“L’elle,” came the choked reply.
“It’s time to say goodbye my love. Get inside the Glass. The ground will be shaking for weeks from all the pounding it took. It’s not safe . . . and there is no point in waiting.”
“I can’t say goodbye. I won’t.”
She smiled. “You are a stubborn man.”
“I don’t feel much like a man right now.”
“Now you listen to me, lover boy. You are probably the most admired Sky’lord of this generation.”
“Only because I have you,” he managed to tease.
L’elle smiled . . . but that soon turned to tears. “I want you to promise me something.”
“I’m not going to fall in love with someone else so don’t even think it.”
It was exactly what she was thinking. Instead, she said, “Name your first daughter after me.”
The radio went silent as each tried to control their emotions. Finally, Kon’dor asked, “What are you going to do?”
“If I had more fuel, I would leave Splendora and try to find us some help. As it is, I can only make a low orbit.”
“We both know that it will decay in a few weeks at best. Without fuel, you’ll burn up on re-entry.”
She knew it very well. “I’m going to choose a trajectory that passes over you once every day. We’ll be able to talk for a few minutes when I do.”
“L’elle. Go south. The land is hospitable. You could survive for years.”
She didn’t want to argue. What was the use of postponing the inevitable? She wasn’t taking her own life – that had already been taken. She was just choosing the method and the time of her demise. However, that would not be a discussion she would have with the man she loved. “Get inside the Glass now. Please. I’m headed for orbit. Talk to you tomorrow.” She didn’t wait for a reply.
*****
Sparky, who wasn’t wearing her exoskeleton, crooked a finger at her man – combining it with a come-hither look.
“No, no,” he protested. “If I have to kiss you every time I say something incredibly romantic, we’ll never get anything done.”
“You ruin this moment and I’ll beam you down to the planet in your skivvies.”
“You’re mean,” but he walked over, leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. As he tried to straighten up, she pulled him by the ears and forced him to do a proper job.
“Enough you two,” whined Bree. “Until I get a man of my own, I expect you people to show a little consideration.”
Skotti disengaged himself and stood. “I have at least a half dozen friends I could set you up with. Just say the word.”
“Do any of them have wings?”
“Is that really important to you?” asked a curious Jax’x. “You can’t date a man without wings?”
“I could, but it would never get serious. The ability to fly – or in my case soar – is who I am. Only a man who can experience the same thing could relate to me – and me to him.”
“That narrows the field considerably,” added Serenity. “Me thinks you’re going to have to reconsider your fellow Zynn-Zaz-Zians.”
“Unless I can find a Sky’lord,” replied the butterfly girl wistfully.
“Speaking of which, let’s see if this thing really is hollow,” said Skotti.
“You want a sledge hammer,” teased Serenity.
“What I really want is to use the lab. Can you three ladies survive without my company for an hour or two?”
Before anyone could respond, Sparky pressed a few buttons and Skotti turned into a cascade of twinkling lights and disappeared. The surprised look on his face as he faded away caused the ‘three ladies’ to burst into laughter.
“Serenity, he is definitely a keeper.”
“Jax’x, for once I won’t argue with you.”
“If only he had wings . . .,” said Bree dreamily.
*****
Long Ago, Somewhere in Orbit above Splendora
She rummaged through a few lockers until she found a pad and stylus. Returning to her command chair, she settled in to eat her dinner and to begin her journal. In approximately fourteen days, the ship would reenter the atmosphere. She had that long to get her thoughts on paper. She would place the journal in a metal case that had housed a medical emergency kit. It was constructed to withstand a lot of abuse. With a little luck, it would survive the fiery descent to the planet.
This memoir wouldn’t have any logical construction. It wasn’t going to start at the beginning and progress chronologically. It would be a stream of consciousness -- a random walk through her life. And so she began . . .
“To the person who finds this document, greetings. My name is L’elle. I am twenty-four years of age as measured by the revolution of this planet, which we call Splendora, around our sun. I am a Tertiary Kommander in the Sky’lord Space Corp. In fourteen days, I will cease to exist, having chosen the time and method of my demise. But know this; it was an unprovoked alien invasion that took my life. But, more on that later.
My life has been ordinary by most measurements. That’s not to say it hasn’t been rich in experience and accomplishments. But as I look back on those things that seem so important to me at the time, only one truly stands out. His name is Kon’dor and he is the love of my life . . .”
*****
Onboard the Gracie
It took him almost the full two hours but it was worth the effort. He ran back to the control room to show the others. Bursting into the room he boomed, “I was right.”
The other three had already conspired to pop the guy’s bubble. “About what?” asked Serenity without even turning around.
“What do you mean about what? That thing was hollow and look,” he held up a pad. “It’s obviously a personal journal. Maybe it will tell us what happened to this civilization.”
“Are you hungry? I’m starved.”
“What?”
“Me, too,” added Bree.
Not to be left out, Jax’x asked sweetly, “Be a dear and bring us something to eat, would you?”
