💟 Valentine's Day Story: Accidental Interstellar Bride - 7/7💟

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By her estimate, she had been gone from this field location for several weeks, though for her, she had only been away for a few hours. It was enough for Liyanne to arrive back at the research facility, fill out some documents, replace her transportation fob and acquire a better lunar robe, and then return to pick up her carrier that she left behind.

As she needed to travel by full moon, she had three nights to retrieve her carrier, but as she hid it at her arrival point, it was only supposed to take a few minutes.

Liyanne did not expect to find her husband asleep by the pool, curled into a ball and shivering. His fine clothes were dirty and wrinkled, and it looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a day or so. His hair was a bit tangled, as well. From what she could deduce, he hadn’t slept for days.

But what was most damning was that he kept saying her name.

Shenwei, like everyone else who crossed paths with her since she arrived six years earlier, should’ve forgotten about her.

It was why she dared to be with him in the first place. She could accept the bittersweet memory of their time together, but she was comforted by the fact that he would forget. He would not have to suffer with such a memory.

“Shenwei....” She knelt down beside him and stroked his hair back. “What are you doing here?” She whispered to no one in particular and placed her hand against his head. His body was a bit cooler than normal.

She couldn’t hear anyone else in the forest. Did he come alone?

Her heart sank as she stroked his hair once more.

“Yanyan....” His hoarse voice called for her and she shook her head as tears reached her eyes.

She couldn’t leave him out in the cold.

Liyanne lifted her head, towards the waterfall. It was easily a few stories tall and at around it’s midpoint, there was a small cave. Not much larger than a small room back in her courtyard, but it was private. When she first arrived, she had ‘lived’ there as she got her bearings.

She put her arms beneath Shenwei and easily lifted him up and adjusted him over one shoulder.

In order to get to the modest cave hidden behind the waterfall, one would have to jump down from the top and onto a ledge before climbing inside. She doubted a normal human could do it without substantial skill and a rope, as the jump to the ledge was about as far as a two-story building was high.

It would be difficult to climb there alone. The footing was wet and if they missed the ledge, they’d fall into the rocks beside the waterfall.

However, for her, all she had to do was make a few well-placed jumps. Even with the weight of a full-grown man over her shoulder, she could slip into the cave with ease.

Inside were remnants of her former home. There were a few layered straw mats rolled up and hidden at the far back of the cave to keep them dry. There was a small area where she’d made a fire, and a few large rocks she’d used as tables. They weren’t flat, but they were good enough.

Liyanne gently laid Shenwei against the side of the cave before going to get the mats and unrolling them. She then carried him over and placed him on the mats. When he appeared comfortable, she returned outside of the cave to pick up the bag he had with him and fish out her carrier from the pool.

She dove in, naked so as not to get her new lunar robe wet, and found the carrier. It was still disguised as a rock and she pulled it out of the water with satisfaction. Nothing appeared damaged and from the marker on the side, its contents were safe.

Liyanne then tried to wipe as much water as she could off her before putting her robe back on and returning to the cave

She was sure she made a haunting sight; a woman in a white robe jumping along the side of a waterfall. Now that she thought about it, she recalled that there were rumors of a ghost in the area.

Am I the ghost? She furrowed her brows as she reached the entrance of the cave.

“Who is there?” a rough voice asked from within. Her eyes adjusted easily to the lack of light and could see Shenwei pushed up against a corner of the cave, trying to keep standing.

Liyanne froze by the entrance. She’d only been out for a few minutes. Why did he wake up?

“You haven’t slept much. You can rest here,” she said. She paused, remembering that he was once a soldier. “You’ll be safe here.”

She could see his eyes darting towards her voice, but unable to see in the dark and make her out. He didn’t need to see her.

“Yanyan?” His pained, desperate voice reached her ears and she felt her eyes begin to burn. “Yanyan, is that you?” He reached forward blindly and at once, she put his bag and her carrier against the wall before walking towards him.

Her arms reached for him, as if he was the only place they could go. “Shenwei, I’m sorry.”

She felt his hands grab on to her and pull her forward, pressing her against her as his head touched hers. His shoulders shook in her embrace as he choked her name out, over and over, in between broken breaths.

“Where did you go?” his voice pleaded. “Why did you leave?”

“I’m sorry.” She pressed his head against her shoulder and shut her eyes. His shaking arms wouldn’t let her go. “Shenwei, you need to rest.”

“No.” His voice cracked. “If I go to sleep, you’ll leave again.”

“I won’t. Not yet,” she said. She needed to figure out how he remembered. There was no record of such a thing. The only reason ‘tails’, those who followed researchers back, remembered was because they had tried to come with the researchers. Her eyes narrowed as she stroked his back.

Shenwei had seen her leave. He saw her in the pond just as her transport fob connected and she was taken back. Was that why he didn’t forget?

“You’ll leave me.”

“Then let’s lay down together,” Liyanne said in a soothing voice. “You can hold on to me.”

His voice trembled. “Yanyan, I missed you.”

“I know, I know.” She helped him down onto the worn straw mat. “I missed you, too.” Though it had only been a few hours. She laid on her side and moved to half drape her body across his in hopes of reassuring him that she was there.

“Don’t leave me.”

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” she said, kissing his chin. “Just sleep first.” She knew he didn’t dare to. The mind was strong, but the body was weak. She played with his hair and patted his chest gently until she heard his even breathing.

