One in a Million- Chapter 1

      Even though Felix had been inside the enormous spaceship his wife called home many times, he was always amazed by its size. Endlessly winding metallic pipes stretched on forever as they towered over his head. The grated floors clinked and clanked with each step Felix took, making him feel a bit uneasy. The ship seemed like an endless maze of corridors and dimly lit passageways that were difficult to maneuver, giving the place a cold, harsh ambiance.

Felix noted how different the ship was from his own home, the roomy, brightly lit penthouse which was located back in his game. There, he was surrounded by the warmth of friends and the feel of relaxation. But Calhoun enjoyed the dark hallways and grated floors of her own game, and if that was what she preferred, Felix felt more than happy to accommodate her.

Felix's thoughts quickly turned to more pleasant things, namely what he was about to do that night. He and Tamora were going to have a romantic dinner at Tapper's, in celebration of their belated second anniversary. Though the prospect of dinner might seem a bit boring to outsiders, for Felix it was a perfect excuse to stare into the eyes of his wonderful bride...his 'dynamite gal'.

Just as he was thinking these wonderful thoughts, Felix was interrupted when a heavily armored soldier suddenly rounded the corner of the hallway. He probably would have run Felix over if the miniscule handyman hadn't braced himself up against the wall in the nick of time.

"Whoa, there!" said Felix as the running soldier suddenly halted to catch his breath. "What's the hurry?"

"Target practice," the soldier said, panting. "That's the hurry. An emergency session. Sargent's orders."

Felix raised an eyebrow. "Where is Tam-I mean, Sargent Calhoun, anyway, if I may ask?"

The tired soldier slowly turned around to face Felix, who noted that he was glaring somewhat.

"I'd go back to my game, if I were you," he said in an ominous tone. "The Sargent doesn't like being bugged during a training session. She might hurt you, little guy."

"Felix, sir," Felix corrected. "And since she's my wife; I can probably handle whatever she throws at me. Thanks for your advice, though."

Felix turned his back to the soldier and was about to continue down the hallway, when he felt a large gloved hand rest on his shoulder. Obviously, the soldier had something else to say.

"Don't think you're so special just because she likes you, buddy," he hissed into Felix's ear. "This is a war zone...and you might get hurt."

Felix gulped slightly. The hand on his shoulder tightened, pleased that it had gotten him to show fear.

"You're outta l-line...solider," Felix stammered quietly.


"Look at yourself," whispered the soldier. "A trembling, nervous pip-squeak. You think you know what war is? You think you know real pain? We risk our lives for this planet's safety every day, and you? You fix broken windows..."

Felix's eyes narrowed. Breaking free of the soldier's grasp, he whirled around to face him.

"I ought to report you to Sargent Calhoun....In fact, I think I will," he said, trying to sound as intimidating as possible.

"Green!" shouted a voice. "Your can play with your dolls after practice! Get your rear to the station, on the double!!"

Felix breathed a sigh of relief as Calhoun's booming voice echoed down the hallway. He was in no mood for a confrontation with the soldier; mostly because he was afraid he wouldn't come out alive. The Sargent herself soon made an appearance at the end of the hallway, wearing an expression on her face that could kill a person if looks were able to do that. Grumbling, the disgruntled army man slowly turned to face her, and, making a mock salute, marched right down the hallway in the direction of the station.

Calhoun's gaze fell upon Felix, and her expression softened. She began to walk towards him, and he towards her, until they were standing about a foot away from each other. Then, the Sargent knelt down in front of her beau, and the two of them shared a passionate kiss.

Felix broke away from the kiss and looked lovingly into Calhoun's eyes. "How was your day, darlin'?" he asked.

The Sargent sighed. "Same ol', same, ol'," she mused. "Squishing sex-crazed insects while trying to deal with idiot rookies like Green. He wasn't bugging you, was he?"

"Now's my chance," thought Felix. "I'll snitch on him, and he won't bug me again."

"Oh, of course not..." Felix said, forcing a smile. "He was just telling me...something about emergency target practice?"

"Oh, that." said Calhoun.

Slowly, she stood back up, keeping her gaze fixed on Felix.

"Long story short, our dinner date might have to wait a bit," she said. "I can't explain, but it's very important that I get the troops to do this."

"Why not?" asked Felix. "You can trust me, I won't tell a soul."

Frowning, Calhoun turned to face the other end of the hall, motioning for Felix to follow her, which he did. The two of them walked down the long hallway until they came to the front of a big, glowing door.

