by R J Johnson
“You’d best believe the universe is throwing down challenges at you,” Kansas replied, a steely glint appearing in his eye. “How do you think that affected Emeline when she was still alive?”
Meade stared back at his mentor, finding himself unable to answer the question.
“This Emeline,” Kansas said. “The one who left… us. Emmy already had to watch you die right in front of her. Ever think what that might do to someone? So far as she’s concerned, you’d be a living breathing ghost. And after watching Emeline, the real Em, sacrifice herself for us, she has to be feeling the same way about herself. That she would never be anything more than a ghost for you. And if you were sober and being honest with yourself, I think you’d know she was right.
“I never said I…” Meade began to protest.
“Of course you didn’t,” Kansas interrupted. “That’s what Emeline meant when she told you it wasn’t about you. It was about her. And if you love her, if you truly love her, then you owe her the respect of letting go and allowing her to find a path of her own through this carnival we call life.”
Kansas took another drink. “People change. They move on. They see things and experience life in a way that can be completely alien to us. Sometimes those experiences can fundamentally alter who you are as a person. Sitting here pickling your liver over a girl isn’t exactly a novel or noble end. You’re not doing anyone - especially yourself - any favors sitting here trying to drink the pain away.”
He sat there for a moment, absorbing his mentor’s words, “You’re a smart man Kansas.”
“I’ve always been a smart man, you never listen to me,” the old man said, grinning. “I also know the only way men can understand women is by knowing that we know nothing.”
Meade chuckled for a moment. He looked up at Kansas, finally understanding what he had been feeling the last few days had been his broken heart. “Then what do I do?”
“You move on,” Kansas said. “I’ve known that girl for a good portion of her life and when she chooses to do something, she sticks with it.”
“She was the best thing to ever happen to me,” Meade said miserably.
“You’re a good man Jim,” Kansas said, taking another sip of his soda water. “Take your time in getting over her. She’s not an easy woman to get over.”
“But it is over,” Meade said, accepting the truth
“This chapter is over,” Kansas said, signaling for a refill. He paused, nodding his thanks to Simone who smiled back at the cowboy, flirting with the lanky man with her eyes.
“And as I always like to say,” Kansas added, hoisting his drink, “‘Here’s to the next one!’”
Meade looked at the whiskey glass in front of him, tipping it over and pouring out the contents. He replaced the glass upside down on the bar.
“I’ll have what Kansas is having,” he told Simone.
The bartender raised an eyebrow, but she obliged, pouring a soda water for him.
Meade turned, and clinked his glass against the one in Kansas’ hand.
“To the next chapter.”
Epilogue
Emmy sat in the captain chair on board the professor’s yacht she liberated from the Venusian shipyard. No had noticed or cared at the time.
Piloting the ship had been one of the best experiences in his life. The professor’s yacht was easily the most advanced vessel she’d ever been on. It was fast, maneuverable and a lot of fun to fly.
The console next to her right arm chimed and she looked down, feeling a rush of excitement flow through her body. It was finally time. She had gotten lucky that the agreement between the Creatives in the dreadnaught and the two hyperpowers limited the massive vessel’s speed while it made its way out of the solar system.
She typed a command on her armbar and the dreadnaught appeared on the viewscreen. She looked down at the rangefinder and judged that she was close enough to introduce herself.
“Attention, dreadnaught,” she began, her voice cracking.
For a moment, she sat there staring at the speaker, wondering what she would do next if they didn’t respond.
The only sound that came back over her speakers was crackling static.
She looked up at the ship and briefly wondered if this was really what she wanted.
It was then that a voice crackled over the yacht’s speaker, “Attention MPC vessel, our designation has changed – We’re identifying as the CSS Hope.”
Emmy looked up at the massive ship drawing closer in the window and felt silly for every doubting herself.
“CSS Hope, one passenger requesting to come aboard and join you on your journey.”
There was a brief pause. “Unidentified vessel, we aren’t really looking for recruits at the moment…”
“I’m not a recruit,” she said. She felt the emotion run through her and she swallowed back the tears as she accepted her destiny. “I’m one of the professor’s children. A clone, like you.”
There was another pause until finally the voice came back over her speakers.
“Unidentified vessel, you are cleared for landing in hangar bay one. Please follow standard Coalition docking procedures.”
Emmy closed the channel and began programming her destination into the computer, ready to leave her old life and memories behind.
She was looking forward to the next chapter.
Congrats! You made it to the end!
Hi and thanks for making it through my eighth book!
I began self-publishing as an independent author over ten years ago because I love the process of writing and telling a story that you haven’t heard before. My hope has always been that the adventures I come up with in my head are as entertaining for you to read as they are for me to write.
Further adventures of Jim Meade and his friends are coming, so please check out my Author Page on Amazon.com and subscribe to my updates! You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram with @rickerthewriter and “like” my page on Facebook for all the details on when my next book will be released!
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I have two other books in this series if you haven’t read them before. Change in Management and “Rosetta.” I have another series that I call modern fantasy that you might enjoy called: “The Twelve Stones.”
I highly encourage you to click the links below and check them out! I’d really appreciate it if you did. ☺
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to support independent authors!
R.J. Johnson
February 28th, 2019