I felt sick to my stomach, my vision darkened, and honestly I thought I was on the verge of another panic attack, but I held myself strong so I wouldn’t display any weakness before the Lord Generals.

  Eve reacted much differently.

  “I’ll kill you all! I’ll burn everything you’ve built down to ashes! I’ll consume every single person in the entire fucking Empire before I let you take my Adam away from me!” She screeched, then suddenly started unleashing her red lasers against the repulser field, causing it to shimmer and spark wildly. Her words and curses got more violent and vulgar, and eventually shifted to inhuman growls and shrieks, and her body actually half-melted into some monstrous form that seemed like a mix of a werewolf and a praying-mantis.

  Kei-Torruk pressed a button on his console and Eve’s containment cell suddenly turned black and all the sound coming from her was muted. He let out a quick sigh, “Of course we were afraid of this eventuality and are concerned Alpha-03 will be even more difficult to control without you. Now we must perform a complete risk analysis to see which outcome is more productive.”

  I didn’t have much hope then, but I wondered what we could do to improve our chances, “So what, we just wait around while you lot decide on our futures? Blood sweat and tears wasted on helping you, now to be tossed aside at the first inconvenience?”

  “Your inconvenience cost over 3,000 lives and 200 trillion credits worth of damage. How flippantly the two of you respond is not helping your case.” Fextrenn insisted.

  I gestured to Eve’s darkened containment cell, “You all fully admitted Eve is vital to the mission; unless you’ve got another Predazoan asset lined up, I’m your only hope in having a Predazoan help out with this mission.” I crossed my arms and tried to look confident, “And considering how it’s been entirely thanks to Eve we’ve been able to destroy two Predazoans so far, I don’t see how you could ever justify splitting us apart.”

  “We are aware how important Alpha-03 is to the mission, but like we said, we need to weigh out whether those benefits are worth the risks.” Kei-Torruk stated.

  I scoffed at that, “There’s literally no chance in hell your marines could ever contain a Predzoan without Eve, and for that I’d say that’s worth any risk.”

  Belmond nodded down at me, “We’re not willing to lose the Presazoan asset at this time; we’re considering other ways of controlling Alpha-03 as well.”

  I uncrossed my arms and stepped forward in my mobile cell, “And what the hell does that mean?”

  “It means we’ll continue deliberating while performing the threat assessment until we’re sure the asset can be properly controlled and compliant. In the meantime, the two of you will remain contained aboard The Judicator; you’ll be brought in separately during the restructuring process for interviews frequently.” Kei-Torruk confirmed, then waved his hand out, “Lieutenant, you can take them away for now.” He turned back to me, “You’re both dismissed.”

  An angry fire stirred up in my belly once more, that fierce rebellious spirit that was entirely human and almost impossible to control. “You’re all making a huge mistake; Eve and I are your only hope in containing the Predazoans. You all should be rolling out the red carpet for us—treat us like fucking royalty!” I called out, but I could see no one on the judge’s council seemed to care at all.

  The red alien lieutenant directed two power armor soldiers to push our containment units away, ignoring us all the while. “We were willing to work together as allies you know! But no, you had to turn us into the fucking scapegoat.” I slammed my fist against the repulser field, “You’re going to regret it, you’ll see! Next Predazoan you lot face, you’ll come begging us to save you!”

  The three Lord Generals were already moving onto other business, entirely unconcerned with my warning. They were talking amongst themselves and looking over other reports and holograms while we were being pushed away; they were busying themselves over paperwork and the next item on their agenda, all while Eve and my future remained in their uncaring hands.

  ***

  As far as prisons go, I had to admit it wasn’t bad. Their brig or whatever seemed like a small studio apartment, with plain chrome walls with black trimming, a spacious cot in the corner next to a couch, with a decent private bathroom, and even a little holographic TV screen that received some 120,000 alien network channels. They let me out of my mobile containment unit but hadn’t offered Eve the same treatment—probably worried she would try to release her spores or break out somehow I’d imagine. But at least they deactivated her containment unit’s stealth/silent mode and put it in the same room with me.

