“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have begun our descent into Miami. Please turn off all portable electronic devices and stow them until we have arrived at the gate. In preparation for landing in Miami, be certain that your seat back is straight up and your seat belt is fastened. Please secure your carry-on items, stow your tray table, and pass any remaining service items and unwanted reading materials to the flight attendants. Thank you.”
Megan glanced up from the book she was reading and looked out the window down upon the city of Miami. Few of the cities were recognizable at this height, but she still felt a deep sense of relief and calm sweep over her at the sight of it. She was finally home. Next, she felt a slight sweeping sensation in her stomach as the plane actually began its descent toward the city.
“Finally,” a voice to her right said. Expecting to see that it was one of her fellow Nexians that spoke, she was surprised to see a civilian. She noticed Megan looking in her direction and flushed, glancing down at her Water Nexus uniform. “Err, sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
Megan didn’t say anything but continued to watch the woman, who was making every effort to pretend that she didn’t notice. It was a strange thing for Megan, who was used to life in Miami, to see someone who was afraid of her. She knew that Miami enjoyed a closer relationship with its host Nexus than other areas of the world did. Sure, the other Nexuses had come a long way in maintaining a friendly co-existence, but those cities that didn’t host a Nexus still remembered the casualties of the first Nexus war above all else.
“It’s quite alright,” Megan replied. “You didn’t offend me. I hope you enjoy your time in Miami. Are you visiting, or moving here?”
The woman took a few seconds to reply. Was she trying to think of a reply that wouldn’t offend the Nexian beside her? Megan wondered if she should have removed her uniform and donned normal clothing for the flight. No, it wouldn’t have made a difference. She knew that her aura of cool air would have told the woman what she was. Besides, she wasn’t the kind to hide herself just so others wouldn’t be bothered.
“I’m visiting,” the woman finally said. “My sister lives in Miami. She refuses to leave to visit us, so we have to come to her.”
She seemed exceptionally aggrieved about the prospect, Megan thought. She could understand the fear of Nexians, as she clearly hadn’t spent a great deal of time in close proximity to them. But the Water Nexus only occupied a small stretch of beach along the shore of Miami. Most of the city was far away from them, so the woman didn’t have to loathe the idea of visiting. Maybe her sister lived closer to the Water Nexus, Megan considered. Or maybe she just disliked Florida for other reasons.
She looked pointedly away then, realizing that her scrutiny was making the woman uncomfortable, but continued to consider her out of the corner of her eye. She’d encountered the same reactions from people as she left the Water Nexus and made her way across the continent to Alaska. Once they realized that she was a Nexian, everyone became noticeably nervous around her. It had been a month since she’d left Miami. She should have been used to the fear by now.
Then again, perhaps what the woman seated next to her was showing wasn’t fear, a small voice in the back of her mind said. Her guard was certainly up, but she didn’t seem the least bit afraid of Megan. If anything, she seemed… hostile. That confused her more than the fear that she’d gotten accustomed to. Glancing over her seat, she noticed that several of the others were seated near civilians. Some were chatting friendly, and others were taking part in willful ignorance of their presence. Definitely nervous.
Megan’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden jolt, and she turned around to face the front, then glanced out the window. They’d descended completely onto the tarmac without her realizing it, and now she felt the familiar pulling sensation as the plane began to decelerate. She leaned down to pick up her backpack, holding it in her lap to prevent it from sliding away.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, American Airlines welcomes you to Miami. The local time is four-thirty-two in the afternoon. For your safety and the safety of those around you, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened and keep the aisle clear until we are parked at the gate. The Captain will then turn off the ‘Fasten Seat Belt’ sign. Thank you.”
The co-pilot’s voice blared over the speakers in the plane, and Megan leaned back in her chair. She knew that it would be a few minutes before she could get up and move. Rachel Smith had made it clear to them that they didn’t get special treatment in Miami. This meant that they boarded and departed with everyone else. In Fairbanks and the other airports they’d visited, it had been very different. The staff treated them deferentially and jumped at the chance to be helpful. Megan much preferred how it was done at home.
“Nearly there,” Jose said from across the aisle, smiling widely at her. He’d slept through most of the flight home, nearly disturbing his fellow passengers with the volume of his snoring. Megan offered him a return smile, though she wasn’t sure it was as wide and happy as his.
