Now that I am officially a Soldier, I have more privileges so I decided to use my freedom on a day I didn't have any duties.

After training in the morning like I always did, I put on some casual clothes and decided to explore the city. I had lived in HQ since I landed here and everything I needed was in this building, so I had no reason to go out. I had never actually been to the city.

The trains were free to use, so I decided to use them to make my way through. I really wanted to see the center where all the shops and businesses were. While I walked towards the train station, I couldn't help but stare up at the colossal buildings. Most of them were at least twenty stories high and reached up to the sky.

The light breeze on my face felt nice after being inside for so long. It was that kind of weather that is not too hot and not too cold. A coat wasn't needed and everyone seemed happy with the sun.

Arriving at the station, I waited patiently for my train. I had only been on one, when I went to the Supreme Intelligence a while back. They seemed to run on electricity like almost everything on Hala, so they were quiet and fast. I liked them.

When it arrived, I let the people out first before I went on, taking a window seat. I stared at the city as it raced past me. Taking in the scenery. I had no problem integrating on Hala, having accepted that this was my home now long ago. I wore the Kree logo proudly like it was my own. The other kids that fled with me, I hadn't seen again, but I wondered if they felt the same way.

When the streets got busier and busier, I knew we must be close to the center of the city. The train stopped and I got out, looking for the busiest street and starting my journey there. When I mingled with the blue-skinned Kree people, I couldn't help but feel accepted. Nobody stared at my purple hair and eyes and some smiled at me. I felt accepted and welcome and for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel so alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was woken up by the sound of my alarm. Only, I didn't have an alarm. This was my mission alert.

It didn't happen often that I had to go on an urgent mission at night. Most of them were planned weeks in advance, so this meant either a new one suddenly popped up or there was a change in one of our current ones.

Jumping out of bed, the clock on my wall told me it was 3am. Way too early for me.

Hurriedly brushing my teeth, putting on my suit and tying my hair up, I tried to prepare myself as best as I could. As a Commander, you had to be prepared for everything. We only went on the most dangerous missions. The ones we didn't even trust to our Captains only.

While walking swiftly through the quiet hallways of HQ, I read through the information on my Com. There had been an unexpected Skrull attack on a planet close by. We monitored all border planets of Hala intently, making sure the threat didn't get too close to home.

I bumped into a fellow Commander in the hallway close to the office, which meant it was all hands on deck on this one.

About fifty of us stood staring at the Holo projection of planet Gaphulia. It was a rich planet, full of life and important for Hala. We traded with them for their food and fabrics. Almost thirty procent of all food on Hala came from Gaphulia. We could not afford to lose it.

That is why we had to act fast. Strategies were laid out and agreed on and weapons were loaded. I didn't need a weapon, but I liked my sword and knives. They were good for close fighting, which my powers were a little less suitable for.

So I strapped some knives to my belt and put a sword on my back. It wasn't a huge, heavy sword, but a light one. Maybe it was more a katana then it was a sword, but I just called it my sword.

Lucky for me, Yon-Rogg wasn't here yet. Which meant that he was either not called in, or was very late. I hoped he wasn't called in. I couldn't deal with him this early in the morning.

It was very silent in the ship when we took off. Everyone had their own rituals before going into battle. Some prayed, some polished their guns or sharpened their knives and some just stared at the ground. I did the latter. I always ran through the plan in my head over and over again. Being well prepared is the only weapon against bad luck and I might just come out alive if something went wrong.

A total of fifty ships flew off Hala that night. Every one held one Commander, three Captains and five Soldiers. I chose my best three Captains. Ones that I trusted to have my back. In addition, they picked their best five Soldiers. The strongest, fastest and smartest ones. I knew them all.

I had tried to find Vers in the big crowd before we all went in our own ships, but I didn't see her. I couldn't help but feel worried about her. Even though we didn't talk anymore, doesn't mean I stopped caring about her.

But because I hadn't seen Yon-Rogg and I knew she would be with him if he were here, I felt relieved.

'Commander,' Captain Cae-Duss called out to me, 'we are nearing Gaphulia'

'Copy that, Captain, stay with K-55', I said back, walking over to the front window of the plane. Gaphulia was beautiful. A green planet, literally. Their water was green and their land red, but because they had a lot more water than they had land, the green dominated. The color of the water didn't matter for my powers though. Water was water.

