Stephanie's Challenge

by M. K. Eidem

  "I do, but you know how it will be viewed by some."

  "As personal," she said, "and they'd be right because it is. As Commander, I'm responsible for the actions of my men whether I'm in or out of uniform. Woodrow insulted a superior officer while in uniform; two to be exact. It doesn't matter who it was or where. I witnessed it and found it unacceptable. I'm tired of putting up with that foabhor's comments and those like him. I and every other woman like me, which includes my mother, has had to bite our tongues because we were always subordinate officers. Not anymore."

  Nick was surprised by the venom in her voice. He'd known there were still those that believed women didn't belong in positions of power. It was one of the reasons Stephanie had wanted to be one of Jotham's Royal Guards, to prove they could. But until today, he'd never witnessed it first hand, had never seen how it affected someone he loved. Now having done so, he knew he'd never allow it to happen again. If he was allowed to.

  "So what about me? Am I getting a reprimand too?"

  "You?" she gave him a shocked look. "Of course not. One, because you were off duty and out of uniform. Two because if calling someone a fucking foabhor is grounds for discipline, everyone in the Fleet would have a reprimand in their file. And three, you were also one of the superior officers he insulted." At his confused looked she continued. "He inferred that you were trying to undermine my position as Commander."

  "I love being under you," he joked for a minute then sobered. "You did give me an order."

  "Which I had no right to do. We were both off duty and had agreed that when that happened, we were just a man and a woman."

  "Do you really think that'll be the end of it?"

  "No, men like Woodrow never quit because they think they are right."

  "They're not."

  "I know. Now, I think we've wasted enough of our evening discussing Woodrow."

  "I agree. So how would you like to spend the rest of the night?" he asked suggestively.

  "Not the way you're thinking, at least not yet," she said giving him a little shove.

  "Really? So what did you have in mind?"

  "I think we should comm your parents and let them know we're life mates."

  "You do?" He stared at her in shock.

  "Word is going to spread, especially after today. They have the right to hear we're life mates from us, not someone else."

  Nick looked at the time. "They'd still be up."

  "Why don't you seem excited about telling them?"

  "It's not that. They're going to be thrilled, more than thrilled. I'm the oldest, the only one who hasn't had a Union. They've pretty much given up on me ever giving them a grandchild, and now that there's a chance, they are going to be very vocal about it."

  "It won't be that bad," she reassured him, "and even if it is, I think I can handle it. Commander, remember?" she said tapping her chest.

  He smiled. "I remember, and you're right. If they find out from someone else, they'll be incredibly hurt. Just... prepare yourself."

  Stephanie stood as Nick set up the comm to go through the entertainment screen. Picking up his warm bottle of brew, she walked into the kitchen to get them each a cold one.

  "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad," she heard him say and turned to study the handsome couple on the screen.

  "Nicholas!" The true joy in Crystal Deffand's voice was easily heard. "How are you?" Her face suddenly filled with concern. "What's happened? Are you alright? You never call this late unless something's wrong."

  Stephanie couldn't tell the other woman's height as she was sitting down, but she could see she was a force to be reckoned with, and she'd given her son the chocolate-brown eyes Stephanie so loved.

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Mom, calm down. I'm fine. Everything's fine. It's better than fine actually." Nick shifted his gaze.

  "Nick, it's good to see you."

  For Stephanie, seeing Allen Deffand was like seeing her life mate thirty cycles in the future, the resemblance was that strong. It made her wonder what Nick's son might look like.

  "Good to see you too, Dad."

  "When are you coming for a visit?" his mother demanded and Nick just shook his head.

  "You know I can't right now, Mom. The Union is only a few weeks away. I have to be here."

  "Well, I would think that new Commander of yours would see fit to give you some time off for a visit since you've been single-handedly running that place for cycles," she said huffily.

  Nick coughed to cover his chuckle and looked over his shoulder to find Stephanie gaping at the comm. He'd tried to warn her. Turning back to the comm, he interrupted his mother as she continued to tell him all the things he'd done in the performance of his duty.

