“I haven’t lived an easy path if you haven’t noticed, Gragas. I’ll be fine.”
“Aye,” replied Gragas. “When we get back to Mars and start your training, there will be times you’ll wish you had your old life back.”
“Wait. I’ll be training?”
Gragas let out a chuckle. “You couldn’t hit a target if it was a meter in front of you. Yes, you’ll be training. You’re of the bloodline, so you’ll pick it up quickly.” Gragas sat down. “And, Ozzy, about your daughter, Lily?”
“Yes?”
“She’s of the bloodline as well.”
Ozzy had a feeling since she was his daughter and of his blood. “How?”
“Our imaging detected it in her. The bloodline gene-pool is small. It’s not usual for a child to be of the line like their parent. In fact, the bloodline may lay dormant in a family for centuries, only activating when it seems to want to. And it seems to have wanted to activate in you and your daughter. It’s new to us, but it’s a gift, nonetheless.”
Ozzy pinched the ridge of his nose, looking down in thought. Lily was a master at chess, beating anyone and everyone, even at seven years old. She was fast, and in some cases, could outrun Ozzy. She was genius-level smart and incredibly athletic to boot.
“And she will be training with us.”
Ozzy looked at Gragas. “Wait, she’s only seven.”
“Practically eight, and all the better. She’ll master what we teach her, and by the time she’s a teenager, she’ll exceed any and all Galactic Knights in skill and intelligence.”
“What if she doesn’t like it? If she wants to play dolls and spend her time beating your ass in chess? Then what?”
“Then, like you, she is free to leave at any time.” Gragas gestured for all of his Galactic Knights on the bridge to walk over and come closer.
Gragas pressed his fists together at his chest. “First, though, we need to welcome you into our Knighthood. By doing so, we need to initiate you.”
“Great. What does that entail?”
“Come closer,” ordered Gragas. He motioned for every Knight in the bridge to step toward him.
Gragas put his arms out wide and stepped in the middle of the forming huddle. He pulled Ozzy and wrapped his arms around him, smacking Ozzy’s back with his palm. “Welcome to the club.”
That was it? A damn hug? If training were like this, then it’d be as easy as riding a bike.
Ozzy hugged back. He’d never been in a club. Heck, he’d never really had friends.
He let go and looked Gragas in his eyes. “Thank you.”
Dizzy gave some pops and snaps, and Quad patted Ozzy on the head.
Ozzy backed out of the bridge and gave a curt bow, not really knowing what else to do. “I’ll need to digest this.” He hurried down the corridor to find a room with a bed.
He went down several halls, and his thoughts turned to Lily and Jozi. Both were in his heart now and forever more. One, thank Mars, was still alive.
He turned down another corridor and wandered down the line of doors and found one that didn’t have a sign and a name.
He swiped his hand over the control panel. The door opened. It was empty, except for a bed and a few portholes for windows.
He laid down and fluffed the pillow. He rested his head and stared out the holes, watching the cosmos.
After ten minutes, he yawned and closed his eyes. Before he found his dream state, he thought of Lily. Deep down, he knew she was safe. Deep down, he knew Gragas was going to help him get his daughter no matter what stood in the way.
Yes, it wouldn’t be too long until they landed on Mars, and it wouldn’t be too long until he had Lily in his arms once again.
Then he’d start the Galactic Knights’ training. And the adventures would begin, meeting alien races he’d never met or knew existed and, most importantly, as a Galactic Knight he’d be doing something good for his people—fighting off the Dunrakee.
This ought to be interesting.
Epilogue
Ozzy opened his eyes. He was in bed, and Jozi was on his mind. He couldn’t help but think of her. It wasn’t love. At least, he didn’t think it was. Was it her kindness that had consumed him? Was it her constant help and kick-ass skills?
He’d been on this ship for two weeks. Other than Jozi, Lily had been on his mind just as much. They were his two girls. One was alive. The other wasn’t.
The two weeks thus far on this journey also told him that the Galactic Knights were good guys. They welcomed him as if he were their long-lost brother. Quad, on the other hand, had been missing most of the time. He was working on a pet project in the ship’s lab.
Top secret.
Ozzy sighed. Since being on the ship, he felt rested, well fed, and finally safe for the first time in a long time.
He stared out of the portholes in his room as he did every morning and night—not as if space had mornings or nights. Yet, here he was with a gaping hole in his heart—for Jozi.
He missed her.
Immensely.
But he knew he’d get over her. Someday.
A knock on his door jolted him out of his thoughts.
He craned his neck. No one ever knocked on this ship or bothered him when he was in his room. He shrugged it off. He was hearing things.
Another knock.
The lines creased on his forehead and his brows scrunched together. “Come in.”
The door opened, and Quad stepped in. “I’ve been tinkering.” He looked down, almost as if there was pent up worry he was trying to hide.
“Tinkering?” Ozzy sat up. He placed his feet on the floor, rubbing the back of his neck. He liked Quad, but he’d rather get some sleep. He didn’t want to hear about what gadget Quad was creating. “I gotta rest.” He yawned, emphasizing his wish.
“It’s Jozi.”
Ozzy held in a breath. “Jozi? What do you mean?”
