Now I was light-years away from the Vega System to retrieve her. To take her to planet Velerion and her rightful place in the Elite Starfighter program.
“Please, Jamie, may I come inside and speak with you?”
“So polite. Sure, dream man. Come on in.”
* * *
“Thank you.” My understanding of her native language was nowhere near fluent. Yet I had to convince her to agree to come with me before I could give her the cipher injection. Even then, it would take the nanoparticles several hours to establish the proper connections with her brain, optical and auditory neurons so that she could understand all languages.
The way she was looking at me, I feared she may refuse to accept anything I said.
Impossible missions seemed to be my only missions since the war had begun.
I ground my teeth together in continued frustration that somewhere on Velerion a traitor, a high-ranking Velerion who had betrayed our people, still wandered free. Continued to feed information to Queen Raya and her troops on Asteroid Syrax. I was not comfortable with divided loyalties. My oath to find and destroy the traitor now warred with my need for my pair bond. Just over a year ago, some fucker had given Queen Raya the information she needed to launch a surprise attack on our highly secret and hidden Elite Starfighter base. To cripple Velerion defenses.
Their mission had unfortunately been successful. My brother had died that day. Many friends, too. I’d made a promise to myself to bring justice to the person responsible. After months pretending to be part of the Dark Fleet, embedding ourselves so thoroughly, Nave, Trax, and I were within a few days of discovering the identity of the Velerion traitor.
I’d been ready to kill, to have my vengeance, but Jamie Miller had completed her training and accepted my pair bond. Velerion still needed me, just in a new way. I’d returned to Velerion and then come here, to Earth, for her.
Jamie stepped back and held out her arm in invitation for me to enter, yet my feet remained glued to the floor.
Jamie gently pulled her hand back to her side and looked at me. I was expecting shouting, talking, questions. Instead she inspected me from head to toe and burst into laughter.
“Do I amuse you?”
“Yes. I have one kick-ass imagination.”
“I see.” I never, ever imagined she would not believe the truth. Worse, that she’d laugh at me. I frowned because that was what she was doing now. I’d told her the hard facts, the absolute truth, and she laughed. Didn’t she know how serious this was? How important she was?
When she’d first opened the door, her eyes had widened with recognition. She knew me. She took in my face, my uniform and full armor. Her mouth had opened in blatant surprise. Even though we’d never met, I was no stranger. I’d sat beside her in all her training missions, fighting the Dark Fleet together. Winning. Losing. Learning.
We were a fighting team. A unit. One.
I rolled back my shoulders, widened my stance. “I am Alexius of Velerion, your bondmate. You have completed the Elite Starfighter training program. Jamie Miller, you must come with me. Velerion needs your help to defend my people from Queen Raya and the Dark Fleet.” There. I’d said it all again. Slowly.
She wiped her eyes and looked me over again. “Um… what?” she repeated.
“I am Alexius of Velerion—” I began to repeat myself, but she cut me off with a swipe of her hand.
“Yeah, sure. Did Mia or Lily put you up to this to celebrate my victory? I mean, wow, they went all out. Your costume is just like the game. And man, you look identical to my playing partner.” She leaned her head from side to side, inspecting my face from multiple angles. I shifted to hide my body’s reaction as her inspection drifted lower and took in every single part of me, slowly this time. “God, where did they find you? You’re perfect.” She waved her hand in my face as if I were in on the joke. “I mean, literally, perfect. You look exactly like him.” Her gaze grew squinty, and she looked up at me. “Did you model for the game? You know, do that green-screen thing where they attach all those wires to you?”
“I am not a model. Mia and Lily, your fighting partners, do not know I am here. They have not yet completed their training programs. I have traveled a very long way to meet you and escort you home. I look exactly like the male from your training simulations because I am Alexius.” My voice was surprisingly even considering the fact that my bonded mate thought I was a… joke?
Her smile slipped then and she blinked. Good, she was starting to realize this was real.
“You can’t be… It’s not… It’s just a game,” she whispered.
“Hey! Quiet down out there. People like to sleep!” A deep, rough voice shouted from somewhere in this multi-unit residential building.
“Sorry, Mr. Sanchez!” She yelled before grabbing the sleeve of my uniform. She pulled me into her quarters, shutting the door behind her as she mumbled, “Yeah, shouting to quiet down makes a lot of sense. This is crazy.”
She spun on her heel to face me but went over to the wall and flipped a small switch. A lamp turned on, and the soft glow of the light outlined her perfectly.
She was lovely. She was short, lush with curves that couldn’t be hidden beneath loose pants and a pale blue short-sleeved shirt. Tousled hair.
She ran her hand over her face. “Is this weird? It’s weird for me. Is it weird for you? I mean, it’s like I know you, but I don’t.”
Her words fell from her lips in a quick tumble.
“I have fought with you through every mission of the Starfighter Training Academy. We know each other quite well.” I remained just a few feet within her quarters. She was uncomfortable. I hoped she was feeling confusion and surprise more than fear.
“You mean the video game, Starfighter Training Academy.”
She used the same words I did but she envisioned the complex recruitment tool to be a mere game. Something for amusement. It seemed I had to disavow her of this.
“The training simulation is challenging and nearly impossible to complete. I assure you, it is not a game. You completed your missions. You earned the rank of Elite Starfighter. General Aryk welcomed you to Velerion. As your bonded mate it is my duty and honor to escort you back to my home planet where you will take command of your ship.”
She set her hands on her ample hips. “Are you serious?”
“‘Do you accept my crest as a sign of our permanent bond? Will you stay with me, Starfighter? Will you remain at my side and fight with me to the end of our days?’ Do these words sound familiar to you?” I prompted, repeating the formal bonding questions I’d asked of her in the program.
Color leached from her face, her eyes slowly widening in what I hoped was dawning realization. “You’re serious.”
I nodded once. “I am. Our bond was certified in the Hall of Records.” I reached up, took the crest from my uniform, and held it out to her. “I gave you this before, but I give it to you now in person.”
She stared at my offering as if it were poisonous, even tucked her hands behind her back.
Those dark eyes flicked between the crest and my face several times.
“I… I… what? Take the Starfighter crest and then I go with you to Velerion to fight Queen Raya and the Dark Fleet?”