The morning found us in each other's arms. When the dream flew out of my eyes, I remembered last night. "I don't know what it must have been like, but it sure was good." I was in no hurry to get up. It was still early, the sun's rays had just barely penetrated the window. I smiled a little involuntarily. "I could get used to this." Since Avry was still peacefully asleep, I didn't want to wake her by moving, so I just lay there.

I noticed my phone was vibrating. Someone called me. I turned tom y side and got it. It was Andrex. I just held the phone in my hand, I didn’t want to pick it up. I will call him back.

„You can pick it up if you want to,” Avry said in a sleepy voice.

„Alright,” I said and did so.

„Hey, Andrex! What’s up?” I asked.

„Heya. We have a fucking problem. I don’t want to talk about it through phone. Confidential.” I could hear his voice being tense and nervous.

„Erm… Okay. Let’s meet somewhere then, or what?”

„I am on the way home. I will drop by, no big detour. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

„O-okay. I will wait for you,” I said without thinking. It didn’t matter.

„See you soon. Bye.”

„Bye!” I said, my voice almost trembling, and hung up the phone.

Avry noticed that my face turned pale.

„Did something happen?” She asked.

„Andrex will be here soon.”

„Then I will stay in the room,” she said calmly. „I am tired anyway. You are full of stamina, on the other hand” Avry said with a smile.

I got out of bed. I ran to the bathroom to clean up a bit. Then I went back to the room and got dressed. I came out and closed the door behind me. In the kitchen I made my usual morning coffee and sat on the sofa with it. Andrex had good timing. As I sat down, he rang the bell.

„Hey!” I said after opening the door.

„Heya! What’s with you? You are not even working anymore yet you are looking dead tired.”

„Ah, I was up gaming all night,” I lied. „Not like you are in any better shape. You look like shit.”

„Don’t even mention it. They are working us to our bones after what happened. But let’s sit down.”

„Right, come in,” I said and closed the door behind us.

“Hey, sorry, but I need to use the toilet if it’s not a problem,” Andrex said then turned left in the hall.

"All right, I'll wait for you," I said. I couldn't remember the last time Andrex had been here. When we were at my university, we used to come up with him and other friends to hang out. But that was years ago. Since we've been working, those kinds of get-togethers have kind of taken a back seat.

“Ah, that was a lifesaver.” Andrex said and sat down next to me. "This morning at dawn we received the news that the Easterners had fired missiles at the aliens. This is highly classified information, so I didn't want to say it over the phone. But I wanted you to know so you'd have time to prepare. It could easily turn into war. And war against a largely unknown, more advanced technology. Well, it won’t go well.”

“Agreed,” I said. Andrex was always like that. Somehow he felt obliged to share such things with me. Of course, he doesn't always have information of this calibre. “But this is not official yet, right? Maybe it’s just a made-up story.”

“Unfortunately, no.” he said, getting up and heading for my room, “They've got a lot of video of the missiles being launched, so that's more than likely the case. We don't know yet what type they are, but come on, I'll show you,” and he reached over and grabbed the doorknob.

“I- I believe you even without the footage. No need to show it,” I said nervously. “My room is messy anyway, you will get drowned in my stuff.”

“Oh come on, you know my room is messy as well,” he said and opened the door.

“No!” I shouted but it was too late.

Andrex just stood there, petrified. After a few seconds he turned to me. His face showed a mixture of fear and confusion, laced with despair.

“T- Thi- This is… what I think it is?” He asked with a stutter as he slowly approached me.

“L- Look! Let’s calm down! I can explain!” I said and left my sofa. I led him there and sat him down. “Please, don’t do anything reckless.”

I sat down and told him the events of the weekend, in broad outline. It was towards the end of the story when I noticed Avry appear at the door. I motioned for her to come over.

“Andrex, this is Avry. Avry, Andrex.” I introduced them to each other. Andrex offered her a hand, distrustful but firm, and then sat back down. Avry sat down next to me, on the other side.

