Decay (13 page)

“Relax, he's your father,” Tuliy said in a soft voice. He pushed a button, and the screen came to life. For a moment, all it showed was a lime green color. Soon an office appeared. A second after that, his father stepped into view.

For a moment, all Alan could do was stare. It'd been a long time since he'd last seen either of his parents in 'person'. The man didn't look much different than the pictures Alan carried with him, except a few more gray hairs and he looked tired. The gentleness he usually carried was still present however, and Alan felt silly for even worrying in the first place. Tuliy was right. This was his father. Why be so afraid?

Alan swallowed. “You wished for me to call, Father, I mean, S-sir.”

“You may address me informally. It's just us after all,” his father said gently.

It wasn't, Tuliy was there too, but why would he say anything to get Alan in trouble? “All right, Father. How can I help you?”

“My son, you have changed more than your letters have let on.” His father laughed. “I can't remember the last time you were so patient and respectful of me.”

“Life with Sir Orioltogorthan has taught me a lot of things,” Alan said softly. “One of them being that I do need to respect my elders a lot more than I ever have in the past. I apologize for being so rude back home. I didn't understand. Now, please, tell me how I can help you. This can't be just for pleasantries or else it wouldn't be happening. Why did you ask me to call?”

His father nodded slowly, and Alan couldn't help but wonder if he was being critiqued. “Always to the point. Of course there is a reason I requested for you to talk with me. I wanted to give you the good news in person. I will be one of the commanding officers on your next mission.”

“W-what?” Alan couldn't help but blink, startled. His father would be there with him, physically, instead of on the other side of a foreign planet. He couldn't even remember the last time they'd been together in a manner where they could actually touch. It had been before Alan joined the military, that much was certain. When the war broke out, his father had left to do his part long before Alan became of age to join.

“I am going to help lead your next mission. Don't worry, I will not be micromanaging you and getting in the way of your task, but I did want to tell you in advance, so that it wasn't such a shock when you actually saw me during the debriefing.”

“Thank you for your courtesy. It probably wouldn't have gone well to have such a surprise in the middle of the meeting,” Alan said.

“Precisely what I was thinking. I don't have to rush off now, so if you have time, I would like to hear about how things are going for you.”

“Not much differently than the last letter I sent.” Alan rubbed at his arms, trying to hide all of his discomfort.

His father laughed, and Alan couldn't quite figure out why. “Son, you don't tell me much of anything in your letters. This is a secure connection. No one is listening in or going to censor you. Be honest with me. How is life on the ship for you?”

“Good,” he said.
Now it is at least,
but Alan kept that thought private. He didn't want his father to worry about him, when he needed to focus on his work. “I've moved to new quarters which is where I'm taking this call.”

“Is that where you are? How, what's the word I heard, swanky. You and your roommate must have been working hard to earn such fancy arrangements, especially one that has an intergalactic communicator.”

“It can only send and receive messages from ships in a pathetically close range,” Sir Tuliy said with a laugh.

“Was that him?” his father asked.

Alan nodded slightly. “Yes.”

“May I meet him?”

“Sure,” he mumbled and waved Tuliy over, so the man could put a face to the voice.

His father already new Sir Tuliy however. “Junior Tuliyogljaes, I didn't realize you were assigned to my son.”

“Not initially, but we were able to request a transfer.” Tuliy saluted. “I won't take up any more of your time. I should not have interrupted, my apologies.”

“Don't, I'm glad to see my boy making such fine connections. These are the kinds of things he doesn't tell me about in his letters,” his father said and looked pointedly at Alan.

Stepping back, Alan's gaze dropped to his feet. “I didn't want you to make a big deal about it. We're friends, nothing more. I haven't earned a better position here. Please don't turn the news into something it's not. I'm still nothing but your ordinary son.”

“You've never been ordinary.”

Alan shifted his weight between his feet, his brow furrowed. “Was it always in the plan for you to come along on this mission?”

