by John Short
The past six months had been the toughest of his life. The Instructors would come in hours before the sun had risen and literally toss everyone from their beds. There would be only minutes to take care of all the necessary morning activities like shaving, using the relief chamber, and getting dressed before being marched off for a breakfast of stale protein bars, lukewarm coffee, or maybe over cooked eggs with burnt toast if it happened to be a holiday. Halfway through the meal, the instructors would return to harass their trainees about how long it was taking them to eat and screaming for them to hurry up and lineup outside. Then the group of trainees would be marched out to firing ranges or classrooms that were at least five miles away from the barracks. Most days they ran those five miles to class.
Exercise sessions went on for hours at a time. Hand to hand combat lessons would take entire days and midday meals would be brought out to the trainees and served up on plastic plates with forks that doubled as spoons. The most difficult part for Jon to adjust to came when they started to inject him with all manner of nanoids designed to enhance his strength and agility. During all of this, cadets would sometimes fall behind and be shuffled to classes coming behind Jon's group. Sometimes he would be kept up at night by the sounds of young males and females crying themselves to sleep. Bedtime came after each day and Jon discovered that he usually had more stamina than most of the others. He would often find himself lying in his small bed wide awake when his mind refused to relax enough to let him go to sleep. For the entire six-month training period, Jon found himself living on fewer than four hours of sleep each night. He found that of all the things the service tried to teach him, he enjoyed the physical activities at the ranges and the combat mats the most.
Today he had one last job yet to perform as a mere cadet. As the highest ranking cadet in his group, he was to lead the troops in their graduation march before being released on a month long leave prior to reporting for flight training. Training had not been easy even for a purebred human with his extra size and muscle tone. The tests were designed to cause people to stress themselves beyond what most people would call the breaking point. Jon had never broken. He had reached deep inside and channeled every emotion he'd ever had, good and bad, into passing with the highest ratings the instructors had ever seen. Of course, none of the instructors had ever tested a human before. So it was with some satisfaction that he wore his dress uniform with its gleaming white leggings and tunic.
As he rushed back from early morning meal, he tried one more time to contact his aunt only to be told that she was currently unavailable, again, by the house security system. He hoped that meant that she was on her way to attend today's ceremony. However, he had been unable to contact her during this entire last month of his training when the trainees were allowed to make personal calls to family and friends. She would not have failed to return his messages if she had gotten any of the ones he'd already left for her. So today, while he felt good about finishing his training, he also worried that his aunt may be seriously ill. She was getting older after all and even with the miracles that the Healers could make happen, a person had to be able to get to one for them to work their magic. He worried that she was lying sick at home and unable to get help. He never planned on returning to Haven, but now he had changed his plans and that was exactly where he was going to go.
During the graduation ceremonies Jon kept scanning the crowd of visiting parents searching for his aunt's tiny figure. There were several Lexonian families in attendance. Each one dressed in finely crafted gowns. He did not see his aunt among them. Finally after what seemed like hours of speeches by one Officer after another, it was time for Jon to take the lead and give his small address to the crowd.
“Honored Guests, Officers and Leaders, on behalf of all of the cadets gathered here today I wish to give our heartfelt thanks. Thank you for guiding us along our journeys from childhood up to today when we step out on our own as fully entitled members of the Interplanetary Peacekeepers Service. Some of us will be leaving here to go directly to our units and may never meet one another again in our careers. Others will be going on for more specialized training. All of us understand the great sacrifice you all have made to bring us to this day in time and we will never forget your efforts.” Jon waited for a count of ten before continuing. “Honored Guests, may I present to you the graduating class 301,243.” He took a step back from the podium only to have another cadet begin calling out the names of each member of the class in alphabetical order. As each cadet approached to receive his or her certificate of graduation and have their official rank insignia pinned to their uniform's collar, they also had any awards that they had earned during training awarded and pinned to their uniform tunics. Of course Jon had won nearly everyone of the awards and so he had the most ribbons hanging from his tunic, not to mention his ornate sword and the black shoulder sash with gold braiding along each side to signify his eighth degree master status, when he literally stumbled across the one person he did not want to ever see again.
Helios King had seen Jon take more awards than any of the other cadets. He knew the giant freak had to have cheated to have won that many. The greatest insult had been when they had pinned those Lieutenant's bars to his tunic. He had to struggle to just meet the minimums to pass as a bare private who would not be getting any awards other than a private’s rank pinned to his tunic. At least he was not the last graduate. There were two others who had done worse and now stood in line behind him. No way that freak Connell placed that high. As Jon passed him in the line of cadets going up to and back from receiving their awards, Heleios stuck his foot in Jon's path. “I don't know how you did it freak, but I'll prove that you cheated and when I do, I'll have you sent back to Haven to the penal colony where you belong.” King hoarsely whispered.
“Hello Helios,” Jon whispered back, “better go get your papers, your daddy can't buy those for you.” Then with a forced smile, Jon walked straight to the rear of the gathered crowd of people.
“I swear, I'll get you for this freak!” Helios King muttered under his breath.
