip to the surface of a planet is like a roller coaster ride. It’s over in a few minutes, but waiting for the ride to actually happen, that’s the scariest part of the entire mission…it seems to take forever…and your mind is going over a long list of what if’s…and regrets. Then, after you blast away from the mothership, and the ride is over, you’ve landed on the surface of some planet. And then, you suddenly realize that you are deep in enemy territory…and you have one thing on your mind…RUN!”

  He fantasized about how she might have said, “that sounds so brave…what is it that you do exactly?”

  He remembered how he had purposely failed to mention a few details in the tale he wove her, “there are couple of missions they used soldiers like me for. Sometimes, we put on heavy duty suits with lots of armor and weapons…and we would use the suits and weapons to hunt and kill Terraxakors. Sometimes, we used lighter, more agile suits to sneak up next to enemy targets, such as an enemy’s military headquarters. If we survived the journey to the target, we’d plant these powerful bombs in order to ensure the complete and utter destruction of that structure. It didn’t matter which of the two missions you got selected for since they were both equally terrifying. It seemed that whenever you would land on a planet… all you wanted to do was keep running. The terrain you see through your visor is computerized, you run to where you need to place the bomb, and hopefully, ya get the hell out of there before it goes off.”

  Harris felt a chill work its way up his spine.

  “Oh shit…not this again…I should have never dumped that medicine down the toilet…”

  He blinked rapidly as he remembered a cold, sinister voice saying, “Son…according to their philosophy…you are interchangeable…you are considered expendable…”

  His mind shifted back to things he blatantly left out of his story he had told Jori, “When the bombs go off…you don’t feel anything… expect for panic and terror. You run as fast as your armored legs can carry you shooting as many enemy soldiers as you can. And hopefully, you kill as many as you can before they figure out how to kill you. You can’t even allow yourself to feel relief when the shuttle craft rescues you and takes you back to the mothership…”

  The sinister voice in the back of his mind said, “But the horror doesn’t end there, son…it seems that your number ain’t quite up yet…”

  Harris felt his heart pounding as he thought, “and the pain never seems to end…it takes hours to strip off the armored suit, and when you finally see your skin again, it’s red and burnt… you feel as if you just want to sleep for days. They stick you into a tube full of warm gelatin-like stuff, which heals up all your cuts, burns and scrapes. And when your skin goes back to looking normal…when you’re all healed up and ready to sleep in a real bed, the nightmares come…and sometimes…they just don’t stop…”

  The sinister voice said, “And what are you gonna do about it?”

  “I’ve come to Ailana…to find a way to make them stop…forever…”

  The round doors ahead of him, slid open with a hiss and sunlight hit him in the face, sending Harris back into reality.

  “Holy shit,” he thought as he gazed all around him. “Look at this place…”

  This area of the ground based spaceport was made almost entirely of transparent plastic and glass. The HalawalachekMountains were about fifty kilometers away in the distance. The view was spectacular. The mountains looked almost purple as the sun rose in front of them, turning the plains in the foreground a golden color.

  Harris squinted and began to walk forward. He hoped that his gait didn’t betray the fact that his legs were sore from standing around for so long. He had been waiting a long time for the tube to scan him for foreign bacteria and viruses on his skin and clothes, which the UV light in the tube would then kill off.

  “Captain Harris,” A woman’s voice called from the blinding light. “Welcome to Ailana.”

  After his eyes adjusted to the initial shock of the daylight, he saw a blonde woman standing in front of him. She was wearing a conservative, blue business suit.

  She held out her hand and smiled as she said, “My name is Audrey Winters…I’m here to take you to your quarters.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Harris said softly as he shook her hand. His head was ringing from the overwhelming stimuli bombarding him from all directions.

  “Please, follow me, sir,” Audrey said and began walking. The spaceport was a blurry array of people entering and exiting large, interconnected terminals. Most of the walls were transparent and held together by a matrix of plastic components. Harris said nothing as they stepped onto a fast moving tramway that whirled them away to an enormous parking garage for hovercars.

  The attendant drove up in Audrey’s government issued vehicle almost as if on cue.

  Audrey turned to attention to Harris as the attendant exited the vehicle and handed her the keys. She smiled and said, “We can fly straight to your barracks, unless, of course, there is someplace else you’d like to go.”

  She reached for the passenger side door and pushed a button, the door slowly open and revealed the vehicle’s comfortable interior. Harris slowly got in and sat down. She then walked around to the driver’s side door and entered the hovercar like a proper lady would. Her skirt never once revealed anything above her shins, which she had taken the time to shave this morning.

  She put on her seatbelt and said, “Captain Kalapana sends his regards. He wishes to apologize for not being able to be here in person.”

  Harris blinked a few times and seemed unfazed by what she had said. He appeared to be simply staring off into space, his face, was expressionless. It took Audrey a few moments to realize that Harris was not answering or even looking at her.

  “Captain Harris?” She asked politely, “Sir? Are you alright?”