Now would’ve been the perfect time to slip away. She had her carrier, a working transport fob, new lunar robe, and it was still dark out with the reflection of the moon on the pool.

Liyanne didn’t move. She closed her eyes, her head against his shoulder, and went to sleep.

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He could almost hear her voice. The low, distracted hum she did when she was preoccupied feeding the silkworms or working the loom. He once asked her what song she was humming, and she had looked at him, confused, and asked ‘I’m humming?’

Shenwei heard it again and his heavy eyes opened. The sound of rushing water seemed to fill his head and as he blinked, he could make out sunlight coming through a curtain of water just outside a large hole the size of the moon gate. Panic and confusion shot through him and he sat up.

At least he tried to.

Hands pressed against his chest and pulled him back against a soft, warm body. His back brushed against two familiar mounds and he held his breath. Shenwei looked down at the hands on his chest, expecting to see pale, slender fingers.

He froze.

The hands were smooth and slender, but the soft, golden color of wheat.

Those weren’t Yanyan’s hands.

Shenwei pulled forward, nearly throwing off the hands before he scrambled to get away from whoever was holding him back. He reached the other side of what appeared to be a cave and turned around.

The woman blinked, surprised. Her arms were out in front of her, where he had pushed them away. She was seated across from him, leaning back against the rough wall of the cave as her legs curled underneath her and a long, white silk robe. She tilted her head to the side and a small, sad smile tugged at her dark, pink lips.

“Are you surprised?” His chest tightened. That was Yanyan’s voice. The woman with the long, gentle waves of dark indigo hair smiled. “This is the first time you’ve seen me.”

He squinted his eyes and leaned forward. “Yanyan?”

She gave him a closed lipped smile and nodded her head once. “Shenwei.”

She had the same body, face, and voice. His heart raced. He recalled her telling him that she didn’t belong there. “Is this your real appearance?”

“Yes,” she said. She lowered her arms and placed her hands on her lap. “This is my natural appearance.” She chuckled, the smile still on her face, but she couldn’t hide the forlorn look in her familiar brown eyes.

The corners of his lips pulled up as he swallowed and adjusted his body. He continued to study her. Aside from her skin and hair, she was still his Yanyan that he knew. A wave of relief swept over him and he broke out into a full smile. “You are very beautiful.”

Her eyes began to water as she inhaled a sharp, shaking breath.

Shenwei half crawled half scrambled back across the cave to hold her against him once more. “Shenwei, what are you-”

His mouth closed over hers and he moved against her. “I missed you so much.” His breath rolled against her heated skin and his lips moved down her neck.

“Shenwei....”

“My wife...Yanyan....” His trembling hands moved between the layers of her robe. As he suspected, she wore nothing else aside from the silk. The white fabric slid off her shoulders and his hands moved lower.

She didn’t stop him from continuing and felt the familiar caress of her finger tips against his back as she pushed his robes off.

He forgot about everything else around him except for her and blindly drowned himself until he could no longer move.

“I thought you’d be too exhausted to do anything,” Yanyan said as she laid beside him. Her hand played with his hair and he held her other arm across his chest.

“You have been gone for months....” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers that had clung to him. “Didn’t I say I missed you?”

He heard her snicker and glanced down.

“Oh, so you missed me so much, you went straight for fun, but don’t want to know the facts?” Yanyan raised a brow and he quickly shook his head. Of course, he enjoyed their physical time together, but that wasn’t everything to him.

“No! I didn’t mean to...I mean, I wanted to; however, I only-” Her chuckling cut him off and he looked down at her.

A warm hand stroked his face as she smiled up at him. He didn’t move, not wanting her to look away. “Shenwei, it’s night now. You can see it from here.”

He furrowed his brows. How long had they been entangled? “See what?”

“Where I’m from.” She lowered her hand and moved away, reaching for their discarded clothes. “Put this on. It’s a bit cold outside.”

Shenwei nodded his head, distracted. He watched her slide her arms through the smooth, white silk of her robes before snapping out of his trance and quickly putting on his own clothes. She stood by the entrance of the cave and looked around.

“How do we get down?” he asked. There was waterfall above and below them and then sheer drops to the side.

“We’re going up,” she said, as she pointed her hand to the ceiling. She turned her back to him and bent down a bit. “Climb on.”

Shenwei stared at her back and narrowed his eyes. “I can climb up.”

“No, you can’t. It’s slippery and you have to make substantial jumps,” Yanyan said. She lifted a hand to call him forward. “I’ll carry you up.”

He knew she was strong and not of this world, but there was still something very awkward about his wife carrying him on her back. “Show me how to climb up. I can make it on my own.”

“Shenwei.” Yanyan looked over her shoulder and gave him a deadpan expression. “Don’t be embarrassed. No one else is going to see us.”

His face reddened a bit and he looked away. “I’m heavy.”

“Shenwei, I carried you up here.” She repeated his name once more and trudged forward, resigned. He stretched out his arms and placed them around her shoulders. His face twisted with annoyance as he pressed his body against hers. “I know you’re making a face.”

“This is strange for me!”

He felt her chuckle against him and suddenly, her arms reached back around his legs and heaved him up. He inhaled sharply as she moved his legs around her waist.

