Chapter 29: Interpersonal

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After about an hour of traversing through space in silence, the team reached Verinox 12; a planet with a surface defined almost exclusively by its seemingly boundless layers of ice, sleet, and snow. The Verinoxians who have survived there for ages evolved pale, icy skin to withstand the harsh temperatures. The environment proved perfect for stripping foreign prisoners of both freedom and hope, as any escape attempt would mean certain death for the uninitiated.

The Astro4 descended into an open, gray hanger roof. The moment the ship touched down on the floor, the roof closed above them with a harsh, mechanical clanking sound lacking any discernible rhythm. The white robe wearing warden and a quartet of his ice-faced prison guards walked up to the ship to greet the disembarking team members. Alex exited the ship to speak first, having already informed the warden ahead of time to expect one high priority prisoner.

"Sir, can we trust you with this prisoner?" he asked. "'High priority' was an understatement."

Carter and Taylor soon followed behind Alex, leading Diane out of the ship with restraints on her arms.

The warden raised an eyebrow at the surprise sight. "Well well. You gentlemen have gotten yourselves into a bit of trouble, haven't you?"

"Will this be a problem?" asked Carter.

Diane looked to the warden with a pained expression. The warden chuckled a bit and then looked at the others. "And what crime did this here Queen of yours commit?"

Alex nodded and explained, "She tried to end another race of people, among many other things. Last I checked, genocide was still a crime in every system."

"Ahhh, the heavy stuff." The warden looked back to Diane. "And how do you plea?"

Diane's pale, haggard expression just barely crept up to meet the warden's eyes. "...Guilty."

"Ha! Is that right? That almost never works. Well then, bring her inside to meet her new playmates."

Carter and Taylor nodded to each other and followed the warden inside.

"You sure I can't get two minutes alone with her?" asked Taylor.

"I know how you feel," Carter replied. "But we'll need our strength for whatever comes next."

Taylor forced her boiling blood to cool with a deep breath. "Yeah..."

...

When Carter, Taylor, and Alex finally returned to the Astro4, they all nodded their heads to the others. The rest of the team felt a bit more at ease.

"I've updated Captain Logan," Alex said. "Madman is all set for his trial at Time Force. He's sending a ship our way to collect him, restrain him properly, and get the processing done on the move."

"Good," replied Carter.

"What's going to happen now?" Ethan asked. "The Queen was just unseated, right? Sooo..."

Ethan looked to Jason. Everyone else's stare quickly followed.

"By law, the right of rule extends to Jason," Alex stated. "Even now, we must hold onto our guiding policies."

"W-What...?" Jason stepped back a bit fearfully.

Taylor stepped slightly in front of him with arms crossed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Just then, the Astro4 received an on-screen communication from Captain Logan. "Everyone, I'm glad you're alright. I'm told you've all had a busy afternoon. The ship I sent should be arriving soon."

Alex stepped closer to the screen just as a ping hit their sensors. "Sir, I believe the ship has arrived."

"Good. It should be close enough to transport the mad doctor into a proper cell. Bring him on out."

Carter brought Madman out to the bridge.

"We're ready, sir," stated Alex.

Logan got in contact with the nearby ship that hovered just below the Astro4. "Fire it up."

Madman's body suddenly turned into light particles before vanishing from sight. A few moments later, he reappeared inside the Time Ship, who then established contact with the Astro4. "The prisoner is secured. Heading home now."

Logan nodded with a slight smile. "Good job, everyone. Mission complete."

Alex took a deep breath of relief and nodded.

As the transmission faded out, Jason coyly raised his hand. "I know there's still a lot to do, but... I thought I'd be cool to take a slight detour on our way back home."

"Detour?" Alex looked confused.

"You know what?" Kendrix added. "I think we've earned ourselves a little break."

Carter nodded. "Let's set a course for... where should we go?"

"Mirinoi?" asked Jason to Kendrix.

"Future Mirinoi? I'd love to," she replied.

Jason looked to Taylor, who didn't wear the most approving face. But seeing the slight bit of eagerness on Jason's face slowly started to disarm her, even bringing out a small smile. "Fine. Sounds... fun."

"Fun?" Ethan replied. "You sure you can handle that?"

Alex proved a bit more hesitant. "Despite the Captain's praise, this mission isn't over yet. There will be repercussions from what happened here for decades to come, political unrest the likes of which—"

"Agreed," Carter interrupted. "And we can prepare for that after we clear our heads a little. It's something we could all use."

Alex looked around, clearly outnumbered, and reluctantly nodded.

Carter then looked at Taylor. "Set a course for Mirinoi."

"Mirinoi it is."

