by Andi J Feron
When I grabbed Jerap’s hand, he spoke to my mind. He told me there would be a day when I would help recruit Allie into war. I was stunned; there was no way I would ever betray Talon to that degree. Jerap told me when that day came, I shouldn’t fight it. I had to let the Fates unfold things the way they saw fit. Allie was predetermined for a greater destiny, that would impact millions in a way that was vitally needed.
I didn’t understand how that was possible. Jerap didn’t elaborate, and I knew there was no way I could tell Talon. Jerap showed me glimpses into the future. I saw myself, but I looked older, maybe in my thirties. I was fixing hamburger meat on the stove. When it was done, I brought it over to the table and placed it next to taco shells and other toppings.
“Dinner!” I called. Three kids came running in and slid into chairs.
The first was a girl who looked about nine. She had the same freckles and the same color hair that I did. Looking at her was like looking into a mirror at my past self. The boy looked a little younger, and he looked very much like a young Talon, with brown hair and a strong jawline. The youngest one had a head full of blonde curls, and she looked a little like Allie. The boy reached for a taco shell.
Older me chided him, “You know we have to wait for your father.”
“Aww, but I’m starving.” He stuck his lip out.
A few minutes passed before I saw Talon walk in. He washed his hands at the sink, then walked over and kissed older me.
“Ewww!” the kids cried in unison.
“Not at the dinner table,” the oldest one said.
We ate dinner together. Talon told lame jokes, and the kids laughed and groaned at the same time. We looked totally happy, and I could tell by the light shining through the window we were on Earth, or at least some similar planet.
The vision changed. Talon and I were in a group with several others who I had never met before. We were ambushed by Khalbytians. I killed a couple, then I saw it happen out of the corner of my eye. A Khalbytian slashed Talon in the back of the head before he pulled Talon to him, firing a weapon into Talon’s stomach.
A young man fired and killed the attacking Khalbytians. Talon was dead. I screamed and held his head in my lap, and he dissolved into nothing. The vision looked so real that I wanted to throw up. The vision changed to me alone in my quarters, reading a report. The report showed the Loctorians were going to surrender to the Khalbytians. The human race was nearly annihilated, and the ones who were left were now enslaved. Jerap stood before me.
“Which one is real?” I asked, unable to shake the image of Talon being dead.
“Both are the possible outcomes to the choices you make. The first is what will happen if you bring Althea into war, and the second is what will occur if you stop her recruitment. I cannot show Talon this, he will never accept it. He is too blinded by what he thinks his sister needs. When Althea turns eighteen, you will be assigned to recruiting her. You have to let it play out. I don’t wish Althea any harm, but I see glimpses, and her role will bring about the end of the war, whether it be in our favor or otherwise.”
How could one girl change the balance so greatly? Our future kids were beautiful, and I wanted that future more than anything. I was terrified of the second option. Talon wouldn’t get it. He wanted Allie safe and normal, but things were not normal. If Earth was destroyed, Althea would die within her normalcy. Not only that, but Talon’s stubbornness would bring about his own death. I had less than three years until the choice would be set before me.
Jerap said one last thing before releasing me from his mind. “Seraphine, I have placed an anchor to the visions I showed you. Something else I’ve seen showed me you will need it. It is my gift to you for being my friend and helping my people.”
I really didn’t know what he meant by an anchor, but he said it was a gift, so I thanked him. Back in the present, I knew Talon would be home soon, and I wanted to greet him at the docking bay. I put on some makeup and a white dress that flowed nicely to my knees. I double-checked the docking schedule and found out he had been delayed by about an hour. After seeing a com message from Helen, I changed my trajectory to the rec center so that I could catch up with her and Petra. We grabbed a bite to eat at the hamburger stand.
“You’re quiet Seraphine,” Helen said.
“I have a lot on my mind.”
“When is that yummy husband of yours coming home? I need some eye candy. You know, some sources say that an open marriage is healthy for the relationship.” Petra winked.
I wanted to launch across the table and smack her. Instead, I continued to stir my drink. Not even me marrying Talon had caused Petra to back off or cool down her flirtatious ways. She’d probably been with a few dozen men on base, but she still kept my one man as her crush.
“I don’t think you are helping Seraphine’s mood, Petra. You need to accept Talon will never not be with Seraphine and move on.” I appreciated the fact Helen was always quick to come to my defense. After lunch, we decided on a game of bowling. We played four games when I glanced at the clock and saw Talon should be home soon. I told Helen and Petra one more game. After my second turn I looked up to see Talon standing there.
Talon glanced at my bowling shoes. “Those shoes really match your dress, Mrs. Cooper.”
I ran for him and threw myself into his arms. He kissed me. I finished my game before Talon and I departed for our quarters. He told me about his trip once we were inside, and I thought he handled himself amazingly. Talon went back to the bedroom and I followed. I undressed and put my robe on.
“You do know we’re the only ones who live here, right?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t mind a naked wife.”
“I’m not ashamed of my nakedness. I’m cold.”
“Get back over here so I can warm you up then.”
I dropped my robe on the side of the bed. “That better?” I asked, giving him an alluring smile.
“Way better.”