“Keep your legs wrapped around my waist,” she said. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew she was smirking. “Hehehe...it seems we’ve switched positions. Usually, my legs are around your-”

“Yanyan!” His face heated up and suddenly, he was in the air. His arms and legs instinctively tightened around her as his eyes widened. They seemed to fly by the rushing water and on to a ledge. Just as he was able to take in the drop just beside them, she jumped once more and they were at the top of the cliff.

She didn’t let him go yet. Yanyan carried him away, but they remained by the river that led to the waterfall. Yanyan turned around, so that they faced the cliff’s edge.

“We are here,” she said. She made a little shake. “You can release me now.”

It took some focus for Shenwei to pry his arms and legs from her. He was a bit shaken. When she said it was a substantial jump, she meant it. His wife could easily leap over her house back in the capital, he was sure.

“You’re stronger than I thought...,” he said. His voice trembled a bit and Yanyan laughed.

“I will explain why,” she told him. She turned and took his hands. “Come and sit.” She led him to one side and they climbed a few more large boulders to get to the top. From there, he could almost see the entirety of the valley below them. Or he would if it wasn’t so dark. As he sat beside her, she glanced up at the sky and then pointed. “There. Do you see those stars?”

She pointed and Shenwei leaned closer to try to get her hand in line with his vision. “Yes,” he said. “Those bright ones? Is that where you’re from?”

Yanyan nodded. “We call that the Pleiades Star System. That star near the top on your right side is Taygete.” She turned to look at him and smiled. “My name is Liyanne Zhuma dun Taygete-Pleiades. I am from a habitable planet that revolves around Taygete. I study medicinal plants in a research facility in Maia, a habitable planet near mine.”

Shenwei turned to look at her and then back up at the night sky. “You are from the heavens,” he said in a soft voice. He let out a small breath of air. “Somehow, I knew that.”

She moved closer to him and grasped his hand. “Pleiades has several habitable planets. The combination of the planets’...air, food, and our own medical technology allow us to live very long lives in comparison to you. I am over 300 of your years.”

Shenwei turned to look at her once more. His eyes were wide and he lifted his hand to touch her face. It was still so soft and supple, with hardly a trace of a wrinkle. “Are you immortal?”

“No, we just live to be over a thousand of your years old.”

He furrowed his brows. “Then, what are you doing here if your world allows you to live so long?”

“I study medicinal plants,” she said, grinning. “I was serious about that. Researchers like me use lunar energy to travel through space-time, through...dimensions, to go to other worlds to collect their medicinal plants and bring back to see if they can help us. I first arrived to this world six years ago for a five-year long collection. The night you ran into me was the night I was going to go home.”

Shenwei slowly drew his head back as his eyes crinkled up. “But you didn’t....”

“You ripped my robe, which I need to protect my body when I’m traveling. You also broke my transportation fob; the ‘jade token’. The transportation fob connects to a beacon in the research facility where I work and secures the travel path. It makes travel faster and safer for me,” she said. She looked down at the white robe she was wearing. “Once the robe is ripped, the lunar energy woven into it leaks out and another one needs to be made.”

His chest began to ache once more as his eyes dropped to the thin fabric covering her body. “That was why you asked for the silkworms?” She nodded. “You planned to leave the entire time?”

He watched her draw her lips inward and slowly nod. “I don’t belong here, Shenwei.”

His arms grasped her and pulled her closer. “But I am here. Do you not love me?”

Her eyes reddened and she nodded. She raised her head to meet his eyes. “I love you so much...but look at me, Shenwei. My skin, my hair. This isn’t my world. I can’t stay here. If I stay here any longer, I will never be able to return home.”

“But you have your robe-”

“The robe only protects my body during travel,” Yanyan said, her voice pained. “The longer we stay in other worlds...in ‘field locations’, the more it will affect our bodies and our bodies will begin to deteriorate. You need to have a strong body to travel or the pressure will kill you.” Her eyes crinkled up. “If I stay too long, I won’t be able to return home alive.”

He looked at her, unable to comprehend it all. “Then stay here.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Then why did you come back?” His voice rose and he pulled himself away from her.

Yanyan looked down and swallowed hard. “I left my carrier here. The case where I collected all the plant samples during my five years. When you ran into me, I threw it into the pool below the waterfall to keep it safe. I needed to bring it back.”

He took a deep breath, questioning if she really did love him. “Why did you stay with me until I woke up?”

She lifted her head and smiled weakly. “I found you outside...you kept saying my name.” Her eyes watered. “Shenwei, when I left, no one was supposed to remember me. Everyone was supposed to forget about a commoner named Li Yan.” She seemed to look at him with uncertainty. “Why didn’t you?”

His voice was strained. “I love you. You are my home. The estate is nothing without you; how could I forget you?”

“Shenwei-”

“Stay with me. I don’t care about your appearance.”

“It’s not only that,” Yanyan said. “Even if my body deteriorates, I will far out live you. And I will remain looking like this. We can’t hide that forever, Shenwei. And people are waiting for me in my world.” She motioned her hand towards the stars. “I have a career I love. I have a life there. My family is there.”

“Family?” His head snapped up. He knew she had a brother and had followed her father’s footsteps, but she never spoke of anyone else.

Yanyan laughed sadly and nodded. “My parents. My brother. I have aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents. Twelve generations, Shenwei.”

His heart sank once more. There were so many people waiting for her.

“I also can’t give you children.” His head snapped up and he looked towards her. Yanyan had a bittersweet smile on her face as she looked at her hands.

“What do you mean? Are we not...compatible?” Could heavenly beings not have children with mortals?