The Astro4 then made the jump to hyperspeed. The trip would take just under three hours, which included a pass through the galactic demarcation that separated the first and second sectors.

Jason found himself sneaking in looks at Kendrix and then looking away. All while mumbling words to himself, practicing what he wanted to say through his jumbled state of mind.

Kendrix noticed his continual stares and smiled back before walking out of the bridge. Jason took a step forward, then hesitated, unsure if she meant for him to follow her, or if she just wanted to be on her own for a bit.

Taylor placed her hand on his shoulder, quickly interrupting his overthinking. "Kid, what're you doing?"

"Oh! I'm just... thinking."

"You don't have to, believe me."

"I know, but... well, technically, I don't know. I'm just assuming that I do know while trying to think through the specifics and... I don't know..."

Taylor sighed. "Kid, listen. Things are really screwed up right now. And I can't pretend to know what you're going through. But don't do what I did. Don't let her go just because you didn't know exactly what to say."

Jason looked back to Taylor in shock. "Taylor... I'm sorry about, y'know, him."

"Don't be." Taylor held tight to her emotions. "I already was."

A few moments of silence later, Jason spoke once more, "Hey... do you think we could train some more later? Never know when we'll need it, right?"

Taylor let a smile sneak through. "Sure, kid. Now go. There's a lot of regrets we're going to have to carry for the rest of our lives now. Don't let her be one of them. If you wait for things to start to feel normal again... never mind."

"I understand." Jason nodded and walked out to find Kendrix.

Taylor took a deep breath before starting to walk back to her seat on the bridge. But before she could take a second step, Jason came back and tightly hugged her.

Taylor's surprise and discomfort were all too evident. But even still, she slowly followed up with an uncertain, yet gentle, hug of her own and a careful pat on Jason's back.

"Thanks, Taylor."

"Anytime, kid."

Jason then left the bridge to find Kendrix in a side room staring out at the quickly passing planets and stars, coated in the white and blue hues of hyperspace.

Kendrix turned around to face him as that bright smile returned to her face. But, her signature expression proved short-lived, quickly displaced with a look of concern.

"It's okay." Jason took a deep breath. "I'm doing much better now."

"Jason, no one can be doing much better now." Kendrix walked over and wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay to hurt a little."

Jason carefully returned her embrace, but his body still held stiff, gripping as tightly as he could to the contorted web of thoughts creating knots inside, just as he had seen his mother do all his life. "Kendrix... I, uh... I know that now might not be the best time, but I don't want to wait anymore."

Kendrix nodded.

Quick flashing images started tangling his mind once more, stripping Jason of his senses and blurring his vision. But he fought to keep them in check as he continued, "This Ranger journey, it's been hell at times. But, I was always able to get through the roughest patches. Because in those moments, I always thought that if I could make it through just one more minute, just one more second, then all the pain and anguish would be worth it..." He held Kendrix' hand. "If it meant spending one more minute, one more second, with you."

Kendrix stood there smiling throughout his entire confession. But then, her grin suddenly escaped her. "Jason... I really like you. But, I don't know how we could work."

Jason's heart pounded profusely while his eyes darted back and forth, trying to rapidly make sense of it all. "I know. Time difference is tough, but we can work something out. I know we can."

Kendrix stared back out the window and started shaking her head. "It still hurts... I've tried so hard to move on, to keep living, but then that pain keeps coming back. I put on a smile and a strong face, but I can't stop asking myself, 'What am I even living for when I already died?' And deep down, it feels like I'm falling into a dark pit I can't see the bottom of. No hand to grab, no ledge to hang onto, just me, falling... wondering when it'll all just end. When will the pain finally leave me alone?"

"Kendrix... I..."

A few tears started to escape her eyes. "When this mission is really over, I'll return home and you'll rule the universe. All of these questions that I'll never have answers to... it would be so selfish of me to let you shoulder that big of a burden. I'll never forget the memories we shared together, but we should leave it at that."

Jason looked her straight into the eyes. "Then be a little selfish, for once."

"Jason..."

Jason started to tear up himself. "We both know what it feels like to see our world falling apart. We both know what it feels like to hit the floor, hard, and wonder if we'll ever get back up... if we even should. But, if neither one of us lets go, neither one of us will ever have to feel that way again."

Kendrix pressed her face into Jason's chest while continuing to cry. He gently stroked her hair while her tears soaked into his uniform; her heavy head bearing the weight of her sorrow. "I don't want to fall anymore... I don't."

"You won't... We won't. A wise woman once told me that burdens are meant to be shared. And between the two of us, no matter how heavy things get, we've got the shoulders to manage."

Kendrix wiped the tears from her eyes before looking up to Jason's confident gaze. "Thank you."

Jason wiped one more loose tear off her face. "We can figure out the logistics later."

