Planet Expo: Origins [Book One]

Chapter Nine

[A..K.A. Aunt L's Origin Story]

“Attempted escape. Initiating Operation Eggshell. Repeat. Attempted escape. Initiating Operation Eggshell. 

    With a sigh, she entered her private quarters. “Honestly Scotty, if only they listened.” Scott, who was looking out the window, with the lights of one of the biggest cities in Province Rey highlighting his features; the sparkle of the city nightlife never ceased to amaze him. The thought of having a late-night date with his darling Lavender filled his heart with warmth despite being involved with cold and unforgiving people. To walk around and just enjoy the evening air and the quiet buzz of the night. Oh, how he missed the time before she ever met the cold and unforgiving. How we longed for the woman he fell in love with to heal.

    “Isn’t there a better way?” Scott muttered quietly to himself, still in a trance by the lights, in his own world where everything was bright and happy and tranquil. “What was that dear?” Snapping out of his thoughts as he heard his wife’s voice, he turned around slightly flustered. “Oh, nothing. I’m just wondering how your day went,” he said while walking over to her to help remove her necklace. “Well, I suppose it went well. The plan was successful… for the most part anyway.” With a hum, Scott muttered a “good to hear,” as he put away the necklace in his wife’s jewelry collection while she went to change into her sleepwear.

    “A shame they’re trapped in that room but it won’t be as long as the others so I guess they got lucky in that regard, right dear?” Lavender said as she walked out of their shared walk-in closet wearing a dark grey silk sleepwear suit. “Yes honey, very lucky. Is everything according to schedule?” 

    “Surprisingly, yes. We’ll see how long that lasts,” she said as she climbed into bed with Scott. Laughing a bit he remembered how she was always a tad unlucky when it came to timing and scheduling. “Let’s go somewhere tomorrow,” Lavender said as she put her hand on his chest, leaning just a bit closer to him. “Oh? And what brought this on?” Giggling she curled into her beloved even more. “I see how you keep looking into the city. Date night?” She asked with hopeful eyes. She knew he was only involved in this whole mess because of her and she tried to be more considerate of his feelings and left him out of the meetings and the planning. 

    What she didn’t know, was that in that process, she was also slowly leaving her love for him. In the process of trying to spare his feelings, she ended up hurting him in much worse ways. This wasn’t the ideal marriage, but as the saying goes, “til death do us part.”

    “Date night. Thank you, darling.” With a kiss upon her head, he wrapped his arms a little tighter around her, and with that, they soon fell captive to their heavy eyelids and soon blocked out the soft buzz of the city that came from far below.

“Mama! Dada! Look what I made!”

    A miniature version of Lavender suddenly flooded her entire field of vision. “What a beautiful bouquet sweetie! Go show dada inside,” Lavender said while squatting down to be at eye level with her daughter, who now wore a saddened expression. “B-but mama. I can’t.”

“Why not sweetie?” 

“Because I’m dead silly. Don’t you remember?”

    Ice ran down her veins, standing back up while maintaining eye contact, the mother questioned her daughter. “Did you already forget mommy? The world killed me. And it’s all their fault.” Tears now ran down Lavender’s pale face. “Sweetie who took you away from me?” 

    “It was them. Humanity. Their rules. We could’ve been happy. But they won’t let us go. Why are we forced to stay?” And with that, the daughter than dissolved and turned to soil and minerals. Lavender ran and cried into the lump of dirt that took the place of her daughter. In her misery, she closed her eyes, hoping this was some sort of sick dream.

    Opening her eyes, she was met with a different scene. A very familiar scene. The white and light blue walls of the doctor’s office. The soft yellow-white glow of the lights overhead. The somewhat overwhelming smell of cleanliness and safety. The droning voice of the doctor’s explanation of possible causes while Scott rubbed her back, trying to hold in his own tears so he could focus on the doctor’s every word. So he could focus on being emotionally available for Lavender. But the only words Lavender was able to hear at the time were “miscarriage” and “some infants just can’t handle this planet’s environment yet.”

