The Gift – Part 1

By John Neisser

In a world once invaded by alien forces, Jack Spencer, a young and unsuspecting individual, joins the space fleet on a mission to capture these extraterrestrial beings. Unbeknownst to him, hidden powers lie dormant within Jack, waiting to be awakened. As he navigates through the challenges of the fleet, forming both alliances and adversaries, he must also evade relentless attempts on his life. Amidst the chaos, Jack’s world takes an unexpected turn when he discovers he has two unique little girls, a revelation that further fuels his determination to survive and protect those he loves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jan 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9781528953412

Book preview

The Gift – Part 1

John Neisser

Austin Macauley Publishers

The Gift – Part 1

About the Author

Copyright Information ©

Prologue

Part 1 The Space Fleet

Day 6

Day 7

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 13

Day 14

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Day 27

Day 28

Day 30

Day 31

Day 32

Day 34

Day 35

Day 37

Day 38

Day 39

Day 40

Day 41

Day 42

Day 43

Day 45

Day 46

Day 47

Day 48

Day 49

Day 51

Day 52

Day 53

Day 54

Day 55

Day 56

Day 57

Day 58

Day 59

Day 60

Day 61

Day 62

Day 63

Day 64

Day 65

Day 66

Day 67

Day 68

Day 69

Day 70

Day 73

Day 74

Day 75

Day 76

Day 77

Day 78

Day 78

Day 79

Day 80

Day 81

Day 83

Day 85

Day 86

Day 87

Day 88

Day 89

Day 90

Day 91

Day 92

Day 93

Day 94

Day 95

Day 96

Day 97

Day 98

Day 99

Day 100

Day 101

Day 102

Day 103

Day 103

Day 104

Day 106

Day 107

Day 108

Day 109

Day 110

Day 111

Day 112

Day 113

Day 114

Day 115

Day 118

Day 119

Day 120

Day 121

Day 122

Day 123

Day 124

About the Author

John Neisser is the oldest of a family of seven. Served in the United States Military for 14 years. Currently living in Australia. Has played Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 & 5. Enjoyed watching Critical Role. He has time with his two children. He likes Star Trek and has many fantasy books in his house. He believes everyone can get along if groups stop trying to force others to believe the same as them.

Copyright Information ©

John Neisser 2024

The right of John Neisser to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781788234566 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781788234573 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781528953412 (ePub e book)

www.austinmacauley.co.uk

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

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E14 5AA

Prologue

To: Jasper

From: Zana

I was told about your project, and I asked my mother if she knew of any information. She told me to go and look at Channer’s notes. I am not sure if you are aware but he, like you, had the gift of seeing things before they happened. He was the one that was called cursed before Xbiet. I have looked at them and unlike my brother, Channer did not keep dates in any form. I have done a bit of research and Channer gave his book to the History Centre the day the beings first landed and came into the city. I think according to your time it would have been 4555. Not sure about that but I think that is correct. The year for here is 9112. Xbiet went up to the cave the next year. This was one of the earliest entries. My suggested time for this would be 8930 in my years so I am thinking 4465.

-----------------

I have had a strange vision. This is not like the ones I get; it seemed done. I feel nothing I could do would change what I saw. I remember the elder up here telling me that truth was his gift and that I should always tell the truth, but I’m not sure how to explain this. I was sitting here alone and had just gotten back from star dancing. When I was out among the stars again and I had done nothing. This time I went with speed that I am sure I will never experience again. I could not look; it was that fast. When I stopped, I saw these black spots.

Looking around, I saw some strange things that I had never seen before. I went and looked closer. It was a traveling house. There were three different kinds of beings in it. I got pulled out – not sure how – but I saw there were too many of these traveling houses to count. They all seemed to be going the same way.

I watched them passing me when the front one turned and went straight toward the black spots. I saw it moving extremely fast, or I should say faster than it was before. The others followed. There was one that did something just as it turned. It, well, I would say, sent something away from it.

I watched them all turn and speed up. I then saw there were twenty-five that avoided the black spot. I watched as they moved around the black spots that made up the ring. One at a time would try and get in front. Each time the one that moved from the line they made would end up going into a black spot.

