Love Your Enemy: A UEC Story (2)

Part 2: Nuts for Chocolate

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Part 2: Nuts for Chocolate

With the complete withdrawal of UEC’s 13^th Legion from Altair Prime, the Alliance now had full control of the planet. With a deft hand, Prince Alexios Spektre of Lakamodis moved to solidify his position on the planet and by extension, Earth Space as a whole. At first, it was smooth sailing for the men of Lakamodis; the local populace welcomed the Alliance as liberators. An honorable man, Alexios forbade his soldiers from exploiting the locals. All the Prince of Lakamodis asked in return from the people of Altair Prime was food for his soldiers. But hence was the problem. There was no food in Altair Prime. With its farmlands dedicated to nothing but cash crops, the planet was utterly dependent on trade for food.

Upon hearing this, Alexios resisted the urge to scream. This was the second worst news he had received since he embarked from Lakamodis. The worst was the capture of his sister Arlena by the Earthborn.

***

Hovering dangerously close to planet Altair Prime was the UEC Waterloo, the flagship of the Cisalpine Legion. There was an air of nervousness throughout the ship. Everyone wondered if there were more Alliance ships, perhaps cloaked, ready to pounce on them. Meanwhile, Commander Green had just received his orders to leave the Altair System entirely.

With the ship now getting ready for electro-travel, the soldiers could presumably rest easy.

But this was not completely the case on the lower levels of the ship, where the brig was located.

Down at the brig’s entrance, Sergeant Major Marco Icardi was pensive. He took a deep breath, he wasn’t sure if what he was about to undertake was a good idea to begin with. But he had to give it a shot; so he did.

The man who saluted Marco was the Waterloo’s prison guard. There was not much to say about the man; he was of an average build for a soldier, and his helmet covered his face.

“What can I do for you, Sarge?”

Marco saluted back. “I’m here to see prisoner Arlena Spektre.”

“Who?”

“Uh... Lambda.”

“Oh,” the guard said knowingly, “she’s in Cell 3.”

“Thank you.”

Now that he knew where to go, the Sergeant Major moved to find his target. It did not take long to find her. It was Marco’s first time seeing the girl without her armor. Clearly, Lakamodian powered armor had given her some height. But of greater importance to the Sergeant Major, much greater than he cared to admit, was how the girl looked: her hair was golden blonde tied in braids, her skin was light, and she was beautiful. But the strangest part about her were her eyes; bright violet filled the iris, it was proof that she was not of Earth. So this is the woman under that armor, thought Icardi. Quite the contrast.

Marco and Arlena were now separated by a huge bulletproof glass. And it was a good thing that the two were separated; to say that she was upset to see him would have been a complete understatement. If looks could kill, Sergeant Major Icardi would have been KIA right about now.

“You!” Arlena said with hatred.

To his credit, Marco remained calm. “Hello, Miss Spektre.”

“You have fooled me into giving away my identity,” she said. “No more! Begone, Earthborn!”

Rather than repaying the girl’s harshness in kind, Marco smiled. “Listen,” he said. “I’m here to check up on you. It can’t be easy here, being alone as a prisoner. Especially since all your comrades died. I’m sure you wish you could have joined them.”

Arlena maintained her frown; she was suspicious. “What do you want?”

“As I said, I want to check up on you. Be honest, you must feel lonely being stuck in this cell with no one but the prison guard to talk to.”

The response was silence. Awkward silence. And it remained that way for a good minute.

Icardi sighed; he wasn’t getting anywhere with her like this. But he had his trump card, and it was time to play it. He reached into his pocket and took it out. At the edge of the prison glass was a small hole, made to transfer over small items to prisoners. And what Marco had was small enough, so he put it through.

Arlena’s eyes now showed curiosity. Slowly, she moved her hand towards this object. It was a small rectangle, silver in color.

“Go on, take it,” Marco said. “It’s yours. Don’t forget to open the wrapping.”

Still curious, Arlena did as was told. The Lambda’s surprisingly delicate fingers ripped through the silver, revealing something brown. “What’s this?”

“I know for a fact we don’t give prisoners anything but those disgusting mil-rations to eat. Thought you might want some sweets.”

“But what is it, exactly?” asked Arlena.

“It’s chocolates, silly girl.” Marco smiled. “Don’t you have them back where you’re from?”

“No.”

Icardi shrugged. “Your ancestors must have forgotten about them.”

Arlena frowned and crossed her arms. “Hmph.”

“What’s wrong?”

Arlena’s eyes were narrowed, showing suspicion. “How do I know you’re not trying to get rid of me? For all I know, this could be poisoned!”

Marco grinned, then chuckled. “Miss Spektre, if I wanted to kill you, I would have finished the job back when I captured you, don’t you think?”

“That’s true.” She paused, her frown remained. “Fine! I will eat your... chocolates.”

The maiden was hesitant, but she took a bite. Slowly, a smile formed on her face. “This is delicious!” She began munching on the chocolates like she was starving.

Icardi could hardly believe himself; not even he had thought the proud Lakamodian girl would go nuts for chocolate. “Whoa!” he cried. “Slow down, Miss Spektre.”

But Arlena ignored Marco and soon there was nothing left of the snack he gave her. And Arlena’s lips were dirtied by chocolate.

Marco grinned. “So you like it, then?”

“Yes, I...” Arlena stopped, having caught herself.

“Miss Spektre?”

Once again, the girl’s frown returned. “Do not think that this changes anything, Earthborn! We are still enemies!”

“Yes,” Icardi said, nodding. “Yes we are, Miss Spektre.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because Our Lord commanded us to love our enemies.”

Arlena was surprised, to say the least. She looked at the Earthborn like he was insane. “Love... our enemies? That sounds like nonsense to me. The only good enemy is a dead enemy.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” responded Icardi. “Since you love those chocolates so much, I can give you my share every week.”

Arlena’s eyes widened. “Yes, please!” But the girl caught herself once more; she pouted. “I mean... if you want to waste your time and resource on me, your enemy, then I won’t stop you.”

But before Marco could respond, the prison guard approached him.

“Sergeant, Captain Nyerere’s looking for you. He said you’re 10 minutes over your time.”

“Crap!” Marco said with a grimace. With regret, he turned to Arlena. “Well I’ll see you later, Miss Spektre.”

And he left in a hurry.

The prison guard was to follow suit. But Arlena, having paid attention to the conversation, realized something odd. “Wait,” she said. “He was here on his free time?”

“Apparently.”

“Why? I thought he was just trying to draw information out of me.”

“Icardi?” The prison guard shook his head. “No. He’s an altar boy, that one.”

Ever since Arlena Spektre was detained by the Earthborn, uncertainty had dominated her mind. But now the maiden of Lakamodis had one thing she could be certain of: the deliciousness of chocolates.

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To be continued…

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Author’s Note: Image generated with NightCafe.

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UPDATE (September 3, 2024): This story has been featured in Top in Fiction’s Vol. 1 Issue #8. They even gave me this nifty badge; much appreciated.

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