ROMA

by R. A. Ender

  Though they had kept in touch for the past few years, after he left to attend the academy, he had not had a moment to go home and see her. Why she was in a Roma uniform was completely unknown.

  As he approached her from behind, he was fumbling in his mind as to what to say. He was debating between a simple hello or hey when she turned and saw him. She didn’t have any hesitation.

  With a few steps, she wrapped her arms around him, squeezed incredibly hard and said nothing. It took Richard only a moment to return the hug, and barely manage to say a simple, “Hi.”

  Pulling back from the hug, she looked at him with a tremendous smile on her face. “Hi, you.” She said with an even bigger smile. “Surprised to see me?”

  Nodding furiously, Richard said, “Absolutely! But gods, it is great to see you.”

  For a moment, they just stood there smiling and looking at each other. Richard was the first to recover. “Oh, I’m sorry, come on inside. I’ll show you my room.” Richard was about to take a step up to the building, but Heather stopped him.

  “I’ve already seen your room and met your roommate. That’s why I’m standing outside. He said you always walk a different way home so I couldn’t meet you anywhere but here. He invited me to stay but I didn’t want to. Is there somewhere nicer we can go?”

  In one sentence, Heather had made all his exploring worth it. “Yes, there is, come on!” He said and grabbed her hand to lead her in another direction. “I found the greatest maze garden out behind one of the campus buildings. It’s only a couple of minutes but no one visits for some reason. I guess military service doesn’t attract the gardening type.”

  Heather offered no resistance. She squeezed his hand tight and walked with him briskly.

  As they walked, he asked the only two questions on his mind. “Heather, what is with the uniform?”

  She sort of offered an embarrassed smile, before saying. “I’ve signed up for the Roma Legionnaires. I actually start my training tomorrow morning in the Capital. I have a flight out this afternoon, unfortunately.” And with that news, she bowed her head a bit, obviously a little sad they wouldn’t have more time together.

  “And before you ask why,” she continued. “Mom is doing so well she returned to work a month ago. After that, she more or less told me I had to go and make something of myself.e. I had volunteered for the legion at home and I loved it. Really, after that, it was just a wait to be accepted before I transferred. It’s a long six-year training and service regime, with no vacations for two years and no off planet trips for the whole six years. But, at the end, I’ll be an officer in N.E.D.A. and that is a career my Mom will be proud of.”

  And that answers my second question, why are you here? Richard thought to himself. It’s her last chance to visit for a while. Maybe we do have a future together after all. We are meant to be.

  And at that very moment, as though she read his mind, she squeezed his hand a little tighter.

  As they rounded one of the campus buildings, all the student traffic disappeared as well as the sun as they walked along a cold shaded side of the building. As they approached the rear of the structure, an old iron fence gate blocked their path. Richard reached out and opened it, and waved Heather inside.

  On the other side was a path walled in on both sides by a hedge almost ten pes high. Heather turned around to look back at Richard, who after reclosing the gate, smiled and walked back up to her. The path offered enough room for them to walk side by side.

  “Where does the path go?” Heather asked.

  “It is a long and complicated maze. I dug around in the library archives and found the original plan. It was a donation from the Bxtozil. Apparently, this hedge has its origin on their home world. It will never grow bigger than it currently is, never needs to be cared for, and is shaped in a design to defy mapping while in it. At first, I didn’t believe it, but I’ve tried to map it, and can’t. I have no idea why.”

  “But,” Richard quickly continued, “I’ve never gotten lost. Anytime you want to leave, you’ll always find the path back to the gate. It really is a great find, and no one ever visits here. It is one of those original buildings from when we first settled on New Earth. Despite how special that is, I’ve never met anyone here ever. I guess history isn’t a big subject for a lot of military recruits either.” Richard said with a smile.

  Pulling on Heather’s arm, Richard led her further into the maze garden. Despite showing complete confusion on her face, Heather didn’t ask Richard where they were going. Her silence demonstrated her trust for him which made him very happy. As they walked up to a dead end, though, Heather finally broke her silence.

  “A dead end?” Heather said amusingly out loud.

  But Richard only smiled mischievously as he knew the secret. “Ah, it looks like it, but look over here,” he said to Heather pulling on her arm a little.

  Richard brought her a little further into the dead end, turned around to look back and saw the smallest little path between the bushes. Richard moved forward first, to move the hedge aside slightly to allow her to pass more easily.

  As she walked through she ducked a bit out of habit when passing through a tight space. When she lifted her head back up, she was bathed in warm sunshine as they walked together into a little garden area.

  Walking all the way in, they saw a small waterfall was trickling down a pile of rocks which had broken through the hedge. The trickling water fell into a very small little brook that snaked through the garden. The path crossed the brook where a large stone was placed over it as a bridge, though the brook was small enough to permit a person to step over. Despite this, Heather used the bridge.

  On the other side was a small stone floored area and a seating area with a wide and very plush triclinium. It all looked incredibly well taken care of, despite Richard’s assurance that he never saw anyone here.

  The space was beautiful. And as Heather approached the seating area the hedge behind and beside the triclinium began to flower. Beautiful large petal flowers of all colors slowly unfolded and displayed themselves full and beautiful in the warm sun.

