Anstractor (The New Phase Book 1)

by Greg Dragon

  “We are going to free Vestalia, or we are going to die trying,” he muttered, and as he watched Vani sleep, he realized that for the first time, he actually believed it.

  Memory 09 | Fall Out

  At eighteen years of age, Captain Rafian VCA had twenty-three missions under his belt, over 240 certified kills via dogfights, and his face on a plaque in the Hall of Honor aboard the Helysian. He had done drops on Geral, recon in the seventh quadrant of Finian space, and helped retake Arisani when she was assaulted by Geralese Special Forces a year back. He was what the marines referred to as a war dog, because he had a sixth sense for danger and an eye for strategy that went beyond his years. Many soldiers from other ships sought him out for counsel, and his name had become somewhat of a legend within the ranks of the Vestalian military.

  Vani, who had taken Aurora’s praise seriously, began acting in small holo movies during her off-hours. It made her stressed out and tired all of the time, and she and Rafian would argue constantly because of it. Eventually, Rafian grew tired of the torrid situation between them, and when clearance came down from the commander for him to marry her; he locked it away in his bunk safe and never told her he had received it. After a while, he began sleeping in his ship or in the bunk beds of the barracks just to stay away from her. Vani was one of the sweetest girls he knew when she was happy, but it was her bad times that became unbearable, and he came to the silent conclusion that they had gone as far on their journey as they could.

  To clear his mind—and also as therapy after missions—Rafian began a routine of scouring, shining, and running maintenance on his ship, the H1G8. It was a ritual that would take literally hours, and once it was completed, he would go home to Vani, kiss her goodnight, and crash on the floor from exhaustion. The tension between them was going on the second month, and she was beginning to realize that he wasn’t going to be the one to apologize and make up this time.

  One day after he had spent time on his ship, she confronted him. “Am I that terrible that you can’t come home to me, Rafian?” she asked with as much effort as she could to mask the hurt and anger in her voice.

  But he was not swayed by it in the least and stated most affirmatively, “Short answer is yes, Vee. You’re not the kind of stress a man needs to deal with after risking his life.”

  She was about to retort, but he cut her off and continued. “For as long as we have been together, we should be inseparable like normal couples are—knowing each other, loving each other, and being open-minded to compromise. All you ever want to do is complain and make me feel bad for my career.”

  Vani kept her mouth shut and nodded in agreement, then began to cry loudly. Unable to help himself, Rafian embraced her, and she sobbed into his shoulder for what felt like days.

  “I think we need to take some time off from each other, Vee…just for a while, till the air clears a bit.”

  Vani loosened her grip a bit on him but kept her face on his chest and spoke. “Ya…maybe we ought to do that.”

  Vani hadn’t said anything to Rafian, but she had become extremely edgy with him after hearing the way the other women were talking about him and his body. He had grown to be a handsome, muscular young man, and his name carried more weight now than man his age could have ever imagined. Vani was even more beautiful, filling out in the right places, carrying herself like a goddess, and staying extremely feminine for her role in the holo-vid industry. However, being beautiful was not enough to slow her jealousy, and the admirable self-esteem she pretended to have that she displayed through her spicy tongue was no longer considered cute by her peers. She had become angry and nasty in their eyes, and Rafian received the worst of it as she punished him verbally for every pretty eye that batted itself at him from a distance.

  Women were the last thing on Rafian’s mind as he became more and more obsessed with Vestalia and the opportunity to one day visit and bring the war to the Geralese invaders. Women were looking, but the young captain was always busy poring over info pads and holo recordings or seeking the counsel of older men. Once in a while, he would run into Kim, but after largely forgiving her for the past, he paid even less attention to her than before. For a time it was like this, and the lack of Vani on his arm made its rounds, and soon it was assumed that the young captain was single. Unfortunately for Rafian, the news of his temporary split with Vani reached the ears of those who had a personal interest in seeing them married, and he was summoned before the Minister of Military Affairs.

  “Take a seat, young Rafian,” the minister commanded as soon as Rafian entered her office. It was a very interesting layout, this office of hers, as there were no angles like the apartments and offices of all the other military personnel onboard. The minister’s office had a circular layout with plush round chairs and a domed ceiling; even her desk was circular.

  Rafian felt as though he had walked into a room that wasn’t onboard the ship. Even the minister was very different from the other crew members on the Helysian. She had what appeared to be a permanent smile on her face, flowing robes with little lights sparkling along its length, and a matching headdress that held a half-circle symbol at the top.

  Rafian sat in the bubble chair that faced the desk and crossed his legs in anticipation of trouble. The minister walked past him, and her hand caressed his shoulder ever so gently, so as to let him know that she was friendly. She was a Meluvian woman, and her smooth olive complexion was broken only by the trademark freckles that Meluvians had around their eyes and nose area. She had straight white teeth, light-gray pupils (another Meluvian trait), and dark-green hair. By human standards, she was beautiful, and it made Rafian a bit uncomfortable knowing that his answers would probably be influenced by the fact that he wanted this woman as much as he did.

