Darren was lying on one of the starship’s folding beds. He was awake and gazing at the metallic ceiling. He still had his doubts about going back to his home city. ‘I’ll be alright! This is crazy. I don’t have problem barging into military bases and warzones but I am worried about going back to Frazzar?’. He was shaking his head in disappointment.

He could still remember vividly his time in the street gangs. A warlike atmosphere had woven itself on the city’s streets. The slums had disintegrated into battle zones, contested by various gangs. Darren was at the low end of one of the smaller gangs. It was the only way an orphan could survive in those wretched conditions. He had to rob and to deliver drugs to the gang’s hangout. He remembered in vivid detail his sprinting to avoid capture, the fistfights and firefights with rival gangs, his tears and uncontrollable screaming when his best friend died.

It all came to a swift end. The Helian authorities wanted to show that they were still in control. A large-scale police operation, backed by elite military units, was launched in the slums. Darren was lucky enough to not get himself killed but unlucky enough to get arrested and send to the prisons of K-L556. His time there left his scarred, his emotional wounds cutting deep. It was at those years that he found his purpose in life; to fight against the Helian regime.

Riiing!

“Huh?” Darren woke up from his daydreaming. A loud ringing sound was echoing all over the ship. He rushed at once to the cockpit. Iris and Xar were already there. Xar was on the pilot’s seat and typing some commands on one of the computer panels while Iris was seated on the co-pilot’s seat. Her breathing was slow, her eyes shut and she was meditating.

“There’s trouble ahead,” Xar said. “Sensors detect a capital-class cruiser and more than a dozen fighters chasing some kind of warship.”

“Do you think it is them?” Darren asked, referring to John, Sara and Nicole, as he rushed to one of the seats.

“John is on that vessel,” Iris softly, almost whispering, replied. “I can feel his presence.”

“Then we better swoop in and save them,” Xar proposed, “lest their ship is blown up to pieces.”

Xar leaned into the controls and increased the speed as Iris turned her attention to the touchscreen console controlling the ship’s cannons and prepared for the upcoming battle. The AI had already pinpointed more than a dozen possible targets. The Actium leaped into action, dodging and firing at the Helian fighters that were chasing the Eagle. The Actium’s laser cannons hammered with devastating force the Helians ships. The Helian fighters erupted into flaming balls, illuminating like candlelight the darkness of space.

“Try to establish contact with the ship!” Darren ordered.

As Xar tried to contact the Eagle, a stream of laser bolts flicked past the Actium. The orc pilot could see on the sensors more than a dozen Helian fighters approaching them. Worse, the Helian cruiser was also closing in. Its massive cannons were firing a steady stream of laser fire at them.

“The cruiser is also firing at us!” Xar frantically shouted. “Let’s give them some hell. I’ve already done this before in AKL-89.” The orc pilot could feel cold sweat on his forehead and his heart pounding. ‘I can do this!’ he tried to encourage himself. “Are you ready?” he asked Iris.

Iris simply nodded. She was fully concentrated on the touchscreen.

The streams of laser cannon fire were a changing kaleidoscope of constantly moving fire. The cruiser’s cannons were looming larger and larger as Xar sped the Actium towards them. Iris pressed the touchscreen and fired a stream of laser fire at one of the cannons. The cannon exploded, its explosion blossoming all over the side of the cruiser and affecting nearby cannons.

“Yeeha!” Xar exclaimed, loudly laughing. “Take that you bastards!”

As the Actium turned around to escape, the remaining cannons of the cruiser kept firing at them. Laser beams crackled across Actium’s hull. Sparks erupted inside the cockpit, both before and behind Xar. The orc pilot was trying to steer away the ship, pressing frantically buttons while in a sea of smoke and heat. The starship was shaking uncontrollably.

Darren unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped forward to reach the controls. He pulled a lever, activating an emergency cooler. They could all feel the cockpit’s temperature dropping as it was flooded by cold air. “That’s better!” Darren said as he felt the ship shaking. He suddenly tripped and fell face down on the metallic floor, banging his head. He quickly got up, despite a sharp pain on his face, and ran to his seat.