I moved around and saw them come out of the ring. There were only ten left. They split up into three groups: one with four, the other two with three, and went in three different directions.

Part 1

The Space Fleet

Day 6

I finally got this baby to work. I will use this to write a log of what happens to me. I should start at the beginning. Today is the 6th day of the year 4560. Six days ago, the space fleet took off from the staging area. The reason that we left when we did is that we will be gone for five years for every year that we think has passed, or so we have been told. Our mission is to retrieve the aliens (alive) that invaded our home planet sixteen years ago. They only left six years ago and since then, we have rebuilt and want to bring them to justice.

Who am I? My name is Jack Spencer. I am 19 years old, and I have been in the King’s service for one year. I came from one of the many camps (growing up, I did not know there was any other) that the aliens used to experiment on us. I believe that my camp was used for anger experiments, since most of the guys could not control their temper.

Three years ago, the King’s people and the military found our camp, and have moved us into one of the rebuilt cities. Of course, there have been problems, but overall, I think things are going well. As for dealing with females, I don’t see the point. They are too different and there is no way to fix them. I don’t see any use for them besides more people on the jobs that need to get done. I have been told that there will be one that will make me melt. I don’t like that idea so I will not deal with them unless I have no choice.

When we moved, I found out about something called ‘machines’ and how they were being used. I have been (when I am not working) repairing and rebuilding one of these and I have gotten it to work. My job at this point is too easy; the information is put on cards and I and several others have to put it into the machines. I seem to be the fastest at it; I got 40 cards done today.

Sarge said that I was to stop and go do something else then told the others that they needed to hurry up. They only got 24 cards done each. I got an idea that maybe if I set up a card on the machine, they can just fill in the blank areas then save it. Sarge is OK, he is a little bit mean to the other guys, and he seems to love food. The workday to him revolves around chow times.

There is a rumor that he was on a camp also, so I think it was one that did not feed him, but I am not sure about that. Life on board this fleet is not so bad. Well, at least not on this ship. This is what is called the flagship. I guess that means there is a flag somewhere on this ship. Life is good; I get up, run through the chow line, quickly grabbing something to eat before getting to work. When I finish work, I eat then go to the store to find parts for my personal machine. I have gotten it to work and made it smaller and faster than the ones we are using. Since no one seems to mind, I will set this up in my room to use it. I have my own room. I have been told that there are people sharing a room. I don’t care why I am not; I am just glad I don’t have to worry about it. There seems to be a personality to this machine, so I will call it Ruby. It is like the rare stones hard to find and hard to deal with if care is not taken. There is talk about classes on the different areas and jobs on the ship. I don’t think I will, and even if I wanted to, Sarge won’t let me due to how fast I am. If I am not there, they will fall too far behind. Just as we leave, the next crew comes on there. The other shift doesn’t seem to ever keep up nevertheless catch up on the backlog of cards (I do wonder what they do all night?)

Tomorrow we will have to start going to the fitness center after work and going at least three times a week. Sarge will be taking us and showing us what to do. He said it was not his choice.

Day 7

Well, the fitness center was OK, if you like to sweat. Thankfully, it was full. It seems that everyone tried to go there at the same time, so we did some running on the track instead. I was asked today if I wanted to take those classes. I said no and that seemed to shock the officer that was asking me. It seems that no one wanted to take the classes.

Today, I got 48 cards done, my best so far. If I keep up at this rate, I can get us caught up on the stack of backlogged cards that just seems to grow. I told my idea of a card on the machine just needing filled out and saved to Sarge. He sorts of looked at me and said that I could do it, but I had to share it with the whole crew.

I think there must have been a camp that believed in some greater beings or something like Dad does.

A few guys, as we walked in the fitness center, said they saw angels. I asked what they meant. They said that angels were the most beautiful beings. I then remembered that in the classes to get into the service they had mentioned something about religion. I don’t really care too much about it and as it sounds like it would get in the way of the mission, I don’t want any part of it.