  Meluvians were always used for interrogation and positions of judgment, due to the effect their aura had on others. A Meluvian prostitute would always be the busiest and best paid, and a Meluvian lawyer would be the one at trial to fear. These facts were the cause of his worry as to the nature of the meeting.

  “Do you love Vani Narcila, Captain?” the minister asked as she walked to the front of her desk and leaned back against it. Bracing herself with hands on top of the desk, the minister pushed herself up and sat on the desk facing him.

  The first thought in Rafian’s mind was that she was sitting a bit too close to him for comfort, as he noticed that he could almost see past her robes. He snapped to attention, not allowing his eyes to wander, knowing she would notice immediately. He concentrated his gaze at a painting of the Meluvian landscape that rested above her desk in an alcove of the smooth, rounded wall.

  “I love Vani. I suppose I love her—though I have never been so sure what love is, or if what we have is it, Minister.”

  The woman laughed, an act that made her even more beautiful. Rafian became uncomfortable at the fact that he was sexually aroused.

  “You can call me Suwle,” she said softly, and then she continued without taking her eyes off of him. “Your command is worried about the recent happenings between you and Miss Narcila. You were given clearance to marry her, and they like for their soldiers to be married at eighteen. As you can see, the fact that this has not yet happened, and the fact that many are saying you two are no longer together, has caused a bit of concern for them.”

  Rafian nodded. “I am not planning on marrying Vani Narcila anytime soon, Suwle, or anyone else for that matter. I have found that women create more stress than they relieve—for me as an alliance soldier…no disrespect to a beautiful, respectable woman like you, ma’am.”

  Suwle got up from the desk and walked behind it to sit down on her chair. Her scented perfume drifted into his nostrils, and he closed his eyes to take it all in. When he opened them, she was again staring at him. Suwle winked at Rafian as she began to type away at her computer.

  “Young girls can be a handful when you are with the wrong one,” she said after a short pause, still typing. “I am writing a report stating that you a
re more classified as a playboy than the standard military marrying type. I do warn you that this will give you a bit of a reputation, but it will keep the brass out of your business when it comes to relationships. It will also forego your need to ask permission for marriage moving forward.”

  Rafian thanked her several times, and then stood up to kiss her ring, which she graciously allowed. She stared at him curiously and then said, “It’s a pleasure meeting a young man who knows our customs. Know many Meluvians, do you?”

  “I met a few women of Meluvia when I fought for the bridge of Traxis,” he answered, not realizing that his standing revealed the proof of his excitement in the front of his suit.

  “So, do you know of any other customs we Meluvians have?” Suwle probed him further as she got up to walk around her desk.

  “I do know quite a few…” Rafian continued, making sure to lock his eyes with her to show his intent. With that, Suwle Vale of Livinone Meluvia locked her office door to allow them an hour or two of privacy.

  * * *

  When Rafian fought on the bridge of Traxis, it was a mission to defend the access port leading to the Meluvian atmosphere tube. In order to protect the planet from invasion, the advanced race of Meluvians had constructed an atmospheric shield that had only one point of access. This access point was constantly bombarded by enemy attacks, and on one of these occasions, Rafian and several other pilots were deployed to be on guard for a week’s time. Upon driving off the invaders, the men and women were treated to a Meluvian feast, accommodations, and for Rafian and a few of the other men, company with Meluvian escorts. The experience had blown his mind and was part of the reason he began to fall out with Vani. Humans who experience sexual relations with Meluvians normally needed psychological help in order to get past the obsession that typically came with the Memory.

  After the mission, Rafian did not develop an obsession with the women he slept with, but he had indulged heavily in everything they had to offer, and it made the time he had with Vani extremely underwhelming and disappointing. For Vani, on the other hand, he came back from Meluvia as a sexual ace. She wondered what might have brought on this change, and it resulted in her deeper jealousy of what she thought might be another woman onboard teaching him new things.

  When the Minister Suwle reached out to him to have a meeting and Rafian realized she was Meluvian, the memories came back to him in a rush, and it took everything within him to hide his mental conniptions. When he left the office, he made it a point to call up Vani and let her know that their split was permanent. He thought that he would get resistance from her about this, but surprisingly, her attitude was extremely reserved.

  The next week he had his belongings moved out of the apartment. He used some of the credits in his savings account to purchase an officer’s quarters, complete with a cybernetic butler and a holo-circle for simulations. Sitting on the plush leather couch and eating an Algo bar with ice cream, he thought about how much things would improve without Vani, and he smiled at the opportunity to be able to date different women and start his love life all over. He wondered if Vestalia would want to go out on a date with him and resisted the urge to become inappropriate with Aurora the next time she came over.

  The breakup with Vani reinvigorated him as a soldier, and he spent longer hours cleaning his ship, hanging out in the cafe (to look at the cute prospects), and, at random times, he would spend an evening or two with a certain Meluvian minister—until the sad day when she announced that she was being sent away for business on another ship. Rafian was a new man; an eighteen-year-old with nothing in the world to hold him back except badge and duty. It was the best he had ever felt in his entire life. He felt free and unchained, and he could focus on the one thing that he actually wanted to focus on, which was the war. A couple of months later, he invited Aurora over to see his new place and to also to pick her brain on what was going on with his ex.