“We are compatible, but the field location prohibits me from becoming pregnant,” Yanyan told him. “My male colleagues are also unable to get bed partners in field locations pregnant. This has been noted that it is due to how our bodies react to a different world, and we are well aware of it.”

“What if I go back with you?” he asked in a soft voice. “Can we have a family if I go back with you?”

Yanyan’s face filled with fear. She shook her head rapidly. “No. No, you can’t come with me.” Her voice lowered.

It was as if she slapped him across the face. He felt almost betrayed. “Why not?”

“I told you that you need a strong body to withstand the pressure of travel for the journey back. Your body will not be able to withstand it. Shenwei.” Yanyan reached for his hands and took them in hers. He looked down at their hands and could feel her shaking. “There have been those who tried to follow researchers back from field locations. They either arrive dead or die within a few days.” She swallowed hard and shook her head as tears filled her eyes. “I don’t want you to die. It’s not worth it. Please, Shenwei.” She cried and her broken voice filled the air. “I’m not worth it.”

He pulled her against him and buried his face against the side of her head. He held her tightly for what felt like too long and not long enough. When she finally pulled away, he stroked her soft, dark indigo hair back and looked into her familiar eyes.

“How long do we have until you leave?”

Yanyan swallowed once more. “The night after tomorrow night is the last night.”

Shenwei nodded slowly. “Then...until you leave, will you stay with me?”

She let out a choked cry. “Is that all right?”

“I will take what I can have,” he said with a weak smile. His hand rose and played with her hair. “Then I can see you off without regret.”

Yanyan nodded her head and reached for him. “Then, be my husband until I leave.” He leaned forward to kiss her before a loud rumbling sound that they could hear over the rushing water came from his stomach. His face reddened and Yanyan looked down. She cracked a grin and gently patted his stomach. “Let me find something to feed my husband first.”

“I can wait.”

“No, you have to eat,” she said as she pulled away from him. She stood up and threw him a smug look. “Or you won’t last until I leave.”

His face heated up, but his heart quickened. For a moment, he felt at ease. That teasing, challenging Yanyan was the Yanyan he remembered. Shenwei swallowed hard and nodded.

“All right. I will wait for you,” he said. He grasped her hand as she prepared to leave and kissed her fingertips once more. “Come back to me soon.”

What she found for him were edible plants that were supposed to keep his energy up. With her there, he needed it. Both of them seemed to pretend that the night she departed wasn’t coming, but it still came quickly.

Before he knew it, he was seeing her off.

She lifted the hood over her head and held the device she called a carrier against her like a baby. He took her hand and helped her into the water. Yanyan turned around and looked up at him. She reached out with one arm and stroked his face.

“You must take care of yourself, all right?” she said as the water from the pool beneath the waterfall lapped at her ankles.

“I will.” Shenwei lifted his hand and cupped hers against his face. “Don’t worry about me.” He turned her head towards her palm and kissed her softly. “I will miss you.”

“I don’t know if you’ll remember me when I’m gone,” Yanyan said, furrowing her brows. She told him her theory that it was because he witnessed her leave that he remembered her, but she wasn’t sure. He believed it was because he loved her so much.

“I will remember you.” He stated it as if it were fact. “Every day until I die.”

“So dramatic.” She pulled him down and they kissed one last time. “Good-bye, Shenwei.”

“Good-bye, Yanyan.” He pulled his head back and released her. Yanyan sank into the water and half floated, half swam to the center of the pool and over the reflection of the moon.

He watched, much calmer this time than the first, as the reflection seemed to grow brighter and the water around her churned. She looked back at him and he held her gaze until the water swept over her head and she was pulled beneath. The bright reflection seemed to flash and then the water was still and dark; as if his wife had not disappeared within it.

Shenwei took a deep breath and lifted his hand to touch the broken memento she’d left him; her broken transportation fob that no longer held any energy. He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip around the transportation fob.

“I will see you soon.”

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Transport Bay-7, Pleiades Science and Research Central Facility, Maia, Pleiades Star System

“When is Researcher Qamar supposed to return?” One man in a crisp, white hazmat suit looked to the other as they sat behind a transparent screen with a touch control panel beneath. On the other side of their control console was a large, round platform four paces in diameter. It looked like a massive, glorified shower surrounded by clear crystal walls and glowing lights.

For what it did, it looked rather simple.

“Should be another two hours.” His partner, another transport engineer, checked the schedule. “Why?”

The first engineer was staring at the screen in front of him. “There’s a transportation fob searching for the beacon.”

The second one turned around to look at his own screen. “Is he cutting his collection short?”

The lights that lined the sides of the transportation platform began to glow and pulse, and the first transport engineer let out a small, surprised noise. “Maybe there was an emergency.”

The second engineer looked over a thin tablet of metal with a crystal screen. Behind his clear face mask, his brows knit together. “I think there's something wrong. His transportation fob isn’t connecting with the beacon.”

“Shoot, maybe it’s broken. Another researcher had a broken fob the other day and she had a hard time getting back.” He reached forward and increased the strength of the beacon by tapping one of the screens. “I’ll manually raise the frequency to strengthen the connection.”

“This is the second time this week. I’m going to start requiring pre-checks on the fobs,” the second engineer frowned. “It may be useful to have a spare attached to the carrier.”

“Researcher Florata brought that up. I think it's a good idea. Watch the connection, I’m going to flag sick bay and ask them to be on standby in case something’s wrong.”

