“I’m not sure. I can feel the distance getting smaller, but I can’t quite find the location yet. Maybe another day? That must be. Do you know that--”
“Yes, I know. I fucking do know that it’s difficult for your collective mind thing to calculate the distance between places and time and shit. But I’m starting to think you’re playing me kid, and honestly, you don’t want to be the one mocking me right now. Do you understand?”
For a moment, I think I see something flashing in her eyes, but I’m not quite sure that it’s there. That’s because when I raise my head above, I see a strong light penetrate the thick shadows of the super-forest. It’s like the sun has decided to send us a sign, but it’s too early in the day for that to be true.
“You noticed that too?” Alyce suddenly says.
“I’m not sure. What is it?”
She closes her eyes and touches the trunk of a tree. Her hands submerge into the lined surface, creating ripples throughout the trunk like it’s made of water. Five minutes pass, and there’s no reaction coming from her side. During our first days here on this planet, I was worried that she was planning something, trying to get away from me and leave me alone in the middle of nowhere, but now I know that this was one of the many hidden abilities of the Phadh.
All those giant trees are her living ancestors called Colossi. There are living, breathing Phadh, big enough to be unable to move and old enough to have forgotten everything about the ways of the living. They’re practically dead, yet living through the minds and experiences of their younger brethren. The whole planet is full of forests like this one, graveyards of Phadh sharing their experiences for endless years until they lose consciousness and turn into trees on an empty planet.
The Phadh are honestly a miraculous species, but they are nothing more than trees after all.
It takes her some time to confirm the information, but when she does, she pulls her hands out and returns to me. “We have to hurry, Jasih. A spaceship is ready to crash to a location close to us. We have to get there and check for any survivors,” she says.
I feel confused for a moment. Is a spaceship crashing on this planet? Aren’t spaceships forbidden to enter Zeania’s airspace or was that something that I didn’t get?
“Wait a moment, Alyce. I thought you said spaceships aren’t allowed on this planet.”
She stops and sighs. I don’t like people sighing to make me understand their point. I’m not from this era, and so all these peculiarities confuse me.
“You’re not wrong, but you’re not right at the same time. When a ship is crashing, the planet’s defense system allows it to enter into the planet and provide help, if possible. We’re mostly pacifists, Jasih. We did make mistakes in the past, but we’ve learned from them,” she says.
I’m not sure I buy this pacifist act, not after I saw with my own eyes what the Phadh did after the end of the Intergalactic War. But, I agree to go on with it. At least for now, that is.
“Then, they will be okay. Or if they don’t, then they will die a quick death. It’s more than most of us could have asked.”
I want to get to our spaceship soon enough that I don’t think straight. When I hear the words that come out of my mouth, I suddenly freeze. “Shit,” I say.
“Yeah, you finally got up to speed, right? So, are you still sure you don’t want to check the crashing ship? It’s really close. It would only take us an hour or so to get there.”
She’s strangely optimistic about the time it will take us to arrive at the crashing site. For the last week she can’t seem to get anything right, but now she knows exactly the place, and the time it will take us to get there? Something smells fishy here.
“Okay then, lead the way,” I say.
I wouldn’t have let her get what she wanted, but she has a point. What if that spaceship is very own Enigma? Then, we’ll have nowhere to return to, and we’ll be trapped in this hellhole until someone comes and picks us up. So, just to be sure, we have to check on the spaceship that has just crashed.
For once, it only takes us an hour to get there, which is a miracle regarding the past week. Also, the ship that has crashed is a Class 1 spaceship with extensive damages, nowhere close to our Class 5 juggernaut. It seems highly unlikely that someone could have survived the impact, though.
But, there’s someone that taught me to never give up when the improbable happened. That person is the one I love, the woman I can’t take my mind off, the human that made me regain my trust in life.
And that same person is now standing behind me, a laser gun in her hand, aiming straight for my back.
I turn and look at her; she doesn’t move. I’m not sure she’s even breathing.
I’m not sure I’m breathing.
“Eladia,” I mutter.
“Jasih,” she responds.
For the first time, she’s able to pronounce my name right
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 11
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eladia
It feels like a dream; everything feels like a dream. I can see him standing in front of me, staring me in the eyes, searching for a sign, but I’m not sure if he’s really here.
Jay, his platinum skin glistening from the sweat, his dark hair waving in the subtle breeze. He’s actually here.
“Eladia,” he mutters.
The sound of his voice makes my heart skip. I don’t know if I can speak, but digging into my inner passions, I manage to find the strength to reply.
“Jasih.”
It’s the only thing it seems to matter now, to show him a small token of my many changes throughout this last year. Being able to pronounce his name right lightens his face. I share his feelings and smile at him.
