by Kal Spriggs
He set the promotion papers on his desk and carefully smoothed the wrinkles out of it. Already he had concocted an amusing story about an accident with the laundry, one that would go well with Commander Bowder's sardonic humor.
His mind went two, four, ten steps ahead as he considered his next moves.
***
“Hey, Ally, how you doing?” Forrest asked.
“Ally?” Alannis asked somewhat taken aback by his familiar tone.
“Well,” He shrugged, “I heard about your promotion and since we're the same rank, it's no big deal if I call you by first name. Alannis seemed a little formal... though now that I think about it, most Nova Romans do have a stick...” He trailed off and cleared his throat, “That is, you can be a bit formal sometimes.”
Despite herself, Alannis gave a laugh. “I take your meaning. I've... always just been Alannis.”
“Well,” Forrest said, “if you'd prefer, I could call you Alannis, I guess.”
She thought about that for a long moment. Her brother had always called her Alannis. But her brother could be formal and polite to a fault. Reese, too, had always referred to her by her full name. Now that she considered it, he'd never been one for pet names. “No,” Alannis said, “I kind of like it.”
“Great,” Forrest said. “Now, I'd heard you got a clean bill of health, you'll be out of here today, right?” When she nodded, he gave a crooked grin, “So... care to grab dinner?”
Alannis blinked at him, “What... like a date?”
Forrest coughed, “Well... if you want to call it that, who would I be to argue, right?” As she flushed a bit, he gave her a more gentle smile, “Look, when you were wounded, you said some things... we said some things... that maybe needed to be said. I know it was in the heat of the moment and I know that I'm not really fit for a princess, mind you. But...” he shrugged and she could see that despite his confident expression, this wasn't easy for him, not by a long shot, “For a night, I'll pretend you're just a woman and officer I respect and not a princess and maybe you could do the same?”
“Well,” Alannis smiled, “It would be a bit hard picturing you as a princess, maybe if I squinted a bit...” She laughed at his expression, “Sure, Forrest, that would be nice.”
“Great, I'll pick you up at seven,” he said. He stood awkwardly for a moment, “uh, see you later, I guess.”
“Yeah, see you later,” Alannis said as he walked out. She had a warm feeling in her stomach. Ashtar Shan had been right, she saw. It was time and past time that she moved on from Reese.
Not that she was about to let him run loose. Lucius had told her that the Constellation's next mission would be to find out what Reese and his mysterious patron were up to. She'd be going on that mission... and she wasn't about to let her ex-husband continue to sow chaos in his wake.
Now was a time for rest and recuperation, though. She'd see if that spark she felt for Forrest could grow into anything more. She'd spend time with her son. Maybe she'd be able to move past his resemblance to his father. She'd get herself where she needed to be.
And then, she thought to herself, Reese is going to pay for the lives he's taken.
###
The End
The Shadow Space Chronicles Continues with The Temple of Light
About the Author
Kal Spriggs is a science fiction and fantasy author. He currently has four series in print: The Renegades space opera and space exploration series, the Shadow Space Chronicles military science fiction and space opera series, the Fenris space opera series, and the Eoriel Saga epic fantasy series.
Kal is a US Army combat veteran who has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He lives in Colorado, and is married to his wonderful wife (who deserves mention for her patience with his writing) and also shares his home with his infant son, two three feline overlords, and a rather put-upon dog. He likes hiking, skiing, and enjoying the outdoors, when he's not hunched over a keyboard writing his next novel.