Base Camp, Mt. Elberus
***
Captain Luke was lazily lying down on his cot facing up the ceiling. Mission Blacksweep never left his thoughts. It was not that his comrades have disappeared that troubled his mind but the moment he opened his eyes after he was unconscious.
During the debriefing was all an act. An act to retaliate against any attempt from the Commander to exploit interrogative scrutiny. He remembered every detail of it after his unconsciousness on the night of their ambush.
***
He found himself sitting on the tree where he hit his head. He opened his eyes and felt excruciating pain at his nape. Startled, he saw a tall and slim woman standing safely away from him. He quickly recovered from his dizziness and attempted to find his weapons but only found out that his holsters were empty. Even his helmet and his hand grenade were not on him anymore. He realized that there was nothing left to do but confront what was in front of him.
He gathered all his might to muster strength with his legs which were just recovering from numbness. He groaned in pain but managed to pull himself up. The ringing in his head seemed to annoy his focus.
"Don't come any closer. Or else.." He taunted with a hoarse voice.
The woman did not answer. She just stood there showing no signs of hostility. But the Captain was cautious, as he was trained to be. With all his military and covert mission experiences, the leniency of the unexpected will surely get you killed.
He rubbed his eyes, regaining the blurred vision he once had after a deep and sudden slumber. Then there it was, his vision became clearer, and did not mind the surroundings. He fixed his gaze on the woman standing in front of him. She wore a white torn dress with slight blood stains on it.
'Blood? She could not have killed my team. It can't be.' He thought.
"Are you a terrorist? If you are, then you are my enemy." He said with his voice regaining.
The Captain recognized her long wavy hair and her very pretty face. She wore her clothes with nonchalant confidence. Her eyes were so soft and her lips were seductively red, not because of lipstick but because of the blood dripping softly at the sides of her chin.
She slowly sauntered towards him in small, slow strides and Luke stood rigidly. With a jolt of military reflex, he raised his hands and spread his legs for a proper stance ready for hand-to-hand combat. He had not fully recovered yet but at least he could still fight.
She smiled softly, emanating beauty that matched her glowing skin. As she was closer to him, the Captain felt weird that he cannot move his body. His muscle memory and killer instincts seemed to have escaped him. He was like a statue as the woman closed their gap.
'What is this? Is she an angel?' Luke thought upon gazing at her face.
The woman gently raised her slender hand, and with her slender fingers, she touched his clenched left fist that was raised forward. Luke felt the softness of her skin and her touch.
"L-Look...woman... y-you may not be a terrorist, but if you need help. You can tell me. I am not your enemy. The blood on your garb, is it yours?" He stammered uttering the words.
He assessed that there was no hint of a rebel militant in the almost naked figure she had. Her fragility and the softness of her touch would not construe to a warrior or a killer.
As the woman stood close to the Captain, he then realized the figure of her body as the wind blew hard against her dress. Her figure was slender, with a perfect set of medium-sized breasts, with curvy hips, like a modern ramp model. Moreover, she was not wearing any underwear as he assessed.
She saw that Luke was staring at her body and said softly to the soldier,
"See what you like?"
Luke's gaze was immediately transferred to her eyes and sudden shame invaded his expression.
"Forgive me. I am just looking for weapons. I am just cautious, you know." He said while training his eyes away from her piercing eyes.
Then she smiled as if she was teasing him. He cannot fathom the feeling of uneasiness. He choked out words to say and let the moment pass until the awkwardness vanished. He looked again into her eyes and was just amazed by the beauty this woman beholds. It was nothing as he had ever seen.
Her beauty was so natural, her skin glowing, her eyes were colored blue on a face - shaped like a small, round oval and all the features in perfect proportions.
The wind blew softly her hair and revealed more of her cheeks while her hair strands were pushed back against the wind. Luke noticed that her eyes were locked into his as if her gaze was like doing deep mental hypnosis that commanded his body motionless.
He spoke no words afterward, just helpless and sweat loomed on his forehead. Gooseflesh had embraced his body. He was like witnessing the beauty of a fallen angel up close. Even though it was dark, the light of the moon emphasized her white complexion as if it glittered against the faint moonlight.
