The two halves of the family that was Spier squad regrouped later that night at a local bar that was offering a hefty discount to soldiers on leave. Never one to pass up a deal like that, Dave had ensured that nobody was able to back out without getting his patented version of a guilt trip.

“Come on Candiace,” Dave whined into the vis-HUD, “We only have a few nights, and by few I mean two. Are you really going to bail on us for some stuffy hotel?”

The look on Daves face dropped in despair, quickly changed into understanding, and finally to interest as he listened to her response. While it was possible for Jack to connect to him, the grin on his squadmates face told Jack that listening in may not be the most productive use of his time.

“Alright then girl, go get you some. If you can still walk when it’s over you can come buy me a beer and tell me all about it.” Without waiting for a reply, the large cowboy disconnected the call. “Guys, ugh… Candice had to make an emergency trip to the toilet. She wont be back tonight.”

“Hey bonehead,” Alec said, “We literally just heard you tell her to ‘get you some.’ Do you really think we’re that stupid?”

“I know you’re not, but you been around me long enough to know my lingo. These guys have only been part of my entourage for two years.” Although he hadn’t lost any of his physical faculties, it was obvious to anyone with eyes – and better yet ears – that Dave was well toasted. “These guys may not catch my… subtle conversational skills.”

“Hate to burst your bubble big guy,” Cecile replied, “But if you thought that was subtle, you may just be past your limit for the night.”

“Hey now, we don’t blaspheme like that when there are drinks to be had and bad choices to be made.” Dave said with a finger raised.

After finding a nearby booth to act as a homebase, Dave wandered off with Alec in tow. The sight was familiar to everyone as it was the combination the two men favored over any other. If Jack had to place money on it, he would say that his friend would be making his own stage and music within the next fifteen minutes.

“Well, now that copycat Randy Houser and his little buddy are gone,” Jack said, setting down his own drink, “I have to say, that game really gave me some ideas for the squad.”

“Go on.” Cecile said after an awkward moment of silence.

“They used their powers together.” He replied simply.

“As do we, your point?” Thea asked.

“No, no, no. I mean, really together. We use them as part of a unit, they used them to create hybrid tactics.”

“Hey Jack,” Nessa said, leaning over and depositing another round on the table. “Not that I don’t enjoy theorizing about ripping my enemies limb from limb, I do, but do you really think the best place for that is at a bar on our only true day off in two years?”

“But, I- ”

“She’s right Jack.” Thea cut him off before he could truly reply, “Tonight we need to just relax. Soon we will be back on the Washington and you can tell me all about it, but tonight… I want Thai.”

“Your not even staying with us?” Cecile asked incredulously.

“Hell no, you think I’m going to hang out in a bar – the same thing we do on the ship – the first night that he and I are on a planet and not being shot at?” Thea joked, then pointing at the sky said, “No, we are going get some real food that they simply don’t have up there, then… who knows!”

“We are?” Jack asked, eyebrow raised and a slight smile on his lips.

“Yes, we are. So slam that drink down and lets get out of here.”

Not needing to be told twice, Jack downed the beer in his hands and stood. Nodding to his friends, he and Thea walked out of the bar and into the crisp night air of the utopian city beyond.

“So, Thai you say?” Jack said, walking slowly down the street with her arm locked in his. “Any particular reason?”

“No,” She said happily, “I just needed an excuse to get you to myself. I wasn’t kidding about wanting to spend some time with just you. I mean, we really only have a limited time in the fresh air before being locked back inside that can again.”

“True.” Taking a deep breath in, Jack looked up at the stars just to take in their wonder, “They look just as beautiful here as they do up there.”

“Yeah… I wonder, how do they keep the sky clear enough to see even with all these lights?”

“Beats me, my guess is the lack of pollution on this planet.” For as much as he loved seeing what mankind has built here, it didn’t stop him from feeling sadness at the state of their original home. If even a tenth of what had been done here was moved to Earth, the planet would once again become a haven for their people. “Why couldn’t they have done this back home?”

“Because, the unfortunate truth is that Earth is nothing more than a farm for them.” She said, storm blue eyes watching the sky above. “I don’t know why you hold so much love for our prison. Being away from that place is the best thing to happen to any of us, even if it means a very high level of sacrifice.”

The couple turned, unconsciously walking toward a river they’d seen when first arriving. Nothing guided their walk, both deciding that a moment without the distraction of their HUD was more than worth the possibility of getting lost. Even if they did, it was a problem solved easily enough by simply turning the machines back on.

“I don’t necessarily love the planet, just some of the people.” Jack replied pensively, “More specifically, my family. If they were here, I doubt you would hear another sad word about Earth or it’s restrictions.”