“So,” I started. “Now that we've cleared that up, we can get back to the original topic,” I said cheerfully, to ease the tension. “What was it about the missiles?”, I asked Andrex, so that Avry could pick up the thread of the conversation.

“I- I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Andrex said. “To talk about stuff like this in front of it. What if it’s a spy?”

“I told you why she is here. She is a victim of the current situation as well.”

“Maybe it was a made-up story.”

“Andrex, please. Maybe you don’t trust her, but trust me. I will take responsibility,” I said. After this Andrex calmed down a bit.

“Alright. But if you are wrong, remember, I told you.” I nodded. “So. The Easterners’ rockets can easily start a war. If they didn’t start it already. And, as I said, our technological knowledge is limited, so it is impossible to predict the outcome.”

“Well, I know someone who knows more about their technology than us,” I said and looked at Avry.

“Hmm…” She said, thinking. “Your technology is less advanced, but the Proxomus is only a medium-sized warship. Against an entire planet. Normally, you should win, but...” She paused for a moment. “But the Proxomus is carrying the Nova1.”

“What is that?” I asked.

“The prototype of a powerful weapon. It can destroy nearly anything,” she said.

“If it’s true, then why are you sharing this information with your future enemies?” Andrex asked.

“I do not consider you my enemies,” said Avry, uncompromisingly. “But those who have taken control of the ship do not shre my views. I never liked war.” It was clear that she was deeply affected. “I didn't join the Fleet to kill other races, I just wanted to travel. To explore the darkness of space. But killing was a necessary evil,” she paused. “I was so glad when we got here the Captain wanted to resolve the situation peacefully. Finally, for the first time, we don't take what we want by force. But not everyone liked it.”

“Oh, how touching.” Andrex said without a shred of emotion. “But it’s not proof of anything. Your ship, Proxomus, right? They sent no answer after the Easterners attacked, so maybe they are not as bloodthirsty as you make them out to be.”

“The defensive system protecting the ship will certainly repel the attack. They just want to gauge your firepower,” Avry said. “If they think you're dangerous enough, they'll use the Nova1.”

Andrex's phone started ringing. He jumped up from the couch and went to the kitchen to answer it. We both just watched him on the phone. And the emotions on his face didn't bode well.

“Yeah… Okay… Yeah, I will… Bye,” he said and hung up. He sat back down and looked at us with a serious expression. "In response to the Easterners' attack, the Proxomus attacked the launch facilities. The Easterners have declared war and we are on high alert as well. I have to be in my office in an hour.

“This took a sudden turn,” I said. “Just go Andrex, I don’t want you to get into any trouble. Thanks for the info and please, don’t mention Avry to anyone.”

“Alright, don’t worry,” he said and walked towards the entrance.

After Andrex left, I went to the kitchen and made a coffee. I made it as usual and took it to the living room table. Then I went to my room and got out the tablet and sat down next to Avry on the couch.

“Can we use it somehow?” I asked, pointing at the tablet.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Save the world, or something. Maybe disarm the Proxomus, or…” I said with increasing agitation.

“It is impossible to do anything with the tablet from here,” Avry said coldly.

“I-I know,” I said, and leaned back briskly. “It's just… it's hard to process that it's only a matter of time before you die.” Tears welled up in my eyes. “Right now. Right when I first felt alive. Ever since I met you, my life has been turned upside down, but in a good way.” Avry's eyes filled with tears too, she slowly hugged me. “And... And for the first time I felt love for someone.” I returned Avry's hug and squeezed her. “I... I love you,” I said, then gave in to the tears.

“I… I also love you.” Avry said and just like me, she started crying.

The crying soon subsided, but we stayed like that for a while. My emotions were real, I was sure. I could only hope that Avry's were too. I didn't want to lose her, not now and not like this. After a little while we calmed down, and then we slipped out of each other's embrace and sat in silence for a while.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I sighed. “We don’t have much time left if we want to do something,” I broke the silence. “From here on, events will accelerate.”

