The Summit Beyond Our Galaxy - An Apple Loving Individual space opera

Chapter 14 - An Unexpected Reunion

Chapter 14 – An Unexpected Reunion

Sunday, May 17, 2176
12:31 PM
Cross Resort, Phobos

Tango Galnac as well as Jerry and Alyssa waited, as the general was on route to Cross Resort, in his private shuttle. Jerry for one, was interested in meeting the general. Jerry was ready for whatever danger would befall him, and soon. He was not scared nor intimidated even at the slightest. Alyssa on the other hand, was still not excited as she was scared to have to deal with Christopher again. She was more scared for Jerry, and what Christopher would do to him. She was scared no doubt, as she wanted Jerry to be safe and surely spend the rest of my life with him. The only thing that was keeping her relaxed, was the song playing in the background, it was "Straight and Narrow" by The Whiskey Charmers. Released in 2015, it was quite popular back in the day, and American country music was her thing. For one, near the end of the twenty-second century, the Internet by then became so advanced and highly resourceful that pretty much all published works, such as books, music, movies and many more were available anywhere, anytime, and most of those works were published between 1923 and 2036, had their copyrights expired and available in the public domain. The song was being broadcast via the Internet, and surely added to the mood of the resort.

Then, Larkin got up, and announced the squad to stand up. "Squad! Atten-hut!" said Larkin. "General on deck!" Everyone, including Jerry and Alyssa got up to stand straight. Larkin then looked at the two, "Y'all can hold back if you want!" Jerry then took Alyssa's hand and they both sat down on the bench. Alyssa then snuggled into Jerry's arms. It was then Larkin and her crew began to salute. As Gen. Durand walked into the resort lobby. He looked at Tango Galnac and returned the salute. "Alright! Y'all really must have an answer to my question!" said Durand, angrily. Jerry then looked up for a second, he felt he knew the voice very well. He began to quiver. "You went against my commands, and you endangered the lives of two innocent souls!" said Durand. "It wasn't our fault, sir!" said Larkin. "Miller blackmailed us! He'd destroy the Earth, if we didn't bring them to him!" Jerry then looked towards the general and his expression became quite upset. Alyssa observed this. "Jerry? You alright?" she said in concern. Jerry shed a tear. After Durand was done shouting at Larkin, he then turned to look at Jerry and Alyssa.

Jerry was astonished to see Durand. Durand also then froze in place. Everyone looked in confusion. Jerry stood up and walked towards the general, carrying the same expression. He walked towards Durand and stopped in front of him. Durand then spoke up. "Jerry?" said Durand. "Are you really Jerry?" Jerry then shed a tear. "D-Dad?" said Jerry. Everyone was then shocked, including Alyssa. Priya and Arjun, also watched from the digital realm. "Oh my God!" said Arjun. "Dad!" said Jerry again. Durand then grabbed Jerry and gave him a hug. Jerry also hugged him back. "Where'd you go all those years ago?" said Durand. "Have you been on Mars for the last few years?" Alyssa then began to shed a few tears and everyone else was shocked to find out that Durand was Jerry's father. "I had to leave!" said Jerry. "Losing Michaela was heartbreaking, and I had no nerve to show my face to y'all again!" Durand then looked at him. "You don't realize how happy I am to see you again, son!" said Durand. "There hasn't been a day since you left that we didn't miss you! Your mother? She became a mute after you left. She doesn't say anything. She keeps quiet, we have to make her eat and drink." Jerry was astonished hearing this, he then began to back up feeling very guilty. He began to feel dizzy and held his stomach. Durand then ran to him and quickly grabbed him, as he almost fell back. "Jerry!" said Durand. "That's your son!" said Larkin. Durand then sighed. "Yes! Jerry Sullivan Durand!" said Durand. "His wife left him, poor guy didn't know what to do. He blamed himself! He left us to find himself but let me tell y'all he's my son! And a very good kid!" Larkin then smiled. Alyssa then began to shed tears in happiness. "I'm so happy for you, Jerry!" she said. Durand then laid an unconscious Jerry on the bench.

Alyssa sat there, watching over Jerry as her eyes dripped with a lot of tears. For one, she was also unable to believe that she fell in love genuinely, when she least expected to. She then noticed a piece of e-paper in Jerry's pocket. She took it out slowly, and neatly unfolded it to read what was on it.

Epitome of Romance

Your Smile and Consideration was Indeed an Epitome of Romance,
Displaying Beautiful Attributes During Our Ballroom Dance.
If Towards Me Even for a Second You Glance,
You Will Realize I Am Giving You a Chance!

Not Long Ago Someone Stabbed Me with a Toxic Barb,
With Dark Venom Created from Her Garb.
My Fate Now Lies and Rests In Your Hands,
Only You Can Purify Me As the Desert Sands!

Radioactive Lust Can Be Very Dangerous Indeed,
To Avoid Such Evil We Travel at Light Speed.
Now Let Us See the Mixture of Air, Earth, Fire and Water Transpire,
As this Love Turns to Gold and Fulfills Our Desire!

It Indeed is a Very Warm and Beautiful Feeling,
Such That Cause Us to Soar Beyond the Earth's Ceiling.
How Many People Look Forward to This No One Knows,
As Long As We Are Faithful to One Another, Happiness Always Flows!

@}8^)->=<:

She smiled and wiped her eyes, as she knew Jerry wrote the poem. Jerry then woke up and regained consciousness. Alyssa, Tango Galnac and General Durand waited until he woke up. Jerry was feeling quite better; however, he was still bothered by whatever just happened. "It's just a lot to take in!" said Jerry. The general looked at him. "I completely understand, son!" said Durand. "Don't worry! Such truth is hard to comprehend at first." "All this time, Mom has been in a depressed state, never to utter a word, nor to speak. I never knew about it!" said Jerry. "I never should have left you guys!" Durand comforted him. "You did what you needed to!" said Durand. "Wait, we thought you were the son of Connor Sullivan." Larkin said. "As per your personal data!" "No!" said Jerry. "I fabricated that, since I chose to leave my home back in Houston." Jerry then sat down next to Alyssa. "I was wrong to leave, but I will come home now!" Durand then looked at him "What do you do nowadays?" said Durand. "Dad, I work as a maintenance technician, at Kanzen City's power production facility." Jerry explain. "I work 30 hours a week, earn 21 cloud jewels an hour, and I can get up to three months off in a year." Jerry then looked at Durand. "I'm so sorry for what I did!" said Jerry. "I'm ready to come back to Earth whenever you need me!" "Son, we live on Mars nowadays ourselves! For the last two years!" said Durand. "You've been in Kanzen City, all this time and we never knew about it! But, me and your Mom have been in Montgomery City for almost two years and you never knew about it." "Then I'll come home this week!" said Jerry. "But what about Miller? And the fate of the Earth?" "Don't worry, Jerry!" said Durand. "We'll eventually deal with him!"