Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2008 22:21:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Warren <singerboi22@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Coldest Place - Chapter 1 (replacement)

*--------------<DISCLAIMER>--------------*

The following story, novel, or chapter contains homosexual themes and is
not intended for anyone under the legal viewing age. If depictions of
homosexual activities disturb you, DON'T CONTINUE TO READ! You've been
warned.

Do not e-mail me and complain or harass me with hate mail over this
story. I will ignore you, or, if I find your message humorous enough, I'll
probably thank you for the best laugh of my life.

Copyright 2008 - Warren (singerboi22@yahoo.com)

This is my second story...take it easy. Thanks :)

Mine Shadow:
/nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/mine-shadow/index.html

*--------------</DISCLAIMER>--------------*


	The Coldest Place
	Chapter One


	Captain James Pederson strolled into the CC of his ship, the
Galactic, and glanced around the quiet, dimly lit room, noticing the
officers as they went about their duties; red-lined suits of the Command
officers, and green for Operations. It was late evening, which was his
favorite time of all, because it was only now that he could truly relax
with his preferred pastime: stargazing. Much to his chagrin, this habit had
earned him the appellation of `The Stargazing Captain' among his
colleagues.

	It was now that he invariably turned his thoughts toward the last
few years of his life, most of which had been spent on this very same
vessel. He still felt that it wasn't the war that had fractured his
relationship with Nick, but the ship and what it stood for.

	Ah, Nick -- where to begin? James was still full of contradictory
feelings for his former lover. Feelings that left him with many sleepless
nights. With a war on, sleep was already a luxury so he did his best to get
out those thoughts before he retired. Tonight, though, some memories were
far clearer. Nick had been his strongest love, though not his first. No,
James had had his fair share of one-night stands and week-long
relationships, but Nick had been the first in a long time to pierce the
wall he had started to build around his heart. James' friends and family
had never quite understood what had drawn him to Nick, for they were
complete opposites: James was dark featured (though by no means
unattractive), with a calm disposition and Nick was red haired,
cream-skinned, and possessed of a fiery spirit. Sometimes even James
wondered what had drawn the two of them together.

	Before he could dwell too long on his uncertainties, his close
friend, Commander Eli Falke, entered the CC through the large glass doors
imprinted with the Confederation Seal. Oddly, he had always considered the
image -- two foils twisted around two planets facing opposite poles, to
be beautiful and inspiring. [*** just a thought, but this symbol isn't
easily visualized, maybe it would be worth settling for something easier to
describe? ***] Eli, on the other hand, had once called the seal a
"deplorable image of conquest". James had, at the time, laughed at the idea
that the very deeply nationalistic older man would even have a problem with
conquest. But he quickly learned that Eli held strong convictions that were
not easily swayed. He was from a Core World, GI-180, and considered
military service to be a necessity in becoming a real man. Despite that, he
was probably the most just and compassionate man James had ever met.

	The graying, elder man strode over to the Captain's chair where
James had just sat down and stood next to him, gazing with the same sharp
look he always wore on duty straight at the main viewer. At the moment, the
large screen was filled with computer-generated views of space outside of
the ship; from the massive balls of fusing hydrogen that gave all species
life, to the twinkling gases of dusty nebulae that never failed to bring a
tear to James' eye. Indeed, James sometimes thought he saw the same glimmer
in Eli's eyes when he gazed upon some of the more beautiful phenomena the
universe had to offer.

	"Yer up late again, James."

	James nodded, not taking his eyes off of the screen. "Yes I am,
Eli. Does that annoy you?"

	He heard his friend chuckle. "No. I knew I'd find ya up here
tonight. Care ta tell meh what's eatin' ya?"

	Sometimes he was too nosy, James thought. Sometimes. "Not tonight,
old man."

	Eli nodded and breathed out. "Fair enough. Just so ya know, my
shift is startin' now. I'll be takin' us on patrol near the Ascendant
border."