“Yeah. Maybe,” Avry said. “I think it will take them one or two weeks to fire the Nova1.”

“It takes that long to get it ready for firing?”

“It takes one or two days,” she said and furrowed her brows. “There is a procedure you need to get through. Assessing the firepower, weighing the odds, offering unconditional surrender, etc. The length of these is difficult to determine, if they are even addressed at all. It is only speculation.

“I see,” I said and started thinking. “What if they didn’t possess the Nova?”

“I do not think they would go into a war with a dubious outcome," said Avry, and after a pause she continued. “But they do have the Nova1.”

“Yeah, right. But, if we could take it out of the equation, it would be different,” I said, a childish enthusiasm coming over me. “If we could get on board and destroy it, we could stop the war, couldn’t we?”

“Hypothetically, yes.”

“Then let’s do it. We go there and destroy the ace up in their sleeve,” I said with a confident smile.

“Haha,” laughed Avry. “And how do you want to accomplish that? It would be near impossible even for a well-equipped, competent team. For us, it is suicide.”

“I didn’t think that far,” I confessed and averted my eyes. “I just want to do something. We shouldn’t accept an outcome just because it’s set in stone… I know, it’s stupid, it was just an idea.”

“I understand,” Avry said kindly. “It is not easy to accept for me neither. But… We can spend the rest of our time in a different way,” she said suggestively and came closer.

“Yes, you are right,” I said and returned her advances.

The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon was spent in a pleasant atmosphere. We forgot a little about the danger. There was no mention on television of the situation, which had not yet been made public. Turning on the television, we came across a nature film about creatures in hiding. After a while, a thought struck me.

“Avry, I got an idea,” I said excitedly. “Can cloaking the shuttle work against the Proxomus?”

“Well...” she began, and then after a moment's thought she continued. “Most of the sensors are optical, so it can work against those, but not against the heat sensors. And, your shuttles cannot leave your planet's gravity by themselves.”

“We can solve that by launching it with a different rocket,” I said immediately. “Can’t we jam the heat sensors somehow?”

“Closed system. It can only be done from the inside... Or, if they have to process too many signals at once, they could get it wrong. We have experienced this error before.”

“Then, we might be successful if we launch a bunch of rockets with us?”

“Maybe. But, then there's also the problem that the shuttle is on autopilot by default. You can't manually pilot it, and you would need to dock it. Besides, nobody learns how to fly a small plane, including me. Except fighter pilots. And...” here she winked at me. “I guess you don't know how to fly a shuttle either.”

“You are right but I have an idea. Andrex was a reserve astronaut for a mission a few years ago, he must have some knowledge,” I said, then I reached for my phone and called Andrex. Avry, meanwhile, was just shaking her head and leaning back on the couch with a puzzled look on her face.

“Hey! I hope you are not busy,” I said after Andrex picked up.

“Heyo. I would lie if I said I’m not, we are neck-deep in work. Just say what you need.”

I pretty much explained to him what we had come up with so far and what we would need. After I stopped talking, there was a long silence.

“Have you gone mad?” Andrex broke the silence in the end. “Until last week you were a goddamn wageslave in an office and now you want to blow up alien super weapons? You should see a doctor, that alien girl must have infected you with something.”

“I am serious,” I cut him off. “Even I am surprised. And I know it sounds impossible, but this is how it works in movies.”

“We are not in a f*cking movie!” There was an abrupt silence. “But. You are right, the outcome is inevitable.” He sighed. “I swear, that woman infected me as well, because. The more I think, the more I wanna do it, so… Fine, I am in. I will check what can I do, I won’t promise anything.”

“Alright, call if you have something.”

“Okie.”

I hung up the phone and turned to Avry with a big smile. Avry's face radiated astonishment, confusion and a little fear.