'Copy, staying with K-55', he answered shortly. K-55 was a big ship meant for bombing large areas. We would protect it from air strikes when it did its job, even though the chance at one was small. The Skrulls didn't have ships as advanced as ours, but you could never be too careful.

The deep rumbling sounds the bombs made when they exploded on Gaphulia made me wince a little and I was almost back on Atera. The Gephulians were a peaceful species that didn't want anything to do with war. But in order for us to ensure their safety and get rid of every Skrull, we had to bomb their cities.

Don't get me wrong, I loved fighting the Skrulls, but I hated war. War always left innocent casualties and always hit the civilians more than the enemy. If there was a way for us to exterminate the Skrulls without any collateral damage, I would do it in a heartbeat. But there wasn't enough time. There is never enough time.

As soon as K-55 had done its job, we touched down on Gaphulia to see the damage. I tuned out the crying and screaming of the Gaphulians, something I had become very skilled at during my years on missions, and looked for any remaining Skrulls. That was a very difficult job, however, because they had the ability to shapeshift. They could clone a person down to its DNA, so you would never know the difference.

I think this is also why the war against them had been going on for so long. We could never destroy every single one wherever we went.

Another annoying thing is that they never attacked us first. If that was just their strategy or they were scared, I don't know, but they didn't fight unless attacked by one of us.

I watched every person I passed closely, my purple eyes following their every move.

All of a sudden I saw one look at me a little longer than a real Gaphulian would have. This one didn't run away or look scared, it just stood there, like it was waiting for me.

One pro about Skrulls, as soon as they were attacked, they would change back to their own form. I believed it was because it took too much concentration to keep another's skin, distracting them from the fight. So I was proven right about him when I came too close for his liking with my sword and he turned green again.

I wanted to take him down fast, not wasting any time, but he was a fighter and soon I had black Skrull blood all over my uniform. That pissed me off, so I just threw him against a wall with my air and then he stopped moving. Not bothering to check if he was dead, I continued making my way down streets, taking out any Skrulls I encountered, all while keeping a straight face.

I met Commander Cas-Sia halfway from our starting points. She was also covered in black goo and she cleaned her knives on her arm. 'We are all clear here', she told me.

'I am too', I answered. The coms were quiet, it looked like nobody needed any backup or was in any sort of trouble. 'Status?' I asked into the Com on my arm. I received only 'clear's, meaning everyone had taken out every Skrull they had seen. 'Good job, report back to base.' At that, I received a bunch of 'copy's.

I nodded at Cas-Sia and made my way back to my own ship, staying alert. I was the first one back, so I stood at the bottom of the ramp, waiting for the others. I had a list of every one of their personal codes that were buried deep into their conscience. This was protocol. Everyone had to say their code to me before they could enter the ship. Skrulls could only tap into recent memories of their host, so they would be unable to say the correct code to me.

Captain Cae-Duss was the first to arrive. 'TI59A..', I started, '...G0YNB338W', he finished. It was correct, so I let him in. I did so for the other ones and they could all recite their codes without flaw, so we were off to Hala within no-time.

I was tired from the fighting and the use of my powers and the fact that I got up in the middle of the night. All I wanted was to go back to sleep. So that was my plan when we got back to Hala.

After a half-an-hour flight which felt like three, Hala finally came into view through the front window. Captain Cae-Duss did a good job parking the ship in the hanger bay and I saw that while we were getting back, some people were getting ready to go. It was very busy in the hall.

When the Captains and the Soldiers had left my ship, I made sure we didn't leave anything behind and it was prepared for the next person to take it.

While I was waiting outside for the ramp door to close, I felt a presence behind me. A very familiar presence. A presence I missed like crazy after five months. I wished she wouldn't recognize me and keep walking, but she did not. Ofcourse she didn't.

'Aayala?', she asked cautiously. She knew I didn't want to talk to her, but she couldn't resist it and part of me was happy she couldn't.

I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, deciding whether to turn around or just ignore her. But I couldn't ignore her. I could feel her hopeful eyes on the back of my head. So I did the stupid thing, I turned around. I needed to see her face again. Those fascinating eyes.

