The Golden Viper by Sean Robins

Author:Sean Robins
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Beyond Time - A Next Chapter Imprint
Published: 2019-12-30T05:00:00+00:00

8

Earth

Standard Galactic Date: 055.03.5073

(Earth Date: 27/04/2049)

“Why are you in fleet uniform?” I asked Lilly.

“Some commander of the fleet you are!” She laughed. “I’m with the fleet now. Turns out my particular skill set is super handy on a starship bridge or a command center.”

“Starship bridge! You’re what, nineteen?” I scoffed.

“And a computer genius.” she grinned.

Kurt and I had invited her for lunch. We would’ve taken her to a fancy restaurant, but these days the two of us couldn’t appear in public without a legion of fans following us asking for selfies or autographs, and after Talmak, there was another group who kept trying to pour pig blood on our heads. I had somehow ended up getting blamed for that catastrophe even though, in reality, I was the only person who tried to stop it. If Tarq wanted to make me project an image of a ruthless and bloodthirsty maniac, he’d certainly succeeded.

We met in the Marines’ base in New York. The place had a separate restaurant for the officers. It wasn’t a five-star establishment, but the food wasn’t bad.

“About that terrible business in Talmak,” she said, “I just wanted to say my father would’ve understood.”

Somehow, knowing that the Butcher of Macao would’ve agreed with what we’d done wasn’t much of a comfort.

“He would, wouldn’t he?” Kurt agreed.

“Liz wouldn’t. She would’ve kicked our butts for even considering it. But let’s talk about something else before I lose my appetite.” I bit into my steak.

“You aren’t going to believe who came to see me the other day,” said Lilly. “My mom. She said she was proud that I was part of the group that saved humanity. Also, I ran into Liz’s sisters the other day.”

“That reminds me: I should go visit them while I’m here,” I said.

“I saw you guys on TV during the ceremony, by the way,” said Lilly. “I thought you looked amazing.”

Jackson had arranged for a grandiose public ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the Xortaag invasion on April 13th. Kurt and I were invited, and the president pinned a few ostentatious-sounding medals on our chests. He made a speech, during which he had the nerve to say, “Unfortunately, I wasn’t in Winterfell, but I’d like to think if I were, I’d have done something heroic to save humanity.”

“I hated every minute of it,” I said, rubbing my wedding ring. “I kept wishing I could punch Jackson in his big fat mouth. I would’ve, but Kurt pulled me back.”

“I have a bad feeling about that guy,” said Kurt.

We ate, talked and laughed. Lilly told us about her new life. She’d started dating a Canadian boy who happened to live right next door to her. He was probably lucky Allen was dead. We told her about life on a starship. She giggled when we told her the story of what Xornaa had tried to pull and how Tarq had retaliated. “Typical Tarq, to mess with her like that,” she said.

I pointed at Kurt. “This one is dating too, by the way.

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