“Tonight, let’s just say I’m Exeter. And it’s not a bother. We Aeternans are all inside Occip, easy to track. I filtered the secure grid for exceptions. Took about ten seconds to find you.”

  “Did Den … shit. Did he say what happened?”

  He sat beside her.

  “Not much, but I have an idea.”

  “I wanted to have a good time. We made a connection. He was so sweet to me.”

  “I know Den. He’s a good man.”

  “After we finished, he took out a knife and asked me to kill him. That is sick.”

  “I think he misjudged the moment.”

  “I’m sorry. What? He asked me to stab him in the heart. I think that’s more than a misjudgment, Exeter. He said, ‘This is our way.’ Is he right? Is this what you people do to each other?”

  “It’s complicated, Chi. Yes. It’s his way. The same goes for many others. But not all of us.”

  “You care to explain?”

  “I doubt you’d understand. I didn’t grasp it until after I realized I was immortal. When we die, we regenerate. In a strange way, it makes death exciting.”

  Did he actually say that?

  “Normal people like me do anything we can to hold off death. But your people treat it like it’s some kind of game?”

  “Not a game, Chi. A tool.”

  “For what?”

  “To remind us of what we’ll never have. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Try.”

  “When I fought the Swarm, I was afraid … until the first time they killed me. After that, I had no fear. I killed people – enemy or otherwise – and I didn’t care. I took pride in it. I wanted to see those bodies fall because I knew they’d stay down. Death had no value. I rose above it.

  “When I finished my indoctrination here, I was taken up to that stage. Michael handed a pistol to another immortal, and he shot me right here.” He pointed between his eyes. “It’s tradition. Every Aeternan has died at least once. Some of us, dozens of times.

  “Look, Chi. Humans are supposed to die and turn to ash. Not us. We pass through this place we call the abyss. It’s like a preview chamber for the afterlife. Then we’re snatched back. There’s always relief, but I think there’s also regret.”

  “Why would anyone regret living?”

  “Because we know death is important. It raises the value of life.”

  Finally, he said something that made sense.

  “So, immortals like Den need death to appreciate life.”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s horrifying.”

  “Is it? We’re a very happy people, Chi. We love each other. We fight for each other. But will we feel the same way five hundred years from now? Can you even imagine living so long? We need death at our side just the same as mortals. It grounds us.”

  “Even if you’re right, Exeter, why after making love? Why after something so beautiful?”

  “It’s different for everyone. I’m the newest Aeternan, and I’m still learning. Did he try to explain?”

  “Yeah. He said something about a perfect circle. He was at the most beautiful place in life, so he needed to see the end. I’m sorry, Exeter, but that’s insane.”

  He rose to his feet and offered his hand, which she took.

  “I can’t speak for Den, and I really shouldn’t be talking about this at all. Especially with a mortal. Chi, we all find salvation in different ways. I know what this looks like from the outside, but I ask you to respect it. I also ask that you not talk about it with your crew.”

  “Why?”

  “We’ve worked together really well. Minister Cooper and Capt. Cortez are about to sort the details of our alliance. Part of that involves being able to respect our differences. Do you understand?”

  She did, but it pissed her off, nonetheless.

  “I won’t tell anyone. But for the record, I’m so disappointed. I thought your people were better than this.”

  “Why? Because we have a reset gene? We’re human beings.”

  “I think that’s debatable.”

  He turned away.

  “C’mon, Private Baek. I’ll take to your habitat.”

  They didn’t say another word to each other.

  9

  Day 4, SY 5367

  K ARA THOUGHT THEIR PLAN took too many risks, but she went along with it for now. She did not want to believe Michael had become the monster Aldo suggested. She’d have a better idea before day’s end.

  For the moment, she allowed the morning splendor and a strong cup of café to stir her senses. Butterflies danced around her in the milkweed field a hundred meters from shore, and the rising sun turned the sheer mountain faces into fiery sentinels.

  “Have you ever seen anything like it?” She asked Cando.

  “Been to many worlds, but this is a topper. It makes me think.”

  “About?”

  “I’m thinking this is once in a lifetime. It’d be a waste if I didn’t take advantage of the moment.”

  “What do you m …?”

  She looked to her right, but Cando wasn’t there. She turned and looked down. He bent on one knee surrounded by butterflies.

  “None of it matters without you, Kara. Will you marry me?”

  Ham warned her the question was coming. She’d been looking for signs. Still, Kara shed tears when she heard the words. She also dropped her café. Cando didn’t miss a beat.

  “I think that’s a yes.”

  “It’s certainly not a no.”

  “But it’s a yes? Just so we’re on the same page.”

  “I’d marry you today, Cando.”

  “Ham will be happy to do the honors. There’s just one glitch.”

  “Oh?”

  “I don’t have a ring. Been a bit busy.”

  “Have you? I’d bet we could find a nice one in Promise. The Aeternans love their jewelry.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Also, the marriage certificate might be tricky, what with me not being born in this universe.”

  “We’ll figure it out.”

  They fell into a quiet, lingering embrace.

