Arrival (Planet of Last Resort #1)

Epilogue

Melly checked on Mike one more time, finding him asleep in his small tent in the center of their circle, Buddy curled up next to him, under his favorite blanket, which she’d grabbed from their house before leaving, and his small dinosaur pillow tucked into the crook of his arm. She was satisfied he’d had a good dinner, even if it was mostly survival rations and juice. Buddy gave her a look as if to say, “Everything’s fine, I’m on duty here.”

Rubbing her arms because the night air was chilly, she walked away from the tent and joined Jeff at the edge of their encampment, where he was seated on a log, studying a map holo. “Your brother okay?” he asked as she sat next to him.

“Sound asleep, with Buddy on overwatch.”

“He’s a good kid, tough. I’m glad we found him today.”

“It was just today, wasn’t it? The day seems like it was a year long.” She rubbed her aching arm and Jeff was immediately concerned and attentive.

“Did you take something for the pain?” he asked.

“I did and it’s making me sleepy.” Melly figured she was lucky her arm wasn’t broken. Whatever the raiders had shot her with had packed quite a punch. The body armor saved her but hadn’t cushioned the blow enough. Still, she wasn’t complaining. She leaned against him. “It’s so peaceful here but are you sure we’re safe? Sleeping in the open doesn’t feel like a good idea, no criticism intended.”

“No offense taken,” he assured her, closing his holo and putting his arm around her. “Remember we didn’t pass any houses once we were out of the city so it’s not like I turned up my nose at a four star hotel or anything. Cody has his drones deployed and he’ll get an alert if anything bigger than Buddy moves in our direction.”

“He’s a cyborg, isn’t he? I keep meaning to ask and then the next crisis hits and I get distracted.”

There was a brief silence before Jeff said, “Since you’re our doctor I guess he won’t mind me confirming your guess. Yeah, he had it bad in a spaceship crash and the special medicos rebuilt him once he agreed to the terms. He’s got extra capacity he has to keep occupied or he gets twitchy. The way he juggles the fleet of drones is only part of what he’s capable of doing. I’m lucky to have him on my team.”

“Terms?” she asked.

“Military service for the rest of his life basically. He doesn’t get to retire.”

“How is that fair?” Melly was immediately angry on Cody’s behalf.

“The Sectors doesn’t care about fair. They care about beating the Mawreg and their client races, destroying them if we can. Anything’s fair to them.” Jeff’s voice was matter of fact. “The powers that be take the greater good and survival of our entire galactic civilization and weigh it against a few guys with hardships and the balance tips. Cody says he doesn’t have regrets which is what’s important.” He gave a soft laugh. “Anyway it may not matter what he signed up for now.”

“Why do you say that? Do you think we aren’t going to survive?” Alarm thrummed through her because the one thing she’d counted on since the first day at the spaceport was Jeff’s unflinching insistence they’d make it through this apocalyptic situation.

“Oh we will. The guys and I will make sure we all survive, as much as it’s humanly possible to do so. But you have to realize even if the virus was cured tomorrow, hell even if all the currently infected could revert to their previous states?—”

“Which can’t happen,” she interrupted, driven to point out the medical truth.

“No, I agree, but even if there was a cure tomorrow the Sectors would probably quarantine Randal Four forever. No one is going to risk bringing what happened here to the rest of the worlds.”

Melly considered his words and couldn’t disagree.

“I’m not saying they’ll completely abandon us. I imagine there’ll be humanitarian drops but we’re going to be on our own for a long time.”

“I’m glad you’re here, with me,” she said, nuzzling his cheek. “We’ll manage.”

“Hell yes, we will. And once we get situated at the ranch and can start doing the job we came for, or at least a modified version of it, if we can find the fuckers responsible for the tragedy and keep them from doing this to any other planet, I’ll be satisfied.”

Whatever Melly planned to say next got interrupted by a huge yawn which made Jeff chuckle and he kissed her. “I think it’s bed for you, doc. You can barely keep your eyes open and we’ll be leaving at first light.”

He helped her to her feet and hand in hand they strolled toward their tent. Melly had been a little surprised Jeff had been so matter of fact that the two of them would be sharing a tent together when the camp was set up. To be fair, none of the soldiers had even blinked and she’d told Mike privately Jeff was her boyfriend, which he’d accepted without protest or questions. Mike had a bit of hero worship going on right now for Jeff and the others. She was happy to be part of an acknowledged couple with Jeff—the relationship made her feel secure and happy despite all the tragedy around them, including the loss of her parents. Jeff was her life raft, her support and her love.

“No extracurriculars tonight, I promise,” he said as they walked. “Much as I might want to spend another few hours exploring the pleasures of making love to you—and I’ll never get tired of that, I give you my word—you need your rest. We’ll have plenty of time together in the future.”

“Aren’t you on duty anyway?”

“No, Cody and Trent are on watch right now and Samma and Zach will take the next shift. We’re keeping a two man patrol tonight because we’re out in the open. We also have sensors on in the APC’s, establishing a boundary in addition to the perimeter the drones are keeping clear. I’ll have to go touch base with the guys at the changeover but I’ll do my best not to wake you.”

“How can they drive all day and keep watch all night?” she asked. “I mean, I was on call around the clock plenty of times as an intern and resident but I could catch a few winks here and there.”

“We’re used to being sleep deprived. Besides, I’ll take a stint as a driver tomorrow. It’ll all work out. You’ll see. We’ve done this before, here and there in the garden spots of the galaxy.” His tone was sarcastic.

Bending to enter the tent, Melly said, “Someday you’ll have to tell me about those past missions.”

Jeff sounded a little grim. “Maybe someday. Maybe a watered down version of a few of them. You don’t need those stories and images in your head, sweetheart. What we do isn’t pretty or for the general population to know about.”

“But necessary,” she said, catching him in her arms.

“If I can keep civilians like you and Mike safe, then yes, everything I’ve done had its purpose and I have no regrets,” he said honestly.

After kicking off her shoes, Melly lay on the mattress and Jeff joined her once he’d toed off his boots and set them neatly next to the ‘bed’. He pulled the covers up over both of them and spooned her, one arm around her waist to hold her close.

“You’re an expert cuddler,” she said drowsily.

“Only with you.” He kissed the side of her neck. “Go to sleep and try to have good dreams, doc.”

Safe in his arms, that’s exactly what Melly did. No nightmares about what she’d been through, no night terrors about what might lie ahead.

Only the sweetest of dreams about her beloved and their future together.

Thank you for reading ARRIVAL (PLANET OF LAST RESORT BOOK ONE)! I hope you enjoyed the adventure (and, of course, I’d love a review if you have time and the inclination to write one. Even a few sentences would be much appreciated. Or a rating! Authors relish reader feedback).