She sat motionless in the chair next to her husband's hospital bed. Silent tears streamed from her unfocused eyes over her flushed cheeks to land on her warm hand clasping his icy one. She listened to the monitor tick off his heart beats slower and slower, the change barely noticeable since it was hardly moving in the first place.
"No! You can't leave me!" she thought as she closed her crystal blue eyes in concentration. She needed a happy memory to focus her energy on and a strong one. She chose the memory of their first kiss, and his startled, but not unpleased, expression. She focused solely on the light blush creeping over his facial features set in a look of pure ecstasy. She fixated on that happy time and tried to center herself in it. It was just so hard to reign in her conflicting emotions, but she knew it was the only chance she had to save the love of her life.
Ten years they had been married, united with an unbreakable bond. Even the war between Kusari and Bretonia wasn't enough to break them, they boarded a Zoner Transport to the newly formed colonies, designed to house the refugees. She had followed her husband from their wedding day to the edges of space, leaving their homes behind and raising no less than three healthy children.
She ignored the commotion and bustle of the busy hospital around her and listened solely on the beating of his heart, which seemed directly linked to her own. It was so slow now, or was it just his perception of time that had slowed? Her eyes were closed so tight, and she was so zeroed in on the sound of his heart, she didn’t hear the sound of approaching footsteps on the hard linoleum floor.
"Lt Gomez" the handsome Doctor smiled, reading the chart of the motionless soldier, "And you must be his darling wife, Mrs Selena Gomez is it?" he looked up at the tearful wife, sat so loyally beside her loved one,
"That's me, and this is my Charlie" she replied, hopeful of good news,
"I'm Doctor Caesera" he smiled, "Why the tears? Your husband had quite a shake escaping Omicron Gamma, give him a week and he'll be up and about, good as new"
"You mean he's okay?"
"Sure, nothing beats Coalition Medical Care, not even death..." he smiled and returned the chart to the foot of the bed, spotting a tall figure at the door, "Excuse me Mrs Gomez"
The figure leaned on the doorpost casually, filling all of it's six and a half feet. The man wore a lose ceremonial uniform, clearly of either Kusari descent, or some Eastern Coalition bloodline. His thin eyes and scarred face carried the same, expressionless gaze, judging silently.
This was Commissar Xin Tagachi, a calm, yet effective killer.
"Doctor, I have some bad news..." he growled slightly, "This man has been deemed a coward, a counter-revolutionary"
"I'm sorry?" Caesera responded, a little confused,
"Seems all your hard work is in vain" Xin half smiled, his left hand coming across and pushing Caesera aside, "Excuse me"
The Commissar fired three shots of a small Tachyon pistol, the unconscious body of Lt Gomez almost exploded, the power of the shots at point blank splattered the newly widowed Mrs Gomez and most of the south side of the room with blood. There was a split-second of silence before the widow began screaming, pulling and squeezing on the arms of her dead husband, trying to provoke a response, refusing to accept his death.
"Would have been much better if he was awake to suffer it" Xin sighed, holstering his gun, "Oh well, keep up the good work Doctor"
Xin turned and left, no emotions or expressions crossed him further, he really was a cold bastard. Caesera stood in shock for a second, the screams and flatline tone of the life support machines ringing in his ears.
Just another day in the Coalition.
Doctor Kurt Caesera - Lieutenant in the Sirius Coalition Revolutionary Army.
Education: Studied at Cambridge University, Trained to be a medical practitioner at Chesterton Medical School.
Trained in ship maintenance, basic pilot and combat skills at the Coalition Hong Kong Training Facility.
Operations: Gold Thirteen, Gold Squadron
Medical Team, CPW-Trotsky
Zhukovsky Medical Centre, Zhukovsky Station
