Part 3 - Part 04

“Of course it is, that’s the only way you can get things done here quickly, and no questions asked,” replied Delche looking at us, men on one side of the table and women on the other.

“What’s going on here?” he asked.

“Silly things, you don’t want to know about,” replied Airam and left the table and went to the kitchen.

Delche looked at Gen and said, “Are you prepared for the crap they’re loading you with? I know what it’s like. If you aren’t ready it will ruin your life. It ruined my relationship with my wife.”

Gen thought for a moment and said, “Now that I think about it, I guess I’m not. I guess nobody is. I’ll have to depend on people to support me, especially all of you. Come to think of it, I’m really alone in this. Except for this piece of plastic I’m wearing around my neck I’m powerless and there is no one to help me. On top of that I’m just a practical person and don’t know crap about politics.”

“That’s not true, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, and I don’t mean physically, but in character. You’re honest and determined and those are rare qualities. I’d say you’re more like him (pointing at me) but honest,” said Ruzha.

“And when did I ever lie to you?” I objected.

“Not to me or to your friends that I know of. But I know you have bluffed your way out of things many times with lies.”

“Enough crap,” yelled Delche and called for more food and drinks. “I want everyone to be happy today. This is my day; I asked you all to come here so that we could have some fun together before we’re separated again. One more thing… Ruzha and Gen, you should consider working together. Hear me out before you shoot me down. Ruzha I’ve known you for a long time and I think you should go back to doing what you do best… go back to television and tell stories… tell the truth like you did before. Gen, I don’t know you at all but I know your grandfather well. He taught me many things including the Macedonian language, and has been my mentor for a long time. I also trust my friend’s (pointing at me) judgment in choosing you for the job. So I know you can do it. But you will need someone, you will need an ally, you will need Ruzha to help you translate your plans so that everyone will understand them. I heard you speak outside today and you did a fantastic job but it took Ruzha to bring you out of the shadows into the spotlight. I want to see Ruzha tell stories on television again like she did before and make television worth watching again. You’re going to face a lot of propaganda and a lot of criticism on the public forum and you’ll need someone, a trusted ally to fight for you, and by trusted I mean someone who the people trust, like Ruzha. What do you think?”

We all looked at Delche.

“Delche, since when have you become a philosopher. It wasn’t too long ago I couldn’t even get a single word out of you that wasn’t sarcasm? What happened to you?” I asked.

Ruzha and Gen looked at each other and they both said yes to Delche’s suggestion.

What everyone didn’t realize was that the cameras were still recording our conversation. When I noticed that I asked Ruzha to turn them off and edit some of the parts out.

“Not on your life. This is history in the making. You taught me to capture real moments, spontaneous moments, when people aren’t aware that they’re being filmed. These are real moments and, based on what happens in the near future, these could be the most precious moments of our lives.”

Before I had a chance to reply to Ruzha, compliment her on her artistic abilities or give her hell for filming us this way, Airam showed up with a platter of meat and two bottles of rakia, one of which she placed on the table and the other she gave to Ori.

She looked at her father and Delche said, “They’re ready to go.”

After everyone said goodbye to Ori, I followed them outside and I said goodbye to him like it was my last goodbye. Deep down Ori felt I wasn’t coming back from the war unless I was able to stop it. He also knew that the chances of that were slim. It was a sad goodbye for both of us. I asked him not to discuss his opinions with Airam. He agreed.

I couldn’t shake the sadness of saying goodbye to Ori so when I went back Delche took me to the side and said, “You can’t feel responsible for everyone all the time. Ori chose his path in life. Let him live it the way he wants to. I chose my path and I’m happy where I am. I don’t agree with what’s happening but getting angry, being upset, worrying doesn’t do anything to help the situation. It simply drags you down and drains your energy. I was king for a

while, the entire world was mine. Everyone loved me, especially for the loads of money I gave them, and then the war happened. Well, all I can say is everything has its time and trying to hang onto things that have passed their time is a wasted effort. Look at me, I’m telling you things you used to tell me. Perhaps you need to hear them from someone else. Look at the lovely women you’re surrounded by, stop worrying and go over there and have some fun.”

I didn’t say anything but I could sense that Delche too was worried about me and he too suspected that once I left I wouldn’t be coming back.

The food and drinks finally arrived and we got back to eating and drinking until it was time to go to bed. We also watched channel 45 and saw Ruzha telling our story and the things she had recorded a couple of days before. We watched the ceremony of the passing of the medallion and noticed the big smile on Gen’s face.

