CHAPTER 52: CHARR
John watched as Charr's face contorted in a mixture of confusion and fear, the alarms of the Dysons Sphere's Drone Fleet Command Room screaming in the background. The ship, the pride of their fleet, was failing, its armor and shields buckling under the relentless onslaught of the enemy. He could see the desperation in her eyes as she tried to rally her forces, her voice barely audible over the cacophony. "Delta, do you have any assets left?" she asked, her voice crackling over the comms.
Suddenly, the scene shifted. The command pod around her dissolved, and she was standing on the soft sand of Key Largo, the Caribbean breeze tugging at her hair. John could see the disorientation in her gaze as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings, the scent of saltwater, the call of the gulls. He knew this place held precious memories for her, a sanctuary from her past.
"Charr!" he called out, his heart pounding in his chest. He needed her to understand, to remember.
She turned, and their eyes met. Hers were wide with surprise and something else, something that gave John hope. "Sir!," she whispered, her voice laced with a vulnerability he hadn't heard before.
"No 'sir,' no uniforms, no duty," he said, stepping towards her, his hands reaching out to touch her, to bring her back to this moment of peace.
She hesitated, her eyes never leaving his. "John," she said again, the single word carrying the weight of their shared history.
He gestured around them, at the azure sky and the gentle waves lapping at the shore. "Do you remember this place?" he asked, his voice soft. "You told me you loved it here, how your family would come every summer. Playing in the sand, swimming in the ocean, and that spot over there, by the cove?"
Her gaze remained locked on his, her voice a mix of longing and urgency. "I don't care, what are we doing here? We have a battle to win somehow!"
John took another step closer, his hands finding her waist, pulling her gently towards him. "Do you remember the first time we saw each other?" he asked, his eyes searching hers.
A ghost of a smile crossed her lips. "Yeah, you wanted to murder me."
He chuckled, the sound carrying the sting of old rivalries. "Do you remember the first words you said to me?"
Charr shook her head, her voice caught in her throat.
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John's eyes twinkled with the memory. "You walked into that hangar, your bag slung over your shoulder. You stared every single one of us down, your chest puffed out with pride, and you shouted, 'Alright you bunch of pussies. I heard we have a Gold Wing pilot here. Supposed to be the best of the best, which one of you fucks is him so I can kick his ass!'" His attempt at mimicry brought a spark to her eyes.
She laughed, a sound that warmed John's heart despite the dread creeping into the corners of his mind. "How did you remember?" she asked, her voice betraying the tears she was holding back.
All he could do was smile, a bittersweet curl of his lips.
"I seem to remember you throwing down your tools, trying to fix that rust bucket of an F-201 you loved so much, marching right up to me and saying..." She deepened her voice, mocking him with affection. "‘You're the only pussy in this room, think you got game, I don’t believe you could even get a hopper off the ground, let alone beat me!’"
Their laughter echoed over the beach, a moment of joy amidst the encroaching darkness. "I can't believe you remembered," John said, his voice thick with emotion.
"I'll never forget it, you hated me, you did for the longest time," Charr replied, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
"That was the moment I fell in love with you," John confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.
"What?... How?" she stammered, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek.
"You were the first, the only person who had the guts to challenge me. From the moment I earned my Gold wings, not a single soul even tried. That was until you walked into that hangar that day so many years ago."
"Why are you saying this?" she asked, the concern in her voice growing.
"Do you remember what happened next?" he prodded gently.
She shook her head, her memories clouded by the present.
"I kicked your ass in the air!" he exclaimed, their shared past bringing a smile to her face even as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I also seem to remember getting our asses chewed out by the Sarge for that stunt we pulled!" she said, her laughter a balm to the ache in his heart.
"And that was the one, and only time I won in a competition with you. You made it your personal vendetta to take that Ace title from me and hold onto it."
"I seem to recall it never leaving my grasp, even to this day!" she retorted, a glimmer of her indomitable spirit shining through.
"I love you, Charr, I always have, I always will. You are my forever, you are my world," John declared, his voice firm despite the tremor he felt inside.
"I... I lo..." she began, but before she could finish, he was gone. "What!? No! Noo! John! Johnnnn!!!" Her screams echoed across the empty beach, her heart shattering as the simulation flickered out, leaving her once again in the cold, harsh reality of the dying command pod. Red lights flashed in stark contrast to the serene world she had just been torn from.
With a ferocity born of despair, Charr tore the neurological headset from her head and leapt from the pod. Tears blurred her vision as she ran, her mind focused on one thing, one person. Her world. "Johnnnn! Nooooo!" Her cries echoed through the corridors of the doomed ship as she raced past one hatch after another, driven by a love that not even the end of the world could diminish.