It seemed like we had been flying hour quite some time yet the red scenery below never seemed to change. I knew Mars had polar ice caps, but exactly how far we were from them was a mystery.

"It...it is getting slightly colder, isn't it?" I asked Cleetus and Boom-Boom optimistically, "you feel it too, right?"

Cleetus just scowled and ignored me. Boom-Boom was a cat with a think fur coat, so she just blinked.

"Still hot," she answered, "why can't you pet me now?"

"We're on a mission," I reminded her, "we need to watch for signs of snow and ice. I can pet you later."

That made Boom-Boom scowl and ignore me as well. The next few minutes of the flight were awkward and quiet.

"We are going north, aren't we, Cleetus?" I finally asked, hoping to get a response. Initially, there was none. "I'm assuming you got directional training in the military, right?" I paused. "Say, how long have you been in the armed forces?"

"...I've been your bodyguard for fifteen years," Cleetus finally replied, the scowl still prominent, "only now you ask me about my background?"

It was a fair point. In an instant I realized I knew next to nothing about the man I'd spent the most time with since arriving on Mars.

"It's not like you know much about me-" I began.

"-Cole Custer Rapp, originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, later Fayetteville. Parents Sullivan and Rita. No siblings, no spouse, no children. High school education. Loner with antisocial tendencies. Allergic to cinnamon." Okay, so Cleetus knew a little about me, presumably from a personnel file.

"You don't like cinnamon either," I said, softly.

"Not an allergy," retorted Cleetus, "just preference. But you had no idea of that until my telling you just now."

"Okay, so I know little about you," I confessed, "but for the past fifteen years I've been kind of in a guilty, reclusive funk for accidentally blowing up Earth."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

" 'Accidentally'." Cleetus made air quotes with his fingers.

"Look, I've come clean, and I'm trying to move forward now that my secret shame is out there. You can't kill me, even if you understandably want to, so maybe you could try to move forward too."

Cleetus just stared back at me.

"I know you probably lost loved ones," I continued, "and I really am sorry for all the pain and suffering I caused so many. Were you married? Did you have children? I know words can't make up for any of it but if I could turn back time..."

There was silence again.

"...I was married, yes," Cleetus finally said.

"For long?"

"Two years."

"I'm sorry. You must have loved your wife."

There was silence again, other than Boom-Boom purring, though now that she could speak it sounded more like "mmm," as if she were enjoying a fancy dessert.

"...I didn't say that," Cleetus slowly volunteered.

"So, then..."

"My parents were old-fashioned," he continued, "had been big on me getting married and settling down. So I did. Turns out that wasn't the right choice for me, or at least not with the right lady."

"Why her, then?"

"Truthfully..." he hesitated a moment. "You know what? Doesn't matter. You blew up Earth and wished away my ability to make you pay for that. You don't deserve to know anything about me."

"It's true, but I have to admit having confessed I now feel like a great weight has been lifted. Tell me or don't. We can sit here in silence again."

"And give me pets?" Interjected Boom-Boom.

"No, still looking for snow."

"Hmph," she sulked.

Things were quiet but only for a moment. Incidentally, Cleetus did want to share.

"Her dad was well-to-do," he volunteered, "at that time I was getting paid minimal government wages, and I figured she was attractive enough, that and the money she'd bring could make up for the fact that she was a raging bitch."

"But it didn't. "

"No, it did not. When I saw the job opening posted to be your bodyguard on Mars I decided to apply for the position without hesitation, anything to get away from her."

"And now she's dust," I said, "so at least one of your problems was solved by my accident?"

"I had three brothers, my parents, and friends still there," replied Cleetus, "so no, your 'accident' created more problems than it solved."

"-there's snow but who's that?" Boom-Boom suddenly asked. We both looked down and were startled at the sight- there was a lone figure standing on the edge of the ice caps, but its lanky build and numerous tentacle-like appendages made it obvious it was not human. It didn't look like anything of the Martians we had seen depicted either though.

Before Cleetus or I could respond to Boom-Boom or even discuss amongst each other the figure seemed to look up at us; rows and rows of green eyes perceived our presence. It raised all its tentacles in a commanding motion and, out of nowhere, the dragon seemed to begin to be pulled in his direction, as if caught in a magnetic field it couldn't resist.

As we began to be lowered before the individual I turned nervously to Cleetus who in turn was looking at me.

"Fuck," we both exclaimed in unison.