Anstractor (The New Phase Book 1) (9 page)

Aurora SYN came by the apartment to see her brother, and he didn’t mind telling her the story of his week of boredom in the city of Copl—since everything else about his adventure was classified.

“I can’t believe we took Arisani!” Aurora exclaimed after he had finished talking.

Vani was next to her, beaming with a similar excitement. “Do you know what this means, Rafi?” Vani asked as she clasped his hand inside hers. The trio was on the bed, and Rafian was inclined, looking up at the ceiling as they spoke. Vani had her legs across his torso with her back against the wall, and Aurora lay next to him with her right hand serving as a brace for her head.

“Well, I assume it means that sooner rather than later, General Ara is going to send his comets of doom to Vestalia to start a decades-long war to win her back before she gets terraformed,” he said.

“Why must you be so negative about it?” Vani pouted, and Aurora laughed at her the way she always did whenever Vani would make a funny face.

“I swear, Vani, you could be a holo-actress, as you are so funny! You’re as pretty as those girls, and you have loads more personality!” Aurora declared.

Vani, who always liked to be reminded of how beautiful and talented she was, ate it up with a smile. Things seemed to have cooled off between the two girls in his absence, and he noticed it almost instantly when Aurora came in and Vani regarded her in a familial way, rather than with the coldness she had customarily exhibited before he left. Rafian was right about the command to take Vestalia, but that effort would come along only after the planet of Geral was given the same treatment that their home world had suffered. General Ara was a man with a hardwired code for revenge against those who had slighted him. As such, it would only be a short time before the war on Geral was underway.

That night Rafian slept like a rock. It was the first real sleep he had had in months, and he dreamt of Vestalia the way it had been described to him before the Geralese invasion. He dreamt of walking her busy streets hand in hand with Vani, breathing air that was natural to their planet and not manufactured from a machine made to sustain human life. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but it didn’t matter with a dream like his occupying his time. When he awoke, he was no longer in the plush apartment of a Vestalian city but a tiny military apartment, on a lumpy, metal-based bed with a beautiful young woman nestled in his arms, sleeping soundly as if there were not a worry in the universe as long as he was there.

“We are going to free Vestalia, or we are going to die trying,” he muttered, and as he watched Vani sleep, he realized that for the first time, he actually believed it.

At eighteen years of age, Captain Rafian VCA had twenty-three missions under his belt, over 240 certified kills via dogfights, and his face on a plaque in the Hall of Honor aboard the
Helysian
. He had done drops on Geral, recon in the seventh quadrant of Finian space, and helped retake Arisani when she was assaulted by Geralese Special Forces a year back. He was what the marines referred to as a war dog, because he had a sixth sense for danger and an eye for strategy that went beyond his years. Many soldiers from other ships sought him out for counsel, and his name had become somewhat of a legend within the ranks of the Vestalian military.

Vani, who had taken Aurora’s praise seriously, began acting in small holo movies during her off-hours. It made her stressed out and tired all of the time, and she and Rafian would argue constantly because of it. Eventually, Rafian grew tired of the torrid situation between them, and when clearance came down from the commander for him to marry her; he locked it away in his bunk safe and never told her he had received it. After a while, he began sleeping in his ship or in the bunk beds of the barracks just to stay away from her. Vani was one of the sweetest girls he knew when she was happy, but it was her bad times that became unbearable, and he came to the silent conclusion that they had gone as far on their journey as they could.

To clear his mind—and also as therapy after missions—Rafian began a routine of scouring, shining, and running maintenance on his ship, the
H1G8
. It was a ritual that would take literally hours, and once it was completed, he would go home to Vani, kiss her goodnight, and crash on the floor from exhaustion. The tension between them was going on the second month, and she was beginning to realize that he wasn’t going to be the one to apologize and make up this time.

One day after he had spent time on his ship, she confronted him. “Am I that terrible that you can’t come home to me, Rafian?” she asked with as much effort as she could to mask the hurt and anger in her voice.

But he was not swayed by it in the least and stated most affirmatively, “Short answer is yes, Vee. You’re not the kind of stress a man needs to deal with after risking his life.”

She was about to retort, but he cut her off and continued. “For as long as we have been together, we should be inseparable like normal couples are—knowing each other, loving each other, and being open-minded to compromise. All you ever want to do is complain and make me feel bad for my career.”

Vani kept her mouth shut and nodded in agreement, then began to cry loudly. Unable to help himself, Rafian embraced her, and she sobbed into his shoulder for what felt like days.

“I think we need to take some time off from each other, Vee…just for a while, till the air clears a bit.”