Eventually, the couple found the river that neither truly realized they were looking for. Off in the distance, a mountain range capped in ice proved that the majesty of nature would never be overshadowed by the creations of man.

“I could stay here…” Thea said, gaze unwavering from the scene around her, “I could stay here and wander this planet with you by my side. We would never have to follow orders, or kill another sentient creature again.”

“But we gave our word.” Jack replied, his tone turning the short sentence from a statement to a finality. “We swore to protect places like this so that one day, we can return and enjoy it knowing that there are more people out there making sure that we stay safe.”

As much as they both wished they could follow Thea’s dream and simply disappear into the countryside of Pheonix, they both understood that doing so would be to abandon the people they had come to call family. It would be a long time, but they would find their peace in the end.

“Yeah,” Thea said after a moment with a smile, “I think our friends would hunt us down and kill us slowly if we even tried.”

“Nessa would for sure,” Jack replied with a chuckle, “But enough of all that, were you actually hungry or was that just an excuse to get away from the bar?”

“A little of both if I am being honest.” She said, “I found a few places while you were talking to the senate. If I remember right a few of them are nearby.”

The couple stepped onto an elevator in the lobby of the hotel they’d chosen for that night. After a very short conversation about whether or not they should stay on the planet or return to the ship, it was decided that neither of them really wanted to spend an uneventful night in their cabin. So, after a wonderful dinner made from real food instead of what they made on the ship, Jack led his girlfriend to the nicest place he could possibly afford.

“Tell me, tall dark and handsome, how did you manage to get us a room so easily?” She asked as the ground floor fell away, revealing an incredible view of the city from the glass enclosed elevator.

“Easy, I cheated.” He replied, “I booked this room the moment our destination was pointed out.”

“And what made you think that I wanted to share a hotel room with you?”

Jack let out a bark of laughter, “Maybe the fact that you spend more time in my cabin – more specifically the bunk in my cabin – than in your own. Or maybe it is the fact that you and I are wildly in love?”

The doors to the elevator opened up onto a well lit hallway. Like any other hotel corridor, it was lined with doezens of entrances to places where the weary could rest their heads.

Taking her hand, Jack led the blonde warrior to the door that would be their home for the night and opened the door onto what had to be the most beautiful apparement he’d ever seen.

“Even the hotels are lavish here.” She said dashing through the door and throwing herseld onto the bed, “If my family could’ve afforded a place like this, I would’ve never joined the AHF.”

The comment struck Jack. She had joined because there was literally nowhere else to go with her life. She hadn’t had the opportunity to attend college because her family simply couldn’t afford it. Even with scholarships, his own parent had been forced to work multiple jobs for him to attend. With three children at home, her parents hadn’t even had that as an option in the first place.

“The room is nothing without the right company inside it.” Jack said, stepping inside and closing the door and locking it behind him.

He ran for the bed and jumped in, attempting to join his girlfriend and puller her in for a kiss. Instead, all he got was a pile of pillows and blankets ontop the softest mattress he’d ever felt. The girl that was his target, had already rolled off the bed with a soft yell of excitement and was standing at the window – if it could even be called that.

The outer wall of their room was nothing but open glass, allowing for a completely uninterrupted view of the city below. Light speckled the landscape, proving that this was indeed a city that didn’t sleep.

Jack wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her in close.

“It really is beautiful, isnt it?”

“Yeah,” Jack replied, lost in the moment, “This right here is what we fight to defend, isnt it?”

“This and every other world that holds a human life.” Thea said, leaning her head into him. “This city, this world, it is a small representation of the beauty that exists in life itself.”

“Is it only human life that matters?” He asked, the question one that was always on his mind.

“No… But it is the only life that you and I understand.” She replied, “And even if we understood the others, who is to say that they would be able to do the same? Maybe one day, but until then we fight, and pray that we are in the right.”

“In hardship.” Jack started the phrase that was his family motto, one that he’d taught her long ago.

“We rise.” She finished.

The two stood there for a few more moments before Thea spun and danced her way out of his arms. “That said, if we are going to ‘rise’ tomorrow when they call us. We might need to go to sleep.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. But first, I need to wash off once more to get the rest of this spa treatment off of my skin.” She said, walking toward the massive bathroom, “Not to mention, we don’t have water use restrictions here like we do on the ship.”

Jack simply smiled and sat down in a chair facing the wall, taking in the view of the city once more. Behind him, the sound of cloth hitting the ground made him turn and take in the gorgeous sight of his best friend, and girlfriend.

“Are you going to make me wash my back all by myself?” She asked, eyebrow raised.

Grinning ear to ear, Jack followed her into the most unforgettable shower of his life.