We walked on for the next several miles in silence until we came to the familiar site of David's house. David ran out of the forest, through the field and up to his old home. Unfortunately, it was now a pile of rubble. The house was never in great shape, to begin with, but now it looked more like a woodpile than a home. Jessie and I stayed back and gave David his space as he sorted through the remains. He gathered together what personal belongings he could find. When he found a picture of his now deceased wife in a cracked picture frame, he fell to his knees and began to cry. Jessie and I came up to him and I put my hand on his shoulder.[G41][G42][G43][G44]
"Things could be so much worse. We could be standing on a high platform awaiting execution. Instead, we escaped and now we're here. Where there is life, there is still hope," I said. David got to his feet and nodded his head. He took his bag of belongings that he had gathered and walked back into the forest.[G45]
“Come on guys, it would be best not to stay in the open for long. Obviously, the rotten Sarceastians have been here and they are likely to be back at some point,” he finally said. We followed behind him until we were about a mile away from David’s house.
We pitched camp and set watches so that the Sarceastians couldn’t catch us unaware. We managed to hunt down some Cheekwallas, which are plump woodchuck-like beasts, so we were able to fill our bellies.
"That house was all I had left of my former life. Now, that's all gone. I'm a fugitive just like the two of you. I'll tell you one thing, I am so very grateful for your company and companionship," David allowed.[G46]
“That’s very kind of you. We are thankful for all the help that you have given us. One day, we will all have a place we can call home,” Jessie answered.
“This is my home. Even if the Sarceastians have set up permanent settlements here, I will not leave again. I will make it my mission to be a thorn in their sides and take out as many of them as I can. I will die being the defender of Padure so that I can help to preserve what’s left of its natural beauty. What do the two of you plan to do?”
Jessie and I looked at each other with the same quizzical expression.
“I don’t think we’ve planned far enough ahead to know our next move,” I said.
"Yeah, beyond escaping Earth and escaping execution, I don't have a clear strategy," Jessie mused. A cloud of melancholy seemed to linger over us as the evening came on. I took the first watch and began to walk around the perimeter, listening to the calls of unidentified night birds that sounded similar to owls. Luckily, there was no sight or sound of the Sarceastians anywhere. Around midnight, David woke up and came over to relieve me of my guard duties.[G47][G48][G49][G50][G51][G52][G53][G54][G55][G56][G57]
“I really used to love the sounds of the forest at night It pains me to think that this sound may one day be only a memory,” David shared.
Chapter 8
Jessie
The next morning, we all agreed we needed to try and get some idea about how many Sarceastians were stationed on the planet. We wanted to determine if this was a temporary mining mission or if they had in fact set up a permanent or semi-permanent colony. We stuck to the forest so that we could have adequate cover. We noticed that several of the miners were traveling off to the east from the domes that they used to collect the minerals, so we decided to trail them, keeping at a safe distance. Soon, we spotted what we feared we might see. There was a large central dome with several smaller pods extending outwards from it. These structures were what the Sarceastians built when they had the intention of staying longer than a short time.
We could see the look of disappointment on David’s face when we looked out at the structure at the edge of the woods.
"It's as I feared. They aren't just here to remove some minerals, timber and move on. This is a colony that is meant to stay here for some time, which means they are going to wreak havoc on the ecosystem before they finally leave, if they ever do," David moaned.
As we walked back to camp, the mood was solemn. We began to discuss our next move. Yahn and I were both ready to move out and seek out another situation. David, however, was determined to try and do what he could for what he considered to be his only home.
“I think it’s best if we cut our losses and get off of this planet,” Yahn suggested.
“You two can go if you like, but I’m staying here to defend my home.”
Yahn and I looked at each other. As much as we didn’t see the point in going up against so many Sarceastians, we didn’t want to leave our friend to try and mount an attack on his own.
“What can we do to help you?” I asked. Yahn looked at me as if he were going to protest, but he didn’t.
David was sitting on a stump with his hand propping up his chin, deep in thought.
“Well, I was thinking- the cruiser that we bought has a self-destruct device that can probably be disconnected. If we could somehow get the device into the main dome of the colony, we could take out the majority of the Sarceastians all at once.”
“How are we going to get the device planted without putting ourselves in too much danger?” I inquired.
“I am willing to get myself captured. Then, once inside of the dome, I will find a way to plant it, even if I have to activate it inside of my own prison cell,” David reasoned.
“I would hate for you to have to blow yourself up to make that happen,” I pleaded.
“Well, I’m not as young and spry as the two of you. If there’s one thing I’d be willing to lay my life down for it’s this planet. It has provided for me all of these lonely years. It will be my chance to return the favor.”