  "Mom, there's someone here I'd like you to meet."

  "What? Meet? You're telling me you let me go on and on like that when you're not alone?"

  "It's not like you gave him a chance to stop you, love," Allen's deep voice told her quietly.

  "He could have said something in the beginning," she argued back.

  "Mom!" Nick interrupted again in exasperation. "Do you want to meet her or not?"

  "Her?!" Crystal's brown eyes widened, excitement filling them. "Did you say her?"

  "Yes." Standing, he turned and held out his hand to Stephanie. Setting aside the brews, she reached out and let him pull her into the view of the comm. "Mom. Dad. I'd like to introduce you to Stephanie Michelakakis."

  "We know who she is," Crystal began before her husband shushed her and stood.

  "Commander Michelakakis, it's an honor and a pleasure to meet you." Allen saluted her, telling her he had once served in the Coalition.

  "Thank you, Mister Deffand, but please, that's not necessary," Stephanie told him blushing slightly. "And it's just Stephanie."

  "Just Stephanie?" he frowned, his eyes widening at his son's arm around her waist.

  "Nicholas," his mother whispered. "What's going on?"

  "Mom, Dad, Stephanie is my life mate," he proudly announced, pulling her close.

  "Oh!" Crystal slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes filling. "Oh, Nicholas, that's so wonderful." Her gaze shifted to her future daughter-in-law. "Oh, Stephanie, I wish you were here so I could hug you. Welcome to the family."

  "Thank you, Madame Deffand," Stephanie told her suddenly feeling shy.

  "Crystal, call me Crystal," Nick's mom insisted.

  "Alright, Crystal," Stephanie agreed.

  "And I'm Allen," Nick's dad told her.

  Stephanie could only nod her agreement as Crystal spoke again.

  "So tell us all about it. When did you meet? How long have you been dating? When's the Union going to be? Oh my goodness, you two are going to make such beautiful babies."

  "Crystal," Allen growled warningly.

  "Mom." Nick did the same as his father.

  "What?" Crystal asked, looking at each of them innocently.

  "They only just told us they were life mates. Let's give them some time before talking about babies."

  "Oh, alright," Crystal pouted up at her husband. "If we must, but only for a little while. Neither of them is getting any younger." She turned back to face the couple. "So when's the Union?"

  Stephanie's eyes widened at Nick's mother's accusation. She'd never considered thirty-four cycles that old.

  "We haven't planned one yet," Nick told his mother giving his life mate an apologetic look.

  "Why ever not?" Crystal demanded.

  "Look, Mom, we both have demanding careers that we love and a lot is going on with them right now. So when we decide the times right for us to have a Union, we will let you know. We comm'd you tonight because we wanted to share the good news with you before you learned of it from someone else."

  "You told others you found your life mate before you told your family?"

  "We told my family," Stephanie said quietly.

  "Because it's more complicated with Stephanie's family since we work together," Nick quickly added hoping to appease his mother, then hitting a li
ttle below the belt gave her that sad look he knew she could never resist. "I thought you'd be happy for us."

  "Oh, I am," his mother quickly told him. "We are. I just..."

  "Wish you'd been informed sooner. I understand, and you have Stephanie to thank that we comm'd you tonight. I," he looked to his father knowing he would understand, "being the man I am, didn't even think of it."

  "Nicholas Allen Deffand! I raised you better than that."

  "I know you did, Mom, and again I'm sorry."

  "Well, at least there's one person in this relationship that has a brain in her head." Crystal's gaze turned to Stephanie. "Thank you, Stephanie. You're going to have your hands full with that one."

  "I think I can handle him," she told her smiling, "and you're welcome."

  "So when are you two going to be able to come for a visit? We'll gather the whole family and then..."

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Stephanie's head was still whirling hours later as she and Nick lay in bed. Crystal Deffand was a force to be reckoned with. She had thoughts and ideas about the Union they hadn't yet planned, the house they could buy in the Baku region they hadn't said they wanted, and the number of grandchildren they should give her.