His father sighed and shook his head, though Alan got the feeling it was done out of disappointment instead of for the simple purpose of answering his question. “One of the commanding officers from the Nassalmvan, the gold tribe as you know, has a family emergency to take care of on Earth. He is one of the ambassadors to Earth and has been helpful with locations as well as cultural education. Most of his work has been spent talking with the Earth officials who are aware of our presence. The emergency has left him distraught and worried. It needs to be dealt with, and while that is being done, I have decided to be useful to the cause, rather than pace impatiently and wait for answers.”

“Oh,” Alan whispered. For some reason that made him feel a lot better.
He's only coming to be useful. I can respect that.

“I wouldn't step on your toes,” his father said. “You should know that.”

“Yes, of course I do, but...” He wasn't sure how to phrase everything that was on his mind. “I wasn't sure if you were coming by to check up on me, or to visit with my superiors.” His father snorted when Alan said 'visit'. They both knew that wouldn't be what would happen if the man was ever alone in the room with Sir Oriol. There would be fighting, especially if his father knew of all the poor treatment Alan had received prior to his transfer into Tuliy's room. Alan refused to talk about any of it until after the war was over, then there'd be a lot of time to share stories of silly things like sharing a living space with female strangers.

His father shook his head and laughed some more, a strange sound. The people on Alan's ship were far too serious. Hardly anyone smiled or told a joke. Being with Tuliy was a breath of fresh air in that while their relationship was still on a more serious level, at least it was friendly in nature. Seeing JD and his other charges reminded Alan of being young again. He wasn't that much older than the teenagers, only three years, which hardly made him ancient in comparison. Back home, it would be acceptable for him to have a little fun while he worked. On Earth, it was expected for him to enjoy himself. On the ship, that kind of behavior was apparently unacceptable.

After a few seconds of laughing, his father finally spoke again. “I've never felt a need to check in. You've always been more than capable of succeeding at whatever you decide to try your hand at. Granted, I was surprised at first that you even wanted to serve, but I think I understand. Your betrothed has helped mature your views of the world.”

“Ex-betrothed, but yes, her getting involved meant I was going to have to.”

“You truly are a man now.”

Alan gave his father a soft smile. “It was good to see you again, and I look forward to seeing you in person soon. Thank you for warning me in advance. Perhaps we can talk more in-depth then. I don't think we should prolong this call longer than necessary for my roommate's sake. I wouldn't want for him to get in trouble. This device must be a special privilege.” He glanced at Tuliy, and the young man nodded.

“I will arrange for some time alone, a break and reward, for all of the hard work you've done,” his father said.

“Thank you. I would appreciate that.”

“I'm proud of you,” his father said.

“Thank you for that too.” Those were four words Alan had wanted to hear for a long time. Growing up, all he dreamed about was being worthy of his father's praise. He was always well loved, but he could tell there were high expectations for his life. Expectations he didn't bother to try and live up to. Alan liked his comfortable lifestyle back home. Education and marrying Alona had been his priorities. The wealth his family had, made for a good tool to achieve his superficial goals.

That time of his life felt surreal, like a movie he watched, but not something he actually lived. So much of who he was had changed. He was surprised his father even recognized him.

Alan waved at his father, trying to stay strong. “I will see you soon. Give my love to mother. I'm sure you will see her before I do.”

“Goodbye Macky. Stay safe.”

“You as well,” Alan said and blinked back a few tears. The screen went black, and Alan exhaled with relief and sadness. He loved his father, but seeing him reminded Alan of all the pressure already on his shoulders. Things on the ship would be even more intense between him and Sir Oriol. Alan missed home terribly, and seeing his father brought back memories of a simpler time in life. Sometimes he wondered if he'd ever return to Altura.