It was just like I expected, I was completely lost. It is a good thing I don't see her anymore, because it would go badly wrong if I saw her every day.

Her eyes drew all my attention to them and it felt like it was just me and her in this crowd.

She sensed my reaction and smiled when I seemed to be lost for words.

Shaking my head, I tried to find my voice again. 'Vers', I nodded.

She looked away from my face to my outfit and saw all the blood splattered across it. She frowned a little at the sight. Like she didn't expect me to go all assassin whenever I went on missions. Probably deciding she didn't want to ask, she looked at my face again. More precisely, at my cheek. She laughed and pointed at her own cheek, 'You have a little..'.

Unconsciously, my left hand went up to my cheek and came away dirty. Wiping it off on my pants, I murmured a 'thanks'.

'I should go', I said when Vers turned her head to someone who called her name. She rapidly turned back to me but she was too late, I was already walking away.

However, deciding that I wouldn't get to run off this time, she ran after me and grabbed my bicep, halting me.

'No, you don't get to run away from me again', she said sternly and her face was all seriousness now, her smile gone. She had a determined fire in her eyes that I had seen before, but not to this extent.

'Let me go Vers', I said back angrily, looking at where her hand clutched my arm. She let me go, but stood sturdily in front of me, not planning on letting me leave.

'We need to talk about what happened', she said demanding, but with a pleading look in her eyes. She wanted to talk it out, but I really didn't.

'No, we don't', I answered curtly with an irritated look on my face.

'Yes, we do.'

'I have nothing to say to you', looking everywhere but her eyes. I really did not want to have this conversation. My bed was calling out to me and my body was tired, which didn't help my mood.

'But I have something to say to you.' At that, I looked at her. I did not expect that and my temporary surprise gave her the time to say what she wanted to. 'I understand why you are pushing me away, believe me, I do, but I know you feel something for me too. I can see it in your eyes. You don't have to hide from me, I promise I won't hurt you.'

Her words were true and spoken straight from her heart, I could tell, but I couldn't help but scoff at those last words. Seeing that her words didn't get through to me, the disappointment in her eyes came back.

'Don't make promises you can't keep, Vers. I have made that mistake before and I am not doing it again.' But at the same time, my father's words sounded in my head.

'You will never know who is going to hurt you when you give them your heart, but remember: the good ones will never hurt you on purpose. They will protect you and fight for you, no matter what. But nobody can live without love. Whether that is the love of family, friends, or a lover. Without love, life has no purpose.'

But how do I know which are the good ones, dad? I really wanted his advice right now. What do I do?

'Vers!', I heard in the distance and the voice brought me back to reality, realizing who it belonged to. He couldn't see us like this. The weird vibe was so obvious to anyone paying attention. We were on dangerous grounds.

Knowing she was out of time when Yon started walking towards us, she muttered swiftly, 'I hope you will find it in your heart to trust me one day. I will be there if you do'. She took a step back to break the closeness between us when Yon finally reached us.

'What is going on here? Why did you leave?' He asked the first question to us both, but when he saw I wasn't going to react, he turned to Vers for the second one.

'I'm sorry, I just ran into her so we talked a little', she replied to him, even though she glanced my way. During their conversation, I just stared at her, lost in my thoughts.

'Well, let's go, those products are not going to move themselves', he said to her harshly. I wanted to punch him for talking to her like that, but I would just make us more suspicious. Us. I liked the sound of that.

She looked at me to see if I would say any more, but when she saw I didn't, she followed Yon, walking away from me. I just stood there like an idiot, staring at her retreating form. She looked back once more, giving me a small smile, before disappearing into the crowd.

Realizing I was standing here way to long, I finally moved and almost ran out of the hanger, to my room. I needed to be alone and think how I was going to forget about the beautiful blonde woman with the intriguing eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vers admitted she felt something for Aayala. If that wasn't obvious yet. I hope I am not moving too fast. But right now, between the first time they saw each other and now, are about two and a half years. So there is a lot of time I didn't show you, just know that they got closer and closer during that missing time.

I hope you enjoyed again! No quotes used this time, this was all me :)

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