by Saxon Andrew
Rocky sighed and after a moment, returned his father’s hug. Becky came running up with her children and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. The twins each grabbed a leg and joined in the family hug. Rocky shook his head and smiled. “Why are you here?”
Judy nodded toward Jill, “She invited us.”
Rocky looked at Jill. “Becky told me I was a part of the family. How could I not invite the entire family?”
“This must be the ones that brainwashed our children!”
Rocky looked over his shoulder and saw a man and a woman staring at them. “Father! This is not the time or place!”
Rocky saw Jill step in front of the couple and heard them say, “We raised you to believe in the sanctity of life. Now you and your brother are a part of a military that kills millions of intelligent beings.”
“I said this is not the time or place!”
Joe’s eyes narrowed and he took a step toward the couple but Rocky put his hand on Joe’s chest and smiled, “I’ve got this one.” He turned and walked over to Jill’s parents. Jill saw him and blew out a breath, “Mother, Father, this is Admiral Stone.”
The man looked at Rocky and sneered, “You’re the one that is responsible for this.”
“Mr. Axel, if I went to your wife and put my hands around her neck and tried to kill her right now, what would you do?”
The man’s eyes narrowed, “I’d stop you.”
“How?”
“I’d take a chair and slam it into your head.”
“Why?”
“Are you that stupid?”
“But you believe in the sanctity of intelligent life. You’d be trying to kill me.”
“You’d be trying to kill my wife!!”
“Does that make it right to take my life?”
“You bet your ass it does.”
“So you’re saying that if an intelligent being is trying to kill you, or your wife, or your children, it would be appropriate to kill the attacker?”
“Well…”
“What if I told you I was going to find you and your family and kill every one of you? Would you wait for me to show up at your front door?”
“No, I’d contact the authorities and have their remove you as a threat.”
“Mr. Axel, the Death Feeders are currently looking for our civilization so they can kill every one of us. They will consume our brains and use our children as livestock to feed them. If they find us, we will die. Their forces vastly outnumber us and they are currently looking for us with more than ten billion warships. They’re intelligent but they will kill all of us given the chance. Would you like to contact the authorities to protect your family from them?”
“What are you saying?”
“I am the authorities you would contact to defend you. I am currently going out and doing everything in my power to prevent them from moving toward our galaxy. I hope to give you and your wife many years to criticize those of us that are putting our lives on the line to provide you the opportunity. We lost Earth to an alien species once. According to you, we should have just sat back and let them bombard us into ashes and do nothing to harm them.”
“Murder is wrong.”
“Not if it’s done in self-defense.”
Jill grabbed her father and Mother’s hands and pulled them away. Her father kept looking over his shoulder at Rocky as she moved them across the room. “I’m sorry about that.” Rocky turned and saw Jack and Olivia. “Father is somewhat hard headed. Rocky, thank you for being my best man.”
Rocky smiled and gave Olivia a hug, “I can see that the two of you love each other very much. I do wish both of you long life, happiness, and many children.”
Olivia returned his hug, “Thank you.” Rocky nodded.
“Dad, Mom, Becky, this is the new Mr. and Mrs. Jack Axel.”
Joe extended his hand, “Are you descendants of Lukas Axel?”
Jack shook it, “We are.”
“Well, that’s incredible. Tell me what you know about him.”
Rocky smiled and looked at Jack, “My father and mother met while flying light ships in the Coma Cluster. They’re retired now.”
“But once a warrior, always a warrior.” Jack smiled and started talking with Rocky’s parents. Rocky nodded and started moving across the floor. It took a few minutes but he finally saw Jill and her parents. He walked over and they stopped talking and looked up at him, “Mr. Axel, I apologize for any possible embarrassment I might have caused you.”
Luke looked at Jill and then nodded, “I deserved it. You made your point and I shouldn’t have accused you of brainwashing my daughter.”
Rocky tilted his head, “You have done an excellent job raising your daughter. She is not one that could be brainwashed and she sees things that most people miss. Her heart is strong and her courage is beyond anyone I’ve ever known. You should be very proud of her and your son. Again, I do apologize.” Rocky turned and walked away.
Jill’s mother turned to her, “Are you over Graham?”
Jill was still shaking her head. “Mother, how does he compare to Admiral Stone?”
Luke snorted, “He doesn’t.”
Jill smiled, “I never think about him. Graham is a distant memory.”
Avery smiled, “I can see why.” Avery nodded toward Rocky, “Does he know?”
“Not yet.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed, “Does who know what?”
Avery looked across the room and saw all the women staring at Rocky as he passed. “I’ll tell you later, Dear.” She looked at Jill, “You should join him and we’ll see you later.” Jill nodded and hugged them before she moved into the crowd. She caught up with Rocky as two single women cornered him. She took his arm and he smiled at her. Jill smiled and said, “I’m sorry ladies but the Admiral and I have some guests to greet.”