  Of all the madness Kara witnessed since her wedding day, this felt the most surreal. Being on the receiving end of this romantic moment had seemed unlikely. She began her first engagement by signing a commitment contract, followed by a media release from the House of Syung-Low. A Taron courier delivered the ring days later.

  And now this.

  A soldier from another universe, on the planet of the immortals.

  “I assumed I’d die fighting Swarm,” he said. “I gave up on love.”

  “It’s a good thing my first husband brought us together.”

  They had accepted the truth’s dark, twisted irony.

  “It shouldn’t be possible, Kara, but here we are. I still remember those first hours on Scramjet Ram. I watched you sleep in a still-seat. By the time I woke you, I knew you were going to be my wife.”

  “You knew?”

  “OK. I was hopeful. That day was the first time I felt like I might have a real life after all. I’ve been in love with you ever since. That much I know for sure.”

  She sank into his arms. Together, they watched sunlight dance across the mountains.

  “No matter what happens next, we’ll always have this moment.”

  Cando sputtered through a laugh.

  “He’s going to be here soon, isn’t he?”

  Kara sighed.

  “Any minute now, based on the last update.”

  “What a way to start the day. A marriage proposal followed by a touch of interstellar espionage. What a life we lead.”

  “As long as we do it together, I will be a happy woman.”

  “Remember that thought if the day turns sour.”

  True. Cando set a high bar. She didn’t want to leave the moment. At best, the day would involve hours of protracted negotiations. At worst, they’d lose an important ally and perhaps create a dangerous enemy. The timing needed to be precise, the tone disciplined, the body language convincing but not aggressive.

  They savored the next ten minutes in the fields, playing with the butterflies. Michael Cooper’s Scramjet blasted out of an aperture and came to a soft landing on the red sand.

  “And so it begins,” he said. “Shall we greet the Lord and Master?”

  “I think we’d best.”

  As they approached through the field, Ham, Aldo, and his staff emerged from the camp. The Scramjet’s egress pixelated. To Kara’s relief, Admiral Kane stepped off first. They were worried he’d be left out despite Cando’s personal request. Michael dominated the egress, a beastly figure wearing a silver bodysuit trimmed in white, his hair flowing loosely over his shoulders.

  He did not step off. Rather, he looked inside and spoke to others.

  “Unbelievable,” Cando said.

  Michael brought his family. Samantha and the boys – Daniel, 8, and Harrison, 3 – joined him. He bent down to his sons and pointed to the nearest field. They jumped off and ran across the beach without acknowledging the other adults.

  “Hold his hand,” Michael shouted after them.

  Daniel did as he was told, and the boys surrounded themselves with clusters of butterflies.

  “I don’t want to be cynical,” Cando said, “but this feels strategic.”

  “Where I grew up, family was the weapon of choice. Let’s say hello.”

  The boys waved as they passed by, likely having forgotten names. They met Kara and Cando once. She thought they were sweet and respectful, carrying none of the haughty air of the princes they must have been among the Aeternans. They laughed and danced amid a cloud of tiny wings.

  Aldo’s young team lined up to be greeted, as if reviewed by the king and queen. Ham chatted with Kane, while Aldo kept his distance. He propped himself against a cane, which Kara noticed for the first time.

  “It’s a test,” Cando said. “Watch and listen.”

  Michael towered over his own people, who themselves stood well above six feet. The Hokkis appeared like children in his presence. Kara caught the tail end of a back-and-forth between Michael and Shoan.

  “Eye-opening, for sure,” Shoan said. “An understatement, Minister. I see why Aldo works so hard. We learn new things every day.”

  “He’s a good ol’ bird,” Michael said, glancing at the scientist. “Says I’ll have to take him out of here in a box. Good thing he has you peeps to do the heavy lifting. I gave him a sweet deal.”

  Samantha, in her formal blue-and-gray uniform, acknowledged Kara and Cando with a hug. Sam’s plump belly reminded them she was due in two months.

  “We have not spent enough time together,” Samantha said. “I’d love to sit down and hear about your lives and how you’ve managed the past several months.”

  “Perhaps we’ll sneak in time between negotiations.”

  “I’d love to, Kara, but I won’t be staying. I have a full day. I’m meeting in Share with a trade delegation from Encilladi. We brought the boys with us because they’ve never seen the butterfly fields.”

  She melted watching her sons play. Kara too regretted their limited contact. The woman’s humility struck her as the mirror opposite of Michael. She wondered how they made it succeed.

  “Do you take them to work with you?”

  “Most of the time. They have school in a separate wing of the diplomatic headquarters. If I’m not available for them, one of my aides will stand in. They think of her like an older sister.”

  “You must stay busy, with so many trade partners.”

  “It’s a challenge, but we manage to keep up.”

  “I hope so. Has anyone voiced concern about the new Alliance?”

  Samantha paused. Was she hesitant to discuss it or trying to toe a line her husband set?

  “We know very little about it, Kara. We don’t have ambassadors or trade with those planets. Michael and I have taken a wait-and-see approach for now.”

  “I’m sure we’ll be discussing it today.”

  Samantha groaned.

  “I still can’t believe Valentin is behind it. I’m sure that’s going to be a thorny discussion. For what it’s worth, I wrote down my thoughts. I shared them to Michael’s Occip. Feel free to remind him.” She muffled a laugh. “He might conveniently forget.”

