Tyr

I settle down in front of the controls, inside the skeletal structure that made up my little ship, and I stare at the blinking lights in front of me in silence.

“General?”

Since my title has not been revoked, he is still my superior, and I feel guilty for treating him with such little respect. Yes, if I were an admiral I would not spend my time behind a desk, but as long as he is still doing his job, I should be treating him as best I can.

“Admiral,” I say. “What do you think? The Aeon farmers did this?”

He clicks his tongue. “They have no reason to order an entire Merrel village to sabotage you.”

“Who then?”

He pauses, and I can hear the unease in the silence. “Where is your crew, General?”

Icy tingles across my skin make me frown deeply. “My crew would die for me and for the Eclipse.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“I am—”

“Tyr, you must find out if there is a traitor in your midst before we bring you back to Paxia.”

“You can?”

“Yes, the Prototype has left Paxia with five trusted military men. They will pick you up within three hours.”

Luckily the trip from Paxia to its moon is a short one, especially in a brand new ship.

“How is the human?” he asks. His question surprises me. I didn’t know he cared about others enough to enquire — but I remind myself that this is a matter of intergalactic relations. He does not see my Alyssa as a wonderful unique woman; he sees her as a trade. Perhaps even as a burden, as I once did.

It feels like so long ago. I feel like a different man. No, not different. The same, but refreshed. No longer bitter and cynical for no reason but loneliness. I had accepted a life of solitude, and I hadn’t even realized that it wasn’t what I wanted.

My own decisions had isolated me because I had thought it the easiest path forward, but if I had been reminded sooner that happiness like this existed I would have lived a very different life.

But I have no regrets.

“Perfect,” I say evenly. He doesn’t react to my word choice.

“And the Eclipse? Is it a work in progress or is it a lost cause?” He can’t hide the pleasure from his voice, and I look up at the sky and sigh.

“I don’t know yet, Admiral. I may yet have to pilot your precious Prototype.”

“I am glad to hear it. Alko out.”

The line goes dead, and I am left feeling a mixture of emotions.

Could my crew really have betrayed me?

Do I really have to bow before Alko for the rest of my military career?

How will Alyssa react when I tell her I lied about who her genetic match is, in order to keep her at arm’s length? I hope she will be happy, but I don’t claim to be an expert on females.

I must start with the highest priority on my list, though. My crew are gone. The Aeon farmers are a day’s walk away so they should be back any minute, really. I look forward to seeing the looks on their faces when they see the Eclipse almost rebuilt and my legs better than ever before. I have my gun strapped to my waist, and I am itching to use it.

* * *

As I stand with arms folded waiting for any number of things to happen — Alko’s Prototype arriving to take Alyssa back to Paxia, or my crew to show up and give themselves away with their reaction — I cannot help but marvel at my new legs.

They have a lot more give to them than even the bendy, green wood I used before. I had assumed metal would be harder and more uncomfortable, but the Merrel know what they are doing.

“I wanted to thank you,” I say to the head engineer creature, supervising the hammering of the ship’s tail.

“Harrison,” he introduces himself, and I take his paw and give him my full name, too. “Why thank me?”

“For the legs, and the ship,” I explain.

“Letting us fix?” he asks, looking genuinely perplexed. From the other end of the ship, Alyssa shoots me a look and I try not to smile at the friendly creature’s naivety.

“You did a great job,” I say. “I am very impressed.”

Harrison looks delighted, and this pleases me. I can’t believe how much the human has changed me in so little time. I keep smiling. With someone to share humor with, the universe suddenly seems funnier. Lighter.

It’s exactly what I didn’t know I needed.

“Drop point,” Harrison says suddenly, moving closer to me.

“Drop point?” I repeat.

“Ship will arrive elsewhere on planet. Signal incoming.”

“You know where?”

He nods.

“Is it far?”

“Know shortcut,” he says simply, and takes my hand in his paws. I snatch it away. He takes my hand again, tighter this time.

“Harrison,” I address him. “What are you doing?”

He lifts up my hand and shows me my own palm. I frown, but I look anyway. And see the long jagged scar from my recent cybernetic implant. I raise my eyebrows. “There is Firosan tech on this rock?”

He nods. “Tram.”

“An old tram system on Aeo? Built by the Firosans, and inaccessible except by their cybernetic keys? That is an interesting development...”

Harrison nods excitably.

Alyssa strolls over, and throws a grin my way — she must have overheard our conversation.

“Riding the rails, are we?”

I make a low noise of uncertainty. “I would prefer you stay out of harm’s way.” She stares at me while I think. “So coming with me would be best, yes.”

“Great.” She turns on her heel and starts to walk in a completely random direction, and I’m about to call her back when I see she is just saying goodbye to the Merrel. I rake her body from head to toe with my eyes, and swallow hard.

At least I can spend the next few hours alone with her.

Harrison waddles closer to me at that moment. “Need a guide,” he says. “Will come with you. Should leave now.” With that, he starts to wander away, expecting us to follow him. I let out a low grumble and attempt to lope after him, but these mechanical feet haven’t been built for dragging broodily across the ground, so instead I march with purpose.

Travelling halfway across the moon again isn’t the way I had planned to spend the day, but as I look at Alyssa tilting back her head and laughing at something Harrison has chirruped to her, I find that I can think of very little I’d rather be doing right now.

Even with the company of this awkward Merrel engineer, there are worse ways to kill the next few hours. Before rescue arrives.

But I can smell something strong, impossible to ignore, hanging in the air, and I can sense that something important has changed. So there is no putting this off anymore. I must deal with my future, right here, right now — before the Prototype arrives on Aeo.

It’s been fun messing around on the moon, but it’s time for Alyssa and I to face the uncertainty of our real lives.