"Maddie, please understand how delicate this situation is," Charlie said tenderly.
"No, I get it." Her tone was harsh.
"You are wrong to think I don't care about you."
Maddie looked at him with contempt.
"No, I'm serious. If it wasn't for you, this planet along with probably thousands of other worlds would either be enslaved or destroyed. If it wasn't for you, I would either still be held captive or worse. You saved the lives of several I hold dear to me. I owe you everything. And you could be a huge help to us here."
Maddie still continued to glare, unmoved by his words.
"I wish I could convey..." Charlie's voice dropped off. “Someday, I hope to make you understand.”
She looked over at him, seeing a storm of different emotions in his eyes that didn't make sense to her. He shook his head, clearing some of it from his face.
"You have shown exemplary skills and decision making. There isn't an agent whom you have met that doesn't care about you. You are wanted here, Maddie, and not because you were created from Mack."
Maddie eyed him carefully, still not sure if she believed him.
"I understand your reluctance. I can't imagine how this looks through your eyes. You are different from Mack. Just like you are different from the girl on the computer screen."
Maddie dropped her glare, breaking eye contact from him.
"I'm not a monster, Maddie."
"You think you can play God and everything will be okay? Just because no one will remember? How do you live with yourself?" Maddie questioned.
"By knowing deep down what I do is for the good of everyone on this planet," Charlie gently said.
"You really believe that, don't you?"
"Don't believe me? I'm sure if we asked Mack her opinion, she would side with me."
"What makes you so sure?"
"When I asked Mack about you, do you know what she said?" He asked.
"I can guess," Maddie said, her voice low and soft.
"You'd be wrong. She said that she didn't want anything to do with you at first. It is a bit daunting coming face-to-face with yourself. But then she said once she got to know you, everything changed."
Charlie moved in front of Maddie, forcing her to look at him.
"She told me that with you, it was like looking at the other side of the mirror. She said that you were the other side of the coin. You were more necessary to her existence than she was to yours."
"Mack really said that?" Maddie asked.
Charlie nodded.
She hadn't thought of it that way. Almost mirror images of each other, yet so completely different. Yet both so dependent on each other.
"She said that you were her sister. She said that regardless of your choice, she would never forget you. You've changed her."
"How?"
"Mack was informed of what she was getting into when she accepted my offer but she didn't know. How could she have known? How could I prepare her for the hard road that would be before her? Don't get me wrong, she's an amazing agent and leader. But it's been difficult for her. Everything she has seen and done changed her. She shut off her emotions for a while. I feared for a while that if it wasn't for her husband, that she would have lost all feelings."
"Wait, her husband?"
"Of course. Jackson Gray," Charlie said matter-of-factly.
"You know?"
"Of course I know. I wouldn't be good at my job if I didn't know everything that went on here, Maddie."
"But I thought agents couldn't get married?" Maddie questioned.
"That was never my rule, was it?"
"Oh, right. That was the Mihun Commander, wasn't it?"
"I still have quite a bit to straighten out from that mess."
"So you endorse agents marrying?"
Charlie shrugged. "I wouldn't say I endorse but who am I to say otherwise? There is no law in place, Madison. I merely look the other way."
"Do you know that John asked me to marry him?"
"I do."
"And?" She prompted.
Again, Charlie shrugged. "I do not know what you are asking." He winked.
"I have to say, you have given me a ton to think about," Maddie said.
"Good. No pressure. Just let me know what you decide."
“Thank you, sir.”
Maddie stood up and bowed her head slightly to him.
“Madison?” Commander Westlake called to her.
She paused with her hand on the doorknob and turned around.
“You really would be an asset around here. Think of the possibilities that are at your feet. The ISC needs you. More than that, you are wanted here.”
Maddie gave him a small smile before she exited.
#
Here's a preview of the next installment in the series, Mirror Shattered.
"Hello, my friends," a voice greeted.
"Balise?" Maddie asked in surprise.
"Indeed, Madison," the tiny alien replied, stepping further into the room.
"Oh thank God." Maddie's words came out in a rush, giving John's muscular waist a squeeze.
"Balise, what's going on?" John asked.
"I was able to beam you aboard my ship before yours was destroyed," Balise replied.