  I sat against the wall looking at Eve sitting down in her containment unit, only a couple feet apart, but it still felt like miles when I couldn’t touch her.

  “So, what are we thinking now?” I asked.

  Eve sighed and shook her head slowly, “I don’t know whose outburst was worse; mine when I started spewing lasers and morphing into monster forms, or yours when you threatened they’d come to regret their decision.”

  I quirked up an eyebrow and fought off a smirk, “Really? You think mine was as bad as you showing off your full Predazoan fury against the containment unit?”

  Eve rolled her eyes as a ghost of a smile traced her lips, “Alright, I suppose mine was worse.”

  I let out a weary sigh and placed my hand against the repulser field and Eve placed her hand over mine. She was dressed in that black leathery princess-gown of hers again after she destroyed her clothes when she transformed. I had to say I loved Eve’s style and found she always looked sexy in whatever regular clothes she wore, but when she was in the organic latex bodysuit-dress it somehow made her look more alien and exotic, and I found it even more enticing lately. I’d fallen in love with Eve’s human side a long time ago, but I think I was really coming to love her Predazoan side too—certainly less afraid of it than I used to be, even instinctually.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  And considering our supposed allies, regular people like me were the ones about to destroy my life, that didn’t seem so surprising.

  “What are you thinking, Adam?” Eve asked in a soft voice.

  I half-shrugged, “I dunno, crazy how the monsters were the government all along.” I shook my head slowly, “I should’ve been more cautious after all.”

  Eve nodded at that, “Considering how distrustful you were of the Earth government, I was always surprised how easily you seemed to fall in with the Empire.”

  I sighed again, “I guess they just dazzled me with their aliens and technology. Also, I’d hoped they would be more enlightened, wouldn’t be pulling all this shady shit—using the low-man as the scapegoat.”

  “I wonder how they even plan to get away with it; like, let’s say they do blame us for everything, what then? It doesn’t undo all the damage the other Predazoans caused, doesn’t bring anyone back to life, doesn’t turn our mission magically secret once again.” Eve reasoned.

  “Who gives a fuck, it’s probably all money and taxes anyway; they’ll probably blame the human, revoke his status as a probationary citizen and send him back to Earth, then ask for more funding from whatever bureaucrats or politicians are bankrolling this stupid mission to get it all back on track.” I waved my hand around vaguely, “All just names and numbers on a report, remember?”

  Eve chuckled at that, “My my, aren’t you the cynical one.”

  I let out a quick sigh, “Yeah this is the real me—my jaded side. Sorry I kept it hidden from you for so long.”

  Eve shook her head and chuckled again, “Oh, you didn’t hide anything from me, Adam, I remember how you were back on Earth. I was just surprised that cynical side has been hidden for so long—so trusting of the alien government.”

  I looked over at Eve as a small smile danced on my lips, “Well I was plenty distracted with you.”

  Eve placed a delicate hand on her chest, as though doubtful, “Me?”

  I fully smiled now and nodded, “Yeah you, troublemaker. First I was all worried about making sure I could stay by your side, so I made that stupid deal with the failsafe and cardiac monitor. Then you transformed and I thought you had something awful planned for me and tried to resist your constant seduction attempts. Then I finally gave into you and was so focused on our relationship, on just being with you and figuring out how a human can be with an immortal Outsider god. And now here we are.”

  Eve flashed me a mischievous grin, “I suppose I am quite the troublemaker when you put it like that.”

  I waved it off, “Nah, I got us into all this mess, so the trouble’s really my fault.”

  Eve shook her head, “No Adam, if we’re to share our endless lives with each other, we need to share the good and the bad; your happiness is my happiness, same as your trouble is my trouble. Whatever decisions one of us makes, we make them together as a team—or at least accept the consequences as a team.”

  I looked up at Eve, still with such fiery determination in her eyes; sometimes she was a total goofball, acting almost like an immature kid. But then she would say something so deep or profound, something so meaningful it would resonate with my spirit—made me fall in love with her all over again. “I love you Evie, and no matter what happens, we’ll face it together—as a team.”