The lights on the sides began to glow solid, starting from the lowest one and slowly working to the fifth one at the top. The two transport engineers monitored the connection.

“Connection confirmed. Gateway is open. Subject is going through the bridge and will arrive in...five seconds.” They watched the lights on the transportation platform in front of them grow dim before the lights turned on individually to count down the five seconds to arrival.

The lights on the floor of the platform began to glow and turn in a circle before the entire space within the round platform glowed bright. They closed their eyes as the platform let out a flash.

The two men looked towards the transportation platform, expecting to see a man standing in the center with flushed skin and golden hair, wrapped in white lunar silk, and clutching a carrier.

“What is that!” The first engineer shot to his feet as they saw an unmoving white mass of cloth on the platform floor. “Call sick bay!”

His partner slammed his hand on the screen. “Immediate assistance required in transport bay 7! I repeat, immediate assistance required in transport bay 7!”

The first engineer rounded his console and ran to the transportation platform. He nearly fell to his knees as he jumped onto the elevated platform, and took in a sharp breath as he looked down at the figure laying across the floor.

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t tell me it’s a tail....”

His partner came up behind him and looked at the body with pity. “They must’ve gotten separated.”

“But no one’s come through who mentioned a tail-” His partner suddenly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

“They’re breathing!”

“What?” They knelt down on to the wet platform and pulled aside the coarse, white fabric from what they thought was the head.

There was a pale man with black hair, shaking and gasping for air as if he’d been under ice water.

“He’s alive! Where is sick bay?”

“They’re coming!” The second engineer leaned closer. “Hello? Can you hear me?” The trembling man looked up and opened his dark eyes, but immediately looked terrified. “I don’t think he can see.”

“Yan...yan....” A breathy voice came from his thin lips and he moved his arm.

“What?” The second engineer looked at his partner with confusion.

“He’s not going to speak Pleiadesian! Get the translator!”

“Right!” The second one shot up and ran back to the console. He returned with a metal stick that fit in his hand. He slid his finger across the screen on its side and the screen lit up. “Here you go, mate. Say something. Let’s see where you’re from.”

The man was still struggling to breathe and the first engineer frowned. “The pressure from the journey is too much for tails to take.” He shook his head.

“We need to at least find out who he’s following,” the second one said. He moved the tube closer. “Who are you looking for?”

The man appeared painfully disoriented. “Yanyan....”

“There’s no one with that name....”

The man began to say something incomprehensible and the screen on the translator began to blink. “What does it say?”

The second engineer turned the tube over to read the screen. “Star System D35, Habitable Planet 87, Time Period H1300! I’ll check the records to see who returned from there recently.”

He shot up, leaving the translator on the platform, and ran back to the console. The first engineer hesitated to touch the trembling man, afraid that moving him would cause him more injury. “Just give us a moment, all right? We’ll find whoever you’re looking for-”

“Researcher Liyanne Zhuma returned yesterday-”

“Yanyan!” At once, the man who was struggling to breathe lurched forward. He extended his hand and looked towards the voice who said her name. “Where is she? Take me to her!”

An electronic voice came from the translator stick and the first engineer put his hands on the man as gently as he could to keep him from struggling. “Calm down! We will call her! You need to stay still.”

His words were translated into another language and the man shook his head.

“No, I must see her-”

The doors suddenly opened and all three men looked towards them. Four people in red and silver uniforms rushed in.

The first engineer stood up and jumped off the platform to give them room.

“No way, is he a tail?” One of the medics couldn’t seem to contain his surprise. “I’ve never seen one before!”

“Never mind that. Stretch out the bed!” The lead medic ordered and on either side of the man’s head, they laid a metal stick. The sticks glowed red and white, then extended past his feet, and a glowing, red net appeared beneath the man. The bed began to rise off the ground, carrying him with it.

“Wait! I need to see her!” A voice came from the translator stick.

“Hold him down and sedate him,” the lead medic said in a firm voice. One of the younger medics nodded and pressed a button on a tablet panel on their sleeve. More glowing red netting covered his body. The man who was trying to turn suddenly couldn’t move. Another medic unpeeled a sticker and stuck it on his forehead. “Have you called the researcher?”

“She’s not picking up, Dr. Hel.”

The medic shook her head and frowned. “Take him to sick bay and put him in the pulsar gel immediately!” She pointed to the door and the three medics who came with her stood on either side of the bed and one of them controlled its direction with their tablet panel. “Who is he following?”

“Researcher Zhuma.”

“Liyanne!?” Dr. Hel looked surprised. Her eyes went wide and she seemed to whip her head to the bed that was floating away. “Keep calling her office. If you can get ahold of her, send her to sick bay 7. When I get back to my desk, I’ll call her personal device.”

They nodded and she followed her medics out into the hall.

The man on the stretcher looked at her with pleading eyes. “Yanyan....” he repeated one more.

The woman ran a hand through her short, indigo-black hair. “Calm down, handsome. I’ll have her come.” She shook her head. “Damn....that girl’s going to be in trouble.”

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He didn’t remember how he got to where he was. A year had gone by since she left and Shenwei returned home. His brother was furious that he ran away, but as soon as he finished yelling, he broke down into tears and clung to Shenwei, as if his brother had come back from the dead.

“Shenli,” Shenwei had told him in as calm a voice as he could manage. “I don’t think I’m all right.”