  “Vani is taking this pretty hard,” Aurora said to him as she sat on the couch. Her skin flickered with the light of the artificial fireplace that played out on the wall next to the door.

  “I think breaking up was probably the best thing I could have done for her, Aurie,” he said as he finished mixing her favorite drink and handing it to her.

  “How is she even upset? Half of this was her decision, and she drove our relationship to this point with her incessant whining and bullying.” He was upset at the notion that Vani would make him out to be the bad guy, and Aurora decided to drop the subject.

  “Soooo, this is nice!” She smiled, looking around at his new apartment with approval. “When I come in here, it’s as if I am no longer on the ship,” she continued. “I mean, look at this!” And she brushed her hand over his center table and pointed at the staircase in the rear of the apartment, which led to the loft that housed his glass bed. “You even have a glass bed! How much do they pay you special whatevers?”

  Rafian laughed and did the math for her to explain his ability to afford the apartment. “I have been getting paid a few credits ever since making first class as a cadet and carrying out missions for the alliance. I have been in action for…what? Five to six years? And I haven’t spent money on anything outside of a few gifts for Vani here and there, and some fancy dinners. I won’t lie, Aurie, it depleted my funds, but this is my reward to myself for getting rid of the beautiful baggage known as Vani Narcila. You girls are both knockouts who can have any guy on the ship, so she needs to get over it. She will be quite fine, hell! Before she knows it, some dumb spacer will be begging her to marry him.”

  Aurora gulped down her mixture of Vestalian brandy and Geralese gin and then cocked her head to the side and smiled at him. “OK, Rafian, first of all, thank you. I’ve never gotten that sort of compliment from you before…brother.” She said the “brother” in such a way to remind him of their relationship, but his eyes assured her that he had meant nothing of it.

  She smiled at him to let him know that she got it and continued. “But second of all, Vani is in love with you. That isn’t something you get over easily.”

  Rafian waved her off with his hand and continued to pace the apartment. “I refuse to feel guilty for her,” he finally said, and then he made himself another drink.

  Memory 10 | Camille Yan

  Tall and slender, with hair like golden rays of sunlight—Camille YAN was a fighter pilot who had made a name for herself on Star Base Alpha, during the often-forgotten Twilight Wars. Like Rafian, she had gone the classical route of star cadet turned ace, but the two had never met until today, when he walked onto the deck to start his custom of cleaning his ship.

  “Nice ship!” Rafian remarked as he regarded her smooth-nosed Vestalian Classic with the triple-winged design (which made it look like an asterisk from the rear). It had been ages since he had seen this model, but Camille’s was in good shape due to her meticulous maintenance, which mirrored his own. Camille was buffing the surface when he walked onto the deck and didn’t stop as she nodded to him.

  “Name’s Rafian VCA,” he said. He took her greasy paw within his and shook it.

  “Everyone knows who you are, Rafian. I’m Camille.”

  “YAN,” he finished, to make sure she knew that he knew of her too. “Is this the ship you burnt through the Relethan motherbase with last year?”

  “Same one!” she replied, and the two began to speak of missions, ranks, and the love they shared for space. Camille YAN turned out to be the sort of military brat Rafian used to make fun of back when he was a cadet. Children of her background were often teased for having never stepped foot on a planet, and Rafian would call them “spacers”—a nasty term that would normally lead to a fight. But Camille was an interesting spacer, as she seemed to have huge ambitions when it came to flying and military service. They spoke about the first-grade advancement and their respective missions to attain it, and Rafian grew to respect her even more when she told him how she had managed to get off of Geral without any casualties. She had rigged up a broken-dow
n alliance vessel that was in the forest and flew it off the world without encountering a single lizard. His story also impressed her, and he could sense the admiration she had for him, facing the enemy and surviving to stand before her to talk about it. He found out that she had been personally trained by Hellgate and had been on another mission when the taking of Meruda had occurred.

  Camille was a mirror version of him in terms of military accomplishments, and the two spoke at length about their lives, lovers, and ambitions. After a couple hours of talking and cleaning their ships, the pair said their good-byes. Rafian assured her that in a future mission, they would fly together, and he would finally be able to see the legendary Camille YAN light up the sky.

  “Somehow I feel that it is going to be me looking up to you soon, Captain,” she said as she bounced away for the exit, and Rafian found himself watching her hips sway rhythmically as she exited the deck.

  Something had happened to Rafian when he met Camille, because she would not leave his mind for many days. It was something beyond her looks—even though she had the most exotic light-gray eyes he had ever seen—and her lips had a shape that looked as if she smirked at the world unimpressed. She was nothing like the girls he had grown up with on the Helysian. She was very much a soldier. Still, her face would not go away, and he found himself finding every excuse to talk with her beside her ship.

  The pair developed a friendship and a kinship that they couldn’t understand, and the days of talking turned into weeks before Rafian admitted to himself that he was in love with her. The ship’s deck was the ultimate spot for them to talk and hang out, since they were both introverts and the only two pilots who loved to clean their own ships. Rafian found himself looking forward to it from the time he awoke till the time that he was landing his vessel after his recon rounds. Camille was always there, waiting for him in the same location.