Chapter Two: Discovery

The rest of the sweep was quiet and without further incident.  Alpha Squad headed back to SICON HQ.  General Miriam Redwing was waiting for them outside in the staging area when they returned.  Lieutenant Rico looked to the rest of the squad, but said nothing.  Nala looked to Johnnie with sympathy.

"The General is not here because of anything you did, Lieutenant.  She is here because of me," she said softly.

"Commander Nala," Redwing said, saluting the woman in black.  Nala returned the salute crisply.

"That is not necessary, General-," Nala began, and then stopped.  She then chuckled softly.  "Do they now?  How curious."

"What is?" Redwing asked, puzzled.

"INTEL.  Wanting to debrief me now.  Please General; do not deny it.  Lying does not become you.  Tell the impatient INTEL Officer that is about ready to climb the walls of your office that I will debrief him in the morning.  Officer Jenkins will accompany me at that time.  As for my report, the city of Honolulu is clear of all Arachnid Activity for now.  There are seven Transport Bugs off shore that were off-loading more Arachnid ground and air support at the time of my arrival.  I let the transports live – but their cargo is nothing more than fertilizer.  Officer Jenkins took care of the city," she said turning to Carl.  Jenkins gave a crooked grin.  Nala then turned to General Redwing and bowed crisply.  "With your permission, General."  She saluted again and fell in to formation behind Jenkins.  Rico then walked to the General and saluted her.  She returned the salute.  "What are your orders, sir?" he asked.

"Charlie, Delta and Echo Squads have just come off of 2 days R&R.  I think it is time that Alpha Squadron enjoy the peace – however brief."  The entire squad saluted the General.  "Yes sir!" they yelled.  The General then turned to Nala and Carl.

"Officer Jenkins, Commander Nala.  INTEL debriefing at 1000 hours tomorrow."  The pair saluted silently.  Nala nodded in gratitude. 

As the squad broke up and began making plans for their sudden furlough, Nala took both of Carl's hands into hers.  "Good," she whispered after a moment of studying him carefully.  "At least eight hours of sleep." Carl wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.  He put his head into the crook of her shoulder and sighed painfully.

"I need you," he whispered desperately.  "It hurts."  She ran her hand across his cropped blonde hair and returned his embrace.

"You will have me.  We will share each other.  I promise."  She looked to the outside of the compound – away from the concrete and metal.  Away from all the noise of men and machinery.  She found the place.  "Let's go to the cliff.  It is protected.  We need to talk. I have much to show you and you have much to share with me.  And…I need to feel earth under my feet."  Carl reluctantly let her go and looking down at her, smiled.

"Let's get some sleeping bags," he said softly.

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Thirty minutes later the pair of them were laying in the high grasses under a palm tree in their sleeping bags.  Carl had his head on Nala's chest.  She held him lovingly; both of her arms were around him.  He sighed deeply.  Nala began laughing softly.

"What?" Carl asked, raising his head from her chest.

"You," she whispered, running a hand across his face.  "You sound so…at peace."  She sat up, leaning her back against the trunk of the palm tree.  Carl sat up in his sleeping bag next to Nala.

"I am at peace when I am with you.  When you left me on Klendathu…I was devastated.  I had…difficulty associating…with them.  Their thoughts!" Carl spat out suddenly, holding his head between his hands.  "They are like knives sometimes!  The squad's constant fear and doubts concerning me.  I still have difficulty."

Nala sat silent for a moment.  Then she slowly began to nod in understanding.

"Ah.  Your entry in Doc's thoughts during that sortie for the Bug Queen.  Ooh…your attack on Gossard; tut-tut.  Ill-advised, that was.  You were very cold with Rico, Dizzy and the others.  Telling Rico to take the shot that would kill the Queen and yourself as well?  My, a suicidal streak that must be addressed.  Your handling of the rockslide, however, was most ingenious.    And of course your attack on the Queen's Royal Guard was quite a display of telekinetic force."  She turned to him, smiling.  "Did you honestly think you could hold on to a Transport Bug by yourself?  I am quite pleased with your accomplishments."  She nudged Carl with her shoulder.  "Your social skills, however, need a little work.  Have you apologized?  To Gossard, I mean.  Come to think of it, a group apology would not hurt.  It would help to clear the air with everyone on the team."

Carl turned sharply away from Nala.  She chuckled softly, holding a hand to her to head.