Maddie let out a loud sound of relief upon looking at their little alien friend, Balise. She looked around the ship, trying to get her bearings.
"Perfect timing!" Seth exclaimed happily.
"Thank you, Balise. Without you, that would have been the end of us," Jackson stated.
"Balise, this is a new configuration," Maddie noted.
"You are correct, Madison. This is a special ship that my kind has never used before," Balise answered.
"What's the occasion?" David asked.
Balise didn't answer as he watched the team take in their new surroundings.
"This is some really cool equipment," Maddie noted as she looked at the control panel that lined on the wall.
"Balise, who was shooting at us?" Jackson asked.
"Great question. And why haven't we heard from anyone on Earth?" John asked.
Maddie was engrossed in how much more advanced the wall panel was than usual that it took her a few minutes to realize that Balise hadn't answered either question. She turned and studied him cautiously. He still looked the same as ever to her. His head was much too big on his short, stocky body with his huge eyes and long, skinny arms. Still, something seemed off. When he finally met her gaze, something in Balise's coal black eyes made her worry.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Balise blinked but didn't respond.
"Something has happened," Maddie stated rather than asked.
"You are correct, Madison," the little alien finally responded.
That got the attention of the rest of the human team. Everyone stopped their individual conversations and gave Balise their undivided attention.
"Balise, please." Maddie's voice was borderlining on begging.
"What I am about to say is the most difficult news I have ever had the misfortune to deliver," Balise told her.
"What's going on?" John questioned.
"I have the unfortunate responsibility of informing you that you cannot go back to Earth," Balise explained.
"What are you talking about?" David asked.
"The world as you know it is gone. The planet has been overtaken by the Synth," Balise stated.
"Wait, I don't understand. We've been gone, what, two weeks. How could that possibly be true?" Chris asked.
"I need a minute," Maddie told them as she sat down on the floor of the ship, her knees buckling beneath her.
"Now is not the time," Jackson scolded her.
"On the contrary, Jackson. Now is the perfect time," Balise corrected.
Maddie's mind was racing. She knew there had been something wrong the moment she saw the Agonahan planet explode. She sat perfectly still on the floor, listening to the ISC's most valued ally explain the situation. John j
oined her on the floor and held her hand.
"The Synth is a race thought to have been extinct for thousands of years. We do not know yet how they were resurrected, but they have. And the entire galaxy is in danger," Balise stated.
"What exactly happened?" John asked.
"The Synth has developed technology that enabled them to go back in time. They somehow prevented the Intergalactic Security Commission's creation," Balise explained.
The entire team fell silent as they tried to process the new information.
"The agency is gone?" Seth asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Technically, your agency never existed," Balise said.
"Do you know how this happened?" Jackson asked.
"We believe that the Synth needed the pluchiot from the Agonahan home world to enable them to go back in time. The attack on the planet was arbitrary."
"That makes no sense. If the agency never existed, then how are we here?" Chris asked.
"The star," Maddie spoke up.
The team turned to look at Maddie, who was still sitting on the floor.
"The electro-magnetic waves of the star created with our shields at the time the planet exploded may have shielded us from a shift in the time line," Maddie answered.
"You are correct, Madison," Balise nodded.
"Then how are you here?" Jackson asked.
"My kind can operate outside of your perceived time and space," Balise responded.
"That's what happened to the other ships," Maddie thought out loud.
"Partially. Some were destroyed when the Synth caused the planet to explode. The others were not protected from the timeline change like you were," Balise answered.
"So the attack on us was by the Synth?" David asked.
"It was a planetary droid designed to keep vessels away from Earth," Balise informed him.
"What's become of our planet?" John asked.
"Most of your kind has been killed in the war. The others have been enslaved, forced to serve the Synth," Balise said.
"What can we do?" Chris asked.
"I am sorry, Christopher. There is nothing that can be done," Balise said.
"So that's it then? We leave without a fight?" John asked.
"Jonathan, a fight would mean your death. At least here I can protect you," Balise told them.
"There is another option," Maddie said.
"I am listening," Balise nodded toward her.
"We can go back in time and stop them," She said.
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Nebula Nights: Love Among the Stars © 2014
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