  “This is beautiful!” Heather exclaimed as she sat down on the triclinium. “Who cares for it? The gardeners?”

  Richard had crossed the brook with a step, following Heather and sat beside her. “As far as I can tell, it cares for itself. I’ve never seen anyone and it always looks the same every time I arrive.”

  “And do the flowers always come out on cue? Because that is incredible!”

  “Every time I get near to them, they come out. When we walk away, they will disappear back into the hedge. It is incredible. I haven’t found anything that explains it in the archives.”

  “Wow, this is the perfect way to spend my last day with you.”

  And she let that statement hang out there without further comment. Richard was happy just to leave it there for now, and enjoy all that it implied.

  Looking up at the blue sky, Richard watched as a white cloud slowly made its way, the whole time with his arm around Heather. With a very subtle push, she moved her body to lie down on the triclinium with Richard lying behind her, his arms wrapped around her. He looked at her for a moment while her attention was in the sky.

  “I’ve never stopped loving you these past few years.” He said.

  She smiled and looked down from the sky at the little waterfall and pulled his arms tighter around her. She held that position for a moment before turning over so she was facing him and giving him a kiss. At first, it was just a soft kiss on the lips, but the embrace never stopped and it led to a very passionate kiss. She expressed her continued love for him as every second passed.

  “I’ve tried to recreate that garden somewhere out there,” Heather said. “But, those flowers are unique. I’ve never found them anywhere.”

  Heather’s words were no longer in his mind, remembering a wonderful past moment. He heard them out loud. Richard was suddenly snapped back to the present and reality.

 
Opening his eyes, Richard saw Heather, wrapped in a robe of the same design as his, leaning over the balcony at the garden behind the home of the Legatus. Without even asking him, she had known what he had been dreaming of while lying on the balcony.

  “Every time,” she continued, “I come out here, I remember that maze, that little garden, and those flowers. I don’t know why, but that memory is still as fresh today as it was that afternoon. Must be a little of that old species magic.”

  Pausing for a moment, she turned to lean against the railing and look back at Richard. Her robe was open slightly, not cinched shut as his was. As she turned, the robe fell apart slightly, revealing her cleavage and the side of one breast. It also revealed one leg but followed the curves around her inner thighs allowing her to look very sexy indeed.

  “It was a wonderful time with you. I love you very much.” She finished.

  “I love you too. And, thank you for coming to see me. It meant a lot. Knowing you loved me has made my life infinitely better.” Richard said.

  “Your love for me has made me who I am today. Our kiss in that garden has been the happiest memory of my life, up until only a few days ago.” She finished and turned to walk toward him.

  Her robe, still open slightly, blew back a little as she walked forward, but she pulled it closed as she came. As she turned to sit and then lie back in the chair beside him, she allowed the robe to fall apart slightly, revealing the side of her breast and her leg. Richard wrapped his arm around her, letting it rest just under her breasts around her belly, but on top of the robe.

  She raised her head up and Richard lowered his to have their lips meet. They held a soft kiss for a moment before Heather dropped her head back down. In the process, she moved his hand and arm from on top of her robe to underneath. His hand now cupped and rested on her breast, where it warmed them both as they lay in the sun.

  They lay there for quite some time, just enjoying the outdoors silently. They enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the warmth of each other, as they held each other. On occasion, Richard leaned down to kiss Heather on her ear, or her neck, or her cheek. They remained, embracing.

  It was Heather that broke the silence first.

  “As much as I love you holding me. As much as I love lying here with you. And, as much as I would like to take you back inside to my bed, we need to get ready. Our meeting with the committee advisor is scheduled for this afternoon. We need to get ready.” Heather said, moving from a very loving to a serious business tone in a few sentences.

  Richard nodded but didn’t move.

  Heather wriggled a bit and sat up, looking back at Richard. Her hair was lying on the one side of her face, and she was smiling a seductive smile.

  “You can join me in the shower and we can get ready together if you like?” Heather said, a wicked smile on her face, as she bounded up off the chair. In the process, she let the robe fall to the ground. Her smooth back and round bottom were all he saw as she quickly walked inside through the slit in the curtains.

  CHAPTER 31

  Robin looked toward the door for what seemed to be the hundredth time. She was impatiently waiting for Richard to arrive.

  When he does, she thought to herself, this jackass is going to have his ass served on a platter!

  The ‘he’ she was referring to was an advisor the Planetary Defense Oversight committee sent to the N.E.D.A. headquarters to meet with those involved in the battle to free New Earth. However, from his words and attitude, it seemed to Robin as though he felt quite put out that they had freed his world from an IAE onslaught. He kept referring to the battle as the ‘action’, quite an antiseptic word for such a tremendous victory.

  It has been over thirty minutes and I have yet to hear a thank you! She raged inside her head. As she was at the meeting only because Richard had insisted on second in commands being present, she had so far kept her mouth shut. Similarly, Admiral Longus’ executive officer had also maintained silence and had minded his facial expressions as well. That was something Robin knew for certain she had not managed.

