by Greg Dragon
“Oh, please. You wouldn’t be able to handle her, Raf. Trust me.”
“What? Do you think I have it any easier? You just don’t know the real Marian VCA. If I managed to marry that knife-wielding lunatic, I don’t think Marika would be a problem.”
“Ha, I’ll take your word for it. So, I’ve been meaning to ask—and don’t get mad at me—but you had Camille, an exotic Filan that bleeds Alliance red. What made you go off and marry Marian? Now, don’t get me wrong – she’s a stone cold knockout and a genius in her own right, but you two are volatile. One minute I can’t reach you because you’re thyping all day long, and the next she’s running away to another galaxy. Why’d you do it? Were you and Camille having problems?”
Rafian cringed at the question, it was a subject that he hated but one that would not go away.
“It’s deep, Val and the Jumper organization had a lot to do with it. But thype it, I’ll accept the responsibility in this. Marian and I understand each other on the deepest level. Our outlook on life, duty and our feelings are perfectly aligned. You know, it sounds corny but I love Camille—I always will. What she and I have is something that you can’t turn off, and it would be dumb to try. But, I’m IN love with Marian. That’s the difference. It’s pretty heavy and I hate that she and I don’t know how to reconcile our emotions and handle them. Phaser logic and military protocol seem to get in the way of our thing, and it makes us react harmfully to one another.”
“We do have a situation with these lizards preventing that love, brother.”
“Give me a perfect world where none of us are needed and I would take her away and disappear into the mountains.”
“Marika and I have a pretty crazy relationship, too, but I feel like it’s voluntary chaos. Nothing like what you and Marian have, though. I don’t envy you, bro, though I know most of the fools in the academy do. The woman is a physical specimen, and she won’t take part in any of our thype games. This keeps her a mystery, and there’s an army of young bucks wanting to crack her code.”
Touch her and I will kill every one of them, Rafian thought, annoyed at the idea that his Phasers would even try to get anywhere near Marian. He knew that he was being hypocritical but it couldn’t be helped. Marian was his wife, and he didn’t like to think of other men being with her.
“Thype games? They still do that schtill? All that nonsense is old school, from the days of the Jumpers. Only the horny recruits and agents like Laern are doing it. Marika isn’t into that, is she?”
“She is, but your agents are too afraid of the Vin’yn to try her.” He smiled with pride. “They know that she is claimed, brother.” He flexed his massive muscles to re-emphasize his point.
Since the time when they were children on Helysian, Val had been Rafian’s only true friend. They had seen each other go through the trials, and had watched each other’s backs during wars. There weren’t many men that Rafian could trust, but Val was different. He was the brother he’d never had. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Val that he had been sleeping with Marika, but he was happy that the two of them had found one another.
“Marika is a special girl, Val. I like the two of you being together.”
“You say that because you think that she’ll recruit me,” Val said, shaking his head at Rafian.
“No, that’s not why. I’m being serious. We’re brothers, and our two girls are together. I don’t see why me being happy about that has anything else behind it.”
“If you say so, Raf, but I know better.”
Their conversation died down for a time as they watched a large dropship deploy an army of Geralos into the camp. Rafian was still thinking about Val’s question. So he weighed Camille against Marian in his mind and all he could think about was his wife’s body.
“Marian is perfect, isn’t she? I still catch myself staring at her sometimes, and it’s as if I’m convincing myself that she really exists. Just imagine how I felt when I woke up from memory loss to find myself next to that beautiful, alien woman. Not only waking up to her, but finding out that she was my committed wife. I couldn’t leave her there, Val. I wanted to spend every thyping moment with her. So I decided to bring her back here, back to the Jumper academy despite all of its issues, and that decision poisoned me and made me into a terrible husband for her.”
The two men grew silent for a time and it didn’t seem like Rafian had moved while he poured out his heart. The silence was one of reflection and peace, the kind two friends could share without the pressure of conversation. Val noticed that Rafian was talking a lot more than he normally did and he wondered if his friend was depressed.
“You okay, bro?” he asked, and Rafian understood his intent.
“I’m here with my war buddy; what do you think?”
“I think that you, Tayden, Frank, and Camille are excellent leaders. With me and my Marines backing you up, things are well under way here.”
“Val, you are meant to be a Phaser. Everybody knows it.”
“Well Helysian produced warlords, brother. Look at you, badass Cammy, and silent Frankie.”
“Look at yourself,” Rafian said, staring at him. “We’re weapons from the same forge.”
“So is Vani,” Val teased, bringing up the name of Rafian’s first love, who’d caused him a lot of trouble back when they were all cadets.
“SHUT THAT SHTILL UP, MAN! Don’t bring her into this. Hell, I’m still trying to forget that crazy girl. But seriously, bro, why do you refuse to come aboard?”
“It’s not an easy decision, brother. I still need time.”
“I’ve known you longer than most, Val and you’ve gotten bigger, harder and smarter. Somewhere along the lines, you’ve even grown a heart. But if there’s one thing that has never changed about you, it’s your honor. You are the kind of friend every man needs and I don’t say that lightly. You also love Vestalia just as much as I do. Hell, one of my best memories is when the two of us—lean, mean, and bright green—stormed the beach on Meruda.”
