by RJ
A two and a half meters tall acleeman waitress had brought some refreshments and took the orders from the couple. Their talk came to the morning events.
“You know, I’m grateful for what you’ve done today,” she said.
“My pleasure,” JB smiled lightly. Then he made a sip of the glowing beverage and looked at her more seriously. “Did that surprise you?”
“I know very few people who might act that selflessly. And there is no precedent for a human to take down a froll in close combat. Please, tell me about your world. How was it?”
JB took a second to think.
“There is not much to tell, actually. I didn’t like people much, then. They were greedy, narcissistic, blinded by ignorance. The wars were within us. And with each new generation life got more and more disvalued.”
“What did you do for a living?”
“I was a criminal. Haven’t I told that?”
“A pirate?”
JB laughed.
“No, not a pirate…” he said genially.
Then the mutant realized how different the locals imagined right and wrong compared to ancient people.
“So what happened?”
“I traded a heart for a cold brain. Never felt love in my life.”
“Isn’t that too much to give up?”
“I’ve never given much of a thought about that, actually.”
“What about your family? Are they around?”
JB’s eyes widened for a moment, he took a deep breath. It took a few seconds for him to think.
“I can’t really remember my father. Most of my childhood I lived with my mother and a step-brother. A second marriage wasn’t her favorite Idea, but she thought I needed a father.” An uncertain smirk grew on JB’s face. “Huh. The irony, he never was around. Military. He was always traveling. I was eleven when my mom left him and we came back home, to America. She died two months later. A car accident. Then I moved to my granny.”
JB got a bit sad telling that story.
“What about your step-father and brother?”
“Never heard from them since. And my mother had never told me anything about my real father. So, here I am. I didn’t really have anyone when we crossed over.”
JB took his time when narrating. He did it slowly. Occasionally he interrupted to drink, but he almost didn’t eat anything.
“You’re an interesting person, JB. I’m sure no matter what you did in the past, you’re a good guy,” with those words Nea laid her hand on his.
Wondering once again about the absence of that painful contact of his, he felt a great pleasure holding her hand.
“You know that I’m not exactly human anymore.”
“Yeah, but I can feel that you are…”
Those last words Nea was saying practically whispering. She leaned towards him slowly. And right before their lips touched she stopped. They could feel each other’s breath. Slight trembles went through JB’s skin, from the neck to the fingertips. He felt something like that for the first time in his life. She closed her eyes and kissed him gently. At first their lips touched lightly, then the motion froze for a second. JB kissed her back. When kissing, he moved his hand along her arm to hold her by the elbow. The kiss lasted for several seconds, then she moved back and smiled. No matter how hard JB tried to keep steady, his face deformed into a smile too.
Being utterly clueless what would happen to his life afterwards, JB wanted to give those feelings everything he had. For the first time in his life, his mind stepped back before his heart. In two months, he was supposed to start his five year mission. Most likely he wouldn’t come back to Earth for quite a while. Rationally, the idea of falling in love with his contact agent wasn’t good in any scenario. She was the one who was supposed to know about all of the danger he had to go through. But despite all of the enormous strength that JB had, he couldn’t resist it anymore.
The next day, after school, JB came to the military training center. It was a court on the top of the Ministry of Defense building. One of those four giant mushroom structures. There was a niche on the roof, in a form of a pool. It was the highest spot in Atlantis. One of few places where one could see the night sky, free of the city glow that blocked the view everywhere else.
By the time the cadet arrived, Nea was already waiting for him there. She didn’t wear her typical uniform that evening. It was a combat suit this time. The colors were the traditional white-blue, but the material looked much denser. And the armor plates in it made the overall look very impressive. A few spherical droids hovered near the woman, another few bipedal robots stood by behind her. It looked like some kind of preparation. But all that JB could think of was that beautiful reflection going over Nea’s hair and the soft light falling on her skin. Gradually changing his point of view, JB got to Nea’s eyes. That deep green color wouldn’t let him go easily. She was busy in the process of tuning one of the droids. Her slightly shaking cheek revealed an upcoming smile that appeared the moment he came out of the lift. As soon as she finished with her mechanical toy, she looked at the mutant and their eyes finally met.
“Are you ready, ranger?” she asked playfully smiling.
“Ready? For what?” JB watched as Nea walked closer. Then she stopped a few meters away. “No kiss?”
“Catch!”
With one swift move, she took out a sheathed sword from behind and tossed it to the mutant. The big guy caught it quickly.
“Katana? What am I supposed to do with it?”
JB took the blade out to take a good look at it. It was thin, mostly straight, one side was sharp, the other one – dull. Then he put the sword back into the scabbard.
“Katana? Never heard of it,” Nea replied. “This is standard forty-six-inch combat sword. A piece from a trooper’s weapon set.”
“What’s wrong with phasers?” JB wondered. He was a bit surprised by such an ancient weapon being used in the future.
“When you get into a close encounter with an enemy and the battery runs out, the phaser will be useless.”