The pair then sat down next to each other as the stars continued to whisk by at breakneck pace. They took in the sight for a little bit before the smile returned to Kendrix' face. "Since we're going to keep each other up, I'd like to know even more about you. Before this mission started, we talked a lot more about my life."

Jason couldn't help but meet her smile with one of his own. "Haha, yeah, I did kind of just keep asking you questions, huh? I'm pretty bad at going into life details on the fly."

"Okay, I'll just ask the questions this time. Hmm... What did it feel like for you when you traveled through space for the first time?"

Jason's eyes lit up. "Magical! I've studied all the major planets and star systems all across the quadrants. Royal preparation and all that. But to see so many for real... It was so much more vast than I could have ever imagined. I wanted to see everything, but sadly, I wasn't navigating."

Kendrix giggled at his newfound excitement. "Okay, I was curious about something else, too. I told you a little about Leo. So, I was wondering if you had any romantic stories."

"Heh, 'romantic' wouldn't be my first choice of words but, there was this one girl."

"Ooooh! Tell me more!"

Jason sighed. "Her name was Sabrina..."

While Jason started to explain the details of his least successful "relationship," Kendrix found it hard to focus completely as she pined over his confession and her subsequent acceptance. She couldn't help but wonder if their being together would make things worse. Her full attention returned just as Jason seemed to be wrapping up his tale.

"...And that's why the whole royalty thing never sat well with me. Well, I was never too into it, but this really put things into perspective. To think, I jokingly told her when we first met that 'I am a Prince, kneel before me!' I thought it was funny. She laughed at it, too. Then I find out she was really only interested in the prince, and not the Jason. Heh, I guess the joke was on me, huh?"

Kendrix gently rubbed his back. "She has no idea what she missed out on. Although, from what I could gather, it seemed like the early warning signs were there."

"Yeah, I guess they were. Maybe I just convinced myself that she liked me for me. Hindsight is 30/30, as they say."

"You mean, 20/20?"

"Huh? Really? Wow, how'd you old folk every find your way around?"

Kendrix pointed to her glasses. "By never leaving home without these."

"Hahaha. Fair point... may I?"

"Sure, only if I can."

Kendrix and Jason exchanged glasses and placed them on their faces. Jason immediately reeled back from the visual shock. His eyes weren't great, but Kendrix' proved a great deal worse. Jason's glasses on the other hand simply adjusted to Kendrix' eyesight, making her vision clearer than ever before.

"These are really nice," she said while observing her surroundings for what felt like the first time. "I've never worn glasses this rectangular before."

Kendrix then turned her head out towards the window just as the Astro4 left hyperspace. The bright sight of Mirinoi on the horizon in as picturesque a view as she had ever seen quickly struck her. The green, lush forests and jungles shone through the Astro4's window, filling her with glee.

Jason could see it too, albeit much blurrier. But one thing remained clear for him: the larger than normal smile on Kendrix' face. Of the two sights, he still found himself much more captivated by her brightness.

"It's funny," Kendrix said. "I lived on Mirinoi for about a year before I met you, and then, all of this. But something about going back home, even almost 1000 years later, it just feels special."

"I've never actually been to Mirinoi in this time, so I'm really excited to see it live. But I'm gonna need those glasses back before you get too attached."

Kendrix laughed and took his glasses off her face while Jason did the same. She then gently placed them back on his face. Jason followed suit and placed Kendrix' glasses back on her face.

"Heh, they're just a wee bit crooked," said Jason.

Kendrix shook her head with a smile and gently adjusted his glasses. "The things I do for you. Better?"

"Better." Jason stood there in his regained visual clarity, losing himself in Kendrix' shimmering brown eyes.

"...Good." Kendrix found herself doing the same, staring deeply into Jason's black eyes.

"Good..." Jason slowly brought his face closer to hers, fully ensnared by her gleam.

Kendrix followed his lead while her eyelids started to gently close in anticipation. She wrapped her arms around him to pull him in even closer.

Jason carefully parted back a loose strand of Kendrix' hair before he pressed his lips against hers. The entire room vanished from sight as he closed his eyes and caressed her face. Time itself seemed to grind to a sudden halt. Neither could hear the monotonous airflow seeping out of the vents. Neither could feel their feet upon the ground or the uniforms tightly strapped upon their bodies. All they could feel in that everlasting moment was each other.

Suddenly, an alert sounded from their Morphers. They were both forced to open their eyes and return to reality. The moment ran away and time marched on. They looked at each other with awkward smiles before giggling a bit.

"We should..." started Kendrix.

"Yeah... we should," replied Jason.

Kendrix then held onto Jason's arm as they walked back to the bridge together.

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