Last Holiday on Terra

1

I suppose some background information is in order...

My name is Alder Rowan and I was the crown Prince to a small planet we call Abraxsus in a galaxy on the other side of what Terrans (that's you, dear reader) call the Milky Way. Such a pretty name, even if it isn't at all accurate. But then Shakespeare wrote, a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. Twisted guy, your Shakespeare. I often wonder if he was a "visitor" as well?

My worst, but not my latest visit to Terra was fairly mundane. I woke up on the blue planet as a tiny baby human as punishment for obtaining a speed cruiser without permission and transporting supplies to an outpost.

Oops.

Did I wreck it? Nope. Were the supplies stolen? Nope.

Basically, I received a ticket for reckless driving. My father (the King of Abraxsus) was upset. To say that he was incensed was putting it mildly. He went into self imposed exile on some desert planet because supposedly, I brought shame upon our house. Not for speeding...No. That's silly as I'm one of the best pilots in our neighboring galaxies...Fast is my middle name. And it wasn't for commandeering a ship, it was his, actually and I had the keys, so to speak. No it wasn't for any of those things...Mother told me that he was ashamed because because I got caught.

What the fuck...

I was set up. How do I know? They we're waiting for me.

The worst part was that he died there with that horrid woman by his side...I was still on Terra, getting tangled up in some chains; I was working on building the biggest passenger ship this beautiful blue marble had ever seen...

Generally when a human dies from  a "horrible accident," it's generally because the Devine (who acts as what you'd call our travel agent) has to pull you back for some reason. Not always though...some folks are just unlucky. In my case though, I was pulled back because my father was in the process of dying of a broken heart.

At least, that's what they told me.

Anyway, I was being hoisted up and subsequently strangling by said chains. The dock workers released the locking mechanism and I plummeted some hundred or so feet into about five feet of water. Even now, I can't abide anything around my neck. And I'm still none too fond of heights.

That should have told them then and there that that big ship was doomed on its maiden voyage. But nope, they sailed her anyway. Heard she smacked an iceberg and went down. Ouch...That had to hurt.

After my "death," I woke up on a ship that had been orbiting your planet, in a small private medical bay with my young brother clutching at my blankets. He'd kill me for saying this, but fuck it...he was the sweetest child I'd ever had the privilege of knowing. And he's been watching over the "human" me (and I'm very much a human, I assure you, for now at any rate), completely cloaked of course, since I can remember.

I only learned of who he was very recently. Kind of creepy when you think about it...I mean, did ya ever get the feeling you were being watched? Well I did and I was and I still am.  Nearly twenty-four-seven. You see, holiday-time is different here on Terra then "out there"...They can pluck you out and plop you back in at some other time...and sometimes, you don't know if you're coming or going.

But...you are somewhat aware that it's not a holiday when you come into the world as a brand new baby...Then life starts to happen and you conveniently forget who and what you really are...only your basic personality remains intact...and you continue to learn and grow.

And that's the point of the "holidays".

And the only reason I found all this out was because of my bff, the Princess...She's got what you'd call, the sight. Very soon as I first laid eyes on her did the puzzle pieces finally begin to come together in the form of troubling dreams.

I should probably tell you that I've visited your planet on many occasions. Since I am the heir, my planet, everyone and everything on it are ultimately my responsibility. My council thought it might be a good idea for me to return to Terra so that I may learn various lessons. In this particular lifetime that I find myself in, I am here to further my studies in empathy, humility, how to cope with great loss, critical thinking, stewardship, and of course, humor, music and art (so it's not all bad). I've learned a great many things on your planet...humans are some of the very best teachers in the Universe.

I was a lady in waiting to a Princess once. I even had the privilege of being one of the very first humanoid beings on this planet...then I asked to return to Terra to be an animal. I'm rather fond of felinesque creatures and was hoping that I could be an elegant lion or something. But noooo....I hatched as a colorful song bird and was caged for the majority of my life. Brilliant. Someone in the travel office has a sick sense of humor, I gotta tell ya.

Taught me a valuable lesson though: Never trust ANYONE who wasn't one of mine.

What do I mean by that? Simply put, I have a short list of people I trust. And some I trust more than others. Some I trust with my animals. Some I trust with my home. Some I trust with my life. Some I trust with other people's lives...My brother and my personal councilor are two of the three beings in this vast universe that fills all those shoes...But back to my Princess...

Have you ever seen Star Wars? Where the princess sends a droid to the wise old master...Yeah, you know the scene I am referring to..."Obi-wan, you're my only hope..."

Yeah. That one.

I'd known the Princess nearly her entire life. We were there to see her born, my parents and I; my brother was there too, but he was very young. She trained at our home, learning her trade, for which she complained and questioned...everything. She was quite the pain in the ass about it too. She is a master manipulator who has me and my brother wrapped around her delicate, albeit deadly fingers.

Do I love her? Absolutely.

Like a sister.

My brother though...he wasn't so lucky. They fell in love at a young age and they still love each other to this day. But, he's married to another and she's now a free agent.

So don't get me wrong she's as beautiful as she is deadly. But she's like a sister to me and even then I brought her to Terra to keep her safe from the bounty hunters. I really never expected to lay eyes on her again.

She has a son from her "husband" (and I use the term loosely), someone who actually stole her from us, a selfish, vile, power-hungry and downright despicable man we call Jaffa (an anagram for just a fickle fucking asshole), who happened to be my fathers right hand man, and I expect that I've seen him on more than a few occasions. She has too. They found her here and have tried to steal her back. But thankfully, she's stubborn but as a result, she's been left very nearly crippled. She's my best friend here and I'm thankful that the powers that be allowed us to find one another...it's in our travel contracts that we were not to know one another. My brother insists that we're a team, she and I and that nothing except perhaps the Devine Energy could (or would) keep us apart...but why would they do that when it's our jobs to keep everyone safe...

But...when did it become my job to keep everyone safe?

And now, in addition to bring Jaffa to justice, we face the task of eradicating what we believe to be biological agents spread via pods throughout the galaxy meant to decimate entire planets. Want to  guess where the solar winds are carrying those cesspools of noxious gasses, my friends? Yes, that's right...Terra.

And I simply cannot let that happen.

Not sure how that's going to work though, considering my bff and I are rather ordinary middle aged human females...