He starts moving towards me; I do the same thing. My heart is racing like I’m being chased by a group of black-maskers on Caso. What is the proper thing to do? Shake his hand? Hug him? Kiss him on the lips? Just nod?
He examines me. Truth be told, he somehow feels different himself. He’s not so sulky anymore, his eyes are more bright than ever, and I can do nothing but have an insatiable desire to get lost in his arms.
We’re standing next to each other now. He stretches his hand and lowers my gun. Seeing him makes me forget everything, even that I was ready to shoot him in the back. I smile blissfully and a little bit embarrassed.
“Sorry for that. We didn’t know if you were friends or foes,” I quickly explain to him.
He doesn’t say a thing; his silence is somehow intimidating. Why doesn’t he talk? Doesn’t he like my new haircut? Is it my clothes?
Please, just say something.
Instead, he just leans forward and kisses me. I didn’t expect such a bold move from him so I jolt back for a moment, trying to avoid him. But, when finally my mind synchronizes with the rest of my body, I pass my hands behind his neck and pull him closer. We share our most passionate kiss yet.
My mind goes blank and the moment is over before not too long. I feel a numbing sting in my heart. There’s a faint buzzing in my head, and I feel drunk in joy. It takes me a moment to realize that Cross is talking to me.
“Eladia? Eladia! Come, we have to get out of here. We’re trespassing in Phadh territory. If they find us here, we’re as good as dead,” he says, but I don’t worry. Now that we’re together, nothing worries me anymore. I can stop being an assassin now and surrender in the safety of his arms.
“Doctor Dale Cross,” Jay suddenly utters. His voice is so imperative that everyone stops whatever they’re doing to watch him. He moves towards Cross; when he’s close enough, he stretches his arm towards him.
“I want to thank you for taking care of her for me. I’m sure it has been a difficult year, but you should know that I’m filled with a feeling of gratitude towards you. You’re my savior as well as hers. Thank you,” he says and lowers his head low enough to seem like he’s bowing to him.
Seeing Cross’ face freeze from surprise makes me sick. The man is such a hypocrite tha
t he doesn’t even try to hide his feelings at all. Still, I’m confused. I don’t know what’s going on in that man’s head even more now after we’ve lived together for a whole year.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you Prime Officer Jasih, but my actions had nothing to do with your feelings. Eladia is as important for this mission as you are. You don’t have to thank me for just doing my job,” he says.
See? I don’t understand him. He had a perfectly good opportunity to be the hero he always wanted, only to ruin it by being modest. I don’t get him at all. Still, the man puts on a mask of unshakable focus and turns to face the Phadh girl. Seeming like a young girl but probably being over a century old, she’s worried and restless, like she’s waiting for something to happen.
“My name is Dale Cross, and I’m a member of the Organization. You probably hadn't heard about us before Pyro, another member of the Organization, kidnapped you and brought you here without your consent. I have to sincerely apologize to you for using such crude methods to infiltrate into your planet. Our mission is of the highest importance, and we had to come up with a way to enter Zeania without alerting your brethren.
“But, now that we’ve crashed-landed our ship here, I’m sure your people are heading straight to this spot to check on us. Can you please use your authority as a Phadh to teleport us back to our ship? It would mean a lot to all of us, and you’ll be doing the Known Galaxy a great favor, I promise you.”
Jay growls beside me but doesn’t say a thing. He seems to have some kind of connection to that girl, although I can’t place it yet. She, on the other hand, is looking at Cross like he’s a god among men. Her eyes are ready to pop out of her head, and her mouth is half open. When this man is using his charm to enchant someone, then that someone is a lost cause. Almost everyone can fall in love with Doctor Dale Cross, but the Phadh, being a young girl and all, will probably soon transcend to the obsession part.
“I...I don’t know. I’ve been kidnapped and kept captive for weeks. Why should I trust you that you’ll set me free when this mission is over?”
She’s smart. She uses her brain even though she has fallen for him already.
“Honored Phadh, you’re not a captive of the Organization anymore. I’ll make sure you return to your home planet as soon as you help us get on our ship. When we’re all safe back on our spaceship, you’re free to go the next instant if you want. I believe it’s a fair trade, right?”
And there it is. His famous smirk. God, every trick in the book. Flash the white teeth, cast a tilted smile, and...
“Okay. I still don’t trust you or your Organization, but if you say that this is important, then I believe you. I’ll help you this time and till this mission is over. I would like to see where this situation is heading,” she says.
Ten minutes later, and after a dizzying experience of teleporting each one of us many thousand feet above the planet on a Class 5 spaceship, we’re once again starting our journey back home. Everyone heads for the bridge as soon as we arrive. I’m starting to follow them when suddenly, Jay stops me and pulls me back into the elevator.