  She pressed her lips together and looked at him in a funny way. Harris appeared as if he was snapping out of a daydream.

  “Oh yes,” He said quickly. “I imagine he’s really busy right now.”

  She tried not to frown. Harris seemed nearly out of touch with his body. She narrowed her eyes as she saw how uninterested he was with what was going on around him.

  Audrey swallowed the lump in her throat when she noticed how his head was slowly shaking back and forth. He was acting as if his brain was disconnected from his body. She thought to herself, “It’s probably from the space lag.”

  “Well,” Audrey said as she lowered her gaze and adjusted a few NAV com controls. “I bet you’re happy about the week-long vacation that you will get to enjoy before we officially start our mission together.”

  She turned her head and noticed how he was staring out the passenger side window. It was almost as if he either didn’t hear her, or was blatantly ignoring her. Audrey narrowed her eyes as she said, “Sir?”

  Again, Harris seemed to snap out of it.

  “Oh yeah,” He said as he looked at her briefly and then looked away again. “I’m really looking forward to it…having some time off will be good.”

  Audrey felt her heart beating faster as she noticed how handsome Harris appeared in his uniform.

  “So far, I’m impressed,” Audrey thought as she engaged the gears and drove away. “Now is my chance to get this guy to open up… and tell me a few things…”

  “So, Captain Harris…since you’re going to have some downtime before we start our mission. Is there anything you want to do on Ailana, before we give those bad guys what they deserve?’

  He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. He could feel the sinking feelings of depression setting in as his mind became filled with images of explosions and the sounds of soldiers screaming right before they died.

  “Captain Harr
is?” She said softly. “Is there anything you’d like to do?”

  “I can only think of one thing…”

  Location: A Law Library in the HanaPaloiFederalBuilding.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 0700 Hours.

  They were alone in a dimly lit room. Her hair was down, and his shoes were off.

  Malia twisted her hair with her finger and said, “So, I guess that Special Forces team is here now.”

  Moke seemed unmoved. “Yes, they are.”

  “Moke,” Malia said as if she wished to offer some sympathy, “I never wanted this to happen.”

  “I know,” Moke said as he looked at her with soft, hurt-filled eyes.

  Malia slowly rubbed her chin with her fingers. She sighed and looked at him for a few moments before she said, “I’ll see you later, Moke.”

  She stood up and left him with the feelings of a heavy heart.

  He sighed as he reached over and turned on the Ready-File. The words he had read on its monitor, a few minutes ago, had not changed.

  Captain Moke Kalapana, greetings and salutations.

  You are hereby ordered to appear before the High Senate this Friday, for an inquiry session. A committee has been assembled that will determine whether or not the Ailanian government should call a Grand Jury against you. You are entitled to have your defense council appear with you.

  Moke cursed under his breath and pulled his com from his jacket. His fingers punched the buttons solidly as he dialed. It took about seven rings before the person he wished to reach answered with a muffled voice.

  “Yeah?” The person on the other end of the com sounded as if they had just woken up.

  “How are you feeling?” Moke asked politely as his eyes narrowed into an angry glare.

  “Like I just got hit by a hover-truck…a hover truck that was going full throttle.”

  “He caught you again, didn’t he?” Moke made a fist as his palms started sweating. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt the pulse in his temples beginning to throb.

  “Yeah, he did.”

  “Goddamn it, Pete!” Moke stomped his foot and shouted, “I told you not to go back there.”

  “I had to!”

  “Spare me your excuses! I swear to the gods, Pete…if anyone finds out what we are doing and your incompetence ruins my plan…” Moke clenched his fist and proceeded to bite his lower lip in order to prevent himself from continuing with his angry state of mind. He took a deep, calming breath and said, “Pete…are you capable of helping me, or not?”

  Pete’s voice became high pitched and squeaky as he said, “Don’t you worry, Moke…I’m gonna have myself some Zoppy’s chili, a few more beers, and I will be ready to go!”

  Location: Punalu’u Beach…just outside of Polynea.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 1000 Hours.

  She smiled warmly as she said, “So, Captain Harris, what is your life in The Military really like?”

  He found himself being bombarded by her questions. His lungs ached with anxiety as he tried dodging the ones he simply did not want to answer. His eyes darted around nervously as he answered, “Well…I usually wear a high tech combat suit…and lead my men into battle against terrorists and Terraxakors. But for this mission, I won’t need a Black Out Suit…all I have to do, is sit in a chair, and order my men around while I watch them on a monitor screen. This mission, which we are about to perform here…it should go off without a hitch. My men are the best in The Allied Military.”

  Audrey ran some of the warm sand through her fingers. She smiled and said, “I bet you and I have a lot in common.”

  “Excuse me?” Harris sounded almost startled as he realized how her posture and tone of voice were now different. For quite some time she had been asking professional and to the point questions. Harris bit the inside of this cheek as he realized that her questions were becoming much more personal. He squirmed as he thought how this conversation made him uncomfortable. Despite the fact that it was a beautiful day to be at the beach, Harris felt as if he just wasn’t in the mood for fun in the sun.

