***
The steady sound of a beep came through the darkness, slowly pulling Elu out of his unconscious state. His eyelids drooped as he tried to open them and he groaned against the weight on his head. What had happened?
“Well, hello, darling. How are you feeling?” asked a sweet voice next to him.
When his eyes finally opened, they focused on a beautiful, black-haired nurse with green skin and a wide smile outlined in red. He smiled.
“Oh, hi Anna Leigh. Do you come here often?” he asked through cracked lips.
A chuckle came from her lips and she leaned down to kiss his forehead.
“You are always so charming,” Anna Leigh said while stifling a sob.
“Sweetheart...” Elu whispered while reaching out.
“Baby,” Anna Leigh said, pressing her face into Elu's arm. “I was so worried about you.”
“What happened?” Elu asked.
“You were in a horrible accident,” she explained. “You were pinned under some rubble when the droids dug you out. You've been in a coma ever since.”
“How long was I out?” Elu asked while rubbing her head. Anna Leigh looked at Elu.
“You've been in a coma for two weeks,” she said. “Xander has been out of it, too, but he woke up a few days ago. I've been checking on you both around the clock.”
Elu frowned, searching for some way to comfort her even though he knew that was silly.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I can't tell you how much that means to me.” He lifted her chin and wiped away the tears that were falling, pressing his lips to the ones that were still quivering.
“Hey,” Elu said. “I'm here. See? I'm fine.”
“I know. I was just so choked up about it,” Anna Leigh said while sniffling. “I thought I was going to lose you. Two weeks...”
Elu choked back a sob, pulling her into a hug.
“But I didn't go anywhere. I'm still here. And so are you,” he said. “Don't cry, baby. It hurts to see you cry.”
“I can't help it,” Anna Leigh said, her body still shaking from fear. “I just couldn't stand the thought of losing you!”
“I know,” Elu whispered. Anna Leigh pulled away and wiped her face, exhaling heavily and then smiling as she studied the blue creature sitting on the bed.
“How's your head?” she asked.
Elu laughed, the simple motion causing pain to ripple through his chest. He coughed and then leaned back against the pillow with a grin.
“It's fine,” he said. “How are you?”
“Better now,” Anna Leigh replied while leaning in to kiss him.
They sat quietly for a moment, drinking in the company of the other as they rejoiced in overcoming the mine explosion. A cry from down the hall alarmed them, Anna Leigh standing while wiping errant tears from her face.
“What was that?” Elu asked.
“I'm not sure,” Anna Leigh replied, poking her head out to see what the commotion was about.
Someone yelled. A wheelchair fell over. Violent commotion came from down the hall and Anna Leigh gripped the doorway.
“It's Xander,” she said while clutching her chest. “Oh my God. It's Xander.”
A couple of armed federal guards appeared, holding Xander tight and dragging him in the opposite direction. Anna Leigh instantly sprang into action and ran after them, screaming for them to stop.
“This patient is under my authority and you cannot take him away! He's ill!” she cried while holding up her badge.
“Ma'am, we don't have time for this. We've been chasing this man for years and we finally have him in custody. Step away,” the guard replied while regarding her with a stern expression.
“He has had a concussion. You can't take him. Stop!” she cried, flailing against his muscular arm.
Xander's eyes were wide, his mouth caught open as the guard twisted his arm and shoved Anna Leigh away. She hit the ground with a hard grunt and stood on two shaky legs, ready to pry Xander away. Elu appeared behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, dragging her back a few feet.
“Don't intervene,” he warned. “I don't want you getting taken away.”
“But why are they taking him? I don't understand,” she said while choking up. “Xander!”
“Elu, take care of her,” Xander said as they placed him in electric cuffs. “Please, take care of her and try to get me out as soon as you can. I'm innocent!”
Elu's expression darkened as he held Anna Leigh, holding her tight as she tried to break free of his grip to run after Xander.
“You can't let this happen, Elu,” she sobbed. “Please, please, make them let him go.”
