Mission to Sector ZZ1219

by Jerry D. Young

  “Head on?” Janet asked.

  “The whole fleet?” asked Cherokee.

  “With just a Dominator?” was Bill’s question.

  “By yourself?” Willi more stated softly than asked.

  “Yes. Well…” Johnny quickly responded, with another one shoulder shrug, “Not that big of a deal. As you have probably already surmised, Telstar’s Dominator, the two I brought out, and the two F-777s Isis brought out, were not factory stock versions.”

  The four shared yet another incredulous glance among themselves at his so matter-of-fact statement and the tone in which it was given.

  “I had what I was pretty sure would give me the edge I needed.”

  “Pretty sure?” asked Willi, a bit more force in her voice this time.

  “There are never any guarantees for things like this, of course,” Johnny replied, looking over at Willi again.

  “There are never…” Willi closed her eyes, shook her head, and then opened her eyes once more, to stare daggers at Johnny. Softly, she rather forcefully urged Johnny to, “Go on.”

  “Well… I did. Have that edge I needed, I mean.”

  Janet and Bill detected the slight hiccup in Johnny’s delivery then, after Johnny’s and Willi’s exchange.

  “I simply took it full bore toward them, using cloaking and scrambling to confuse their sensors, launched decoys well out, and then more, close in, and released my enhanced weapons load on their flagship. Everything worked as designed.

  “A few more times on their other major combatant craft, and the rest turned and ran toward home.” Johnny concluded.

  “And that was that?” Willi asked, deceptively softly. Janet heard the unspoken message, but Bill, Cherokee, and especially Johnny, were clueless.

  “Yes. Essentially,” Johnny responded.

  When Willi repeated, “Essentially,” still in that soft voice, Johnny began to get a clue. The other two men not so much.

  “And…” Willi said, obviously expectantly.

  “And?” Johnny asked in return, beginning to feel a bit threatened. “And what?”

  Willi began to speak, starting so softly that Johnny, even with his remarkable hearing, could barely make it out, but by the time she was finished, Johnny was backing up, rapidly, wincing more than a little, as she advanced on him, her voice rising with every step.

  None of the five were aware of when any of them had left the table, but assumed it was when Willi lit into Johnny, when they thought about it later.

  “And what? And what? And what about your injuries, which were not treated until you returned? And what about you could only use one arm and hand? And what about you were outnumbered, oh, say, what? Three hundred ships to one?

  “And what about you were outnumbered, ten thousand to one personally? And what about you were outgunned by an entire Ecronian combat fleet to one Dominator, no matter how well armed? And what about you could have been killed!”

  That was when Willi’s voice dropped to less than a whisper, that only Johnny heard, though Janet had a pretty good idea of what Willi said, as Willi stood toe-to-toe to Johnny, his back against the wall,

  “And what about me? What about me not knowing if you were alive or dead? What about me worrying that I might never see you again? What about me thinking I might never be able to tell you how I felt about you? What about us?”

  They all did see the tears in Willi’s eyes. And then could not even see her face, as Johnny reached out with his still working arm, gently brought Willi against his body, her head on his chest turned away from them, tears pouring down her cheeks to dampen his shirt, as she fought for breath.

  But she fought no harder than Johnny did. Every breath he had to struggle to take was agony, for the pain he had knowingly caused her.

  “Because,” he whispered so that only she could hear, and feel in the rumble of his chest, “if not, you would no longer exist, and, living or dead myself, I would never again, for all eternity, have a heart that was whole, for it would be only a tiny, useless, broken thing, without the part of it you have become.

  “Because, Wilhelmina Hortense McKindrick, I have fallen so far in love with you, there might not even be a distance measurement large enough to express it.”

  “Oh, Johnny…” Willi sighed against his chest. “I love you, too.” She took a deep, shuddering breath, and began to release her near-death hold on him. Then suddenly did release him, stepped back, looked up into his face, and nearly yelled, “How did you know my middle name was Hortense?”

