Chapter 2: Chapter 2

I cleared my throat as I walked towards the yellow taxi as i tried to hold back the tears that threatened to run down my face. It was all just so surreal. I was finally leaving Earth and my aunt behind. Before I sat down, I opened the door and put my bag inside. I didn’t trust it, leaving it out of my sight, at least with the stuff I had in it.

I slid into the taxi and took a quick stock of my surroundings. The interior mainly was matt black, cool to the touch, and pretty barren outside of the scanner. Once I was settled in, I reached forward, ran my watch across it to pay my fee, sat back in my seat, and stared out the window. This taxi wasn’t a flying vehicle, mostly since I didn’t feel like paying an ungodly fee amount. Besides, the road was just as good as the air. If not a slightly bit more crowded at times.

The vehicle lurched forward, and I cast one last glance towards the apartment building, hoping to imprint it into my memory. Eventually, however, it faded out of sight and was replaced by a sea of giant metal buildings that reached far into the sky. I rested my cover across my knee and decided just to stare at the city and enjoy what I could for now.
After about an hour, we eventually passed through the city center and headed towards the JFK spaceport. I better use this time to prepare. I adjusted my smart watch and typed in a command. A moment later, the screen blinked and projected a small ten-inch holographic screen and a small keyboard underneath it.

I shifted in my seat slightly as I read through the various source information the Order sent me. I have memorized most of it, like regulations, but it didn’t hurt to have a small refresher. Once I read all the old stuff, I quickly moved on to the new direct messages.

One was my ship date, which didn’t matter much since I was already en route with it. The next was instructions for what to do once I arrived at the spaceport. It wasn’t anything too special, just terminals and departure times. I dismissed everything once I read through it and allowed my mind to wander.

I wondered what my life was going to be like. I would spend the next few years in training and eventually be apprenticed to a knight. At that point, I would travel far and wide, mainly being deployed in various war zones to supplement the military forces already there, which I didn’t mind. I knew that signing up with them entailed me spending my life-fighting. But it resonated with me. If I had to fight so that the various beings that inhabited our borders could live peacefully, so be it. I will bear that burden for them.

My thoughts wandered for a time before my watch rang from an incoming call. My heart jumped in my chest as I read it was from my dad. Almost immediately, I answered it. “Where have you been? I have been worried sick!”

“Damn tiger, calm down. I haven’t talked to you in weeks, and the first thing you do is yell at me?” The hologram quickly painted the scene that my father was in for as the vid call completed. He was sitting in a small bunker-style room in front of a cot, and a single white light stood in stark contrast to the gloominess of the room.

“Of course. How else do you expect me to react?” I hissed back at him, annoyed by his flippant nature that the army had yet to quell.
He chuckled, and a face-splitting smile crossed his face. He gazed at me with his dark brown eyes that were encased in dark bags. “Damn, why do you have to be such a hardass? Didn’t I raise you to have fun?”

I shot him with what I hoped was a withering glare. “Because I have to be the one to take everything seriously since you don’t! I was worried that something had happened. I didn’t even get so much as a direct message from you.”

He stared at me for a moment, and the smile on his face faded, and it looked as if he aged thirty years in an instant. Small chasms etched their way across his face and matched the various scars that marked his flesh. He ran his hand across his shaved head, and an almost inaudible sigh escaped from his lips. “It’s been rough, Rhea. The Vespians took New Alexandria a few weeks ago. I’ve hardly slept since. Even the knights deployed with us are having a hell of a time.”

I frowned at his words and felt guilty for yelling at him. “I’m sorry, dad. I was just worried about you, is all. I’m just glad you are safe.”

“It’s okay tiger. Your mom was the same way. Always a stickler.” In an instant, his grin came back, and many of the wrinkles that ordained his flesh vanished from sight. It was as if they were never there, to begin with.

“So you have told me.” I shot back and glanced out the window to see where we were.

“Anyway, Happy birthday! I know it’s a little late. You ship out soon, yes?” He stood up, walked over to a small desk tucked away in the corner, and sat down.

“Thanks, dad, and yes, that’s actually where I am heading now.” I couldn’t help but puff my chest out and straighten up a bit.

