by Greg Dragon
Memory 23 | Homecoming
The tiny ship approached the Helysian at a rate that could be easily mistaken as hostile. Abe RUS scrambled the gunners to man their stations as they tried their best to communicate with the pilot. The Helysian was in a panic. Never before had the Geralos done something so bold as to attempt a kamikaze run on their FTL drive. It was one of the surest ways to disable the ship, and they wondered what sort of explosives were onboard and whether the ship was truly alone.
The soldiers on the Helysian were on edge, but Aurora SYN pleaded with the commander to hold fire. Something told her that the ship was friendly and that it belonged to Rafian VCA.
She could hardly contain her excitement and the commander looked at her intently, wondering if there was any chance that she could be right. When the first gunner opened fire, the comm finally came to life. “This is Supreme Leader Rafian VCA of the Phaser agency, a son of Helysian and Vestalia. Commander RUS, don't you recognize my flying? Which Geralos would be crazy enough to approach from this angle?”
The ship breathed a collective sigh of relief, and it was as if every marine onboard found his or her way to the dock. When the vessel landed, it was of an alien design that none of the pilots had ever seen before.
The back hatch opened with a mist of detox steam pouring out, and several dangerous-looking men and women hopped out and formed a path as Rafian emerged with Marian in tow. Aurora clasped a hand over her mouth. He was bigger than she last remembered and seemed a lot older. She looked at his entourage and at their uniform: white with blue highlights, decorated with badges, medals, and what seemed to be las-sword burns.
He removed his helmet to reveal his bald head and thick, unruly beard. His near-ebony skin glistened with sweat and his boots were spiked and cruel.
The woman next to him looked like nobody she had ever seen before. She was human, but her thick crop of ebony hair—plaited into a long ponytail—revealed a face that was strikingly beautiful and alien.
Rafian walked past his men and approached Aurora. He had missed her a lot during his days at the jumper temple. He looked over at the commander, saluted him and the crew, then pointed at the gunners and winked. He found his way to his sister and lifted her up, then hugged her long and hard.
“Is it really you, Rafian?” she whispered through her gasps. “Please don’t let this be a dream because my heart can’t take it!”
She was crying loudly and clung to him for dear life as Rafian fought back his own tears. He took her hand and walked her over to Marian, where he introduced her and did the same with the commander and the friends who had come out to see him.
Surprisingly, Vani was also there. She had the stripes of a Marine Colonel, and he felt a strange wave of pride for her accomplishment. The old scars and anger had been removed and he hugged her the way he had hugged Aurora.
This ritual went on for a time as everyone who knew Rafian rushed out to meet him. Some inquired about Camille and were elated to hear that she was fine. Others, such as Kim, kept their distance and watched with admiration from afar.
The jumpers had been restructured under the leadership of Rafian and Tayden. They changed their name to the Phaser agency and made themselves known by destroying a major Geralese starship by the name of the Vestal.
Rafian needed Helysian as a temporary base of operations for a future mission on Vestalia. His return was more than a homecoming, however, as he knew that his face would inspire the men and women, along with putting the necessary fire in their belly for the violence and destruction to come.
He had also come back to get Aurora. She was his sister, and he didn’t like to have her so far away from him, where his influence couldn’t keep her safe. He took Marian on a grand tour and spoke of his troubled youth, his ascent to first grade, and his rocky relationships with women.
“Though you had no memory of your past, Rafian. I could sense a deep sadness within you when we first met. Well, the meeting that occurred after our fight, of course.” She could not resist a little smile at the thought of them fighting when they first met.
After the tour, Rafian took Marian to his old apartment, opened a bottle of brandy, and reminisced on their union and everything that had transpired since then. Camille wanted some time before returning to Helysian, so the temple’s destruction was left up to her. Tayden had reformed her rangers within the agency’s ranks, and started reconnaissance runs on the area of Vestalia that they had picked out to become their headquarters.
Marian put her feet up on the arm of the couch and leaned against her husband. She sipped the drink and made a face, then put it down on the table. “If you could do it over again, Rafian, would you still join the jumpers?”
Rafian ran his finger over a scar near his right eye as he thought deeply about Marian’s question. Ironically, Marian cherished the scar he had given her on their first meeting, but it had been repaired when she took a bullet through her cheek during one of her training exercises.
The Kelpor healing system had the ability to remove wounds and scars, and unless you had someone manually operating it, you were not able to pick and choose what it mended. Marian’s face was now flawless, but Rafian kept the slice Arn had given him when he delivered the true death, as was promised to the Makers so many months back.
“I went through so much to meet you, Rhee. How could this not be destiny?” He seemed suddenly lost in thought, and he shook his head slowly.
“Destiny, I like that,” Marian replied in Tyheran, the way she always did whenever she spoke lightly from the heart. “You know, I never asked if you wanted me to become a jumper here, or if it would bother you that I want to fight,” she said as she crawled over his legs and adjusted herself to straddle him.
“When I met you, you were a soldier, babe. When I brought you back, I expected that you would continue to be one. You didn’t have to ask; I knew that you would join. I don’t expect you to ever wait on me.”
The brandy bottle was empty, and Marian’s thick, dark curls tickled tickling Rafian’s nose as she leaned in. “You forgot one other thing that we warriors are meant to do, husband.”
Rafian kissed her lips hard and let his arms envelop her naked waist as she dropped the last of her armor on the floor. “Thype!” she said with a devilish grin on her face.
