His friend gave a small smile before putting his attention on the tech’s computer screen. Alan took this as a good sign to leave. While he knew he should have rushed through the hall, he instead walked slowly, his hands deep in his pockets. The only thing he focused on was his breathing, using that as a distraction from his mind so he could remain calm in his commanding officer’s quarters. A commanding officer who liked to berate him simply because of who his family was. Maybe he knew all along what kind of a man my father actually is…
Alan reluctantly entered Sir Oriol’s office, ready to get the torture over with.
“Sit down,” his superior said in a surprisingly gentle voice. “The day has come where I can gloat, and I oddly do not want to take the opportunity to do so.”
“Thank you for being considerate of my feelings,” Alan said darkly. He gripped his knees tightly. It was about the only thing he could do that wouldn’t result in him punching the man.
Sir Oriol gazed across his desk at Alan. “I should be thanking you for staying loyal to our cause.”
“Regardless of the sentiments my father and I do share in regards to our mission, I am an Alturan, not an Earth human,” Alan stated. “My job is to help end the war, not make it worse. Our mission is to leave Earth as close to untouched by our presence as possible. It is something I agree with strongly because I see how painful the changes are to my charges who are willing to be involved. Then I think about those who won’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Good, I’m glad you haven’t lost sight of those goals. Of who you are.” Sir Oriol paused. “Do you know why your father and I have squabbled for so long?”
Alan shook his head. “No, Sir.” Why would my father tell me anything?
“Because a long time ago, your father and I worked together on a mission back home.” Sir Oriol folded his hands in front of him. “I won’t bore you with all of the details, but we were doing ground work with the Yumsaltanz during the beginning of their conflict with the Gelandrosimbol. We were supposed to help protect them from spontaneous attacks. You know how the Yumsaltanz are. They’re so passive most of the time, so reluctant to fight.”
Alan nodded to show he was listening, but he had little to add.
Sir Oriol watched him for a moment before continuing. “We were patrolling the village where we were stationed when we found an enemy spy. She was taken into custody and held as a prisoner of war. You’re familiar with the laws regarding those, yes?” Again Alan nodded. Sir Oriol sighed. “Even then, your father seemed to be above things like rules and laws and orders. I’m sure in his mind, he thinks he is doing the right thing despite his careless actions.
“We were told to guard her and nothing else. A specialist would be coming to interrogate her in the morning. Your father thought it would be a good idea to do the questioning himself. He didn’t think it a good idea to wait.” Sir Oriol shook his head. “I’ll spare you the details. In the end, he got valuable information that led to another village being spared decimation. The cost, however, came at the price of him breaking every rule I can think of in regards to how a prisoner should be questioned. It resulted in her death. Perhaps a village was saved, sort of. The attack still happened. Our forces were able to aide and overpower the enemy before it got worse.”
He leaned forward and folded his hands together on the table. “The thing you must understand about your father is his disrespect for protocol. His actions cost the life of a woman who didn’t need to die in order to give up the information she possessed. A woman who was a wife and a mother. But he doesn’t think of these things when he gets his noble ideas, and that is why I dislike him so. He cares more about his ego than anyone else. While he may say he gave up our intelligence to Earth because he wants to help them, he only wants to help himself. Somehow he’s found gain in this situation, and I’m determined to find out what that is.
“When you came aboard this vessel, I was concerned you would follow in his footsteps. A few of your actions have been questionable, though I never explicitly told you no. You find the loopholes. Don’t misunderstand me. I want you to question if you ever see something that breaks our code of ethics, but I don’t want you to make the same mistakes he’s made. The man I saw torture that woman was one who didn’t value human life. He was no better than our enemies. They don’t follow the rules of common decency either, and that is what makes them so hard to beat.”
Letting out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, Alan leaned forward. Confusion, anger, frustration, everything billowed up inside of him. The man described to him by Sir Oriol was not the man who raised him. His father had been nothing but kind and taught the importance of standing up for what’s right. Alan had a hard time believing his father killed anyone using torture, especially for so-called “selfish reasons”. It did explain one thing about his father though: Why he’d turn on his people. Something else must have been going on that Alan wasn’t aware of yet.
For the time being, he played the obedient servant. Until he was told to do something completely against his morals, he would trust his captain.
“That isn’t the kind of heroism I was raised to aspire toward,” Alan said at last.
“Of course not. I’m just glad you’re more like your mother.”
“You know her?”
Sir Oriol nodded. “Does this surprise you? Honestly, Alanmendiquixanimackle.”
“I suppose it shouldn’t,” he said, though he wondered if there was more going on that he wasn’t being told. Alan was almost twenty-one years old. Shouldn’t he have at least seen Sir Oriol over at the house if he was so well acquainted with both of his parents? He’d barely heard the man’s name in passing. If not for his mother’s warning, he’d have never known about the bad blood between Oriol and his father at all.
His superior interrupted his thoughts. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Alan whispered.
“You’ll be promoted for this.”
Not what I was hoping for. “Thank you,” he repeated, figuring that was more appropriate of a response. “Did we lose the Ilotus?”