“Gen, you look so happy being loaded with my burdens,” I said.

“I smiled for the cameras not for you. Look how beautiful I look with your medallion around my neck. It’s mine now and you can’t have it back.”

Ruzha told us to be quiet and enjoy the show; it could be her last one.

Despite our troubles we all looked very happy. I gave Ruzha a kiss for a job well done. Then everyone gave Ruzha a kiss and a hug. It was nice to be alive, I thought. I was hoping this was not the calm before the storm.

A while later Gen’s cab arrived. Ruzha announced that she was going with Gen to the hotel. Gen had called Nagol and asked him to send his cab to pick them up.

Ruzha gave me a kiss and said, “I don’t know when I’m going to see you again,” and the two left.

We too decided it was time to go and, after we said goodnight to Delche, Airam and the chef, we left the restaurant and went to the ship.

I took my old place on the ship and went to sleep. After lying there for a while it felt like I had never left.

Welcoming back the troops

Early the next morning there was a loud metallic knock on the hull of the ship. I jumped up and looked outside through the ship’s windshield. It was dark outside.

“On your feet ladies, our supplies are here,” I yelled.

My guards promptly disengaged from their docks as I opened the hatch and followed me outside.

A man greeted us with words I didn’t understand and pointed at the three crates loaded on a green trailer pulled by a green tractor. I tried pulling a crate off but it was too heavy for me to budge. The man shook his head “no”.

By then Daf was outside half-dressed, her hair messed up and looking sleepy.

“The man says we need to offload our supplies as soon as possible because he has to go,” she said.

After Daf translated for me I ordered my guards to grab the cases one by one and take them inside the ship. But as we took the cases inside the man got upset and yelled something. By then Vel was outside and when I asked her what the man wanted, she said he wanted his cases back. When she told him it would take some time for us to empty them he took off and left his tractor and trailer behind. He disappeared into the grove.

I shook my head and said, “We’ll take the tractor and his empty crates back to Delche’s place when we’re done here, now let’s unpack everything.”

I looked at Vel when she came inside. She looked a mess.

“Go clean yourself up,” I said.

“With what?” yelled Vel. “There’s no water, no towels, no combs, not even water to drink.”

I didn’t say anything.

After we opened all three crates we secured all the bags of water in the cabinets and filled the shower and toilet tanks. Delche had ordered extra water in anticipation that we might need it for the tanks.

When the first crate was emptied I took it outside and put it on the trailer. After that we took a short break and each had a drink of water.

After we started unpacking the food I asked the girls to make sure there were no glass or breakable containers and if they found any to let me know.

It took us more than an hour to unpack everything and put it away. Delche had ordered a lot more provisions than we had space for but we managed to stow everything away. To make more room we took the bedding from the cabinets and put it under our mattresses.

After we were done unpacking and I’d taken the rest of the crates outside I realized that we were missing the captain’s rakia. We were supposed to take it with us.

When I stepped inside to ask if the girls had seen the case I heard a voice outside speaking Macedonian. It was Delche. He was holding a case over his shoulder with one hand and a rope with his other hand.

“Hey sleepy heads, are you done packing yet? I’ve got more stuff for you,” he said.

Without looking at us Delche walked right inside the ship and tied the box to the floor next to the other one and said, “Here is the rakia for the captain. Don’t worry, the bottles are plastic. And here are a couple of bottles of the firewater for you. You left these behind when you left for earth.”

While I secured the firewater in a small cabinet under my bed Delche opened the other box, took a bottle of rakia out and said, “I’m taking one of these babies with me. By now, after resting for five years in here, this stuff should have aged enough to be called premium quality. We can try it out when you come to the restaurant for breakfast.”

By then the three of us were standing over him.

He looked up and said, “Oh, good morning,” and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” asked Daf looking at him while he was looking at her hair.

“You look like you had a sex orgy in here last night,” he said.

“Hey, hey,” I said in a serious and protesting tone of voice. Smiling I then said, “And how’s that any of your business?”

The girls didn’t know what to make of our comments so they began to laugh sarcastically.

Vel said, “Ha, ha, that’s very funny!”

Delche apologized and said, “Get used to it. People will gossip about you. They always assume these things happen with mixed crews. But I’m certain Otsi here will be a gentleman, even when he’s drunk.”

After I thanked Delche and the girls for their help in securing and putting away our supplies, Delche invited us for breakfast. But first he had to take the tractor back.

“Why did the guy take off like that?” I asked.

