6 Weeks Later, Friday. 19:25 Lounge

The cadets had spent three more weeks on Luna before being shipped back to the Academy on Earth. Nothing happened out of the ordinary, though all the cadets were suffering from homesickness. Tranquility base was one of the nicer locations that they had been sent to, but lunar life is exceptionally boring.

They were all eager to be back on Earth, an excitement that John found silly. In only a handful of months, they’d graduate and leave the cradle of human civilization. Most would end up on assignments that offered far less space and recreational activities that were available there. Despite that, John was still interested in getting assigned to a ship and being out there.

The last three hours in particular were painful to John. Everyone, except him of course, we're studying for their finals. John was painfully bored trying to pass the time with his tablet. The TV was turned off and the remote was hidden from him. The group was both over and done with his bullshit.

John was grinning, it only took them three and a half years for all of them, including Alice, to finally put their foot down and stop his annoying tendencies around test time. Andern tossed a notebook on an open book and stretched from the loveseat across the coffee table from John.

“I hate you,” Andern sighed as he saw John give zero fucks about what was going on in the room.

“That’s jealousy speaking,” John responded instantly.

“He’s not entirely wrong. You not needing to study is a trait that is really irritating to the rest of us,” Jessica said as she followed Andern’s lead.

“That’s still jealous speaking.”

“Guilty as charged. Jesus Christ,” Thomas exclaimed, “I just spent four hours with this class.”

“Unlike him, I doubt I’d have the same problems with having a photographic memory,” Kevin chuckled at himself.

“You’d probably laugh at your own bad jokes that recall randomly,” Theresa rolled her eyes at her fiancé.

“Break time!” Nathan smiled as he leaned back in his chair, “What are the holiday plans?”

John grunted, “Well, we were going to spend it at her place and see her folks.”

Alice slammed the book shut and rolled her eyes, “Until my shitty family decided to work on Christmas. This shit always happens with them.”

“What’s plan B? You always have a backup plan,” Kristin was pointing a finger at John.

“Not with vacations I don’t. She signed up for a two-week cruise,” John’s tone of voice suddenly went monotone, “Can’t wait for a cruise.”

Alice smiled, “My big baby didn’t want to go on a cruise and ‘be stuck on a big-ass boat.’”

“It’s paid for and there are no refunds. I’ve already accepted that it is what it is,” John shrugged.

“He upgraded the food and drink package to the max.”

“They do have some seriously top-shelf alcohol on the boat…”

“We have like eight Christmas’ to go to when we get back home. And I think three New Year’s parties too,” Kevin said with a puzzled look on his face.

“It’s five actually, but we’re going to be spending so much time with family.”

“I bet you are going to get a lot of wedding advice and recommendations,” Brian said.

If looks could kill, Brian would lay their dead. Kevin and Theresa were clearly not looking forward to dealing with that much family interaction and advice. John grinned and continued to play with his tablet.

“I’d just elope to escape from that bullshit. Though that would probably create no shortage of drama too,” John didn’t look up from his tablet.

“Yeah, that’s been discussed but I suppose we’re not near that red button yet.”

The conversation continued with the group sharing what their plans were. Not surprisingly they were very similar to the previous years that they had known one another. Only John and Alice’s really deviated significantly from what they had done in the past.

Eventually, the group refocused on the task at hand and went back to studying. John continued to be bored out of his mind. All his papers were already submitted. Only eight tests were blocking his way to starting the Christmas break.

Something that would start Saturday afternoon, if everyone went as planned. The academy was experimenting with allowing students to take finals starting Saturday morning and running until 17:00 Friday. This was long overdue for John, though of a lesser benefit to the other cadets.

Saturday. 10:55 Co-Ed Dorms

John was sitting on his couch and watching TV. The finals that plagued so many of his friends and fellow classmates’ dreams were underway. The group of friends, aside from John, had all decided to take one final. Which meant they should be wrapping up it now.

John reached over to his tablet and read the most recent message that came in from Andern. ‘Final is done. Going to the Drunken Cadet for a burger and a beer before studying again.’ He swung his feet onto the group and re-read the message.

“Do I want a burger, fries, and beer?” John asked himself, “Yes. Yes, I do.”

He walked into the bedroom and changed into civilian clothes. With a pair of shoes in his hand, he headed back to the living room and sat down on the couch. The shoes were quickly tied. He stood up and looked for a hoody that he had left on the floor the previous evening. John was about ready to leave after he grabbed his wallet and tablet but stopped.

John walked over to the mantle and pulled up on the humidor, revealing a secret compartment. The top of the humidor was placed to the side. He grabbed the Sig Sauer P770 and clipped the holster into his jeans at his right hip. The humidor was then placed once more over its hidden compartment.

He shook his head as he left. There wasn’t a need or reason to carry a gun to the Drunken Cadet. It was a very friendly establishment to the academy and Navy regulars. They were also seniors which meant the underclassmen weren’t going to mess, much less start anything, with them. But there was a feeling, that feeling John had felt far too often to ignore.

“Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it,” John mumbled under his breath as he closed the door behind him.

11:25 Drunken Cadet

“I’ll have a make your own burger and a tall Guinness,” John smiled as he spoke to the waitress.

“Alright honey, what do you want on your burger?”

“Cheddar cheese, bacon, and a fried egg.”

“Regular or curly fries?” the waitress tried to suppress her revulsion to the last component that John wanted on his burger.

“You know what, let’s go with curly fries.”

“Dude, I have to agree with the others. Eggs don’t belong on burgers.”

The waitress smiled, sanity prevailed in at least one cadet, as she walked away to put their order in. John looked around and was surprised by how few people were there. It should have been far busier unless the cadets were planning on taking a pair of tests today.

“Y’all are just depriving yourselves of enjoyment and good food,” John said continuing to scan the room, “Why is it so damn quiet in here? It’s a fucking Saturday.”

“Football playoffs don’t start until next week. A lot of guys in my classes were taking another final today.”

“How’d your test go?”

“Not too bad. I may try and take two tests tomorrow. Suppose that depends on how my studying goes today. How are you handling the lounge ban?”

“Probably going to get into trouble by having some of Alice’s wine tonight,” John gestured a whisper to Andern, “But I get it, I’m not being helpful when I’m there since I’m bored out of my damned mind.”

“I got my provisional assignment for the Second Fleet this morning,” Andern said as he showed the message to John.

“That’s a hell of a ship,” John looked seriously impressed, “The CNS Queensland is a Valiant class battleship.”

“Yup, command vessel of the eighth attack wing. They didn’t know whether I’d be part of the navigation or weapons teams yet, though they were leaning weapons.”

The waitress came back and dropped off their beers. John smiled and thanked her. He began staring at the freshly poured Guinness.

“Yeah, you were equally good in both, but you enjoyed weapons more didn’t you?” John asked as he continued to watch the beer settle.

“Honestly, I could do both and it wouldn’t bother me that much,” Andern then leaned into the table, “Hey, don’t tell anyone this, but what do you think about me and Kristin?”

With the beer fully settled John picked up the hefty mug and took a large swig, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, like, you know!”

John sighed, “Words Andern. Use them.”

“Piss off, you know. Like getting engaged and shit.”

“Ok first off, if she ever finds out you spoke of engagement like that you would get your ass pummeled into the ground,” John smiled as he shook his head at his hapless friend, “You’ve been together for nearly three years. Do you think the two of you are ready?”

“Well, when we went out to eat last weekend, we talked about it. Kristin made it plenty clear that she’s ready for the next step.”

“That makes this easy then. Are you ready?”

Andern shook his head, “That’s why I’m asking you.”

“Well, I’m not marrying Kristin. For starters polygamy, while legal, is a tax trap. And secondly, Alice would not be pleased I took another spouse. Especially one that I wasn’t even dating.”

Andern let out a sigh that sounded like his soul died a little, “I mean about me marrying Kristin.”

“Obviously,” John smiled as he said that sarcastically, “Are you ready for marriage. You either are or you aren’t.”

“I mean…”

John interrupted him, “Ok, so here’s the deal. Engagement is honestly no different than dating. Except you’ve thrown money into a ring, and you are planning a big ass expensive event.”

“Aware of that, I’ve already bought the ring, but you’re not really helping me any here.”

John took another drink of beer, “Do you love her? Wait, you already bought the ring? Why the hell are we even having this conversation?”

“Well yeah, I mean it felt right buying it. But now that I have it I’m feeling second…” Andern paused, “No that’s not it, doubts. I can’t see that far forward in my life.”

“Ok, going back to the first question. Do you love her?”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine not being with her. Honestly, it sucks being apart from her.”

“So why are you asking me this question?”

Andern was about to say something but then paused, as if in deep thought, “You know, you are an absolute dick when it comes to these conversations, but you helped clear things up for me.”

“Cool, let me know how the proposal goes.”

“Done and done,” Andern was smiling from ear to ear, “Ooh, food.”

The waitress came and delivered their food to them. John smiled as he lifted the burger and took a giant bite from the burger. Some runny yolk ran down John’s chin. Andern pointed and laughed at him and told him that’s why that burger is bad. John smiled and wiped the yolk off his chin with a curly fry and ate it. Andern shook his head and called him a savage.

The two friends continued their conversation throughout their meal. Andern’s confidence seemed to spike to never before seen levels. He was focused on two goals with one set to be concluded on Wednesday. The latter, knowing his tendencies, John figured would be done at the last possible second before coming home, or on one of the holidays over break.

John took care of the bill when they were finished. When they got back onto campus John excused himself as he walked by the Armstrong building. He wanted to see his final scores. They were going to be perfect, but despite his confidence he still wanted confirmation of that to put his mind at ease.

He walked up to the second floor and over to the score and ranking board. Six of the eight classes only had one student finished with their tests, all of which shared the same designation. A blind squirrel could deduce that this number was John. The scores were perfect across the board.