“Perhaps you can tell me. Do you think your charges were able to keep it from your attackers?” Sir Oriol raised both of his eyebrows.
Alan frowned. “I want to believe they could. They aren’t as well trained as Jaes’s charges, though.” He shook his head. I need to have faith in my team. If they were able to escape, they’ll have the Ilotus too. They know how important it is for our mission. “What is going to happen next? With Jaes’s charges, I mean?”
“That is for Sir Tuliyogljaes and I to decide. Find out what you can from your team and report back to me once you know. The Yumsaltanz are greatly upset by this mishap. They barely escaped your father’s team with their lives, and there are few of them left on this planet. I’m glad we’ve resolved part of why it happened, at least.”
“Yes,” Alan forced himself to say, unable to think clearly. All he knew was that he was disturbed by the new information he’d been presented with. He wanted to ask what Sir Oriol meant by there being few of the yellow tribe left on Earth, but didn’t have the stomach to ask. More bad news might push him over the edge. It could wait a little while longer.
Sir Oriol waved him off. “You’re free to go.”
Alan stood and bowed before leaving the room. The only place he could think to go was Cadance’s apartment. No, I can’t impose on her like that. Yet he teleported to her front door, anyway, lucky no one was around to see since he didn’t bother to check if the area was clear. At least he remembered to knock.
As soon as she opened the door, he drew her into a tight hug, not caring if she was home alone or not, the tears he’d been fighting for so long coming forward once again.
“I was just on my way out,” Cadence said quietly. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” he whispered.
She rubbed his back gently. “Give me a minute. Let me cancel my plans.”
“No, I shouldn’t have intruded. I just…wanted a friendly face, and I can’t see Jaes. Not after what happened.” He took a deep breath, determined to regain control of his emotions again and failing to do so. Alan spoke so fast he was surprised she could even understand him. “We were attacked; JD and the others got away. The leak. The leak is my father. All of this time and I didn’t even think…”
Cadence let out a quiet gasp. Her gaze roamed his face for a moment. “There’s no way you could have known. Besides, he’s not on your ship.”
Alan shook his head. “He came and went, a lot, taking information as he willed. I’m sure he did this to others in the area as well. He had to have. So much is going wrong. I can’t believe I doubted Jaes. How am I going to be able to look at him, let alone share a living space? I—”
“Sit down. I’m going to get you some water.” She had her phone out as she walked to the kitchen. Her lower lip raked between her teeth as she read whatever message she’d received. “Gideon is going to come up here for a second so I can give him some equipment for a side project.”
“You’re talking to him?” Alan asked, eager to hear more. Eager for the brief distraction. Happy she was putting him to work.
She shrugged. “It’s stuff for the MediCenter research he’s doing. Not a huge thing. He’s taking it seriously and might have a lead or two.”
There was a soft knock on the door. Cadence picked up a small, black box and took it to the door. She didn’t invite Gideon in, nor did she let him know Alan was inside her apartment. The two whispered for a moment and then he was gone. Cadence brought Alan a glass of tap water.
“It’ll be okay,” she said. The same words his best friend had uttered before. Only when she spoke them, he actually believed her.
Chapter Nineteen
“Just trust me,” Orlando said as he raised his fist to knock on the front door of Dallas’s condo. He was tired, grumpy, and tired of arguing about what to do next. They had agreed on one thing: get the Ilotus to a safe location and with someone they could trust until Alan told them otherwise. Dallas was the only person he could think of that fit the bill at the moment.
Angela rubbed at her arms, obviously not sure. “I want to...”
“Then do it,” he said. Before his knuckle could make contact with the wood, Dallas had already answered.
“Dude, get in here,” he said.
Orlando glanced back at his friends and went to the dining room to sit. There, he carefully pulled out the Ilotus and set it on the table. “Nia here?”
“Not at the moment,” Dallas said. “Wow, that’s a shiny box!”
“Yes, and we need a safe place to keep it. I don’t trust it at their house.” He pointed to JD and Angela. “Little kids and all that.” And the deal JD made with The Doctor. Not sure what’s going on with them.
Dallas nodded, understanding. His voice then projected into Orlando’s mind. “Want me to look into it?”
Could you?
“Yep!” “I suppose your place is out too,” Dallas said before too much silence passed between them.
“With my parents living back home, I’m not sure what kind of snooping they’re going to do. One of them has already tried looking through my desk and computer.” Dad would freak out if he found it. Then turn it in to his boss, I’m sure.
“Best to leave it to the guy who no longer exists.” Dallas gazed down at the box, seemingly entranced. It was beautiful as well as distracting with the way it reflected the kitchen light all around the room.
“For now,” Orlando said. “We were supposed to give it to Nia’s tribe today. I figured she could take it to her alien boss and all would be good.”
Dallas winced. “Her alien boss dropped all of his charges. She’s unemployed at the moment. He’s going back home before things get worse.”
“What?” JD gasped. “He can’t up and ditch everyone! What about the fight?”