"Ah.  So now we come to the truth of it.  You do not feel as though you have done anything wrong.  Well, my dear Carl, you must understand something.  No one has ever seen anything quite like you."  Carl turned again to Nala to protest, but she silenced him with a raised hand.  "Of course they expect alien happenings from me – because I AM ALIEN.  But you, sweet naïve Carl, are one of them.  It frightens the primal mammal within to realize that you began as one of them and have become what you are now.  You look like them…but you are so much more."  She traced the shape of his jaw with her finger.  "You are nothing like them now."

Carl pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.  How many nights had he rocked himself to sleep like that on Tophet?  He couldn't remember.  He now sat like this, trying to digest everything Nala was telling him.  He knew deep down inside she was right.  His perceptions had all changed since his breakdown.  Before he was so afraid.  Afraid to act – afraid not to.  But now, his abilities came to him as easily as breathing.  Almost as easily as they came to…  He looked at Nala in wonder.  No.  Truly, it was in disbelief.  Nala smiled at him warmly, nodding her head. 

"You," he breathed, stunned at the revelation.  "You were human once.  You were like me."

Nala stood up, getting out of her sleeping bag.  With a thought her jumpsuit and cloak melted into a simple, long slip dress made of royal blue silk.  She wore no shoes as she tiptoed to the edge to the cliff.  A wind suddenly picked up, blowing through her shoulder length black hair and rustling the palm leaves above them.  She held her arms out into the wind – and then stepped off the edge.  Carl jumped out of his sleeping bag – when Nala suddenly reappeared.  She was floating five feet above the cliff edge in mid-air.  She laughed softly at Carl's look of surprise and relief.

"You were like me.  Weren't you?" he asked, sitting down where he stood.  Nala floated down and knelt before him.  It was some time before she spoke.

"Yes," she answered finally.  "I was once like you.  Very much like you.  Perhaps that is why you intrigue me so."  She looked down to the ground, putting her hand to the earth.  "When I was born the earth was new and we, as humans, had just discovered in theory, the destructive force of the atom.  My psychic talents when I was your age were formidable – like yours are now.  I had seen and experienced the evil that Man could do to one another.  I had seen and felt the horrors of World War – and the horrors of the Cold War that followed.  I found myself on the front lines of a war that would have no boundaries, no treaties, no villains – and most certainly no heroes.  There was no one who could save me – no one who would help me.  I cried out in anguish – and heard only silence in reply.  A final Op went horribly wrong – everyone was killed, except for me.  Or at least, my consciousness survived.  I heard a voice in my head, as my body was dying that said to let it all go.  That there was nothing to fear.    That was when I realized that I no longer had to fear anything.  Because…I was beyond it all.  I am a being of pure thought, pure energy.  Pure Light.  I can be anything I want to be.  Am I the next stage of human evolution?  Good God, I hope not!  But even with all the beauty of creation that I have seen – and the beauty in destruction that I have also witnessed…there has been no one else to share these things with."  She now looked up to Carl and smiled softly.  She held her hand out to him.  "Do you trust me?"

Carl returned her smile.  She had brought him back from the depths of his own hell.  He remembered very little before blowing up the Mind Control Bug on Tophet, except that he was afraid.  He couldn't sleep – he could barely think.  He kept hearing…everything.  The worst was Sergeant Brutto.  He constantly found fault in anything and everything that Carl did.  His threats to have Carl tossed out; declared a Section Eight and sent back to Earth were a common occurrence.  Carl snorted ruefully.  How many times had he almost begged Brutto to do it so he could get out of the damn war and find some kind of peace?  But even then he knew he wouldn't.  He would still hear the Bugs; still hear the thoughts of the other Troopers.  Peace would never be for the likes of him.  When he used the last of his power, he was in his Safe Place – and he wasn't going to come out.  It was quiet and dark – there were no voices.  And no Bugs.  No more Bugs.  But she coaxed him out.  She hadn't done anything special.  She had just been…her.  He trusted her implicitly.  No…it was more than that.  He…"Yes," he whispered, his voice suddenly thick.  He took her small warm hand in his. "I trust you."                                                                                                                                                                                           

"Let me show you something," she whispered.  Anyone on guard duty viewing the cliff would have seen a blue light flash – like from a camera flash bulb.  And then they would have seen nothing but an empty vista – with two abandoned sleeping bags.