“I played with her parts.” He motioned for Ozzy to follow him. “Let me show you.”
Played with her parts? He knew Quad probably wasn’t a pervert and probably had no attraction to women not of his own race, but what parts was he talking about? He remembered Quad taking Jozi to the healing tubes after she had passed, but that’s all he knew. He hadn’t seen Jozi since. He wasn’t too keen on seeing her deteriorating body in the healing tube, either, so he never visited her body even when he had the chance.
This whole trip he had had that chance.
Did Quad take her out of the healing tube and tinker with her organs or something? He didn’t want to see her kidneys or liver if that’s what Quad wanted to show him.
“I’ll pass.”
“She’s alive, Ozzy.”
Ozzy bolted up. “No, no.” He gave a half smile, but this wasn’t a funny joke, and perhaps Quad’s alien race had a sick sense of humor. “I’m staying right here. I’ll see you at breakfast.” He hoped Quad would get the hint and move on.
“Ozzy, I don’t lie. I don’t know how to. She’s alive.”
Ozzy pushed off his bed and stood. The guy’s tone told Ozzy that Quad was telling the truth.
“Alright.” Something wasn’t adding up. What did Quad create? Frankenstein?
He followed Quad out of his room and down a corridor. They passed the engine room, the infirmary, and finally made it to the lab.
“Are you ready?”
Ozzy wasn’t. Two and two weren’t fitting together.
Quad opened the door.
Ozzy’s mouth dropped open.
“Hi, Ozzy.”
Jozi was sitting on a doctor’s table. All types of tools Ozzy had never seen lined the walls and holocomputers surrounded her.
She was hooked up via wires to several machines, and a beeping sound from one of the computers mimicked her heartbeat.
A tear streaked down her cheek, and the coloring on her face was nice and rosy.
“Yes, it’s me, Ozzy.” Her voice cracked, and her blue eyes sparkled as they always had. Her black h
air was pushed to one side, revealing a shaved portion with a long scar running along her scalp.
Ozzy stepped inside the room. His mouth was still shaped in an “o.” “Wha…how?”
Jozi stood. She wobbled and held onto the table to keep her balance. She pulled the wires out of her skin. “I’m not used to this.”
“You will assimilate quickly,” replied Quad.
“Used to what?”
“Everything.” Jozi pushed down her jumpsuit collar to show her sternum. A scar ran down her chest, and he imagined that if she showed him more, he’d see the scar go all the way to her belly. “Quad put some new parts in me and took out some old, damaged ones.” She looked down. “I no longer need food. I have energy reserves, somewhat like a battery. Several of my organs were far too damaged to repair, so he replaced those too.” She scuffed the floor with her foot. “I have a robotic heart, Ozzy.”
“But you’re alive.” Ozzy walked to her and touched the bottom of her chin. She was real. “I’m…uh…how…”
He was at a loss for words. His chin trembled. She was holy-crap alive.
She looked at Ozzy, her eyes full of sadness. “I feel…not right. I don’t know why.” She touched her heart. “Maybe because I don’t have a real heart?” She wrapped her arms around Ozzy and sobbed, leaning her forehead against his chest.
Ozzy squeezed her against him. She was living and breathing. He wanted to fist pump the air and to give Quad the biggest hug the guy would never forget. A lump began to form in his throat, and he held in his tears. “It’s okay. As Quad said, you’ll get used to it.” He had no idea if that were true.
Hell, he didn’t know how else to answer. He didn’t know if that would ever be true. How could she get used to something that wasn’t her own that didn’t grow inside of her from birth?
“I guess I will,” she replied.
Quad stepped out of the room, and the door shut, leaving Ozzy and Jozi alone.
She grabbed hold of him and squeezed tighter, crying deeply and pushing out guttural sobs. “Ozzy?” she mumbled, her voice cracking.
“Yes, I’m here.” He continued to hold her.
“I’m scared.”
“I know.”
She shook her head against his chest. “I’m not human anymore.”
Ozzy pulled her in closer. She was cold, yet she was more human than most humans Ozzy had ever known. There was nothing that would change that. He rubbed her back and grabbed her hand. He turned, leading her to the door.
She stumbled and leaned on him as a crutch. The door opened, and they walked into the corridor.
“I can’t be a human. I’m different now.”
Ozzy turned and faced her. “You’re human to me. No matter what anyone says, no matter how you have changed, you’ll always be a human. Don’t forget that.”
Ozzy was holding in his shock. Once dead and now alive? How the hell did Quad pull something like this off?
Right now it didn’t matter. He could question Quad later.
Jozi was alive and with him. If this were a dream, he’d be an idiot to wake up.
They walked down the hallway and to the viewing area. She was shivering. He sat her down and plopped down beside her.
She rested her cheek on his shoulder.
He rubbed her arm to help her warm up. He smiled. He had his sidekick back. Other than being with Lily, there was nothing else that would make him happier than sitting here with Jozi.
“There’s something I’ve never told you, Jozi.”
“What’s that?”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for what?”
Ozzy closed his eyes. “For everything.”
Ready for the next installment?
Link: Martian Legacy
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Martian Earth (Mars Colony Chronicles Book 4) Page 19