	The Ascendants were, to put it simply, the Confederates mortal
enemies. Just over two years ago they had perpetrated a preemptive strike
against the Confederation of Worlds, laying waste to nearly a dozen planets
and destroying over a hundred vessels before battle was joined. Since then,
the Confederation had struck back in a devastating counter-strike, causing
deplorable losses on both sides.

	James could remember so well that fateful day when his world had
turned upside down. It was about a year after he had graduated from
Whitehall, and was at home, with Nick. He had just completed his six-month
training duty for his promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Nick, of course,
had been overjoyed to spend some time with the stranger his boyfriend had
become, and James was simply glad to be back home, even if only for a
little while.

	They had been sitting on the couch, watching the latest tennis
match from Ekelon when the signal cut out. Nick swore, grabbed the remote,
and was about to change the channel when the picture returned. This time it
showed the Confederate Seal and advised all viewers to stand by
momentarily.

	James placed his hand over Nick's arm, unsure of what was
happening. Nick glanced over, his eyes wide with surprise, and more than a
hint of fear. Neither of them had ever seen that message before, on any
station.

	"What could be-" Nick started to speak, but James shushed him; the
Grand Marshal of the Confederate Congress had appeared on the screen,
dressed in a dark blue suit and looking very grave. Nick shut up at once
and turned back to the screen, his eyes even wider than before.

	"Citizens of the Confederation, I come to you at a critical moment
in our lives. An hour ago, the Core World of Ueccel was attacked by the
Ascendants." Nick gasped. "There were no survivors. The enemy used biogenic
weapons that wiped out every living being on the planet."

	Nick had started crying, silent tears running down his face as he
kept his eyes on the screen, watching as the man in the blue suit told him
his world had just ended. James wasn't sure what to do to comfort him, or
himself. It was unthinkable that all that life had been lost, so quickly
and so easily. How could the universe just let that happen? Had those
people felt anything as they were torn apart? And a part of him felt so
deeply guilty, so horribly inhuman at the relief he felt in knowing that no
one he knew had lived on Ueccel. His family was safe, here, on Earth, along
with Nick.

	"We do not know the disposition of the enemy forces, nor the extent
of the attack. What we do know -- ", The Grand Marshal turned away for a
moment, taking a sheet of LCD paper from a dark-haired woman that had come
up next to him. He took only a moment to read it before he closed his eyes,
took a deep breath, and fixed the camera with a look that James knew he
could never forget.

	"Today is the hardest day that we, as a people, will ever have to
face. Ueccel was not the only world to be attacked. Ekelon has also been
destroyed by the same weapons. My people, we cannot let this continue. As
of this moment, I am declaring war on the Ascendant Hexarchy. All leave for
all military personnel has been canceled, effective immediately."

	The Grand Marshal closed his eyes again, as if in great pain, and
visibly swallowed. James could see that the devastation of two worlds had
inflicted its own pain on the leader of the Confederacy and, for a moment,
felt glad that he did not have to shoulder that much responsibility. He was
a mere Lt. Commander, accountable for the few under his command. He did not
have to worry about the welfare of an entire civilization.

	James started to gently rub Nick's back, holding him close as the
younger man cried in his arms. Nick had always been closed about his past,
and James wondered if he had known anyone on those worlds. He knew where
his lover's family was, of course, but beyond that he was in the dark.

	His computer started beeping a high-pitched, rapid sound that was
familiar to any Confederate Officer; an official communiqué had
arrived. Nick grabbed his arm as he started to get up and he was surprised
at the wild look in his red, puffy eyes. "Don't get up. Don't leave
me. Don't go."

	"Nick, I have to. It's my duty."

	Nick squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, back and forth,
like a little child being told to eat his vegetables. "No!"

	James was at a loss to say or do anything, beyond taking Nick's
hand in his and rubbing it while trying to keep his own prickling eyes from
overflowing.

