“Wait, I know this!” Pyjik interrupted before the rest of us could speak. “It’s more humor!”
“I see. How…strange.”
“Oh, honey,” Ciangi cooed. “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“I do not understand. What do large bodies of ice have to do with anything?”
But Ciangi chose to fly right past that, which was good since by my estimates, we only had seven minutes before the crew was released and we had no guarantee that they wouldn’t try to stop us. “Preparing for lift off. I hope everyone has their harnesses in place. Oh, and, Gonzales, make sure you hail our main ship and the little mimics that it’s time to stop hiding and fly back home. Mission success.”
“I hope they’ll believe it more than I do right now.”
“You and me both,” the blonde agreed.
And then, we were taking off.
It seemed so strange to be in a one-man craft and yet having somebody else flying my ship. I supposed this was what Ciangi had kept herself so busy on during the four days it took us to reach the station, and then all the time we had spent waiting for backup. Programming an algorithm to remotely fly five fighters and a repair ship couldn’t have been an easy task. Thankfully, since we were in smaller ships, we would be able to reach Mimic’s home planet much sooner than the massive cruiser we had arrived in.
Still, we weren’t in for an easy ride. Two and a half to three days in a small fighter was cramped. While there were rations, recycled air, and even a way to eliminate waste, it was undoubtedly cramped.
But at least we had each other.
In fact, that was about all we had at the moment.
But I didn’t mind. It gave me time to think. Ever since I had met Mimic, my life had turned into a constant gamble of the worst odds you could probably come across. And yet, we kept winning. I didn’t know if it was determination, luck, or we had some sort of patron god smiling over us, but either way, I was incredibly grateful.
And that gratefulness made me think about everything that Gonzales had said to me, and the thoughts that had rushed through my mind.
When Mimic was in the hangar, and I could feel that she was in danger, I had wanted nothing more than to help her. And when I was shot, I had been relieved that it was me and not her. Surely, that was not a normal reaction. While I would put my life on the line for any one of my friends, it was different…wasn’t it?
I didn’t know. And more than ever, I wished that there was a manual for this thing sort of thing. But who was I to complain? Mimic was the one who had to navigate all the foibles of interacting with humans with less than two years of exposure. I had many more than that, so why was I so clueless?
It wasn’t until the last day of our journey that I realized maybe it was because I was trying to figure out all of it on my own. Almost all of my personal revelations had happened because of Mimic, so why wasn’t I consulting her on this?
I quickly direct-commed her ship, not wanting the rest of our little gang to hear me make an absolute fool of myself.
“Hey, Mimic,” I said somewhat breathlessly, sure that I was about to be the world’s biggest idiot.
“How are you? Is your wound alright? Do you need medical assistance?”
Her instant worry made me smile somewhat. It was nice to know that no matter what, I always had someone who would care about me.
“I’m fine, I promise. There are med-packs in here and I’ve been taking pain medicine as needed.” Of course, I wasn’t going to tell her that I felt weak and that even with the meds, my side throbbed relentlessly. Although it was agonizing, I knew the pain would eventually pass. I just had to survive to the other side, and I was quickly learning that I certainly had a knack for that.
“Oh, good. You were quite reckless back there, Higgens. You could have been killed.”
“And so could you.”
“Technically, we don’t know that,” Mimic said. “As far as I have researched, one of my kind has never been hit by one of your Earth blasters. For all we know, I could be immune.”
“Considering that it fires a bolt of pure energy, I doubt that.”
“That is fair.” She chuckled a moment before she continued. Goodness, I loved that laugh. It made everything in the world seem a bit brighter. “Was there something you wanted?”
“Yes, I, uh, I…” I found myself losing momentum, but I had to push myself through it. “Do you believe in love?”
“Love?”
“Yeah, ya know. Love?”
“I do not understand. Love is a human emotion; how can one believe it or not? That is like not believing in anger, or happiness.”
“Uh, that’s not quite what I mean.” I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to best word it. “I guess what I’m trying to ask you is, uh, do you think you are capable of love.”
“Of course.” I was surprised that she answered so quickly. “I love you, after all.” My heart hitched at that, but then she kept talking. “And I love Gonzales. And Bahn. And Ciangi. And all of my brothers and sisters. I am connected to all of you and them in ways I never thought were possible.”
I had imagined this conversation many times since that night on the station, but in none of my fantasies had Mimic had such a hard time understanding what I was trying to say.
“Yeah, I think we all feel that love for each other, but that’s not what I’m talking about either.”
“Oh? I do not understand then. What do you mean?”
“I mean, uh, you know in those flicks I watch, how there’s two people who end up loving each other differently than they feel for everyone else. And it doesn’t diminish the love they have for all their friends and family. It’s just…different.”