  Her eyes flashed, and her hands became fists on her hips as she stared at Johnny and added, “I am going to absolutely KILL Sydney!”

  “Actually, I didn’t find out from Sydney,” Johnny felt obligated to tell Willi, as much to spare her brother’s life, as to simply tell the truth. And he did not even have to tell her how he found out.

  “Well, Marilyn,” came an amused voice that had Willi spinning around, her face turning deep red.

  Willi’s, “Mother…” came out barely audible as she stared at the regal looking woman, who was watching her daughter and Johnny Oneshot with interest.

  “Uh… Mother,” Willi managed to say in a more or less normal voice, if the strangled sound part of it was discounted, “How long have you…”

  “Been standing here, watching you pour out you heart to this young man?”

  Willi winced. “That long, I guess,” she said.

  “Lady McKindrick,” Johnny said, stepping forward to take Willi’s mother’s hand in his working one as he bowed slightly, as much as his injury allowed, and kissed the tops of her fingers. “It is nice to see you again.”

  Mrs. McKindrick’s eyes went as wide as Willi’s.

  “I thought you said you had not met,” Willi said to her mother.

  “I… Well… I did not think I had…”

  Willi could almost see and hear her mother’s mind working, trying to decide just where she might have ever met Johnny Oneshot.

  “Oh, my!” Mrs. McKindrick suddenly said, after Johnny spoke again.

  The sardonic grin curving his lips, that which Willi was now well familiar, and the sound of his voice, a bit altered than how he had been speaking moments before, saying simply “Lady McKindrick,” again, and Mrs. McKindrick remembered exactly where, when, and how she had met Johnny Oneshot.

  Only it was not as Johnny Oneshot she knew him as at that time. It was as Algernon McElroy. Ambassador Sir Algernon McElroy. Seven years before. And Johnny Oneshot looked much older then, as Algernon, than he did even now, seven years later, as himself. A slight blush tinged her cheeks.

  She knew Willi noticed when Willi’s eyes narrowed and she asked, “Mother…?”

  Mrs. McKindrick tore her eyes away from Johnny, and looked at her daughter, her chin rising ever so slightly, “Just never you mind, child. Suffice it to say that I have indeed met your young man, though it took me a bit to remember it.”

  Willi heard the slight stress when her mother used the word ‘your’ when referring to Johnny as Willi’s young man. Willi glanced at Johnny, but this was neither the time nor the place for her to find out how Johnny knew his mother.

  So, she turned back to her mother and asked, “What are you doing here? How did you know I was here? And how did you know I was calling myself Marilyn?”

  “Marilyn Monroe, to be exact,” her mother said with a chuckle. “And from what I have learned, from some very reliable sources, that your beauty is considered to be every bit as much as the esteemed woman’s, and your singing by far surpasses hers.”

  “Ah… You know about my performing…”

  “Indeed, I do,” her mother said. “And the recordings that were sent to me at my request only confirmed what I was told. You have been a very busy young woman on your… ‘vacation away,’ was it?”

  Again, Willi winced when her mother chuckled. “I knew from the beginning you were up to something. Unfortunately, my… well… the people I had keeping you safe, lost track of you. It was no
t until your young man…”

  Mrs. McKindrick looked over at Johnny, “sent word that you might be in need of the assistance of your family, as well as members of the extended Traders Tribes, that I knew exactly where you were located. It was a simple matter after that to bring the Trinity Home about, and get here as quickly as we could.”

  Willi blanched. “Mother… That must have cost a fortune!”

  “No matter, child,” Mrs. McKendrick replied. Though she tried her best not to do so, her eyes cut to Johnny for a moment.

  And Willi saw the look. She saw nothing in Johnny’s face when she looked over quickly, but what her mother’s look had meant would also go on the agenda of things she intended to question Johnny about in much greater depth and detail. Once she got him alone. Where he could not disappear on her somehow.