“Feels like we’ve been away for more than a month,” she said. “It’ll be nice to be near the ocean air again.”
It didn’t come as a surprise to her to see Rachel Smith waiting at the gate as they stepped off the plane. She was at the head of a large crowd of people who’d followed along to welcome the others home. Human and Nexians alike broke into cheers and whistles at the sight of their friends, but nobody stepped forward just yet. That honor was left to Rachel, who advanced with a graceful stride, her arms wide to embrace her family.
To Megan’s surprise, Rachel embraced her first, hugging her tightly. She welcomed the greeting and returned the embrace, breathing in Rachel’s warmth. She smelled of the sea air and of flowers, as always. Strangely, it was almost as if Megan couldn’t think that she was home until she was in Rachel’s presence again.
“Welcome home, dear,” Rachel’s voice said, stroking her hair. “Looks like you’ve learned a lot while you were away.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Megan nodded, not trusting herself to speak just yet, as a lump had formed in her throat and her eyes felt strangely moist. Some distant part of her mind wondered why she felt such an overwhelming sense of belonging in the arms of her Alpha. It couldn’t just be Rachel’s motherly instinct, could it?
“Jose, my love,” Rachel said, releasing Megan and embracing her Lieutenant. “You look tired, dear. Didn’t wake up until the plane landed again, I take it?”
Jose could only laugh. “You know me too well, my moon. I fear I may have scared the other passengers.”
“Sounded like the engines were vibrating off the plane,” another human passenger passing by sniped. The words might have been judgemental if it weren’t for the broad grin on his face. He gave Rachel a swift bow before scuttling off towards the exits.
“Make sure you come by for dinner, Robert!” Jose called after the man and received a vague wave.
“Gustkey was with you on the plane?” A voice said from behind Rachel. “That’s a crazy coincidence.”
“It was an auspicious arrangement, son,” Jose replied. “He’s here to catch up on some work for the Lorists.”
Megan craned her neck to try and catch a glimpse of the man, but he’d already been lost to sight. Contact with a Nexian Lorist wasn’t unheard of, but she’d never met one in person. They were unique among humans because they tallied the history and knowledge of the Nexuses so that normal people could read them. They knew Nexians the best and were often considered friends.
“Well, you must all be exhausted,” Rachel said, after personally greeting each of her Nexians with a warm hug. The general mood of the group was much higher than it’d been minutes before, and it could only be attributed to their Alpha’s presence. “Let’s go home and get something to eat.”
-
Jenna Rodriguez had the worst luck of anyone she’d ever met. No way of pretending that she just made bad choices. No, she’d learned long ago that the universe actively conspired against her to make sure that she had the worst luck in all of the nearly eight billion people in the world. She’d even had the horrendous misfortune of actually sitting beside a Water Nexian on her flight here. A crowning example of her poor luck.
With one exception. When she was barely a teenager, she’d flown out of her hometown in El Paso, Texas, to visit her cousins in Columbus Ohio. Her cousins were getting married, and Jenna had been chosen as one of the flower girls. But Jenna had gotten into an accident shortly before the wedding and was sent home with her leg in a cast. Bad luck as usual. She couldn’t be the flower girl for her cousin’s wedding. But at least she survived.
That wedding had been one of the first well-known casualties of the first Nexus War. A massive tidal wave had swept in from the Great Lakes, controlled by the Water Nexus, and devastated the city of Columbus, not to mention many of the nearby smaller towns. Sure, that wave had also taken out a few Fire Nexians, but their losses were nothing against the hundreds of thousands of humans who’d been wiped out.
Over five million lives had been claimed in that war, a shocking number when weighed against the measly fifty or sixty Nexians had died. Jenna’s entire family had been wiped out as well, save for one creepy uncle back home in El Paso. She’d been forced to spend the last six years of her childhood in the home of a man who made dollhouses for some big toy company. She’d hated it.
Jenna’s cab took a sharp right turn, pulling into the parking lot of an underground parking garage. The man cast her a curious glance then, wondering why she’d wanted to come here. The office attached to the garage had plenty of space in front of the building for parking and for drop-offs. He disregarded the thought. He knew enough about the seedy underbelly of the drug world to know not to ask too many questions.
