The mood is sky-high. Inside the church, there are cheers and the general buzz of excitement. I breathe a sigh of relief. That is good news. It meant the vows had not taken place yet.
A handful of people still loitered outside the church, and I quickly move past them. The tall entrance arches over me, stretching well past three metres above at its highest point as I make my way past it and into the bustling interior.
I had known many that still looked forward to this day, though through time, I suspected most of my former acquaintances, and friends, had likely already had tied the knot.
This would be the first in over two years I had attended one of these things. Usually, an invitation would be something to ignore, or at least, only partially answered with a message feigning personal commitments to hide the true scope of my profession.
This day would be an exception, the only exception.
Family has its place, even when I’ve all but placed all my eggs onto this basket. It was the one thing I considered to be just as important as maintaining a strict sense of discipline.
As I look past the crowds, a familiar woman draped in a gown and veil stands out. The sight of her practically glowing is infectious and elicits a smile from me.
It has been over three months since I last saw my sister—more or less. It is time to see what I missed since pounding dirt on the other side of the world.
======
Music hummed over the chancel as the two stood before each other. I fold both arms and lean forward, anticipating the words that would soon mark the moment that defined the next chapter in life for my sister.
With a dignified but joyful look, the Priest issues the declaration, "You may kiss the bride."
“Had to happen sometime,” I smile beneath the roaring applause, looking at the start of a wonderful family. One which I certainly hope to involve myself in—whenever I can.
The ensuing rumble echoes off the white walls of the church just as a few people stand up, giving their all into the act.
“Catch!” Catherine yells as she throws a bouquet into the crowd. The small complement of flowers soars over me and into the row behind.
I track the trajectory and pick up a young girl adjacent to where I predicted it would fall. She is young, barely in her early teens. The young girl buzzed with energy as she latched onto the bouquet with a squeal.
“I got it!” The girl’s joyful exclamation barely registers over the constant holler of the crowd.
I smile and turn back to the front. As amusing as that is, the only thing that is of importance are the two people still locked into each other’s eyes. Nothing else mattered but them.
Those two are now official, and the only reason why I had an absence of leave. Even at just three days, I considered myself fortunate given the current state of East Africa.
They had nothing but absolute bliss as they both turn to the crowd and wave. Catherine’s eyes sweep across the front row where I am and widens once she catches sight of me.
I issue a brief nod, unfolding my arms and gesture for the both to join me in a corner that had a lower density of people.
They obviously were baffled, and in no way expecting me to attend given my line of work with the United Nations Special Operations Group.
There is a lot to catch up on, and I intend to make full use of the three days given to me.
======
The wedding ceremony swings well into the afternoon. A few had already taken their leave, but a sizable majority remains leaving plenty of opportunities to catch up with familiar faces.
“Is that what’s really going on in Tanzania?” Catherine’s voice breaks me out of the observation.
I turn back to my sister and shrug, the frown growing deeper. “Lotta desperation and anarchy around those parts. That region’s a hellhole, you don’t want to know half of it. In a few more years, I’m betting some of those countries will collapse completely. Region’s too damn violent, and too damn hot these days.”
“So, how did you get that leave approved?” Her Husband interjects, laying a firm hand on my shoulder. “More importantly, you should have told us—could have brought over some extra whiskey or something for tonight.”
“Can’t say much about it, but it’s a last-minute thing. Pulled some strings here and there,” I pause, regaining my composure and continuing, “It’s really a mess in Africa, but being away for three days isn’t going to make it any worse. So here I am.”
“Fair enough,” he says. His hand slips off and returns around Catherine’s waist. Despite the initial damper, the mood slowly returns, and I hitch off with the two of them.
Several hours passed by unnoticed as I lightly touched upon a few notable missions, excluding the specifics as they listened aptly. A certain level of restraint was needed to ensure most of what I told did not compromise the secrecy of my unit’s ongoing operations.
Catherine would often stop me, switching between concern to shock even with the bare minimum within my line of work. She is worried and expressed it well enough that I got the message loud and clear.
“It’s all good, trust me,” I smile, attempting to placate her obvious worries.
“I still think you could do much better outside, that engineering diploma should count for something,” Catherine reasons, her hand draped on my shoulder. She beams back a smile as she anticipates a hopeful answer.