“Are you alright?” the orc asked while still staring at the controls.

“Yup,” Darren nonchalantly replied as he was too busy putting his seatbelt on. “Have been better though.”

“We still have a squadron of fighters chasing after us!” Iris reminded them. “We cannot outfight a whole armada of fighters.”

“We will need to accelerate a lot faster to escape,” Xar replied. “That is for sure. We will need another dose of the needle to survive such a rapid acceleration. Hopefully our bodies will handle it.”

“You don’t propose-“ Darren was cut off by Xar.

“Listen! There is no time to debate this. We will be accelerating at near 10g.”

“Our bodies may not survive such pressure for so long!” Darren shouted. “Not to say the engine might malfunction or we might run out of fuel and get stuck in space waiting for some good folks to save us.”

“Seems better to me than being blown up here!”

Darren sighed. “Fine. Contact the ship to tell them of our plan.”

Xar pressed a few buttons and communication was established with the Eagle. “Hey there!” Xar said. “Missed us?”

“Very much!” a relieved Sara enthusiastically replied as she steered the Eagle away from enemy fire. “You came just in time! How do we get out of this mess?”

Xar hesitated for a brief moment. “Well… the plan is to speed up and hope that they will not be crazy enough to follow us.”

“Speed up?”

“We will be accelerating at 10g.”

“10g?” Sara gasped. “Will our bodies survive such a speed?”

“We don’t have much of a choice. Xar out!”

Sra momentarily turned around. “You’ve heard him!” she said.

“Are we really going to do this?” Beck asked, dumbfounded. “This is crazy! As a doctor I strongly disagree wi-”

“It’s either that or being blow up by the Helians, Doc. Choose.”

Everyone injected themselves with needles, Lutherson being the only exception as he was still unconscious. They all held tightly on their armrests and closed their eyes, Sara and D-4009 being the exception. Sara wore a pair of gravitation gloves to allow her to move her hands at high acceleration pressure and then began clicking some buttons to increase the ship’s speed while D-4009 was still on the touchscreen console and firing at the pursuing fighters.

The Eagle and the Actium accelerated quickly. Their crews were pushed back deeper into their seats. They were all feeling dizzy. Their arms and hands were useless at this acceleration rate as they were pinned to the seats. They could almost hear the roaring of their blood through their veins and the rasp of irregular breathing as the pressure built up. They were all struggling to regain some measure of breath.

“Sara!” Xar contacted the Eagle with a whispering, weak voice. “You must… increase speed. Still… after us!”

Sara couldn’t make all the words Xar was saying, as the orc was making long pauses to grasp for air. “I…. OK.”

Sara grabbed a folded up emergency pressure helmet, the only one. Being the pilot, she needed it the most. She further increased the speed. The acceleration pressure was mounting. Sara bit her teeth together and tried to withstand the extreme pressure. With great effort, she managed to press a button to call the Actium. “We… need…. decelerate!”

“Yup!” Xar replied.

Sara pulled a lever to begin the deceleration process. She could feel her body releasing from the grip of acceleration. The others could move their arms now. Sara blinked against her migraine and then blinked again as a set of indicators were flashing on the console. It took a minute for her to remember what they meant. “Five Helian fighters managed to catch up with us!” she said. “We also barely have enough fuel to reach Thellasia, so no more rapid accelerations.” A brief silence followed as everyone else was too dizzy to think clearly.

D-4009, being an android, hadn’t been affected by the pressure. He rushed to the touchscreen console and pressed it to fire at the pinpointed targets. The Eagle’s cannons fired at the incoming Helian fighters. Eerily silent explosions occurred, with three of the fighters exploding into fireballs. The other two kept firing at the Eagle with their forward weapons, shredding parts of the exterior hull.

“Shield complete lost!” Sara exclaimed. Two bright flashes lighted the darkness of space as the Helian fighters were shot down by the Actium. Sara breathed a sigh of relief. “That went better than I expected.”