“It’s a fight that’s directly against his tribe. On Altura, the green tribe is committing genocide on Nia’s tribe. Things are getting bad fast. He’s more useful there or hiding in another nation than here. Nia said she thinks The Doctor’s people have been given instructions to…find everyone she works with and…” Dallas shook his head. “She’s safe, I think, and she’ll be safer once she’s here permanently. From what I understand, it’s only the Alturans who are being targeted. It’s kind of why they wanted to get the Ilotus back, so they could take it home with them.”
They were all quiet for a minute. Genocide? That kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen anymore. Killing off an entire people because they couldn’t get along? It all sounded over the top to Orlando. Couldn’t they find another way to figure things out? He shook his head, but he couldn’t find words to express his frustrations over the situation. Hopefully, the charges of Nia’s tribe were indeed left alone. Now I’m worrying about her.
“Hopefully she can get the Ilotus to them before they leave,” JD said.
Angela nodded in agreement. “Forgot to turn my phone back on…”
Orlando nodded. “Yeah, you should probably do that.”
Angela gave a weak smile as the phone buzzed to life in her hands, a small smile that was beautiful all the same. “Message from Cadence. I bet she’s already talking to Alan. I’ll send her a text to let her know we’re safe, and we’ve got a safe place for the Ilotus.”
“So long as Alan promises not to share that information,” Orlando advised. He wasn’t convinced everyone on Alan’s ship meant well. Jaes’s own charges turning on him was proof of that.
“Here, I got it.” JD took the phone from her and then wandered out of the room.
Angela returned to her odd silence. Not like her at all. So much was different about her in the past few days. Ever since their fight, he wasn’t quite sure how to get things back to normal between them. Then again, could they go back after their confession? He had feelings for her. She for him. They couldn’t magically erase their emotions just because they wanted to.
He gazed at her across the room. Dallas conveniently left them alone, and that was as strong of a hint as any that perhaps he should try to bridge the gap between them. Orlando approached her slowly, ready for her to lash out at him like a wild animal might. She didn’t even look up at him when he stood right next to her.
“Thanks for your help,” Orlando said softly, unsure of how to start. That seemed as good of a place as any. “Without you, I’d have been toast.”
She gave him another tiny smile. “Probably wouldn’t have been a good look on you,. Toasted, I mean. Anyway, it’s not a big thing.”
“You could have left me to suffer.”
“I’m not that kind of bitter.”
So, she is still mad at me. “I’m sorry you’re bitter at all.”
“I don’t want to talk about this again. When you said you needed time, I think you were onto something. Let’s not talk about this again. Preferably ever.”
He sighed, defeated, and stepped back to give her the space she seemed to desire so much. Great, I’ve burned that bridge. “Let me know if you need a ride home.”
“Don’t give up man,” Dallas’s voice said inside of his mind. “She still wants you, but you’ve got to be in it one-hundred percent.”
Orlando didn’t want the advice, but it was one reminder of how Dallas’s powers could be used for good no matter how invasive they were. There was hope, and he’d made his decision once and for all.
Chapter Twenty
Gideon stood just outside of the park entrance for a good five minutes before chickening out and walking back home. It’d have been easy. There were still families playing on the playground. He could go and listen in on whatever conversation Nathan and Tait might have. Cadence had given him a device he could use to hear better, some gadget Alan gave her a few months back that she’d forgotten to return.
He couldn’t bring himself to do it, though. First of all, Nathan would see him and recognize him the moment he entered the par
k. With the close call at the deli, he doubted Nate would think it another coincidence. Secondly, if Cadence had been with him he’d have a lot more courage. Her backing out at the last minute made him wonder if perhaps it was a bad idea after all. All he could do was confirm Tait was there. She brushed right by him on the sidewalk as she practically ran into the park. He was still invisible to her.
I want to know, but being safe is better. And I don’t want to know what Alan will do if I break his rules again. Still, his old friendship with Nathan almost had him follow her in. Ten years of history were hard to erase, and Gideon wanted to know why Nate didn’t want to be around anymore. What was so important that he’d drop Gideon out of the blue?
Instead, he walked the few houses down the street back home. His hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched forward like the coward he was.
He walked inside his house. Mom was on the couch watching one of her many television shows. “Anything good on?”
“I’m catching up on Champion of Chefs,” she said. “Do you want to join me? After this it’ll be time for Beacon of Hope.”
“Let me do some homework first,” he said, wanting to avoid sitting down for hours of reality TV. He didn’t get sucked into a lot of shows to begin with. Most of what his mother watched was mindless entertainment. He needed a moment to himself before he committed to letting his brain rot for a while.
She acknowledged him with a grunt. Seemed like a good enough time for him to go upstairs if ever. Gideon shut the door to his room and logged onto his computer so he could take some notes. Perhaps if he wrote everything related to the Altura war down, he’d be able to find patterns and piece things together.
First, he wrote down all of the locations he’d ever met with the blue tribe. The next list had all of the places he’d gone with Alan, and the last thing he wrote down were all of the spots he was supposed to research. Once that was done, he gazed over all of his data looking for patterns, something, tying it all together. That’s when he noticed the ring circling around Lunar Falls high school. Could the school really be a hub? Does everything connect there? Is that where the tunnels originate? The tunnels that seemed to be everywhere. Note to self, find a map of the system somewhere online.
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