Free Command by Viola Grace

 
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    Lillibeth looked out over the landscape of Ikanni. Her sketch was coming along well, capturing the rise and fall of the foothills.
    A chirp in her com unit got her attention. “Command. What can I do for you?”
    “We are bringing Bael Lerock into our medical bay. Can you clear the tarmac and alert the team?”
    Lillibeth sat up. Her mind worked, sending alarms and activating machines around the base. “Bael Lerock? Of course. Tarmac is cleared and medical is standing by.”
    Multitasking was her skill, and a few small implants let her run Observation Base Ikanni. Her call sign was Command and that is what she did. Even the captain and commander had to submit to her demands when it came to running the base.
    She flipped her sketchbook shut and got to her feet. She was going to meet that transport.
    The medics were waiting on the tarmac when the vehicle landed. The gurney hovered at waist height, and the tall figure was lying still. The medical team sprang into action and surrounded Bael Lerock, escorting him into the building.
    Lillibeth looked through every camera on the route and focused on the face of the only local who was happy to have them there.
    When his vital signs were stable and the medics had thinned out to a monitoring crew, Lillibeth Hislar slipped into medical and took his hand. “Hello, Bael Lerock. You look like hell.”
    He looked at her through his scarlet eyes, the midnight skin of his face wrinkled with time. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Base Command.”
    “You know that isn’t my name.”
    “You address me by my title, and I will address you by yours.”
    She chuckled, and he squeezed her hand. “Fine. Hello, Alvar. You still look like hell.”
    “I am dying, Lillibeth. It happens to everyone.” He shifted and the white hair under him tightened. “Can you help me here?”
    Lilli moved and helped him sit, moving his knee-length, snow-white hair and draping it over his chest. She started to smooth the strands. “Why do you think you are dying?”
    “I know I am dying. I wish to meet my wife in the beyond and let my son take over our people. The only way I can do that is to let my body go.”
    “You are still young at heart.”
    He chuckled and his monitors flickered, bringing the medical staff in for a quick check. “I am older than you can imagine. My son has waited patiently to take over our people, and now is his time.”
    “What do you mean? How old is he?”
    “Orriko is two hundred and fifty-seven years old. He was born late in my wife’s life.”
    “How old are you, Alvar?”
    He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of her knuckles. “I have been responsible for my people for eleven hundred years. I was first generation when my people separated from the Admar and mixed with the Heshi. The expanded lifespan was unforeseen.”
    “When did you meet your wife?”
    “My wife and I were married for six hundred years before she passed to the next world. I first met her when she came to my settlement to negotiate for her people. I fell in love and imprisoned her immediately.”
    Lilli was startled into laughter. “Is that really a thing?”
    “I had to make sure that she didn’t return to her people before I could press my suit, so I visited her on a daily basis and gradually won her over.”
    “How long did it take?”
    He shrugged. “About a year. Her father finally had to intervene and order her to wed me and put me out of my misery.”
    “She sounds feisty.”
    “She was. Danara was the love of my life, and when she presented our son to me, I was happier than I could ever imagine. Part of me died when she did, and I have been eager to join her in the beyond since then. Having her visit me in my dreams is no longer enough.” He sighed and closed his eyes.
    “Why did you want to be here instead of with your own people?” Lilli had to know.
    He smiled. “You have been a good friend and made sure that the