We were told we would be running the track. As I was running past the bike area, someone on a bike caught my eye to the point I stopped. I got run over by the rest of my crew (I think some of them stepped on me purposely). Sarge came up, asked if I was all right, saw where I was looking, and laughed. He told me that her name was Millisa. He then helped me up and told me if I ran quickly, I might be able to talk to her. Of course, when I got back around to the area, she was gone. The black hair and pale skin I keep picturing in my mind. I know what I will do tomorrow, I will make a record of inputting the cards and that will get my mind off her and get rid of the backlog.

Day 9

I grabbed quite a few cards and placed them on my desk. I started into them. I am sure I was working only a few hours. I just did as many as fast as I could. Sarge saw me and asked when I got started. When I said, 09:30, he looked at a clock and then asked, What day?

I said, It was day 8.

He then stopped me and had someone count the cards I did. The count was 1152 and there were only 848 left to do. He told the crew that they were to finish those cards today and I was not going to work on anything but sleep today. He then marched me to my room. When we got there, he saw Ruby and asked what it was.

I told him that I was making a smaller, faster machine that everyone could have and then said that they all could be linked to each other. He just told me I needed to dream on my bed, and he would see me tomorrow.

Day 10

When I got to work, I got told that I would not do any more than 40 cards per day, and I would be stopping for lunch, and I was to never work like that again.

I must admit that when I went to eat this morning, I ate everything. After work, we went to the fitness center again, and we played some game that someone on this ship invented, throwing a ball in a basket. I am sure my crew was not playing it right or I would not have ended up on the ground quite so much.

Day 11

I would like to know what they did. When I got to work, there was a stack of cards waiting for us. There was more than there should have been. Sarge asked me if I had a faster way; I said yes. I think he thought I was joking. That was until I sat down and set it up on one the machines. I asked him if he wanted me to set it up on all the machines.

He said, No, just on a few, having me put it on the machines of the slowest ones on our crew. After I showed him and the others how to use it, the slow guys were able to keep up with me. The Sarge went and had a talk to the officer, and I noticed that they kept looking in my direction.

Not sure if that is a good thing.

Day 13

Today, I had to explain to the officer why. I told him that the faster the information went in, the faster we went, and the sooner we could get those aliens. He looked at me and then at his paperwork then back at me. He asked me all sorts of questions about the camp I grew up at. I had all the answers he wanted and told a few things that when he looked at his papers, he saw I was right.

He told me that I was to set my cards up on all the machines. He said that I would be getting promoted but I was still listening to the others. When I walked out and looked at Sarge, he said that I deserved it.

I asked, Why? What did I do?

He looked at me and asked if I was kidding then just shook his head.

Day 14

I found out some things. On day 30 I am getting promoted to Lance Sarge. I also found out that I don’t have a choice and I will be going to classes from day 30 to day 95.

Day 18

Sarge has been giving me more jobs to do. I am not sure if I am glad. I get to tell others to do things. Besides the dirty looks they are giving me, getting them to get anything done is difficult. The cards I thought were the only thing that Sarge did. Boy, have I learned otherwise.

George is a pain. He has been in the service for four years and is upset that I am telling him what to do. He should be glad he did not have to deal with some of the guys I grew up with; he would have been thrown across the room.

Day 19

Sarge asked me to find out if there were any other people from my camp in the fleet. I did not think there were. The machine seems to like sorting information. In about 20 minutes, I had a list of all the people in the fleet that lived on camps. Found out Tom was on one of the ships. We are like brothers; we grew up together.

I went to hand it to Sarge. He looked at me and then at the list. He started laughing and told me to give it to George. I did and he looked at it and got upset due to the fact (I found out later) that he had been given that two days ago.

Day 20

I found out the list of classes. Data entry days: 30–40. Easy. Machine repair: 41– 51. Again easy. Ship repair: 52–62. Why? Firefighting: 63–73. OK, not sure why but OK. First aid: 74–84. Useful. 85–95. Fighter pilots. Don’t they have some?

Saw Millisa again in the shops. This time I spoke to her. I must admit she has a bit of a temper. Steve (the tech in the shop) said he had to be the dumbest guy on the ship, and I said, No, the cooks are.

