“Time to stop this barbaric invasion and pay for your crimes,” I stated. Suddenly, he elbowed me in the stomach and grabbed my laser cannon. Jessie saw this and ran to my aid, firing her laser cannon and charging her energy beam. Demarin hid behind the post again, keeping my gun aimed at me. I had my arms in the air.
“That’s enough! Put down the gun if you hope to see your Karkastian lover alive, ever again,” Demarin said, coming out from behind the post, holding me with the other hand.
“Let him go, leave him out of this. Let’s settle this just you and me!” Jessie scowled. Her eyes looked like a sinister cat, poised to attack its prey. I had never seen her quite like that before.
“Jessie no, don’t do this!” I pleaded, fearing what Demarin might do to her.
“I’m sorry, Yahn, but my mind is made up. Put down the laser cannon, Demarin and let’s finish this the old fashioned way.”
Demarin did something I almost never saw a Sarceastian do. He took off his hood to reveal a gray, sickly complexion, long, pointed ears, an almost skull-like face, and two hideous red eyes, glowing brighter than ever.
"You look better with the hood on, Demarin." Jessie was now trying to provoke Demarin, and it worked. He came towards her full force, swinging his energy beam like a giant mace and shooting the beams directly at her. Jessie responded by ducking, rolling and hiding behind another post. All of sudden, she came at him whirling her energy beam around in a circle, creating an orb of energy that she projected at him with one large beam. He jumped out of the way just in time, and the beam took out one of the posts. The building began to sag a little bit. I looked at the laser cannon strapped to Demarin's side and was tempted to try and grab it from its holster. I crept closer, but Demarin turned around to face me.
“Don’t try anything, Karkastian. If you think you’re going to get my laser cannon, you’re fooling yourself!” He threatened.
I backed off just as Jessie came at him again. She was chopping with the energy beam up and down and back and forth as energy pulses came at Demarin from four different sides. One of the beams came into contact with him, burning his side.
“Ah! You’ll pay for that!” he yelled, coming at Jessie in full speed. His energy beam was moving so fast and all I could see was a blinding flash of energy. Jessie passed through his legs suddenly and turned to thrust her energy beam at him. However, he anticipated this move and came down on her with a sudden energy burst.
"Ouch!" she screamed, clutching her arm. She jumped backwards and dropped her energy beam, which fell at her side. Demarin took advantage of this opportunity and came at her again. She jumped to the side, rolled again and went behind the nearest post.
“Ahhhh!” She screamed like a mad woman, coming at him with such a fierce rage, I thought she might erupt into flames. Demarin jumped right over her beam, got behind her and made contact with her arm again.
Jessie clutched her arm, which had a large, blackened wound in her bicep. Luckily, it was cauterized by the high temperature of the beam. Her arm seemed too weak to hold up the beam directing device. Demarin came and stood over her, putting the beam down at his side for a second.
“A pity to have to kill you rather than profit from your capture. Still, I can’t let you get away with thinking you can harm me, Earthling!” he teased.
Jessie reached for the beam director with her uninjured hand, but Demarin was quicker and shot one at her. She rolled onto her back and then sprang to her feet. I looked at the weak state she was in and decided that I was going to try to transfer energy to her to strengthen her. I closed my eyes and thought of how much I loved her and relived the happier moments we had shared. I compiled the positive energy of those moments into a single beam and sent it to Jessie. Her eyes glowed with an electric blue energy and her stature seemed to increase. Demarin was coming at her with another attack, whirling his energy beam into a maelstrom of light again. Jessie came at him with a sudden burst of energy that knocked him backwards and threw his energy pack off of him. He lay on the ground cowering in front of her. She stood over him and put her energy beam back at her side. The room was beginning to fill with allied soldiers that had heard the noise of the fight. They crowded around Demarin and bound his hands.
“Are you alright, miss?” a young soldier said.
“I’m fine,” she answered. I ran over to her and put my arms around her.
“I couldn’t have done it without your love,” she whispered in my ear.
“Go on and kill me. I don’t wish to suffer the judgments of you inferior beings!” Demarin hissed, defiantly.
“More than likely, that will be what happens in time, Demarin,” Jessie said, giving Demarin one more threatening stare before they took him away.
“There’s certainly a part of me that wishes I had killed him,” she reflected.
I put my arms around her shoulders and led her out of the building. We looked around us and saw mostly allied troops that were doing their best to round up what was left of the Sarceastian forces. We were taken to a military facility so that Jessie could have her arm treated. While we sat waiting to receive some treatment, an important-looking official came in to talk to us.
“Good afternoon Private Jessie and Yahn of Karkast. I’m Sergeant Warner. I’m in charge of this unit of the United Army. I also want to add, that I’m most pleased to see that the two of you made it out, relatively unscathed. You don’t know how much of a debt of gratitude we owe the two of you.” He shook both of our hands.
“Just doing what I can to protect my homeland,” Jessie said, smiling.
"Well, without the destruction of those Sarceastian cruisers, we would still be fighting a bloody battle on the ground. My sources now tell me that we have either killed or rounded up almost all of the remaining Sarceastian fighters. If you hadn't destroyed those cruisers, they'd still be spitting out fighting ships with more troops. Now, the war is all but over. Thank you so much!"