“Yeah, that was our first official tour… the one where we lost Hellgate. I thyping cried for her like a little cruta, man. It was tough. That was such a schtill storm.”
“It was bro, but me and you… when we were getting cut to pieces, we held it down.”
“We did, Val, and this is why I need you to join us. The gifts that you will receive from the dark education will make you into twice the warrior you are now. It would also mean a longer life for you. Just think on it. Even if you tell me no, though, just know that I will always have your back.”
The two men locked wrists in agreement and then started down the hill, back to where they had hidden their bikes. Val hoped that Rafian understood his hesitation in joining the order. He knew enough about the Phasers to get a good picture of who they were, but the secrecy and opaque nature in which they conducted business made him think there was something that Rafian couldn’t tell him. They held Phaser meetings behind closed doors and there were rituals he witnessed that were beyond bizarre. He loved Marika, but he wondered if she was worth the price of joining up.
~*~*~*~
Tayden Lark and Laern Cobo had spent the majority of the evening together, as she played the part of councilor to the demoralized agent. She had broken off her plans with Frank to take a walk in the countryside, but she was used to this exercise of putting the Phasers first in all things. She didn’t like Laern and she could see why Rafian was hard on him. He was spoiled, entitled and weak, despite all his talents as a soldier. He was asking her about his future and she was telling him light versions of what she thought his chances were to become a leader in the organization.
“Anyone ever tell you the words ‘suck it up?’” Tayden asked after seeing the hour and realizing that he had been venting to her for too long.
“Is that a Vestalian term, ma’am? It sounds disgusting. What exactly am I to be sucking up?”
“Your situation, agent. You are here, you are alive, an
d you have another shot at improving your station. With the war being what it is, we have no time to play about with hurt feelings and misunderstandings within our ranks. Rafian is the Supreme Leader and though you feel that you have some sort of relationship with him, the bottom line is that you need to be tending to missions, not worrying about what mood our commander is in.”
“I understand Commander, and I will. But I still don’t get the sucking thing; the explanation didn’t make any sense.”
“I’m done talking, Laern. It’s getting late.”
She dismissed him with a pat on the shoulder and then locked her office door so that she could change into her evening attire. The Phasers had given the Geralos destroyer to Helysian so that it could be salvaged for parts to make repairs. Having a Phaser destroyer in space was ambitious, but Rafian had said it was too soon and the people of the Helysian were desperate. This brought Frank back down to Vestalia to resume his duties and it made him happy, since he didn’t want to spend his career flying around in space.
Tayden slipped into her pants and adjusted her top as she thought about the last few nights at the base. Rafian was always gone, so she had a lot of time with Frank. Their small chats had evolved into an unspoken relationship and now he was inviting her on romantic getaways, and she was more than happy to accept. Frank’s affection made her realize her worth and it made the times that she had slept with Rafian seem dirty and shameful. It wasn’t because of Rafian’s marriage to Marian, or his feelings for Camille. It was about him not considering, not even for a moment that they could be together. She had never taken to the casual nature of their relationship and had held out hope that in time he would see that. She should have been angry with him, but the only emotion she ever felt was sadness when it came to Rafian VCA.
She heard the tone of the panel outside of her door as someone with a high-access passcode unlocked it. Instinctively, she grabbed the pistol sitting on her desk and held it behind her leg, waiting to see who would barge in unannounced. The door slid open and Frank was there, smiling. He wore wearing a hover-bike helmet and held another one under his arm.
“Put the gun down, sexy. We’re going riding.”
“Frank, you scared the living schtill out of me. How did you know I was even in here?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve been waiting for you to finish with Laern. I had finished briefing the boys and girls on what I need done tomorrow, so I came over here to see if we could still salvage a bit of this evening.”
This was why she loved Frank, even though she would not admit it out loud. He was thoughtful and made her feel special. She had not felt special to anyone in over ten years. As they took the elevator down to start their date, Tayden saw a bright las-sword in the distance flicking this way and that. She stared intently at the bright light of the blade in the low light of the evening and she surmised that it was Laern Cobo, practicing. The scene touched her, because the drive that Laern exhibited was enough to make the things she disliked about him seem trivial.
“He deserves another trial mission,” she mumbled to herself.
Frank, who stood alongside her, watching the agent, looked down at her in confusion. “You do realize that he’s recently cloned, right? I thought we were going to give him a year to get better and grow before putting him on another mission.”
“He told me that he doesn’t care about dying, Frank. He just wants another chance.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
She looked up at him when he said this and then nodded her head in earnest. “He’s like a boy who grew up watching too many action vids. He looks at Rafian and Camille and the situations that they get into and he thinks that’s what being a Phaser is all about. I suppose to him, I’m just a glorified manager, making sure they are trained and sending help to whomever calls.”
Frank leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips and winked. “Who cares what he thinks? You are the toughest Phaser I’ve ever met. It doesn’t matter what some spoiled, Meluvian boomer agent thinks.”