“I’ve met a few… Remember?” the mutant joked. They had a fair share of laughs about that, but watching Nea’s eyes, JB thought that it still was too soon to kid on that subject. “All soldiers are skilled in using these?”
“It’s the only thing they are good at…” she implied clinically.
The woman came closer to stop in a few steps from him.
“What now?” he asked putting the weapon down.
“Defend yourself!”
With that shout, Nea took out a second sword from behind and made an abrupt swipe towards JB’s face.
His flash reaction hadn’t let him down, the cadet dodged the hit. The blade went over his bald top just by a few millimeters, and his hands bore up his own weapon at the same time.
Seeing readiness in JB’s stance, Nea loosened up her own. She straightened up and moved closer softly. She kept it quiet for the time being. She just looked in his eyes occasionally, lowering the look down each time and leaving a barely noticeable trace of a smile. It all was a play. Then the woman began walking around him, scanning his heavy strong body. JB on his side hadn’t flinched a muscle yet, waiting. When Nea finished her walk, she got very close in front of him.
The woman took off a device from her belt. It was a small white box of elliptic form. She pointed it at the mutant as if she was taking a selfie. Then, when the scan was done, Nea pressed the button and put that thing into JB’s hand. The next second a bunch of mechanical micro-bugs started to come out of that box. Crawling over his skin in all directions they got under clothes and in shoes until his whole body was covered. JB still didn’t move, not even when the tickling was too intense. Their eye contact went on.
“It’s going to be a little unpleasant now,” Nea warned him when the bugs stopped moving.
Then, in one exact moment, JB felt an enormous flash of pain in every inch of his body at once. His right knee loosened up at some point, but soon it got better.
“A little? That hurts like a bitch!”
“Those are microbots. They will tune your muscles,” Nea started explaining. “Their main purpose is to develop and adapt your muscle tissue. When you hit or dodge, they correct your movements. This way your muscle memory will be programmed to the right combat technique. Every warrior has to know how to handle a sword. It’s time for you to start learning.”
The golden haired beauty distracted the cadet with her charm once again. Suddenly, an unexpected hit went to JB’s neck. While his mind was still on the phase of realizing that such a hit couldn’t be intercepted, his body did the job by itself. His legs shifted the mass sideways and his arms lifted up the blade to counter the upcoming hit. That half second of action showed JB how that system worked better than any explanations possibly could. It was clear to him now what was waiting for them for the rest of the night.
“Babe, you really wanna fight me?” the big guy smirked.
Nea saw that she really had to give him a real lesson. Her next move hit him on the back of the head with the dull side of the blade.
“Shut up and learn something,” it was her turn to smile now.
The next few tries went smoothly, JB dodged each hit. He started to take it seriously. Then on another hit from above he blocked Nea’s sword with his and held it in that position. His head moved towards the woman under the hanging blades.
“How can I hit a lady?” JB asked, looking into her eyes.
“Why can’t you hit women?” she wondered.
Nea escaped from that block and swung towards his legs. The mutant jumped over it. Then he backed off a bit to look at her. She wasn’t kidding with her last question.
“Damn, a thousand years passed and that feminist shit is still around… Now you wanna fight men.” JB got fully ready for the game. “Okay, girl! We’ll do it your way! Get ready!”
“Finally! I don’t have to be easy on you now,” she said. “Show me what you got!”
It took just the one single word ‘easy’ to make JB change his arrogant expression. This time he got a bit scared even.
Nea ran sideways over the court.
“Activate program!” she shouted to that small drone of hers.
The smooth floor of that roof started to fall chaotically. Various platforms were rising up in the air to make a bunch of isles on the different height levels. Nea got up over them pretty quickly, leaving JB at the bottom.
“You want to get to me, ranger?” she shouted from the top. “You get to take care of them first!”
JB looked back to see a few dozen bipedal robots charge at him from all sides at once. Two meters tall combat machines armed with swords made him really worry. The mutant realized now that it wasn’t a game anymore. He had to move over those isles to keep them apart. He looked at Nea once again on the run. Whatever she had planned, JB was excited to find out. Those upcoming two months of training now were promising to be intriguing. JB couldn’t wait to see what might be next.
Two months passed as a couple days. JB had finished the full ranger craft training course. Now he knew how to operate a B-class spaceship, the basics of space combat, and many other vital skills.
Nea and he became a couple. Their feelings grew stronger more and more, and each day of theirs was much more precious than the one before, since the days were running out. JB knew for sure that if he decided to spend the rest of his life with someone, it would be her. And there he was. With a universe wide open in front of him. A limitless world full of dangers and adventures. The ranger was coming on his special path that would lead him to unknown lands, where any next step might be the last. There was no place for her in there, only in his heart. That new life was gradually displacing the old one from his memories. The new world seemed the real one, and the past was echoing as nothing more but a shallow dream.
The first governmental mission waited for JB. No parade, no honors for the agent. Just two people were aware of his real purpose. For everyone else he was just another pilot, free of enemies, friends, and past.
JB was in the hangar, preparing his ship for launch. It was a small vessel. Fifteen meters long and six meters tall. Two external engines were fixed to the outer frame, which could spin around the body’s axis. Generally it was a reliable, well-armed, fast, and maneuverable ship.