“What are you talking about?” Shenli had pulled away and looked at him with a terrified expression. “You...you came home on your own with no injuries. You’re fine....”

Shenwei had shaken his head. He lifted his hand and touched his temple. “I...I am not thinking clearly anymore,” he told his brother. “Sometimes, I understand what’s going on and other times....”

“No. No, you’re fine. You’re just a little confused-”

“Shenli, I can’t be Duke Zhang.” Shenwei held his brother’s arm firmly. “I’m not fit to be Duke Zhang. I’m sorry.”

It had taken a few weeks of Shenwei asking for things he’d never asked for before and barricading himself in Yanyan’s old courtyard, but his brother finally seemed to understand that Shenwei really wasn’t fit to be Duke Zhang.

Word was carefully spread that his time in the military had affected his mind and he himself had chosen to step back. Shenli was forced to take his place, but his anger at those attacking his brother for being ‘weak’ fueled an unforeseen determination.

Shenwei watched carefully with both pride and guilt.

But he knew he was not fit to be Duke Zhang. His mind and heart were elsewhere; far from the estate, from the capital and the empire. He’d spend most nights as his silkworms fed in the light of the moon, staring up at a cluster of stars.

When he wasn’t caring for his silkworms, he would be practicing martial arts and conditioning his body to keep it in the best shape he could. He needed to be strong to withstand space travel, as Yanyan had told him.

He’d taken note and followed everything he remembered her doing. He learned to spin silk, to weave it, and had painstakingly stabbed himself with a needle multiple times following the pattern of her ripped robe to make one of his own.

When it was done, he draped it on a stand along with the broken transport fob pieces and left them out in the moonlight for as long as he could.

Yanyan could feel ‘lunar energy’ in them, but he could not. He could only do his best to replicate the process. During their short time together before she left, he had subtly asked questions.

‘Is that why you did this’ or ‘but why did you do that’ and ‘does it need to...?”

Yanyan seemed so happy just to be with him, she didn’t seem to notice why he was asking those questions or that he had asked her for the broken transport fob she still had as memento.

From the moment he realized that she wouldn’t stay with him, he made the decision to follow her. It didn’t matter if he risked his life; he had to try or he’d live the rest of his life with regret. However, seeing her crying, begging him not to follow because of the fear of him dying; he couldn’t tell her his plan.

Perhaps he was too arrogant, but he didn’t believe he would.

Sometime in the winter, there was a full moon on one of the longest nights of the year. The air was clear and the pond, which had been refilled, perfectly reflected the full moon. He didn’t know if his brother and those he would leave behind would remember him, but he left behind a note telling them he went to ‘chase after the love of his life’, along with keys to his personal treasury.

Shenwei had wrapped his handmade robe, which he thought with amusement was far worse than Yanyan’s, around his body, just as he carefully watched her do at the waterfall. He took a deep breath and stepped into the near ice-cold water of the pond.

He grit his teeth, refusing to come out as he trudged deeper. The further out he went, the more feeling he lost. The pond hadn’t frozen over, but it was extremely cold. Shenwei was shaking and a small part of him wondered if he would die in the pond if the transportation fob didn’t work.

He had floated on his back when he was in the center of the reflection, barely able to keep afloat with how cold he was. His hands had turned blue and he lifted the two pieces of the transportation fob together.

Nothing happened.

His trembling hands kept the two pieces together, silently praying for it to work. He was so cold. He missed her so much.

The water had begun to move. His heart leapt to his throat as he watched the water swirl around him and suddenly, he was covered by it. He could barely see ahead of him before an intense pressure pulled him down and he couldn’t breathe.

He didn’t know what was happening and could only close his eyes tight and grit his teeth as his lungs burned, desperate to take a breath, but unable to. He focused all his energy on keeping the two pieces of the transport fob together. He didn’t know what would happen if they came apart. Would he die? Would the transport leave him somewhere else?

His lungs felt as if they were about to burst and along with it, his entire body felt as if he were crushed beneath pressure from all sides. His head felt as if it would explode and he lamented that he was too arrogant. That he was not strong enough, as Yanyan said.

He wanted to cry out.

He would arrive dead and Yanyan would have to face his dead body. I’m sorry, Yanyan.

Shenwei waited for the moment when he blacked out and it would all be over.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light. The pressure that was on him vanished and when he tried to breathe, he actually could.

He heard yelling above him and when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything but a hazy gray.

Shenwei didn’t understand what was happening or what was being said. Only that the voices sounded frantic. “Yanyan....” His lungs were still burning, as if they had been scorched from within and he could barely say her name.

He heard men talking. Then heard a familiar name. “...Liyanne Zhuma-”

“Yanyan!” He reacted at once, but someone held him down. The next thing he knew, more people had arrived and he was lifted up. He heard them talking and whatever he could understand was fading away. Something touched his forehead.

His senses grew dull and the next thing he knew, he was waking up.

He opened his eyes and lay still. He was in something warm and wet, but it wasn’t water. He tried to move and found that his body was held down. He took a deep breath and could smell a strange scent in the air.

As his vision cleared, he saw something on top of him, like a clear layer of ice. It surrounded him like an arch as he turned his head, he realized he was in some sort of container. He was lying in a clear jelly that nearly completely covered his nude body, except for his face.

Outside the clear barrier was a dim light. He saw a movement and his eyes tried to track it as it approached and stood beside his container.