He pulled me into bed and we kissed. I had missed feeling him in every part of myself. Afterwards we both laid back on the bed, exhausted but content. Talon laid on his side toward me and pulled me to him.
“Seraphine, I love you.”
“I love you too, Ace.”
*
I was in battle. I was projecting, bringing down Khalbytians. I saw Talon get slashed. The Khalbytians had leapt for him, burrowing its claws into Talon’s skull. Talon collapsed, his eyes going still as he died. The Khalbytians fired into his stomach, and I watched the wound spread as I screamed his name. I ran to him and, upon seeing his vacant gaze, I screamed for him. I couldn’t breathe, and my chest felt like it was about to rip apart.
“Talon! Talon, noooooo!” I continued to scream.
I sat holding him, any Khalbytians that were a threat I would kill through my projections. The battle eventually ended, but Talon still laid dead in my arms. I was still screaming, and then I felt an earthquake.
“Seraphine! Wake up!” I heard Talon’s voice calling me.
I opened my eyes with a start. Talon sat next to me, very much alive. I grabbed him and heard his heartbeat in his chest as I cried from relief.
“You okay, babe?” Talon asked as I clung to him.
“I am now.”
“That must have been a doozy of a dream.”
“Was my worst nightmare is all.”
Talon wrapped his arms all the way around me. “It’s over, I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Your safety was my only concern here.
I knew I wanted him to live. I wanted him to live more than I wanted to breathe. I knew when the time came, I would watch my husband’s heart break by not interfering as Allie was brought into the war. I would accept the consequences, but Talon had to live. I laid my head against his chest, the beating of his heart giving proof that he was still with me.
We had a mission on a swamp planet two days later. The entire planet was full of muck and mire. An important ambassador had cras
h-landed there, and they figured Talon would be able to find him. The rest of us were to provide support in case of any unexpected Khalbytians attacks. We made it to the planet, and Talon knew exactly where the ambassador’s ship was.
We tried to tow it out with our ship, but it was stuck tight. I projected down to see what the issue was. I discovered that far down all of the muck disappeared, and instead clear water full of life appeared. The bottom of his ship was hooked to a large rock. I gazed at a large creature swimming quickly toward me. It clamped its jaws right through the projection of myself.
I returned to my body and told the others what I saw. “I’ll go for real now and saw through the rock to free the ship. If the creature appears, I’ll project something bigger.”
“I’ll go too. I know how to use the Loctorian saw underwater, then all you have to worry about is projecting,” Talon said.
The team decided we would make a good partnership and we suited up. We dived into the swamp. I knew if we kept swimming downward we would make it through the blinding sludge. Finally we pushed through the muck to clear water, and the variety of life was immense. The cavern appeared to be lit up by fluorescent orange stones, but upon closer inspection they were little glowing fish.
There seemed to be hundreds of aquatic species of all different colors and sizes. Purple and blue kelp grew in large groups. We were entrenched in a marine biologist’s fantasy land. Talon set to work on freeing the ambassador’s ship from the algae-covered rock formation. Things were going well and I was enjoying my aquarium show until I saw the same large creature from before heading straight for us.
I projected a larger whale-like creature to intimidate the real one but he ignored it and continued right for us. I began to wonder if it was immune to my projection, but remembered it bit through my projection earlier.
It was about nine feet long with a shark-like body, dark green in color, with dozens of sharp teeth protruding from its continually open mouth. The mouth extended past the rest of its face as its eyes and nose were flattened back, looking like it had a severe underbite. Its fins were long, serrated, and looked proportional to human arms. It used one of its fins to swipe through my wetsuit.
“Agh!” I felt a sharp pain in my right leg.
I heard the whirr of the saw pause.
“What is it, Seraphine?” Talon called through his suit mic.
“Nothing, I’m fine. Just battling a shark in need of some dental work is all.”
“Need some help?”
“No, I’m good. All I need is for you to get that rock sawed.”
I heard the saw restart. I projected a larger one of the creatures, and that caught its attention. I relaxed when it swam away from us. That was until I saw the large trail of blood flowing out into the water. If there were any other predators, there would be a good chance I was now attracting them.
“How’s it going, Talon?”
“Almost got it. How’s it going with our friend?”
“He’s gone.”
“Good.”
Another two minutes passed until Talon proclaimed he was done. The team pulled the ambassador’s ship up and out of the water.
Talon turned and saw blood still flowing from my leg. “You’re hurt.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“Let’s get you back to Helen.”
We swam through the swampy mire and climbed the ladder the team sent down. The ambassador’s ship was too damaged to fly so we would be towing it back ourselves. Fayard made sure the tractor beam was attached, and we had the ambassador ride in our ship just in case.
I changed out of my wetsuit and hobbled over to one of the medical cots. Talon gawked at my wound, the edges of which were becoming a strange grey color. Talon washed it out really well before calling Helen over. Helen came over and put her hand on it to seal it up. We returned to base and, as protocol, Jasper looked my leg over, praising Helen’s work.