Rocky walked away with her and shook his head, “Thanks for saving me. I’ve never been this popular with women before.”
“How often have you attended a civilian function in the past?”
Rocky stopped walking and his eyes narrowed, “I honestly don’t remember ever attending one. I was going to wear this suit to one but my date backed out.”
“Why?”
“She didn’t tell me. I suppose she got a case of cold feet.”
“Or?”
“She may have had a good reason but I would think she would have told me.”
“Did she try to contact you afterwards?”
Rocky shrugged as he started walking again, “I guess but I didn’t want to speak with her.”
“You do that a lot.”
“Do what?”
“When someone disappoints you, you turn your back on them and cease communicating. You did it with Olivia.”
“But…” Rocky sighed, “Yeah, I guess I did.”
They arrived at Rocky’s parents and they began talking in earnest. Jill listened in and saw that Rocky came from a good family. Robert Jr. asked her to dance and she laughed, “By all means, let’s go.”
Rocky listened to Becky’s account of how her children were the most popular in their school after they shared the video of their trip around Eden. He glanced at Jill and saw Robert standing on her feet as they moved around the dance floor. He was laughing and Jill was laughing with him. Felicity looked at him, “Uncle Robert, will you dance with me?”
Rocky smiled and picked her up and twirled her around as he took her out on the dance floor beside Jill and Robert. They started dancing and when the music picked up speed, the two couples began showing their stuff. The children were great and Rocky swore afterwards that both of them put him to shame. Becky smiled, “I’ve had them taking dance classes.”
Rocky looked up and rolled his eyes, “I’ve been shamed by professionals!”
Robert and Felicity laughed and Felicity looked at Rocky, “You are much better than any adults I’ve ever seen.”
Rocky picked her up and gave her a hug, “Thank you for saving my damaged ego.”
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“No, I’m serious. You’re good.”
Jill laughed, “She’s right. You surprised all of us. Where did you learn those moves?”
“I’d listen to music and dance around the ship during the long scouting missions in the Coma Cluster.”
Judy smiled, “It’s my turn now.”
Rocky led his mother out on the dance floor and Jill looked at Joe, “Did you tell Rocky to leave and never come back?”
Joe shook his head and blew out a breath, “I did. That was the former Wing Commander coming out of me. He told me he disobeyed orders and refused to justify his actions. It turned into a shouting match and my anger got the best of me.”
“Sounds like you have a temper?”
“I do. Rocky never listened to me in the past but he stormed out and didn’t contact us again.”
“You could have contacted him.”
“I did but every time we ended up fighting. He finally stopped taking my calls.”
“How do you feel now?”
Joe shrugged, “If he would have just told me why he did it, I would have understood. Now, I see that he was true to his moral upbringing. I made a mistake.”
“Now would be a good time to tell him.”
Joe stared at her, “Why are you so concerned about him?”
Jill looked at Rocky on the dance floor and smiled, “He is a remarkable person, Joe. You really should be proud of him.”
“I am.”
“Then tell him.”
Joe stared at her and nodded, “It won’t be done on the dance floor.”
Jill laughed, “Why not?”
“I’m not as good a dancer as he is.”
Jill’s smile widened and she laughed out loud.
• • •
At the end of the evening, Jill put her hand on Rocky’s arm, “I’m going to leave with my parents, if that’s ok?”
Rocky nodded, “Call me if you need support.”
“I’ll be fine. Father’s a little hardheaded but I think you made a point with him. I don’t know when I’ll see them again so I want to say good-bye.”
“I understand; I’ll see you on board tomorrow.”
Jill went to her toes and kissed him on the cheek, “Thank you for being my date and I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned and walked away as Rocky watched her leave.
“You need to hold on to her.”
Rocky looked at Becky, “She is special.”
“Even the children really like her. That speaks volumes about her.”
“Rocky, may I speak with you a moment.”
Rocky looked away from Jill, “Sure, Dad.” Judy watched them talk and kept her eyes on Rocky’s expression. After a few moments, Rocky hugged his father and Judy smiled, “At last! The family was whole again.”
Chapter Eleven
Rocky sat in his command chair and looked at the light ship’s readouts. He pulled up the power delivery display and looked up, “Amber, do you see anything wrong?”
“No, the new reactor appears able to handle the disruptors.”
“Does it interfere with the other reactors?”
“No, and the disruptor barrels are slightly recessed when they open to fire.”
“I meant to ask you about that. Are they able to track a fast moving target?”
“The hull opens to form a depression around them. They can move across a wide arc without moving above the surface of the ship’s hull.”
“We need to take them out and trial them before we enter Feeder Territory.”
“We’ve lost another foot off the kitchen with the new reactor and compressed air container.”
“Is there enough room for two people to eat?”