  “None of us minded,” her mother had continued smoothly. “You are the pride of Trinity Home. Everyone was happy to learn you were safe and sound.”

  One eye brow lifted, and an exasperated look crossed her face when she added, “Once we found out you were in danger. We, my daughter, will need to have a chat about that, very soon.”

  Willi wrapped her arm around Johnny’s free one, responding lightly, without looking at her mother, “Of course, Mother. Just as soon as we both have time. Now, I believe Johnny should probably get some rest. His injuries are surely bothering him.”

  Willi looked at Johnny, and when it was apparent that he was getting ready to deny it, she quickly added, “So I will see to it he gets somewhere safe, and quiet, so he can get that much needed rest. I will talk to all of you soon.”

  With that, and a rather sharp tug on Johnny’s good arm, Willi led him away from the others. After a couple of reluctant steps, and a glance, almost a pleading one, Captain Butler thought, over his shoulder, Johnny decided going along with Willi at the moment might be the more prudent of several actions he contemplated attempting.

  Johnny did not even ask Willi where they were going. He just followed where she led. Though, it would have been difficult not to do so, as she now had a near death grip on his good hand, after having let go of his arm once out away from the crowds.

  Willi was not sure herself exactly where she was headed. She just knew she and Johnny needed to be somewhere else, together, without the others. A place where Johnny could not disappear on her. Or be called away. Or…

  Almost angrily, Willi wiped tears from her eyes again as they left the building. She looked around for a taxi. There were always taxi at the base. Always. Except for now.

  She had to wipe her eyes again, and Johnny was very aware of every movement she had made from the point she had put his back against the wall, and her voice had dropped to almost nothing.

  Johnny gave a very tiny tug on Willi’s hand. Just enough to bring her attention to him, but not in any way make it seem he was trying to pull away from her.

  She turned her head, away from the area where the taxis were usually queued up near the main base building. Again, she was wiping her eyes. And it nearly broke Johnny’s heart.

  Never, ever, would he intentionally hurt her. But, for so many years on his own, sometimes seeming to be doing the devil’s own work, cut off from family and what few friends he had managed to make, he had basically forgotten that there were other people in the universe that might, just might, be affected, personally, by what he did.

  And, more importantly, how he did what he did. Never forming any close ties, and very few ties not close. Never letting anything interfere with the work he felt he was obligated to do. Destined to do even, though he seldom let that thought surface.

  Even now, those kinds of beliefs were looked at askance. Much as they often were in his ancestors’ time.

  When Johnny Vanducci and Priscilla Jennings met in the 21st Century, fell in love, and had their children, through The Dark Times so many years ago, Vanducci’s innate ability to understand people, and his drive to help them, coupled with Priscilla’s near magical ability to sense those around her, often at some distance, and feel and understand, at least to a degree, what they were feeling, had been passed down, generation after generation.

  Sometimes made stronger from another bloodline, sometimes a bit less so, but always there. And Johnny Oneshot, was one of the ones that came from a combination of bloodlines that gave him the sense… senses… that made him very good at what he did.

  And now, feeling… knowing the pain… the fear… the vast uncertainty… that Willi was going through, he had to make it better. Take those feelings from her, even if he had to absorb them himself. Which was not an unknown ability for him. Just one seldom used.

  Willi’s eyes on his face, searching intently his own, Johnny gave another tiny tug, bringing her around a bit more, to stand directly in front of him, though a step away.

  “I am sorry, Willi. I am so sorry I put you through all this. I should have…” Johnny shook his head. “No should haves for us, I hope. Just what was, what is, and what will be. Especially the what will be. I want my will-be to be a part of your will-be, and your will-be to be part of my will-be.”

  Johnny paused, managing to get her other hand into his that was restricted in movement, and, still staring into her eyes, added, “I cannot say that I will never again be in danger. Nor even that I will not willingly go into it. Making the universe safe for the innocents that live within it is part of my heritage, my background, my training… and my very being.