John’s tablet beeped, indicating a text message arrived. Then his ring tone began playing. A female shoe and coat were in the image. Similar to what Alice wears on a regular basis.

“Cadet John Lief. Your wife is safe, and sound and I do not plan on doing anything to her. I’m here to deliver a message from someone. Once you get here, I’ll let her go and deliver what the message I’m being paid handsomely to deliver.”

“I don’t know who you are, but if she was harmed, I’m going to make sure everyone you love and care for are killed as brutally as possible before I squeeze the life out of you.”

There was a nervous pause on the other line, “Look, I do not want to do anything to harm your wife. I need to be abundantly clear on this. She is only a party to this because Dr. Norman wanted to deliver a message to you.”

“You had best pray that she isn’t harmed. I’m not joking. I will bath in the blood of your family before I end your miserable existence.”

“I’m in the New Hope building, sixty-sixth floor. See you soon.”

John immediately messaged and called Alice. The message was delivered but didn’t show as received. He swore to himself and immediately ran to the road and flagged down a cab.

13:45 New Hope High Rise, Floor 58

John got off at the fiftieth floor. It was the last floor that was fully sealed in. He had pried open a stairwell that was locked and was slowly making his way up to the sixtieth floor. The stairwell door was opened at the fifty-ninth. Windows hadn’t been installed yet.

He slowly walked out and scanned the floor. His gun was drawn, and he darted from one piece of cover to another. But no one was on the floor. John was close to a vertical girder along the edges of the floor.

John peered over the edge and blinked. He thought to himself that was a long way down. But he wasn’t going to appear from a stairwell. He holstered his gun and grabbed onto the girder and swung to the exterior of the building.

The wind felt so much worse as he was scaling the girder. John methodically climbed it. He peered over the edge. The outline of a man could be seen in the shade across the floor. They were near one of the stairwells.

John pulled himself onto the floor and quickly got behind cover. He bounced from point to point. Closing in on the target but being silent. Ten minutes later he was looking down the hall and saw a sight that was confusing and irritating at the same time.

Alice was not there but the two articles of their uniform were present, along with a mannequin’s leg and a chair. The man was pacing back and forth muttering something under his breath. John shook his head and took a picture of the man’s face to run through the Navy’s facial recognition software. He then walked out of the shadows and aimed the gun at the man.

As John continued to aim at the man he called out, “You have ten seconds, or I explode your fucking head.”

The man turned and put his hands up and forcefully said, “Woah woah woah. Sorry about the deception. No way in hell to nab a cadet on campus these days.”

“Why am I here?”

“I wasn’t lying about the message. I’m going to pull a quantum communicator out from my coat pocket.”

“Slowly,” John growled.

The man nodded and complied with John’s request. He wasn’t lying, a pentagonal figure with a blue button in its center roughly the size of a man’s hand was pulled out of the coat pocket. The man put it on the chair.

“Look man I’m going to…”

John looked at his tablet and then back at the man, “Tim Shephard, I’m going to be really clear with you. If I ever see you again, I’m going to kill you. I don’t care where we are or what either of us is doing. You are dead if we ever get close to one another. Make sure you steer well clear of me.”

“Done and done, I’ll press this button and get the hell out of here,” Tim turned and ran towards the north stairwell.

John holstered his gun and walked toward the weird communication device. It was clearly not of Confederate design. He still hadn’t ruled out a double-cross, which made this situation all the more uncomfortable. If it was a bomb, there wasn’t an out for him.

When John was ten feet away, the blue lights at the center glowed, then the device activated itself. There was a distinct hum to it as it was activated, nothing like a bomb. John let out a brief sigh that was interrupted by the image of an old foe.

“John, I wish I could say it was good to see you, but you and I both know that it is anything but,” Lisa spat out the words.

John grinned, “How’s your brother doing?”

Lisa flinched her entire body, there was no way to hide the pain that John had caused her. Her right eye began to twitch. A blood vessel was visible above her left eye.

“Ooh right, low blow there. To what do I owe the displease of this conversation. I can’t speak for you but personally, I’d rather a rabid dog chew my balls off than talk to you.”

“Father is ever the optimist, and he hopes that you can see the…”

“Tell your father that when he fucks up, which given his insanity will be sooner than later, I’ll be there ready to end his miserable existence.”

Lisa’s expression changed to an evil grin, “My father insists on keeping you alive. His plan seems to want that. I’m going to enjoy cutting you apart, bit by bit. You’re going to wish for a quick end, but that will never happen for you. Oh, the delightful agonies I’m going to make you suffer over the years.”

“It’s good that you dream big. Unlike you, I’m going to end you quickly. Your father is going to suffer a bit before I end him. But if you want to throw down, you know where I’m at.”

“Tsk tsk, be a patient boy for me. It won’t be long until we are reunited,” Lisa’s speech was interrupted.

John shook his head and drew his gun. He fired a single round at the communication device. It shattered into pieces when the round struck it. Lisa's face looked confused for a moment before it faded away.

“Fuck this noise,” John holstered his gun and walked to the stairwell.