Instead of taking his seat with the rest of the graduating class, Jon exercised his right as top honor graduate to leave the field as soon as he received his rank and awards. He went straight to the barracks and grabbed his duffel. He'd packed everything he owned into the bag last night so he'd be ready to leave as soon as he could after the ceremony. He took one last look around the barracks that had been his home for the last six months before heading for the spaceport. Purchasing a first class ticket on a passenger liner headed to Lexon II's orbiting station, Jon boarded the liner, stored his duffel in the over head bin, settled back in his seat and promptly fell asleep. He would sleep all the way to Lexon II where he would grab anything headed to Haven. He had to check up on his aunt and take care of some business at the local bank. Jon never knew that he was such a rich man. No one had ever told him that his father and uncle had put the company business in his name to be given to him when he reached adulthood. Apparently he now owned 65% of all the cargo shuttles in the Haven system and at least three long-range FTL carriers. The part of the business that oversaw the system shuttles ran itself since his father had hired good people to oversee the business and Jon intended to keep them right where they were. What he was most concerned with was the huge sum of credits on deposit with the bank of Jonsville that were transferred to his name when he turned eighteen. Apparently for the last six months he had been one of the wealthiest people on Haven and he never knew it until he'd gotten a letter from the bank president in his last month of training telling him to make an appointment with the bank ASAP on his return to Haven. His aunt Gala had full authority to make all financial decisions for him while he was away. Why hadn't she already handled this?
Jon woke as the passenger liner settled into a parking orbit at the main space station and people began to leave the vessel. One of the ships stewards came up to him and asked if he was feeling all right. “You've slept the entire trip sir, are you f
eeling well? This station has a medical staff on hand at all times. Shall I call for a healer?”
“No thanks.” Jon replied. “I'm heading home on leave. I just completed six months of Peace Keeper training and didn't get much sleep the entire time.” Jon smiled at the pretty female attendant and stood up. Of course he towered over the much smaller female and she was startled by his massive size.
“My word, you're a big one, aren't you?” she smiled brightly. "And handsome too."
“That's what people always tell me, so yeah, I guess I am pretty big. I'm not sure about being handsome though” Jon smiled back at the lady as he made his way off the vessel and through the docking tube to the huge space station. The steward watched Jon exiting the ship. If he had turned back he would have seen a look of disappointment on her face as she wondered who the lucky female was that had marked the giant male. The poor male probably didn't even know yet himself but as any pureblood Lexonian female knows, once a female claims a male as her mate she leaves her scent on him until she can share her essence. If the old stories were true, a very lucky Lexonian female had marked this magnificent male giant.
Jon's first impression of the station was that it was little more than an orbiting playhouse for travelers. There were shops selling all types of electronic gadgets and other shops selling clothes. There where shops selling jewelry both the cheap kind and the extremely expensive kind housed next to shops that sold snacks and drinks of all kinds. Everything one can imagine was being sold at the gaudily decorated shops and small karts along the tube-ways. There was even a beauty parlor/barber shop and day spa combined into what Jon figured was a front for a pleasure house judging from the manner of dress he could see some of the workers almost wearing. He also took particular note of how some of the females openly admired him as he passed by making all manner of comments about his “Goddess given” good looks.
He realized that he was very hungry so he stopped at one female's shop when she made a comment about his good looks and asked her, “Pardon me ma'am, this is my first visit to this station and I was wondering where the best eatery can be found? Not one of the tourists places, but somewhere that the food is good and the beer is strong.”
“You'll be wanting to go to Jamie's Place. It’s just down this tube-way next to my shop and then turn left at the end. You'll run right into the place. I'm going on my lunch break soon, why don't you go ahead and get a table for two and I'll meet you there in 5 minutes?”
“Why don't I just wait here and we'll walk over there together?” Jon asked the female. He'd learned during his training that not all females were put off by his size. Some races actually like their males to be large. Several of the females he'd trained with had made sure he knew that they considered him to be what they would have called a "catch" if only they weren't already mated to jealous males themselves. The shopkeeper was attractive, but not one of the more exotic beauties Jon had seen hawking themselves at the other places despite her natural covering of light blonde hair over every exposed inch of her visible body. Not much of her body was exposed, she was wearing a very conservative pair of leggings and a brightly colored tank top shirt that had some kind of design that Jon had never seen before on an article of clothing. This female was not selling herself. Her shop offered every sort of repair tech for everything from light duty shuttles to heavy cargo carriers.
“Well, I don't usually walk with the visitors, but you look like a nice enough young male. Call me Phillmma.” she told Jon, “You can wait right over there while I close up the shop.” she told him as she pointed to a spot across the busy tube-way where an empty bench waited to be sat on.
“Thanks, Phillmma. I'm Jon Connell. You can just call me Jon.”
