Chapter 4
Captain Gavonn Viox
“This is not enough for me. I expected more of you when I married you,” my wife Samara shouted at me in our kitchen.
“What do you want? I can never seem to satisfy you,” I said feeling annoyed and angry. I always felt this way with her and knew that marrying her was a mistake.
“Why are you not a general? You are only a captain. You should be a general by now. It is embarrassing for me. A Drackon in my position needs a husband and and an equally high position,” she said.
“I am working on it, Samara. When I met you, I was a commander; I have been promoted to captain. These things take time. I have no doubt in my skills that I will be a general one day,” I said.
“I do doubt your skills. This is not enough. You need to try harder. You need to be talking to the right officials and leaders in order for them to promote you,” she said.
“No, that is not what I want. I do not want to be promoted based on favors. I want to be promoted based on my skills. I will earn the position honestly,” I said.
“Are you not going to be late?” I said trying to get her out of my sight.
“I am going. We will talk about this when I return from Sala. You must do more, Gavonn. I can't go on like this.” Then she walked out and left.
I was relieved when she was gone. Samara was a beautiful Drackon. She was the daughter of a high-ranking official. But because of that, she had a grown-up spoiled and bossy. I had married her because it was my father's dying wish. Last year, he was on his deathbed, and he wanted to see me wed to a Drackon female. He arranged this marriage being the friend of Samara's father. I only agreed to it to make my father happy. At the moment, it seemed like the right thing to do: the honorable thing. But now, a year later, I regretted it. We did not get along at all. There was no romance between us. There was no passion at all. She was more of a boss that dictated what she wanted me to be in order to make her look good. It was frustrating. I did not love her. There was only one that I had loved, but she was gone. Now, this was what I was stuck with.
I was glad that she was going to Sala in order to conduct some business. I needed some time away from her. She was driving me mad. I had a lot of work to do; with Ritona taking time off to receive his human female bride on the incoming ship today, I had double the responsibilities to make sure that his replacement was doing just as well as Ritona did.
There was a knock at my door. I opened it, surprised to see Ritona standing there.
“Ritona? What are you doing? Are you all right?” I said.
“No, I am not,” he said.
"What is it?” I asked concerned. “Are you not supposed to be down at the port to receive your human female wife when she arrives on the ship?” I asked.
“Yes, she arrives within the hour. I am nervous,” he said.
“Nervous? You? I have seen you face a battleship head on and not be nervous,” I said arching a brow at him.
“Yes, but that is different. I am used to battle. I am good at battle. I am not used to human females. I have spent very little time with them; even the ones that live here I have not had the pleasure of spending too much time with them,” he said.
“Because the husbands would not let you,” I said playfully.
“What if she does not like me? What if I have to return her to Earth because she hates me?” he asked.
“If she hates you, that won't be any different than my own current marriage,” I said.
“Things are still not good between you and Samara?” he asked.
“No, but I take it in stride. Come, let us walk down to the port together. I will wait with you,” I said.
“You are a good friend, Gavonn,” he said with a hard pat on my back.
“Yes, I am. Don't forget it,” I said.
He laughed. I followed him outside where we shifted into dragon form. Then we both took off into the air. We flew fast and reckless to the port. We landed and waited.
“When is the ship from Earth arriving?” he asked the port master.
“It has just radioed in. It is entering the atmosphere within seconds,” he said.
Ritona looked at me. He grew more nervous. I laughed.
“Don't be nervous. Just introduce yourself. That is all you have to do. Then offer to escort her through the process. Remember, she is going to be nervous as well, and she is on an alien planet. All you have to do is be her good friend right now, look after her. She will be appreciative of having your support and walking her through the process.” I said.
“That is a good idea. Thank you,” he said as he stood at attention as though waiting for military orders. I stood at his side. Soon the ship came into view. It was a massive Drackon cargo ship. One for carrying many passengers.
Moments later, it landed. Ritona shifted nervously. The passengers of humans and Drackon begin to walk out down the ramp.
“There she is. That is her,” he said.
He was looking at a human female with black hair. She was very pretty. Seeing his face light up when he saw her only reminded me of Noelle. I envied this moment. I knew what it was like to meet the human female promised to you for the first time. It was exciting and thrilling, almost better than going into battle.
“Betty, I am Ritona,” he said stepping in front of her. She looked at him up and down. She had a big smile on her face.
“It is nice to meet you, Ritona. Thank you for meeting me as soon as I got off the ship. I am very nervous about being on this new planet,” she said.
“No need to worry. I will be with you every step of the way, that is, if you would like me to?” he said.
“Yes, I would like that very much,” she said.
He looked over at me and smiled. The advice was working for him.
“Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Gavonn,” Ritona said.
Her smile left her face. She looked as though she was in shock.
“Gavonn? Commander Gavonn Viox?” she asked.