  His voice waivered as he said, “maybe it’s the fact we are still wearing our government uniforms. Everyone else on the beach just seems to be turned off by our presence…”

  Audrey ignored his last statement and smiled as she said, “you and I have a lot in common…I was really into sports in High School…just like you were.”

  “And so what? Who cares?” Harris thought to himself as his face began to cringe, “oh my gods…look at that beautiful ocean…I wish I was in the water… instead of sitting in the sand with her.”

  She said, “Yeah…I was quite the athlete. Being in all those sports really prepared me for the high level of physical activity my life now requires.”

  “Really? ” He asked with fake enthusiasm as he sat up.

  Audrey smiled and felt the warmth of the sun on her face. “Yeah…and I have military training as well.”

  “You, have training?” He said trying to hide his disbelief.

  “Yes, I was in The Military right before I went to University to get my Ph.D.”

  “Oh gods this sucks…those folks look they are having so much fun running on the beach…and swimming in that beautiful water.”

  He sighed. Despite the amenities like the sandwiches and sodas, this was an awkward situation for him. But Harris figured that he should respond in order to be polite, “Did you ever see combat?”

  “No,” Audrey replied as she poked her bare feet into the warm sand.

  Harris blinked his eyes rapidly. He was unable to tune out the introspective and rude voices in his mind, “why do we always get stuck with the ugly chicks on missions like this?”

  Audrey said, “I never had to report to duty…educational deferment and such…it was kind of disappointing. There were no battles going on at that time.”

  He closed his eyes as he heard a cocky voice inside his head boasting, “Well, little sister, that’s because of MY efforts that you never had to face down a Terraxakor in battle. Good thing too, a scrawny thing, such as you, would have just ended up as its breakfast…”

  Audrey leaned back on her arms and said, “I am grateful for the military training that I did have. Going through the Officer’s Training Course was definitely a factor with me getting this job with the CIA.”

  The arrogant, disrespectful voice in the back of his mind said, “Yeah, I bet those incompetent officers at The Academy taught you how to kiss someone’s ass with the utmost efficiency. How did you get your job anyway?”

  She smiled at him and said, “As an Assistant Deputy, I am entrusted with the responsibility of ordering people into dangerous territory, just like you.”

  Harris smiled and thought, “and those people should probably be real scared…”

  She smiled while her fingers slowly traced patterns only known to her in the golden sand.

  He noticed how her hair fluttered in the wind a bit as she said,“We may not carry the same sort of firepower you guys do, but we can pack a punch.”

  “Interesting,” Harris said with a sigh. He looked at the ocean as it sparkled like a crown jewel. He shook his head. He was not having any fun.

  Suddenly, an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

  Harris started watching people as they lay on the beach in modest swimsuits and played in the small surf as Polynea towered in the background.

  Audrey looked at his chrono and soon realized that it would not be long until the shadows from the massive buildings would engulf the beach.

  “I think I like this guy,” Audrey thought as she tilted her head back and let the sun hit her face. It felt good. She felt the nervous sweat in her palms.

  She looked at Harris and said, “I’m sorry. I guess…I just feel a bit overwhelmed. I’ve read so much about you. I read about all the brave things that you did during
all those battles you were in. The things that you have accomplished are amazing.”

  “Uh…well, thank you,” Harris said humbly as he suddenly felt the need to act polite.

  “Well, what I am trying to say is…it’s just so nice to meet someone new. I’ve lived on Ailana my whole life…I guess…I mean, I believe that sometimes…I forget I’m a human. My mother died when I was a baby, and my father…well, I guess he just took off. I never knew him. I was raised as a foster child in a traditional Moralist family. They were Hokupi. I spent my life surrounded by people with green skin. And for some strange reason, I never felt all that different from them. But when I meet humans, especially humans from Earth…something in me feels like I’m supposed to make a connection with them. Sometimes I feel, disconnected…and empty. Sometimes, I feel like I might be able to fill the emptiness that I feel inside me so…if I just talk to someone, who is just like me.”

  “Just like, you?”

  She squirmed on the blanket as she said, “I guess that sounds weird.”

  “No, not at all,” Harris blinked rapidly as he felt his cynical attitude melt a bit. He swallowed his pride and nervously ran his tongue underneath his teeth as he suddenly realized that she was a nice person. But she wasn’t Jori. Audrey was pleasant in conversation, but she was not as fun to talk with. Harris felt the twinges of loneliness in his guts as he thought “I’m sorry, Audrey…it’s not you…well, actually…it is you…since you are a little annoying. But I just feel so shy about having conversations with people…I’m always so afraid of what they were going to ask…it’s because of those damn shrinks they make me talk to…I fear how much information I might have to divulge. And I suppose, on a certain level…I’m not happy to be around you, because you just seem to one of those kind of people. You appear and act like someone who they would want me to talk to…”

  Audrey’s smile became wider as she said, “Oh just relax, Captain Harris…I thought a trip to the beach would be fun.”