“I can't do that,” he said grimly. “Come. I have something to tell you.”
Confused, Anna Leigh stopped struggling and turned to face Elu who was looking down at the ground.
“What is it?” she asked, tears still rolling down her face.
Elu looked deep into her eyes and swallowed hard, the words dancing on the edge of his lips yet failing to exit his mouth.
“What is it, Elu?” Anna Leigh asked again, brushing the hair out of her eyes.
Elu shrugged as he looked away, shook his head, and then looked back at Anna Leigh with a grim expression.
“I'm afraid you won't like it,” he admitted. “Because it means...”
He shook his head again, fighting against the fear that was bubbling in his gut.
“This is really hard for me,” Elu said, his voice cracking as tears began to form.
“Just say it. What's going on?” Anna Leigh asked.
Her eyes grew dim with concern, Elu reaching out to stroke her face.
“I care so deeply for you and for Xander. If I had known...”
He couldn't finish his sentence. His lips opened and closed without a sound escaping, exhaling hard and shutting his eyes when he couldn't continue his explanation.
“Xander wasn't discovered by accident,” Elu went on.
His eyes welled with tears as he licked his lips and looked down at the ground, cringing at the pain coming from his rib cage. He shook his head when Anna Leigh tried to help him. There was no way he could go back from this. She would find out eventually. He had to tell her now.
“You're going to hate me,” Elu claimed between sobs.
“I could never hate you. I love you,” Anna Leigh insisted.
“You're going to hate me because of who I am,” Elu said.
“That's silly. I already know who you are,” Anna Leigh said while rubbing his hand. “Don't cry anymore. We need to get you back to your bed. You're going to hurt yourself.”
Elu shoved her hand away.
“I am not Elu Mander Drake of the planet Burskai. I am not the person you have come to know and love.” Anna Leigh furrowed her brows as her expression grew dark, focusing hard on the yellow eyes staring back at him.
“What are you saying?” she asked grimly.
“I am Elu Jebuddiah Holland of the Intergalactic Federal Protection Commission. I was assigned to Xander's case three years ago... in order to gather evidence against his name,” Elu explained.
Silence. Anna Leigh's lower lip quivered as more tears surfaced, her eyes burning with anger.
“You beast!” she growled.
“I didn't imagine then that I was going to form these feelings for you, and that something amazing would happen between the three of us. I promise I've been trying to protect Xander, and get him to stop stealing coax from the mine. I swear. I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner when these feelings became serious.”
“How could you?!” Anna Leigh cried, slapping him hard in the face.
“It wasn't my fault! I didn't know him then. I didn't know how beautiful this thing between us was going to be! I didn't know I was going to love you this hard!” Elu explained. “If you would just give me a chance, then maybe we could start fresh and get to know–”
“No,” Anna Leigh said quickly, cutting him off. “I don't think I
could ever be with such a liar.”
She poked her finger into his chest, pushing him back and turning to walk away.
“Don't go, Anna Leigh. You're everything to me. I've laid it all on the table now. We can move past it,” Elu said, grabbing for her hand again. “We can run away together. We can get Xander. I know places we can hide. We'll never have to deal with this or the mining business ever again. I have enough saved so we can–”
“Do you realize how much of a monster you are?!” Anna Leigh cried, her eyes wild as she turned around and slapped him in his chest.
Over and over her hands came down to strike him, Elu raised his arms to block the blows. He was sobbing at this point, regretting everything that he had said.
“Anna Leigh, please,” he begged, trying to grab her arms to make her stop. He was starting to feel the enormity of what he had done, and what had transpired. It terrified him.
“I don't want to hear anymore lies,” snapped Anna Leigh. “Ward assistant! Have this patient restrained,” she called to a beefy male attendant down the hall.