His heart clenched as he saw pale robes and clothes he didn’t recognize.

Then he saw her hand. Wheat-colored golden skin and dark, indigo-hair in a bun. Clothes he didn’t recognize. There was a hissing sound of escaping air and the clear barrier seemed to flicker before disappearing.

“Shenwei, stay calm. I’m right here.” He heard her talk, but at first he didn’t understand. Then, he heard her voice translated in his ear.

He looked up into her familiar face and his breath shook. “Yanyan.”

“Yes.” She smiled softly, but there were bags under her red eyes. “Do you know where you are?”

“Your world....” he wheezed out.ac

She nodded. “You are the intensive care unit of our research facility’s main sick bay,” she said. “You have been here for ten days.”

“I’m alive....”

“Yes....” She agreed, but her voice shook. Her smile faltered and tears began to come down her face. “You stupid man! You could’ve died!”

“Liyanne,” a woman’s voice said behind her. “Calm down. He didn’t die. He’ll be fine after a few weeks.”

Yanyan lifted her hand and wiped at her face. Shenwei wanted to reach up and wipe her tears away, but his body couldn’t move. She sniffled and looked back at him, half angry and half relieved. “The journey back nearly killed you. Right now, you are laying in pulsar gel. It is slowly healing your body. Your body will also absorb nutrients from it. The air in your container will help you get used to our air here.”

“How long?” he asked. His voice was hoarse.

“Shay, how long?” Yanyan turned and looked towards a woman, also wearing a white coat of sorts.

“A month to six weeks,” the woman said. The woman seemed about the same age and gently patted Yanyan’s back. “He’ll be fine and able to walk and talk like normal soon. Don’t worry.”

Yanyan nodded. “Shenwei, this is my cousin, Shay Hel. She is the best doctor here at the research facility,” she said with an encouraging smile.

“Don’t worry,” the doctor told him. “I will keep you alive for my little cousin. Our family is waiting to meet you.”

If he could nod his thanks he would. He looked towards Yanyan. “Will you stay?”

“I will come and visit. Patients in the intensive care unit can only have visitors for a little while,” Yanyan told him. She lifted her hand and seemed to want to touch him, but was reminded of the gel. She pulled her hand back and blushed. “But I work in the next building. I will visit you often and when you are better, you’ll come home with me.”

Everything was worth it. Nearly dying was worth it. He tried to smile. “Home with you.” She nodded. “Yanyan...sorry.”

She lifted her hand to the side of the container. “I know....” She paused and he could see a hint of a playful smile on her lips. “Once again, Duke Zhang. I have to save your life.”

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Epilogue

75 Pleiadesian Years Later

“Where am I going?” The image of the man on the screen lifted his hand and slid his broad sword back into its sheath. His blood-stained, tattered robes seemed to flutter behind him. “I’m going to save your life.”

The screen went dark and the lights of the studio went from dim to bright, prompting the rows of audience before the stage to clap.

Attention went from the large screen to the half dozen beautiful people sitting on a couch and chairs beside a talk show host’s desk.

“Did you see that? Goodness, was it really like that?” The man with the bright green hair and slightly orange skin looked at Shenwei with awe.

“It’s a bit more dramatized, but yes,” Shenwei said. As the lead actor, he was seated closest to the host interviewing the cast of his latest drama, which was set to open at the end of the week.

“We can guarantee the authenticity,” one of his co-actors laughed behind him. “If something was off, Zhang would immediately point it out.”

“Yes, yes, he was often spoken to more as a consultant than the lead actor!” The audience laughed and Shenwei smiled with some amusement.

“Zhang, is it true that you helped with the script?” the host asked.

Shenwei nodded his head. “As you know, my brother-in-law, Tavin Zhuma, produced and directed the movie. When he was looking for a new script, my wife suggested he ask me about my time in my world, when I was a commander in the Imperial Army.”

The host nodded, seemingly entranced. “You’ve been on my show a few times now, Zhang, and honestly, I can’t believe I’m meeting a tail.”

Shenwei laughed and his co-actors all nodded with wide eyed looks. “The first time I was on your show, I just started acting and I had to wear an ear bead to fully understand, as I wasn’t fluent with the standard Pleiadesian yet and needed translation.”

“Well now, you speak it better than me!” the host laughed, prompting a laugh from the audience.

“I need to point out,” one of the actresses said as she sat up straight. “That the character I play, the doctor, is based on Zhang’s wife, who is a real medicinal plants researcher.”

“Oh! We loved it when she visited the set,” another actress said. “If we got any bruises, she had something for it. Any wounds, they’d be gone in a day. She’s a miracle worker!”

Shenwei smiled and nodded in agreement. “I’ll let her know when I get home tonight.”

The interview for the movie lasted another hour or so, to be edited for final broadcast across the star system later. Afterwards, Shenwei, who’s stage name was Zhang Li, went to his room to wipe this stage make-up off.

“Zhang.” A man with dark indigo hair and golden wheat skin walked in, appearing to be in a rush. “Can you come with us to the Kabay dinner tonight? We have a few investors there.”

Shenwei let the make-up person wipe the anti-shine powder off his face. “I apologize, Brother-in-law, but I already have plans.”

Tavin brought his hands together and pleaded. “Can’t you reschedule?”

Shenwei raised his brow and looked at his brother-in-law’s reflection in this mirror. “Do you want to call your older sister and tell her?”