Millisa did not seem to like that, and she asked me why I said that. I told her that everyone knew cooks were stupid, fat, dumb, old men that could not get a better job. Wonder what she was holding when she hit me and stormed out of the store.

Day 21

What is the connection between Sarge and the cooks? For as soon as I walked in today, he pulled me aside and asked me, What happened at the store? I told him. His reply was that he would take care of it but I owed him big time. He then gave me a list of things to get done and who was to do what. He then told me he would be back in an hour.

Day 22

I am starting to wonder why anyone would want to move up in rank. Seems you get more stuff piled on you the more you move up. Today, Sarge gave me a list and told me it had to get done. I fixed my work machine so even with the crew not helping (I still don’t understand why they don’t just help get the mission done), we just got it done.

Day 23

I connected Ruby with my work machine through the wall wire network and found out I can get into any machine that way. I am going to have to be very careful with that.

Day 24

I saw Sarge near the store and Millisa was chatting to him. I walked up and said hi. The look she gave me was like I had done something wrong. Sarge said, Don’t, to her. And that impulse control and tact were things I had to learn, and I came from a camp.

For some reason, the fact that I was from a camp seemed to mean something to her. She kissed me on the cheek, said, You are cute.

Then she walked off. Like I said, females are too different and can’t be fixed.

Hmm, maybe I should try to fix Millisa like I am fixing Ruby.

Day 25

After work today, I was grabbing something to eat, and Millisa sat down in front of me and started to tell me that I was eating the wrong things and what I should eat. She almost sounded like she knew what she was talking about. I asked her if she was taking a class.

She said, I start Data Entry in five days, and I am dreading it.

I said, It is easy. I will help you if you don’t hit me anymore.

It had to be a trick of the light because I thought I saw red instead of black hair.

Day 26

Found out what tact and impulse control is today. George was stalling getting anything done and I asked, Why don’t you want to get the job done in a fast and efficient manner?

His reply was, It does not matter. Either way, you will do it anyway or it’s just busy work.

I started to get out of my chair and next thing I knew, Sarge was pulling me into his office, explaining that impulse control meant NOT beating the crap out of someone that upsets you. Tact is a way of asking people to do something they don’t want to do without getting them upset. Seem like a waste of time but rules are rules.

Day 27

Millisa stopped me just before I went to grab chow. I don’t know why she seems to be always around there.

She asked me, Will you help me with the Data Entry class?

I said, Let me get a quick bite and I will show you something.

As I got to the food case, she decided what I needed. When I looked at her, all she said was, Brain food.

Everybody knows food doesn’t go to your brain. Fixing her is going to take a LOT of work.

After we ate a lot more than I was planning to, I walked her to my room, showed her Ruby, and told her that I built it. I sat Millisa down and asked her to change the color on the window (the simplest task I could think of at the time).

I waited ten minutes and noticed she was using one finger from each hand to enter any letter. I stopped her, hit a few keys, and changed the color to red (which I know I can see red in her hair). I asked her to use all her fingers and showed her how. She looked at me in amazement. I said that was nothing and two minutes later, I had Ruby drawing a wildflower on the window. I explained that there was more data entry.

She asked, How did you do that? Did someone teach you that trick?

I said, No, the command code is easy, and I see it in my head. I did not know anyone had done that before. I will show you.

I slowed down and explained I was going to have Ruby draw wildflower in the middle of the window and step by step showed her to change this and this to that and send and there it is. She kissed me again and said, You are amazing, and left to go to her room.

Day 28

After work, I had a knock on the door. I opened it and Millisa was looking at me. She asked, Can you help me with my machine?

I thought about it for a few seconds and followed her to her room. As we went, she said, I have tried to make the wildflower in the center and now something is very wrong.

When we got there, I looked at the machine and the code and within ten minutes not only got it to work, but made it faster, and when it was not actively doing something, a wildflower would be in the center of the window. Her roommate watched every move I made then started asking questions like who taught you that and why that.