It was obvious that there was no talking David out of his plan, so we stopped trying and walked back through the woods towards the landing site where we had hidden the space cruiser. Luckily, it had not been discovered, so we removed the vegetation that was covering it up and stood guard while David went inside the ship and began to try and dislodge the self-destruct device. Yahn faced towards the east with a laser cannon in his lap and I faced in the opposite direction, looking for any movement close by. All was still and quiet except for the sounds of birds high up in the trees.
“When we’re finished here, where would you like to go?” Yahn asked me, suddenly.
“I really have no idea. I’m afraid I didn’t have a plan other than to come here and help David,” I answered.
"I'm afraid I don't know either, but I don't think there is any permanent safety to be had on Padure any longer. Even if we destroy this colony, more of the Sarceastians will eventually come. Living a life of guerilla warfare is not what I envisioned for you and me," he said, looking over at me. [G58][G59]
"Me neither. I suppose we can just keep searching until we find a habitable planet that is peaceful enough for us to live on," I mused. A few minutes later, David emerged with the device. It was a black, rectangular object about the size of a toolbox. David had also dislodged the control panel that activated the device so that he could detonate it. He took a remote ignition device and rigged it so that it could activate the control panel from a safe distance. [G60][G61]
“Ok, now we have the device. Now all I have to do is disguise it and get captured,” David said with a smile. He took a bullet proof vest from the cargo hold of the cruiser and strapped the device to his back underneath the vest. He put the remote in his pocket. As soon as he had done this, we heard the sound of footsteps coming from the nearby forest.
“Quick, cover the ship back up and then we should climb up into the treetops!” Yahn stated in a low voice.
“Not me, I want to get captured,” David whispered.
“No, I have a better idea. We can wait in the treetops until they go by and then, we can come down and take them by surprise. Then, we can disguise ourselves in the guard uniforms, gain access to the dome and plant the device,” I suggested.
“Jessie, you’re a genius,” Yahn said as we quickly covered up the ship and climbed up into the trees. As soon as we had climbed up into the trees, a group
of about four armed Sarceastians came walking through the forest. Luckily, they hadn’t noticed the space cruiser that was only about twenty yards from where they were marching. Once they had moved on, we quietly climbed down from the trees and began to follow the Sarceastian patrol with our laser cannons in our hands.
After a half-mile, Yahn nodded to David and me that the time was right [G62]to make our move.[G63][G64][G65]
“Freeze!” David shouted through his language decoder device. The Sarceastian guards turned around quickly and one of them even tried to fire a shot at us. David quickly shot him and disintegrated him. The others threw their hands up in the air.
"Off with the uniforms!" Yahn commanded them. They looked puzzled but began to take off the hoods and other clothing they wore. Sarceastians looked like hideous dark shadows with glowing red eyes underneath their clothes. Their form was vaguely human but more grotesque. We tied them to the trees and then made our way south towards the dome. [G66][G67][G68]
“Wow, that was easier than I suspected,” David said. His mood was beginning to lighten quite a bit.
"And to think, you were going to get yourself captured and risk being blown up," I teased. [G69][G70][G71][G72][G73][G74]
David didn’t respond as we made our way to the edge of the forest.
“There’s only three of us. What are we going to say about the fourth guard?” Yahn inquired.
“We will say that a wild Ferondon got him,” David suggested.
“What are those?” I asked.
“They are large, cat-like beasts that roam the forest. Similar to cougars back on Earth, but larger and more formidable,” David shared.
“God, I hope we never encounter one of those,” Yahn said.
“Yeah, me too,” David answered. We put on our hooded guard uniforms and approached the nearest entrance to the dome. It was a round door that blended in with the side of the dome when it wasn’t being opened or closed. A tall guard stood beside it.
“What did you encounter on your patrol, and where is Germounter?” the guard asked.
“A large Ferondon ambushed us. It got him,” David answered. “Other than that, we didn’t see much of anything.”
“Hmm, that is most unfortunate. One of our wide patrols claimed that they saw a band of humans not too far from where you were searching. They must have moved on to another location. Go and write up your reports!” he commanded.
“Yes sir!” David said as the door suddenly opened in front of us. The three of us walked in and were nearly run over by a group of Sarceastians that were walking through, accompanied by a Sarceastian dressed in a fancier, silver robe with a captain's name badge. All around us were Sarceastians moving from place to place. The dome had about five levels, all connected with moving stairways. Everything was white and gray with little decoration or adornment. The Sarceastians were too busy with their operations to worry about art or the aesthetics of their buildings. This dome was very utilitarian- designed to house the guards, miners, and soldiers, and serve as a command post for their operation.[G75][G76][G77]
“We need to find the main reactor and place the device nearest to it so that we can be sure that the whole structure is destroyed,” David whispered. “More than likely it will be in the very center, at the lower level.”
Following his advice and relying on his knowledge of the Sarceastians, we walked behind David, down to the lowest level of the dome, beneath the ground. There were two guards standing beside a door that had some strange symbols on it.
