One Part Soldier Plus One Part Celebrity Plus One Part Human Equals?

There I was lying on the beach of a planet much different than my home, but this was like my second home now. My skin breathed with relief, the first time in several years I had not been wearing the bio suit that had changed my life when they had discovered my adeptness and it's binding with me so willingly and seamlessly, unlike most soldiers who the suit had to be coaxed into binding with.

This planet was the home world of a powerful species and I'd been here for nearly four years working on a peace agreement. I'd gotten several cease fires and with each one I'd been shipped home and given a celebration in my honor. My people treated my like a hero, perhaps I was one, but right now I wish I didn't have that worry hanging on my shoulders. The cease fires I'd been authorized to arrange had only been three months each and so every three months they sent me back and in between I was at war.

Fighting and killing for your countries liberties was one thing, being ordered to attack people who could barely defend themselves was something else entirely.

A hand on my shoulder brought me out of my reverie. I glanced over at her and smiled slightly. They were a slightly empathic race and she could feel my trouble. Her hand was cool to the touch, but that was a species trait. Their body temperature could change from sub zero, on human scales, to boiling for water and they'd still be mostly comfortable. The average temperature was about eighty degrees when they were in a good mood. If they got angry it rose quickly, they could control is somewhat on their own and keep it low or raise it higher if they tried.

The one sitting next to me was the princess of this people, she and I had hit it off rather well. That's the reason I was spending my vacation here instead of on my planet. With the exception of being the only human and dating the princess, I was just another person here. I was a respected individual because, unlike most of the rest of my species, I didn't feel we were completely superior to everyone else, and they knew it.

"Major Erickson?" I heard the question from behind me and knew I was being recalled from my leave early, three weeks early.

"What is it?" I replied.

The princess leaned close and whispered in my ear, "You don't have to go. You are welcome to stay with us as long as you live."

I smiled at her again as the human said, "Major Erickson, by order of Duke Riley Mason you are hereby recalled from your present assignment and being ordered to attend the Reborn on a special mission."

"How long is this one going to take?" I stood up and turned back to the sergeant. "Wait, the Reborn?" I scowled and the sergeant shrank back.

*A few hours later aboard the Reborn*

I burst into the meeting the duke was having with some of the officers. He chuckled, "Good to have you aboard major."

"The feeling is not mutual I assure you," I had donned my armor but my membrane helmet was down. "How did you get the council to approve my being on this mission. This is completely insane, the people need me here, in this galaxy."

"That's no way to talk to the duke," One of the colonels said to me.

"Then court marshal me and send me to prison," I mocked. "Oh that's right you would but I'm too valuable. You would have years ago if I wasn't so useful. I'm still surprised they haven't sent me on any suicide missions before this one. Just like you sent the rest of my brothers."

"Shut up Erickson," I heard from behind me and turned around. "You're on this mission because we need you if this succeeds and it will. We sent a drone through and it disappeared before it was torn to shreds by the gravitational forces."

"Sir," I saluted him and he returned it. "I need..." He cut me off.

"What you need major is to learn to respect your superior officers," He began pacing around me. "I've heard you developed an attitude problem since your rehabilitation and with the knowledge of what happened to your brothers. You also seem to recall who it was that pulled you out of there."

"We should never have gone in there sir," I argued.

"We had intel that suggested a weakness in the enemy defenses at that point and it was wrong," He informed me. "If you'd have bothered going to the debriefing they would have told you all that. Instead you have spent seven years of your life hating the military you serve."

"I apologize for my actions sir but I stand to correct you on one thing," I looked him in the eye. "I have never served the military. I've done things I will never be able to face in the mirror but I never did it for you or for him or even for the ruling military council. I did it for our people."

He slapped me on the shoulder, "Then you learned at great cost what most of us are still searching for. A way to live with your deeds."

He turned to the duke, "Sorry for interrupting and being late sir." He sat down and I sat beside him, "Please continue."

"As I was just saying we have the O- with us because the next generation of them are almost ready to begin active service and while Major Erickson is skilled, experienced, loved and feared by us and our enemies we need an O- on this mission and we don't want to wait a year for them to be ready for this mission..."

The meeting continued and I spent most of the rest of the day thinking about what the colonel had told me in the meeting and then found the information myself and silently cried to myself. Time to start acting like the man I was supposed to be.