“Maybe,” I return a shrug, sweeping across the room for her Husband. He is nowhere in sight.
Returning to Catherine, I give her my honest take. “Too late for that though.”
“As if,” she scoffs, though the playful glint shone through her eyes.
We make choices, and we have to live with them. At a relatively young age of twenty-six, I was young enough that what she said still held merit. I genuinely could, but there is no reason to.
My place is with the men and women of the UN Special Operations Group. They are family almost in the same vein as Catherine.
I’m neck deep into this line of work. And I would not have it any other way. Being an operative is part of who I am and will forever be something that defines me. Deep down, I think she understood that.
This was just her way of showing she cared immensely.
===3 hours later===
A few acquaintances reach out over the next few hours. All of them are dressed for the occasion—a suit and tie for the men and gowns for the women. It was a stark contrast to my own. Just a simple black T-shirt and sporting jeans owing to the rushed nature of my departure.
It was good to catch up, to recall those younger days where things were simpler. Those golden years where we only had grades and rumours to worry about.
The sun slowly descends further down as the afternoon drags on. I wave a few good friends farewell, showing them out the church until most had vacated and those that remained consisted mainly of the staff in charge of the wedding—technicians, photographers, and also that priest… or pastor.
All of that must have cost a fortune.
The moon hovers over the cityscape, just peeking over the jagged network of skyscrapers. Its warm glow washes over me as utility lights flicker to life across all corners of the city, bathing the streets and buildings in a rich glow of faded yellow.
“Jerome, Hun’,” a familiar motherly voice reaches out to me from the adjacent carpark.
I look to the source, coming face to face with an aging woman, her brown hair streaked with white.
“Yes Ma?” I say and lean off the wall.
She points to the watch on her wrist. “It’s six. Our reservation’s waiting on you,” she pauses, tilting her head slightly. “Anything from work?”
I shake my head, catching the minty freshness of the breeze with each breath. “Nope, just enjoying the calm, Ma.”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
She sends back a ghost of a smile. “Okay,” she gestures towards the carpark, and I follow right behind as she leads on.
Some things never change.
======
The awkward tension is almost tangible. Empty glances are thrown without further intentions to break the stalemate. I shift in place, contemplating the pair seated across me as they quietly endured the silence. In the end, it is too much, and so I break out with the first thing that comes to mind.
"Good to see it’s official now, after what—three years?”
“Almost four, actually,” John curtly supplies with a chuckle.
“Is it?” I take a moment to reflect and wonder where exactly the time went. I still remembered meeting him for the first time, unexpectedly dropping by their first date as newly minted Sophomores back in the first months of 2042.
“Well, it goes without saying, I'm happy for you both," I say to the both of them, digging that up after the muse.
Catherine smiles back. "Thank you, really means the world coming from you.”
After several minutes in relative silence, John Anderson, now officially my Brother-in-law, poses a sudden question.
"So, Jerome," he begins with a solemn tone, planting both arms on the table as Catherine puts aside her phone, now looking intently at the both of us.
“What’s up,” I reply, anticipating a question from the man.
"It felt like you were bored half the time, not that I blame you. We both know you’re not a fan of socializing,” he says, followed by a knowing smirk.
I scoff, remembering feeling annoyed at that stretch of time. If there is one thing I really dislike, it would be not making good use of free time.
“Only when it’s like three hours long, could have brought a book or something if I knew it was going to drag this much.”
The awkward tension on the table begins to dissipate as Catherine joins in. "You don’t go to these types of things often enough.”
"No reason to, not that I have the time anyways,” I disclose.
Catherine nods, taking my answer with a thoughtful look.
I look at both of them before continuing. "Don’t know about you both, but when the average day involves things like internal foreign security, counter insurgency, and on occasion, direct action, just waiting around doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I’ve seen the news,” she mentions with a growing frown.
“Yeah, plenty of madness down south,” I pause and feign a wince. “Nothing compared to the heat though, that’s the real killer out there.”
Catherine sends a weak smile. Even she did not know the full extent of what I am involved in. As much as I wanted to disclose a few secrets, I am bound to secrecy—even to the person I considered the closest to me.