She liked hearing that she was the toughest and as they stepped out of the elevator she shouted to Laern. “KEEP PRACTICING!”
Laern almost dropped his las-sword when he heard Tayden’s encouragement and it fired him up to keep at it. The Phaser Aces believed in him and if he could just stop getting on their nerves for a time, he could probably be forgiven for his past. He swung the blade a few more times to try and emulate the way Rafian fought, but when he stopped to see if Tayden was impressed, she and the giant man that had been next to her were nowhere to be seen.
~*~*~*~
Camille YAN placed the keys of the car into Aurora’s palm and exhaled a sigh of relief. She had moved her into a nice house within Zallus and had set up three servant droids to help her. She had bought her a flying car that came with clearance for the Phaser compound so she would be able to get around, visit her brother, and meet the other citizens. The entire ordeal had taken the better part of a week, but Aurora was extremely grateful.
“Cammy, I owe you my life. When Velman comes back, we are going to cook you a true Vestalian meal. And we are going to go to the spa-house and I am going to make sure that you get a true day of rest and relaxation.”
“That actually sounds wonderful, Aurora, but it’s not necessary. With things—“
“I’m not taking no for an answer, Camille YAN; you look worn through. Have you had time to relax and settle down after the business on Meluvia? What am I saying? Of course you haven’t; you’ve been doing this with me ever since. That little cruta that was with you on Helysian seemed to have time to relax – I saw her in the park, lying down in front of Raf’s statue. You have always run yourself into the ground and I am not going to let you do it. I am here now, sister, so tomorrow I am coming to get you.”
Camille let herself surrender to Aurora’s demands; not just because she needed a break, but because she really loved her. Aurora was unlike any of the Phaser women she knew: she was sassy but genuinely kind, and above all else, she was nurturing. Growing up onboard a ship of soldiers and graduating to the Phasers in her adult life made face-time with women like Aurora extremely limited. The Phasers referred to one another as “brother” and “sister,” but the way that Aurora said it made her feel like she truly meant it. She reached in, hugged the tiny woman and then excused herself to return home. She hadn’t heard from Rafian or Tayden, so she took it as a sign that she could retire early.
When she got to her apartment, Marian and Dott were there and she knew that her hope for relaxation was now out of the question.
“Ladies night out, girls?” she asked them sarcastically as she parked her bike and walked towards her door.
Marian made to intercept her, but Dott stood her ground, staring off into the darkness as if she were being made to stand guard.
“Okay what the thype is this?” Camille asked. “Are you taking an aggressive stance with me, Marian?”
“Makers, no girl. Calm down. I just wanted to get your attention.”
“So, what is all this, then?”
“Have you seen Tayden or Rafian?”
“No, I haven’t seen either of them since I came back a week ago. Raf went off somewhere with Val, and Tayden has been missing since yesterday. What is going on? Do you think they’re—”
“That’s not what this is about. Dott, could you please bring the flobot over here?” Marian asked.
Dott walked over and showed Camille a memtocflo bot. Marian had sought out Camille to see if she could make sense of what she had seen. “I tried calling Tayden and Frank, but their comms are off, which makes absolutely no sense. Rafian is doing recon—which frustrates me to no end because he has people that can do that schtill without him—so I can’t call him.”
Camille activated the bot and it hovered in midair and shot out a holographic image all around them of the city of Dystalis and the town of Garth. The holograph steadied itself and then became ex
tremely vivid; it was as if they were giants, peering down into the actual city. Camille examined the beautiful countryside and the sewer lake that ran around Garth, below Dystalis. “Nice capture, Marian, but what is it that is concerning you?” she asked, looking about for anything that would seem out of place.
Marian walked over to stand near Camille and placed her finger on the top of one of the outlying skyscrapers that bordered Dystalis. “Does this tower not look familiar to you, Cam? Like, as a pilot that has fought just about every model of Geralos ship there is, I want you to really take a look at that tower and tell me why is it that the architect chose to go with that shape as opposed to everything else that is on that building?”
Camille took a long look at the tower and how intricate it looked compared to the smooth surfaces of everything else. She used her hands to expand that area of the image and as it grew larger, she could make out even more detail. She still didn’t understand what Marian was getting at, so she tilted her head to get a different view of it. What does architecture have to do with us? She thought, and then it became immediately evident what Marian was worried about. Her heart skipped as she recognized the Geralos ship that had camouflaged itself as one of the towers on top of the building.
“That’s a Geralos elite!” she said in shock.
Marian walked over to look at it again, nodding her head in agreement. “We were all at that meeting while the Geralos was there, Cammy. I’m not sure if they know what we are planning, or if any of the Meluvians we dealt with were corrupted. This makes me feel sick to my stomach, and I think that we need to act on it immediately.”
“Dott and I are still in a decompression period from the Helysian thing, so we—“
“I wouldn’t dare come here and ask you to return to space, or to travel after what you dealt with on Helysian, Cammy. I just wanted you to confirm what I saw before I bring it to Tayden or Frank.”