Tavin stiffened. He took a step back. His head dropped a bit and Shenwei tried not to laugh. Tavin spoke in a defeated voice. “I’ll get Yuna and Kals.”

Liyanne was older by about fifty years and Tavin both loved and feared his older sister.

“I appreciate the consideration and will make it up to you,” Shenwei said with a slight smile. “Just not tonight. Zhen is coming home for dinner this week.” It had taken him at least twenty-five years to get used to eating one big meal a week. It was usually dinner. Most other ‘meals’ were nothing but small platters of bite-sized snacks, at best.

Tavin sighed and nodded before he disappeared.

Once all of Shenwei’s stage make-up was removed, he turned around and headed out. He bid good-bye to his castmates and whoever else shyly greeted him. Shenwei had two bodyguards with him. He was a martial artist in his world, but his strength was still slightly below average in the Pleiades.

His cousin-in-law, Dr. Hel, told him that his body would become stronger, but would likely never be as strong as a native born Pleiadesian. That mattered little to him.

However, Yanyan still had her brother arrange for Shenwei to have bodyguards. He was, as she called him ‘one of the top-billed actors in the star system’.

His private vehicle was waiting for him and he slipped into the back seat of the ‘car’ and they headed off to the interplanetary interchange gate. For those who were native born, the massive circular gateway of lights and darkness that seemed to swallow their car on one planet and spit it out on another was as normal as the floating vehicles and people with natural bright shocks of hair.

To Shenwei, it was always a mesmerizing tunnel and even now, he’d sit by the window and watch the stars fly in the darkness as they went from one planet in the system to Taygete, where they lived.

The commute took over an hour, but the interplanetary portion was only a few minutes. When they arrived, they took smaller interchange gates to different parts of the planet before finally getting to their destination: a sprawling estate with one of the largest private greenhouses on the planet.

Yanyan wasn’t rich. She lived a very average life, though to Shenwei, all the technology at her old flat was the epitome of magic and luxury. He was satisfied, but wanted something to do. Yanyan would have to go to work at the research facility. The only time he’d go with her was for his check-up exams.

He had no viable skills for her world. He once complained to her that he had nothing to off her but his face and body.

“Then offer your face and body to the system.” She had said it so cheerfully that he almost thought she was joking. She was not and then five years after he arrived, he was taking acting classes.

Now he was one of the ‘top-billed actors’ and what he did with his actor money was to give his wife whatever she wanted.

His bodyguard got out and stood by the door of the car as they stopped in front of the front door of his house. The front door slowly slid open and Shenwei gave his men a nod before walking inside.

“Welcome home, Your Grace.” An automated voice greeted him. A round, shiny gray ball floated at about shoulder height. A small white light would blink whenever it was speaking.

“Peng,” Shenwei said as he removed his coat and looked around. “Is dinner ready?”

“Yes, Your Grace. The young master has also arrived.”

“Where-”

Loud, childish screams suddenly filled the foyer and from the hall, a tall man with indigo hair and his pale skin jumped out of a room, laughing. Shenwei snapped his head towards the sound and saw two identical little girls chasing the man with angry looks on their cute, chubby golden faces.

“Daddy, stop him!” one of his daughters cried out.

“He ruined our game!” the other’s face began to redden.

“Zhen.” Shenwei stood up straight and frowned as his eldest child and only son skidded to a stop in front of him. He always thought his son was handsome enough to become an actor like him, but instead, he became a scientist.

“Hi, Dad. Welcome home!” He gave his father a cheeky grin, and if it didn’t look so much like his mother’s, Shenwei would smack the back of his head. Normally, he thought his son mirrored him, but the moment the boy smiled, he had his mother’s smile.

“What are you doing to your sisters?” Shenwei shot him a glare as his daughters reached him and grabbed on to one leg each. They mirrored his look and glared at the older brother.

“I was playing with them,” Zhen said with a smile.

“You were playing wrong!” Ziyan, the oldest of the twins, pointed to him accusingly.

“Daddy, he wouldn’t pour the tea right and kept acting like he was at a pub, like on a show!” Ziwei, the younger twin, explained.

“Zhen, you are 66 years older than your sisters. What are you doing?” Shenwei snapped.

“I thought we were having fun.”

A low grumble left Shenwei’s face. He looked down at his daughters, who had his straight, dark hair, and gently stroked their heads. “You two go and get cleaned up for dinner. Zhen, go wait in the dining hall.”

“What about Mom?” Zhen asked as he sauntered down the hall.

“I will get Mom,” Shenwei said. He watched his children disperse. “Peng, where in the green house is Yanyan?”

“In her cutting lab at the front, Your Grace,” the floating ball said.

“Thank you, Peng.”

Shenwei walked across their house and out, past their pool, and the children’s play area, to the greenhouse. He put his hand on a clear panel and the doors slid open to let him. He went through two more doors with similar panels before he saw his wife, looking at a large screen with a cross section of some plant cells.

Shenwei waited silently by the door so as not to disturb her concentration.

He watched the screen flicker and then turn off before the figure at the desk stood up. A wide smile filled his face as Yanyan, in a white lab coat, turned around.

She held out her arms as she reached him. “Shenwei, welcome back. How was the interview? Press tours are always so busy for you.”

He let out a small hum as her arms wrapped around his neck. Shenwei leaned down to kiss her. His lips brushed against hers and he smiled softly.

“Yanyan, I’m home.”

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THE END