Just as I swing the conversation away, I take note of our mother’s absence. It has been a good three minutes since I sat, more than enough reason to expedite our orders.
The slight pang of hunger prompts me to pop the question.
“Anyways, where’s Ma," I inquire, sweeping across the dining hall for a sign of her faded brown locks.
"Went to the bathroom just after you, doing God knows what," John answers with a slight smirk.
In response Catherine issues a slight look of disapproval at John, smacking him on the shoulder as he wraps an arm around her.
For the moment, the worries of the next impending deployment no longer mattered. Not right now, and not during the biggest day of my sister’s life.
I raise a smile, feeling at ease—more so than I have been in weeks. This is a privilege they take for granted every day.
======
I keep tabs on the time as Catherine studies the menu, her attention fully centred on the physical menu. She flips a few pages every few seconds, her eyes sweeping from left to right, no closer to finalizing her choice than she did at the start almost five minutes ago.
“Any time now Hun.” Our Mom slides her chair over, gently urging an indecisive Catherine to make the final decision. Just like old times.
She holds out a hand, raising a sheepish grin not all that different from our younger days. “Yea—yeah, I know. It’s just, well… there’s no bad options. Give me five more minutes, I promise.”
I wave her off and chuckle. She returns a glance—her way of conveying her apologies. As she continues skimming over the pages, I roll both eyes and make a short quip on her tendency to drag any outing when food comes into the mix.
Catherine winks, and finally hands of the Menu to me.
“Over ten minutes,” I call her out as she passes the Menu. “Took you long enough.”
“I know,” she says, shrugging as she leans into her newly minted Husband. Our Mum shakes her head, stifling a laugh as she looks between the two of us.
I look down and decide on a simple dish—picking the first one that had my interest. It seems vaguely familiar, consisting of noodles, shrimp, and a thick broth that appeared appetizing enough—certainly better than the regular stuff present in the field. Service is quick and soon enough, everyone has their orders. I dig into mine as soon as it arrives, mainly to quell the hunger.
While eating, the other four actively converse, bringing forth a wide array of topics I never would have considered for small talk. Everyday affairs and random thoughts drift into their mix, most of which I had genuinely no interest in listening to.
Occasionally, I cut in when the conversation steers towards me. It is geared towards what had happened over the few months I was away. As a result, my responses are deliberately vague and often would leave them with more questions than answers.
While not explicitly said, I had a strong feeling they finally understood my position. Catherine goes off into a new tangent, engaging her Husband with an ecstatic look—citing her plans during their honeymoon while he nods to whatever she says.
As I single out their clearly one-sided discussion, a slight buzz emanates from the pocket of my jeans. I freeze, feeling my heart skip a beat as the implications of what I have just felt sinks in. I fish out the phone, glancing at the familiar number on screen.
Not even a day in and I might already have to pull the plug on my leave of absence. Should I ignore it for the next few minutes or take it up?
Looking back up, all four fail to pick up my dilemma, too immersed in their conversations with each other. The almost taunting image of my fellow teammate stares back, his timeless grin and matching aviators beckoning me to answer the call.
Whatever it is, if it is important enough for James to reach out to me, then it is a safe bet something bad has happened. That means an immediate recall—no ifs, no buts, no exceptions.
Duty above all.
I answer the call and note the sudden pause in the conversation on the table. Catherine, her Husband and our Ma stop to look at me.
I hold out a hand to placate their questions as an urgent tone breaks through the speaker.
“Jerome, you reading me?” James begins.
“Reading you at five,” I answer, pausing to gather my wits before continuing. “What happened—where’s the rest of our team—is there another incident in our area of concern?”
My worries shift to the ongoing crisis in Tanzania. To say things there were bad would be an understatement. Even after a year of international assistance from multiple humanitarian organizations, it only seemed that our efforts were far too little, and far too late.
“Hold your shit and relax. It’s nothing like that. We still need you back ASAP though,” the Operative intones. “Command’s ordering the team to pack up—effective immediately, which includes you. We’re to be transferred towards a place called Cygnus station. It’s all hush so we didn’t get much other than that it’s either in the north or South pole—I think it’s South.”
I frown, more confused than shocked now. “Can’t see any reason to ruck through all that snow.”
