by Susan Kelley
“I want to make sure you’re safe. I don’t have to marry you to do that.”
“If we get married, they can’t take you away.”
Joe looked up at her. “Nothing will happen to you. I promise. On my life, I promise.”
“I’m worried about what will happen to you,” Callie cried in frustration. He was denser that the crystallized iron that had brought her so much grief. Couldn’t he understand anything without it being spelled out for him?
Callie slapped her forehead. “I’m an idiot. Joe, I want you to stay with me, not for protection, but because I want you here.”
Joe stared at her with that careful look he had when the conversation nuances challenged him.
She took a deep breath and put it in the open. “I love you, Joe.”
His eyes widened. “You’re grateful.”
“I am.”
“You need me.”
“I do.”
“You enjoy my lovemaking.”
“Very much.”
“Do those things combine to create love?”
How did his mind work? She smiled. “I love you, Joe.”
“What does love feel like, Callie? Is it strong enough to endure what will happen if you marry me?”
Callie lifted his hand and pressed it against her heart. “Love fills you up, Joe. It’s a pleasant pressure in your chest that can only be appeased by your love’s presence.”
Joe took her other hand and pressed it to his chest. “When I was away from you and thought I would never see you again, I was empty inside. I hoped I would be killed on my next mission.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Then I thought it would be enough to protect you and know you were safe.” Joe wiped away one of the tears oozing from the corner of her eye. He inhaled sharply as the elixir hit him. “But I can’t be near you and not touch you. I can’t stand guard by your side during the day and not want to hold you all night.”
“Joe.”
He placed his finger across her lips. “I don’t know what love is and I’m not sure I’ll ever feel it. I began living when I met you. Don’t be grateful for what I’ve done for you, Callie. You’ve given me my humanity. If there is something beyond love, then that is what I feel for you.”
Her emotions seemed ever ready to spill over since she’d returned to Giroux. She took him in her arms, fighting back sobs of joy.
“I’ll be your husband if you’ll have me, Callie Adell. At least until they take me from you.”
She smiled against his shoulder. “And I vow they’ll have to fight a war to get you.”
* * * *
They spent their wedding night in their familiar bed. He slept through the night after speaking his vows on shaking legs. Joe woke feeling stronger and very hungry. He watched her sleep, denying his need to food. She curled on her side, facing him. Her unbound hair spread out like a splash of rain on a flower petal. She so seldom wore it loose.
What servant of Unon had granted him this blessing, this mercy, this boon? He could ever repay his debt to her. She’d pulled him from hell and given him heaven.
She stirred and opened her eyes. Her lips curved in welcome. They came together with the smoothness of old lovers and the enthusiasm of first time mates.
Joe tried to watch her orgasm overtake her, but she murmured her love as she neared her peak and sent him over the edge. He held her tight against as they caught their breath.
“I love you,” she said again.
His penis hardened again. Would the words always have this effect on him? He didn’t say the words back, fearing she would hear his doubt in them. So he showed her how he felt once more, this time holding his release until he could witness hers.
They slept after, though the morning light brightened the room. No one disturbed them. Joe woke hours later, starving, but convinced it was the best day of his life.
* * * *
Joe studied the holographic planet map floating before him while Sontu gave his report. Though confident he could keep Callie safe, he wanted Hadrason found.
“We’ve searched all the Hadrason Mining sites.” Sontu continued. “I just don’t know where to look next, but I feel he’s still out there, your highness.”
The title startled Joe, and heightened his fear of the dream ending as it must. As soon as the Galactic Counsel heard about his marriage they would come for him.
Joe put aside the worry he could do nothing about. He had to take care of Hadrason before the counsel came for him. “Show me the population schematic again.”
Sontu touched a few symbols on the control board, causing dots and numbers to appear on the rotating globe. “What are you looking for, your highness?”
“Sontu, call me Joe. Hadrason is a man used to a privileged life. How likely is he to hide in a cave?”
“Not very.”
“I’ve never hunted fugitives hiding among civilians before, but there must be a native group giving that bastard refuge. Someone dissatisfied with Callie’s rule or who would benefit if Hadrason gained power here.”
Sontu worked the display again, the globe fading away and a list of names replacing it. “These are our best known dissidents.”
“Let’s take a closer look at them.” They went to a different set of screens, dividing the list in half and settling down to read. Almost an hour later, the captain called Joe to look at something.
“This one sounds promising.” Sontu pointed to something on the screen. “They call themselves the Union of Free Miners, but they never work in the mines. We get complaints about them hanging around some of our citizens’ private operations, but they never break any laws. Somehow they always have money and we’ve suspected them of spying.”
“Geographic location.”
“Sixty miles south they have a compound.”
“Mount up the men, Captain. We’re going hunting.”
* * * *
Joe infiltrated their defenses with ease. He could have killed them all. Even the most incompetent pirates offered more challenge than this group.
