Authors: Scott McElhaney
I was taken aback for a moment, stunned by her statement. It took me two heartbeats to fully comprehend her words.
“
Our son?”
“
Yes, you and I were married for several harvests,” she said, looking down at the glove in her hand.
“
Were
married? As in, not married anymore?”
“
Yes,” she said, pausing so long that I thought she would offer no more explanation, “I loved you and I loved Chase, but I was never really much of a wife or mother. My mom could even vouch for the fact that I was never much of a daughter either. I was married to the influx of sciences, physics, electronics, scanners, radars, and everything else that Foothold had to offer. Our lives slowly went in separate directions and since you spent more time with Chase as he was growing up than I did, it was natural that he stayed with you.”
I just shook my head, still trying to imagine myself as a father. I couldn’t even imagine myself as a husband, though if I had to envision such a thing, Diana would fit in as a reasonable wife.
“
I’m not as utterly horrible a person as I sound. I never stopped loving you or Chase, though I imagine it must look that way. There’s no way to even explain the pain in my heart at being stuck up here with… with no knowledge of…” she said, swiping at the tears in her eyes, “I have no idea if you or Chase are even alive right now.”
She covered her mouth, capturing the sob. I saw the rivers suddenly trail down her face just a heartbeat before she turned away from me. I put my arm around her, not really sure if this was alright. It must have been though because she turned back to me and buried her face in my shoulder. I held her for a long time, wishing I knew what it took to make things right. I couldn’t even offer the false consolation that Chase and his father were probably still alive because I didn’t even know those people.
“
My glove…” I muttered into the side of her hair, “If my glove is up here, what am I using down there on Legacy?”
She pulled back and when those shimmering wet eyes met mine, my heart melted. I could see the young woman that still existed beneath those aged features and I doubt the other Braxton would have let her get away without a fight.
“
You don’t need the gl-”
I leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. I was kissing the Diana who was alone inside a ship, watching her planet get destroyed beneath her. I was kissing the Diana who brought me to life, hoping for a companion to help her escape. I was kissing the Diana who lost me and her son because she had her priorities mixed up.
She placed her hand on my chest and pushed me gently away from her. My lips separated from hers after a kiss of barely a two-count. My whimper was barely audible, saving me any undue embarrassment.
“
No, this isn’t right,” she said.
“
It was just a kiss,” I stated.
“
It’s… I’m a woman of almost 48 harvests and you’re still a man of twenty,” she said, “And believe me, I’m not a person you-”
I cut her off again, cupping her face in both my hands. She barely breathed out those last two words as I kissed her gently again. I raked my fingers through her hair, then cupped her head as I kissed her tenderly. Her hands finally moved from my chest where they had been since her earlier rejection, then they rested on my shoulders, and finally at the back of my neck.
I don’t know if it was because I had such little experience kissing a woman or if was because she truly was a wonderful kisser, but I’d never expected to literally feel a kiss throughout my whole body. When she nibbled my bottom lip, I felt a shiver rush through me from the bottom of my feet, through my stomach, and up to my hands. That was the moment I heard the crackle and felt the pain of a mild shock in both of my hands. We leapt apart, her grabbing at the back of her head where my hands had been, and me rubbing furiously at my hands.
“
I’m so sorry,” I said, hoping she would believe it was unintentional, “I thought-”
She started laughing, then turned to me with a sincere smile that contradicted the tears in her eyes.
“
Totally fine,” she said, shaking her head, “This was a regular problem in the beginning. You shocked me on many occasions and sometimes in ways you don’t even want to imagine.”
“
I would have been more careful if I’d been experienced with kissing,” I was still pleading, suddenly catching the innuendo of her last statement, “Wow… please don’t start making me jealous of myself.”
She was still shaking her head and smiling, then pointed at the planet in the window.
“
Thank you for the kind words, but you don’t have to pretend,” she said, “Now let’s get back on track and remember that this ship is almost out of power.”
“
Pretend?” I asked, still trying to shake the remaining shock from my hands, “Your hair is the same, I still see Diana in your face, and any weight you may have put on has gone to all the right places. I mean that last part in the kindest way since you always looked… well, you looked a little hungry back then.”
“
Hungry?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“
Okay,
starved
,” I replied with a laugh, “You had to know that you had no hips or… you know.”
“
And yet you dated that starving girl as I recall,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her.
“
You’re beautiful and apparently a good kisser,” I said, lifting my hand-weapons as a reminder, “Which reminds me of my original question before you distracted me. What is Braxton wearing down there if we have his glove up here?”
“
I
distracted
you
,” she laughed again, then turned to one of the sofas and retrieved a box that had been lying there, “I’ve sincerely missed you, Braxton.”
She brought the box over to me and opened it in the light of Beta. All I could see in the box was what appeared to be a folded up black shirt.
“
As I was explaining earlier, Foothold was studying you to try to find a way to improve upon what you had. Your glove was fine when it came to safely directing the electric current away from your body, but that limited you in many ways,” she said, taking the black suit out of the box and dangling it in front of me, “I know it’s not attractive, but you’ll understand its purpose in a moment.”