The ward assistant quickly came to Anna Leigh's aid, grabbing Elu by his arms and dragging him back to his room. When he resisted, they called for another ward assistant and had to pick him up forcefully. Elu's ribs burned as the two ward assistants gripped his body and carried him back to the room, where he was strapped in. His screams were ignored as Anna Leigh walked away, her heels echoing down the hall.
“No!” he cried. “Please, come back!”
He'd ruined everything. Anna Leigh hated him, and Xander was going to prison. He struggled in vain against the straps that held him on the bed. He screaming and struggled and tried to kick himself free, harming his body all over again and causing a headache. As he continued to struggle and cry out, the nurse injected a calming serum into his IV and patted his hand as the room went dark, thrown once again into the black oblivion where no one was by his side.
The End of Book 1
Book 2
A steady beeping sound came from a nearby room as Elu stood in front of the check out counter. He drummed his blue-skinned fingers against the cool, polished marble, waiting for the attendant to give him her attention.
“Name?” asked the attendant.
“Elu Mander Drake,” he replied.
She typed into the computer.
“Alright, Mr. Drake. Your payment has been filed with your insurance company and your co-payment today is 800 flemmings,” she said.
Elu pulled a card from his wallet and handed it over, staring at his fingers that were still scarred up from the blast. A ringing noise filled his ears, images of the explosion suddenly clouding his vision. The explosive sound caused his eyes to widen and he gripped the counter.
“Mr. Drake?” asked the attendant.
He raised his eyebrows.
“Your card, sir,” she said while holding it up.
“Oh,” he said while taking it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Here’s your paperwork from your surgery and prescriptions from your doctor,” she explained. “Have a wonderful day, Mr. Drake.”
Elu carefully took the folder from the counter, nodded, and then walked slowly down the hall towards his log station. Most of the way was quiet, his face grim as he approached his bedroom. The door closed quietly behind him. A picture of him and Xander sat on the dresser. He stroked the frame for a moment, watching as the digital display faded into a new picture of them standing with Anna Leigh. He sighed and shut it off.
As he packed his things, his phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket to find his therapist calling.
“Hello, Dr. Marrow,” Elu said.
“How are you feeling, Elu?” Dr. Marrow asked.
Elu shrugged even though his therapist wasn’t in the room.
“I’m not sure, Dr. Marrow. Maybe a bit empty,” he replied.
“Well, that’s to be expected. Why don’t you come in when you’re finished packing and we’ll have a session?” Dr. Marrow asked.
“Sure thing,” Elu replied.
“Alright. I’ll see you soon,” said Dr. Marrow.
After hanging up the phone, Elu shoved it deep into his pocket and lifted his bag, wincing from the pain in his shoulder. He gripped the strap while gritting his teeth, hot tears returning to his eyes. Pain had never affected him this way before. He was completely vulnerable to his emotions, to every single reminder of that day. As he walked to the door, he saw the digital note Anna Leigh had left next to the light switch that so fondly read, “When the two suns rise, it’s another day with you.” A little heart was drawn next to the fine cursive and he smiled at the memory, tears returning as he set his bag on the ground and covered his face.
“Get it together,” he whispered to himself. “You did what you had to do. It was a job.”
But was it just a job? He asked himself. How could it have been just a job when I feel so incredibly guilty?
Elu sighed and lifted his bag from the ground, stepping out his bedroom door and shutting off the lights. The LED screen of the picture frame glowed in the dark from the desk. He left it, walking away as soon as the thought occurred to him to grab it. When he was halfway down the hall, he turned quickly on his heel and returned to grab it from his desk, shoving it deep into his bag.
After turning his keys in to the main desk of the log station, he went out to the collection of workers leaving for the season, boarding the flight that would take him to the planet Intergalaxis where the Federation headquarters was located. The flight didn’t take more than six hours and Elu occupied his time between the in-flight movie and his debriefing folder which he mostly skimmed listlessly.
Upon arrival on Intergalaxis, he gathered his bag and went straight to Dr. Marrow’s office where he knocked hard on the metal door. No sound came through the steel save for the locks clicking and a voice coming over the intercom.
