It turns out that the only place that could sizably feed them all at this point was a dunkin doughnuts. And it also wasn’t nearly big enough for all of them to be inside it. So instead they bought an assortment of about three dozen and then ate on the go to the forest. It was the first time they’d all gathered together like this.
Doughnuts and coffee were somehow the great equalizer of the universe. Especially early in the morning before facing a giant mission. The one that was their biggest. But things were light. Jack and Jenny told bad jokes. Marco and Ya’Cahin did their best to keep them from getting out of hand. Gen was grumpy, Seth was sarcastic and Jenny teased.
They talked and hung out far longer after the coffee had run dry and the doughnuts were nothing but crumbs. Marco and Ya’Cahin looked over the assembled knights and then Marco looked over at her. While the conversation migrated down Marco and Ya’Cahin gathered the trash and took it away.
As they walked Marco glanced at the alien who seemed to still be in her own thoughts. She looked like anyone he would have known. In fact she almost looked like a girl he’d known back in high school but he was probably projecting that one. Ya’Cahin turned to look at him proper this time and raised her eyebrow.
“You’re staring at me,” she said over her shoulder. “What is it?”
Marco looked over his shoulder and shook his head, “I could ask you the same thing.”
She offered him a smile as they found a large green dumpster. Ya’Cahin paused staring at it longer, raising her eyebrow. But she snapped her fingers and shook her head, “Right. Your garbage doesn’t vaporize. I miss my planet.”
“Vaporize?”
Shaking her head, she turned back to Marco and he laughed. “Yeah. The future’s a little different. But there are some things that are the same. Even here on Earth.”
“How long were you here?”
“Not very. I’ve been to Earth, here and there but mainly I was in space with my crew. Both my old one and my new one.”
“You’ve been hunting Legion for years, right?”
“Yeah. And I’m going to bring it down this time. It doesn’t escape. Either I arrest it or I kill it. No more getting away.”
“That sounds like a revenge quest,” she looked at him sharply. Marco glanced at her and frowned, “Jenny told me. About what happened. I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
“Jenny also said that you haven’t really talked to anyone since then.”
“I haven’t. No time to mourn. We’re close to avenging them and that counts for something,” she glared at the ground as she spoke and for a second the illusion wavered and her blue skin and eyes showed through.
“I’m not like you. I haven’t seen what you have. Or been through what you did. I may have lost Jack and Sarah but I was lucky enough to get them back. I can’t imagine what I’d have done if they didn’t.”
“You seem strong enough to have kept going despite the pain,” Ya’Cahin commented.
He laughed, “Yeah I don’t know about that. I’m strong because of my friends. Even beyond Jack and Sarah. Seth, Kat, Cal and now Owen and Gen. They would have gotten me through it one way or another.”
Ya’Cahin looked back toward their group and she smiled, “My new crew has helped me do that. You know I had been on my own for a few years before I tracked Legion to earth.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I refused to have another team despite Ley advising that I was being reckless,” she frowned. “I was dead set on making Legion pay then. It was Jenny that made me realize that I wasn’t just trying to find justice. I wanted revenge. Nothing more. But now, after losing my team again and seeing what it did to you. I want to make sure it can never do that again. No matter what it takes.”
Marco stared at her a long moment and heard the conviction in her tone. Knew that she meant every word she’d said, “Some advice?”
Hesitantly she said, “Sure.”
“We’re the leaders of our teams. Making choices and deciding what we do kinda comes naturally. Believe or not Jack was the leader of the team before me.”
“Really? Him?”
Marco laughed, “He wasn’t bad at it. But him being a leader wasn’t really his thing. For that very reason. Leading the team is only half of it. Part of the other half is letting your team help you. We’re not alone. None of the knights can handle anything on our own. But together we’re strong.”
“What are you getting at?” she said bordering on a scowl.
“Revenge isn’t the thing that makes this process easier. It isn’t the thing that makes waking up the next day easier. Nothing replaces the people that you lose but your team, your friends, make it easier.”
Ya’Cahin started to say something sharp but she slowed and breathed, “You sound like you speak from experience.”
“I do. I’ve lost friends to violence. Lost my mom a long time ago. It was hard. I was going down a really dark path. Honestly meeting Jack was really what did it for me. Changed everything for the better,” he laughed and blushed lightly. “I guess what I’m saying is, we’re going to Kalcoa. We’re finding Legion and we’re stopping it one way or another. But after that, let your team in. Let them help you heal.”
She looked at him and then looked away. She was silent and Marco wondered if he was overstepping things here. He started to apologize when Ya’Cahin laughed. She laughed and there was a lightness to it. “Xilo would have liked you Marco. I know if he was here, he’d say the same thing to me. Guess that’s why you’re one of the greats.”
He smiled and waved his hand back and forth, “I don’t deserve all of that credit. At least not yet.”
“No. You do. And thanks. I think after we get back home I’m going to take a long vacation with my team. Hopefully the galaxy gives us a break.”
“When’s it ever do that?”
That both shared a laugh and made their way back to their respective teams. It was time.
The Harlequin Library 