“Only because Xar was here to save us,” John quipped.

“Fuck you!”

John chuckled. “Bit touchy, eh?”

“Hey!” Beck interrupted them. “When you two finish joking around, can you tell me where the hell are we going?”

“Thellasia,” John replied.

“Thellasia? There is nothing there! The whole planet is one big, fucking ocean. What are we going to do there?”

“Swim.”

Beck shook his head. “Kids these days…”

“Everything alright?” Xar asked, having reestablished communications with the Eagle. “I repeat: everything alright?”

“Yes,” Sara replied. “We’re all safe and in one piece.”

“Nice to hear that. Now, let’s set course for Thellasia. The journey will take a few days longer than usual, as we’ve burned too much fuel and we can’t accelerate too fast.”

“After this wild ride, I am pretty sure I’ll enjoy a slow, calm journey.”

William was aboard the capital-class cruiser Ravager. He had a sour expression on his face as he hurriedly walked through the ship’s corridors. Leading a military expedition against the pirates of the Kairer asteroid field wasn’t his idea of having a good time, much less so that he would have to take orders from some admiral Natasha.

‘Disciple, discipline, discipline. That fucking mantra of my father! He simply hates people having good time and wants everyone to be as miserable as he is. Hell! Without this stupid assignment, I would be able to make a major breakthrough and become an even more powerful sorcerer.’ He shook his head sighing.

William walked through the door into Admiral Natasha’s office. The admiral was sitting on the other side of a massive desk of dark black wood polished to a fine sheen. She wore a blue military uniform and a command cap. William had bedded many beautiful women but Natasha was far prettier and elegant than any woman he had seen, with her shiny brunette hair tied back, high cheekbones and big brown eyes. She had a perfect hazel skin and a slender and petite figure.

“Hi,” he said with the most charming smile he could muster. ‘Maybe this assignment will not be that boring.’

“Sir!” She raised her hand and saluted, “Hail Chancellor Maximilian, Lord-Protector of the Nation.”

“Hail!” William half saluted. “Now, shall we get to business?”

“Sure. You are in command of this military operation and the final arbiter of every decision. However, I believe it would be in the best interests of everyone if you left tactical decision-making on my hands.”

“You believe I am incompetent?”

“I never said that,” Natasha was quick reply. “I simply stated that since you lack both the necessary academic training and battlefield experience for such a mission, it would be best to leave the actual decision-making to someone who knows what they are doing.”

William threw back his head and laughed, not the least bit irked at her audacity. “Right to the point I see, and without any sugarcoating. I like that. You are right. It’s not like I have any interest in actually commanding this ship or the fleet in general. It is more of a chore I have to do to keep daddy happy.”

Natasha awkwardly smiled upon hearing William referring to the esteemed Chancellor Maximilian as ‘daddy’. “Well, I guess we are in agreement then. However, this does not mean you will laze around. You will have to act like a proper leader. Your father asked me to give you some lessons in leadership. You will be given a schedule, shall observe how tactical decisions are taken and rally the officers by being dignified and charismatic before them.”

“Sounds interesting…” William lied. He then flashed his brightest and most charming smile. “What do you say we share a drink? If we are going to be working together in this campaign, we need to get to know each other.”

“I don’t drink when on a military campaign,” Natasha sternly replied. She loved gulping alcoholic drinks but on her job she wanted to be the perfect officer. “Neither should you. Your father informed me of your drinking habits. And you drug addiction…”

“Daddy is always hyperbolic,” William said with a broad grin on his face. “I am not addicted to drugs; I just like to use them occasionally to have a good time. We cannot all be emotionless workaholics like my dad.”

“OK, let me make this clear. No drugs on this ship. That is a rule.” She shook her finger in William’s face.

“Oh come on! Don’t be such a downer. You are too focused on rules and regulations, and you are forgetting to have some good time. Loosen up a bit. I am still standing by my offer to share a drink…”

Natasha defiantly smiled with a scornful lip. “You know what the problem with men like you is? You believe that because of your high status you can do whatever you want. That is not how things work in the military, at least not when I am in command. Is that understood, sir?”