“I’m just pleased to hear that they’ve been defeated,” Jessie said, humbly.
“Oh, I’m sure the general and the president of the United Earth Alliance Assembly will have a huge reward in mind. For starters, you can forget the whole bit about considered traitors. Your records will be expunged and your reputation will be restored.”
“That is good to know, Sergeant. We do appreciate it!” I said. Many more soldiers and other personnel came over to talk to us, thank us, and shake our hands. I could tell that Jessie was tired and ready for us to be alone. The doctor came and bandaged up the wound.
"Those energy beams do cauterize their wounds well. Good thing he didn't hit you harder or it would have been completely severed," The doctor said with a smile. Soon we were allowed to go to our bedroom, which was a small barracks with not a lot of room. We were just both glad to have some time to rest and be alone after everything that had happened.
I sat down beside Jessie on the bed and began to massage her shoulders. "I am so proud of you, my love. All this time, I had no idea what a great fighting soldier you were. I knew you were strong, but you were so ferocious, I could feel the fire coming from you."
She smiled and put my hand on her chest. "This is where the real fire is burning right now. For now, I know that the two of us will be able to leave behind the life of fighting and running. We will now be able to settle down and concentrate on building a life together, finally. All this time, that was the only thing that I ever desired. Now we can make that happen."
“Yes, my love. That is all I ever wanted. Somehow, I always knew that we would have that peaceful life together. As I said, I’ve always known. I just had to have the patience to wait for it.”
Jessie leaned over and kissed me for a very long time. I wanted to live in that moment when our hands were intertwined and our lips locked together. I could die at that moment and I would be perfectly content. After we opened our eyes, we fell down together onto the bed and made love, slowly, pausing to give one another tender kisses and caresses. I was beginning to t
hink that human sex was better than the Karkastian method, although it could have been my partner that made it so special. The method did not matter because it was always a loving, intimate exchange when we became as one body, experiencing pleasure as one mind.
Chapter Thirty
Jessie
I still couldn't believe that we had actually defeated the Sarceastians. All at once, we had solved two problems, the problem of being known fugitives and the problem of the Sarceastian invasion. I had found an inner strength and a courage that I never knew I possessed. Despite all of our accomplishments, the only thing I wanted was to rest. After we had some of it, I wanted to see my parents- to hold them and cherish them and tell them I loved them. I could only hope that they would be ready to receive Yahn as my life partner, and I had a feeling they would. After they fully realized just how much he had helped me. For I could not have done any of it without him by my side. This I knew for certain.
Once the doctor cleared me, Sergeant Warner told us that we could leave whenever we were ready. He was glad to know that we were going to the Washington area because there was a ceremony being planned in our honor in a week. I really didn't want any recognition. It was quite enough to know we had held the Sarceastians back and civilization as we knew it, was intact.
We were given a hover car by the Allied Army and sent on our way. It was refreshing to see so many faces smiling at us and hands waving at us. It was a far cry from the persecution and judgment we had previously faced. In the daylight, the damage to the New York area was not as bad as I had previously thought. Here and there a government building or skyscraper had been destroyed, but for the most part, the city remained intact. We drove the hover car towards Washington and into the country. It felt good to be away from civilization again.
"You know a part of me wishes we were still living in my uncle's cabin. It would be such a simpler existence. So many people used to give him a hard time about living like people did hundreds of years ago, but it made sense to me. I like the idea of growing your own food, sewing your own soil and not being dependent on technology or the government for anything," I said to Yahn.
“You are starting to sound like a Karkastian,” he joked, making me laugh. “Well, you already know I would be happy living a life like that. We can do that now if we like. As a matter of fact, we can go anywhere and do anything without being worried about bounty hunters or policemen or any of it,” Yahn mused.
“Yes, it is a good feeling, isn’t it?” I added.
Soon, we came to my parent's house. It was a simple hover dwelling on the outskirts of Washington. It was the same as I remembered it except it had been given a new blue paint job. The ramp leading up to the sliding front door had been replaced as well. Memories of my childhood came flooding back to me as we walked up the ramp.
“Now, Yahn, I want to prepare you for how my father can be. He doesn’t understand why I fell in love with a Karkastian, but I get the notion he will change his mind after everything we’ve done to help out the United Army,” I cautioned.
“It’s not a problem. I will try to be as understanding as I can,” Yahn said in his usual, diplomatic way.
A second later, my mother opened the door. She still looked shriveled and gray, but in her green eyes there was a hopefulness that had been absent before when she had come to see me in jail.
“Jessie, I was hoping that you would come after the battle was over. We’ve heard about everything on the virtual reality player. You’re a hero and everything has been forgiven!” she shouted joyfully as she threw her arms around me. Then, she looked at Yahn with a smile.
“And you must be Yahn. I have heard many great things about you on the news. I never knew a Karkastian could be so kind and helpful towards humans,” My mother said.
