Collided

Chapter 28

For a long while, no one spoke. Alyssa had chosen to ignore the presence of the other two as she fondly caressed the glass over the incubator, reaching as if to touch her precious twins.

Behind her, Blaze watched on, and Ada watched Blaze. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Alyssa.

"Seeing as we're all dead when Boman finds out; myself included, tell me...how did you find out?" Ada asked.

Alyssa did not make any move to indicate she had heard. It was Blaze who answered.

"I...I told her," he said.

"You, Blaze?" Ada asked, astonished. "Second in command after Boman himself and general of the entire Helian army; one of the most feared in our galaxy? You out of everyone would betray our leader?"

Blaze looked away from her blatant stare.

"It's not so straightforward."

"I imagine not." Ada scoffed. "A man does not get so far up without a firmly rooted belief in the cause."

"The cause..." Blaze repeated absentmindedly.

"And how did you find out?" Ada asked.

Blaze raised a brow in suspicion.

"Are you interrogating me?"

"Yes, I am. I would think it would be a pleasant alternative to shooting her on the spot as I was charged to, and you too for aiding her."

"Now, you would think to shoot me?"

"Yes. General or not, Blaze, you bleed just as well as everyone else." Ada smiled.

Blaze let out a sigh.

"After you put Alyssa to sleep the day she woke up to discover what had happened to her, I followed Boman, Calypso, and the loudmouthed fool Desmond here. I heard everything they said."

"I suppose I cannot be blamed for carelessness, so there might be hope for me," Ada sighed.

Again, silence reigned, but okay for a minute. This time, it was Alyssa who broke it.

"Why did this happen?"

"Ah right," Ada said. "I suppose you might as well know. After your accident, you had a miscarriage, and the babies had to be removed from your womb, or both of you would be lost. You barely fucking made it. After the babies were delivered, Boman thought it would be best if you didn't know. Said it would keep you docile, and he was right."

Alyssa's fist clenched at her side.

"How can you stand there and speak as if to justify his actions?" she asked.

"Because I talk from a place of logic, and you're currently a slave to your emotions."

"Do you know what it's like to lose your child?" Alyssa snapped.

"Alyssa..." Blaze tried to warn.

Unfortunately, Alyssa was off like a bullet from a gun. She turned to look at the woman she was addressing.

"Do you know the agony I went through these last few weeks?"

Ada went red in the face instantly.

"Ah...fuck," Blaze muttered, lowering his head.

"How dare you?" Ada exploded, the sheer force of it silencing Alyssa and stopping her rage in its track. "I lost my first son at three months to a miscarriage. Lost the second at two. Lost the third weeks after conception. You stand and talk about a brief moment of pain? I've known this pain for years. And after that, I've lived with the knowledge that my womb cannot carry a child!" Ada inhaled and exhaled abruptly as if containing her outburst. "For weeks, I've watched over your women as they put to bed. Even before that, I watched our own lament as they gave birth to their disappointment, wishing and praying for my own to be born this time! You don't know what I've been through, and you would be careful not to judge me."

She let out a huff to show her outburst was finished. Alyssa looked diminished.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought the story went differently but lately, it's hard to keep track of the lies we are fed."

"Of course, you didn't." Ada took off her glasses, cleaned them on her sleeve, and put them back on. "Our leading scientists related my problem to whatever caused the imbalance in our chromosomes, and Boman promised me that he would study your women to look for a way to fix me before you were returned to your planet. Do not think I'm made of stone because I'm looking at the big picture."

Alyssa was lost for words. Without another word, she looked back to her babies.

The silence that ensued this time was painful.

It was Blaze's turn to break it.

"You cannot tell Boman about this, Ada. I'm pleading," he said.

"It doesn't suit you," Ada said. "And I already showed that I was not going to when I put down my weapon." To Alyssa, she said, "The babies are in no position to be moved for another couple of days, so you will have to leave them here. I don't know what you two hoped to achieve but for their safety as well as ours, pretend you never found out about any of this and don't come back. Say your goodbyes."

Alyssa tensed. She looked over her shoulder as if she wanted to speak but changed her mind. She looked ahead again.

Behind her, Blaze watched on, and Ada watched Blaze.

As they moved to leave half an hour later, Ada grabbed Blaze by the arm and pulled him aside.

"Whatever you're planning, I don't like it," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking a—"

"Bullshit!" she hissed. "What did you hope to achieve bringing that poor girl here?"

"What was I supposed to do? Let her suffer?"

"Exactly that! She would have grieved a while, but she would have moved on."

"How are you, the doctor, and I'm the militant?" Blaze laughed coldly.

"War and medicine are not so different. You've been away from your own duties so much you're losing sight of what's important."

"What's important?" Blaze scoffed. "Interesting choice of words, Ada. And for the record...between war and medicine, only one is a necessity."

He pulled his arm free and turned to walk away.

"Boman is not the kind of man to have as an enemy, Blaze. You of all people know this."

"Neither am I," Blaze said. "Stay safe, Ada."

"You too...little brother."

*****

When Boman returned to his bedroom that night to meet Alyssa lying where he had left her, fast asleep. Her eyes were shut in slumber, and for a moment, he stood and watched her sleep. The blanket he had swaddled her with had fallen away from her soft form, so he carefully covered her again and kissed her shoulder as he did.

Was Calypso right to worry about this one human? Of what consequence could she be? What threat? He had acknowledged her stubbornness, but her loss had broken that. Did she perhaps think he, Boman, had fallen for this human? If she did, she was crazy indeed.

And yet, for another minute, he stood and watched her sleep. Eventually, he caught himself and went over to the other side of the bed to sleep. As soon as he turned off the light, Alyssa's eyes snapped open in the darkness. If Boman could see her, he would have known in one glance why a woman scorned was the scariest thing in existence, even across galaxies.