Battlefield: Control (Book Two)

Chapter Seventeen - Alan

By the time Alan and Sir Tuliy made it back to the ship, most of the crew was starting to wake up for the main day shift. They tried to keep on a similar schedule as the Earth people of the location they were stationed at.

Alan had officially been awake for twenty-four Earth hours the minute he stepped into his new quarters. Sir Tuliy sat down and it was the first time Alan had ever seen the man so tired. Usually Tuliy had never ending amounts of energy, yet managed to appear relaxed.

While his friend was still calm, his body practically collapsed on the couch as he lay down. Alan followed him into the den and sat down in the nearest chair he could find.

"Your team is..." Tuliy said and waved his hands in front of him slightly. "I'm not sure what to think. I see what you mean about not being sure if they respect you or not."

"This was a good night. In fact, things have been a lot smoother the past couple of days," Alan said, and he hoped he wasn't in trouble.

Would Tuliy tell Sir Oriol that Alan wasn't competent enough to take on the responsibility of a team? He might not have been, but he was growing attached to his work and his charges.

"I think you're wrong."

"What?"

"When you said they didn't respect you. You're wrong. And I see you trust them in ways that I wouldn't dream of with my charges. I'm envious." Tuliy yawned. "Cadence especially is quite amazing. I've never met someone so..."

"So?" Alan pressed, curious to know everything he thought. Surprised to hear so many compliments.

Tuliy shook his head. "Another time I will have the right words. It's been a long day, and a long night. While the Earth humans may be on holiday today, we are not. There is a lot of work to be done if we have hopes of getting Dale protected, trained, and ready to be a double agent by the end of the weekend."

"Yes," Alan whispered, although he wasn't sure if the boy would be ready for such a large task.

Dale had expressed interest in it, but if there was one thing Alan's charges had taught him, it was how fragile their teenage lives were.

Not only in the literal sense, but figuratively as well. Alan tried to remember how he felt when he was going through a similar stage of his life. Would he have been able to take on such a burden? It hadn't been that long ago, yet it felt like a lifetime. He wasn't that much older than them!

"Hopefully he'll be ready," Tuliy added. "He isn't going to have much time to prepare. Either way, they will come for him. If we must do something extreme, then so be it. I'd rather avoid that option for now, though."

Alan nodded and closed his eyes. "Thank you for your assistance. I'm sorry we lost the location of another base."

"Do not worry about that. It was only a temporary one. Besides, I don't want to hinder your charges from believing in what is right. If they lose sight of those goals, then we won't be any better than the other tribes. Disappointing, yes, frustrating, maybe, but we need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture. I'm not sure if Sir Orioltogorthan will agree with me, but the more we make ourselves known as a threat to them, the more nervous they will be. Being feared is a good thing," he said.

"Yes. Tuliyogljaes, about Mondaeuxoonamondae, I should have said something sooner but..."

Hopefully Tuliy wasn't too mad about the revelation that Mondae's identity had been kept from him. The timing had never seemed right, but Orlando letting the information slip unintentionally had been a blessing in disguise.

"We can discuss it another time. Then I will decide how much of said discussion I will share with our superiors," Tuliy said, and waved a hand at him. "And didn't I tell you not to address me by my full name? I don't like it. It makes me feel so much older than I am."