Walking through the dark halls of the academy was a little eerie. Almana and I had the mounted lights from our armor active, but that just made it seem like we were walking through a haunted hallway with flashlights.

  “Do you guys have horror movies on Vyrane, you know with monsters and killers and shit?” I asked Almana.

  “Scary movies? Sure, we’ve got plenty. The most popular ones are based on old folklore spirits that are bound to some dark location.” She gestured to the halls around us, “Kind of like where we are now.”

  I chuckled at that, “And do you like the horror movies, are do they freak you out?”

  Almana stopped and turned to glare at me, planting her hands on her hips, “Are you suggesting I was too scared to go through the academy on my own?”

  I shrugged and kept on walking, “I dunno, just asking.”

  Almana huffed out a quick sigh, then jogged to catch up with me, “I happen to like those scary movies, for your information, even though yes, sometimes they might freak me out a little.”

  I laughed at that and Almana swatted my arm in response.

  “And what about you, nothing scares you I imagine?” She pressed.

  My laughs turned into a sigh, and I grew quiet for a few moments.

  “To be perfectly honest, I’m pretty scared right now.” I admitted.

  Almana was silent for short time as we walked, and even with our careful, quiet footsteps, we could hear them echo down the hall.

  “Me too.” She added.

  We passed by a doorway that led into the courtyard, and I could see there was an explosive tripwire and an auto turret placed at the entrance.

  “Hey, how is Ferro’s team going to get to us with the way we’ve dug in? Won’t they be attacked and explode if they try to come through the academy?” I asked.

  Almana looked at me with a curious expression, “What do you mean? They’ll have clearance codes with them—can walk right through and won’t alarm or activate anything; standard procedure for the Empire, prevents friendly fire accidents.” She explained.

  “Oh yeah, that makes sense.”

  Almana chuckled then, “You know for being part of some super advanced clandestine team that probably has access to technology I can’t even imagine, it seems like there’s a lot of basic operational information you don’t know.”

  I shrugged, “Doesn’t matter what I’m surrounded with now, remember I grew up on planet dirt, so half this shit seems like magic to me.”

  Almana giggled then, sounding quite girly, “You’re so funny Adam.”

  I laughed too, “Not trying to be, it’s the truth.”

  We paused then as Almana doublechecked on her tablet which sensor we needed to fix, “Here, this way.” She directed, leading us over to some stairs.

  I didn’t enjoy the silence as we climbed, so I decided to keep the conversation going.

  “You know, you’ve been pretty vague about it, but it’s so obvious your soldiers all respect you like crazy; I’m just curious how you got the position of lieutenant in the resistance.” I inquired.

  Almana sighed, “It’s not some glorious story like you might imagine, I just coordinated the escape of a couple cities after the barrier around the capital went up—when things started to get bad.” She said.

  My eyebrows shot up, “A couple cities? That sounds pretty glorious to me.”

  Almana shook her head, “I just used some data from my day job in orbital security, had the areas and escape routes mapped out the second the cities went dark. Right place, right time.”

  “Yeah, sounds like you saved a lot of people—a couple cities worth.” I insisted.

  Almana lowered her head, looking down at her feet, “It wasn’t enough…”

  I’d seen time and again why people respected Almana as she showed herself a good leader, but more than that, she was humble, and was boots on the ground helping those cities flee all the while, putting her life at risk to save others, and yet rather than brag over what she accomplished and who she saved, she mourned over those they lost.

  I completely understood why Almana’s men followed her the way they did, and I also understood the burden she felt on her shoulders—the lives she held in her hands. I felt the same way, why I couldn’t just abandon Vyrane to Beta-09, why I was okay with playing along with the Empire’s game.

  Honestly, I kind of wished Eve valued life the same way Almana did.

  I stopped at the top of the stairs and put a hand on Almana’s shoulder, “Hey, the nightmare’s finally almost over. I know it won’t bring back the people you lost, but tomorrow you’ll be free, and you won’t have to carry that burden any longer.”

  Almana looked up at me, sadness and worry in her eyes, but it slowly melted away as she smiled at me, “All thanks to you and your team.”

  “All thanks to everyone who put forth the effort to make this happen; you, me, your team, my team, and all the other soldiers and civilians who did their part in keeping Vyrane from falling into chaos.”