“Oh? Most women don’t dare speak to me like that.”

“I am not most women.”

William couldn’t help but chuckle at her response. “I’ll grant you that. You’ve certainly captivated my interest. Well… will be going to my quarters.”

John took off his clothes and walked into the hot shower. He stood and let the hot water beat against him. It felt like heaven. After a week-long journey, John was back in Thellasia and could finally relax. His breathing was deep and he felt his muscles relaxing. ‘Finally… No more gangsters, soldiers, fighters. Just me and hot, steamy water.’

Getting out, John toweled off and quickly dressed. Suddenly everything went dark. He couldn’t see a single thing. “Not again!” he grumbled. Despite his irritation, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief that this happened after he had dressed. ‘If I was still naked, this would be pretty awkward…’

“Interesting,” William’s voice was heard saying. “We are once again sharing a vision. It’s been some time since our last talk.”

“What do you want?”

“As I’ve told you countless times before, I don’t initiate those… visions. I am as surprised as you are.”

“This whole chatting thing we’ve got is… weird? If you really are the Dark Lord, should we even be chatting like we are some old buddies?” John sighed. “What the fuck am I doing? I am out of my depth. I should probably tell Iris about you. She will have an explanation about this phenomenon.”

“If you really wanted to tell her about me, you would have done so already. Yet… you’ve hesitated to mention our little conversations.”

“I had more important things to do, like trying to stay alive when hunted down by the Helian military. Plus, half the time I thought I was being delusional and those visions of mine were some kind of hallucination.”

“Yet even now that you are out of danger and you know that your visions are real, you haven’t divulged your secret. You are afraid. Afraid that if your teacher learns that you are speaking with a Dark Lord – if the books are correct that is – she will force you to terminate our conversations. And you don’t want that.”

“You overestimate yourself,” John replied. “You haven’t been the most enjoyable companion.”

“If it wasn’t for me, you would have been killed at least twice. Thanks to our conversations, you’ve managed to unlock magical powers far beyond what you could have imagined. You like that. Not because you are power-hungry or ambitious, but because those powers helped you save people you love. Would you be able live with yourself knowing that by revealing our conversations you may never be able to learn abilities that one day could save from certain death those you hold dear in your heart? I do not think so.”

John shrugged. He hated to admit it, but this ‘delusional wannabe’ Dark Lord was making very much sense. “Eventually, I will have to tell Iris and the rest about you.”

“Eventually. That is the key word. I do not doubt it. After all, if I really am a Dark Lord and you the Holy Warrior, we will clash. It is prophesized in the books. Our conflict is inevitable, but there is no reason that until then we cannot help each other.”

“Where am I?” Lutherson wondered. He could barely see anything as the lightning was flickering. He was in some kind of dark room. “Must be some Alliance prison...” He still had a terrible headache. Lutherson tried to make sense of the events that preceded his imprisonment. ‘I need to remember. Come on my mind, don’t betray me! Think!’

Lutherson could remember being knocked out when he tried to arrest the ‘terrorists’ on the Eagle. ‘What happened next? Ah yes! When I woke up, I found myself locked in one of the ship’s rooms’. The detective tried everything, but he could not get out. He had to sleep on the cold floor for days. ‘Then, all of the sudden, I was snatched from that room and knocked out once more: and now I am here, in this tiny room.’

Suddenly, Lutherson could hear footsteps. He heard the groan of the metallic door opening. Darren walked inside the dimly lit room with a wide, smug grin on his face. “Welcome to the Alliance headquarters! If you were someone else, you would be dead. However you are not a random Helian officer. You are Lutherson Snow, the most famous detective in the entire Helian system.”

“Yeah, yeah, I am famous,” Lutherson said dismissively with a wave of his hand. “Get to the point.”

“Someone with your abilities can aid us greatly.”