Jenna stepped out of the cab without caring about a fine, because nobody paid for a taxi in the city of Miami. Jenna’s mouth curled into a sneer at the thought. A vain attempt to get ordinary humans to like the Water Nexus. Rachel Smith had made all public amenities free, including housing and transportation. Everyone was so happy to live in Miami, and thousands clamored to join the rapidly growing city each year.
She paused at a simple white door on the side of the parking garage, before a sleek black plastic box. “Oh, right. One second.”
She dug into the bag at her side and retrieved a slim plastic card. The panel beside the door flashed a green light as she tapped the card against it, and she heard a faint click from the other side. She pushed the door open and was greeted with a tightly winding staircase. No elevators in the headquarters, by the General’s command. Ascending to their secret base required real effort. Not that Jenna complained. She’d taken nearly every guerilla-style martial art she could learn, and was in excellent shape.
Another door sat at the top of the twenty flights of stairs. All the while she’d climbed, she could catch snippets of conversation through the walls, from the various offices that occupied the majority of the building. They had no idea this staircase was there. She tapped her card against a second plastic panel and pushed through it to a large open space.
A guard was standing just on the other side of the door, and he held out a quick arm to stop her entry. “Quaerere Pudicitiam.”
She looked up into his face, holding his gaze for a moment before replying, “Invenire Pacem.”
He nodded, moving out of the way to let her pass. “Welcome, Sister. The General is expecting you.”
“Of course he is,” she retorted. “I’ve got vital information for him.”
She marched across the empty top floor of the building to the office at the far side. It was a ghost town compared to her last visit, she thought. Then, nearly three hundred people had gathered in one place for a formal introduction to the newest General. Now that same General was summoning their top operatives for an important briefing. Things were finally picking up, she thought with a rush of fierce pleasure.
“Ah, Jenna.” This was the General’s usual greeting to her as she entered the conference room that was soundproofed against the rest of the space. “You’re very nearly late.”
“Out of my control,” she replied shortly. “But I’m not late, so I see no reason to complain.”
The other people gathered around the conference table grumbled in displeasure at her reply, but the General quieted them with a quick word, then gestured Jenna to her seat. She claimed it, offering a quiet nod of greeting to her nearest companions.
“Did you learn what you were looking for, Jenna?” The General asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “I’ve confirmed while spying on Nexus Hill that the rumors of the weaknesses aren’t false. Even the Nexians try to take pains to avoid it.”
“So we’ve confirmed the weakness of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air,” another figure said. “Do we still not know the weakness of the Thunder Nexus?”
Jenna shook her head bitterly. “I saw some of them training with my binoculars, but I couldn’t see any of them actually say what it was. They were zapped by tasers, but it didn’t incapacitate any of them, so that can’t be the weakness.”
She’d spent nearly a month spying on the joint training camp hosted by the Thunder Nexus. Jenna was a master of reading lips, and she’d watched that native woman directly state the weaknesses of each Nexus. But someone had been in the way, blocking her from Jenna’s sight when she mentioned the Thunder Nexuses weakness, if indeed she had.
“No matter,” the General replied. “Four out of five is good enough for now. Besides, only the Alphas are truly invulnerable. The rest can still fall to overwhelming force.”
Another grumble sounded around the long conference table, but this time it wasn’t a displeased sound. It was excited. The General continued. “We’re still gathering fighters. Getting them to New Toledo will be a tough challenge. Once we’re in the area, it will be simple enough to sneak personnel in, but the attacking force will have to stay hidden outside.”
“So it’s confirmed?” The Captain asked, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table. “We’ll be ready to act at the Nexus Games?”
“Indeed. The fools are letting anyone in who wants to watch. It will be the perfect chance to deal a serious blow against the Nexuses. If we’re lucky, we might even wipe most of them out.”
Some more grumbling from the group, but Jenna was grinning wildly. Finally, she thought. After nearly a whole decade, she could get revenge. Revenge for her cousin and her family. Revenge for the five million human lives lost in the Nexus Wars. Revenge for the Earth itself, which had suffered ever since the first Alphas appeared. They’d bring about a Free Earth, just as the name of their organization, Libera Terra, promised. Finally.