Sontu held a force of forty soldiers a mile away, waiting for Joe’s scouting report. Three buildings hunched in the gloom under a dozen large oak trees. He focused on the largest one, thinking Hadrason would demand the best surroundings for himself. The murky shadows helped him as the sun dipped low on the horizon.
Joe waited for the twilight to deepen, knowing it was a difficult time of day for watchers to spot interlopers. He became the night and glided to the back of the building. He used a listening node to eavesdrop through the wooden walls.
“They’ll give up the search soon,” a muffled voice said. “My ship is waiting for my call.”
“How many men?” another voice asked.
Joe slipped away. The first voice had been Hadrason’s. He waited until he was two hundred yards from the oblivious sentries before calling Sontu.
The Giroux men didn’t try to be quiet as they rushed forward in attack. Within moments of the first clash, Hadrason and his cohorts were in custody.
Joe watched the men celebrate their quick victory. He knew so many of them now, not just their names, but which ones had a wife and children. His excellent memory served him well. He felt responsibility for them which was why he had insisted on doing the recon himself. Of course, he was the best anyway.
The soldiers used the title Sontu insisted on as they reported on the successful capture. Joe stood back, letting the officers do their work and enjoying the jubilation of the men. They’d found Hadrason, something the regular military had failed to do. They already had the fugitive on a hover truck, chained and as harmless as a fish out of water.
Sontu called Joe over to the other truck. The captain’s expression made Joe’s heart take a hard thump. “We need to go back to the castle.”
“Tell me.” The night seemed darker to Joe, the air colder.
“Four war cruisers have entered our star system. The Galactic Counsel as well as the member of the Mil
itary Ministry are demanding Giroux receive them.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Callie received them in the main dining hall. Six Ministers of the Military and twelve politicians of the Galactic Counsel.
“Welcome to Giroux.” Her rank as queen was well above any of their individual titles, but together they made up the most powerful governing body in the known universe.
A few nodded, some pleasantly, some reluctantly or not at all.
“Please enjoy the light repast I’ve ordered for you.”
“We’ve not traveled for days for a taste of the local fare,” a large man bellowed.
Callie gestured to her guards to relax. She didn’t know what instructions Joe had left with the four burly soldiers, but they glared at the obnoxious speaker. “You, sir, may address me as your highness if you feel the need to speak. This is my planet, and you are an uninvited guest. If you can’t follow this basic edict, my men will escort you back to your shuttle craft.”
Her words echoed back at her from the far wall. General Drant caught her glare with an amused look on his face as he stood beside the military ministers. The rest of the crowd appeared shocked into silence.
“Please sit and eat,” she ordered. They sat. She signaled the cook that waited against one wall, and servers hurried in with steaming dishes.
Callie didn’t eat. She sat at the head of the table and glared at the men and women who thought they could take Joe from her. They’d only received a taste of her royal wrath.
* * * *
“Good work, soldier,” General Drant said to Joe. “We’ll take care of him from here. I’m glad Sontu came for me without letting the rest of that mob in there know you’re back from your hunt.”
Joe nodded, his heart heavy.
“It seems Captain Edow judged right in letting you remain as protector to the queen.”
“Yes, sir.” Did the general not know of the marriage?
They started back through the labyrinth of hallways leading from the hangar to the main castle. A guard stood at every corner and doorway, saluting Joe as he walked by them.
“You’ve earned the respect of these men rather quickly.”
“Yes, sir.” Joe was thankful none of them addressed him by his new title.
“Didn’t I explain the difficulties that would result if you allowed a personal involvement to develop between you and the queen?”
“Yes, sir. It’s difficult to say no to her.”
Drant surprised him by laughing. “I shouldn’t have left you unprotected from her. Now, soldier, I’m not sure even your gutsy queen can keep you by her side. They’re going to question her and probably you too.”
Deeper dread settled on Joe’s shoulder. Answer questions posed by clever politicians? Speak in front of powerful people who would dissect his every word and watch his expression? He and Callie were lost.
“Just be honest,” the general advised him.
“Yes, sir.” That honesty would see his world destroyed.
* * * *
Callie moved them to her reception hall. She took the raised chair that she used to hear petitioners, forcing them to stand and look up at her.
Sontu arrived to stand at her side. “I tried to talk him into hiding until they left so we had more time to prepare our case. He insisted he must face this.”
“He’s right, Jak. We’ll face it together.”
The door to Callie’s left opened. Joe and Drant entered together. A hush fell over the people she saw as a jury. A misinformed jury with no power on her world.
Joe took her side opposite Jak, completing her cocoon of protection.
Drant leaned toward her and spoke in a low voice. “Give them hell, your highness.” Then he turned to the expectant crowd. “Councilors, Ministers, I’ve brought you to Giroux as you ordered so you could investigate the situation yourselves. I wish to make a brief statement and clarify my stance on this issue.”