Vani loosened her grip a bit on him but kept her face on his chest and spoke. “Ya…maybe we ought to do that.”

Vani hadn’t said anything to Rafian, but she had become extremely edgy with him after hearing the way the other women were talking about him and his body. He had grown to be a handsome, muscular young man, and his name carried more weight now than man his age could have ever imagined. Vani was even more beautiful, filling out in the right places, carrying herself like a goddess, and staying extremely feminine for her role in the holo-vid industry. However, being beautiful was not enough to slow her jealousy, and the admirable self-esteem she pretended to have that she displayed through her spicy tongue was no longer considered cute by her peers. She had become angry and nasty in their eyes, and Rafian received the worst of it as she punished him verbally for every pretty eye that batted itself at him from a distance.

Women were the last thing on Rafian’s mind as he became more and more obsessed with Vestalia and the opportunity to one day visit and bring the war to the Geralese invaders. Women were looking, but the young captain was always busy poring over info pads and holo recordings or seeking the counsel of older men. Once in a while, he would run into Kim, but after largely forgiving her for the past, he paid even less attention to her than before. For a time it was like this, and the lack of Vani on his arm made its rounds, and soon it was assumed that the young captain was single. Unfortunately for Rafian, the news of his temporary split with Vani reached the ears of those who had a personal interest in seeing them married, and he was summoned before the Minister of Military Affairs.

“Take a seat, young Rafian,” the minister commanded as soon as Rafian entered her office. It was a very interesting layout, this office of hers, as there were no angles like the apartments and offices of all the other military personnel onboard. The minister’s office had a circular layout with plush round chairs and a domed ceiling; even her desk was circular.

Rafian felt as though he had walked into a room that wasn’t onboard the ship. Even the minister was very different from the other crew members on the
Helysian
. She had what appeared to be a permanent smile on her face, flowing robes with little lights sparkling along its length, and a matching headdress that held a half-circle symbol at the top.

Rafian sat in the bubble chair that faced the desk and crossed his legs in anticipation of trouble. The minister walked past him, and her hand caressed his shoulder ever so gently, so as to let him know that she was friendly. She was a Meluvian woman, and her smooth olive complexion was broken only by the trademark freckles that Meluvians had around their eyes and nose area. She had straight white teeth, light-gray pupils (another Meluvian trait), and dark-green hair. By human standards, she was beautiful, and it made Rafian a bit uncomfortable knowing that his answers would probably be influenced by the fact that he wanted this woman as much as he did.

Meluvians were always used for interrogation and positions of judgment, due to the effect their aura had on others. A Meluvian prostitute would always be the busiest and best paid, and a Meluvian lawyer would be the one at trial to fear. These facts were the cause of his worry as to the nature of the meeting.

“Do you love Vani Narcila, Captain?” the minister asked as she walked to the front of her desk and leaned back against it. Bracing herself with hands on top of the desk, the minister pushed herself up and sat on the desk facing him.

The first thought in Rafian’s mind was that she was sitting a bit too close to him for comfort, as he noticed that he could almost see past her robes. He snapped to attention, not allowing his eyes to wander, knowing she would notice immediately. He concentrated his gaze at a painting of the Meluvian landscape that rested above her desk in an alcove of the smooth, rounded wall.

“I love Vani. I suppose I love her—though I have never been so sure what love is, or if what we have is it, Minister.”

The woman laughed, an act that made her even more beautiful. Rafian became uncomfortable at the fact that he was sexually aroused.

“You can call me Suwle,” she said softly, and then she continued without taking her eyes off of him. “Your command is worried about the recent happenings between you and Miss Narcila. You were given clearance to marry her, and they like for their soldiers to be married at eighteen. As you can see, the fact that this has not yet happened, and the fact that many are saying you two are no longer together, has caused a bit of concern for them.”

Rafian nodded. “I am not planning on marrying Vani Narcila anytime soon, Suwle, or anyone else for that matter. I have found that women create more stress than they relieve—for me as an alliance soldier…no disrespect to a beautiful, respectable woman like you, ma’am.”

Suwle got up from the desk and walked behind it to sit down on her chair. Her scented perfume drifted into his nostrils, and he closed his eyes to take it all in. When he opened them, she was again staring at him. Suwle winked at Rafian as she began to type away at her computer.

“Young girls can be a handful when you are with the wrong one,” she said after a short pause, still typing. “I am writing a report stating that you are more classified as a playboy than the standard military marrying type. I do warn you that this will give you a bit of a reputation, but it will keep the brass out of your business when it comes to relationships. It will also forego your need to ask permission for marriage moving forward.”