  “I believe… and hope… that you will be willing to accept me, as I am, with the understanding that, while I may never stop doing the things that I do, that I will, from this moment forward, make you a part of my being, so you will always know to the best of my ability, and understand that I must do what I do, and may risk everything, to see to it that you and your family are safe, and that…”

  There was the tiniest hesitation. But it was truly infinitesimal in Willi’s mind, as Johnny continued, “our family… Our children… And their children. And their children’s children, all the way down the line, will also be safe, just as did my ancestors for us. And your ancestors. And the ancestors of all those that lived through The Dark Times, and in doing so, made it possible for humans to get to the stars. Us.”

  “Oh, Johnny… That is so… I love you, Johnny… And will forever. And whatever you do, I will support you.” Her eyes crinkled slightly, and sparkled somewhat when she added, “And be there with you when I need to be.”

  Johnny opened his mouth to protest her ‘being there with him...’, but decided to leave well enough alone. “And I love you, Willi. And always will. You are the most…”

  Willi put a finger to Johnny’s lips. “Not now, Johnny. Later. For now, I want to get you somewhere I can kiss you until I can’t breathe. And this is not the place.” She turned, again holding his good hand, this time waving her other arm frantically when she saw a taxi with a human driver.

  Fortunately, for everyone’s safety and well-being, the driver saw her, and guided the taxi over to them. Willi would not let Johnny do anything. Not even lift a finger to open the door, as the driver did not bother getting out.

  Again, Johnny had to control himself to not try and do things himself, despite his injuries, when Willi made sure he got into the taxi without further pain.

  When he was settled to Willi’s satisfaction, she hurried around to the other side of the taxi and slid in beside him. When she touched the button to tell the driver where they would be going, Johnny put a hand on her arm. “I know a place,” he said quietly.

  When she looked over at him, and nodded after only a short pause, Johnny gave the address to the driver. Willi heard the slight intake of the driver’s breath before the circuit cut off. She looked over at Johnny, but he was fidgeting just a bit, trying to get more comfortable.

  “I’m sorry,” Willi said. “I should have hired a transport…”

  Johnny smiled over at her. He shook his head. “No need for that kind of expense. Besides, it really doesn’t matter too much
what I am in. There are just some sitting positions that are difficult for me.”

  Willi saw him reach just inside the edge of the cast. “A bit more pain medication?” she asked him.

  Johnny nodded. “It’ll take a couple of minutes, and then I will be fine. I hate using the injector… But sometimes it does make things easier.”

  When the taxi passed one of the shopping areas not far from the planet-side base, Willi sat up a bit straighter. “Perhaps we should pick up a few things…”

  Johnny grinned. “No need. The place we are headed toward has everything we should need. And we can have anything else delivered, if necessary.”

  “Oh…” Willi looked over at Johnny. “Just where is it we are going?”

  “I… hm… I sort of borrowed the place for a while, from someone I knew that lived on this planet. They will be well compensated for everything I have used… or we use.”

  “Sort of borrowed?” Willi asked, her eyebrows lifted in question.

  “Might have been difficult to get permission. At least without creating more problems for me than I wanted for this situation. It will be fine. I will just have to deal with some… angst… next time I see the owner.”

  “They won’t have you arrested or something, will they?” Willi asked. She was watching Johnny closely. Before he could answer, the taxi slowed, and Willi looked forward.

  Her eyes did not quite bug out, but it was close when she saw the iron gates between the tall white stone pillars that were the ends of an equally tall, white stone wall that disappeared into the forest that was all that could be seen ahead of them.

  The driver was asking Johnny for the gate code, but Willi saw Johnny touch his communicator and the gate began to slide to one side. It was some time before the house came into view, as the driveway wended its way through forest, lush open grounds, and large areas planted with all manner of the local flora.