ROMA

by R. A. Ender

  They had previously programmed the vehicle to take them home, but since neither had belted themselves into the seat, the door remained open and the vehicle stationary. Richard leaned over to kiss Heather again. Despite being taller than her while sitting, he approached her lips with his head lower than hers and moved up.

  As their lips met again, the kiss again lingered. This time they did not break apart as soon, both feeling very comfortable. Richard moved his arms from embracing Heather, to having one draped around her shoulder and moved the other arm and hand down onto her chest to caress her breasts.

  She continued to kiss him and feel him feeling her through her clothes. She had only worn the thinnest of tops so she felt every time he ran over her nipple and cupped under her breast. It felt very good and she had no intention of having him stop.

  But the exterior noise of people started to come into the vehicle through the open door as more people began to leave the Senate building. Heather pulled away from the kiss to speak.

  “Let’s get going home, ok?” She said quietly to Richard.

  He smiled and spoke aloud to the vehicle. “Transport 257, close the door and proceed to next destination, please.”

  The vehicle made some soft bell tones of acceptance, and then a soft voice spoke as the exterior door began to close. “All passengers are currently not using proper safety harnesses. Please connect safety harnesses to allow this vehicle to depart.”

  Had they belted themselves immediately upon entry, the door would have automatically closed and the vehicle would have departed. Since they had not, it took a command.

  Richard was not about to spend the next hour or so belted beside his love that he would be leaving behind tomorrow. “Transport 257, implement safety override and proceed to destination.”

  Again, soft bells toned, but the voice remained silent, the vehicle simply began to travel. With all vehicles driven automatically and high-speed transit ways connecting all major centers, there really was no need for safety harnesses, unless someone chose to drive manually which was rare. But all vehicles demanded them to be worn in order to operate. Fortunately, the safety features were permitted to be overridden, therefore allowing Richard to resume kissing Heather and feeling her body sensually.

  Heather returned the touching by sliding her hand down between Richard’s legs and feeling him as sensually as he was feeling her. They continued to caress and love each other physically, absorbed in each other’s bodies while the vehicle took them home for their last evening together.

  As Heather thought that thought, she realized she had forgotten to ask Richard where he was going to take his ship. Pulling away from his lips and holding her hand still, she looked at Richard and asked, “By the way, where are you taking your ship tomorrow?”

  Richard reacted to the question by pulling his head back and looking at her for a moment. She could see that he was thinking about how to answer her question.

  Now she sat back in her seat and pulled entirely away from him. “Ok, now that shouldn’t take any thinking. Where are you going?!” She asked again, more sternly this time.

  Richard was still too secretive for her. He always wanted to organize all his thoughts, plan everything out and have all the details in place before he let her know anything. Whenever she discovered something early, it was always an intense and combative process to pull the details from him. Usually, it made her very frustrated and often left her very much not in the mood to cuddle.

  With that in mind, she leaned in to kiss him again. Pulling away after a moment to see his face still showing confusion at the sudden change, she put a finger on his lips to keep him from speaking.

  “I’m not going to let anything ruin my mood. I love you deeply and I want to make love to you. You can tell me when you are ready.” And with that, she brought her hand back down between his legs and began to rub him sensually. She hovered over his lips briefly, before kissing him again, but only pecking kisses as she began to move across to his ear and neck with light kisses.

  As they continued to love each other while the vehicle traveled along silently and gently, Heather could not help her mind constantly going back to his unanswered question about his destination. To avoid her mind becoming obsessed, she forced herself to think of something else. The first other thought she had was her wedding day almost ten years ago.

  After the war ended, Richard brought his ship back to New Earth almost immediately. With the IAE fleet having surrendered, they disabled any remaining part of their TeleGod Network disruption and the system restored itself immediately. As a result, travel by Olympus Jump Gate became available easily and safely, no special and risky workarounds. Richard was the first ship through the gate from Tionaga to New Earth.

  Arriving barely a week later, his ship was docked and he was in front of her at LaGuardius Seccus asking her to marry him. It felt like a whirlwind as the end of the war had brought her endless days during which she worked constantly and slept only when she could. Then, suddenly, her love was in front of her with a huge smile, flowers, and a beautifully detailed iron ring.

  She had accepted immediately and Richard had taken her away from the N.E.D.A. base. She had protested but he would not hear of it. He said that if Robin could handle his ship, someone could handle her base.

  They flew in his personal two-seat Squalus fighter which he had kept from the test program launched many years before. With Richard at the controls, she got to watch New Earth continents fly by, crossing the ocean to the small island chain that made up the state of Garouve.

  Widely considered the most gorgeous part of the planet, this tropical island became their home for the next few weeks. Richard had arranged everything. The Dii Consentes Inn was the acknowledged best place to stay on the planet. It was the common home for all the most famous people to stay on vacation. Richard hadn’t opted for the most expensive suite, but they had a walk out gazebo with a small private pool and a hidden entrance down to the beach. The gazebo became their own private beach though and they spent many hours lying there in each other’s arms.