  “Why?”

  “We disagree more often than you might think. He claims it’s strictly a military matter, but I think there’s a larger picture at play. Feel free to remind him of that, too.”

  Samantha’s calm, reflective demeanor grabbed Kara. Here’s a woman at peace with herself and her place in the world, Kara thought. She doesn’t need to command the room. Why can’t we negotiate with her?

  “I have to ask, Samantha. Are you getting excited about number three? I hear it’s going to be a girl.”

  “I am. Danny and Harry are lights in my life, but to be honest, I always wanted a daughter. Do you have siblings?”

  “I did. Two older brothers.”

  Perhaps it was the way Kara said it, but Samantha caught on. She didn’t pursue a follow-up.

  “I should let you two get on with it. I’ll collect the boys and be out of everyone’s hair.”

  Before they hugged, Samantha studied Kara.

  “Did you know you’re glowing?”

  “I am?”

  “You’re not …?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe it’s just the morning light.” Samantha hugged Kara then kissed Cando on the cheek. “Take care of each other.”

  The smirk on Cando said he almost gave away the secret.

  The reception from Michael took a different tack but not surprising.

  “There they are,” he told the couple. “I reckoned Cortez couldn’t show up without his top two flunkies.”

  She’d never heard the word, but it didn’t sound complimentary.

  “We’re a team on Scylla,” Cando said. “We work well together.”

  “Hell yeah, don’t I know? You threw a fastball high and tight in the War Games. I never saw it coming.”

  “Predictable strategy leads to predictable loss. I learned that lesson my first month in combat. Also, where I’m from, flunky is a sexual term, and not a pleasant one.”

  Michael pushed hair out of his face.

  “Seriously? Fuck me. I sometimes forget, dude. We speak the same language, but the words don’t always have the same definition. I didn’t mean to slight you.”

  They shook on it, though Cando withheld a forgiving smile.

  “I find simple words spoken with precision are the most effective.”

  “Yeah. I don’t tend to drive the slow lane, but I get your point. If I push it too far beyond the speed limit, feel free to write me a ticket.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  Kara doubted he understood the analogy either. Michael did not appear to care. He slapped his hands together.

  “All righty then. We ready to rock out this bad boy?”

  “If you mean begin,” Ham said, “Yes. We’re all here.”

  “Good enough. Aldo, you and your folks can head on back to the barn. We’ll take it from here.”

  Aldo waited until his charges started back before ungluing his eyes from Michael. Did he want to say something? If so, he stuffed the words and retreated but made strong use of the cane.

  Ham frowned. “Michael, aren’t we following them?”

  “What for?”

  “I assumed we would convene in the camp and set terms for our negotiations.”

  “Nah. I got a better plan. We’re gonna take a walk.”

  “Where?”

  He pointed two fingers southeast across the prairie.

  “There’s a creek with a nice grove of sehoya trees 7.2 kilometers in that direction. A little exercise, imbibe the senses, chat it up. Smart money says we’ll have a deal before we reach the grove.”

  “Seem unnecessarily far, Michael.”

  “I crossed four hundred fifty-two light-years in a few seconds to reach this planet. You talking about seven kay? This shit is easy.” He pointed down the beach to a case sitting outside the Scramjet. “I brought everything we’ll need, including a hell of a lunch. You people will love the menu. And don’t worry. I’ll carry it. But if you need to head back to camp to collect any personals, I’ll wait. Gotta say bye to my boys, anyway. Love those kids.”

  He left for his family without another word. All three turned to Rafael Kane, who shaded his eyes.

  “Did you know about this?” Cando said.

  “He told me en route. There wasn’t time to talk him out of it. In my experience, once the Minister makes a decision, he doesn’t change his mind and he’s not interested in objections. Only his wife pushes back with any success.”

  Kara made a leap.

  “Is that why he leaves Samantha out of military decisions?”

  Kane stiffened.

  “We have a chain of command. Samantha is a diplomat.”

  “What’s his goal?” Cando said. “This feels like a diversionary tactic.”

  “The Minister likes to command the moment, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. He doesn’t intend to divert you from the issues, but he does want to make you work harder.”

  Cando glanced at the happy family in the field.

  “He believes this will give him an advantage.”

  “Yes, Colonel. He adopted a similar approach to indoctrinating new Aeternans.”

  “I wonder,” Ham said. “Has he made up his mind about today’s issues? If we object to any points, will he consider them in a thoughtful manner?”

  “I hope so. At the very least, you can count on me.”

  “Is he still livid about the War Games maneuver?”

  “Furious. I’ve talked him down, but he considers it a betrayal.”

  Michael lifted Harry onto his massive shoulders as the family walked toward the Scramjet.

  “He looks like a good father,” Kara said.

  “He is.” Kane waved good-bye. “He wants you to know. They are what he fights for. No one comes before his boys.”

  “Because they carry his name.”

  Kane turned to her as if she’d stumbled upon a great secret.

  “Exactly.”

  She thought of Lang and Dae and what they might have become if given the opportunity. She wondered about the girl inside Samantha.