“What...?”
He shushes me. Then, he starts kissing me lustily. I quickly sense his dick getting hard in his pants. Frankly, I’m wet since I first saw him down on Zeania, but I never expected that everything will happen so fast. I’m struggling while waiting for the elevator to stop, but it’s too far a ride. I rub my foot against his throbbing bulge and hear him lose his breath.
It has been too long for both of us.
Before I know it, we’re in his room, naked. At this point, I’m not able to hold back anymore. I want to feel him inside me; I want to taste him.
I get on my knees and take off his pants. His cock is swelling behind his underwear, and soon, I see it fully erected before my face, red and throbbing. I put it in my mouth and start sucking it in. I don’t care about romance at all; I’m burning with passion for this man. His cock is salty and full of precum. He’s ready to fuck me.
I lie on the floor and spread my feet apart. He quickly positions his body above mine while his cock invades my vagina. I leave a deep moan after a feeling of warm pressure thrusts even deeper inside me. Is it possible he got bigger after a year?
Just the feeling of his dick rubbing my clitoris, drilling my vagina, is enough to arouse me. When he starts fucking me hard, I quickly lose every sense of reality. I’m not alive neither dead anymore. I just linger in between, waiting for every pounding thrust.
I feel tensing explosions in my stomach multiple times, and I can’t help but almost scream from pleasure. His dick is rock hard and keeps on going for a while; I can feel him getting closer as well. His back tenses, he squeezes his buttocks for one deep, sensual thrust, and he cums inside me with loud moans of satisfaction.
I can see his face sweating, his eyes sparkling, and his smile radiating.
“I missed you,” he suddenly says.
“I missed you, too,” I reply.
I feel a sting in my chest. I really did miss him, it’s true, but I feel like I’ve missed someone else more.
“You’ve changed. Your hair is different, your eyes seem deeper, older. You must have had a rough year,” he says.
“Yeah, something like that. So many things happened this last year that I’m not sure that the person that did all these things was me. But, it was all worth it. Just to meet you here today.”
He smiles. “You’re more beautiful than ever.”
I arch my brows in surprise. This is the first time that Jay is expressing his feelings to me. He has changed too.
“Thank you,” I reply, feeling my face turn red from surprise.
He gets to his feet and heads to the bathroom. I stay on the floor, lying and wondering. Now that the sexual tension between us has relieved, I can’t help thinking that something else is missing. I missed Jay, I know I did, but deep inside me it feels like I missed someone else more.
Tears fill my eyes; what’s wrong with me?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 12
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alyce
It doesn’t feel good to return to this...ship. What was I thinking, telling all these things to him? I let myself get deceived by a man that I don’t even know. What would my father tell if he saw me act like a child?
The picture of my father reprimanding me for my childish actions brings a feeling of anger inside me. That old man always makes sure to shame me when I don’t meet his expectations. Like, what does he expect from me after all? Aren’t I supposed to live my life the way I want? Maybe I was born to save the galaxy from a Nusae relic that is threatening the well-being of my people.
Or maybe I was born to fall in love with this man; Doctor Dale Cross, the Swamp of the Organization.
We’ve been talking for some time now, me and him. He doesn’t hesitate to answer all my questions, even the hard ones. Why do the humans want to destroy us? What is this technology that no one knows about? How can a human like him oppose his kind’s wishes?
Everything; I just have to ask. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy for me to fall for him. Information in the Phadh culture was always a high-paying resource. If you want people to share information with you, you have to spend countless hours socializing, earn their trust before making your demand known. But with Dale, it’s easy as that.
I just have to ask.
“So, you tell me that Jasih is a general from a species of fighters that thrived over a hundred years ago? And...how is it possible for him to be alive right now?”
He smiles at me; I smile back as a reflex. My cheeks are numb from all the smiling, only that I don’t remember smiling at all.
“Eladia, the black-haired lady you saw before, is a Chronicler. In one of her trips to Primordial Earth, she found his crashed spaceship and saved him from his failing cryo-pod. Then, they also found the so-called Nusae Relic, almost dying in the process, and they started traveling around the Galaxy after that, trying to solve its myst
ery,” he says, looking around him at the same time.
In my opinion, this Eladia person sounds like quite a bit a bothersome human, but I don’t care about her adventures. The only thing that matters is that melancholic light in Dale’s eyes, a light that suits him well. Telling me that story brought out that light and since then I can’t stop looking at him. So, it takes me a moment to actually listen to what he just said to me. I gasp in surprise.
“No, no, no. I don’t understand. Didn’t you just tell me that if we unlock this artifact, then my people will go extinct? Isn’t it dangerous to just let them unlock it?”
Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Cube: The Sci-FI Alien Invasion Romance (Books 1-5) Page 26