“He has a criminal record and didn’t want to get caught,” Delche replied and drove the tractor away.

“Speaking of surveillance,” I said to the girls, “before we go for breakfast please check the ship’s logs and see if anything happened last night.”

When Vel was looking into it I grabbed Daf and straightened her twisted clothes which she’d slept in last night and combed her hair with my fingers. She didn’t resist but kept giving me dirty looks.

When Vel saw me doing that she made a motion with her hand telling me to stay away from her.

“Wash your face; you’ve got dried stuff all over it,” I said.

She ignored me and said, “Outside of the usual traffic overhead and the night creatures in the forest, there were no other activities captured by our sensors.”

She then went and washed her face and combed her hair with her fingers.

By the time we got to the restaurant Delche was back and our breakfast was ready. Airam was back too from taking Ori home. She said she had a great time with him and he was feeling much better after seeing his friends.

After we ate breakfast Delche opened the bottle of rakia he’d taken from my ship and poured us each some. The girls didn’t want any and left to join Airam in the kitchen.

Looking at Airam Delche said, “This has been good for her too. She hardly socializes anymore. She had a good time with the girls the last few days. I had a great time too, not as good as the old times, but good.”

Then, after he took a sip of the rakia, he said, “Unfortunately it seems aging this rakia doesn’t make it any better, it still tastes the same.”

“I have mixed feelings about my return here,” I said. “Life for me on earth was terrible. I wanted to be free and do what ordinary people

do but I couldn’t. And, you know, I don’t belong here. I feel uncomfortable, especially with my ties to the ship.”

“Don’t talk like that. Think about all the people you’ve helped, the lives you’ve changed, your friends who love you and the young ladies who adore you. So, you made a few personal sacrifices. So what! Soldiers die for even less.”

“Dying is easy Delche, living is difficult. I’m not just talking about the relationships I’ve missed out on. I’m talking about the lives I’ve taken. What scares me the most is how many more lives I’ll have to take before the gods of war take me. When a soldier starts thinking like that it’s over for them. Good soldiering means kill before you’re killed but the question is how many do I have to kill to keep saving my own hide?”

“I can’t help you there; you’ll have to decide that on your own. All I’m saying is that you have many friends who love you and it would be unfair to them if you’re gone because of your stupid dilemmas.”

“Delche, I’ll make sure I do my best not to disappoint my friends and you know that’s the truth.”

After he poured us a second drink Delche took his time and said, “I believe you… That’s why you came back…”

Just as we sat there sipping our drinks Vel ran over and said, “The troops will be arriving here in a few hours but Asora has ordered us to go into outer space, rendezvous with the returning ships and escort them to a base called Nulos. She gave me the coordinates.”

“Why do we need to escort them?” I asked.

“For security reasons,” she said. “There are over one hundred ships and they will all have to slow down in order to land, at which point they’ll be vulnerable to attack. They’ve already been attacked and we don’t want a repeat of that. Six of our escort ships were destroyed during the attack. It’s all over the news.”

“Okay, call Asora back and tell her we’re on our way,” I said.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the holographic viewer as Delche put on the news.

I gulped the rest of my rakia and asked Delche if he had any camouflage uniforms lying around. Delche called Airam and she brought me two full uniforms in my size. She then took the girls and also outfitted them with two uniforms each.

“We’ll change on the ship,” I said as we said goodbye to our friends. Airam squeezed my hand and said, “Please come back soon.”

As soon as we got on the ship we quickly changed and tossed our dress uniforms on our beds on top of our spare camouflage uniforms and took our positions. I powered up the ship and shot it into outer space. After Vel made contact with the admiral leading the fleet and got their coordinates, Daf entered them into our navigation computer. I set the speed to max and punched the autopilot.

“This is our first mission together, isn’t it exciting?” I said to the girls.

They both looked at me like I was crazy but said nothing.

“What? No comments?” I asked.

“Sir, perhaps you shouldn’t have had that rakia so early in the morning,” replied Vel.

“Call the admiral and tell him we’ll be arriving in five minutes,” I said. “We’ll do a fly by around the ships. Also ask him to let us know if the ships have observed anything unusual.”

“Sir, the admiral is a she not a he,” said Vel sarcastically.

“My apologies Lieutenant, I thought the lead ship was composed of an all male crew.”

When we arrived I took control of my ship and flew it close to the formation. The ships were arranged in a horizontal plane in diamond formation. From the distance they looked like one huge ship.

“Are those people waving at us?” asked Daf.