"See that door over there? It is labeled with radioactive symbols. That has to be the main reactor," David told with us. [G78]
“Are the guards going to let us in and will there be any danger of being exposed to radiation?” Yahn asked.
“We will get inside, and we will only be at risk if we enter the room with the reactor. We aren’t going to get that close,” he answered.
We walked up to the guards who gave us a puzzled look. [G79]
"What do you patrol guards want here? You do not have access to the reactor!" one of them jeered.[G80]
“We have been given the orders to examine the area. We have reason to believe there may have been a breach of security. Captain Hersinger has given us the order,” David said. I admired his cleverness. He had remembered the captain’s name, whose badge he had read when we first entered the dome.
“Alright, but this is highly irregular,” the other guard said. A door slid open and we walked inside. There was an eerie blue glow coming from the center chamber where the main reactor was located. David took off his robe, unstrapped the black box and put it right next to the center chamber. One of the Sarceastian guards came into the reactor room just as David was putting his uniform back on.
“Who are you?” The guard asked, raising his laser cannon. Yahn fired a laser at him and he fell to the ground.
“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here and fast!” David urged as he got the rest of his uniform back on. We exited the lower chamber and the second guard approached us.
“What’s going on, I heard laser fire inside of the chamber,” the guard asked.
"My laser cannon malfunctioned," David answered. The guard looked over at us suspiciously. Suddenly, he pulled the hood off of my head and I was exposed. [G81]
"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" he asked, raising his weapon. "You will be coming with me!" David raised his laser cannon, suddenly and fired. The shot hit the guard right in the face. He let out a loud screech, attracting the attention of several Sarceastians. We ran as fast as we could towards the exit. I looked behind us and several guards began to chase us. A few of them shot lasers at us. I had to duck to avoid being hit by one of them. Finally, we reached the exit. The guard there tried to stop us, but Yahn shot him. As we reached the cover of the woods, we began to return fire and hit several of them, managing to escape in one piece. [G82][G83][G84]
Chapter 9
Yahn
Once we were at a safe enough distance away, David took out the self-destruct[G85] remote and activated the sequence. A timer switched on, indicating that the device would go off in five minutes. We continued to put distance between us and the dome until we were several miles away. The timer ran out of seconds and soon we could hear a massive explosion far off in the distance. David smiled and took a deep breath.
“Take that you Sarceastian bastards!” he exclaimed. Then, he high-fived both Jessie and myself.
After a while, we decided to go back to the site of the dome to make sure that the entire facility was destroyed. We peered out from the cover of the forest at the devastation. There was nothing left but scorched earth and a burning pit left.[G86][G87]
“It worked!” Jessie cheered.
“Shh! There are probably still Sarceastians around in the woods. They may have fled for safety, but they’ll be back. Come on, back to the camp. This calls for a celebration!” David stated.
We went back to the camp and celebrated with a meal of fruit and Barbalot meat. Barbalots were small rabbit-like mammals found only on Padure.
As the night came on, Jessie and I went to our tent while David continued to guard the camp in case any Sarceastian patrols might still be in the area.
“I don’t know about you, but I say we leave tomorrow,” I said as I watched Jessie undress.
“Yes, I am ready. Having to worry about Sarceastian patrols and the eventual arrival of more Sarceastian ships is not something I’m looking forward to,” she agreed. I ran my fingers through her hair and gave her a small kiss.
"I'm in the mood for some mind-melding," she said, raising her left eyebrow suggestively. I nodded and took both of her hands. We both closed our eyes, and I felt the energy of her love flowing from her hands to mine. Soon, I was overwhelmed with pleasurable sensations that flowed throughout my body. Both of us began to moan with delight as we reached orgasm at the same time. We lay together afterwards, listening to the sounds of the night. I was trying to find a nerve to ask Jessie to form a for
ever pact with me. Forever pacts were similar to Earth marriages. The pact bonded a couple together forever unless the pact was broken by a holy Kerkola, the Karkastian equivalent of an Earth pastor or priest.[G88]
“Jessie, there is something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I finally got the nerve to say.
“Sure, what is it?” she asked. I got up and stood in front of her, taking her right hand in mine.
“Jessie, for some time now I’ve known that you were the only one for me. I want us to always be together, to be bonded to one another forever more. What I am trying to say is that I want to form a forever pact with you. Will you take this pact and be by my side for the rest of our days?”
"Yes, I will! Oh, Yahn. It's like you're asking me to marry you!" she became very excited as a single tear ran down her rosy cheeks.[G89][G90]
“What does marrying mean?” he asked.
Alien Romance Box Set: Romantic Suspense: Alien Destiny: Scifi Alien Romance Adventure Romantic Suspence Trilogy (Complete Series Box Set Books 1-3) Page 15
