Jon Messenger: Fall of Icarus

“I saw that,” Adam whispered. “Quit looking at your damn watch. You’re going to get us into trouble again.”

Yen resolved himself to silent displeasure for the rest of the brief. He knew his role better than most of the other Warrants and Officers in the briefing room. Aside from Adam and Yen, no one else had any true combat experience, to include the Squadron Commander. They held their positions and preached tactics based off historical records and simulated combat. It made it difficult to remain focused during briefings, knowing that none of them were truly tested against a real opponent when death was a viable result.

Looking up, Yen noted a shift in Garrax’s tone, signaling that an end to the monotonous brief was nearing. He leaned over excitedly to Adam who, though he had chided Yen for not paying attention, wore a frown fraught with impatience.

“Are you coming or not?” Yen asked.

Adam stole a glance at his own watch. “You’re going to be killing yourself to try to make it in time.”

“Yes or no?”

“I’m out. There’s no way I’m going to sprint the length of the Revolution just to go meet a woman, especially one who actually seems to find you attractive!”

He smiled as the Squadron Commander concluded his summary. “Your loss. I’ll tell you all about her later tonight.”

Yen was out of his chair and walking brusquely toward the rear exit to the briefing room before Garrix had finished saying “dismissed”. Once out the door, he broke into a sprint, hurrying toward the lift that would take him down to the living quarters. There were some advantages to being a combat veteran, as Yen had found. Though only an Insertion Team Leader onboard one of the Cair transport ships, Yen was given his own room on the Revolution , an honor normally reserved for a more senior Officer. As the door to his room slid open, he rushed inside, slipping past the small dining room table and flicking on the bedroom lights. His pristine dress uniform was already laid out on the bed, having been prepositioned earlier that morning. Stripping off the soiled uniform, Yen retained enough sense to carry the dirty clothes into the bathroom with him, knowing there was still a chance that he would not be coming home alone tonight.

Stepping into the shower, Yen made quick work of scrubbing his body clean. It seemed that no sooner had the soap been washed from his skin and out of his hair, then the water was turned off and he was toweling dry. Looking in the mirror, he realized just how rough he looked. Even against his yellow skin, the faint outlines of a bruise could be seen spreading across his left cheek, a gift from an overzealous Oterian during the training practice today. During their rehearsed incursion on an enemy ship, the Oterian had been too eager to exit the Cair mock-up. His thrown elbow, as he shoved his way to the front of the line, caught Yen on the side of the face, snapping his head backward from the force of the blow. Yen already had an adequate punishment planned for the soldier, but seeing the bruise reignited his anger.

Glancing down at his watch, Yen jumped as he realized how much time had already passed. Running a brush through his long, black hair, Yen gave one final cursory glance in the mirror before hurrying back into the bedroom and slipping into his uniform. No marks or lint stained the crisp Infantry uniform. Yen readjusted the series of medals that hung heavily on the left side of his chest; medals he had won during the multiple missions conducted while he served with the covert operations division of the Infantry. Dominating the rack of medals, hanging above the others, Yen caught sight of the Alliance Service Cross, one of the highest awards offered in the military. He earned it during his final mission with the covert operations, one which pained him to relive.

Yen had been one of seven soldiers assigned to his covert operations team a year before. They had been a close team, spending nearly every moment together, both on and off work. Though they were relatively junior based on their time in the military, the team was also the best in the Alliance. Many of the stories about his missions were impressive and made for great conversations at the bar. Many of his missions, though, he couldn’t speak about now, nor did he think they would ever be declassified enough for him to share with even his closest friends.

His last mission had been a disaster. Betrayed by the Captain of their ship, a Pilgrim who harbored secret loyalties to the Terran Empire, Yen, Adam Decker, and over one hundred other soldiers were left for dead in a city full of mutated monsters; one final gift from the already overly generous Empire. For two days, the soldiers fought against the ravenous Seques, but in the war of attrition, the Seques were destined to win. In the end, Yen’s team leader sacrificed himself to kill the rogue Captain. Yen, Adam, and an Uligart named Buren were all that survived. They brought word of the betrayal to the High Council and told them the other information they had gleamed during their conflict: that the Terran Empire had sent a small fleet into Alliance space. For their bravery and heroism, all three were awarded the Alliance Service Cross.

Yen fingered the medal idly as he rode the lift up to the main airlock. He hoped he wasn’t too late, though he knew the size of the crowds that would already be gathered around the airlock. The arrival of newly assigned soldiers was always a reason for a celebration. Though the Fleet and Infantry both covered missions throughout known space, it seemed that the military was a small world. It was inevitable that you ran into long lost friends and counterparts with whom you served years before. Yen wasn’t looking for a long lost friend, even if some of his fellow comrades were going to be arriving today. His focus would be entirely on finding a single woman from the throng of new arrivals. He realized the daunting task ahead. Not only did he have to contend with fighting his way to the front of the crowd, he also had to contend with spotting Keryn amidst the sea of uniformed crewmen.

As the doors to the lift opened, Yen’s heart sank. The cheers of a massive crowd along with the swell of dozens of overlapping conversations washed over him, overwhelming his senses. Because of the droning Squadron Commander’s brief and his own daydreaming while getting ready, Yen was late. They’d already arrived.

Yen barely had any space to stand, as he pushed his way off the elevator. Craning his neck, he tried to see over the crowd. He was fighting against a raging torrent of bodies, many of which were already heading toward his now empty lift, on their way to a hundred different points of interest throughout the ship. Still undeterred, Yen pushed his way further upstream, working his way toward the large iris through which the new recruits arrived. Yen caught sight of a few promising sights: a flash of silver hair, blazing violet eyes, deeply tanned skin. But each time Yen thought he saw something that reminded him of Keryn, the person turned and he realized it wasn’t her. His emotions were cresting waves, first reaching a peak of anticipation only to be crushed in the wake.

As the crowd began to thin, Yen started to lose hope. Had he arrived too late? Had she been one of the first to pass through the airlock, only to be snatched up by her pilot sponsor and whisked away? Fewer and fewer new arrivals trickled through the airlock as they finished exiting the transport docked outside. Looking down the tunnel, Yen didn’t see her anywhere. Disheartened, Yen turned away and stepped toward the lift.

“Yen Xiao?” a familiar feminine voice called from behind him.

Smiling broadly, Yen turned to see Keryn Riddell emerge from the gathered crowd. Her fine silver hair was pulled back into a professional ponytail, exposing her naturally deeply tanned Wyndgaart skin and the red and purple tattoos — identifying characteristics of her race — that traced the curves of her cheeks and disappeared beneath the high necked collar of her uniform. Intensely violet eyes sparkled maddeningly in the halogen light. Though he met her only once before, her image was burned permanently into his memory. She was truly just as beautiful as he remembered.