I snickered as I lifted the thin sleeves and then stared down at thin legs that extended down below.
“
This is supposed to fit me?” I asked, fingering the equally small gloves that were connected to the ends of the sleeves.
“
It’s an undergarment,” she replied, “It’s made to be worn under your clothes and it stretches so it maintains contact with more surface area. There’s an important reason for it.”
I stretched the fabric and indeed, it had amazing elasticity. I noticed that within the fibers, there were what appeared to be silvery metal fibers woven in.
“
Your body isn’t quick to release any non-zero net electric charge like most people. I’m sure you already know the fundamentals of static electricity and the fact that Mystics seem to be able to hold onto these non-zero net charges,” she said, tossing the whole outfit into my arms, “The biologists who were originally assigned to work on the Mystic’s defenses eventually turned all their findings over to the ship’s physics department. It was no longer a matter of your biology because that part had already been perfected.”
“
So we needed new underwear?” I asked.
“
Exactly. You needed a metal woven fiber that would cover your whole body, designed to channel all electricity toward your hands with little to no effort on your part. This leaves your mind free from focusing on saving your own life during a surge and keeps it available to perfect your attack. You have no chance of accidentally releasing a surge from your unprotected elbow, shoulder, or any other limb,” she said, smiling proudly.
“
Genius,” I replied, examining the suit a little closer, “Absolute genius. I’ve seen plenty of Mystics with badly burned or altogether missing limbs thanks to a misdirected surge.”
“
That’s not all. The outfit is woven in a way to constantly produce static electricity as you move. You are replenishing your body at all times, eliminating the fatigue that typically comes after an average surge,” she said, “Though if it’s big enough, you’ll still feel a bit of fatigue.”
“
Do you mind if I put it on?” I asked.
“
Please do. I’m counting on you to be my bodyguard,” she said, nodding toward a shadowy portion of the room.
I looked around the room and realized she was showing me where I could maintain a bit of discretion while I got dressed. I removed my outer clothing, then slid my body into the black body-suit. The fabric was soft and comfortable even in the areas where it hugged by body the tightest. I was however a little bit leery of the thin fabric protecting my hands. I was used to thick leather, which understandably kept me from being electrocuted. The black fabric on my hands was almost like a thin second skin.
I looked over at Diana as I put my clothes back on over this suit. She was pacing in front of the window; noticeably concerned about what lie ahead. I rubbed my black fingers together, unable to feel that there was any fabric protecting them. I looked back up at her and decided that I was going to have to blindly trust her on this one.
23
rd
Luna – Planting Season – 993
The Foothold has now become a training port for Legacians. The interest in learning our methods of energy, electronics, water purification, and communications had increased a hundred-fold in the last two years. Our Embassy on Green has decided to begin formal schooling on many such things.
A large group of people on Blaze who are called the Goldwaters have denied us in all our efforts of building a relationship there. The people on Blaze are not surprised by this and recommended us to keep our distance. In spite of their primitive nature, they are rumored to be sturdy warriors. Apparently the Goldwaters have a poor relationship with much of the planet, which is sad being they number in the hundreds of thousands.
The Goldwaters get their name because they literally have gold plumbing throughout their land. Their Beta-worshipping religion demands that all their water be purified through the metal of Beta (gold). If they are dying of thirst in the desert and they find an oasis, they will refuse to drink from it without the use of a golden straw, thus dying of thirst.
Since their religion states that gold is the metal of Beta, they will trade anything for it and they use it for everything. They will even use it in favor of stronger metals because of their religious beliefs. Their swords, though very soft and unable to maintain a sharp edge, are made from gold. Their pans, though too soft to maintain their shape for long, are made from gold.
We have decided to leave them alone and focus our energies elsewhere. All efforts on a relationship have failed, so they will be left to their own resources.
13
Diana
USSC Foothold
“
So, I guess it’s beyond time to ask this,” Braxton said, stretching his arms in his new Mystic suit, “What’s the plan? Or do we even have one?”
He approached me by the window and placed his hand in the small of my back, much like the Braxton I once knew. I turned to him and leaned against the typically cool window. Nothing really felt cold anymore ever since the ship dropped in temperature.
“
We have no shuttles left on the Foothold,” I said, looking down at my hands, “I guess you can say that the beginning of the end started with the ASA Constellation. I was hiding out when the Foothold was boarded by their soldiers. The Constellation is a ship of equal size that entered the same orbit as Foothold and actually locked orbit next to us. They approached us under the false flag of the USSC. It wasn’t until their shuttle arrived that we knew they were an Earth enemy of the USSC called the Australian Space Administration. I gathered most of this information from the Deck Commander who helped me and a few other ‘civilians’ to find a place to hide. I was a coward though.”
I felt the tears forming already. I was already tired of crying, and I’m sure Braxton was tired of seeing me cry. I stepped away from the window and gestured for him to follow me back into the hallway. It would be easier for me if I walked and talked at the same time.