  Eve nodded, “As a team, a pair, a couple, as soulmates; whatever the future holds, it’s our future together.”

  I leaned my forehead against her containment cell as Eve leaned hers against the same spot. We both put our hands up against each other, just the repulser field keeping us from touching. We breathed together silently for a few minutes, in tandem, trying to get as close as we could together.

  Still, it wasn’t enough.

  “I miss you so much Adam.” Eve admitted, leaning back away from the repulser field.

  I sighed and leaned away too, “I miss you too—I hate this. I’d rather they lock us up together in that tiny cage than keep us separate like this.”

  Eve rolled her eyes, “They’re probably worried I would somehow use you as a means to escape or something.”

  I quirked up an eyebrow, “What, even if they kept us in the same unit the entire time?”

  Eve shrugged, “They’re all terrified of me, taking every precaution they can think to keep me contained—keep me controlled.”

  I gestured to her chest, “But you have the failsafe, surely that’s enough to keep you controlled for now?”

  Eve shook her head slowly, “There’s more than a few of them that doubt it would actually kill me.”

  I suddenly felt a flash of hope, “Really? Is that true?”

  Eve shrugged, “Or more like they think I must’ve found a way around it; they don’t think the bomb by itself is enough to keep me controlled, that’s why they still want you around.”

  “You really think there’s a chance they won’t try and send me back to Earth?”

  Eve let out a long sigh as she settled back down against the repulser field, “I really don’t know Adam, but whatever they finally decide, I’m sure it will leave us both in chains.”

  I let out a sigh too, “Slaves of the Empire…” I muttered, regretting I ever said that.

  “So long as we’re still together I won’t care what they do, and I hope they can understand that; whatever way they wish to control me, all they need to do is allow us to be together and I will obey them.” Eve confirmed.

  I nodded along, “I know, I know, me too, problem is I think it’s a little beyond that; they’re looking for a scapegoat now.”

  “Or deciding which is more important; a scapegoat to present to their politicians, or to keep the Predazoan asset on the mission.” Eve offered.

  I grimaced when she said that, “I hate when they call you that—hate when they call you Alpha-03.”

  Eve shrugged, “It’s my name, after all.”

  “No! No it’s not, your name is Eve—my Evie. And someday you’re eventually going to be Eve Samson.” I insisted.

  Eve looked like I’d just struck her she was so shocked, “What did you say?”

  “I said that’s not your name—”

  Eve shook her head quickly, “No, the other part.”

  I nodded once, my face a resolute expression of determination, “Someday you’re going to be Eve Samson, that’s your real name.”

  For the first time in a long time, Eve gave me a full, genuine smile, and I could see tears sparkling in the corner of her eyes, “Eve Samson—Mrs. Eve Samson.” She said, savoring the words, treating them with a sense of reverence. I could see then Eve was inspired once more, hopeful again, and also fiercely determined; the tears vanished from her eyes almost instantly, and she looked at me with a fiery passion and deep adoration, “Nothing in this universe will steal that future from us. No matter what happens now, no matter how we might suffer, no matter what masters we must answer to, I promise you this; we will be together, we will someday get married, and there is nothing in all of space or time that can separate us.” She placed her hand on the repulser field once more, “I make an oath to you now, Adam Samson, my future husband, our relationship will last longer than this universe.”

  Eve’s words inspired hope in me, renewed my spirit; forever was always a hard concept for a mortal to grasp, but Eve was insistent our bond would last forever. Right there and then, I felt eternity, and I knew it would be with Eve.

  I placed my hand on the repulser field as well, right over her hand, and suddenly we felt much closer, “No matter what, forever and always, nothing will ever separate us.”

  Eve smiled at me, the smile of a compatriot—a coconspirator; someone who trusted and believed their partner beyond any shadow of doubt. “Forever and always.” She confirmed.

  My smile was victorious, confidence inspired in me once again, “So, how do you want to play this?”