Giroro made sweet potato waffles while Natsumi prepared the morning tea for their breakfast shortly after they awoke. He set one on each of their plates as she poured the tea into some ceramic cups and set them at the table. They sat down and smiled before beginning to eat. The meal went down quickly and after Giroro brought the dishes to the small teleporter made to take care of those kinds of things they sat down in silence as Giroro pulled out his cylindrical device and turned it on.
"What's that for?" Natsumi asked, breaking the silence.
"It's a computer. I have officially done all I can for this mission and I have to turn in a report; both a written and a formal presentation." Giroro spoke as he quickly maneuvered to a document program. His fingers moved with sharp seed over the key like patterns as he focused on the blue holographic monitor, Natsumi slumped slightly.
"I guess I should let you get to work then." She sighed and looked down at the table. She began to wonder about her future. She thought about if she were to have a replacement. Who would it be? What would they be like? She even dared to think about how the Keronians might try to kill her. No matter what she thought about she felt the same fear.
"Giroro?" she called out quietly, her voice was somber. Giroro immediately halted his fingers and turned his eyes to her. He could see her face scrunch up slightly as she tried to hold back her tears. "I'm not going to see my family again, am I? And I'm not going to see you either right?"
"Natsumi." Even though he had only said her name a few times it felt perfect, and yet at this moment it stung his heart. He knew that it was true; they might never see each other again. He placed his hand on hers, but didn't say anything more. She grasped his hand in hers and gave a slight squeeze.
After they shared a moment of meaningful silence, Natsumi let go of his hand and let him get back to his writing. She wiped away a few stray tears and tried to calm her heart and rough breathing. This was her reality and she would either have to live with it or fight against it.
Giroro finished his paper faster than he had planned. He looked it over once more for any errors. When he felt it was in the best condition possible, he saved it and sighed. He was afraid but he didn't know if he was able to protect her the way he wanted. To give her the happiness he now dreamed to give her felt completely impossible.
He switched off the cylinder and stood up. Natsumi looked at him with her slightly red eyes. She was filled with loss and anger. Even though she was showing a softer and weaker side, Giroro could still see the strong fighter willing to do anything for those she loves.
"I'll be back soon. I have to turn in my report." He looked at her for a moment before heading towards the door.
"I'll wait for you." she called out behind him, her voice was still quiet.
Giroro silently made his way down the hall and into the elevator. His chest felt stiff and the tight space inside the elevator only made it harder to breathe. He felt the heavy weight of the situation when he saw Natsumi cry. Giroro wanted to keep her safe, to make her happy. He wanted to destroy everything that causes her pain, but he could not ignore the Keronian soldier in himself. The soldier in him still took pride in the invasion and respects the orders of those who outrank him.
Giroro stepped out of the elevator and began to head in the direction of the designated meeting room. He marched down the hall, accompanied only by the sound of his own footsteps. When he finally came to the door, he swallowed the last remnants of his anxiety and firmly knocked on the door. Exhaling long and hard he relaxed himself and became set in his soldier state of being.
"Enter." the command came from beyond the door. Giroro passed through the open door and came to stand perfectly still in the center of the room. He raised his hand in a salute before announcing himself.
"Corporal Giroro at your service sirs! I have come to deliver my report on the taming of Dangerous Pekoponian Slave X814 sirs!" Giroro barked out promptly.
"Proceed then." one of the commanders gave him the go ahead.
"Yes sir. Dangerous Pekoponian Slave X814 was initially captured with the regular Pekoponian slaves when the invasion of Pekopon had first begun. However her defiance and resistance shortly after capture deemed her too be too dangerous compared to other Pekoponians." Giroro began from the very beginning; he spoke for a few minutes more explaining his methods of torture and humiliation but how he had been unable to successfully tame Natsumi.
"Even with all that you were unable to tame one Pekoponian female? Surely there were other mean of torture you could have tried?" one of the commanders shouted at him.
"Did you use any of the torture devices we gave you from that one planet in space quadrant four? Or that little assassin settlement in the third galaxy?" another accused.
"Corporal Giroro is it possible you have become compromised by this female Pekoponian slave and are unable to correctly perform your duties? Perhaps we should send someone else to do the job for you?" the third reprimanded.
"Sirs I have used the best and most effective means to tame any of the most difficult prisoners, however none of these were enough to tame Dangerous Pekoponian Slave X814." Giroro explained. He tried to maintain his demeanor but the continuous barrage of questions and accusations from the commanding officers was more than he was prepared for. He knew they were going to be brutal but this was more than he'd bargained for.
"Corporal Giroro you may return to our post for now. We shall come and find you when the verdict has been decided." one of the other higher ups dismissed him. He saluted them again and turned to leave, the door closing behind him. He headed back to Natsumi's holding area his heart filled with feelings of dread. The commanding officers had seemed crueler than he had anticipated. He feared the worst but would wait for their decision.
