He said it as he turned to the two aliens, looking at their rock hard faces and strong stature.
“I think that much is true,” replied Taylor.
“From memory, it is around twelve light years away. Even with the best technology we have seen yet, it would take them generations to reach us.”
“Then maybe we haven’t seen it all yet.”
“That much is true. I just wonder if any of us truly want to see any more of them.”
Tau Ceti, thought Taylor. I’m sure that will not be the last time I hear that name.
The questioning continued for several hours as Weller tried to delve into what knowledge they had of their homeworld and its surrounding colonies. It became quite clear to them both that the aliens knew surprisingly little about their own society. What little snippets of information had been gathered mostly as an aside to being the protection detail to an important Lord.
Taylor began to see how the two of them had so quickly taken a liking to him. He had treated them as he would a human being, something of which they seemed to have never seen in their previous lives.
Jafar and Tsengal painted a grim picture of their homeworld; a bleak rocky terrain with constant bombardments by meteor showers, and extreme conditions of which only the fittest would survive. Other worlds they knew of featured lethal gas atmospheres and temperatures that would kill you within minutes without the appropriate protection.
After this eye-opening discussion, Mitch could begin to understand why being held in that cell meant little to them. It was a life of luxury compared to all that they knew. Finally, as he felt his eyes sagging and his body sore, the other Major turned to him.
“I think this will do for today.”
Taylor was surprised. He expected the interrogation to push for many more hours until all were exhausted.
Why did they send such a decent man for the job? He asked himself.
Mitch had never met any interrogator he liked one bit, but this man seemed different. He appeared far more human than he could have expected. Weller looked back to the two aliens.
“Thank you for your work today. Any and all information you can provide us will be vital in the future defence of us all.”
“Then this can be our home?” asked Jafar.
“Most certainly. Any soldier who fights to defend our society deserves a place within it. You may rest easy for the rest of the day. I have arranged for you to have a few hours outside, but you must stay within two hundred metres of this complex. You will have a security detail with you at all times. I will return tomorrow.”
He quickly stood up and nodded in appreciation to the two of them before making his way to the door. Taylor quickly followed after he had thanked his two friends. He stepped out of the cell to see Weller was waiting for him.
“I thought that went very well, and I look forward to working further with them.”
“This is not what I had expected at all,” replied Taylor.
“I know about your previous history, Major, and I can understand your feelings towards authority figures and the Military Police in general. What was done to you was very wrong, but do not assume for one minute that I am part of that crowd.”
Taylor smiled, and they both turned and left the cells.
“Would you join me for a drink this evening?” asked Mitch.
“It would be a great honour.”
A warm shower was a welcome end to the day’s work. He stepped out and stood in front of the mirror. His wounds were all but gone from his body. He was still for a moment as he enjoyed the sensation of being both clean and unhurt. After a year in a state of pain and squalor, he had found a new appreciation for a peaceful life. He stepped out to his bedroom, reaching for his clothes when he realised someone else was in the room. Mitch’s heart rate shot up. He knew a weapon was not to hand.
“A chance of a day of peace, and you’re still working.”
He turned to see Eli sat in the corner of the room. She looked far from amused, yet still glad to see him.
“Leave no man behind,” he replied.
She shook her head in disapproval.
“How many times do we have to go through this? They are not humans, and they sure aren’t marines. They are not your responsibility. Only a few months ago, they were probably killing our allies.”
“After all they have done for us, they are my responsibility. We have been at war with many nations in the past, and yet we stood beside them in the last war. Anyway, I will have no more discussion about it. Jafar and Tsengal are members of our unit. We each rely on one another. If you cannot, I suggest you request a transfer.”
Eli sighed in disgust and leapt up from the chair. She charged across the room and ripped the door open, leaving in a furious rage. He shook his head in response. Her overly dramatic response didn’t impress him one bit.
“And to think I looked forward to this shit,” he muttered.
He turned his mind back to the day’s events and remembered he had agreed to meet Major Weller shortly. Mitch walked barefoot across the smooth floor, enjoying the relaxing sensation that was easing his mood. He tapped the button on his wardrobe, and the doors slid apart. Inside was a line of uniforms that were immaculately clean and had been untouched in a long time.
Mitch reached in for his dress uniform and realized quite how long it had been since he had last seen it, let alone worn it. A few minutes later, he was strutting across the base and looking a far cry from his bedraggled appearance from earlier in the day. Meeting Weller had given him a glimmer of hope for his future on the base. Despite being loved by so many of the serving marines, he was ever more hated by so many of his superiors and others in the service.
As he stepped into the mess, he could see Weller had identified him immediately and turned to the barman to order him a beer. He stepped up to the bar and thanked his new acquaintance.
“You sure know how to win friends,” said Mitch.
“I didn’t think I needed to.”
Taylor threw back his beer and took a long relaxed sigh as he slumped down against the bar.
“Just when you thought it was all over, eh?” asked Weller.
“I never thought for a minute that this was over,” he whispered. “We’ve humiliated an enemy which consider themselves infinitely superior to ourselves. Do you think for a minute that they would let it slide? They are down but not out.”
“I have to say, you’re not as I expected at all, Taylor. Your reputation made you appear as a glory seeker.”
“Don’t hold back now,” he replied with a smirk.
Weller held out his arm in friendship.
“The name’s Bryan.”
Taylor accepted his gesture.
“Mitch, and for the record, you’re not the pencil pushing stuck up bastard I would have expected, either. You are no stranger to this war, where were you?”
“New York, from the very beginning. I was liaising with the National Guard there when the invasion of the east coast began. I lost communication with my CO and jumped on the first truck I could find to take me to the front. We thought we could hold them there and then. We were wrong.”
“You saw all of that, and yet you treat Jafar and Tsengal with such respect?”
“You do, don’t you?”
“I have my reasons. You have none.”
Weller raised his eyebrows and turned back to his drink, thinking about Taylor’s observance. Bryan finally looked back to Mitch who was awaiting some answer.
“I guess it’s my job to give these things a little more consideration. The automatic response of a human being now is to want to kill the aliens upon first sight, but isn’t that what human beings have done to each other for