Lutherson chuckled. “Look. I don’t give a fuck about your war. I am not interesting in helping either you or the Unity Party. I just care about solving cases. Stimulating this brain of mine is the only thing I care about. Leave me out of your political squabbles.”

“Well… let’s just say that you don’t have that much of a say in this. My men had a chip implanted inside you. One snap,” Darren snapped loudly his fingers, “on my part and you are blown up to pieces.”

Lutherson could tell from Darren’s expression that he wasn’t bluffing. He had interrogated too many criminals and knew pretty well when someone was saying the truth. “What use can I be to you? I am a detective, not a soldier.”

“I have plenty of soldiers,” Darren replied. “What I could use is someone with your talent in intelligence missions. Think about it. After all, you will be spending a lot of time in this room.”

“I hope that what you’ve got to say is important,” Darren said as he barged inside the room. “I had to postpone my training simulation program.”

The white room was full of computer screens and terminals. A couple of plain looking men and women in white coat were monitoring the screens and typing commands.

“Do trust me, it is quite important!” Officer Yi exclaimed with a wide smile on his face as he rushed to greet his commander. He led Darren to one of the computer screens. “We’ve finally managed to crack the X-Corp files your soldiers brought us. We’ve discovered something quite peculiar about them.”

“Oh?”

“Most of the files are of average only interest; schedules with regards to the production of some industrial units and timeframes for certain investment projects. One file, however, is most intriguing. It contains a text written entirely in some strange language. The AI has identified it as related to the Elfish language but hasn’t been able to recognize it, much less translate it.”

“Why would the X-Corp CEO own such a file? Is it some private habit of his?”

“I don’t think it is some simple habit… Here’s where the interesting part comes. This file was encrypted with a special code that was the toughest to crack. X-Corp really, really didn’t want anyone to take a look at this file. I doubt their CEO would have taken such precautions if the file wasn’t of vital importance.”

“I agree,” Darren said. “We need to investigate it. Since the language is related to Elfish, you should ask Iris to come and take a look at it. She may be able to recognize it. You should also call Lutherson; he may know more about the file, since he was tasked with retrieving it back.”

“Will do so at once,” Yi replied.

John was strolling in the corridors of the base. He was deep in thought. ‘When the Eagle was being battered by Helian fire, I was enlightened. I understood what a fool I had been that I hadn’t told Iris what she means to me. Yet now that I am back here, I still haven’t told her about my feelings. I still hesitate. Why am I such a coward?’

“John!” The young sorcerer heard a familiar voice. It was Darren. “Why the troubled face? Are you still affected by what happened in Frazzar?”

John was at loss of words. “I… yes… no….not exactly… I… I…” he stuttered.

“I would have thought that by now you wouldn’t be so frightened of me,” the commander chuckled. “I am not some god or devil. I am a simple human, like you.”

“I…. it’s nothing.”

“You should tell me. Consider it an order!”

“Well…” John hesitated for a few seconds. ‘What the hell! I might as well admit it,’ he thought. “I have feelings for-“

“Ah! It’s a girl!” Darren couldn’t help but laugh. “You had me scared there boy. I thought you had some kind of post-traumatic stress. I can’t say I have had that much of luck with the ladies, but I can give you one advice: tell her how you feel. Trust me, if you don’t you will regret it.”

“I have come to realize that but I don’t know how.”

“A dinner date should do the trick,” Darren replied, shaking his hands. “You better find some good-looking dress though. You wouldn’t want to be plain-looking. I can loan you one if you want.

“That would be good. Thanks. But… where would I take her? It isn’t like there is some restaurant, aside from Keiles’ lunchroom where everyone eats.”

“My apologies to you,” Darren sarcastically replied. “I should have made sure our military base would have a romantic restaurant.”

John’s face flushed. “I…”

“Relax kid! I am just pulling your leg.”

John let out a sigh of relief.

“You can offer her a dinner at your room,” Darren said. “Light jazz music, a few candles and a fine wine are all you need. Atmosphere is everything.”