“Most Karkastians were that way, truth be told. Unfortunately, I’m the last one left to prove it to people,” he answered with a smile. “It is very good to meet you as well.”
“I want to thank you for everything you helped my daughter do. I know she wouldn’t have accomplished all these things without help. I really appreciate you,” mother shared. Then, my father appeared behind her. He came immediately over to me and hugged me tightly.
"My little girl. You don't know how hard it was for me to see you in that cell, and now you are a hero. Soon, you will be a decorated veteran! I couldn't have been more proud." Next, he looked at Yahn from head to toe. I could tell there was still a hint of skepticism in his glance, but it soon turned into a grin. He extended his hand to Yahn.
“I want to thank you for looking out for your daughter,” he said. Yahn smiled and shook his hand firmly.
“She is quite capable of looking out for herself, but I was happy to be of assistance to her.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but I know you did quite a lot. Everyone we know is talking about you. They are calling you the savior of the planet,” father shared.
"Well, now that might be a slight exaggeration. I had a plan and I went through with it. There was no way I could have done it without all of the creatures that backed us up," I modestly stated.
“Yes, but you inspired them. Without your energy and enthusiasm, there never would have been such a decisive victory,” Yahn added.
“That’s right,” my mother agreed, pulling us inside. “Let’s continue this conversation over dinner.
Father asked Yahn lots of questions about the Karkastians and still seemed a little skeptical, but gradually, he began to warm up to him. I wondered if I should go ahead and tell him about the forever fact that we had made. After dinner, I discussed it with Yahn.
"Do you think we should go ahead and tell them about the commitment that we've made to one another?" I asked Yahn before he was about to go to the guest bedroom.
“Only if you feel they are ready for it,” he answered. “I want everything out in the open, so I’m alright with it.”
I kissed him and went to my parents’ bedroom. “Mom, dad- there’s something I need to tell you about Yahn and me. We have made a commitment to each other that’s like an engagement for Karkastians. It’s called a forever pact. I wanted you to know because I didn’t want to hide it from you. I love Yahn and he has made my life complete. More than anything else, I want your blessing.” Dad looked at me and then looked at mother.
“Honey, Yahn seems like a very nice, eh, person. We know how well he has helped to look after you through everything. Although I don’t claim to completely understand why you want to be with a Karkastian, I can tell he loves you. You have our blessing,” father said. I was overjoyed when I heard the news. I went over and hugged both of them. These were the best news I could have received.
A couple of days later, we were due to report to the capital for a reward ceremony. A large stage was erected right in front of the capital building for the occasion. I wore my old army uniform and stood right beside Yahn on stage. There were other soldiers there as well who had fought valiantly against the Sarceastians. An assembled crowd of thousands were in attendance. My parents were right in the front so they could get a good view. There were reporters from all over the planet there as well. The president of the Earth Alliance, James Williamson stepped up to the podium and began to make a speech.
"I want to honor two individuals who showed bravery and courage beyond the normal call of duty. One of them was one of our own fighting soldiers. She was accused of treason for reasons that seem unimportant now. When she could have easily chosen to hide out for the rest of her days, she chose to return to her home planet and gather a sizeable force that she used to destroy the fleet of the Sarceastian cruisers. At her side, assisting her in this endeavor, there was none other than the Karkastian who originally saved her from execution. Yahn of Karkast has shown us that we need to reevaluate our view of his kind. Thank you, Jessie and Yahn. We recognize your bravery by rewarding both of you with the Purple Heart," President Williamson spoke proudly. The applause was deafening and the flash of the cameras was blinding. He
pinned the purple hearts on our uniforms and soon we were asked to meet with him briefly for another reward. We went to the backstage area to meet with him.
"Jessie and Yahn, I am fascinated by you. The one thing that really stands out to me, besides your fierce determination and loyalty to your homeland, is your need for a place to call your home where the two of you can live in peace. Therefore, I want to invite the two of you to live in a colony on planet Gwuarden. It is a paradise that I'm sure the two of you will love. You will be given your own home and plot of land, and you can come and go as you please and return to Earth whenever you desire. What do you say?" he inquired.
I turned to Yahn and took him by the hands. “Well, what do you say? It sounds like it’s just the place we have been looking for.”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea. Thank you, Mr. President for this generous gift,” Yahn said, shaking his hand.
"It's the least we could do. Without you, we might not be standing here having this conversation." President Williamson showed us a virtual presentation of the tropical paradise we were soon to call home. It was lush and beautiful, not unlike the landscapes I had seen in Costa Rica on a youth trip I took, long ago.
After a couple of weeks of rest at my parent’s house, we were ready to embark on our journey to Gwuarden in a brand new space cruiser that was given to us. When we arrived, it looked even more beautiful than the presentation indicated. There were green mountains and jungle-covered landscapes as far as the eye could see. In a cleared area around a lagoon, there were several nice hover dwellings. It was a colony of beings from around the world that had paid top dollar for a place to retire. We were shown a large, circular dwelling surrounded by forty pristine acres and a cleared field for a garden plot. The air was fresh and clean and the sound of exotic birds filled our ears.
Yahn: Paranormal Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Alien Mates Book 4) Page 18