CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CAPTAIN INEQ SHUN
It was the best and worst morning. It was the best because I was on a high after being inside Alexandra all night. Thinking this was going to be the last time that we would be together, I had made sure that I got as much of a fill of Alexandra as I could, though I would never fully be satisfied. It was a wonderful morning because I was still feeling very good with my arms wrapped around her naked body. But it was the worst morning because we were going to find out if the child she carried in her belly was mine or not. I moved my hands down over her belly; for this moment I could pretend it was mine. She sighed as she woke up. She rolled over and looked at me.
“I guess we should get this over with,” she said.
“Yes, we should. First, you're going to eat something. I am going down to the communal kitchen to get you a freshly-made meal. You stay and rest,” I said, getting out of bed and getting dressed.
“Thank you,” she said as she stretched out under the sheets.
A moment later, I was in the communal kitchen getting a meal for us to eat. I packed it and then flew back to my home. When I returned, she was dressed and sitting at the table waiting for me. We ate quietly.
After we ate, we made our way to the healer hut.
“Captain, what brings you in?” Jrarka asked.
“We have need of your services. As you know, Alexandra visited you and found out she was with offspring,” I said.
“Yes, happy news. Are you not feeling well, Alexandra?”
“I am well, thank you.”
“We have come to find out if I am the father,” I said bluntly.
“Oh. Oh, I see,” Jrarka said giving us a look. But then it passed. “This is not the first time I've had to do this. So do not look ashamed, child. We will get you an answer,” he said. “Let's get to work.”
Jrarka took samples from both of us. Then he worked in the back in his lap while Alexandra and I sat outside on the platform waiting. It would take a good hour or so before we would know.
“This really is a very beautiful planet. I understand why you love it so much. Being able to see it from this vantage point high in the trees really shows just how beautiful it is. I am lucky to be here,” Alexandra said. She was fidgeting and nervous wringing her hands together on her lap.
I grabbed her hand. “I have a thought.”
“A thought? All right, I am listening,” she said.
“What if the child is the commander's? What if we leave here together?”
“Leave?”
“Leave the planet. There are many places in the galaxy that we could disappear to and live there together. I would raise the child as my own, and we could be together.”
“Really? You would leave the home you love so much just to be with me?”
“I would. If it comes to that, then I would. If we stay here, the king would order the commander to marry you and make you his wife. So we would have to leave.”
She leaned her head on my arm. “I think it sounds wonderful. I would go with you.”
“Then it is settled. If we find out today that the child is not mine, then we will only have one or two days before the news is known to the king. Jrarka would have to report it. Then they would try to figure out who the father was, of course, they would just ask you. So we would only have that small window to leave.”
“I really don't need to prepare to leave. You didn't give me much choice about leaving Earth. You just took me; it wouldn't be any different than that,” she said in her sassy way.
“There you are, Alexandra. There is my fiery human female. She was missing lately,” I said placing my finger on her nose playfully.
“Well, I have had a lot weighing on me.”
“Yes, I am sorry for all of it. Had I known that you thought I had abandoned you I would have been better about making time for you. But there is something you should know. Every night during that time, I came to you and watched you sleep. I did not want to wake you up. But it was the only free time I had to visit, and every time I came you were asleep.”
She gasped. “You did? Oh Ineq, if I had known…”
“It is fine. It is in the past. You made a mistake; I made a mistake by neglecting you. Let us move past it.”
“Yes, I agree,” she said her lips trembling. I kissed those trembling lips.
“I am ready for you both,” Jrarka said opening the door from the hut. Alexandra and I walked into his hut.
“You, Captain, are the father of the offspring Alexandra carries,” he said with a smile. We both sighed in relief. Then I picked her up and swung her around.
“I am so happy!” she said. I kissed her.
“I am too. This is great news. Now we can be married. I will appeal to the king for it.”
Then out of nowhere, a siren sounded. It startled both of us.
“What is that?” Alexandra asked.
“It is a call to arms. It means all warriors need to report to the military installation. It means we are leaving on a mission, a very big one. It is probably to go to Tiok. I must go find out what is going on,” I said.
“Wait, take me down to the village. I want to know what is going on,” Alexandra said.
“Very well. Thank you, Jrarka,” I said as I scooped her up in my arms and flew down to the village floor. There was chaos as everyone was running around.
