He walked back into the room, his shoulders slumped and his eyes bloodshot. He'd had a sleepless night, filled with nightmares about his old friend. He switched the recorder on.
Xotik's death shook us. After that day, I took an unpaid leave for an indefinite period from the Army, to console my friends. They were devastated by the death of a comrade they had come to look at as someone even closer than a brother, and so was I. Moving on was going to be a difficult task, and since I was the least affected of the three, I made it my responsibility to help them move on.
I pulled some strings, using the contacts I now had in the Army, to temporarily return me to my squad of four (now three) and soon, we managed to push our way back into Category A, and regained our elitist status.
On one of our missions (which involved a lot of rogue Neutrinons, a small but irritating species that never ceased to create trouble for our Galaxy), Blemat got a neutrino stuck in his helmet. Watching him struggle to get it out, actually yelping loudly, even Morfus couldn't resist the laughter that overcame him. Once the two of us helped Blemat get the Neutrinon out, all three of us sat down and laughed hard, tears of laughter streaming down our cheeks. It was the first time any of us had laughed since his death, and the emotion seemed foreign for a while, but lightened our young hearts, burdened with a sadness that those far older than us would find hard to bear.
6 months later, the squad was back to its cheerful self, but there was a new problem now. We'd managed so long without Xotik, to honour his memory, but we really needed a fourth member. Who would he be?
______________________________________________________________________
"Shigran, Lord Melsur", Lord Tafos bowed his head for a brief second, acknowledging me and reminding me that I was still the General of the Magna-Galaxian Army, albeit on a leave, "Officer Blemat. Officer Evgenomorfus", acknowledging them too.
We were at the Time Center, in a room very similar to the one we had been in during our first briefing. However, this one was more secure due to the seniority of our positions now. Blemat and Morfus looked strangely at me, puzzled why Tafos was referring to me as a Lord. I realised I had never explained my absence to them, and as I sensed Blemat, entering my mind, I blocked him, transmitting back, This is not the time, my friend. All will be explained soon.
When is soon? It's been 6 months since you've arrived, by the sun! I never pushed to know, but it's getting ridiculous at this point. I want to know!
Saying this, he pushed past my defenses before I had a chance to block him, and let out a small gasp. Morfus and Tafos looked at Blemat quizzically. Tafos continued.
"When you were assigned Category F missions, I knew the three of you were capable of executing them with ease. However, now that you have pushed your way back into Category A, and may very soon start carrying out the Emperor's personal missions belonging to another Category you probably haven't even heard of yet- Category Alpha, I believe you need a fourth person to complete the Quad. Now, I personally wanted to assign this fourth member myself, because I have more experience than you-" There was some grumbling at this. "-but my esteemed colleagues disagreed and overruled my decision, claiming that the three of you were intelligent and responsible and experienced enough to choose a partner wisely so that he stands by you through the greatest of challenges, so here we are. I will be presenting you with five of the best that our Center has to offer, and you may make the choice after deliberation. I should add, of course, that the decision has to be unanimous. Therefore, if even one person does not approve, the candidate will not be allowed entry into the Quad. Presenting the five..."
He clapped his hands once, and a hologram appeared at the center of the room. It portrayed a short and stout man with a walrus moustache that extended till his knees, wearing a Time Warrior uniform in the traditional style, and his hands were zigzagging in the Shigran Salute. It also portrayed some stats next to him. Tafos began the introduction,
YOU ARE READING
When I Met Myself
Science Fiction"Time Travel's always been dangerous. That's what Prof. Victor said when he created the first time machine, ages ago. They didn't heed him then. They didn't heed him now. If only they had... this would never have happened. I would never have met mys...