“You are scary. How did you manage to do everything so fast? Especially with him, when he does not trust me.”

“I don’t know either. Maybe another side effect of our meeting,” I said and winked at her.

“Oh, you…” Avry said and started smiling. “But in this case, we should turn serious.”

“We have time for that,” I said calmly. “If Andrex fails, then we can’t go anywhere anyway. Let’s wait for him. What’s more important, what do you want for dinner?”

“You,” said Avry.

“Maybe for dessert,” I replied and we both laughed.

I got up from the couch and went to the kitchen to make dinner. I didn't overcomplicate things, I made a simple chicken meal. I finished it relatively quickly. We had a nice dinner and then settled back in front of the TV. After a while, it was my turn.

“I will take a bath. We can watch a movie together afterwards if you are in the mood.”

“Okay,” Avry replied. “But I am joining you in the bath.”

“As you wish,” I said with a sly smile. I knew what she was planning.

We took a long, nice, hot bath. It was dark by the time we finished. We went to my room afterwards and picked up some clothes, and Avry retired to the couch. I stayed in and watched a movie. I debated for a while about what to choose, but finally decided on "buying" a UFO disaster movie. ‘It’s just a joke, I hope she will appreciate it,’ I thought.

“Here I am,” I said as I left my room. Avry was focused on the TV, not even looking at me. “What’s the…” I wanted to ask but then I saw it.

They were just reporting what Andrex told us this morning. There have been riots in several places within the Eastern Alliance, from anti-war demonstrations. ‘Time is running out,’ I thought.

“And this is only the beginning,” I said without thinking and sat down next to Avry.

“Most likely. They did not show the full extent of the Proxomus’ firepower.”

“Maybe this movie was a bad idea…” I sighed.

“Why?”

“It’s about something like what is happening right now,” I explained. “But maybe it’s enough if we just watch the news.” For some reason the dark humour of this sentence stuck with me and I started laughing. Avry was surprised at what I am doing, but then she started laughing as well, maybe understanding the joke.

We watched the film in the end. It was decent. Avry liked it too, based on her reactions. I wasn't sure if they also had any entertainment like this, but she didn't seem surprised.

“It was a good film,” she said in the end. “But the ending was too optimistic.”

“It won’t be so easy for us, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to do anything else?” I asked but for me this day was more than enough.

“Not really. We can go to bed.”

I turned off the TV and went to the bathroom before bed. I leaned on the edge of the sink and stared at myself in the mirror. I ran through the day and for the first time felt that my plan was impossible. I was terrified of what would happen. Rationality finally got to me, Andrex's words echoed in my head, and I wanted to take back everything I had said this afternoon.

“Is something wrong? You have been in there for a while.” I could hear Avry’s voice through the door.

Maybe not everything. There are things I don’t regret.

“I’m coming,” I said then left the bathroom. Avry waited for me in the bed. I turned off the lights and joined her.

I got up early in the morning. The first rays of the sun had just hit the window. I was not surprised, as we had gone to bed relatively early yesterday. Avry, as usual, rested her head on my chest. It felt good to feel the weight of her head on my chest. ‘Good things are easy to get used to,’ I thought. My head was still a little dizzy, but I reached for my phone to see if there was a message.

At my movement, Avry woke up as well. I stroked her head, and she yawned, then slowly looked at me with wide-open eyes. However, when her gaze settled on me, her eyes narrowed and her whole body tensed.

“I get bed hair sometimes,” I joked. “Did you sleep well?” I asked but I needed to wait for the answer.

“Your… Your eye… “Avry said anxiously with a little surprise in her voice. “Your right eye…” She didn’t finish her sentence.

Her nervousness stuck to me a little bit, but I didn't know what she was talking about, I didn't feel bad. I already had my phone with me, so, in the reflection of the switched-off screen, I tried to see what it was about. I didn't have to wait long for an answer. My right eye glowed faintly in red. Just like the last time for Avry.