“You must have good eyesight Daf, I can’t see anything,” I replied.

After I did a flyby and we checked our sensors I asked Vel to contact the admiral and ask for permission to land our ship on the lead ship so that I could speak with the admiral in private.

Vel made the call and said, “Permission granted; they’ll open a hatch for us.”

“I see it,” I said, “and flew inside.”

“What are we doing in here, Sir?” asked Vel.

“I want to meet with the ship’s crew and find out the details of their attack and whatever else they know about the war. If anyone knows anything it would be the top commander, and that, at the moment, is the admiral. Let me do the talking and please don’t reveal anything. We don’t know who these people are loyal to.”

After we landed I opened the hatch and as we stepped outside we were told to disarm. We weren’t allowed to carry arms inside the ship. I said we weren’t going to disarm and made the argument that they allowed a fully armed warship that could slice the entire fleet into pieces to enter their ship but they were afraid of a couple of armed guards.

At this point the admiral dismissed the officers and walked right into my ship.

“Damn protocols, don’t pay attention to them, they’re only trying to do their job. What can we do for you Captain?” she asked.

“I want to know what happened, who attacked you and why?” I said.

“I’m afraid all I can tell you is what happened. I’ll have to speculate on the rest.”

At that point I got a couple of plastic cups and filled them with rakia and offered the Admiral some.

After she took it she looked at me and said, “I’ve had one of those before. It was during a friend’s retirement party.” She mentioned the friend’s name but I wasn’t familiar with it.

“You know the captain. You know him, you saw him with his wife at our party a couple of days ago,” Vel said.

At that point I toasted and said, “To the captain and our mutual friend,” and we each took a sip.

After one of her crew members brought her a chair she placed it in front of us and sat down.

“I’ve heard a lot of things about you, good things, first from Princess Vieria and then from the captain during his retirement party. I was told to trust you and tell you what I know,” she said.

She then spoke to the girls and asked them to take an oath that none of what we discussed here would leave the room. They both agreed.

“We were attacked by the same ships that we expected to escort us to the war zone. They attacked us unprovoked and wanted to take control of our ships the moment we informed them that we were turning back. We had to launch our entire escort to fight them off. They fought very aggressively. These ships were galaxy trader ships. I haven’t told anyone this because I don’t know who to trust. I opposed going to war in principle because I believed it was counterproductive. But I trusted that the galaxy traders had told us the truth. I don’t know what to think anymore. In other words, the situation is not what it seems and I’m grateful to you for calling us back. Unfortunately I don’t think everyone in here will agree with me, including some officers and soldiers who think we’re going on vacation. I know it’s bizarre… It would be a service to us if you

could get to the bottom of this war. I don’t want to risk any more lives until we know what we’re fighting for.”

“Any more lives?” I asked.

“Oh, yes, we’ve already committed one million of our people and I wish to Mother Nature I’m wrong. But I don’t believe we’ll see any of them back. If our allies are willing to attack us to keep us here it must be one hell of a war from which there is no return.”

She stuck her rakia cup out and I filled it again.

After she gulped it down she grabbed my bottle and said, “I’ll need more of this, it feels like we’re slowing down. We’ll be landing soon, I’ve got to go. You stay in the rear and guard our ships.”

“I will,” I said. “Tell no one that the galaxy traders attacked you. I’ll probably see you after we land.”

“You forgot your chair,” yelled Vel.

“Keep it,” yelled the admiral and ordered everyone to clear the landing bay so that they could open the hatch for us to leave.

Moments later we were outside in outer space watching the ships dive down one by one.

“Why did you offer her rakia Sir, and how did you know she was going to drink it?” asked Daf.

“My dear officers, I can tell you all kinds of stories but the fact of the matter is, I didn’t know how she was going to react. I didn’t know if she knew what rakia was or that she knew the captain, which was a surprise to me. The rakia was a simple and subtle test to find out how much she knew. Anyone can say they knew Vieria and went to the captain’s retirement party. But how many people would know about rakia and what it tasted like. Offering her rakia was what a good host would do, but at the same time it revealed a lot of things which we otherwise would not have known. Besides I never told her what it was. She only knew what it was because she’d had it

before and I’m sure the captain wouldn’t have offered it to someone he didn’t know.”

I paused for a moment and then said, “Did you know that the captain is a royal… his mother and Voskot were first cousins.”

“Wow, no Sir, I didn’t know that,” said Vel.

“I may have known that. I’m sure Delche mentioned it to me before at some point in our conversations,” said Daf.