“I can see that. I can’t believe my little girl will be a Knight. It makes me so damned proud. I’m pretty sure everyone in my company is tired of hearing me talk about it.” He opened up a data tablet, sat back in his chair, and looked through some things.

“At least you are proud of me. Sarah has been trying her hardest to convince me otherwise.” I rested my head against the cool interior of the taxi and stared out of the window, watching the buildings go by.

“Sarah worries about you, is all. I still worry, but I wouldn’t talk you out of something you have your mind set on. Not that it wouldn’t do any good with how stubborn you are.” I tore my attention from the buildings and glanced down at him.

“I know she does. But I’ll be okay. I’m going to be a knight, remember?” I shot back teasingly.

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He pursed his lips and stared at me; for once, he looked dead serious. “Listen, Rhea; knights are not invincible. I’ve seen a few who had that same mentality get cut down. Please don’t make that same mistake.”

“I know, I know, I was only joking, but I’ll be careful, dad. I promise.” It was a depressing thing to think about really.

“I know, tiger, I was just telling you cause I care. You are the last bit of family I have left, and I couldn’t bear it if I lost you, too.” He set his pad down and ran his fingers through his hair again.

“You won’t lose me, dad. I refuse to die. Really, it’s you I am worried about, especially when you go and don’t say anything for a few weeks.” I purposefully emphasized the few weeks’ part as a gentle reminder.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, just like your mother.” He mumbled to himself and let out a yawn.

“You need to get some rest, though.” As much as I wanted to be selfish and spend time with my dad, I knew that it could have dire consequences if he wasn’t resting.

“Yeah, you are probably right. The Vespians haven’t been this quiet in a while. I just wanted to take some time to talk to you, at least before you shipped out.” Another yawn punctuated his words.

“I appreciate it, dad. I’m glad that you are okay. Please don’t worry me like that again.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll try to send you a message if I am free. Anyway, I love you, Rhea.”

“I love you too, dad. Stay safe, please.” I gazed at his form once more, happy that I got to talk to him again and significantly relieved that he was okay.

“I’m always safe.” He told me with a quick wink, which caused me to roll my eyes. “Good luck in boot. If everything goes well, I should be able to make it to your graduation. At least if the Vespians decide they want to fuck off long enough for me to do so.”

“Hopefully, they do. It would be lovely to see you again.”

“It would be, but anyway, good night Rhea. I love you.” He said again, clearly trying to stall the call for just a few moments longer, which I was happy with.

“I love you too, dad.” He stared at me for a moment longer, and I could hear the telltale click of a screenshot come from my watch. However, before I could say anything about it, he gave me a quick wink and disconnected the call.

I hate when he does that since he usually catches me at my worst. Yet it still brought a small smile to my face. At least I got to talk to him today. That’s all that matters. It tears me up a bit that he is so far away, but that’s just the nature of the beast, I suppose. I rested my head against the interior of the taxi once more, deciding to ride the euphoric wave at least until the anxiety kicked back in.

But I still had time. I took a deep breath and steeled my heart while my eyes drank in the surroundings. At least here, there were more trees and other greenery. Unlike the metal carcass, that is the city. Just rows of beautiful green trees that sat enshrined upon stone ledges and looked out happily across the roads at the seas of cars that relentlessly traveled down its length.

Eventually, the sky darkened as large stone arches choked out the light, and the thousands of cars that surrounded us slowly filtered through the stone tunnels that existed just under the port. My heart started to beat harder and faster as we neared our destination. Yellow lights ran down the length of what felt like a sky-high ceiling at steady intervals and cast a warm glow onto the grey concrete. I thanked the taxi driver as I donned my cover and made sure that it was positioned correctly in my holo mirror as we pulled up next to a small catwalk filling up with several people.

I went through and quickly touched up my uniform and grabbed my bag. My heart was slowly pounding harder as the taxi came to a stop. I gathered up all my stuff and thanked the taxi driver before stepping outside the vehicle. I tried to remind myself that everything would be okay, yet the words seemed to fall on deaf ears of my subconscious.

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