“How soon do you need to go?” Alanna asked quietly, her head resting on his shoulder, her naked hip nestled against his side.

  “Not just yet.” James answered, his arm bringing her in closer. She was different from last time. Less distant.

  “If you decide you don’t want to see me when you get back, will you just… shoot Dev a text or something? Just so I know. I won’t mind.”

  “Alanna, when I come back, I promise you will be the first person I visit.”

  “Right. Just in case you change your mind. Promise? Please?”

  “I don’t think you understand what this is.”

  “Will you just promise?”

  “Yes, all right. I promise.”

  Alanna curled up closer, satisfied. “Whatever happened to Thea?” She asked suddenly.

  “What? Thea?” James looked over at her, face completely blank.

  “Yes. You know, your fiancée Thea. Dev told me all about her. At length. He made the breakup sound very mysterious. If I don’t ask, I’ll always wonder.”

  “Alanna, I’m coming back as soon as…”

  “Stop trying to change the subject!”

  “From something important to something trivial that doesn’t matter at all?”

  “If it’s trivial than tell me what happened.”

  “We broke up. Years ago.”

  “Will you tell me why you broke up? Not that it matters I just… I just wondered.”

  James laughed, deciding to be pleased rather than annoyed. “First, I was never all that enamored with Thea.”

  “You were engaged.”

  “Yes, but it was more obligatory than heartfelt. My parents adored the match, especially my father. A fellow ambitious Tundran officer with a bright future ahead of her.”

  “She does sound perfect. And not entirely terrible looking, either.”

  “How do you know what she looked like? Come to that, how do you know about Thea at all?”

  “Dev.”

  “I’ll be sure to thank him when I get back.” James murmured under his breath. “But to answer your question, the number of ambitious, young female officers in the Tundran military is actually quite limited. So, we were engaged. It turned out I didn’t like her all that much. Less and less as time went on. That’s all. It was never serious for anyone, except perhaps my parents.”

  “Clara is an officer.” Alanna pointed out.

  “Clara is… otherwise unsuitable.”

  “How is she unsuitable?”

  “Oh, entirely unsuitable.”

  “Hmm. Did you really never speak to Thea again after the breakup?”

  James blinked in the darkness of the cell. Never? “We speak.” He said, somewhat defensively.

  “When was the last time you spoke?”

  “Two years ago.” James said with satisfaction. “She attended the new years eve concert and we ran into each other during the intermission.”

  “What did you talk about?”

  “I wished her a happy new year.”

  “And?”

  “And she wished me a happy new year.”

  “James.” Alanna said, genuinely horrified. “What did she do?

  “Nothing. She did nothing wrong. Technically.”

  “All right. Who did she kill?”

  “Everyone, as it happens.”

  Alanna froze, listening to the steady beat of his heart against her cheek. It suddenly all made sense.

  “All of them.” James repeated. “Everyone but her.”

  “But the mission was a success.”

  “Yes. Just like me.”

  In the dim shadows of the cell, Alanna curled up closer against his side. Finally, she understood. Thea sacrificed her people to win. But more than that, she had sacrificed her people to compete with James, to keep up. And James, who believed he could fix every mistake and control every variable, would blame himself.

  “It’s easier if you say it.” James said, a tinge of coldness still in his voice. “I know you see it as well as I do.”

  “Thea is responsible for her own decisions. We all are.”

  “Oh well done. To say it’s not my fault is to acknowledge it needs to be said. The fine art of diplomacy does not entirely escape you.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.” Alanna said. She didn’t know what else to say.

  “Of course it was. She did it to compete with me. Perhaps even to keep my already wandering attention.”

  Alanna closed her eyes. This was apparently her day for alienating everyone. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Does it go away for you? The guilt?”

  She wanted to say something reassuring, perhaps even uplifting. James was leaving for another battle. They both knew his run of good luck would not last forever. Being an officer in a time of war meant sooner or later, you would send your people to die. “It fades.” She lied. Just as she finished speaking, a low, rumbling vibration echoed across the cells, startling her. “What was that?”

  James laughed. “That’s the universe calling you a liar.” The sound came again, rolling from the outside and shaking the concrete wall behind them.

  As if to emphasize his words, a chill wind stirred and the temperature seemed to drop noticeably, sending a shiver down her spine. Instinctively, Alanna moved closer against his side. “What is that? Is it a tsunami?”

  “In winter? No. The ice sheet covering the ocean is too heavy for tsunamis. It’s just thunder. A real winter storm. The kind that will kill you in seconds if you’re out without protection.” A low, mechanical hum kicked on in the background. “And that” James added “is the heating you keep asking about. Winter is officially here.”

  Alanna nodded, suddenly feeling the cold bite of panic. James was leaving. They were at war. “James, will you stay alive too? It’s only fair.”

  James laughed. “Yes. Of course I will.”

  “We keep killing each other.” Alanna said softly. “Between Tundra and Saraya, we have the population of one tiny little country on old earth. Our foothold in this solar system is so tenuous, we’re barely here. Who knows if we’ll be around at all, in a few hundred more years. Tom said he thought we would all prefer to go fishing.”

  “Tundran fish grow bigger than our ships.” James said with a grin.

  “Sarayan water is poisonous.” Alanna countered.

  “On balance, you think fishing is still better?”

  “And it’s not even close.” Alanna said as they grinned at each other in the dim light of the cell. “James, I’ve never done this before.” Alanna said, her smile fading. “Been the one who waits. I don’t think I’m going to like it.”

  “I don’t think anyone likes it.” He stroked her hair reassuringly, trying not to think about his mother and the worry and fear he saw every time he looked into her eyes.

  “Is it safe for you to leave tonight? In the storm?”