“Any activities on our sensors?” I asked.

“No, none,” replied Vel.

“Who do you think attacked our ship the second time, Sir? We never did discuss that,” said Daf.

“I don’t know Daf, but I can tell you it wasn’t the galaxy traders or the so-called aliens that are attacking them, because if it was them there would be no more us or our ship. It’s probably an inside job… It was Anelia and her idiot supporters, no doubt.”

“I tend to agree, Sir and thank you,” said Daf.

I looked at her looking at me and smiled.

“Last ship going down,” said Vel. “Should we follow?”

“One more sweep of the area and we’ll follow.”

“Nothing on the radar and nothing on the sensors, Sir.”

Enjoy the view ladies; it’s a beautiful day on the planet. Let’s go and meet the troops.”

As we slowly descended diagonally in a straight line we could see the base from the distance. All the ships had landed in a straight line and the troops were lining up in multiple lines as they left their ships.

“Look at that,” I said. “Every single dot is a soldier, a living being, returned safe and sound from the slaughterhouse.”

“Sir?” asked Vel.

“Never mind,” I said.

“You asked us to be honest with you; it’s time that you’re honest with us,” said Vel.

“What are you saying, Sir? What do you know and don’t want to say?” asked Daf.

“Not important, another time, it’s time to land.”

“I’ll inquire where, give me a moment,” said Vel.

After she made the call she said, “Land behind that group of people on the left side of the white rectangle.”

As we got closer, the white rectangle turned out to be an all women’s marching band beautifully dressed in uniforms with the Macedonian colours; marching in perfect formation.

“And look at us, we look like ground troops in camouflage,” I said. “And whose stupid idea was it to dress like that?”

“Yours, Sir,” they both said at the same time and began to giggle.

I said guard mode to my guards as we descended from the ship and went over to join Asora, Gen, Ruzha and members of the war council who had begun to march behind the marching band.

As we looked down we could see the long lines of soldiers descending from the ships and forming rectangles like that of the women’s marching band slowly moving ahead of us.

I poked Vel and asked her to ask Asora what she was going to do with all these returning soldiers?

“I don’t know yet. What would you suggest?” asked Asora.

“Send them home,” I said. “And then call them back in small groups for training as required.”

“Thank you, I’ll mention it to Gen and the other military commanders.”

Vel grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I looked at her; she had tears in her eyes. She said she was sorry.

“Sorry for what?” I asked.

“Until now two million was a number for me, but looking at two million people in front of me gives me a different perspective of how immense that number is. It’s easy to sit behind closed doors and make decisions that involve people’s lives but it’s different to face those people eye to eye. Imagine all of them not returning…”

“Yes, my dear Vel, war is a game of moving pieces until people start dying but then it’s too late. After blood is spilled it’s too late. Unfortunately it doesn’t end with the dead. Its destruction brings ruin, hunger, disease and suffering long after the war ends, not to mention the pain and anguish it causes for the broken families, the widows, the orphans, the maimed and the invalids… It’s worst for the losers…”

She kept holding my hand and squeezed it even harder.

“You should be happy,” I said. “We saved these people. They’re all back home safe and sound.”

Moments later the media began to set up around a large makeshift stage on top of a small hill. We were escorted onto the stage where we were saluted by ten commanders, five men and five women, from military command. We saluted back to the best of our ability. Two of the women commanders broke the line, smiled and shook my hand.

“They are mothers. Two of the returning soldiers are their sons,” said Asora quietly and Daf translated.

Everyone on the stage wore white uniforms with the Macedonian colours, including Ruzha who I’d never seen in uniform before. Everyone wore white except for my crew who wore camouflage. I grabbed Ruzha by the hand but she said, “Not now, I have to speak to the troops.”

As we shifted our way to the back of the stage, Asora shoved us to the side and we became completely visible to the columns of soldiers. Both girls were now holding my hands tight, one on each side. There was a roar coming from the soldiers.

Ruzha stepped up to the podium, raised her arms and the band stopped playing. There was complete silence.

Ruzha picked up the microphone and introduced herself as commander of communications in the training sector. There was a big roar.

“She’s very popular, especially with the men and looks even more beautiful in uniform,” said Daf.

“I hope she’ll be my boss one day. I would love that,” said Vel.

After she introduced herself, Ruzha introduced us. The girls lifted my arms up and we bowed and then saluted military style. After the big roar was over, we stepped to the back of the stage and the military commanders took our place, including Gen, who stood in the centre. The commanders didn’t bow but Gen lifted her medallion and received many cheers and salutes. After the commanders saluted they stepped back and the war council took their place. All they did was wave.

