He made his way through the foyer and looked around the living room. There was an open case with mementos on a recliner, and Ayan's white hooded poncho lay on the floor in front of the sofa. He stooped down and picked it up, folding it neatly then putting it over the back of the recliner.
She liked to keep her home fairly neat even though she didn't normally have much energy. Laura had told him there were still very good days though, when her enthusiasm was so high it was like she was back to her old self again. The way she had been when she was the Chief Engineer on the First Light.
“Thank you for coming before disembarking. I know you have better things to do with your new command,” Ayan said as she came out of the hallway leading to the bedrooms. She had just gotten back from the long test voyage of the Midland.
She was wearing a long, straight cut loose fitting dress with long sleeves that made her look small, and it was made of a thick, dark blue material that was made to hide her shape but he could still tell that she had lost weight since he had last seen her months before. He accepted a hug from her, giving just as good as he got. “Of course I'd stop in. I couldn't pass it up.”
“How is Charles?”
“He's good, disappointed to see me go so soon after returning. I don't think he'll be around when I get back.”
“I'm sorry, I know you really liked him.”
“We really haven't had much time together over the last year. I'll miss him. I've barely spent any time on Freeground. It's the military life, there's a lot going on out there.”
They sat down on the sofa together and she poured him a cup of steaming tea to match her own. “When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow. Have you seen the ship?”
“On my way in. She's beautiful with the expanded lower decks. Did you hear they're laying two sister keels when they finish building the shipyards near the colony?”
“I heard, Special Projects and the technology we brought back has lead to a lot of good things.” Oz regretted saying it as soon as it was uttered. One of the new technologies was supposed to cure her and everyone else with the same type of genetic problems. It worked for almost everyone.
Her condition was too far gone, however, but it did prolong her life several years. She didn't acknowledge the spectres his comment summoned. “Who knows what Jonas has found while he's been out there. I'm sure he has some stories to tell.”
He took her hand and gave her a solemn look. It was time to tell her exactly what she didn't want to hear. “The Sunspire has been reassigned. We're joining the fight in the Blue Belt.”
She just stared at him, any levity in her expression dissipated as he looked on. “Is someone else going?”
“He's the most wanted man in five sectors now. Regent Galactic has made it clear to us that if Freeground helps him we'll be inviting an embargo.”
“That's why they sent my mother off. I knew it,” Ayan said quietly. She looked down and sighed, looking so weary.
He took her into his arms gently. It was all he could do. “You know I'd scrap my orders and go after him. They'd have my command in a second.”
“Politics. That's all it is, they're leaving him out there alone after doing the right thing for politics,” she said quietly through tears as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“It's Jonas, look at what he's survived so far. He'll find his way,” Oz reassured. Feeling her cry in his arms was enough to break his heart, he knew she didn't have much time left, and more than anything he wanted to deliver Jonas Valent, the love of her life back to her. “He'll find his way,” he repeated quietly, though it was more a prayer that time.
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