He'd give anything to walk through the sea foam green fields near his childhood home. To see his silly pet, Ponda, a lotoads, an animal similar to what the Earth people referred to as a dog, yet different. Both species had the same playful nature, but lotoads's fur came in various bright colors. Ponda was a bright, flame red with blue paws. He actually looked as if he were made from fire. His fur was thick and soft, and he had a big bushy tail and face like that of the dogs on Earth. The final difference was lotoads had six, long, graceful legs instead of four stumpy ones. At least, all of the dogs Alan had seen thus far had short legs. It was all an example of how Earth was so similar to home, enough to make him miss it and his family, but also different enough to make him remember how far away he actually was.

Seeing his father was the 'icing on the cake', as Cadence would say. The man felt almost like a stranger to him, but being able to talk with him made Alan desire to see his mother too — to see all of his family. He had a younger sister he barely knew. She was almost a woman now. Alan still had a long time to serve. He didn't know which was worse: seeing his father and missing home more, or not seeing him and forgetting what he was in fact missing. But if Alan completely forgot about home, would he remember what he was even fighting for?

For a long time, Alan stared at the now black screen. Tuliy stood up and turned off the device then stopped in front of him, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to address Alan or not. Finally, the young man cracked a smile and gave Alan's arm a firm squeeze.

“Macky?” Tuliy asked.

Alan scoffed. “It's a childhood nickname. My father is the only person who calls me that anymore. It's been a long time since I've heard it.”

“Are you all right? You seem a little troubled.”

“Stunned is more appropriate, I think. When was the last time you saw your family?”

“When I left on the ship, just like everyone else.”

“Do you write?” Alan asked.

Tuliy sat down on the couch while shaking his head. “I haven't for a while. My mother said that it was too difficult to write to me, and I should only contact her if there's an emergency or something important happening.”

“That must be rough,” Alan whispered. No wonder Tuliy was so lonely all of the time. Alan lived for the letters from his parents. They were few and far between, but a word from them always made him feel better, especially on days where he clearly wasn't wanted by his comrades on the ship. When everyone around him spoke about him as if he weren't there, that was a good sign he might as well be invisible.

Shrugging, Tuliy smiled. “It is what it is. I have leave time coming up in eighteen Earth months. There will be plenty of time to catch up with my family then. The time passes quickly, even more so now that I am making friends.”

“I find the relationships I am beginning to build do help make the time here easier. At least I no longer have the great desire to quit. That's progress. I'm growing fond of my charges.”

“I am as well.”

Don't read too much into that statement,
Alan thought.
Just because he fancies Cadence, doesn't mean that's what he's referring to.
His blood boiled at the idea of his charge being pursued. He trusted Tuliy to not do something dishonorable, but with the latest heartbreak the girl was going through, Alan needed to be extra careful. Cadence was his favorite charge. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but he couldn't help it. She was the most agreeable and pleasant to spend time with. Smart enough to hold an intelligent conversation with, and sweet enough to trust with his emotions. He understood why Tuliy found her fascinating.

She was intellectually stimulating as well as beautiful. Girls with Cadence's physical features were not common in Alan's home nation on Altura, but there was more to it. The way she looked at Alan, he could tell he was meaningful in her life. She genuinely cared about him as more than her leader. They were friends. He couldn't say that about his other charges.

Alan ran a few fingers over his lips. “I've been thinking... Since we will be separated, and I'm sure you will have lots of work to do on Earth as well as the ship... Perhaps you would like to have my powers? To make transporting back and forth easier?” Teleportation was not a rare gift on Altura, but no one besides Alan had it on the ship. In fact, he was one of the few people on board who had multiple abilities. With everything that would need to be done on the mission, and on future adventures, it only made sense to offer. Alan could trust his friend to not abuse the gift, right?

“Are you sure?” Tuliy asked, eyes wide. The light sparkled off of them, and it added to the young man's excited gaze.

“Yes, I think it's necessary. When I return from my meeting, we can set something up. I will have enough time to train you on how to use it properly before I go.”