James chuckles behind the background hustle of what is likely our home base. “Hey, as long as we get our pay. You’ve got a special flight scheduled with the folks on MacDill Air Base, arranged by S1. Timing’s set at 2030 hours—local time.”
“Alright, I’ll see you three when I get there,” I say.
“Awesome, and tell your sis we said hi yeah? Have to go—still tons of papers and docs to pass over to the next team,” James answers before abruptly cutting off.
“What was that?” Catherine recovers and leans forward.
“They want you back already?” Our Mum surmises with a frown, placing a hand on her temple.
I nod and push out a deep breath to set aside that rush of guilt. This is out of my control. Even if I decide to voice this out to the relevant authorities within the UN’s African Regional Security Force, the complaint would likely be brushed off citing the operational needs of whatever necessitated the fireteam’s redeployment in the first place.
Keeping a firm tone, I start off as shock crept over Catherine’s face. “Need to bounce right now—my fireteam’s being redeployed. Can’t say much, but if it’s bad enough they’re reaching out to me, then I’ve got to go.”
While slightly annoyed by the sudden revelation, I maintain a stoic face and begin packing up my bag while the three watched, unable to break out of their spell.
“Tough luck,” John breaks the silence as he attempts to console a sulking Catherine, his arm draped over her.
"Isn't there a way to postpone it?” Mom steps up with a final plea.
I sigh, giving her the clean cut. “No. It’s quite serious.”
Her eyes soften, accepting the tough reality of my commitments. “Okay,” she says with a faded smile.
Wrapping both arms around her, I give my mom a tight hug. She returns it with just as much vigour.
I step away and glance over to Catherine. “I’ll see when I’ll be free again. No promises,” I pause and raise a light grin. “Also, the team said hi.”
She laughs, regaining some of that carefree edge I’ve come to associate with her. “Tell the guys to take care when you see them.”
“Will do,” I answer, and bid them all a good night. It has been a good few hours, enough to make the trip worth it many times over.
I step out onto the streets and into the urgent bustle of the city. The evening sky dawns on me with just a fading sliver of gold. Now begins the eventual trip back to reality as I ponder on the possible reasons as to why anyone would want a team of UN operatives on one of the poles.
It really makes no sense. It could be related to the supposed rumours of a new high security prison being made in the Antarctic. But without more information, any amount of speculation is just a waste of time.
After one last look back at the establishment, I push out a huge breath and walk into the night. While definitely annoyed by the sudden activation, a part of me still felt that burning excitement of finding out the true nature of this newest deployment. What exactly will be waiting for me there?
Hopefully, the answers to that will be available in the next few hours.
===MacDill Airforce Base===
After an hour of travel and a slightly tense standoff at the guardhouse, I am finally on the last leg of my journey. It is a quiet night here with mostly unlucky grunts tasked to their stations over the weekend.
The two sentries currently escorting me stop and gesture to the room ahead. “Your Liaison’s inside. And uh, sorry about earlier—it’s our first time receiving folks out of a sudden.”
I nod, completely understanding the man’s reasons having once been in his position several years ago. “No problem, at least you both didn't freeze up.”
Both sentries then step back and proceed back the way they came. I enter the room and spot a uniformed man which I assumed would be acting as my Liaison on behalf of the airbase.
I quickly snap a salute, addressing the man with the proper decorum. “Second Lieutenant Jerome H. Simmons, United Nations African Regional Security Force, hereby reporting as ordered.”
He indicates an empty seat, to which I accept. “We’ve just received a private jet an hour ago. Name and rank checks out. Anytime you’re ready I'll show you to the strip.”
I drop the salute and raise a question. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to know where my destination is, and the nature of my deployment.”
After a momentary silence, he looks down to his data pad. “Based on what I’ve received, you’re set for Antarctica,” he looks up with a frown. “Not sure for what though—can't say shit when I can't read two-thirds of it.”
I stand up. “Understood, but thanks. If there’s nothing else, I’m ready to get back into it.”
“Use the restroom first, it’ll be a long one,” the Officer quips and gestures out to the room's exit.
I give him my thanks and we both proceed out.
This new deployment just got much more interesting.
===End===
Till our flesh be seared and our bones set ablaze, we shall see our battles to the end
For Queen and Kingdom
And for all dominions within our sway
======