The general folded his hands behind his back and regarded those gathered with a fierce expression. The aura of command surrounding him suited the person holding the highest rank in the military. “My office has cleared the Recon Marines of all the charges leveled against them by the late Minister Smeltz. You read my report on the way here. I ask that you don’t repeat Smeltz’s mistake. I’ve had much personal contact with Joe and find him to be a dutiful, respectful and excellent soldier.”
The general nodded to Callie and then took up a post at the back of the room. The jury swung their stares to Joe and Callie.
“Your highness,” began a thin woman. “We’re concerned that you’ve given refuge to this Recon Marine. He wasn’t created or designed to live among people.”
“Your own father warned of the dangers such a creation would present should they be permitted to move among us,” an older man said.
“I’m aware of my father’s position. We discussed it at length.”
“We’re aware this soldier gave you aid during your recent troubles. Now we expect him to return to his station.” The minister spoke as if to a stubborn child. “The military has a good deal of money invested in him.”
“I think you misunderstood my father’s fears. He feared the lessening of our humanity. He believed if we found we could create life, we would value it less. I see he was correct.”
“Whatever are you talking about?” the woman asked.
“Your laboratories created Joe. He’s a man, as human as you or I. But do you treat him as human? No! He’s an investment, a commodity to be expended on the battlefield like his fellow Recon Marines were.”
“He’s not human!” a different minister insisted. “He may masquerade as such, but he’s the result of unethical tampering with nature. He’s an unnatural being and should be eliminated.”
The viciousness and conviction behind the words shocked Callie. She’d expected to fight to keep Joe with her, but not for his very life.
“If he’s so human, let him answer our questions,” a new voice called.
“Ask your questions.” Joe’s steady voice carried easily over the hall. Silence followed his challenge as if they couldn’t believe he could speak.
“You do understand that you were created in a lab and have no true mother or father?” The minister asking the question stepped forward.
“I know scientists manipulated genetic material to design a superior soldier.”
The same man continued. “If you wanted to, could you kill everyone in this room?”
“Yes, sir.”
Callie wanted to interrupt. Drant shook his head at her from the back of the room. She pressed her lips together.
“You could kill everyone with just the weapons you have with you?”
Joe looked confused. “I’m unarmed, sir.”
“I see. You’re the weapon. Isn’t that what you are? A loaded weapon too dangerous to be left alone in public or near children?”
Joe blinked, his gaze growing wary. “I am a weapon if I need to be.”
The interrogator seemed taken aback by Joe’s answer. He consulted a small data folder he held in his hand. “Aren’t you the happiest fighting? Isn’t war your natural element?”
“No more so than other men. I’m just better at it than most.”
Drant smiled, and Callie relaxed.
“You’re saying all men love war?”
“No more than I do. Men and women fight when they must. It doesn’t mean they like it.”
“Tell us what you felt when you were doing your duty.” The man consulted his data again. “For example, tell us about taking back the Felix Space Station after it was occupied by pirates.’
Joe stiffened, but Callie doubted anyone noticed but her. “We were outnumbered seven to one.”
“But you and twenty-one others of your kind killed all the pirates, didn’t you? You were killing machines that day. How did the battle make you feel? You do feel things, don’t you?”
Joe took his time answering. “I felt sad.”
�
�Sad? For those pirates? You expect us to believe that?”
“Sad for the civilians whose bodies we found in the trash receptacles. Sad for my three brothers who died in the battle.”
“You felt no euphoria while you were killing?”
“Have you ever been involved in military action, sir?” Joe asked, pinning the man with his sharp gaze.
“We have soldiers like you to do that.”
“If you had, you would know most of what a soldier feels is fear.”
Even Callie stared at Joe in surprise. She would have described him as fearless, but Jak and Drant nodded their agreement.
The man looked down at his data tablet again, but Joe took a step forward. He looked around the room, making eye contact with each person gathered to decide his fate. “I would like to say something. You say I have no mother or father. You want to believe I’m not the same as you. I do have parents. They stand before me. It was you or people like you who made the decision to create me. I’m your child. Now, you wonder if you should fear me. You’re my parent, but some of you would destroy me, imprison me, or send me to faraway places and hope for my death in battle.”
Joe paused, and when he continued, his voice seemed to have gained power. “If you do these things to me, you are the inhuman ones. You would kill your own child. I’ve experienced only a little of civilian life, but I know it’s like heaven to me. I don’t beg for my life or your blessing. I only want to be free of the prison my life has been. I wish to live the freedom you’ve enjoyed your entire existence because of the battles I’ve fought, the blood I’ve shed and the brothers I’ve lost.”
Joe stepped back, taking up his position at Callie’s right hand. She stood, her love for Joe and her pride threatening to cause another burst of the emotional tears that seemed to always linger in wait lately. “I’m not sure what you had in mind when you came here, but I ask you to release Joe into my service.”
“He can’t be permitted to breed,” one of the women said.
“What?”
“His genes must die with him. He may not be a risk, but we can’t have a superior race being bred here in this heathen outpost only to rise in the future and attempt….”