Rafian thanked her several times, and then stood up to kiss her ring, which she graciously allowed. She stared at him curiously and then said, “It’s a pleasure meeting a young man who knows our customs. Know many Meluvians, do you?”

“I met a few women of Meluvia when I fought for the bridge of Traxis,” he answered, not realizing that his standing revealed the proof of his excitement in the front of his suit.

“So, do you know of any other customs we Meluvians have?” Suwle probed him further as she got up to walk around her desk.

“I do know quite a few…” Rafian continued, making sure to lock his eyes with her to show his intent. With that, Suwle Vale of Livinone Meluvia locked her office door to allow them an hour or two of privacy.

* * *

When Rafian fought on the bridge of Traxis, it was a mission to defend the access port leading to the Meluvian atmosphere tube. In order to protect the planet from invasion, the advanced race of Meluvians had constructed an atmospheric shield that had only one point of access. This access point was constantly bombarded by enemy attacks, and on one of these occasions, Rafian and several other pilots were deployed to be on guard for a week’s time. Upon driving off the invaders, the men and women were treated to a Meluvian feast, accommodations, and for Rafian and a few of the other men, company with Meluvian escorts. The experience had blown his mind and was part of the reason he began to fall out with Vani. Humans who experience sexual relations with Meluvians normally needed psychological help in order to get past the obsession that typically came with the Memory.

After the mission, Rafian did not develop an obsession with the women he slept with, but he had indulged heavily in everything they had to offer, and it made the time he had with Vani extremely underwhelming and disappointing. For Vani, on the other hand, he came back from Meluvia as a sexual ace. She wondered what might have brought on this change, and it resulted in her deeper jealousy of what she thought might be another woman onboard teaching him new things.

When the Minister Suwle reached out to him to have a meeting and Rafian realized she was Meluvian, the memories came back to him in a rush, and it took everything within him to hide his mental conniptions. When he left the office, he made it a point to call up Vani and let her know that their split was permanent. He thought that he would get resistance from her about this, but surprisingly, her attitude was extremely reserved.

The next week he had his belongings moved out of the apartment. He used some of the credits in his savings account to purchase an officer’s quarters, complete with a cybernetic butler and a holo-circle for simulations. Sitting on the plush leather couch and eating an Algo bar with ice cream, he thought about how much things would improve without Vani, and he smiled at the opportunity to be able to date different women and start his love life all over. He wondered if Vestalia would want to go out on a date with him and resisted the urge to become inappropriate with Aurora the next time she came over.

The breakup with Vani reinvigorated him as a soldier, and he spent longer hours cleaning his ship, hanging out in the cafe (to look at the cute prospects), and, at random times, he would spend an evening or two with a certain Meluvian minister—until the sad day when she announced that she was being sent away for business on another ship. Rafian was a new man; an eighteen-year-old with nothing in the world to hold him back except badge and duty. It was the best he had ever felt in his entire life. He felt free and unchained, and he could focus on the one thing that he actually wanted to focus on, which was the war. A couple of months later, he invited Aurora over to see his new place and to also to pick her brain on what was going on with his ex.

“Vani is taking this pretty hard,” Aurora said to him as she sat on the couch. Her skin flickered with the light of the artificial fireplace that played out on the wall next to the door.

“I think breaking up was probably the best thing I could have done for her, Aurie,” he said as he finished mixing her favorite drink and handing it to her.

“How is she even upset? Half of this was her decision, and she drove our relationship to this point with her incessant whining and bullying.” He was upset at the notion that Vani would make him out to be the bad guy, and Aurora decided to drop the subject.

“
Soooo
, this is nice!” She smiled, looking around at his new apartment with approval. “When I come in here, it’s as if I am no longer on the ship,” she continued. “I mean, look at this!” And she brushed her hand over his center table and pointed at the staircase in the rear of the apartment, which led to the loft that housed his glass bed. “You even have a glass bed! How much do they pay you special whatevers?”

Rafian laughed and did the math for her to explain his ability to afford the apartment. “I have been getting paid a few credits ever since making first class as a cadet and carrying out missions for the alliance. I have been in action for…what? Five to six years? And I haven’t spent money on anything outside of a few gifts for Vani here and there, and some fancy dinners. I won’t lie, Aurie, it depleted my funds, but this is my reward to myself for getting rid of the beautiful baggage known as Vani Narcila. You girls are both knockouts who can have any guy on the ship, so she needs to get over it. She will be quite fine, hell! Before she knows it, some dumb spacer will be begging her to marry him.”