“No young warrior, I cannot. I like you. You are polite and considerate, not like others coming here on leave after training.” she flatly stated. “I see by your manner of dress that you are a fully trained Warrior of the Interplanetary Peacekeepers. Probably a brand new Lieutenant unless I miss my guess. You deserve everyone's respect. You shall have it, at least from me. Now go over to that bench and wait for me if you wish and I will be proud to walk with you to Jamie's Place for midday meal.” She made a waving motion with her hands as if she were brushing Jon away, but her smile told him her motions were more of the joking kind rather than what one would use to dispose of a person one did not want to speak to again. So he went over to the bench and sat down to wait.
As he quietly sat on the bench waiting for Phillmma to join him, he spent his time just watching the beings passing by. He watched as several families headed for ships taking them off planet, probably to settle at some other colony or join a work force out along the rim worlds. He saw several finely dressed males that he thought must be businessmen or salesmen of some kind as they each seemed to be in a hurry and each drug a piece of luggage on rollers behind them that looked exactly like all the others. There were also many females of the different races calmly strolling among the stores and karts. Each female seemingly searching for some item or another, but never actually selecting one before moving to another shop to start the process over. Jon figured that these females must be involved in what his aunt told him was “shopping”. She had warned him that when given the chance, all females enjoyed examining every item a shopkeeper offered all the while never planning to actually purchase anything. As a youngling he’d accompanied his aunt on several of her shopping days and quickly grew bored with the process even though his aunt seemed to be having a grand time. These “shopping” females dressed in all manner of fashion. Some wore their finest gowns in their respective colors, others wore neat crisp tunics while still others wore very casual coverings that just barely managed to hide the female flesh beneath the coverings. It seemed to him that the males who accompanied these females were either bored senseless, used to the experience after long exposure to the endless browsing, or showing signs of speaking out in anger. He decided that if he ever did get a female of his own, she could do all of her “shopping” without him. He had already decided that trying to act interested would soon have him heading for the nearest bar or picking the female up and carrying her, kicking and screaming if need be, all the way home.
Jon watched with interest as the people seemingly milled about with no set purpose. Every once in a while he would see a person pushing their way past the crowds to get to a flight before it left the station. He counted no less than four pickpockets relieving people of their purses and other valuables. He also watched with interest as the station authorities managed to arrest all but one of the thieves and return the stolen property. His attention was quickly drawn to one group of females in particular. There were five who were dressed in all black coverings from the top of their head to just above their ankles, and three more with the same coverings in white. No part of the female showed including her face. Jon knew that these females were experiencing what his aunt had taught him was the Lexonian female's mourning period. The ones in black had ended their mourning but stayed on as teachers and caretakers of the younger females. Some of the young females were the daughters of wealthy parents or members of the Royal Houses who had been given to the Priestess for training in proper female behavior in Lexonian society. Those in black had reached the important position of Priestess in the Order of Mourners on the hidden planet everyone just called Sanctuary. Only a few trusted pilots, who were sworn to secrecy, knew its location in space. The ones dressed in white had just recently entered their time in the Order of Mourning. These three dressed in white where most likely being taken to Sanctuary to complete their mourning periods.
As if they had some kind of advanced guard leading them, everyone stopped what they were doing and cleared a path for these females as they passed. Due to his aunt Gala's teachings and his respect for Lexonian custom, Jon stood, placed his fist over his heart and bowed as the females passed. One of the mourners who was dressed in black coverings stopped in front of him and, without saying a single word, reached up to gently pat hi
s cheek before turning away and following the rest as they marched down the tube-way to catch a ship down the line. Jon felt his eyes filling with tears as he watched the mourners walk away. No female had ever touched him that way except one. His face still felt the warmth of her touch and he knew why his aunt had not answered his calls. She had finally given in to her need to mourn the loss of her husband, Jon's uncle. “I'll miss you auntie.” Jon muttered as he sadly turned away from watching the females in their black and white coverings move further away from him down the tube-way.
“Hey there Warrior, why the tears?” the voice of Phillmma asked as she came over to him.
“I know one of those females.” Jon told the shopkeeper.
“Is she the one who marked you as her mate? If she is, then go get her before she gets on the ship to Sanctuary.”
“No female has marked me for anything. Look at me. I'm a giant freak. Who would want something like me?” Jon almost yelled but he managed to keep a tight hold on his anger and all the cycles of pain inflicted on him by his classmates as he grew up on Haven. “No, one of those females is my heart-mother. She raised me all alone after the death of my parents and my uncle, her own husband, while I was still a young male.”
“She must be an amazing female. I've never known of a Lex female who could postpone her mourning for a lost husband more than a few weeks.” Phillmma told Jon. “From the way you speak, it must have been cycles for her. Do you still want to go to mid-day meal?”
“I've suddenly lost my appetite, but yes, I need to eat something before booking passage to Haven. I'll probably have to find a freighter headed that way and I've been told the food on those things is terrible.”
“Your in luck, I happen to know some of the pilots, they come in to buy spare parts or to get something repaired. The ship from Haven is due in today and her Captain has already contacted me about repairing his ships ulducers before he turns around to head straight back. Its a fast job, I just have to change them out for two new ones that I have in stock already. I'll get him to give you a ride.”