A Chance Meeting

Posted on Fri Oct 2nd, 2020 @ 10:22am by Lieutenant Commander Feyd Relor

Mission: By Odin!
Location: Independence's Ward Room
Timeline: Enroute to Pyxis

Feyd set his tray from the replicator in the Officer's Ward Room at an empty table and took a seat. As he started in on the vegetables, he heard a female voice to his right say, "Hello, Feyd."

The doctor tensed, then relaxed. He’d been expecting this. It was Jeannette’s way to sneak up on people. On Erp, it gave her a tactical advantage, and their combat group had celebrated her abilities. Feyd supposed the advantages were the same in interpersonal relationships.

“Hello Puppy.” He said, with no acknowledgement that he was using her pet name. “How’s the Galaxy been treating you?” He spun in his chair to take her in. She looked like the Jeannette he knew, aged perhaps, and sporting a new scar and haircut, but it was unmistakably her.

Feyd detected a downward turn of her mouth, "Don't call me that."

He grimaced. So it was going to be like that, all business. Very well then...

“Imagine my surprise when I read the dossier of the Ambassador’s entourage and saw your name.” He added, rising. In fact, he had not read any such thing, but he was damned if he was going to let her have the satisfaction of having the element of surprise she so treasured.

"So you just figured out that I was still alive?" she asked, cocking one blonde eyebrow, "I've known you were alive for a almost a decade."

"Well, nice of you to reach out." He remarked. "How can I help you?"

"Help? Too late for that," Jeanette replied flatly taking a seat at Feyd's table, "What I really want to know is why, after we planned to escape on the courier shuttle together, you never showed at the rendezvous point. I waited for you, longer than I should have. I waited even after the shuttle departed. I waited so long that my father and brother had to come find me. We were captured by the Murtaw making our way back to camp."

Feyd’s mind raced, trying to recall the events of that day, so long ago. “That’s not what happened. I was there, I looked for you, I was told you boarded a shuttle and left without me. I assumed that was how you wanted to end things, so I left and never looked back.”

He studied her face. The person he had constructed in his mind after all these years would rely on such trickery to get back into his good graces, confuse him, set him off balance…but for what reason? What was it that she wanted from him? He waited for her response.

For the first time, a flicker of doubt appeared in Jeanette’s eye. Then she shook her head, "No, I refuse to believe that. We picked that cave, secretly stocked it for weeks, and planned our escape to the minute. You were the best of the young fighters. You never missed an ambush or rally time. You weren’t there because you didn’t care about us. Didn’t care about me!” The other conversations in the Ward Room died down and the officers nearest to Feyd and Jeanette shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

**********

The smell of earth filled Feyd’s senses, and the pressure of Jeannette on top of him was enough to fulfill him. Her hair brushed his face lightly as her lips found his, a hungry whimper escaping them as they kissed.

The morning dew seeped into his tunic as he lay flat on a rise overlooking the Murtaw camp. A few quick hand signals from Brick, his unit commander, and he moved down the rise like a wraith. Once in position, the pincer operation went into full effect. The Murtaw didn’t have a chance.

Firelight flickered over Brick’s face as he laid a heavy hand on Feyd’s shoulder. “You’re my best man, Relor.” He was a little chatty when he got enough booze in him. “Together we’ll beat them.”

Brick was talking with a resistance fighter from another band. He was dressed in a flight suit and trying to convince Brick about something. "With the Murtaw controlling the warp communication centers and jamming all other attempts to contact the Federation, this shuttle is our last chance."

"We left the Federation for a reason," Brick countered, "We don't need them to beat the Murtaw."

The flight suited fighter grimaced, "Look, I not saying that we stop fighting but we need to bring pressure from any quarter. We need you to create a distraction to give us a chance to launch and get into orbit."

"Gives us a chance to kill more Murtaw," he said, glancing at Feyd. After their last operation he had been made second in command.

Jeanette moved lazily against him, the warm blankets covering them their only protection against the crisp morning air. “You promise? One last operation, then we escape like we planned.”

“I promise. We’ll meet in the shuttle yard of the Federation encampment. Coordinate the time and place with Brick. He’s promised to help us.”

“Yes sir.” She said playfully, then rose to dress.

The last of the Murtaw jerked as the life left his body, Feyd standing over him with a bloody knife in his hand. “That’s it then.” He said, and Brick grimaced. The diversionary attack complete, it was now up to the shuttle team.

“Look, son, you sure you want to do this? We’ve got them on the run. They’re finished. We can tie up the loose ends and be done with this forever. We could stay here and make a life for ourselves.”

Feyd shook his head. Part of him wanted to. He’d grown up here, lost his parents here, fell in love here. But his future was with Jeannette. He shook his head. “What’s the rendezvous time?”

Brick sighed. “0800 hours, tomorrow morning.”

Feyd held out a blood stained hand. “Good luck, Captain.”

**********

Feyd shook himself as he returned to the present.

“What….what time did Brick tell you was the rendezvous?” He asked Jeanette softly.

"At twilight the evening of the diversionary attack on the Murtaw," Jeanette replied her voice wavering between anger and despair, "I spent three years as their prisoner. My brother died trying to escape, my father of a broken heart, and my mother has never forgiven me." She fixed Feyd squarely in the eye, anger ascending, "Humans and Murtaw aren't biologically compatible so I didn't suffer certain indignities...but there were others."

Suddenly, the pieces snapped together for Feyd. “God Damn it. God Damn him.” He whispered.

Jeannette remained stone faced. “What do you mean?”

Feyd sighed and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “It was Brick. He told me the rendezvous was at Dawn. When I asked where you were, he told me you were there the night before, that you had left, that you….you didn’t have the balls to face me and tell me we were through.” He met her eyes. “And I believed him.”

Jeanette stared at Feyd, her blue eyes boring into his brown eyes. Then without warning, she reached out and slapped Feyd firmly across his face. Before he had a chance to react, she pulled him in for a deep kiss before pushing him away and running out of the wardroom.

Feyd could feel the eyes of the other officers in the room upon him.

Feyd shook his head as she departed. If she was anything like the woman who had left him on Erp…he amended that, if she was anything like the woman HE had left on Erp, she would need time to process things, and it would do no good whatsoever to go after her. He ignored the stairs of the other crewmen in the ward room and headed for his quarters.