    Eyes shooting open, she felt wet fabric pressed against her face as well as strong arms. “It’s okay. It was just another nightmare. I’m here, it’s alright.” His voice muffled due to her bein pressed against him and engulfed in his embrace in a comforting manner. She even realized her tears made his shirt wet. Clutching onto him, she let her tears run dry, quietly, and brokenly mumbling about how it wasn’t okay and that it will never be alright. Rubbing her back, Scott tried to lure her back to sleep, preferably a dreamless sleep, as he had done in the past years. “I’m doing… good right? I’m doing this for her. For other mothers. I’m a good person right, Scott?”

    Freezing up, Scott loosened his grip and backed away from their embrace in favor of looking into her eyes. “What kinda question is that? Of course, you’re a good person. A great person. You’re wonderful. I love you,” he said while embracing her again, as he couldn’t find the courage to say what he really thought. “So much. I love you so much.” With a sniffle, she returned the sentiment and embraced her husband just a little more tightly, just to reassure herself that he really was there and was real.

    Once she felt grounded and safe, she took a few deep breathes to try to further calm herself. With a soft yet sad simile on her graceful features, she slowly shut her eyes and silently prayed for a dreamless and peaceful slumber. After all, she needed her beauty rest because come sometime tomorrow, the news about the k********g of Lisa and James would spread around like wildfire. And she needed to be prepared to face the higher-ups since James was never part of the plan. She already forgot the promise she made to Scott by the time she fell into a deep dreamless slumber.

    ‘You’re a good person… you have good intentions Lavender, so that makes you a good person right? But your actions, your means of doing this, I simply can’t take it anymore. I feel like I’m close to my breaking point. But I love and need you. So even if my love isn’t enough to overcome the overwhelming grief we share, then I’ll by your side and fight to go back to Earth with you.’

    If only Uncle Scott had the courage to say those things to Lavender. I was only able to determine that’s what he wanted to say that night due to his journals he kept. Uncle Scott and I are a lot alike according to his journals. For one, we both have journals. I wonder if he would’ve liked me as a niece. We would’ve had a lot to talk about. As I mentioned before, this story is not the ideal fairy tale. My memories of what happened in the upcoming chapters are a little hazy, but I had Scott’s journals and James’ help to fill in the- well, for lack of a better word- blank spots.

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“GOOD MORNING MR. NEBULAN!”

    Snapping his eyes open he grumbled. “Why must you wake me up in such a loud manner, TAMA?” The AI then took over the windows and mirrors within the room. “My method of waking you has proven to be most effective. But would you like to change your alarm tone and settings, sir?” With a sigh, Scott muttered a “no it’s fine,” as he got up and walked over to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. Before walking into the shared closet, the TAMA, which stands for Technologically Advanced Manufactured AI, spoke up again from the windows; having flashy displays of its announcements. 

     “The time is currently 7:30 in the morning on Sunday, June 7, 2159. The weather is fair, slightly cloudy with no chance of rain today. The temperature is currently seventy degrees, the highest today will be eighty-seven. I recommend wearing casual and light. Reminders and events for today… date night in 12 and a half hours.  Now playing… morning jazz playlist.” 

    “Thank you, TAMA. That’s all for now,” Scott said while buttoning up his shirt and adjusting his belt. “Very well, sir. Have a good day,” TAMA said over the light jazz playing. Fixing his bed hair, Scott then made way toward the elevator. Destination? The dining floor, where exquisite chefs resided during the mornings and evenings; different shifts were taken but it was common for each shift to have two to four working chefs. At times, Scott would help out when they felt overwhelmed. 

    As far as the chefs knew, this building was for a privatized security and bodyguard company due to the occasional persons in military-grade uniform wandering around in addition to some top-notch security measures here and there. Scott knew better than that but kept quiet, seeing as this was a skyscraper, he knew most of the guards kept toward the basement and not so much towards the upper floors passed the fifth floor since everything below the fifth floor was designed for… well Scott didn’t know exactly, he was never allowed down there. But the sixth floor and above were fair game for him to explore. So far, his favorite was the seventeenth floor, where the dining and entertainment, such as cinemas, resided. 