“Ahhh,” she said, like I had suddenly started making all the sense in the world. “You mean romance.”
“Yeah, I guess I do. Do you think you could feel romantic love for someone? Ever? Or is that not a thing for mimics?”
She was quiet a long moment. And then another moment longer. And one more. My heart began to squeeze while my stomach did flips within itself. Why was I so hung up on her answer? I knew that we cared for each other very much and would go to the ends of the universe for each other. Why complicate it?
“Perhaps,” Mimic answered finally. “It is not a foreign concept to our people, just quite rare. If I were to have found—or find, rather—someone I could feel that way towards, I think it would be devastating if they were not to feel the same towards me.”
“Yeah…devastating,” I echoed, my mind whirling as I tried to decipher exactly what that meant.
“Why do you ask? Feeling strangely philosophical now that you’ve been trapped in one spot for too long?”
I laughed and took the easy escape. “Yup, that must be it.” I let it drop and took a deep breath. “I think I’m going to take a nap while I can,” I said shakily. “Goodness knows that once we hit planet-side, there won’t be a single chance to rest.”
“You are certainly correct.”
I went to turn off my comm, but Mimic began to speak just before I disconnected.
“Higgens!”
“Yes?” I asked, surprised at the urgency in her tone that clearly came across the comm.
“I’m…I’m very glad you found me. If I was given the chance to go back and change time, I wouldn’t.”
A pleasant sort of warmth filled me, and I smiled at my console. “Me too, Mimic. Me too.”
“Good. I just wanted to make sure you knew that. Good night, Higgens.”
“Good night, Mimic.”
With that, I turned the comm off and sat back in my chair, holding my wound while I thought. Sure, while Mimic hadn’t said she loved me or could love me outright, she had certainly given me something to ponder on.
But first, some rest.
13
Making the Leap
That night, my dreams were filled with Mimic. Some scenes were memories replaying themselves like a flick, some of them were en
tirely fabrications of my subconscious. They ranged from happy, to terrifying, to full of melancholy, but no matter what, they starred my best shapeshifter friend.
When I finally awoke, I had a clarity of mind I felt like I hadn’t had in ages. Sure, I still felt weak and feverish from my wound, but all of the questions that had been plaguing me for so long seemed to have settled.
I had made first contact. I had traveled to an unknown galaxy only to return and steal a ship from the same jerk who had killed all of Mimic’s people. I had done impossible things, and none of them could have been accomplished without Mimic. I was who I was today because of her, and it was time that I stopped being afraid of it.
The epiphany filled me with a steely sort of resolve, and suddenly, I couldn’t wait to land. I knew what I had to do, and I wanted to get it done before I chickened out.
I kept my comm off, afraid to say something that would ruin it all, and just sat patiently. Which was considerably difficult considering we had several hours left even after I woke up.
But eventually, Mimic’s planet loomed in the distance, and Ciangi’s voice crackled over the speakers of our ships.
“Alright, prepare for landing.”
I gripped the armrests on either side of me, my heartbeat picking up. I could feel the sweat coming on and I tried to calm myself down. The last thing I wanted was to end up moist and clammy when we touched down.
Which we did, and that seemed to go much faster than our lift-off had. I didn’t know if it was my nerves, or if I blacked out for a moment, but it seemed like one second we were just entering orbit, and the next, we were setting down just outside of Mimic’s capital like we had just flown through butter rather than the incredible turbulence that normally came from breaking a planet’s atmosphere.
As much as I normally would have sat back and admired the technology that Earth had at their disposal, I didn’t have time. I was on a mission.
I struggled out of my seat, and I might have stumbled all the way down to the ground had Gonzales not been there to catch me.
“Whoa, easy there, tiger. You in a hurry for something?”
“Yes,” I answered simply before getting to my feet and walking straight towards Mimi.
She must have heard me as I approached, because she turned to me slightly. I didn’t know what it was, but just seeing her again filled me with a sort of happiness that couldn’t quite be put into words. Once more, I held out my arms to her for a hug, and she quickly walked into my embrace.
I held her tightly, like if I let go that I would lose her again and it would take more than a year for us to find each other. I couldn’t say how long I held her, my heart beating frantically in my chest, but after a long while, I pulled away just far enough to look down at her face.
Her beautiful, kind face.
It could have been ageless, expressionless, flawless, but she chose not to make it so. I saw worry lines in her forehead and at the top of her nose. Slight bags hung under her cheeks, purple-black from her exhaustion and stress. Laugh lines that I would treasure for eternity separated her cheeks from her lips, and her smile was just as bright, even if so much had happened to weigh down the expression.
And the next thing I knew, I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers.
It was gentle at first, almost inquisitive. I was afraid that I was crossing some sort of terrible line, or that I had completely misinterpreted everything Mimic had said.