After that we were asked to step forward again and we stood behind Asora and Gen. Gen took the podium and, side by side with Ruzha, explained to the troops why they were back and what the plan was for them in the future. When Gen was done Asora took her place and informed the troops that they could now go home and wait to be

called in for training. After the big cheers died down Ruzha asked one of the commanders, a woman, to dismiss the troops and many ran to see their relatives and loved ones who were waiting for them on the sidelines.

Suddenly I had this urge to go down to be with the troops. While still holding hands with the girls, the three of us and my guards ran off the stage and jumped into the crowds of soldiers. The media immediately followed us.

The girls kept asking me if I’d gone mad so I let go of their hands but they still ran behind me. When the soldiers saw us coming they ran towards us but the girls told them to stay back because my guards had their weapons out and were ready to fire. The soldiers formed two lines, one on each side of us and extended their hands so that we could touch them. We touched everyone we could reach.

I heard Vel say in Macedonian, “So many men, so many beautiful men, fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, lovers…”

Eventually one of the officers, a man, standing on the stage picked up the microphone and ordered the soldiers to leave the grounds. Moments later we were left alone with the media, among whom were Ruzha’s crew.

One person asked what I thought of all this.

“I’m happy to see the soldiers back safe and sound.”

After we were abandoned by the media we started walking back to the ship and ran into a lone figure standing in our path in the distance. It was the admiral and she was waiting for us.

When we caught up to her she said, “We have much to talk about, But not here. I want to meet with Asora and those other two women. One I recognize but the other I don’t know.”

Vel explained to the admiral that the woman she didn’t know was Gen, Nagol’s granddaughter. Of course, the admiral happened to

know Nagol because she had been a student of his when he was a young man.

“See, I used one of your tricks to test the admiral, aren’t you proud of me?” said Vel.

I smiled as I punched the codes into the ship’s panel.

When we got in and the guards took their place in their docks I pointed my chair to the admiral. She looked at me, smiled, sat down and said something.

I looked at Vel and nothing. I looked at Daf and she too refused to tell me what the admiral had said.

The admiral said something again and Vel translated.

“The admiral said she outranks you and would have taken your chair anyway if you hadn’t offered it to her.”

I smiled. She pulled me down by my arm and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Sooo she’s a joker… just… like… you…” said Vel.” I’m sure you two will get along very well.”

“Don’t translate that,” I said to Daf.

After I sat down on the chair the admiral had told us to keep earlier, which I had secured near the box of rakia that Delche had given us, I asked Daf to set the coordinates for Nagol’s restaurant.

After that the admiral took the controls and flew us there.

“Not bad for an old lady, eh?” she said. “I used to be a pilot when I started my career with the military.”

After she landed the ship on the designated pad without any aid, she turned off the engines and opened the hatch.

The girls helped her out of the seat and, after they took her outside, began to walk towards the tube station that led to Nagol’s hotel.

She was a tall, thin lady and must have been very beautiful when she was young. She had to be younger than Nagol since he had been her instructor. I was curious to see what a pupil meeting a teacher after so many years would be like so I closed the ship’s hatch and followed closely behind.

When we arrived I opened the lounge door and almost ran into Nagol.

“Where have you been?” he asked. “I was expecting you here this morning but you didn’t show up.”

He then immediately turned his attention to the admiral and came closer. He looked at me but since I didn’t know her name I said, “This is the admiral who led the troops back home.”

He looked at me and said, “Ah, they’re here, that’s great,” and then looked at the woman again.

A moment later I saw tears running down her cheeks and heard Nagol say in Macedonian, “The eyes never lie.”

I had heard that phrase before. That was what Oscar’s mother had said when she looked into Oscar’s eyes after seeing him for the first time in ten years. What’s going on, I wondered? Could they be relatives? Why didn’t the admiral say something?

As they grabbed each other’s hands and kept staring at each other, I took the girls away to give them some privacy and asked Vel to contact Gen, Ruzha and Asora and ask them to come here at my request and not tell them that the admiral was here.

Daf in the meantime had turned the viewer (holographic television) on and was watching a video of us at the base meeting the soldiers.

Daf asked me to sit with her while Vel made the calls.

I looked away and noticed the admiral and Nagol sitting on a couch in the corner of the lounge still holding hands and talking.

“I bet you they were lovers,” Daf said.