I just smiled that it needed to be harder if that was a test. I walked out of the room and was on the way to mine when Millisa came up and asked, How did you know?

My reply was, The roommate asked the questions that gave it away and that she was a machine operator. When you said that I made the flowers in the center and tried to tell her how she had to see for herself that I could do that. Since to her knowledge it was not possible.

Millisa said, I am sorry. Is there any way I could make it up to you somehow?

I did not reply right away but I said, We need to talk. Come to my room.

When we got there, I sat her down and asked her, Why?

She was shocked by the question, but she said, You are cute and do not act like the other guys on the ship.

I have noticed that a lot of the guys do show off a bit around the females so that part made sense. I told her that she needed to focus on the mission at hand and should remind the guys that as well.

She just looked at me and decided I was telling the truth. She said, You really did come from a camp.

I said, If everyone focused on doing their part, we could get this mission done.

She then asked me, What do you do for fun?

My answer was, Fun does not get the mission on hand done.

She looked around and asked me, Why did you build that?

I said, I wanted to test out some improvements before I fixed the ship machines.

She grabbed my face and kissed me on the lips before I could finish the sentence. She then told me, You now have a second mission, and it is to be my boyfriend.

My reply was, I’m a friend and I am a boy. What’s the big deal?

She hugged me and gave me a kiss on the lips again. Once I got her at arm’s distance, I said, Based on your reaction, am I to take that was not the correct answer?

She looked shocked and said, You truthfully don’t know, do you?

She asked, Do you think I am cute or attractive?

I said, Yes, and I like the red hair better than the black.

She looked terrified at that comment then glanced at the mirror and ran out of the room.

I don’t understand.

Day 30

The start of classes. Data Entry. I got promoted today. Millisa sits down next to me. Her hair is all black again. I look at her and ask why she ran out and changed her hair color. She looked at me and said, Not now.

My officer walked in and went to the front. I did not know he was teaching the class. He started the class by saying that these classes were to give everyone a basic understanding of shipboard operations. This class was not about how fast one was getting info into the machine (that last bit, I think, was aimed at me). We were to help out our classmates if they needed it.

He then got into the command code: what it was for, and how a machine used the code. We would be putting facts into the machine.

Millisa stayed behind and spoke to my officer about something after class.

Day 31

Class started fine. He is teaching them the longest, hardest way to put the information in the machine. Millisa did not come back to class after the lunch break but my officer (who normally asks when someone is missing) did not ask anything.

Day 32

Millisa showed up after lunch (my officer said nothing to her) but reminded us that we were to help out our classmates if they needed it. Of course, I helped Millisa get caught up and pass most of the class. She is trying to type with all her fingers like I showed her.

Day 34

Yesterday, after class, Millisa asked me to help her with the class work. She was doing fine so I started looking at command code for the machines and must have lost track of time. My officer was shaking me and the whole class was there. It took me a few seconds. I said that I was OK and stayed in the class.

I started to see a star field right at the end of class. I went to stand up and everything went black. I wake to find myself in medical getting told I will stay put until I get told by the Doc that I can leave. Thirty minutes later, I walk out of the medical wing and get slammed up against the wall. I hear Millisa, but for some reason I can’t understand what she is saying. I think she asked me when the last meal I had was. I’m not sure why she asked, but I said that day 32 was when I last remembered eating.

I don’t think too many people got in the way of her dragging me and those that did took one look at her and flattened themselves against the wall. I know what should have been a 20-minute walk from Med Wing to chow line took less than ten minutes.

She sat me down and told me not to move; she would be right back. I heard her voice say something like boyfriend went down. Next thing I see is her with a tray of food (more than I would eat in a week) and her stating, You. Will. Finish. Everything.

I never noticed her golden eyes before. Her hair was very red, I have seen fire that color. Somehow, I did not say anything about it till I had started eating. She sat there watching me eat. I did offer her some. There was one moment that my Sarge showed up and came up to me and wanted me to answer a question.

She had just returned with a drink. He took one look at her and said, You had better listen to her if you value your life, and he left.

I was more than halfway done when I looked at her and noticed her eyes were brown. I said, I want to talk to you.