  Richard arranged for the wedding to take place on the beach. It was a private ceremony, which is what they both wanted. Her dress was a simple item they purchased together. It was a full-length white dress, shoulderless, with a unique embroidered pattern all over it that was hand crafted.

  They stood hand in hand before a local tribune and repeated the marriage rites. Sealing their commitment with a kiss as the sunset sanctified the marriage. The inn provided them with a dinner on the beach, serving many courses and ending with the most flavorful and sweet tasting hot calda she had ever had in her life.

  They had spent that evening making love and connecting more deeply than they had ever connected before. They had kissed each other everywhere, touched each other sensually and lovingly, and they had hugged and held each other until they were both too tired to continue.

  The next morning, waking to a fresh tropical breeze and a clear sunny day they made love again. Lying together for what seemed like forever, they had talked about their life together. They had remembered when they first met at that schoolyard fight. They had remembered the hard times growing up, how they had been there for each other. They remembered their conflicts and having to leave each other to pursue their passions, and how those passions had brought them back together. And now, their love had been solemnized and they had chosen to bind themselves together forever.

  It was the happiest time of Heather’s life. Recalling the events made a tear run down her cheek.

  CHAPTER 46

  The clear sunlight shone directly into Richard’s eyes. He quickly lifted a hand to shield himself from the bright light. Stepping into the large conference room, he moved to one side to step out of the stream of light.

  Once in the shade, he could observe that the ship was facing toward the sun as it emerged from around New Earth and cast its light onto the planet surface below and all orbiting bases and ships, including his Caesar Augustus.
Despite the blinding reception, it was always nice to be in near system space because of the sun. It was not unusual for deep space patrols to not be close to stars for months at a time.

  Anytime ships were close enough to get a good dose of sunlight, they often took full advantage. Every window was opened. Walking around the ship, every door that opened would send a wash of sunlight into the corridors. The command decks would always be filled with sunlight even if it was only from the displays reproducing the images. And in the case of the Caesar Augustus, the large observation deck with the clear domed ceiling offered a spectacular recreation area when the sun was shining bright, as it always did in space.

  Today he was meeting with his senior staff in one of their more frequently used conference rooms. It was not large, but it offered large windows for looking outside the ship and was conveniently located a short distance from the command deck. Already everyone was in the room, Richard was last.

  “I’m not late, am I?” Richard asked, knowing that he was not.

  Mato was the first to answer. “No, you’re early but we’ve had all day to get ready. I have nothing left to do until we push out of orbit.”

  Robin answered next, jumping in after Mato so that no one else got a chance to interject. “We are still waiting to hear where we are going, though, so please sit and tell us.” She indicated toward the head chair. “I really need to know because the mystery kept me awake half the night.”

  Richard smiled as he walked toward the head chair and took his seat. “Well, it will be a mystery no longer because I got final confirmation this morning that we can take the little cruise I had in mind.”

  “But first, it is nice to see you again Etu, Sara, and Jen. Thank you for coming along again and teaching our replacements how to run a Defense Force Warship.”

  Richard continued, looking toward Jen this time. “And, I’ve heard you have some news to share if you don’t mind?”

  Jen began nodding, “No, I don’t mind at all though I’m sure you all know. This will be my last cruise as a member of the crew. New Rome Defense Force Academy has asked if I’ll come and teach, and I’ve accepted. The position opens in six months when Rear Admiral Hunrius retires, so I am happy to get a six month send off!” Jen said with a big smile.

  “And…?” Robin said with a huge smile.

  Jen now turned red and looked down for a moment.

  “If you don’t tell them everything, I will! I’m not shy about spreading the news of others, as you know.” Robin said pushing Jen to reveal something more personal judging from her reaction.

  “Well, I guess there are two big things. The first is that I’ve been offered more than a teaching position. Defense Force also wants me to revamp their entire navigation curriculum. So….while I’m off for two years caring for my new baby I’ll be developing and writing what all of your future officer trainees will learn about navigating a ship. Julia and I just learned about the new baby last week, but we needed to wait until Etu said it was stable. It’s due in a couple of weeks after our training cruise ends, so by the end, I might be really big and not all that useful I’m afraid.”

  “I’ll keep you on your feet and productive, don’t you worry!” Etu said with a smile.

  “Well, since I didn’t know this news, Congratulations Jen!” Richard said enthusiastically.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “You will be a big loss and a tough person to replace but I think it is the perfect decision for someone starting a new family. I know you and Julia will be very happy. Congratulations!” Richard added.

  “And now, where in Hades are you taking us!” Robin said strongly, bringing the topic back to where she had started it.