"It's classified," Calhoun said as she pushed a few buttons on a keypad that was attached to the door. "I'm sorry, Felix, but since you're not an official member of the special forces, I'm not allowed to share top secret information with you."
The doorway slid open, and Calhoun entered the room, with Felix obediently at her side. Its interior was brightly lit with artificial sunlight, and unlike the rest of the ship, the room seemed very calm and peaceful. The walls were lined with red and tan colored couches, which were covered in a very thin, silky cloth. Wooden coffee tables were situated in front of the couches, and on each table sat a single vase of artificial flowers. At the end of the room was a flickering fireplace, and although the warmth it gave off felt very real, it too was artificial.

"This room doesn't get used a lot," said Calhoun. "You can stay here until the practice is over, or you can go back to your game. Your call."

Felix gazed around the room in awe. He never suspected that such an intimidating ship could hold such a nice room.

"I'd like to stay here, if that's all right," he said.

Calhoun rolled her eyes. "Of course it's alright."

Felix turned and smiled at his wife, then proceeded to walk over to the closest couch and, with minimal difficulty, hopped onto it. He gave Calhoun a thumbs up. She responded by nodding her head and smiling.

"See you in an hour, Fix-it," said the Sargent, before exiting through the entrance.

As the door slid shut, Felix let out a sigh. He removed his hat and set it on the table in front of him, making sure it wouldn't slide off. He then proceeded to remove his boots and sat them on the floor. Finally, Felix swung his legs up onto the couch, and leaned back against a pillow, feeling both at peace and relaxed.

As Felix lay in this position, he began to think about what Green had said to him in the hallway.  

 "We risk our lives for this planet's safety every day, and you? You fix broken windows..."

Although the words were merely jealous gestures, they still stung, and they troubled Felix. Back home, he was called a hero for merely repairing the windows that had been broken by Ralph. But in Hero's Duty, the soldiers protected the planet from alien attacks, risking life and limb every day of their lives. They were from a new, modern game, where you actually had to work for your medal, and your respect. Gone was the hero of old who was patted on the back for the simplest of tasks.

Felix closed his eyes tightly. He had to stop thinking like this. He couldn't let Green's words get to him.

"I'm a good hero, I know I am. People still play Fix-it Felix Jr. right? Tamora still loves me..."

But did she? Did Calhoun really consider him to be a good hero? Felix forced these thoughts to the back of his mind, and rolled over on his side, facing the door. As he did, he felt something sharp poke into his back. Felix sat up on the couch, puzzled by the sudden pain. What could be in the couch that was so sharp? Carefully, he reached between the cushions and extracted an odd, wafer-thin device.

The device was blue and covered in a sort of coding language. It was translucent, so Felix could see his hand through it. The object was square and seemed to be made of some sort of plastic, but otherwise it was uniform throughout. The only thing that seemed a bit out of place was an odd, blue button on the one of the sides.

"Should I press it?" though Felix. "Or will it activate something I can't control?"

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Felix tapped the button. Instantly, a blue, rectangular hologram appeared hovering above the object. On it were the words:

Facial Identification in Progress. Please Stand By.

Felix stared at the screen. Facial identification? Was it scanning his face? The screen flickered and glitched; it seemed to be confused. Finally, the hologram stopped moving, and new words appeared, in green;

Access Granted

"Welcome, Doctor Scott," the device said in a robotic tone.

A pair of images began to appear on the screen. One was seemed to be a blue print of some sort of weapon, another seemed to be an image of a cassette tape. The two images bounced around the screen before coming to a complete stop in the center. Words began appearing under the images. Under the blueprint was the word "Photographs," and under the cassette tape was the word "Recordings."

Felix was shocked. Obviously, he had somehow gained access to someone's personal belongings. His first instinct was to push the button again, hopefully, that would turn the device off, but at the same time, Felix's curiosity was overwhelming. He reached forward with a gloved finger and touched the picture titled "Recordings." The picture vanished, and a bunch of others appeared in its place.

All of the photos had one thing in common. A handsome, dark haired man was present in all of them, and Felix noticed he was wearing armor that seemed very similar to Calhoun's. He reached out again and touched one of the pictures, wondering what would happen. The picture began to move, and Felix quickly realized that it was, in fact, a video.

"Well, hello again!" said the smiling man. "Big news today. Yours truly is now an official member of the Space Marines. Get a load of this fancy new outfit."

He raised his hands up into the air, so the camera could get a better look.

"Tammy's pleased, of course. I'm takin' that gal out for a special celebratory dinner tonight. If only the lab boys could see me now..."

His voice faltered. Felix continued to stare in awe.

"Anyway, that's the big news for today. Maybe I'll make a longer video when I have more time."

The video came to a halt, but instead of staying still like Felix had hoped, it switched to another one. But this video was different. It appeared to be taken from a security camera of some sorts, as the footage seemed blurry and sketchy.