“Captain Shun!” Commander Roan shouted. I turned to see him running up to me. I snarled at him. Alexandra touched my arm trying to calm me.
“I know you are still angry with me. I can apologize a thousand times, and you will always be mad at me, as I deserve, but hear me out. The King has received information. The Aeriwana are planning an attack on Kelon in two days. So the king wants us to launch a massive attack on them on Tiok before they can gather to come here. We leave now. But there’s more; he has granted that I can search for Camilla. That is my sole mission, and I cannot do it without you. We are a team. You know this as well as I do.”
“Yes, please, Ineq, you must do it. You must help search for my friend, please,” Alexandra tugged on my arm and looked up at me with her brown eyes full of hope. How could I say no? I touched her cheek. “I will do this for you and only for you.”
I turned to the commander and snarled. “I do this for Alexandra, not you. Let’s go to my ship.”
“I want to go too,” Alexandra said.
“No, absolutely not. You must stay here. You must stay safe.” I put my hand on her belly. “You must keep our child safe.”
She was teary eyed. She reached up on her tiptoes. I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her with deep passion.
“Alexandra! There you are. We have been ordered to go to the emergency bunker after we help gather supplies to take there. I thought I would find you since you have no idea what any of that means,” Lisa said, running to us.
“No, I don't. Thank you, Lisa,” Alexandra said.
“The bunker? Why the bunker?” I said to Commander Roan.
“A precaution, I assume. The king wants to make sure that the village is secure and the bunker just in case the Aeriwanas attack before we can attack them,” he said.
“Do not leave that bunker. Do you understand Alexandra?” I said sternly knowing she did not follow orders well. If she had, Camilla would not have been taken by the Aeriwanas in the first place because they would not have been in the market.
“Yes, I understand.”
“I am serious. Your stubbornness is something I am very well aware of. But now you have more than yourself to consider,” I looked at her belly.
“I understand. I will stay,” she said.
“Captain,” the commander said, urging me to get going.
“Yes, I am with you,” I said to him. Then I pulled Alexandra into my arms one last time and kissed her. She kissed me back, putting her hands on my face. It was a long deep kiss, and I regretted that I had to pull away. We looked at each other one last time. Then I spread my wings and took flight; the commander followed me. I thought I heard Alexandra shout, “I love you.” But I could not hear over the siren, and perhaps it was just me wishing she declared her love for me before I went off into battle. I would never know.
The commander and I landed on the platform where my ship was parked.
“You will do what I say, when I say. We are not to talk unless it is absolutely necessary for the mission. Other than that, I want your silence. I do not want to hear your voice,” I growled at him.
“I understand,” he responded quickly. He was all business.
“Prepare the ship as usual. Load the artillery for the missiles as well as ground artillery in the weapons room. I am going to log our departure then get the engines going,” I ordered.
“On it, Captain!” he shouted and went into action.
I found Nankara. He was barking orders in the communication room.
“Nankara! I am logging the departure of my ship. We are leaving within the hour. We have a separate mission, by order of the king,” I said to him.
“Yes, I am aware. Here, I have this for you,” he said, handing me a report.
I looked it over. “What is this?”
“It is the intel we have from one of our spies. They picked up some of the Aeriwanas saying that they had a human female they were holding prisoner outside of the village about twenty miles south in a building. I think that could be your human that you are looking for.”
“Good, thank you.”
“When you find her and get her on board your ship, return to Pacu as we will need all the help we can get in that battle. We are going to try to draw the Aeriwanas out to the outskirts of the village to protect the village as much as we can. But you will be able to find the battle; it is going to be big.”
“You can count on me, Nankara.” I saluted him and went to log my departure. Then I returned to the ship. Roan was already sitting and firing up the ship, ready to go.
“Here, this is the latest intel. It is possible they have Camilla in this facility,” I said, handing him the report. Then I turned on the engines and prepped for departure. I heard a low growl come from Roan as he read the report. He really did love her. I understood his anger.
“Let’s go get my human,” he growled.
“Launch!” I shouted. The ship jetted forward, shooting into space.
“Invisible shield activated. We are on our own,” I said, knowing that the rest of the air support would be engaged in battle while we went to this outskirt post to get Camilla. I hoped that they would send most of their forces into the battle once it began. It would be the only way to prevent us from being outnumbered. We would have a better plan once we truly saw what we were up against, but all I could think the entire time was that I must get back to Alexandra and my child.