Page 14 of Her Alien Soldier (Asterion Station #1)

He was gone.

He’d left without a word. A message. A single backward glance.

If Maggie had let herself believe, even for a second, that anything between them had been real, it was clear now that all he’d been interested in was sex, as long as it was convenient for him and fit into his mission.

Proof that human males hadn’t cornered the universal market on the ability to be complete and utter dicks.

Maggie allowed herself a couple of days to be depressed and angry. And then it was time to get over it. At least, that’s what she told herself as she got back into her usual routine. Work at the bar, spend time with her friends, curl up and read as often as she liked.

It wasn’t a bad life at all. And now she’d learned a lesson, one she already thought she had down pat: no feelings for those who visited the station. It wasn’t worth it, and she had no desire to spend her life missing people.

Four days after that fun evening in her quarters, the news hit the station: the Altarian and Bellarian military had launched a devastating attack on the Redlian home world, as well as all of their high-profile military bases across the quadrant.

The patrons and those who worked in Mars Lounge watched the newsfeeds, glued to the large screens on the wall as the siege continued.

News was that the Redlian’s planetary defenses had mysteriously failed, and their engineers were unable to get them operational again.

The combined Altarian/Bellarian strike force had attacked almost instantly, their ships seeming to arrive out of nowhere before they rained destruction down upon the enemy the Altarians had been fighting for decades.

Until this moment, the Redlian empire had been safe. Untouchable behind their technological superiority.

The Redlians launched a defense, their sleek, fast fighters attacking the Bellarian and Altarian warships.

Maggie watched the live feeds as more than a few of the unified force’s ships exploded before their eyes.

Smaller Bellarian ships zipped after the Redlian fighters, a game of cat and mouse amid the larger bombardment.

Every time an Altarian ship was destroyed, Maggie felt her body go cold.

Any one of them could be Xarek’s ship.

She’d known he was military. That if it came to a fight, he would be fighting. But seeing it, watching the destruction live…

That quadrant had been mostly free of such violence for a long time, until the Redlians had arrived and started throwing its weight around.

And the citizens of the quadrant she lived in had been living on eggshells for quite a while now, knowing that, should the Redlian empire take out the last strongholds in that quadrant, they’d be coming here, next.

It looked like, maybe, the Altarians and Bellarians were making sure that wouldn’t happen. Saving their own homeworlds, and saving the rest of the nearby quadrants as well.

The battle dragged on for days. The Redlian military started sending its ships from other areas of the galaxy where they were attacking, clearly hoping to overwhelm the unified forces.

Maggie barely took her eyes off of the newsfeeds. They were constantly on in the bar, so she saw them during work. And when she was in her quarters, she was glued to them.

She didn’t know why. She tried to tell herself it was important to be informed. But she also had the bizarre, nonsensical idea that Xarek would be safe if she was watching.

Damn him.

No matter how many times she told herself that was ridiculous, she’d turn back to the feeds anyway.

He might have left without a backward glance, and she knew he was the worst thing for her, that there was no future there despite how fully she’d fooled herself, believing there could be.

But she definitely didn't want anything to happen to him.

On the seventh day of the bombardment, news hit the feeds that the unified forces, led by Altarian Commander Xarek A’baijan, had destroyed multiple hidden bunkers where the Redlian leadership had been hiding.

Hours later, the decimated Redlian forces surrendered.

The feeds showed the Altarian and Bellarian warships landing on the conquered planet, to the cheers, tears of joy, and complete jubilation of everyone who was in the bar with Maggie when it happened.

Julia was working a shift with her, and she gave Maggie a hug, rubbing her back, knowing after the last few days, everything her friend was going through.

Julia had heard it all: how the quiet moments between her and Xarek had made it seem like they were something more, how she’d stupidly started envisioning a future with the burly commander.

How he’d left her, without a word or a single glance, a wave, any acknowledgement at all that she mattered.

Julia knew it all, so when they watched together for the rest of that day, she was there for Maggie. When the newsagent had said the name Xarek A’baijan, Julia had looked at Maggie, and all Maggie could do was shrug. She didn’t even know his last name.

The drinks flowed, and the newsfeeds played on, replacing any bands that had been scheduled.

The Redlian survivors and civilians would be given aid, given the chance to turn it around and peacefully join the Interplanetary Alliance. If they were smart, they’d do that.

The interplanetary press was allowed on the planet shortly after the unified forces had it secured.

Maggie was getting glasses out of the sanitizer when a cheer went up from the patrons, and she looked at the screen to see Xarek surrounded by a few other Altarians and Bellarians.

He looked exhausted but happy. The newsagent was interviewing him, asking how the plan had come together and how they’d disabled the Redlian technology.

Question after question, he calmly noted that the details would be in the Interplanetary Alliance’s report when it came out.

When the newsagent finally gave up on that line of questioning, they asked Xarek what his plans were next.

He shrugged. “Get things settled here. Assist with the treaty process as much as possible. Work on planetary defense for Altaria, now that we have time to rebuild. And then finally go home and live in peace,” he said, a tired near-smile quirking his lips.

Maggie watched until he was gone from the screen, Her heart felt both light and like it was fracturing into a thousand tiny pieces all at the same time. Julia wrapped an arm around her, resting her head against Maggie’s as she fought back tears.

This was what he’d worked so hard for. And she was so proud of him, so happy for him and his people.

And it was time to let him go. He’d won the life he’d dreamed of for so long, and she was not part of it.