When Giroro returned to Natsumi's holding area he was having an even harder time keeping calm than when he left. He saw Natsumi and realized that she was dealing with the same problem. She was trying not to let her sadness or her fear take over and destroy her. The red frog sank back into his seat from earlier, turning his head in Natsumi's direction. He looked at her with warm eyes.
"Tell me about your family." He wanted to help her by having her talk about what was most important to her. Maybe it would help her stay strong. Natsumi was surprised by his request but decided that he knew what he was doing. She realized he wanted to cheer her up.
"I had…. I had a mother, a father, a brother, and a grandmother. A small family but we were strong. We felt like we could stand against anything together." Natsumi paused for only a short moment as she withheld her tears. "My dad wasn't around much. He traveled a lot because of his work. When I was younger he would visit more often but his visits eventually drifted further away from each other." she gave a faint smile to the simple days when a father that wasn't around enough was the most of her worries.
"My mom wasn't around much either but I could rely on her to visit every other day especially when I needed her. She worked as a Manga-ka and editor so she was fun when she was around. She taught me to be strong and independent and that I shouldn't let anyone take advantage of me." Natsumi's smile widened.
"She was the blue haired one beside you when we were loading you into the ships right? She didn't appear so strong then." Giroro stated slightly confused.
"She was broken. My father was with us at the beach that day." Natsumi's eyes darkened as she remembered the explosion. Her voice became heavy with anger. "You're comrades blew him up in front of us. Then they processed her children and packaged them to be shipped to another world for service and slavery. I'm not surprised she was broken."
Giroro felt his heart drop at her dark words. He felt guilty already for what he did to her but now he felt even worse just by being a part of the race that did all of this to her family. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"So who was the thin boy?" Giroro wanted to move the conversation along before she got worse.
"That would be my little brother, Fuyuki." Her words softened slightly when she saw the blue haired boy smile in her head. "He wasn't as strong as my mother and I, but he was smart. He was obsessed with aliens and prayed for their encounter; although it was far from anything like this. He didn't have many friends so he read a lot of books instead. He could solve almost any mystery." Natsumi chuckled fondly at the memory but frowned when she thought of the irony of Fuyuki's dream.
"My Grandmother used to be like me and my mother, but growing old changes a lot in a person. She was really kind and lived in the country; often she would grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables and even shipped some to us. Sometimes she would tell Fuyuki and I about old myths and rhymes about spirits who could protect us. I didn't really believe them but Fuyuki did, it's probably where his obsession sprouted from." Natsumi gave a small smile once more. "I used to invent games using them whenever he was having a bad day."
"It sounds like a good childhood." Giroro gave his odd smile. "You seem like a really good older sister." he chuckled when she puffed up a little in embarrassment.
"What's your family like?" Natsumi asked as she leaned towards him, her curiosity heightened.
"I only have my father and my older brother." Giroro exhaled loudly as he straightened his back and crossed his arms. "My father was a part of the army, but he's retired now. He trained both my brother and I before we were old enough to be sent to the military for proper training. Although he was a bit strict about following the rules and tended to have high standards he knew when to cut us some slack. He could be fun sometimes too, believe it or not.
My brother on the other hand is a little hard to read, but what he lacks in social skills he makes up for in his long range shooting. He is currently the army's best sniper and leads his own platoon doing special missions." Giroro spoke with admiration in his voice as he reminisced about his older brother.
"I used to look up to him so much when we were little. Even though he was really quiet he taught me some of the most important lessons I learned. Eventually he started getting so good at his courses in the military academy that I was afraid to train against him. I probably still wouldn't be able to hold my own against him today." Giroro sighed.
"You can't tell what he's thinking so there's no way to predict his moves. He keeps a stoic expression that just feels kind of… cold. Fighting against him is honestly, one of the most frightening experiences possible." Giroro shuddered and became afraid as he spoke of his brother's fearsome state of being.
"Wow. That sounds intense for a childhood." Natsumi stated when she was sure Giroro had finished. Her eyes went wide as he finished his description.
As if on cue the elevator dinged announcing the arrival of some visitors. Giroro stood up and motioned for Natsumi to follow him. They walked out into the hall and met the higher ups halfway there.
"Corporal Giroro I'm sure you've assumed why we are here." one of them began. Giroro nodded his head and another of the spoke.
"We have made our decision as to the fate of Dangerous Pekoponian Slave X814." another formally announced.
"We have decided that the best course of action for us to take with Dangerous Pekoponian Slave X814 is… execution." they delivered their verdict sending Natsumi's heart plunging into her stomach. Giroro held his own until a quick movement behind the higher ups caught his attention, a glimmer of light glanced off a pair of yellow visors that were all too familiar to him.
-To Be Continued…