  “You are growing more impatient in your old age, my dear,” Richard said with a smile as he keyed a few buttons on his display controls. A map appeared on the display screen in the room, and the windows began to shade out much of the sunlight, leaving the room dim.

  Without getting up from his chair, Richard began to explain his plans. “Since the end of the war, Watabaeg has been occupying one hundred and twelve formerly IAE controlled systems. This string of systems runs the entire length and width of the Watabaeg border with the IAE.”

  “Among these systems, there are no habitable worlds, just a large number of resource systems and a handful of strategic systems. As the war was concluding, Watabaeg had most of its forces staged and ready to invade and expel all IAE presence from these areas. It is clear that this plan had been developed well in advance and with specific aims. There was nothing stopping them from expanding further, but they maintained discipline and did not.”

  “Watabaeg was also ready to build settlements, bases, and colonies in every system to have a physical presence and claim.”

  The map now changed to show the location of all the individual settlements, bases and colonies. Richard continued speaking after pausing long enough in case someone wanted to ask a question.

  “The peace treaty we concluded with the IAE yesterday came ten years after the war because of Watabaeg’s stubborn refusal to abandon these systems and their belief, correct as it turned out, that the majority of the Senate would not move to expel them from the Confederacy.”

  And now Mato made a comment, “Not that they probably would have minded being kicked out!” And with a huff, he fell silent again.

  Without responding to the comment, which Richard personally thought missed the mark, he continued.

  “After ten years of negotiations, it was finally decided that the IAE would trade those systems in exchange for not facing any indemnity and just a promise to help rebuild Tionaga.”

  “And though that is the key message being communicated in the annals today, in truth everyone has missed the most important detail. The IAE was not comfortable having Watabaeg on their border as they view them as a threat. They were not terribly concerned about giving away those systems, according to what I have been told by Bazan. What they wanted was a neutral zone between them and Watabaeg. And the IAE held out until it was granted.”

  The display now flipped to the peace treaty which had just been ratified by the Senate this morning, and a section of it was displayed in bold.

  “Section twenty-four, paragraph one through ten states clearly that the systems are transferred to Watabaeg control as long as they remain a member of the Confederated Union of Worlds. Not that interesting.”

  “However,” and the display now cycled down to paragraph eleven. “If we read the last part of the section we see that it states, “All the disputed systems hereby transferred to the sovereign world of Watabaeg, a member of the Confederated Union of Worlds, will grant unlimited and permanent transit permission to the Defense Force of the Confederacy.”

  Clicking a button, the map reappeared with a flight plan drawn across it. “And that is why we will be taking our training cruise through the newly acquired territories. We can access them all without crossing Watabaeg space, no need to ask permission.”

  The display now zoomed in closer to the flight path and began a zoomed out flyby sequence. “We will launch from here to Kukatush, and leave from Kukatush to begin a silent sensor patrol of quite a few systems. I’ve plotted the route to avoid any strategic systems for the first two months to allow our new crew to become very familiar with all ship systems, processes, and experience multiple system types. When you review the detailed report, you’ll see what I mean.”

  “If we are happy after two months, I have us plotted to engage directly with probably the most sensitive and high-profile strategic world where there is no question we will be confronted by the Watabaeg Militia. After that, it is a very random and optional plan that we can craft in collaboration with our trainees to train in areas where we feel development is needed.”

  “After six months, we will proceed out of Watabaeg space toward Severus where we will travel back to New Rome via jump gate. Are there any questions?”

  Robin’s hand went up. Richard pointed at her and said, �
�Robin, take the lead.”

  “Have you cleared this plan with anyone?”

  “No. And I don’t plan to. Watabaeg is treaty bound to allow us access. I intend to make it clear immediately that Defense Force plans to accept that permission and use it. I don’t want to create a precedent of having to ask permission, nor do I want to avoid the systems and provide de facto independence to Watabaeg. The price of this expansion is that they have sacrificed some of their long guarded sovereignty and independence from the Defense Force.”

  As Richard finished, Sara spoke up. “And this will help us create a precedent others can follow and hopefully avoid us being caught unaware of their military potential in the future.”

  “Another potential benefit, yes,” Richard said nodding in agreement.

  “And this has nothing to do with continuing a feud with Abad and the Watabaeg Militia and sticking your finger in their eye?” Robin asked in the weightiest way she could.

  “I won’t deny that confronting the Watabaeg Militia and being able to slap them back into their place will give me emotional satisfaction. But, I really feel like this cruise will offer a full range of training.”

  Pulling up a list on his personal display, Richard began to read the training opportunities out. “The list of unique training opportunities I’ve created include Olympus Jump Gate, long hyperspace transit, silent system patrol, active scan system patrol, pre-planetary systems, multiple nebula systems, hostile military encounters, run and hide maneuvering, diplomatic contacts, and maneuvering, and really, I can go on. Usually, we would have a couple of these elements but the opportunity to get so many in six months is really unique.”