“I can do that!”

“Good! Contact the lucky girl and begin making preparations!”

After his small talk with John, Darren had been waiting in the computer labs for Iris and Lutherson to come. He was chit-chatting with officer Yi about various topics to pass the time. Almost an hour had passed when they finally arrived. While Iris seemed intrigued about taking a look at a script related to her mother tongue, Lutherson was clearly less enthused. His eyebrows were raised and he had a sour face.

“Nice of you to come here,” Darren said as he led them to one of the computer screens. “Iris, can you tell me what this is?” He pointed his finger at the strange logograms.

Iris took a good look at the text, staring for a long time at the screen. “It seems to be… ancient Elfish. I can recognize a few words.”

“Can you translate it?” Darren asked. His face lit up beautifully, betraying his enthusiasm.

“Unfortunately, no. The ancient Elfish language is very complex and not many have the knowledge required to translate such a text. The calligraphy of its characters shows that it was written by an elf of high culture, meaning that its translation will be even more difficult. Ancient elf aristocrats used an even more refined language in their writings to impress their peers.”

“What about you?” Darren turned to the detective. “Do you know anything about this text?”

“I hadn’t heard about it before,” Lutherson admitted. “I only knew your soldiers stole some files, I was never told what kind of files those were. I do know a professor of linguistics who may be able to help you though”

“I sense you want something in return for telling us?”

“You could become a detective!” Lutherson exclaimed in mock enthusiasm. “Simple: I tell you who the professor is and where to find him and you remove the explosive chip and let me go.”

“Why would I agree to that? Are you really in any position to negotiate? With one snap, you are done for.”

Lutherson laughed. “Nice bluff, but you cannot do this. You need me alive. If you blow me up to pieces, you won’t be able to find out anything about the professor. I have the upper hand here.”

“Fine!” Darren sighed. “Tell us about the professor and I will have your chip removed.”

“First remove the chip and then I will tell you. Only an idiot would accept the reverse.”

Darren motioned Yi to disable the chip. Yi nodded and placed a metallic armband device on Lutherson’s left arm. He activated it and an electromagnetic pulse was sent out, deactivating the chip. “You’re clear,” Yi said. “The chip will trouble you no more.”

“Thanks,” the detective replied. “The professor’s name is Sean MacConnery. A nice fellow! We used to be friends, but we haven’t spoken in years. He specializes in the study of the ancient Elfish language. You will find him in Biscecenza.”

“You want us to go to the Helian capital?!” Iris couldn’t believe it. Even by her standards, this was a risky undertaking.

“If you want the script translated…”

“Fine,” Darren said, “but you will go too.”

“That wasn’t the agreement.”

“We will let you free once you lead us to the professor. Prepare for the journey, for you will be leaving tomorrow morning. You will be heading there with John and D-4009. D-4009 will pilot the freighter and might prove useful with his computer skills while John is both capable and less notorious than both I and Iris. You should be able to infiltrate rather easily.”

“But-“

“It isn’t up for debate. If you don’t do it, you will get shot.”

Darren ordered two of his men to take Lutherson back to his dark room.

“John won’t be too happy to hear he will have to leave after just coming back here,” Iris said.

“You should tell him about the mission.”

“I will do so tonight. He has actually invited me to a dinner to celebrate our escape from the Helians,” Iris smiled.

Darren couldn’t help but burst with laughter. “Oh my… This is gonna be good!”

“What?” Iris asked, confused about Darren’s sudden laughter.

“You will understand.” Darren turned around and slowly walked away, still laughing.

John wanted to make this dinner special, more intimate than before. He decided to follow Darren’s advice; after all he did not have much experience with women. John was carefully placing the candles and wine on the table while a soft jazz music was playing in the background. ‘Focus, focus!’ he thought. He couldn’t help but wonder if he and Iris were close enough to consider that atmosphere. ‘She might take it as being too aggressive... whatever, Darren must know what he is talking about’.