    The second favorite for him would be the twentieth floor, which is a private pen house of sorts for just him and Lavender. I guess having your wife be the head of even a small branch of a cult was beneficial in some cases. In this case, free five star breakfasts every morning. The catch? No wife to enjoy it with, but he did have the chefs, who he befriended over time. As the somewhat opaque elevator with golden accents dinged, he began to think of what to get, the sweet aroma of pancakes, cinnamon, and eggs reached his nose through the elevator doors, and soon enough, he was able to step out and take in the soft sizzling of bacon cooking and the clatter of the dishware. A few other early raisers sat in the corners, softly typing on their laptops while drinking coffee and eating a light breakfast. That was often a common sight; to see the researchers up so early in the day, not that he minded. He felt less lonely this way, even if he never approached them since they were so immersed in their work. 

    “Hi, Scott! The usual?” With a smile and a wave, he nodded his head. “Yes, sir! Also, maybe add some pancakes and cinnamon? I’m a sucker for that.” With a laugh Chef Gordon nodded and went to prepare his friend’s meal. Gordon has been working here for almost two years so it was only natural that they got to know each other and become friends. As he waited, he turned towards the television, although due to technological advancements, it wasn’t really much of TV anymore, more so a projection. But he wasn’t paying attention to whatever they were saying. If it was important, he’d hear it from TAMA later. Instead of focusing on the screen, he started remembering how he and Lavander first met. Scott didn’t know what provoked this memory. Was it connected somehow to her recent night terror? Zoning out, he relived the sweet memory. 

    It was the first semester of my freshman year of college, the second week of school. I was a history major and she was a biomedical major. She wanted to help people, even then. She just wants to help. I fell asleep working on a paper for a class in the college library and she woke me up saying it was almost two in the morning, on a school night no less. We talked, then exchanged numbers.

    Then, during our second year of college, we started dating. It was absolute nerve-wracking when Lavender picked up on my hints. I’m not a very direct man, even then. Time flew. But we were happy. We had our moments due to the stress of university, but it seemed I could conquer the world when she was by my side.

    We had just graduated from college and decided to not hunt for jobs right away. Instead, I suggested we travel and she loved that idea. We explored all the touristy and the not so touristy parts of this planet. And by the end of it, I managed to find my courage and propose to you.

    “Here ya go Scotty,” Gordon said while sliding the plate full of pancakes (which had whip creams and cinnamon on top), a cheese omelet, bacon, and two hashbrowns. The warmth of the food radiated from the plate and his hands felt so warm, despite not touching the plate. Coming to his senses, he was quick to thank his friend. “Looks delicious as always!” With a chuckle, Gordon accepted the compliment as he also served him orange juice. Fully paying attention to the news, Scott ate and watched as they went over some new action movie that sold out within a day in Province Ameni and half of Province Rey. 

“Thinking of a movie night with the wife Scotty?”

    Laughing while putting down his orange juice, he shook his head. “Not anymore Gordon!” Scott shouted back as the sizzling and sounds of cracking eggs and chopping vegetables filled the kitchen ara. Seeing as Scott was sitting down on the kitchen bar area with old-timey diner grey swivel chairs, he saw all the hard work the cooks put into each meal, whether it was for themselves or for others. He always admired that. “Maybe a walk around town then!” With a smile, Scott replied, “we’ve been spending too much time together Gordon! I was thinking the same thing.” Finishing up, Scott paid for the meal and left a nice big tip as usual. “Thanks, Gordon! See you tomorrow!” 

    Waving, Gordon bid him goodbye as Scott needed to head to his job. Luckily, his commute to work was one of his favorite parts of his day. Silently praying and wishing that Lavender will be safe and happy, he grabbed his briefcase on the seat next to him and took the elevator down to the ground floor… which was technically the seventh floor. The lobby doors automatically opened for him as he adjusted his tie in the reflection of the windows. With that, he began his walk to the same university where he met the love of his life.