A number of bugs appeared of the screen, crawling and clattering as they did so. One bug seemed to notice the camera, and lunged toward it. Felix nearly dropped the device in fear, but held onto it as the bug cracked the screen to pieces. Suddenly gunshots were heard, and the same man from the previous video appeared in the midst of the bug squad. With lightening speed, he shot at the bugs, dodging their attacks and damaging them masterfully. Finally, he came to a complete stop, and a few moments later, an enormous blast of energy shot from his gun, disintegrating every bug on the screen.

"Alright!" the man shouted. "Turn on the beacon! We're clear here!"

A blue light illuminated the screen, obviously the beacon going up. Then, something new happened; Sargent Calhoun approached the man from the side of the screen. Putting her hands on her hips, she laughed and said,

"Nice new moves you got there, Brad, but you could have at least told me you had 'em."

"Oh, I got 'em from the best Sargent around," said Brad, jokingly. "You could have figured that out, at least."

The two of them approached each other until they were standing a foot apart from one another. Then, Brad leaned in, and gave Calhoun a kiss on the cheek.

Felix gaped. So this was Tamora's doomed fiancee! He had heard about this man, but other then the fact Brad was dead, Felix knew nothing. He began to scroll through the videos, listening carefully to each one, and soon discovered the truth. Brad Scott had been one of the scientists who created the bugs. He was the one who invented most of the Space Marine's weapons, as well as the inventor of the beacon. But above all, he was the man who had originally stolen Calhoun's heart.

As Felix viewed video after video, he began to feel a strange sensation. It wasn't jealousy, or malice, but a sense of enlightenment. He was glad that he was learning about this man, who apparently had done great things for Hero's Duty. Felix knew why Calhoun had fallen in love with him. He was the embodiment of a hero; everything that one should be...

And then, Felix's enlightening feeling turned sour. He felt absolutely awful. Here was a man, tall, handsome, intelligent, brave, and romantic. He had been snatched from Calhoun's life, only to be replaced by Felix himself. But what in the world did Calhoun see in him? He wasn't particularly brave, his intelligence was limited to repairing buildings, and he definitely wasn't tall.

Finally, Felix came to the last video in the bunch. This one had no video, it was audio only. He could hear the sounds of silverware clanking in the background; it seemed that it had been recorded in a restaurant of some sort. Brad's voice came first.

"You know, Tammy? I was wondering something."

"Hmm?" said Calhoun

"Why did you fall for me, of all people? I mean, come on, a dorky scientist and a tough as nails army Sargent? Sounds a bit odd, don't you think?"
Calhoun laughed. "Oh, Brad," she said, "You're one in a million."

"Does that mean I'm special?" said Brad softly.

There was silence for a few seconds, but Felix was pretty sure he knew what was going on.

"So, there aren't any other fish in the sea you'd ever consider going for, dynamite gal?" came Brad's voice.

"No one could ever take your place, Brad," said Calhoun. "Not in a million years."


Suddenly, the door to the room began to slide open. Felix pushed the button on the device, turning the screen off. He managed to push it back between the couch cushions just as Calhoun stepped into the room. Felix looked up at her and tried to smile, but he was obviously feeling a lot of pain.

"I see you made yourself comfortable?" said Calhoun.

"Oh. Yes," said Felix, hastily putting on his boots and hat. "Look, Tamora, I have to talk to you..."

"I'm all ears," said the Sargent.

Felix stood up slowly and walked over to where Calhoun was standing. He twiddled his thumbs nervously and stared at the ground, trying desperately to find the right words. But the words wouldn't come, the guilt and the pain he felt was too great.

"Look...um...I just remembered that I promised the Nicelanders I would...do them a favor tonight," he said slowly. "Sooo...maybe we can have dinner tomorrow night?"

"Are you feeling alright?" said Calhoun, looking down at him with worry on her face.

"I feel fine," said Felix. "I just...I just need to go."

"Alright, then," said Calhoun. "I guess I'll show you the way out? Or can you find your way by yourself?"

"I can find my way," said Felix.

He walked out the door and into the hallway, his shoulders sagged and face downcast. His worst fears had been confirmed. He had invaded Calhoun's private life, a life he should have never been part of in the first place. They were just too different. Felix could never hope to rise to the standards set by Brad Scott, it just wasn't in his programming. But even if he could do all the things Hero's Duty required of him, Felix would never be able to replace to doomed scientist. For he was truly one in a million.

"Felix?"

Felix turned around, only to look up into the face of the woman he loved. Their eyes locked, and then Calhoun swept him up into one last passionate kiss.