  "I tried to warn you," Nick said sleepily.

  "I know."

  "She'll settle down. Dad will make sure of it. It's my grandmother you need to worry about."

  "Grandmother?"

  "Dad's mom," he told her yawning. "No one controls her. She'll have the Temple reserved and invitations sent, then tell us when to show up."

  While that worried Stephanie slightly, she knew she had an ace up her sleeve. "Do you really think my mother's going to give up control of her only daughter's Union to anyone but me?"

  "No, but... oh, Ancestors," he groaned slapping a hand over his eyes.

  "What? Nick, what's wrong?"

  "My mother, grandmother, and your mother... all together plotting," he pulled his hand away revealing terrified eyes to her.

  Stephanie paled at the thought. "You say she's like your mom?"

  "Worse, because she has Dad wrapped around her little finger."

  "Mom will back us. She's already agreed that it will be our decision," she said, but even she could hear the uncertainty fill her words.

  "That's only because she's caught up in her Union. Once everything has settled down and enough time has passed, you know she's going to start wanting us to be as happy as she and Jotham are."

  "No, she..." Stephanie broke off realizing he was right. "Oh Ancestors, we won't stand a chance against all three of them."

  "And if Jotham and my dad get involved..."

  "We need to run. Now."

  "We'd never make it past the Palace gates."

  Chapter Nineteen

  "She did what!" Woodrow snarled the next day when Burk informed him of the reprimand.

  "Commander Michelakakis put an official reprimand in your permanent file for Conduct Unbecoming of a Royal Guard," Burk repeated.

  "She can't do that!"

  "She's the Commander. She can do whatever she wants." Burk leaned back in his chair. He didn't particularly like Woodrow. The man thought he was better than everyone else, but he was a highly trained guard. But reading the Commander's report, he wondered if that was enough. "Were you really stupid enough to challenge her position? To claim Deffand should be Commander? All because she is a woman?"

  "It wasn't stupid! It's true. Just look at the way Deffand was able to take her down. She has no right to lead us, to be making decisions about our careers. If Captain Deffand were Commander, we'd be guarding real Royals."

  "Real Royals?" Burk asked quietly.

  "You can't tell me you're happy following around some dumb mining executive all day. We should be guarding King Jotham, and we would be if that bitch hadn't gotten injured."

  "You mean the injury she received while preventing a Royal assassination attempt?"

  "It wasn't that bad," Woodrow scoffed.

  "She nearly died! She lost a lung!"

  "All the more reason she shouldn't be leading us."

  Burk couldn't believe it. He had a purist under his command. Oh not one of the Royal purists like he first thought, but one that was perhaps worse because it affected so many more people. A gender purist. Ancestors, he'd thought they'd all smartened up cycles ago. Obviously, he was wrong.

  "Well she is, and I've informed you of your reprimand, so return to duty," Burk ordered.

  "You mean you're not going to do anything about this?" Woodrow couldn't believe it.

  "What would you suggest I do?" Burk asked honestly curious what the idiot thought could be done.

  "Go to Captain Deffand!" Woodrow demanded. "He won't let this happen. Not to me."

  "One," Burk began, "Captain Deffand doesn't have the power to remove a reprimand from a guard's file."

  "Then go to King Jotham."

  "Two," he continued as if Woodrow hadn't just made a ludicrous suggestion. "The woman you insulted is Captain Deffand's life mate. Do you really think he's going to do anything to help you after that? Ruk, you're lucky he didn't kick your ass. Now get out of my office before I do it for him."

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  "Captain Burk, what can I do for you?" Stephanie answered her comm just as a report from him arrived.

  "Commander, thank you for taking my comm. I hate contacting you about this, especially right now, but I don't believe I have any other choice."

  "What's this about, Captain?"

  "Sergeant Woodrow," he told her quietly.

  Stephanie leaned back in her chair. "I take it you informed him of the reprimand."