But then, she melted into my touch and wrapped her arms around my waist.
In that moment, it was like the entire universe changed with just a simple action. There would, for the rest of my life, be a before the kiss, and an after.
My head swam, my heart swirled, and my face grew hot. A million thoughts flew through my head before being shoved out by peace. And quiet. And safety.
I was protected here, with Mimic’s mouth pressed against mine, and no one could ever take away the solace I felt in that moment.
When I pulled away, Mimic’s face was bright red and her eyes were half-lidded.
“Does this mean you love me?” she murmured breathlessly.
“Yes,” I answered, finally willing to admit the truth aloud.
“Good,” she said. “Because I think I love you too.”
I thought I’d known happiness before, but nothing compared to the feeling that flooded me at those words. I let out a weak sort of laugh and tipped my forehead to rest against hers. I could have stayed in that moment forever, if only ju—
“Mimic! Mimic!”
Both of our heads jerked in the direction of one of the young mimics that she had left in charge of the preparation and training. It was clear by both their tone and the strained expression on their half-formed face that whatever they were running for was most urgent.
They practically collided with their leader, and she caught them deftly, taking a step away from me to do so.
“What is wrong, child? Are you alright?”
They shook their head emphatically and all of those butterflies that had just been flying in my stomach sank rather rapidly.
“All of our satellites farther than three clicks away have gone dead,” they gasped. “The enemy will be here within days. We have less than a week!”
The look on Mimic’s face grew grim and she reached out to me, never letting go of the small Mimic as she rose.
“Very well then,” she murmured before raising her voice to address the rest of us. “It seems that our unwelcome guests have nearly arrived.” Goodness, I would never understand how she kept so calm. “The battle is close. Prepare yourselves.”
And with that, she walked back toward her village, and I had no choice to follow her. It figured, I had just had the happiest moment of my life interrupted by the greatest threat to us all.
I never had been very good at timing. Hopefully, if we survived this guerrilla war we were about to try, I would get better at in in the future. Only time would tell, I supposed.
Time, and a whole lot of luck.
THANK YOU
Thank you so much for reading Mimic Raises an Army the fourth book in the Space Shifter Chronicles. I really hope you enjoyed the story of how they prepared to defend Mimic’s home planet. In the next book, things are gonna get real. Book 5 should be published in January.
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At the end, I have included a preview of Recruit, the first book in the Jack Forge, Fleet Marine series which is an action packed space Marines series. This first story tells how Jack was plucked from the University and sent to basic training, essentially against his will. After you read the preview, you can download the book on Amazon
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Preview: Recruit
Jack Forge sat in the lecture theater watching the hands on his small silver pocket watch tick across its shimmering pearl face. The latest grades would be revealed in a few moments. The room was silent as the students counted down the seconds.
Attendance at his brother’s funeral had been authorized, so he had been free to leave his studies and attend. Jack knew missing time would count against his grade, but he was on top of his studies and his grades were excellent. He could afford to drop a few points and still maintain his two-pl
us student rating.
The recruiting sergeant stood at the front of the theater next to Professor Bowen. One of these men wanted the students to maintain their two-plus, the other did not. His classmates watched the seconds tick down on the large display. Jack watched on his small family heirloom. It was all he had left of his family.
The second hand reached the top of its final round. Jack heard the ripples of distress and gasps of horror as the students whose grades had dropped realized they were now the property of the military.
Jack looked up to the display. He picked out his name. He saw it there pulsing on the screen in red, a pattern that could only mean one thing. He scanned across to his grade. Two. Only two. The plus was missing for the first time in his three semesters. Three other names pulsed. Jack knew them all. He’d studied with them, socialized with them, laughed with them. He would most likely never see them again.
The sergeant barked out transfer orders to the first name on the list. Jack watched as the second hand ticked along. He was only seventeen seconds into his new life when his name was called out by the recruiting sergeant.
“Jack Forge. Fleet Marine training.”
Jack looked up from his watch. He looked at Professor Bowen. The old man was slumped in a chair, his eyes averted as his class was further reduced in number.
The doors to the lecture theater opened and military police entered. Jack had seen this before. Students had complained and argued, fought and resisted their removal from university to the ranks of the military or some war production facility. The arguments were familiar to Jack. He heard the most common of them now from across the lecture theatre.
The students being drafted into service promised to pull their grades back up. They argued that it was only a small drop. They argued that they were too smart to be sent to the military. The arguments and complaints descended into shouts and screams as the former students were dragged away. Friends shouted their good-byes. Lovers kissed and cried. As a guard came toward Jack, he tucked away his watch and stood. With a nod to his escort, he walked down the steps at the side of the lecture theater toward the open door.
Mimic Raises an Army (Space Shifter Chronicles Book 4) Page 9