I blinked a couple of times, then rubbed my eyes and looked again to see if I was imagining it. The glow was there at the second glance, but moments later it was gone. My heart was pounding in my throat, I could hear my blood rushing in my ears. I slowly lowered my hand and looked at Avry. Avry wasn't as tense as before, in fact, she had a rather interested look on her face.

“It looks like you are not just immune to me,” she said after a short pause.

Then she got up and jumped off the bed, jumping over me. She went over to my desk and took that tablet-like thing out of the drawer. I continued to just lie on the bed. I didn't know whether to panic or calm down. It was hard to form my thoughts into words.

“I- I will die?” I asked in a shaky voice.

“I do not know,” said Avry. “We will soon find out.” she stepped up to me and did a test similar to the one she did the other day. Then she sat down at the table and hummed to herself for a few minutes.

“You will not die. It is worse,” she said.

Her words made my mind go dark, I was not far from fainting when I heard her laugh from far away, which pulled me back. I sat up on the bed, then looked at her with a serious, questioning look, while her suppressed laughter still shook her body.

“I was really scared,” I said in a grumpy voice. “But seriously, what happened?”

“I don't know, I'm not good at this. All I got from the analysis is that your DNA is 3.5% different from the last time," she said after she stopped laughing.

“And it’s good or bad?”

“Your molecular structure is not collapsing yet, so it can go both way,” she said with a smile. “But, it might have something to do with why you managed to convince Andrex so easily,” she changed her tone to more serious.

“It didn’t help me calm down. Although I think you are right about Andrex.” I sighed. “What price will I need to pay for this?”

“Do not worry. There will not be any problem,” Avry said and put down the tablet. “Do not overthink it. Think of something nice instead…” she said and pushed me into the bed.

A few minutes later we were interrupted by the ringing of my phone. Reluctantly, I had to check to see if it was Andrex. And, lucky for me, it was.

“Hey,” I said after picking up.

“Heyo!” said Andrex with unearthly weariness, “I've managed to get most of it done. We can do it. But, I'm going rest a bit, I'm dead. You'll have to wake me up at noon,” he said, and hanged up.

“He did it…” I told Avry, even I couldn’t believe it. “He could arrange everything.”

“This… This is good news,” she said with lacking excitement. “What is next?”

“We can start soon. But first, let’s finish what we started…”

After the morning training, the usual routine followed. I went to the bathroom to freshen up. I stared at myself in the mirror for long minutes as I thought back to this morning. I didn't notice any change in myself.

I went to the kitchen and made a coffee for the two of us. Then I prepared breakfast. By the time the coffee was brewed, Avry had finished in the bathroom and sat at the table. We had a quiet breakfast, and after I put away the dishes, I went straight back to my room. I had to figure out how to get the shuttle out of the woods.

“How heavy is your shuttle?” I asked.

“I don’t know, maybe a few tons. Most of it is composite.

“Then maybe we can get it with a truck.”

I recalled the moment when we were there. Maybe, it was the size of a larger car, but the camouflage would make it hard to tell, even on the spot. Avry watched me muttering to myself with interest, out of the corner of my eyes I could see her smile occasionally.

“No good!” I said, a bit angrily. “I can’t drive trucks.” Then I changed my tone. “But if it was a trailer…”

“Trailer? What is that?” Avry asked.

“Um...” I was interrupted, so suddenly I didn't know what to say. “A trailer is a device that people put after cars so that they can carry things that wouldn't normally fit.”

“I understand. I think,” she said but her voice didn’t sound sure.

“But, there's still the problem that the only way to get to the place is on foot.” I went back to the planning. “How will we get it out of the woods?”

“Actually, it can change places if it is needed," Avry interjected, a little shyly. She didn't want to interrupt me again. “If we can get up to the clearing with that trailer, it's doable.”

“That’s great,” I said. I was relieved. It was truly good news.