Skotti may have been a man, but he wasn’t entirely stupid. “You’re right. I’m hungry too. I’ll go cook up some stew. And as far as this journal goes, we probably shouldn’t read it. It’s obviously very personal and we should respect the author’s privacy. I’ll put it back in the container and beam it to the surface.”
“NO,” screamed BreeZee. “Don’t you dare.”
“Are you crazy? Bring that thing over here,” demanded Serenity.
Jax’x, who was the only one of the three ‘ladies’ that had had a long term relationship with a man (remember Jay’gar?) sighed loudly. “You two are pathetic. He’s teasing you.”
“Really?” asked Bree.
Jax’x shook her head sadly. “Sorry, Skotti, you deserve better.”
“That’s okay. Sparky makes up for her naivety by being exceedingly grumpy. It’s an endearing combination.”
“Shut up.”
“Yes, dear,” and they all giggled. Well, not the young man.
When the moment passed, Bree asked, “May I see the journal?” Skotti handed it to her. “Don’t suppose you translated any of it?”
“No. Her scribble isn’t very good. I’m just hoping the AI can read it.”
“What do you mean ‘her’?”
“That’s a woman’s handwriting. I would put a wager on it.”
“That makes more sense,” quipped Sparky. “The idea that a man would be that romantic is pure fantasy.”
Skotti made a move towards his girl but stopped when Bree grabbed his arm. “Before you two annoy me any further, scan this in please.”
“As you command,” he said with a smile. He took the pad and did as asked.
“Computer, can you translate the document just scanned?” asked Jax’x.
“Affirmative.”
“Please give this priority.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Okay guys, I think it’s time we get some re
st. I’ll take the first watch.”
“Jax’x, I’ll do it. I’m very anxious to read that diary. These Sky’lords – I kind of consider them to be distant cousins. The computer should be able to translate the journal in short order.”
“Okay by me. Wake us if you find out anything interesting.”
“I will.”
*****
Back in Time: Sanctum of Reverie
“L’elle. L’elle,” but he received no answer. He exhaled loudly then sat down on a boulder – shoulders slumped forward, head hanging down. Too numb to form an intelligent thought, he just sat there staring with unfocused eyes at the ground. After a few minutes frozen in place by grief, an aftershock shook the cavern. Pebbles and dirt rained down on the young man waking him from his paralysis.
He stood up and rubbed his face in his two powerful hands. L’elle was right – he needed to enter the Glass. However, he had no intention of going in there while the device was at a pleasure setting of two. The thought of being artificially induced by the Glass to be mildly happy was nauseating to him. It felt like a betrayal of his love for his woman. By placing the Apprentice Bracelet on his own wrist, he would in effect be immune to the Glass’s induced pleasure. He would be able to suffer his loss for as long as he needed to.
Eventually his pain would ease – such was the nature of life. But it would not be today. Or tomorrow.
Another seismic event shook the cavern. It was so violent that it knocked Kon’dor to the ground. A rumbling sound made him look up. To his horror, large sections of the roof came crashing down. Discretion, being the better part of valor and of stupidity, he made the only sensible choice – he dove through the Arch and into the Glass.
Behind him, rock and rubble were bouncing every which way. One sizeable chunk hit the Arch. The impact caused the intensity control to fall out of its holder. Upon landing, the delicate mechanism broke.
Without the device in place, the safety protocol that caused anyone inside the Glass to be ejected when the power went off would not function.
If or when the power to the Glass was ever turned off, those inside would simply cease to exist.
And once again, back on the Gracie
Enveloped in silence and lost in thought, Bree nearly jumped out of her skin when the computer unexpectedly announced, “Translation completed.”
“Don’t do that,” said the flustered girl.
“Command incomplete. Please clarify.”
The girl smiled. “Disregard. Download the file to this monitor.”
“Acknowledged.”
Bree pressed a button and the translated text appeared on her screen. She settled back and began to read . . .
“To the person who finds this document, greetings. My name is L’elle. I am twenty-four years of age as measured by the revolution of this planet, which we call Splendora, around our sun. . .
Chapter 9 – Pleasant Under Glass
An hour later Bree finished. Her eyes were moist and her bottom lip was bleeding where she had inadvertently bitten it. L’elle’s journal was not what she had expected. It was more akin to a diary filled with love letters than a story of a lost love. There were so many anecdotes and observations about this individual – Kon’dor, was his name – that she felt she knew him personally. Some of entries had even made her blush – not because the intimacy described was by any means inappropriately explicit or coarsely indecent. Just the opposite; it was described almost poetically – this love between two individuals that knew no bounds.
It made her sad. For L’elle, for Kon’dor and even more so for herself. The other two lost something beautiful years too soon. However, they at least had had the chance to experience something most do not. She didn’t think that would ever happen to her.
Sitting quietly for a few minutes to absorb all her emotions, she finally pressed the intercom and summoned the others. Five minutes later, they were all together.
“So what did it say?” asked Serenity getting right to the point.
“Well most of it was about the relationship between L’elle – the woman who wrote it – and Kon’dor the man she loved.”
“So nothing useful?”
“Sparky, you have to learn the art of listening,” chastised Skotti.
“What does that mean?”
“Can’t you hear how much the story affected Bree? It obviously had a huge impact.”