“Come in,” said Dr. Marrow.
Elu pushed the door open and sat in his usual seat, listening to the sound of the door hiss behind him as it closed. Dr. Marrow sat pensively staring at his glass desk, sliding through different documents as they appeared on the LED screen. He looked up and smiled, pressing the corner of his desk to turn it off and folding his hands on the glass.
“Hello, Elu,” he said.
“Hello, Dr. Marrow,” said Elu. “How are you?”
“I’m doing well. How was your flight?” he asked.
“It was boring,” Elu replied.
Dr. Marrow nodded.
“Were you able to go over your debriefing documents?” he asked.
Elu nodded.
“Do you have any questions?” Dr. Marrow asked.
Elu sat silently for a moment, looking down at the glass desk that was now black. He studied the angled reflection of his therapist and stroked his chin.
“I don’t understand why someone who was such a good person would steal from the Federation,” Elu explained. “He had a great paycheck, a great life, a great girl... Why would he risk all of those things?”
“Perhaps he felt differently about the Federation than you do,” Dr. Marrow suggested.
“Well, that has been quite clear throughout the years. But the Federation has always regulated these things and their efforts to protect resources has been extensive,” Elu said.
Dr. Marrow nodded.
“I mean, he didn’t squander the money. He ended up giving a large portion to some private accounts on his home planet,” Elu went on.
“I remember reading that in your report. Do you think he was protecting family? Friends?” Dr. Marrow asked.
“Possibly. I’ve known him for so long that I wouldn’t put it past him to do such a thing. He was never particularly selfish,” Elu replied.
“Perhaps he had charitable motives,” Dr. Marrow said.
Elu looked down at his fingers, rubbing his thumbs together with a sigh.
“He did say he wanted to treat us to a vacation with Anna Leigh,” he said low.
“I never wrote that in my report considering the incident.”
“Have you updated your report since?” Dr. Marrow asked.
Elu shook his head.
“Why is that?” Dr. Marrow asked again.
“I just haven’t...” Elu trailed off with a shrug. “I was resting.”
Dr. Marrow nodded, shifting his gaze to his desk with a slight grin and then looking back up at Elu with a knowing glance.
“Is there anything you would like to tell me today? Our last session before the blast was interesting because you looked incredibly happy about Xander and Anna Leigh even though you knew the ramifications of your actions,” Dr. Marrow explained.
“Of course I knew. I signed up for this job understanding human emotion and the potential for attachment,” Elu said, folding his arms across his chest.
“So, you don’t regret it?” Dr. Marrow asked.
“Well, no. Never. It was for my job and for the Federation. This is what I do,” Elu said. “The attachment is merely a result of living a double life.”
“That sounds difficult. How did you manage to separate your two lives without them co-mingling?” Dr. Marrow asked.
“Well, you know that better than I do, Dr. Marrow. You’re the one who trained me to steel my mind,” Elu replied.
“I did. That’s right,” Dr. Marrow said.
“And you taught me how to manage emotion from both ends of the spectrum, from positive to negative. I’ve been doing fine with it since,” Elu said.
Dr. Marrow raised a curious eyebrow.
“What?” Elu asked while raising his own. “Don’t give me that look. I know what I said last time. I was confused.”
“If I may be frank, Elu, you didn’t sound confused at all. In fact, it almost sounded like you were in love,” Dr. Marrow said.
Elu huffed.
“That’s preposterous,” he said with a shrug. “How could I be in love with two people, especially another man?”
“Have you ever heard of the attachment of B’khar?” Dr. Marrow asked.
“No, I’m not familiar with that,” Elu replied.
“It was common for your Burskai ancestors to participate in triad bonds where two men and a woman mate for life. They form this attachment called B’khar, originating from Bukhara who was the deity of loving triads. Your family history, as I understand, is rooted from these beliefs and will inspire your yearning for such a bond,” Dr. Marrow explained.
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