“I’m sure we’ll find out eventually,” I replied.

I then saw a shot of the long line of soldiers lined up to touch our hands. I was surprised by how many there were there.

“They’re placing a lot of hope on us,” I said. “I hope we don’t disappoint them.

But before Daf had a chance to reply I said. “You and Vel seem to be very popular with the boys, look at them all smiling at you.”

She slapped me on my arm and made a cute face at me.

Vel came back and said that Asora, Gen and Ruzha were in the building and would be coming here.

“Asora asked what the urgency was but I didn’t know what to tell her so I said I didn’t know. Was that okay?” asked Vel.

At that point I grabbed Vel by the arm and pulled her closer. She moved away.

“If you’re going to be that way” I said, “then go over there and tell Nagol that the women will be here any minute and ask him what’s with him and the admiral.”

Looking angry she said, “Is that an order, Sir?”

“No,” I said.

Then she said something angrily in her language, which made Daf snicker.

“What did you say?” I asked.

“I said for you to go and do the impossible with yourself,” she replied.

After that I got up and went towards her. She stood there frozen, looking up at me with sad puppy dog eyes, wondering what I was going to do to her.

“Take it easy Vel, I was only messing with you. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

She looked at me, smiled and went over and informed Nagol that Asora, Gen and Ruzha were on their way. She then told the admiral, “I invited the three women to come over as you requested.”

Moments later Asora, Gen and Ruzha walked in and wanted to know what was so urgent. Vel pointed them to the admiral who introduced herself and told the women that they had been summoned at her request. She also told everyone that anything that was said here had to remain confidential.

After that she explained her relationship with Nagol, which Daf had guessed correctly. She also told us that she was planning to retire after the war was over and remain with Nagol. She emphasized the fact that she trusted no one outside of her circle and that we should do the same.

After Gen explained her plan and what she was attempting to do, the admiral said that she would put her support and the support of the people she trusted behind her. She then turned to me and, through Vel, told me to go out there and find out what this war was about. She strongly emphasized to me that I should trust no one and verify multiple times what anyone tells me because things were not as they seemed, especially with the galaxy traders.

When she was done talking to everyone, the admiral, Asora, Gen and Ruzha went to the corner of the lounge and had more talks. Nagol took some snacks, forks, glasses and a bottle of rakia to them and said to me, “They’ll need this.”

When he came back he asked the server to bring us some snacks and drinks and began to tell us how he’d met the admiral when he was younger.

I asked him if Gen knew about her. Nagol said his affair with the admiral ended before he was married to Gen’s grandmother. The admiral and Nagol were split apart when the admiral was assigned to a mission. Nagol never heard from her or saw her after that. She was sent to pilot a ship into deep space while he remained behind teaching. When she came back Nagol was already married. When she found out Nagol had a wife she didn’t want to bother him so she never made contact with him. The admiral never married and has no family of her own.

After Nagol finished telling his story he went and got the admiral and they both left the lounge. At the same time the server brought us our supper and left us alone to eat.

Then, just as Asora was done eating, she took a long gulp of rakia, excused herself from the table and left for her office.

“So, what did you ladies talk about,” I asked with a mouthful of meat.

“Oh, you’re so gross and to think I kissed that dirty mouth,” replied Ruzha.

“Hey, you don’t see me accusing you with this, that and the other,” I complained.

Gen laughed out loud and said, “I don’t know what you’re saying but you sound like an old married couple.”

We all laughed.

I then said, “Look, Gen has developed a sense of humour, who would have thought it possible?”

Gen then filled her mouth with food, took a gulp of rakia on top of it and said, “Look at me I am Otsi making a joke!”

“Stop it! Enough of the childish stuff,” yelled Daf. “We only have a short time to be together, can we at least be civil?”

“Okay boss!” I said which made Gen laugh.

I looked at Gen and said, “You’re worse than me, you know!”

“So, what did you talk about,” asked Daf.

“You already know what we talked about; the admiral told you the same things she told us. She wanted to make sure that we were all on the same page,” said Ruzha, and then asked.“ When do you plan to leave for the galaxy traders to investigate the war… do you have a plan?”

“We’ll leave the moment you tell us that you’ll be safe here without us,” I said.

“What about a plan?” Ruzha asked again.

“No, we don’t have a plan other than to go there, ask around and find out what’s going on,” I replied.

“Make sure you keep us informed and do it through a secure channel,” Ruzha emphasized.

“Thank you mother,” I said. “I’ll also write you a letter every day.”