I got cut off mid-sentence. More eating. Less talking.

I finished, put the tray away, grabbed her, and said, We are going to my room now. I want to talk to you.

We got to the room, and I could not stop myself. I told her, I think your golden eyes and fire-red hair make you cuter.

She looked in the mirror and I swear she was terrorized by the red hair. I grabbed her, sat her on the bed, and said, Explain.

She mumbled something like, Better dead than red.

I said, What was that?

She then said, I was always told that I would be better off dead than to let anyone see I have red hair. There are people that will kill me if they saw the red hair.

Not sure why but that last comment caused a force of will, that I did not know I had, grow inside of me until it just burst out. "You will not get killed around me."

Day 35

Feels like I had everyone on the ship (but the cooks) yelled at me about not eating and I was never to do that again. I want to find out why Millisa was so terrorized by her red hair. What I have found was that the aliens tried to kill everyone with red hair. They missed at least one.

Wait a second. She said ‘people’ not ‘aliens’ would kill her. So, were there people helping the aliens? I will let Ruby find out if any people from our world helped the aliens. Since we are still in connection with the planet, I have been able to let Ruby get a connection to the planet and the history there.

Day 37

Millisa was late (after lunch) again. I am just glad I have been able to help her, or she would not have passed this class. She is just too slow on the keyboard.

We talked on the way to my room after class. Just as we got to the door, she asked if I had eaten and when I said, No, she said, Let’s go.

I tell you; she gets a bit bossy about food. I went for my normal things and got told no, I was having her choice of things. I grabbed those things she said and sat down and said, Why? Her reply was, A balanced meal. Do you know anything about nutrition?

I said, NO. What’s that?

She said, It is eating the right things to get the body to work correctly.

I said, Hold on. Medical said that members of the camp had to have vitamins/minerals to get the body to work correctly and to keep the anger under control.

She shook her head (she was eating as well) then said that,

Vitamins/minerals are in the food as a part of it.

She said she knew I was from a camp but that one? It seemed to frighten her I was from that camp. I told her I was taking the pills Medical told me I had to take and not to worry about it.

When we got back to my room, I was asked if I had a roommate and since I did not, would I mind having a few of her hair coloring things in my room? I think I may have gotten the bad end of that deal. I said she could if I could see her red hair from time to time as I thought it made her more attractive.

Day 38

Millisa, it is 5:30 in the morning. Why are you here?

She said, Breakfast.

I replied, What do you mean ‘breakfast’, you grab and go.

She said, No, that is not proper nutrition.

‘Nutrition’ again. Why do I get this feeling that the kisses are because I said the wrong thing again? Let me get ready and check on Ruby."

She said, Whatever you are searching for has gotten results.

I said, Ruby found results?

She said, Yes, and is still looking 100 results plus more.

I did not know the chow line was even open at 06:00. I told Millisa that, I am sure my body will have problems with the amount of food you want me to eat.

If I eat as much as Millisa has me eat every day, I will gain 25 cubits.

Saw Sarge today. I asked him how things were going, and did they need me back? He told me that I had just better pass all the classes, and he was glad I survived Millisa being angry. I replied Angry? I thought she was acting cute. If you want to see anger, you should meet my brothers. I had to explain to him that my brother was the last one to have a pain-sticks used on him before they became non-legal for use. He also holds the record for the most used on any one person at the same time. From what I was told, one is all it takes to stun someone to the ground. But he took five before he went down. He was just a bit angry at the time.

Day 39

She did it again, not only taking me to breakfast but made me eat a lot at lunch and dinner. OK, what has Ruby got? 8000 results. Let’s see sort by actively helping and inactively helping. OK, that did not help. Let’s see if by a group or single person, huh only two individuals. Maybe time before, during, after the invasion. Only 98 after the invasion. I will be doing a lot of reading. This device is acting up. Will have to find time to repair it.

Day 40

I aced the class (like there was any thought otherwise), surprise. Millisa did OK. She is still on this nutrition thing.

She asked me, What would happen if someone put the wrong information into the machine?

