“You got him!” Adam’s tension was washed away by an overwhelming sense of relief.
“We got him,” Layla corrected.
“It worked so quickly.”
Layla grinned. “No. The nanos take time to do their magic, so the syringe was also loaded with sedatives.”
“Brilliant. So, that was it? We’re done?”
Layla shook her head. “I need to call the rebels in here and have them come collect Bibble. Then we’re done.”
“I just . . . I thought it would take longer than this. All that planning leading up to this moment, and it was over in a couple of minutes.”
“That’s because we planned well,” Layla replied.
“I guess.” Perhaps Adam was spoiled by movies and total immersion games where the final conflict often took a minimum of ten minutes. Or books, where the climax spanned a number of pages, embarking on a number of twists, turns, dips, and dizzying highs.
This . . . was certainly not that.
Layla put her hands on her hips. “Are you actually disappointed we didn’t have some grand battle here?”
“No! Of course not.” Adam knew he wouldn’t be any good in a fight. “It’s just . . . maybe when we tell this story in the future, we can embellish a bit to make it sound more epic?”
She considered that for a moment before nodding. “Sounds good.”
When the rebels arrived, they hauled Bibble to his feet. His drugged smile and limp, tangled eyestalks made him seem so ridiculous no one could quite believe he’d ever posed a danger to anyone.
Adam and Layla decided to take a walk along the streets of Dyntaxi Prime before heading back to the ship. The sidewalks were paved with emerald green stones, which paired surprisingly well with the golden sky overhead. During his first visit here, he didn’t have the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of this world. Yet now, as he took in the sights, it only fueled his uncertainty.
“I’m not sure what I want to do with my life now,” Adam said softly, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. “I could try to go back to my normal life once the details get sorted out here, but all my things have already been sold. I’m sure someone else already has my old job. One way or another, I have to start all over again.”
Layla slipped her hand into his. “You want something different, don’t you? This whole ordeal, as odd and dangerous as it was, made you want more, didn’t it?”
“It did,” he admitted.
“You could come with me.” Layla shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do now either, but I have a spaceship. We could zip around the cosmos, seeing where life leads us. It could be fun.”
The prospect filled Adam with the kind of excitement he only recalled feeling as a kid. “All right. I’ll stay as long as you can stand me.”
* * *
George, sickened by the idea of sharing close quarters with two lovebirds long term, departed to find his own way. “If you need me, you know where to find me. Just try not to need me,” he told Layla before she beamed him down to the surface of Warmickan 3. Despite his words, his tone had Adam suspecting he wouldn’t actually mind as much as he claimed.
A week passed. Adam and Layla had already visited two worlds on the fringe of the Federation. They were in transit to a third when they received a transmission from Dyntaxi Prime. Layla read it first. Her jaw dropped as she perused the text.
“What is it?” Adam asked as he strode into the cockpit.
“It’s a message from the new magistrate,” she replied. “It says that she’s grateful for our service to the Federation, and that Bibble is doing well in his new prison cell.” She paused. “She’d also like to remind you that you owe a fine for the nudity complaints lodged against you while you were in custody.”
Adam was dumbfounded. “They wouldn’t let me get dressed! How can they fine me for that?” He shook his head. “It looks like my bad luck is returning.”
Layla laughed. “Oh well. At least it’ll keep things interesting.”
# # #
About the Author
L.G. Keltner spends most of her time trying to write while also cleaning up after her crazy but wonderful kids and hanging out with her husband. Her favorite genre of all time is science fiction, and she’s been trying to write novels since the age of six. Needless to say, those earliest attempts weren’t all that good.
Her non-writing hobbies include astronomy and playing Trivial Pursuit.
Ways to Connect
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LGKeltner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LGKeltner
Blog: https://lgkeltner.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14106892.L_G_Keltner
Also by L.G. Keltner
A Silent Soliloquy
Cosmic Seasoning: A Collection of Short Stories
Self-Help 101 or: How I Learned to Take Over the World Through Tolerating My Family
Self-Help 101 or: How to Survive a Bombardment With Minimal Injury
Self-Help 101 or: How to Select a Costume to Help You Deal With People
“Felix Was Here” in the IWSG anthology Parallels: Felix Was Here
“Treating the Beast” in the anthology Circuits and Slippers
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