with that, that’s what makes you special.'
'Don’t you get it? With this, anyone can be a hero.'
'Not just anyone, Trevor. You. You got this gift for some reason. Not me, not the others. You. Did all those memories give you the resolve to charge down that hill? Did these memories make you reach out to me? To show me who I could be?'
He opened his mouth but no words came out, so he shut it again.
Nina lectured, 'Sure, you’ve got some pretty fancy tools. But you have to use those tools, Trevor. Being a leader isn’t just about what you know or what skills you have, it’s about what you do with all that. Some men would take these gifts and use them for their own gain. You use all this to save your people. I’ve watched you listen to advice when you needed it, or block everything else out when you knew you needed to be decisive. I saw you kneel before me in the rain, Trevor, just so I’d stay. You put aside your ego for the good of the cause. You’d do anything. You’re no fraud, Trevor.'
'I never wanted this. It’s no gift. It’s a curse.'
'That’s why you make such a damn good leader.'
He shook his head; 'I’m not the man you think I am. I’m…less.'
'Now you listen to me, because I don’t know what you’re saying. I love you. I don’t love you because you fly alien ships or can shoot good. I love you because you care about people and you cared about me. You brought feelings out in me that I never had before. You believed in me. None of that came from memories,' she pointed toward the mystical object. 'I would love you if you weren’t the great leader. I would love you if you were still just selling Chevrolets. And I’ll tell you what…if I could have any wish at all, I would wish that you and I could live in that dream world where we didn’t have to be something; we just lived.'
He hugged her and said, 'I’d like that, too.'
– It would be their last night of being in love.
They lay together in bed and whispered as he massaged her with gentle caresses, as he felt the magnificent strength and warmth of her body. She purred softly at his touch.
He studied her and wondered; he wondered what path the future held for her. He wondered if she would find someone else. If she did, would he be happy for her, or jealous?
They explored one another a last time. A desperate time. They could feel the ticking of the clock; the certainty that dawn marched toward them, that a new day would come and steal away all the days that had come before.
Tears flowed even amidst the sighs of satisfaction. The embraces became frantic clutches.
When finally their love had been fully satiated, they lay together and dared not sleep because then the next moment would be morning. So they whispered more. They whispered as long as they could.
Slowly their tired eyes wavered, their exhausted bodies begged for rest; they slipped stubbornly into sleep.
Time ran out.
35. Sunset
The June sun rose over the mountains to the east. Its glittering beams reflected across the gentle waters of the lake and shined on the balcony of the mansion.
Trevor Stone stood at the glass doors watching the sunrise. How he hated to see it.
Nina Forest emerged from the bedroom and glided to him with a blanket wrapped around her body. It draped to the floor as if a gown.
She shared the view and said, 'You’re up early.'
Trevor, dressed in khaki cargo pants and a black shirt, kept his eyes on that dreadful sunrise.
'It’s going to be a long day.'
When he said no more she walked away mumbling, 'I suppose I had better get ready.'
He finally faced her.
'Nina…'
She paused to listen, but what more could be said? They had said it. Whispered it. Cried it all last night.
She flashed a soft, sad smile then continued on to the bedroom. Trevor returned his gaze to the view.
Jon Brewer knocked at the half-open hallway door then walked across the room and stood by Trevor’s side.
'Everything is set.'
Trevor did not even blink.
Jon stepped closer.
'Are you okay?'
Trevor considered.
What a question. What was the answer?
He told a transparent lie in a monotone voice without pulling his eyes from the glow on the horizon: 'Sure I’m okay. Just another day of walking the path. Another day of doing what I’m supposed to do; of being a link in the chain. Just another day.'
Jon swallowed, glanced around, then returned from whence he had come. His footfalls echoed on the wooden floor.
Duty called. Trevor followed Jon toward the hall. Half way across the room, he stopped and turned to view the rising sun one more time…
…The captured alien shuttle now named 'Eagle One' flew lead with two more of the magnificent crafts on its flanks, all three flying south through the rays of morning. The nose cone pushed through banks of misty white clouds drifting beneath a blue sky.
Inside the cockpit, Nina Forest felt as if she were surrounded by that blue sky, feeling as if it were her nose pushing through the clouds.
An illusion, of course, constructed by the navigation goggles.
She had manned the controls since take off and had not stopped smiling the entire trip. Trevor observed from the co-pilot’s seat, sharing her excitement.
'This is amazing,' she repeated for about the one-hundredth time. 'I’ve never…never flown anything like this.'
Dunston flew Eagle Two in the formation. His voice announced the end of the journey: 'Approaching the LZ. Ground team reports area secure.'
Trevor pushed the transmit button on the control panel.
'Eagles Two and Three, give us a bulls eye to land on.'
Nina jumped, 'Wh-what? You’re going to let me land?'
'Your last lesson…'
…Garrett 'Stonewall' McAllister watched the flight of ships approach from the north. Scattered around him lay the remains of The Order’s abandoned outpost: blast craters, crumbled walls, and destroyed doorways left from last autumn’s battle. Human and K9 soldiers guarded the perimeter as well as the inner corridors.
Two Eagles swooped over the outer walls. The vehicles descended parallel to one another into the courtyard and landed, leaving enough space between them for the third airship…
…'Just relax,' Trevor soothed. 'You’ve got to see outside but you still have to watch your monitors on the panel.'
Nina did just that, balancing the superimposed image broadcast from the exterior to her eyes with the reality of the control panel inches in front of her.
She wiggled the flight sticks left then right. Her feet worked the pedals to modulate the force of the anti- gravity circuitry.
The ship that had once belonged to aliens but had become a human machine eased toward the Earth and landed perfectly between the other two shuttles. The landing gear bounced gently as the springs absorbed the