“Yes, although I am not a commander anymore. I am now a captain,” I said giving her a bow of introduction.
“I can't believe this,” she said. “You are alive,” she said.
I looked at her confused. I looked at Ritona. He was also confused.
“Betty, what do you mean by that?” Ritona asked.
“I have a message for your friend,” she said.
"A message? From who?” Ritona asked.
“It is a message from my friend, Noelle Evergreen,” she said looking at me.
I stood completely still. I was frozen. Her words stunned me. They couldn't possibly be true. I did not know how to react. I did not know what to say. I could only stand there.
“Gavonn? Are you all right?” Ritona asked putting his hand on my shoulder. It snapped me out of my daze.
“Are you sure it is Noelle Evergreen? It can't be,” I said to her.
“It is the same. I would not lie about such a thing,” she said.
“I have a letter from her that she wanted me to give you if I ever came across your path on this planet. I did not think it would happen so soon. I wasn't sure if I would ever meet you, yet here you are,” she said.
“A letter?” Ritona asked.
“Yes, it is in my bag,” she said as she opened the bag that was hanging diagonally across her body. She dug into it. I could not believe this. She had a letter from my beloved Noelle. Noelle was alive. Not only was she alive, but she was a good friend of this human female, Betty. What were the chances? I was filled with joy to know that Noelle was alive. But I also felt the sadness that we had been separated for so long. She was alive, and I was alive: we could have been together this entire time. A quiet rage was brewing inside of me knowing that. I was eager to see this letter. Finally, she pulled it out.
"Here it is. That is her seal. It is not broken. It is between you and her,” she said. She handed it to me. I grabbed it as though it was the most precious thing in the world.
“Thank you for bringing this to me. It means everything,” I said to her. Sensing my eagerness to be alone with the letter, Ritona grabbed her hand.
“We should get you started on the process. You will have to register here on the planet, and there is much to do. We should leave Gavonn and give him some time,” he said.
“Yes, that is a good idea. It was nice to meet you, Gavonn. I have heard so much about you,” she said.
“It was nice to meet you as well. You have brought me hope,” I said holding up the letter.
She nodded, and they walked off together. I held the letter in my hand, never wanting to let it go. I flew into the air and didn't stop until I landed on a mountain ledge. It had an amazing view. It also gave me some time to be alone without interruption.
I opened the letter.
Dear Gavonn, I miss you, and I still love you. Here in New York, it is snowing. Everything is decorated for the Christmas season. I wanted to celebrate Christmas with you. I know you don't know exactly what that is, but we could create our own traditions. I would’ve decorated our home on Mooreah that we shared together. I would have made a Christmas feast for two on Christmas Eve. At midnight, we would give each other one small gift, something from the heart. The next morning, more gifts and playing outside together. It would be a Christmas miracle to be with you again.
I couldn't believe it. She was alive. I was filled with so much happiness. There was so much that I wanted to say to her. I wanted to hold her and touch her again.
I continued reading until the end of the letter. That was where she said something that nearly stopped my heart.
But now, I am coming to Sala. I have been assigned to go on a short trip to gather materials for my job. These are the days that I will be there, and this is where I will be. If you still love me. If you have been trying to find me the way I have been trying to find you, then please come find me on Sala.
I still love you. Noelle.
“What? That is too good to be true,” I said out loud. She was going to be on Sala, the neighboring planet to my own. She would be so close. I looked at the list of days.
“Tomorrow. She arrives tomorrow and will be there for three days. I cannot believe this. I am going to see my love, my true love,” I said.
I stood up and was so excited. I had planning to do. I would have to get myself to Sala, but that wasn't a problem. We went back and forth easily. I had to do everything that I could to see her. She was alive, and she had traveled across the galaxy to see me. She had sent this letter with her friend, hoping that I would find her. Now, I had to do my part.
I pushed the letter into my tool belt and then flew back to the command center.
“Warrior, I need to put a small ship on hold for tomorrow. For a quick trip to Sala,” I said eagerly.
“Let me see what we have available,” he said as he looked through the system.
“We do not have anything for tomorrow, but there will be one available the following morning,” he said.
“Fine. Put me down for that one. But if one should become available for tomorrow, I want you to hold it and notify me immediately,” I said.
“Yes, sir,” he said.
I ran and jumped off the ledge flying into the air. I flew in a celebratory fashion, letting my wings spread out behind me. I was overjoyed. There was nothing that was going to stop me from seeing her.
Suddenly it hit me. I was married. For some reason, I had blocked that out of my mind. Now it was hitting me hard. I could not be with Noelle. Even going to her would be a criminal offense. The Drackon did not take adultery lightly. It was a criminal act, and one punishable by prison or exile. Considering that my wife was of a very high station, and so was her father, I knew that my punishment could be more severe.
Sadness overcame me. I flew home. What could I do? I was stuck.