  James kissed the top of her head. “I have to go.” He said reluctantly. “It’s better for me to leave now. The shuttle can take off in the storm but if the snow comes down heavily enough, road tunnels can collapse.”

  Alanna nodded, self consciously lowering her hands, which had somehow made their way onto his shoulders. “Of course. I understand. Go.”

  James nodded. The sound of thunder was moving closer, rattling the stone walls around them. He should go. He shifted slowly, encircling her delicate wrists with his hands. “I will. Soon.” He murmured against her neck as his body covered hers. “Soon.”

  ---

  Alanna watched him dress with ruthless efficiency, closing each button of his jacket with careful precision. There would be no more delays. He was standing in the exact center of the cell, directly under the dim, overhead light. The sleeves came last, the silver captain’s stripes glinting in the dim light as he snapped the last button into place.

  James paused, reaching into his pocket. “I did bring you one more thing.”

  She blinked in surprise. “You didn’t have to bring me anything. I have everything I need. And I’m glad you came.”

  James smiled, his eyes softening in the dim glow of the single light. “It’s just a small thing. Here.” He pulled a delicate strip of glowing metal from his pocket and knelt down, holding it out to her.

  Keeping the sleeping bag around her chest against the encroaching cold, Alanna reached a hand and picked it up, studying the warm glow in the dim light.

  “Gold?”

  “Pure gold.” James nodded with a grin. “We kept a few souvenirs.”

  Carefully, Alanna spun the gold between her fingers. James brought her Avalon Station gold. A smile spread across her face. “It’s just what I wanted.” she said with a laugh. “Thank you.”

  “I will see you soon, Alanna.” James said, ignoring the sound of thunder vibrating through the walls.

  “See you soon.” She echoed, watching him walk out the door. The cold, quiet sound of the tumbler falling back into place whispered across the cell as James locked the door behind him.

  ---

  James glanced into the break room on his way out but the guard wasn’t there. In the small window facing the city, he could still see fireworks in the distance, let off by brave souls who donned full cold weather gear before heading out to the rooftops. He had hoped to say a few words to the guard, but there wasn’t time. Dev would need to take care of the rest. James released his breath, trying to relieve some of the tension running through him. Dev was trustworthy, about the important things. There should be no reason to worry. And there was nothing more he could do now, about that nagging feeling of something not quite right. Nothing but trust his people and get on with the job. Speeding up his stride, James turned towards the elevator and walked out of the prison.

  Turning on his car in the underground garage, he merged onto the highway, now a seemingly endless, tunnel of ice stretching out in front of him. The road encircling the city would take him directly to the spaceport. He increased speed, weaving between the few cars out at this hour of night. Fireworks, he thought idly as the sound of Tundran thunder shook the walls of the tunnel. Tundrans and Sarayans alike, set off fireworks to celebrate the old earth new year. A time when a planet forty light years away completed its path around a star they could barely see. Odds were, their timing was completely off. And yet. He passed a marked exit headed towards the city, noting he was making good time. Soon, the sign for the last city exit loomed ahead. At the last minute, James hit the brakes and turned off. His timing couldn’t be worse, but it was going to be worth it.

  Tires squealing as he pulled in and keeping a close eye on the time, James decided to hell with it and ran towards the elevator. A few minutes later, he stood inside the local building convenience store. “I need fireworks.” He said shortly. “How much do you have left?”

  “Uh… we’re out of fireworks.” The young store clerk said, looking at him with eyes the size of saucers.

  “I need you to call the closest stores and ask if they still have fireworks.” James said patiently, keeping his voice calm and reassuring.

  “Um. Call?”

  “Yes, call. Now.”

  “I don’t have the num…”

  Holding on to his patience with both hands, James accessed the directory and started calling. He could of course get Robert’s people on it but getting someone on the job would in and of itself take time. Hopefully this way was faster. He got a hit with the fourth store. “This is Captain James Hawk.” He said. “Hold everything you have until I get there. I’m on my way.”

  Without pausing on his way out the door, James called the Black Hawk science officer and engineer. “Brin, I need two extra days of life support on the shuttle.”

  On the other side of the line, Brin hesitated. “We have the space we have, Captain. I can make it happen but it’ll be tight in there.”

  “Do it.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  With a slight smile, James continued on towards the fireworks.

  ---

  It was late but Jim Hawk was still working, the faint glow of his computer screen illuminating his face in the darkened living room. His wife had long since gone to bed, falling asleep to the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. The first winter storm had arrived, a harbinger of the true Tundran winter. Titan was no longer visible in the sky outside his window, blocked by clouds and the green lightning that always accompanied the winter storms. He nearly missed the low, vibrating sound of an incoming call over the sounds of the storm raging across the sky.

  “Here.” He said quietly, mindful of waking his wife.

  “You asked me to report as soon as we had confirmation.” Robert Nagar’s curt voice came through with crystal clarity. “Is this still a good time?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “He went to the prison. Remained for two hours, eighteen minutes. He was seen departing approximately thirty six minutes ago.”

  Jim nodded. Robert Nagar got directly to the point, bless the man. “Cutting it rather close.” He murmured.

  “Assuming the roads remain open, he will make it in time. But yes, this is cutting it close. Uncharacteristically so, for James.”

  Jim Hawk’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “The girl.” He murmured. “The Sarayan traitor.” And there she was, in the photo taken on the steps of Megalodon City Penitentiary, those striking green eyes staring directly into the camera. “Robert.” He said softly. “I would like you to pull the prison visitor logs. Let’s see how often James has been coming to visit… and for how long.”

  “Yes, Mr. President.”

  Eyes narrowed in annoyance, Jim Hawk pulled out the record of Lieutenant Alanna Summers he had requested earlier from Saraya, along with the disciplinary record she had voluntarily provided, and began reading.