  "Yes, and he didn't take it well."

  "No one would, Captain," she stated the obvious. "So why are you contacting me about this?"

  "Because I would like to have him removed from my command, ma’am."

  "Why?" she demanded, leaning forward again.

  "It's detailed in the report I sent," he told her.

  "It's only just arrived. Give me a moment." Opening it, she began to read and made sure her face remained expressionless since she hadn't blanked her video. There was nothing overly surprising in the report until she got to a certain point...

  "Real Royals?" Her gaze flew to his. "He actually said 'Real Royals'?"

  "Yes, Commander, which is why I feel he should be removed from Prince Ethan's security detail."

  "How was his conduct on Nuga?"

  "He did nothing that would have had me doubting his commitment to his duty but..."

  "But what?" she demanded.

  "But looking back now he always seemed to lag just a little bit behind, as if it weren't worth his time to be there."

  "In hindsight." She reminded him.

  "Yes, ma’am."

  "So because of that and this incident, you feel we should remove him from your command and put him in the detail of a 'real' Royal?" she asked.

  "Ancestors, no!" Burk actually looked shocked that she would think that.

  "Then what are you wanting, Captain?"

  Burk took a deep breath knowing what he was about to say was unheard of, but in his gut, he knew it was the right thing to do. "I want Sergeant Woodrow stripped of his Royal Guard status and dismissed."

  Stephanie didn't say anything for a moment, somewhat shocked at how vehement Burk was about this. She knew she had the support of many of the men under her command, but she hadn't been in the position long enough to have earned this kind of loyalty.

  "This seems personal to you, Captain Burk. Care to explain why?"

  "It's not to you?" he asked.

  "As Commander, I can't take things personally, not if I want to command effectively."

  "Then why did you file the reprimand?" he asked then winced. He had no right to question the decisions of a superior officer.

  "A guard has the right to think or say what he wants about their Commander when they are off duty and out of uniform. We've all done it, but when they are on
duty and in uniform, it's an entirely different thing. Woodrow was both on duty and in uniform when he spoke disrespectfully about not one but two superior officers, in front of other guards, and while in the Palace no less. That deserves a reprimand. He's lucky he only got one."

  Burk's respect for his Commander grew because she was right. Nowhere in the reprimand had it stated who Woodrow had insulted. Everyone just assumed it was her since she was the one who wrote the report, but Woodrow had disrespected Nick just as much as he had the Commander.

  "Are you going to answer my question, Captain?" she asked, her eyes narrowing

  "Commander," he paused.

  "Spit it out, Captain."

  "I was raised by a single mother, Commander, and have four older sisters. All of whom served in the Coalition."

  "I see."

  "Probably better than I do," he told her, "even after hearing all the stories they told when they didn't think I was listening."

  "Stories of how they were discriminated against," she said quietly.

  "Yes, and worse." He didn't have to tell her about the unwanted advances from superiors. He could see in her eyes she understood. "It's one of the reasons I've always made sure it didn't happen under my watch or with any of the men under my command."

  "Honorable."

  "Not honorable," he bit out. "Right! Which is why I want Woodrow out. I can't stomach what he said and did."

  "It takes a great deal to strip a Royal Guard of his position, Captain."

  "I realize that but these two reports..."

  "Aren't enough." At his disbelieving look, she sighed. "Look I agree with you. Woodrow needs to go, but it needs to be done the right way because no matter what, it will affect the relationship between the House of Protection and the House of Healing. For now, Sergeant Woodrow stays where he is but keep an eye on him. Document and report any substandard performances. And Captain..."

  "Yes, Commander."

  "Keep my brother safe." With that, she disconnected the comm.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Stephanie and Nick walked side by side as they entered the King's Wing several weeks later, on their way for what was to be the last full family meal before the official Union gatherings began although there would be more than just the immediate family there. Peter, Cyndy, and Brett Chamberlain would also be attending along with Stephanie's aunt and uncle, Palma and Birgin Metaxas. It should be an interesting meal.