The doorbell ringed. John rushed to open the door. “Hi,” he said with a wide smile on his face. ‘Am I looking awkward? Or silly? Or…?’

“Hi,” Iris replied as she walked inside. John led her to the table, with the vanilla-scented candles and a bottle of wine. “I never thought of you as the kind to hold such a dinner.”

‘Neither did I…’ John thought. “I am full of surprises,” he grinned.

They stood opposite one another. The candles casted dancing shadows on their faces. John poured the deep red wine into the slender wine glasses. He lifted his glass and toasted, “to my teacher. Without you, I wouldn’t be here tonight enjoying this dinner. You taught me how to be more than a simple farmboy, and for that I thank you.”

Iris’ eyes glistened. “You’ve become a competent sorcerer and have contributed greatly to our cause. I am proud to have you as my disciple,” she replied as their glasses touched.

They sipped the wine. The wine tested delicious, with just a hint of some fruit. “Where did you get this?” Iris asked. “We don’t usually have such wine here.”

“I asked it as a favor from Keiles,” John replied. The orc chef was more than happy to grant a favor to a ‘hero’ of the Alliance.

“It seems you really enjoy your fame. Do remember though that this will last only for a few days at most, so don’t get on a high horse,” Iris chuckled.

“I promise I won’t.” John laughed.

“If you do well in your next mission, you will be able to gain a more lasting fame.”

“Next mission?”

“Tomorrow you should get up early. You will be going with D-4009 and that detective on a mission to Biscecenza to look for a linguistic professor.”

“Eh?” John had no idea why they were looking for a professor or why he needed to go along with that detective.

“D-4009 will fill you up on the details,” Iris was quick to add. She paused for a brief moment. “Something tells me you didn’t call me here just to celebrate our return.”

John was silent for a few seconds. He reached for her hand and said, “I… actually you are right.” Iris allowed him to hold her soft hands. The candlelight cast a glow about them. “It is something I knew deep down since the first day I met you but I only realized when I was about to die on K-L556. I-“ The next few seconds seemed like eternity to John. He needed to work up all his courage. Knowing that he was talking from his heart gave him the confidence to muster the strength to utter the words he so longed to say. “I…am…in love with you.”

Iris looked long and hard at John’s face. She was still holding his hands tightly and tried to say something but seemed at loss of words. John grew alarmed. “Are…I…you…” he stammered.

Iris regained her composure. “I once acted on such feelings,” she replied softly, almost whispering. “Love can become a terrible burden when you are responsible for thousands of lives. It is a luxury those of us who are at war cannot afford.”

John’s heart sank. “I understand,” he finally mumbled. “Do you have any feelings towards me?”

“I do,” Iris replied. “Which is why this is so damn hard for me.”

Somehow, this didn’t make things better for John. If anything, he felt worse knowing that she had feelings for him but that they could still not be together. He wanted to explain to her that they could make it, that the war was no excuse to deny their feelings, but he chose to remain silent. He forced a weak smile, trying to make the situation less awkward. “I understand.”

Iris got up from her seat. “It is better if I go. You will have to prepare for tomorrow.”

John simply nodded. He was now all alone, looking into the candle flame. He smiled, his smile one of sadness. Silent tears flowed down his chilled face. “How could I have been so stupid? I shouldn’t have said anything.” John’s mind wandered to the future. He could envision how awkward their interactions would be after this dinner.

He poured more of the red wine into his glass and gulped it down. The sense of warmth and strength caused by the alcohol had reached his heart, making him feel better. “Oh, what the hell!” He gulped down another glass, and yet another. He found it a good way to suppress his feelings.

Walden paused at the door, spoke some words at a console and had his hands and eyes scanned, and then the door chimed as it opened. A soothing, female computer-generated voice greeted him inside the facility. “Welcome inside, Mr. Walden Von Weber.” The X-Corp CEO walked in a hurry inside the dimly lit, wide facility. He was holding a black leather case in his hands.

