“Understood, My Lord. I have my best agent leading the operation.”
Yan’wal’s stare turned into a glare. “It will take generations for the Juirean culture to get over the debacle at Dimloe, and this happened under my leadership. I will not let a group of savage aliens, or the lack of competency on the part of my own forces, damage my record any further. Is that understood, Lord Giodol?” Then he turned and walked away from his stunned subordinate.
Chapter Seventeen
During the five-day journey to Silea, Adam and Sherri had come to an understanding. Yes, they would sleep together, simply to enjoy the touch of another Human being, but that would be as far as it went, at least for the time being. Yet, if the trail to Sherri’s lost Human colony proved to be a bust, then they would revisit the whole relationship thing. If return to Earth was impossible, then they would stay together and try to forge whatever modicum of a life they could manage in this strange, alien universe.
But before that, it was purely for the sex.
On the fourth day out from Castor, Adam entered the stateroom carrying a package wrapped in white paper. Sherri was seated at the desk, listening to a translation of an item in the Library. It was always easier to just request a vocal translation of items on the galactic internet, rather than try to learn all the various written alien languages. The translator bugs imbedded behind their ears made reading a lost art, nearly to the point of extinction.
She noticed Adam when he entered. “What do you have there?”
Adam answered with a wide grin. “You’ve been out here longer than I have, so you may have already experienced this, but I think I have a real treat for you. Found these on Rigor.”
Adam separated the wrapping paper to reveal two thick slabs of richly-marbled meat. “I thought you might like a change from all the synthetic mush we’ve been eating. These are steaks — or as close as I’ve found to steaks out here.”
Sherri smiled back and raised her eyebrows.
Adam explained. “I was a Rigor a few months back and picked up the scent as those lizard-bastards were grilling up some of these. They come from a large grass-eater, something like a cow, but twice as big. Hell, it smelled like steak, looked like steak, and damn, if it didn’t even taste something like steak. So I bought up a supply and have kept them frozen for special occasions.”
“So this is one of those special occasions?”
“Well, it’s been a while since I had a date over to my place for dinner.”
Sherri laughed and patted his arm. “Well grill ‘em up big boy. Tonight we feast!”
The Rigorian meat was similar to beef steaks, yet not an equal match, but the two Humans didn’t care. They laughed between bites and shared more of their stories with each other, and — at least for the time being — forgot where they were.
Sherri explained that she had been raised on a small horse farm just outside of Owensboro, Kentucky, where her father raised Tennessee Walking Horses. Every year, her family would cart some of the horses down to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for the big Walking Horse Celebration there, where it was non-stop talk about horses, horses and more horses. Sherri hated it. In fact, she was of that rare breed that gravitated to the opposite of how she was raised. She hated the country and loved the city. She was ambivalent towards animals, while feeling that none of them belonged in the house, not even cats and dogs.
“So why were you studying to be a veterinarian?” Adam asked, confused.
“I guess it was just to please my family. I knew a lot about the field already, having helped my dad out with all the beasts running around our property. Did I mention I’m an only child? I might have slipped under the radar if I had a brother around.”
“Yeah, family can be powerful influence on a kid, good and bad.”
Sherri nodded. “And you followed in your father’s footsteps, and joined the military.”
“That’s right. But I never had any issues with it. I guess I always knew I would make it a career. As a Navy brat, I spent a lot of time growing up near the water. My mother died in a car accident when I was eleven and my dad raised me by himself ever since. He never remarried. He taught me to shoot even before I could ride a bike, and I always respected what he did for a living. He was Corpsman in the Navy, and he went off to Iraq with the Marines during Desert Storm and later to Afghanistan in 2004 as a senior enlisted. I joined in 2009 and went right into SEAL qualifications.”
“What was that like? I hear it’s really hard to become a SEAL.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s no cake-walk, but I had been training for it for most of my life. My dad had told me what to expect, and I had researched the SEALs extensively. I was probably better-prepared than most.”
“So I suppose your training comes in handy out here — in your line of work.” Sherri let out a small laugh and took another sip of the alcoholic drink the dietary computer had concocted. She seemed to be enjoying it immensely.
“You would think so,” said Adam with a tinge of disbelief in his voice. “But all the weapons here are different, and I’ve been operating solo for so long that most of my team maneuvers are pointless. Besides, none of these aliens have been much of a challenge.”
Then he cocked his head and looked at Sherri’s young, innocent face. “I guess the bigger question is how have you been so successful as an assassin, I mean with no formal training?”
She let out a snort. “It’s like you said: None of these things out here have been much of a challenge. And I guess it’s also a remorse kind of thing. I have never felt any remorse about killing these stinking aliens. Not an ounce.”
“I hear you,” Adam nodded. “I’ve never thought I was a cruel man, but I feel very little attachment to any of these things out here. I’ve thought that it’s just because they aren’t Human, but I also didn’t go around killing every animal I saw on Earth without remorse, and they weren’t Human, either. I think it’s the whole alien thing. At least a dog on Earth is native to Earth, and I think subliminally I feel a kinship with the dog, but not to any of these things. It may sound simplistic, but until you’ve experienced it, you can never be sure how you’ll react to something truly alien.”
“That could be true,” Sherri said, furrowing her brow. “I’ve also met a few aliens I would call friends, and some of them even ended up dead. Still, I can say I didn’t feel any great sorrow when they did.”
Adam thought of his two closest alien ‘friends,’ Kaylor and Jym. Although the total time they had spent together had only been less than a month, Adam thought that he would at least feel something if they died. But then he thought of Seton Amick. He had actually spent more time around the Castorian crime boss than any other alien. And when he died, all Adam could think about was the loss of a revenue stream.
Adam shook his head, trying to clear it of the conflicts he felt. He knew he couldn’t be too hard on himself. Humans — including him and Sherri — had only recently been exposed to the reality of alien beings. Until humanity had a chance to fully acclimate itself to this new reality, it was understandable for his kind not to understand their conflicted emotions.
Adam noticed Sherri’s eyes beginning to close and her head droop forward across the table from him. She had consumed more of the beverage than he, and was apparently feeling it. Their night had been a success — and a reprieve. In the morning, they would arrive on Silea, and begin the next chapter in his quest for a way home. It seemed like such an impossible task, but just the fact that he had survived in this alien reality for over nine months — and Sherri for over three years — gave him added hope.
Yes, Humans were resilient — and hard-as-nail bastards, even if there were only two of them against the entire galaxy. He laughed softly to himself, and in his slightly inebriated state, thought, I hope we don’t make too much of a mess out of the galaxy. ‘Cuz I’ll be damned if I’m going to clean it up!