Reset And Repeat

Posted on Thu Oct 26th, 2023 @ 5:29pm by Lunandria & Kayge

1,446 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The Invasion
Location: Kaldorian Space Ship
Timeline: 2100 Hours, November 25th 2050

Luna glided through the dimly lit corridors of the spaceship, her steps silent against the smooth metallic floor. The soft hum of the ship's engines echoed in the background, creating a serene ambience that enveloped her as she ventured deeper into the vessel.

Outside, the vast expanse of the cosmos stretched out before her, revealing a symphony of twinkling stars and distant galaxies. Luna paused at a viewport, gazing out at the celestial spectacle of the nebula they were hiding inside, they had been so close to winning but then the rangers came back with Zords. She was frustrated but the beauty and mystery of space never failed to captivate her, and she often found solace in its embrace.

"The humans have an expression," Kayge noted, consuming the last of a small piece of fruit as he watched her admiringly from the shadows. "They call it the 'observer effect'. They say looking at the stars from space makes them feel smaller." He approached, grasping her from behind. "Does it make you feel smaller?" he challenged.

Luna glanced over at him and smiled softly. "Well, we all have to be reminded of just how small we are compared to the universe." She commented. "And since when do you quote humans?" She wondered turning her gaze back to the purple of the nebula that gave her a strange glow stood there.

"Only a fool disrespects his enemy," he said by way of an answer, holding her with a firm grip. "I didn't think you would be like the other generals. The ones that think they're superior and underestimate their foes. Especially the Rangers."

“I do not underestimate anyone. You. Them. Me.” Luna replied not at all bothered by the firm grip. They were all a little bit touché at the moment. “I just never thought of you to quote humans. Nothing more. Just learning more about you. Is that wrong?”

"Not wrong," Kayge remarked. "But new. You've never been interested in much before, beyond the...physical." Their connection had been forged in battle for the Empire, and beyond that one of primarily physical attraction as well as the professional one. He had never considered exploring anything deeper.

It was a good question and one she very much did not have an answer to. Her mind had been drifting more and more recently. "Maybe I have decided I want more or maybe I am concerned that you are growing soft." She challenged looking up at him.

"If you were anyone else I'd be making you eat those words," he snorted. "What stirs this new desire? Has something changed?

Luna turned away giving him a dark look. “Maybe… I do not know. Maybe something is shifting in my memories and I’m wanting a connection.” She shrugged.

"You said you'd lost your memories," he said, tone bordering on suspicious. He put his hands on her shoulders. "They're irrelevant; you're a General of Kaldor now. This is the only connection you need."

“Ignore it. Just twinges of something that I cannot grasp." She ordered quietly not moving an inch. “We have both made this relationship clear.” Luna kept her gaze firmly in the nebula. It was her favourite colour after all and the aura of her powers when it came alive.

His hands squeezed her shoulders before releasing her. Indeed, the relationship was clear; as much as they shared a bed from time to time, he was the mentor and she the student. "We have. You will not forget that, I am sure."

“You have known me twenty years. Have I ever before?” She demanded bordering on hostility to cover for her attempts to explore her surfacing emotions and feelings.

There was silence between the two of them for a long moment. Not through hesitation, but from consideration as Kayge reflected on that time. "You remain my finest student. Unmatched, even after all this time. Memories or not, Lunandria, you serve as a General of Kaldor now. There is no greater honour."

“Almost like I had done it all before.” She commented not even looking at him but her reflection in the window. The emotions were that were swirling around were enough to make her sick if she was a lesser woman with less resilience. “For you Kaldorians I guess not.”

"You may not have Kaldorian blood, but you have the same spirit," he said. "Take care not to doubt your enthusiasm for our cause too loudly, though. There would be minds that would see that as a sign of disloyalty..."

Luna's gaze fixated on Kayge, a furrow marring her brow before she averted her eyes once more. She longed for the ability to confide in him beyond their intimate moments – to reveal the workings of her mind. An unease lingered, a sensation that she could not define, seemingly linked to the fleeting dreams that dissolved upon waking.

Gathering her resolve, she spoke up, breaking into the uncertain silence. "Is there doubt about me that lingers in your thoughts?" Luna's words ventured into uncharted territory, a cautious step into the realm of vulnerability.

Curiosity crossed Kayge's face. Lunandria had asked many questions in those early days, but he had sought to train that out of her. Something was causing those to resurface. "I always taught you that doubt is the silent killer," he said, back in mentor mode. "I have never doubted your abilities, Lunandria. You, however, need to make sure that you have that same confidence. There can be no room for hesitation in service to the Empire."

"I do not hesitate," Luna said annoyed summoning her star staff into her hands as her vulnerability slipped away. She pointed it at him not quite touching him but close that the heat from it radiated to be felt. "Ranger blood recently coated this." She reminded. "I am asking you as... whatever this is between us if you doubt my loyalty."

"Never for a moment," he nodded, meeting her eyes. "But I do wonder if you doubt it?"

"What my loyalty or your belief in my loyalty?" She asked the magic around her sparkling for a second before the staff disappeared leaving the space between them open.

Kayge frowned. "You aren't listening," he drew his own short blade from a scabbard, and rested the flat edge against her shoulder. Its dark edge seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it. "Believe in yourself and your abilities, not others. This nonsense about your past is worthless and should be discarded."

“It is worthless.” A voice called from down the corridor and as a blackness overcame the corridor surrounding Luna and dropped her to the floor unconscious as for the first time in a long time the Kaldor Emperor appeared.

"My Lord." Kayge dropped to a knee, head bowed and sword folded back under his forearm.

“She is repeating the cycle again I see.” The emperor said as he looked over the woman. She really was something to behold both for her powers and the beauty she processed.

Kayge's chin lifted. "We are...training that part," he explained, glancing up at Lunandria.

"But yet again here we are Kayge." The man muttered as he nudged Luna with his boot a little but she did not respond to the treatment.

The Kaldor General wasn't sure whether he was being tested, but his honour demanded he acquiesce to the Emperor's will. "She doesn't know anything about the time before," he said. "That I know for certain. She serves her Emperor, just as I do."

"She better not. She is too much of a powerful creature to have her succumb to doubt and questions. That is your job to keep her out of trouble." The Emperor knew that no one not even his own child and grandson knew fully of how he had acquired the warrior but he did not want to lose her now.

Kayge swallowed. "Your will, my Emperor." It was all he could say in that moment. To even dare question was unthinkable.

The Emperor looked at the woman again and shook his head as he stepped over her prone form and pushed past Kayge. "Get her out of here and somewhere more acceptable." He advised.

Wordlessly, Kayge reached down, crading Luna's head first then lifting her unconscious form into his arms. Not for the first time, he felt as though he were protecting his protegee from the dark intentions of the Emperor they served. Although he didn't know anything about her past - nor did he desire to - it was clear that something about it perturbed the Emperor enough to keen a close watch. Time would tell exactly why.

 

RSS Feed