	He sat there in silence for nearly a minute while Nick's sobs shook
his body. Finally he broke the silence. "Who did you know on those worlds,
Nick?"

	For a moment he wasn't sure his lover was going to respond, but
then Nick sniffled loudly and looked away from him, back at the screen. "My
brother moved there a few years ago. I didn't tell you because it wasn't
important. But he wanted to raise a family on a god-forsaken farm!" His
voice rose higher and higher. "A farm on a stupid world that got blown up!
He's dead! They're all dead!" He stood up with such force that James backed
away for a moment, unsure of what he was going to do next.

	"Leave."

	James blinked. He had never heard such a completely cold and
emotionless tone of voice ever leave Nick's throat, not in the nearly four
years they had been together.

	"What?"

	"Leave. Go. Go to your ship, where you belong, where you'll be no
better than them! that's where you want to go, isn't it? Isn't it just
where you've always wanted to be?! Out there, in the stars. Forget anyone
back home, like me!" Nick was shouting now, his face red and his hair,
nearly the same shade, disheveled and hanging over his face.

	James felt the pain cut through him like a knife, but part of him
was aware that Nick was upset over the loss of his brother and the only
target his lover had was him. He had to appeal to the Nick that he had
fallen in love with, not the hurting, torn, man in front of him. "Baby, I
don't want to leave here, or you. I have to."

	Nick snorted derisively, and fixed James with a glare that seemed
completely out of place on his face. "Have to. Of course you do. What, are
you going to blow up a world too? Let's take an eye for an eye!" He threw
his hands up in the air. "How about we launch a few nukes at them and see
what happens?"

	James stood up, angry that Nick's emotions had swung so wildly, and
knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince him of anything at the
moment. Not until he had calmed down enough to see what was happening,
anyway. And when that would be, James wasn't sure. "I know you're only
saying these things because you're hurt, and upset. That'll pass, but even
so, I have to report for duty. I'll let you know where I'm posted."

	Nick shook his head like a petulant child as James passed him by,
heading for the computer. "Don't bother."

	James sighed and ignored the comment while he clicked on the
message. It was short and simple -- report to his local command base
immediately for posting to a new assignment. He turned around and faced
Nick.

	"I don't want to have to say goodbye like this."

	His lover shrugged. James stared at him for a moment longer, and
then strode past him, toward the bedroom at the other side of the small
apartment. He didn't notice the miserable expression on Nick's face as he
passed.  [*** insert some sort of section break here ***]

	"Very well, Commander." James let out a long breath. "I won't be up
here all that long."

	"I would never dream of tellin' ya to go get some sleep,
James. Never."

	James laughed softly. "Of course you wouldn't, old man. How is
Ellen?"

	Eli sat down in his chair next to James and glanced over at him,
his expression unreadable. "Are ya bein' serious?"

	"Can't I ask how my best friend's wife is doing?"

	"I'm not sure. Who put ya up tah it? Gelbert? Kaer?"

	James held up his hands in mock surrender. "Jesus, Eli! What's
wrong with you? I'm just asking!" He shook his head. "She may be a bitch,
but I'm a nice guy that just happens to be curious if she's dead yet."

	Eli leaned over and slapped him on the back. "Now ya sound like the
James I know!" He said, with a big grin on his lined face that mirrored
James'. "She's not dead, so ya still gotta put up with her."

	"Oh joy. On that note, I think I'm going to turn in before she
decides to visit the CC."

	Eli winked at him as he stood up and stretched. "Best idea ya've
had all day, James."

	"Oh shut up. No one asked you." He didn't wait to hear or see what
Eli would have had to say; they always competed to have the last word. So
he took off at full speed, that is to say, full speed without running, for
the doors.

	Once out in the hallway, he bent over, giddy at finally having won
the last word for the first time in a while. Happy with his victory, he
started off for his quarters, whistling as he walked.


To Be Continued...