  Therefore, it fell to Admiral Longus to argue with the advisor, who introduced himself as Fasces Lictor Jutus Balii, empowered by the committee to evaluate the battle and provide recommendations for future New Earth involvement in the war.

  Longus’ reaction to that introduction had endeared him to her. She could still hear it like it had just happened and it made her smile.

  “Involvement! Oh, yes! I forgot that the IAE told us on the way out of your inner space that they were done with this little war and were going home.”

  With that, he paused for a moment to watch the Fasces Lictor’s reaction before exploding in an angry rant and personal attack that would normally have leveled a person to their deepest foundation.

  Oddly, and quite annoyingly for Longus, who was used to that type of reaction, the Fasces Lictor calmly walked by, took his seat, and opened his case. He removed a pad, a handcomm, and a small bottle of water, and placed each one at a specific spot in front of himself. Then he raised his eyes, met Longus’ angry stare dead on, and continued with the most even, unfazed and calm tone ever heard from a man after being yelled at by a stranger.

  “Thank you for your opinion, Fleet Admiral Longus. Regardless of how you may personally feel, I’ve been charged by the magistrates of the Planetary Defense Oversight Committee, the ten respected Senators of the States of New Earth, with investigating any past actions by your fleets, and to develop opinions and options for the States of New Earth when they decide how to proceed in the future. I am not the judge or final decisionmaker. I have been granted the power of Fasces Lictor by the Magistrates, who retain the power. That said, they have selected me personally and have asked for a report that I alone will write based on our meeting today.”

  He now paused to survey the rest of the people in the room, breaking eye contact with Longus for the first time since taking his seat. The room was still not full, as so far only Robin, Longus and his executive officer had arrived. Heather and Richard were both scheduled to be here, but Robin had received a communication from Richard stating they would be delayed. He didn’t say why, so Robin had already decided to cover for them by stating that Heather was delayed with base related matters, and Richard was accompanying her.

  “Does anyone have any questions before I begin?” Fasces Lictor Balii asked. He received no response, except that Longus decided to sit in his chair, abandoning the aggressive standing position he had maintained next to the Fasces Lictor.

  “Excellent.” The Fasces Lictor continued. “Now that that is out of the way, please feel free to call me Jutus, as I prefer a more informal discussion. Rank and privilege have no place in an investigation. I am interested in hearing all the information you have, and I don’t want anything held back simply because you may be of a lower rank.” And with that statement, Jutus shot a look directly at Longus’ executive officer, which Longus thankfully missed as he was playing with the front of his uniform and looking down.

  “So, Admiral Longus, we have already been introduced. Can I call you Hanno?” Jutus asked quite nicely, to which Longus replied with a short wave of the hand, which Jutus took as a yes.

  “Superb, thank you, sir. Can you introduce your colleagues?”

  Hanno Longus gave a hard stare at Jutus, obviously quite unhappy, but opened his mouth to speak anyway. “This is my Executive Officer who is here only because Fleet Admiral Hilbornus insisted on it. I will speak for my ship and my fleet.”

  Turning and giving a dismissive wave, Longus said, “That is Admiral Hilbornus’ Executive Officer.” His poor introduction of Robin, which had not irked her as she had grown very accustomed to Hanno’s attitude in the journey from the Royalist League worlds, prompted Robin to speak for herself.

  ”Thank you, Admiral. Yes, I am Captain Robin Shelbus, Commanding Officer of Fleet Admiral Richard Hilbornus’ Flagship, the Confederated Defense Force Battle Cruiser Caesar Augustus, Kordont Emperor Class. I am pleased to meet
you, Jutus.”

  Jutus nodded his head and gave a slight smile to convey some appreciation for the friendliness she had conveyed and he had not received to date. He then paused for a moment while looking at her, and tipped his head slightly to one side.

  “You said Shelbus, yes? Any relation to Commanding Admiral Bradley Shelbus?” Jutus asked with a slight hesitation.

  Robin, already nodding yes before he finished his question, answered. “Yes, he is my father.”

  Jutus’ eyes grew a little large for a moment before he regained complete emotional control. “Well, it is an honor to meet you. Your Father is a great man. It seems you are destined to follow in his footsteps. Do you know where the Commanding Admirals Council is? Our last credible report suggested that they had escaped the IAE assault on New Rome. Did your journey to Watabaeg reveal any more information?”

  Robin was now a little wary of Jutus. His questions weren’t strictly relevant to his task at hand and truly she did not know him very well. It is certainly possible the IAE invasion was completely done independently. But, it is also possible they had help from inside the Confederacy. Probably best to keep as much information private as was possible. Let Richard give away what he wants to, she thought to herself before she answered.

  That said, she did not have any information about her Father or the CAC. Though she had never discussed it with Richard, she had assumed that they had been a victim of the recall disaster. It was a safe bet that they had left New Rome for the safety of their Agamemnon Dreadnaught, the mainstay inner system defense vessel that all Confederate members maintained at least one of in the system. In the case of the CAC, it was their own mobile command center. She had figured that it had massed with the inbound Old Colony Fleet ships that battled with the much more powerful IAE fleet at New Rome and been destroyed.