There were no one but JB around. Nea came in over his landing space. She looked sad, but at the same time proud. The woman knew it was the last time they could see each other before a long time of being apart. The engines were already on. In just a few minutes, he would launch and leave the planet.
The mutant felt a change in his surroundings. He knew that she came. The moment that sense grew, he got up to his feet and walked over the ship towards her. JB jumped from the vessel right before her. The man finally put his arms around his loved one. That firm hug made them feel complete again. Nea was smiling. Her eyes got wet with tears. She didn’t want to let go of him. Not saying a word JB pressed her firmly to his chest. She felt safe with him.
It was close to sunset. His eyes gained a sense of that shining. Turning her head up, Nea looked at him.
“Are we going to see each other again?” she asked.
“Don’t you doubt that,” JB answered confidently. “Just promise me that you’re going to think of me every time you look up in the sky and see the stars.”
“What beautiful words,” she whispered.
“Yeah, too bad they’re not mine…”
“Who’s, then?”
“Eminem,” lifting his eyes for a second JB confessed.
They both laughed.
“Here, it’s yours,” Nea handed him an old holster with a Desert Eagle gun in it.
“And I’d totally forgotten about it…”
Nea moved her hand down to lay it on that leather sack on JB’s belt. He revealed the secret of his strength to her. Just to her one, no one else. The first tear finally rolled over her cheek. It went down and dropped right on that bag.
“I love you, JB,” she whispered.
“I love you, Nea.”
The last hug was the strongest one, the most painful one. He gathered all the warmth inside that he could. The purest feelings of his love were in that warmth. Words were not enough to share what he felt for her. For a moment, they became one whole, when JB passed that warmth to her. She felt it.
More tears ran through Nea’s cheeks. She loosened her arms and let him go. While making his first short steps backward, JB still held her hands. He smiled kindly. Seeing that, she smiled back. The ranger let go of her hands and walked to the ship. When he got in the cockpit, they looked at each other for the last time. The hatch closed. In a few seconds, the thrusters burst the first flames. The vessel lifted up and moved out of the hangar. Streaming through the air space it flashed into the sky to disappear in its blue darkness.
FIVE YEARS LATER
Five years of service as a government undercover agent passed. The war kept going on. With each new year, the Galaxy Union was losing more and more space to the enemy. Over that time, JB’s group got divided. The people spread across the galaxy. In search for a new home, many of them had to travel far from Earth to do things they had never imagined before.
Doctor Gibson became a famous bioengineer in small circles. He had designed a prototype of a military suit that would allow soldiers to fight on the most severe planets. It was a colossal breakthrough for humankind for the next several decades.
JB had mastered the ranger craft. He had traveled through many solar systems, met thousands of other pilots and been in the most remarkable worlds. The scope of his quests was broad: from negotiations of local scale to military espionage. The hero fought hundreds of times against frolls. The blaster and sword became a part of him. As a ranger, he was a legend. But as a secret agent, he dreamed just of one thing – to be relieved from the service and to come back home.
Nea was his one and only contact to Atlantis. As a measure of precaution, they weren’t able to talk for all t
hose years. It was always encrypted messages, drop boxes, and many other spy tricks to keep the communication out of sight. Every day apart from her JB spent in dreams to be with her again, as a free man. The time had come. Five years were behind. The debt was almost paid.
There were just two missions left. The first one was a delivery assignment. JB had to visit an old friend at the science station of the Zaurak solar system. Mark Gibson was chief science officer there. The ranger looked forward to it.
The second mission still remained unknown.
When the vessel came close to the Guimg planet, an alert message popped up on the screen. The ship was set under surveillance. JB found himself surprised by that since he had the best stealth equipment on the market and beyond. A voice sounded from the speaker.
“Attention! You have entered a restricted area, ranger! Inform the intention of your visit!”
“I’ve come to see an old friend, yo,” JB replied honestly.
“Please, follow our pilots to the hangars.”
In thirty seconds, a two military ships appeared the JB's level. One flew in the lead, the second one stayed behind him. Both of them had Blue Army markings, yellow ‘M’ letter on the blue triangle background. Everything went fine, an escort led the guest through the desolation of that dead, rocky planet. JB didn’t have any idea why a research center might be there. The board computer identified oxygen in the air, so the ranger supposed that Gibson might be working with a team of terraformers there.
The speed was gradually lowering. JB noticed an artificial hole at the base of one of the rocks. They were heading right there. The gate opened up and all three ships entered the hangar.
It was much warmer inside. It was the first opportunity for Bridgers to stand on solid ground for the last month. Two big men came out of the guard ships. Soldiers. Heavy combat suits, short haircuts, and assault rifles were on them. As for the ranger, he looked nothing like any kind of official. His outfit consisted of colored pants made with strogus leather, a light blastproof vest, and the sneakers. His weapons were a compact phaser and a large knife. His hair was long and braided. In general, his look reminded of some futuristic hybrid hippie style.