Bree’s eyes went wide and she looked at Jax’x. “As I said, a keeper.”
“I might have to make an exception about wings”.
“Back off, butterfly. He’s mine.”
Bree stretched out her gorgeous wings to the fullest. “Skotti,” she purred, “do you like to fly?”
“No, no, no. Don’t drag me into this catfight. I’m an innocent bystander and intend to stay that way.” He gave Serenity an exaggerated grin. Turning back to Bree he added, “But for the record, I love to fly.”
“Computer, self-destruct sequence alpha seven. Engage”.
“No such thing, Serenity”.
“Flirt with my man again and there will be.” Then she stuck out her tongue and the rest laughed. “So, tell us the rest of what the dead lady had to say. Anything about the demise of her people?”
“Oh yes. Apparently a swarm of meteors hit the planet destroying everything. But they only looked like meteors. They were ships filled with bugs.”
“What?”
“Computer, display the illustration on page eighty-five.”
“On screen,” came the reply.
“Take a look . . .”
They all crammed around the screen.
“Cute,” said Skotti.
“That explains it,” replied Jax’x. “If he finds that thing cute, by comparison Sparky has to be considered beautiful.”
*****
Back to the past for the last time
“Still can’t exit the Glass?”
“No. I’ve tried everything.”
“Maybe if we cut the power. Find a way to close the iris.”
“That could work . . . but then we would be trapped in this cave without food or water. Not a very good alternative.”
“Oh, Kon’dor. It’s all gone so wrong for us. For all of us.”
But his mind was on something far more important to him. “L’elle,” he pleaded yet again, “please. Land now why you still have the fuel.”
“To what end? To spend years by myself? Worse, what happens if these bugs are able to track me down? I might end up as their dinner. Or worse. Kon’dor, they frighten me. I won’t risk being captured.”
“I can’t say goodbye.”
“I know. So I’ll do it for the both of us. You have been the love of my life since I was twelve. You have been my best friend, my inspiration, my reason for living. We have shared so much in such a short time that I almost feel selfish. I can see you right now as if you were standing in front of me. You great big beautiful man . . . I will miss your lips. Your arms around me. The warmth of your touch. Find what happiness you can my love . . . with my blessing. Don’t let the memory of what we had stop you from loving another. Remember always that . . .” but the rest was lost to static.
“L’elle. L’elle. L’elle.”
One more meteor lit up the night sky . . . and she was gone.
*****
“Hi, guys. What’s going on?”
“How are you two love birds?”
Egg looked around as if checking for something – or someone. “Between you and me, I think I made a huge mistake.” Then, “STOP THAT. I told you no tickling.”
Benny’s smiling head popped up next to his wife. “S’up, my loyal subjects?”
Skotti asked his companions, “What did he say?”
“Stupid earth saying. It’s short for ‘what’s up,’” explained his girlfriend.
“Oh. Um, I don’t know how to respond.”
It didn’t matter because just then Egg turned and bit her husband on the ear. He grabbed her and they both
disappeared from the view screen to sounds of giggling.
“This was a bad idea,” complained Jax’x.
Bree wasn’t in the mood. “EGG. Get back here.”
A moment later, Flying Girl did. “Sorry. What’s going on?”
“We discovered something about this planet and I think you’ll want to be involved.”
“Important enough to interrupt my honeymoon?”
“There seems to be a whole civilization that needs saving. Thought you might want to help.”
“What civilization?”
“The Sky’lords.”
“I don’t understand? Where are they and what do they need saving from?”
“They’re stuck inside something called the Reverie Glass and giant bugs that invaded this planet centuries ago may still be hanging around to eat them.”
“Let me see if I understand.” Silence then, “Nope. I got nothing. What about you, little boy blue?”
“It’s quite simple, my love, if you were as sophisticated and worldly as I.”
“Really? So explain it to me.”
“Of course. Your friends are obviously sloppy drunk.”
*****
“Never mind. We shouldn’t have bothered you. We’ll figure this out on our own. You guys have fun.”
The disappointment in her friend’s voice was evident and Egg felt badly. “I’m sorry Bree. Why don’t you start at the beginning and bring us up to speed?”
“No, really. It was wrong to ask you to get involved. It’s I who should apologize. We’ll call you later if we make some progress.”
“Actually you’re doing me an enormous favor. If I hear myself giggle one more time I’ll be forced to divorce this blue-skinned, blue-blooded, blue-footed booby.”
“She’s just teasing. We’re actually quite inseparable.”
“I think you mean insufferable,” chirped Sparky. Skotti barked a laughed then slapped his hand over his mouth. Chumming around with the Prince was still a bit nerve-racking.
“In four days we’ll have been married for a month. Then I promise I’ll stop acting like a blithering bird-brained bride.”
“I on the other hand make no such promises,” decreed his royal-ness.
“Benny the goofy googly-eyed groom – your dad will be so proud.” At that comment from his girl, Skotti was forced to walk out of camera range of the vid screen less the Prince see him laugh.
Gracie - Box Set #6, Part 2 of Ever After [an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel] Page 8