I said, It could not do its job and we could end up running into a star, why?

She said, Then think of nutrition as input into the machine or the body. The more information into the machine, the better the results. That sort of made sense to me.

Day 41

Machine repair class, it is a different officer but the same ‘help each other’ speech. This getting up at 05:30 to have breakfast with Millisa is becoming a habit.

She stayed behind again to talk with the officer. I looked at her at dinner and she was not her cheerful self. I asked her what was wrong. She said that nothing was wrong.

Well, I read what Ruby had on the two individuals. It seems one is helping more people than aliens released. The other one the records said something about a child he thought was alive. Both were after the invasion. I had Ruby place the rest of them in time order with the oldest first. Seems if I want to read a book, I might want to read it from the start.

Day 42

It seems this officer doesn’t like me. I did what he asked just faster than he wanted, and I made it work better than his. I was not trying to show off. I was just putting the pieces together in the way that made sense to me.

Day 43

I have been helping everyone. Seems no one can get this as easily as me. I will say I am enjoying the little talks Millisa and I have. I think she is starting to understand. I asked her what she thought of religion. Her reply was that it gets in the way of the mission and not to worry about it. I told her what was said the first day I saw her, and she kissed me again.

I asked her, What did I say that was wrong that time?

She said, You have said nothing wrong but said something right.

Why did she change the rules on me? I was just getting her figured out!

Day 45

Millisa seemed to be in a rush after class. We ate quicker and less than normal, and she seemed to be in a rush to get to my room. She told me to wait on the bed while she went and took a shower. I read number four of the stories. Seems that they had been years before preparing for the invasion.

A voice behind me asked, What are you reading?

I said, Some history.

I stood up and turned around to see Millisa in just a towel and fiery red hair. I kissed her, and we lost our balance, and ended up on the bed. The skin of her face turned as red as her hair. She said if it was going to get that kind of reaction, I need to let it get red more often. I thought I would be cute.

I said, still holding her down, You are my fire angel.

Then I kissed her again. I tell you; it seemed like her body melted. I got off her and she seemed in a trance for a minute. She looked at me and said, You need to kiss me like that a lot more often.

I must have said something wrong at that point. I asked her why she took the color out of her hair if it bothers her so much. She looked at me and then said, I have to put the black back in every few days to keep the red covered and since you have been such a good boyfriend, you get to see the red hair that you like. She turned to go back into the shower area. I grabbed her arm, pulled her around, then into my arms, and kissed her again. I tell you; she seems to melt into my arms.

As I let go, she seemed in that trace again (maybe I should not do that again). She went in to finish what she was doing, and I went back to reading. The trio I am reading about I am beginning to really dislike.

Millisa came back out and said, Stop reading and talk to me.

As I turned around, I asked, What have I done wrong this time? This boyfriend stuff needs set rules.

She was in her fitness clothes and had black hair again. She kissed me and this time I kissed her back till she melted again. I jumped back and said, I got to stop doing that.

She yelled, "NO! WHY DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO STOP?"

I said, It feels like you are melting, and you end up in a trance.

She just looked at me for a few minutes and mumbled something about not believing it. Grabbing hold of my face, looking me in the eyes, she pleaded with me, Do not stop kissing me like that. It is a good thing, and it feels very nice. I will let you know if something is wrong.

When she let me go, I noticed what time it was, and said that she had to go quick as it was against regulations for her to be in here. She just stood there and said, I know.

She turned out the lights and pulled me onto the bed. I asked if she was trying to get me in trouble. She said, If you do not stop talking, you will be. Then she kissed me again.

Day 46

No one seemed to notice that Millisa came out of my room this morning. We went to eat then went to class. Today was the easiest for me but I ended up helping half the class (including the guy who has that as his job).

After class, I went to talk with my Sarge. He told me I was not needed at that point. He just wanted me to pass the classes. I asked to speak to him in his office. We went in and after I shut the door I told him, I broke regulations and accept punishment.

He looked at me and told me to explain. I told him that Millisa had been kissing me when I said something wrong then suddenly, she changed the rules. So last night, I had her in my room and something happened, and I kissed her and she, well, felt like she melted and when I let her go, she was in a trance for a bit.