After a long pause Ruzha smiled and said, “You’d better, I’ll hold you to it!”

“If it’s all right with you, you should leave as soon as possible to avoid suspicion. Leave casually and make it look like you’ll be coming back soon. Just leave and don’t go saying long goodbyes to everyone… like you’ll never be coming back,” suggested Gen.

“I agree with you Gen. We’ll leave tomorrow morning after breakfast. We’ll say goodbye to Nagol and the admiral and then leave. Are you planning to be here?”

“Yes, we’ll be here. I plan to film this historic moment,” said Ruzha.

“I’m not sure you should broadcast it,” I said. “Don’t tell our enemies we’re gone until you feel comfortable and safe without us.”

Gen agreed and told us that she had already started her selection of trusted people and members of her chosen security team had started assembling. Her troops would be arriving at the training centre the next day.

“The moment they arrive and secure the base Ruzha will broadcast your departure on channel 45 and everyone will know,” added Gen.

At that point I reminded the girls to pack what they needed and have it delivered to the ship before nine a.m. the next day, at which point we would be leaving. I also reminded them that we would be sleeping on the ship again and to get their sleepwear if they didn’t want to sleep with their clothes on or naked.

“It must be every man’s dream to sleep with two beautiful young women,” remarked Gen as translated by Ruzha.

The girls didn’t appreciate her comments but remembered what Delche had told them.

So, in response to her comments Daf said, “We trust our commander and if he wants to sleep with us it would be an honour to sleep with him in the service of our planet.”

“Ruzha and Gen both laughed out loud and Ruzha said, “You know she’s joking, right?”

To which Daf said, “Got you!”

“Aha!” I said. “They outsmarted you both.”

Vel poured us more rakia.

The more we drank, the more we joked, the happier we looked, the sadder we felt. Deep down we were all afraid of tomorrow and what it would bring.

It was midnight when, holding hands, the girls and I, with my guards dragging behind us, left the lounge and headed for the sip. It was a beautiful night. It was cool and full of aroma emanating from the ripe fruits and flowers on the trees all around us.

The last thing I said before I dropped on my bed was, “Oh crap, you forgot to get your sleepwear from the hotel.”

I heard one of them say, “We’ll get it tomorrow.”

The other one said, “Who cares…” and mumbled something unintelligible.

On the way to the galaxy traders

The next day I heard banging on the ship’s hull. I looked outside through the ship’s windshield; it was light outside. I jumped out of bed and pushed the hatch open button. Ruzha walked up. This was her first time on the ship. She regretted not having her camera with her.

As she looked around I yelled “Ladies, we have a visitor.”

Vel and Daf both jumped out of bed. And like the night before Daf’s hair was a mess and there was drool on Vel’s face.

Ruzha smiled and said, “Good morning ladies.”

She then turned to me and asked, “What happened to their sleepwear?”

“We forgot to pick it up last night,” I said.

“What about other things, they’re women and will need many other things?”

“Ruzha, I don’t know what they’ll need…”

“Not to worry, I’ll take them shopping this morning. You may have to delay your departure by an hour, two at most.”

“Okay, do what you have to but remember we have no space to put things on the ship.”

“Okay,” she replied.

“I’ll see you at Nagol’s when you return,” I said.

Even before I was finished talking the three bolted out of the ship and rushed down to the tube station.

Closing the hatch I looked at my guards and said, “Look at them, just mention the word shopping and they run…”

I got no response.

As I took my time going to Nagol’s I realized that this was the first time I’d been alone in a public place, full of people. People went about their business passing by without even noticing, especially with my guards following me. It felt strange. I was walking among aliens on a far away planet but I was the alien.

As I gently opened the lounge door I noticed Nagol and the admiral sitting opposite one another smiling, with Gen sitting at the end of the table next to them. Gen looked sleepy.

“Ah, you’re here. Where are the others? Didn’t Ruzha find you?” asked Nagol.

After I greeted them I said, “Ruzha and the girls went shopping for women’s things. They’ll be back in an hour or two,” and then sat next to the admiral.

The old lady grabbed my arm with both hands, squeezed it and smiled.

Nagol looked at me and said, “I want to thank you for bringing us together, first with my granddaughter and now with my boyhood friend.”

I didn’t know what to say so I said, “It was fate that brought you together and there’s no need to thank me for that. It all happened by accident.”

“So, you do believe in fate,” he said.

“Yes, I believe nature needs to keep things in balance in order to avoid chaos.”