We were told to enjoy the next week off as a reward for saving the ambassador. The council put a high priority on leave and recreational activity so, as long as there were no dire missions or battles when we requested leave, it was almost always granted. The idea was to keep up morale, which would make for more refreshed fighters. Talon and I decided to head to the tropical moon we’d been wanting to get to. We would leave in the morning and be off to seven days of perfect weather, surfing, boating, and relaxing with each other.
I experienced the nightmare again. It was getting old. I woke up, breathing heavily. Talon was asleep beside me. I felt achy and climbed out of bed. The room was freezing. The entire base was kept above seventy-five degrees which made it inhospitable to Khalbytians. Our controls must have been broken. I went to check the thermostat, and it read seventy-six. I went to the bathroom and pulled a bio scanner out of the drawer. I had a temperature of a hundred and two.
I knew this meant our trip would be scrapped until I wasn’t sick. The base biofilters kept most germs out, so I struggled to remember the last time I had been sick. I wrapped myself in a blanket, shivering as my head pounded, giving me the worst headache I’d ever felt. I couldn’t think straight. I dozed on the couch and was woken up by Talon hollering from the back bedroom.
“You packed yet? I overslept, and our shuttle is leaving in an hour.” I couldn’t stop shaking, and it hurt to move. I didn’t respond, and Talon came out to find me wrapped tightly in a blanket shaking. “You sick?” he asked, feeling my forehead.
I shivered. “Yeah, sorry.”
“Let’s get you to bed.” He carried me gently to our bed and scanned me.
“I’m so cold. Can we turn up the temp?”
“No, you only feel cold. You’re burning up, a hundred and four. We need to cool you down.”
“I feel…so cold.”
“That’s the fever. Here, take this.” He brought me some pop and a couple pills which I threw up immediately. Fortunately, I missed the bed and hit the floor.
“Ugh, sorry Talon.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve become pretty good at cleaning up vomit. Allie used to get at least one stomach bug a year.”
He poured coffee grounds on my throw up and brought me a towel to wipe my mouth.
“Coffee grounds?”
“Yeah, it absorbs the vomit and takes away the smell.”
A few minutes later, he came and swept it up, washing the area after to be sure it was clean. The spot looked as good as new. Talon moved the small bedroom trash can on the floor next to me. He put a bowl on the bed with a towel under it. He turned down the room temp and put a cold rag on my head.
He would exchange my cold rag for a new one every so often. He was really good at this sick thing. Shakespeare came and jumped on the bed, laying at my feet. He never jumped on our bed. Other than occasionally greeting us at the door, he kept to himself.
“You think he’s one of those death cats?”
“What are you talking about?” Talon changed my rag again.
“You know, the ones who lay at the feet of people who are about to die in nursing homes.”
Talon smiled. “I think he likes your extra warmth.”
“My feet aren’t that warm through the blanket.”
“Well, true. Maybe he’s finally warming up to us. Try and sleep, babe. I’m going to go report this to Jasper.”
The protocol was to notify sickbay of any and all sickness to prevent epidemics within the closed walls of the base. Sleep found me easily.
Chapter Sixteen
Talon - December 12, 2009
I called Jasper to inform him of Seraphine’s illness. Protocol was for me to remain in my quarters since I’d been exposed to it. Illness was rare on base due to disinfectant and biofilter protocols. If we brought something back from a mission or battle, one of those two methods would usually halt it. This had me somewhat worried, but I was used to seeing a run-of-the-mill stomach bug.
I remembered the first time Allie got sick after our mom died. She couldn’t hold anything
down and had a super high fever. I called our neighbor but she wasn’t home. I called John’s mom next, and she walked me through exactly how to handle it and when to be worried. After that, I became a pro. Each year with the return to school, Allie would catch something. My immune system was better and I rarely got sick, even after caring for Allie so closely.
“Remain in your quarters. I’ll be there soon, Jasper said.
Neither Seraphine nor I had ever been sick on base before.
I gawked at Jasper and his nurses wearing bio-suits. “You think she has Ebola?”
“Let’s hope not. Sickness is rare on base. I don’t mean to scare you, but it’s usually more serious when it does occur, especially since you’ve recently returned from a minimally charted planet and had environmental contact.” Jasper walked back to my bedroom.
“Yeah, that doesn’t scare me at all,” I said sarcastically.
“How’s it going, Seraphine?” Jasper asked. She gave no response, and he began scanning her. He lifted her eyelids, shining a light in them. “Seraphine, can you hear me?” He repeated this several times.
I put my hand over my chin and bit my lip. “Why isn’t she answering?”
“How long ago did you say she first showed symptoms?”
“I’m not sure. I woke up about an hour ago, and she was huddled on the couch, shaking.”
“Was she responsive at that time?”
“Yes, we had a conversation.”
Jasper gave orders to his nurses. “Get sickbay to send a bio-bed immediately. We need a transport to sickbay now!”
“Jasper, what’s going on?”
“Talon, Seraphine is very sick, but I don’t know why yet.”
“She just has a stomach bug,” I said.
The room felt hazy, as though I wasn’t really watching the events that were unfolding in front of me. Everything happened so quickly. Suited medics rushed in, and they zipped Seraphine up in an enclosed bed. I was suited up, and I walked to sickbay next to my lifeless wife.