Sarge started laughing. I then said, She spent the night in my room.

He looked at me and said, And your problem is?

I said, It’s against regulations and there must be something wrong with me if I can disable a member of the crew. It can’t be good for the mission.

He looked at me and said he would talk to her Sarge and her and find out if there was a problem and get with me tomorrow after class.

Day 47

Millisa woke me up at 05:30 again by knocking on my door. She pushed me back into the room and slammed the door. Grabbing me, she hugged me and started kissing me. She was shaking as she was doing it. I hugged her, and kissed her till I felt her start melting, then asked her what was wrong.

She said that it was the dream again. I got ready for class and when we left my room, she was acting normal (at least for her). On the way from chow line, I asked her to tell me the dream please. She said, OK. It always starts off in a carriage in the countryside then something happens to the carriage (different in each dream) but always, it is always on fire, and I can’t move even thought someone is there to help.

I told her, You will be OK.

After class, Sarge took me into his office and said, Nothing is wrong with you and as long as you only kiss Millisa, you will be OK.

He suggested not to make a habit of her staying in my room overnight. She must have been waiting for me at the chow line because when I got there, she was there. She was not as cheerful as she is normally. I purposely got her talking to me about nutrition again; seems she has a love of that. She did suggest that maybe if medical says it is OK then she can replace the pills with a diet. That reminded me I had not taken them for nine days.

I said, I need to remember to take it at 06:00.

She asked me, What would happen if you do not take them? I have heard some stories, but they may have been blown up a bit.

I asked her what she had heard. She had been told the story about the five pain sticks. When I said, Yes, that was my brother, and I was there. It was 5. The look in her eyes was as bad as when she saw her red hair.

Day 48

Millisa remained me this morning to take the pill with me to chow. Class was normal. Twenty-five minutes after a given a job, I was helping someone. The officer does not like it but can’t really do anything about it because I have mine done.

After class, I talked to Sarge and then was heading to the chow line when five guys showed up and said they wanted to talk to me. We went around a corner, and they started backing me against a wall. They said If I hurt Millisa in any way, they will make sure I get very hurt. Just to make it clear, a couple of shots to the gut. I folded up into a ball. When I looked up, they were gone.

I got up and slowly made my way to the chow line and she was waiting. She noticed something was wrong. She asked me what happened. After we left the chow line and headed to my room, I said that I had a run-in with her fan club and they made it clear that you were not to be hurt.

That seemed to turn her eyes golden. She asked, What does this ‘fan club’ looks like?

I told her, Five guys. And I started describing one of them and she stopped me and started to leave when I grabbed her arm and told her that she needed to recolor her hair; it had turned red. I had to pull her into my room. I took a chance and kissed her again. I took a couple of minutes, but she started to melt. I waited until she fell into my arms and could not stand up. I placed her on the bed and waited till the trance wore off then told her she needed to fix her hair.

She said, Please hold me for a bit more.

About 20 minutes later, she went and did her hair. I started reading again and found out that the aliens had told these three that they had to kill all the redhaired people.

Millisa came up behind me and turned the window off.

Day 49

My alarm went off. There was no knock on the door. I opened it and there was no sign of Millisa. I got dressed, took my med, and went to chow line. She was still not there. I found her in class, and it looked like she had been crying. I asked her at lunch what was wrong. She said it was nothing. I said that I did not believe her. She then said, People truly care for me and not what I can do for or give them.

After class, we went to the store then we found a quiet area and she told me, The guys that talked to you yesterday are some of the guys I work with. I have had a chance to talk to my Sarge. He was one of the five.

I looked at her and said, Them protecting you, I understand that. No problems with what they said. But what did you mean by, what you could do or give them?

She explained, I grew up in a small village and was treated a bit differently than other people. I was always given the newest toys and devices. The people in the village would pretend to be my friend to get things or to hurt me. But here there are people that care about me, really care.

I just looked at her, not sure what to say. I said, I have never felt that someone just wanted me for what I could give or do for them.

She