  Almana’s smile grew then, “I’ll have to tell Melna how important her role in all this was too, getting us connected and everything.”

  I smiled too, “Yeah, she’s the real hero of this story.”

  Almana laughed at that, and she didn’t stop herself, letting herself feel a little joy amidst all the darkness.

  “Ah, here it is.” Almana said suddenly, gesturing towards the door to some office.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I opened the door slowly, just to make sure everything was all clear. It looked like a medical office, fancier than anything you’d find in an Earth school. There were a few beds in some bays that reminded me of an emergency room with curtains around them, and what appeared to be a medication room at the far end.

  Almana walked over to the window and looked over her tablet, but I didn’t see any sensors around, so I wasn’t really sure what she was doing.

  She let out a heavy sigh and put her tablet back on her belt.

  “All good?” I asked.

  Almana turned to me and smiled, “Yeah, we’re fine.”

  I quirked up an eyebrow, “I don’t see any sensors in here.”

  Almana looked away, “Oh, uh, no they were a floor below us; I just had to doublecheck for interference from above, make sure nothing was interrupting the signal.”

  That didn’t really make sense, but it wasn’t like I knew how any of this shit worked.

  “Alright, so do we need to head down to the lower floor or are we good to return?” I asked.

  “We’re clear, but no reason to rush back.” Almana reasoned, then walked over and sat on the bed, “I wanna take a few minutes to decompress before we return.”

  I let out a weary sigh, “Boy do I hear that; I feel like I haven’t been able to decompress in over a cycle now.”

  Almana patted the spot on the bed beside her, “Have a seat, tell me what’s going on.”

  I walked over and sat beside Almana but just shook my head; it wasn’t like I could tell her what all we were dealing with when it came to the Empire, couldn’t tell her about the real mission, our containment, our bombs, or the Predazoans. I felt a little guilty how we were lying to Almana and her people, and they really didn’t deserve it, but what was the alternative? Expose her to the truth and risk having her killed to keep the secret? I still hadn’t forgotten how Seash and his soldiers executed those innocent men, and I wasn’t about to let that happen again.

  “Nothing, just a tough mission is all.” I finally said.

  “Worse than your other ones?” Almana asked.

  I let out another sigh, “Yeah, way worse. Sure, there were casualties and collateral, but I was never in the thick of it like this, marching and working beside the locals, watching them all sacrifice their lives in the attempt to get us to where we can end the conflict. It just sucks, man.”

  Almana was quiet beside me for a while, stewing in her own thoughts, thinking of what all we’d lost. She was fidgeting with the bottom clasp of her armor, made her seem more unsure and younger than I’ve ever seen her before.

  Finally, she let out a long sigh, “You know Adam, I’ve got a confession to make; I didn’t have to check any sensors out here.”

  “Great, and this is the part where you tell me you’ve been assimilated all along and I fell right into your trap?” I said dryly.

  Almana just laughed, “No, silly, nothing like that.” She turned to look me in the eyes, staring deeply into them—through them, “Truth is, I have no idea if we’re going to make it out of this alive tomorrow. I’m hoping beyond hope you can free my people and planet, but there’s just no guarantee me or any of my people will survive.”

  “Hey, don’t say that; we made it this far together, we’re going to go all the way—get you back to Melna.” I assured her.

  Almana gave me a soft smile, “I appreciate the comfort, and really that’s all I’m looking for now, just comfort.”

  I nodded, “Yeah, whatever you need.”

  Almana’s expression shifted, looking like she was really resolved to do something then, “I don’t need much Adam, I just need you.” She said, then placed her hand on my thigh.

  I might’ve been clever, but I wasn’t very bright, and I finally realized what was going on. I jumped up from the bed and took a few steps away from Almana, “Whoa, whoa whoa, wait a minute there Almana.”

  “I thought you were beautiful from the first time we met. I don’t know if all humans look like you, and really I don’t care, you’re the only human I want—the only man I want.” Almana continued.

  I backed up until I hit the other bed, “Shit, Almana, I can’t do this—I have Eve, remember?”