He finally reached a surveillance room, which was neat and tidy, well organized and full of screens. Two guards were inside. One had dozed off as usual, with his feet up on the desk. The other guard was looking into a video screen. Upon seeing his boss, the second guard turned toward him with a smile. “Greetings!” he said. Hearing the noise, the first guard at once got up and also greeted the CEO.

“How is our guest?” Walden asked.

“He still refuses to cooperate,” the second guard replied as he pressed a button. The computer screen came alive with a clear recording of the prisoner. “All of our attempts to change his mind have been futile. “

“Then I will be paying him a visit…”

Walden left the surveillance room and headed to a wide metallic door. He pressed his right eye against an iris recognition device. After a crisp sound, the door opened. An old man with snow-white hair and a tremendously bushy white moustache was in the chilly white room, seated in a metal chair with his legs and arms tied.

“Professor Jay Roe,” Walden said as he placed his leather case on the floor. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

“I will not continue translating!” the professor defiantly shouted, his eyes glistening.

Walden chuckled. “Oh… you are so, so funny old man.” He grabbed a round metallic device from his case and approached the professor. “You see, you won’t have a choice. You will become a lab rat for a new piece of machinery we’ve developed. I would have rather tested on some poor sod but circumstances now force me to test it on you.” He placed the device on the head of the professor, who could only groan and shout. “This device, as you must surely recognize, is for simulations. You need to be inside a specialized capsule to enter into virtual reality, but with new breakthroughs in virtual technology, X-Corp has developed this new model that will allow people to access virtual reality without the need for a capsule.”

Professor Jay felt a sudden headache as the device was activated. He winched at the sharp pain. His eyes felt heavy and he closed them.

“Good,” Walden said. “If the device works, you will be in a virtual simulation program specifically designed to break you. You will witness untold terror and be scarred for life. When the simulation ends, you will be begging for mercy. And I will give it to you in exchange for continuing the translation.”

“Hey!” John said to D-4009 as he reached the water bays where their freighter was situated, upon a round landing pad. It was a simple mercantile freighter, one used by merchants travelling throughout the planetary system. The android was waiting on the opening hatch, standing still like a statue.

“Master, if you will excuse my questioning, you seem less than fully charged today.”

“Let’s just say I did not get much sleep last night,” John sighed. “I’ve heard you will pilot the vessel?”

“Indeed. Miss Sara has uploaded a pilot subroutine in my programming. Hence, now I have the ability to pilot spacecraft.”

“What exactly will this mission be about? Iris told me it is about a professor of linguistics or something like that.”

“We will have to track down an old friend of Mister Lutherson Snow. Sean MacConnery, a Professor of Linguistics specializing in the ancient Elfish language. He will aid us in translating a top-secret X-Corp text.”

It was at that moment that Darren arrived to the water bays, accompanied by doctor Beck and Lutherson, who was blindfolded and relied on Darren to move forward.

“This is ridiculous!” Lutherson protested.

“It’s the tenth time you’ve said it,” Darren replied. “I don’t care.” The commander wanted to be sure that Lutherson would not know the location of the Alliance base.

Beck sighed. “For the guy who told that I need to be less irritable, you sure are complaining a lot detective.”

“Hi doc,” John said. “What are you doing here?”

“He is coming with you,” Darren replied before Beck could even utter a word. “Also, I hope you can concentrate on the mission at hand.”

John understood that Darren was referring to his dinner with Iris. ‘I would rather this did not turn into a public spectacle.’ John simply nodded in agreement.

“I have family in Biscecenza,” Beck said. “Hopefully I can find a job there. I am a doctor, not a rebel. I want to live a normal life. I am coming with you only so I can get to Biscecenza.”

Darren flashed a bright smile as he bid them farewell. “This mission is of vital importance, but I am confident in your abilities. D-4009, you should serve well John and aid him in the best of your abilities. John, follow your instincts. I have trust in you. Lutherson, I am giving John the OK to kill you if you try to pull a trick. So, comply, aid us in finding that professor and you shall be set free. Otherwise… Doc, I wish you the best of luck.”