'Her beauty is divine. I can't resist but stare.'
The woman spoke softly close to his face, "My name is Lyka Eldar. I am the daughter of Chief Vaegon and Maria Eldar. You cannot do anything without your weapons so it is futile to fight me. We are stronger and faster than you. So, you should stay still and listen."
Luke lowered his fists and stood up with his back leaning against the tree.
'She is not my enemy. If she is, I cannot fight with a face like hers.'
He felt his legs were numbed, unable to run and his body drained of the energy to fight. He felt so powerless.
'If she is my enemy, then I will die in this place. Please do it quickly.' He thought. Seemingly, he had no choice but to do nothing and witnessed this beautiful being in front of him.
Lyka continued, "We don't know why your Commander is fueled to attack our peaceful village but half of our population living here are women and children. There are no rebels here. We hide from the grasp of civilization and have chosen to remain hidden for a Century more."
"It seems that your Commander has a hidden agenda in attacking our village that you do not know. I urge you to look deeper into the Commander. Maybe you will find the truth." Lyka paused a bit and just stared into his eyes. Seriousness had now plastered her expression.
"We know that you are going to attack us tonight and we outnumbered you. Your guns do not work on us. We do not die. We are immortals. This is our gift but a curse at the same time." Her face saddened a bit. "We witnessed the death of everybody else while we do not age and stay young for the rest of eternity."
"We are just simple farmers here and we live harmoniously." She continued, "Our tribe and the people in it, resist the urge of modern living. As new technologies unfold at a very fast pace, which provide nothing to the people in this world but destruction in the farthest future. Not death to the people, but the destruction of true relationships, love, respect, and the true nature of human life. Human life cannot survive if people do not control carefully the ever-advancing development of high technology. Humans are simply consumed by it."
"We have witnessed the world changed for centuries of living this life and it is not pleasant. Human beings slowly and deceptively destroy each other for power and fame. If you have the choice to live forever, you will choose a path away from all of that. You have no idea of how old we are and our wisdom is clear and unfathomed", Lyka giggles at the thought of her age but she looks like on her late twenties.
"We learn what is vital in this life, we reconnected with nature. We take care of nature and nature takes care of us."
Lyka paused for a short moment and craned her neck upwards looking at the surrounding trees and then she turned her head from left to right surveying the area while standing in the same place. The area was still quiet. She said a little bit with haste,
"I would like to talk more but, I do not have much time. Do not underestimate us, you have no idea how strong we are. Return to this place and meet me at this same time sixty moons from now. This will give you enough time to investigate your chain of command. You are treading unknown waters here and if you aim to kill rebels, you are looking at the wrong place."
The Captain was somewhat convinced. This mission, for the first time, made no sense. No solid intel from recon division, and no accurate rebel numbers. Only assumptions and vague satellite imaging.
"Do not bring anyone." She continued. "If you are armed, then you can forget our meeting. Remember this, find the truth. You are fighting on the wrong side."
Lyka placed her hand gently on his left cheek and gave him a gentle kiss on his right. Luke remained motionless with his eyes wide. He felt the blood from her lips transfers to his cheek like a kiss mark. Her lips were so soft and cold and this gave the Captain a jolt of emotional connection.
Then she whispered as she buried her cheek in his, "Next time we meet, I want you to relax a bit. Loosen yourself. Please do not fear me. I do not intend to harm you in any way." She pulled her cheek away as her body moved away from him. She smirked and winked seductively.
Luke remained still silent, motionless, and watched Lyka walk away from him until she melted by the darkness of towering trees.
***
Presently, his thoughts faded fast as he heard the digital voice talk over the speakers inside the bunker. He opened his eyes, then back to reality. The sound of the speakers pounded to Luke's eardrums, "All elite operatives, Commander James requested an immediate meeting in the Mission Center. He is still en route; ETA is 15 minutes."
Luke hauled himself from his cot and stretched his body to find energy from a long slumber. He went to the quarters and ordered his men to prep for the meeting.
'Sixty moons to go.' He thought.