  Almana stood up, and as she walked over towards me, she started undoing the clasps to her armor, “Eve doesn’t need to know Adam; we can just comfort each other now, and in the morning we can pretend nothing ever happened. We complete the mission, and if I die then at least my last day was spent in comfort with you, and if I live I’ll hold onto the memory forever of the beautiful human who spent the night with me and then saved my planet, while you head back into space to take on the next mission.” She insisted.

  Almana’s armor dropped all around her, leaving her fully exposed. She shivered when the open air touched her bare flesh, but she was clearly resolved to see this through.

  Almana really was beautiful, her curves were enticing with full breasts and wide hips, shorter than most vyrane women—just a little taller than a classic short stack. Her skin was pale grey, made her look like a metallic punk, rather enticing really. Her grey nipples were attractive and proportionate for her frame, and I could see she had a trimmed tuft of red hair above her little grey slit. Almana’s figure was incredibly sexy, and her face was beyond cute too, with that punk flair of hers, the vibrant red hair and large horns; she was alien and exotic and any man would be lucky to have her.

  But I didn’t want her—I couldn’t. Even the idea of being with someone other than Eve seemed revolting in that moment. I’ve never cheated before, but when I was in previous relationships I couldn’t help when a passing fantasy popped in my head, and I thought about what it would be like to be with another woman, and while I’d never actually do it, the idea hadn’t felt so abhorrent as it did now. My stomach did a little flip, and I almost felt ill at the thought of betraying my Evie.

  I wasn’t sure if it was just my loyalty to Eve, if it was the way we were bonded beyond anything I could understand, or if Eve at some point straight up manipulated my biology so I would have a physical aversion to anyone who wasn’t her, but even the idea of being with someone else disgusted me down to my core, made me feel sick.

  “Almana, seriously, I admire the hell out of you, but I absolutely cannot do this—I won’t do this, I would never betray my Eve.” I insisted.

  Almana continued towards me as though I hadn’t said anything, “I’ll do anything you want me to do Adam, and you can do anything to me. Teach me what it is to love as a human, and I’ll teach you what it is to love a vyrane.”

  I fell back onto the bed as Almana moved forward, “I said no Almana, I don’t want this.”

  Almana stopped before me, her bare legs against mine, her breasts just a foot away from my face, her tight slit unguarded before me. She planted her hands on her hips, her expression looking angry now, “I’ve seen how lonely you’ve been, how neglectful she is; it’s not fair to you and everything you have to deal with. If you were mine, I’d see to all your needs, fulfill all your fantasies. You’d never have to go to bed alone, never go to sleep unsatisfied. Let me comfort you now, and all I ask in return is that you comfort me.”

  I leaned as far away from Almana as I could on that bed, ready to activate my superspeed and make my escape if I really needed to, “Almana, seriously, you have no idea what Eve would do if she—”

  Almana threw her hands in the air in a frustrated gesture, “And where is your Eve? Sleeping alone in camp? Why isn’t she here to comfort you, to do what she’s supposed to do as your—”

  Suddenly, the door to the medical office exploded, with dozens of scraps of metal flying into the opposite wall, breaking down the door to the med-room and maybe even beyond that.

  Almana paled several shades as Eve stalked into the room, but it wasn’t Eve as she’d ever seen her; Eve was still in her celicapoz form, but she was mostly naked now, with just scraps of armor left hanging on her as a dozen black tentacles curled around her back, pointing jagged silver spikes all at Almana, with her eyes glowing a furious yellow, with what appeared to be small streams of yellow plasma roiling off them.

  Eve extended her hand up and pointed a clawed hand covered in black chitin at Almana, “Get the fuck away from him, you vile cunt!” She said, her voice low and menacing, but with a shrill, echoing hiss behind it.

  Almana took one step away and promptly fell to the ground on her bare ass, looking more terrified than I’d ever seen her.

  “W-w-what the fuck is she?” She stammered, unable to look away from the nightmare that was Eve in all her anger.

  Before I could even try to deescalate the situation, Eve slashed a hand through the air, causing a thin line of damage to follow the trajectory of her movement along the floor and ceiling from the shockwave alone.

  “I am Alpha-03, a proud Predazoan, the same manner of creature who holds your entire planet hostage.” Eve declared, then pointed her clawed finger at Almana, “And you are going to die.”