“There is.”
“You’ve been quiet about the changes I ordered done to the ship.”
“I think the idea behind the changes was good but I’m worried about the disruptors having the necessary power to puncture the Feeder’s new warship’s force field.”
“Willow, what do you think?”
“Let me ask Amber a question before I answer.”
“What is it, Willow?”
Rocky left his cockpit for the kitchen as he listened to Willow say, “Do you have the specifications of these disruptors from when they were originally used?”
After a pause, Amber said, “I do. They’re in the databanks.”
“What was the maximum power they could handle?”
“One of the old reactors powered four of them. What are you getting at?”
“How does the new reactor compare to the old one?”
“I should have seen this.”
Rocky looked up, “Seen what?”
“The new reactor is more than fifty times more powerful than the one previously used with these disruptors. Even though there are three times as many disruptors, they are still receiving more than four times the power of the old disruptors. Rocky, I think we’re ok.”
“Commodore Nelson felt like we wouldn’t lose much, if any, punch from the beams.”
“What are you talking about?”
Rocky turned and saw Jill, “I had Commodore Nelson change the disruptors.”
“I didn’t know a newer model had been developed.”
Rocky lifted his shoulders, “There hasn’t. The disruptors I had installed are rather old technology.” Jill stared at Rocky and he quickly said, “Why have we avoided using our disruptors?”
“Because the Feeders can see where the beams are being fired. We give away our location if we use them.”
“But there will come an occasion where we’ll have to use them and the disruptors I had installed won’t be visible to the Feeder’s scanners.”
Jill took a chair out from under the table and sat down, “How is that possible?”
“I had the disruptors converted to the old Dark Matter Projectors.”
“I thought the new disruptors were far beyond the old disruptors?”
“They are, but they’re too dangerous to use. Commodore Nelson’s staff ran a simulation based on the data we collected from our battles with the Feeder’s new warship and they are of the opinion that the dark matter disruptor should also penetrate their force fields. The dark matter beam is invisible and can be used in the void and normal space.”
“I never like to hear the word should.”
“We’ll have to trial them to find out for sure.”
Jill shook her head, “Rocky, I’m responsible for the weapons. Why didn’t you discuss this with me?”
“Jill, you were busy planning a wedding. Just take a moment and look at the specifications of the new disruptors and tell me you wouldn’t have made the change as well.”
Jill stood up and walked out of the kitchen to her cockpit and put on her transfer band. “Amber, send the data to me.”
Rocky sat in the kitchen and heard Willow say, “She doesn’t sound happy.”
“This was something that falls into my sphere of control. I believe it had to be done.”
“I assume you’re referring to being in command.”
“I am.”
“Just checking.”
Rocky made a sandwich and twenty minutes later, Jill joined him. “What happens when the dark matter containment vessel starts to run low?”
“The ship has dark matter scoops that are deployed as the ship travels through normal space and the void. They’ll collect dark matter and keep the vessel at full charge.”
Jill leaned back in her chair, “You’ve thought this through?”
“I have.”
Jill shook her head, “Rocky, you’re right, I would have done this, too. But it bothers me that you didn’t at least discuss it with me.” Rocky blew out a breath and shook his head. “What?”
“Jill, if you were the co-pilot of another commanding officer, would they have discussed changes to the ship with you or would they have done what they thought necessary to carry out their mission?”
“What are you saying?”
“Th
is is where I always lose.” Rocky looked at her and lowered his eyebrows, “When you left to choose a dress, I asked Commodore Nelson about the dark matter disruptors. He told me they should be able to operate with the new reactors but that if I wanted it done, I had to make the decision immediately. Their power leads had to be worked around the new missile delivery system. I decided to do it.”
“Well, then you didn’t have time to clue me in.”
“Jill, I know things have changed between us but I’m still the commander of this mission and there might be other instances where I’ll make decisions without discussing them with you. I just hope you understand that anything I do is to try and make sure you come to no harm.”
“Ok.”
Rocky stared at her and she stood up to make a sandwich. “Ok, that’s all you have to say?”
Jill turned around, “The real issue is whether or not I trust you. If I didn’t, I’d want to know everything that’s happening. I trust you, so you’re right, do what you think is necessary. I won’t second guess you.”
“How have things changed between you?”
Jill smiled, “That’s not your concern, Willow.”
“Rocky?”
“We met each other’s families at the wedding. We learned a lot about each other from that experience.”
“Is that all?”
“Should there be more?”
“I was asking him Jill.”
Rocky smiled, “Should there be more?”
“Both of you are being coy.”
“Kinda like when you and Amber discuss things on your private channel.”
“How do you know about our channel, Jill?”
“I found it in the ship’s software. We’ll respect your privacy; you should do the same.”
“Ouch!”
“Willow, are you ready to skip out?”
“No but I’ll complete the process in five minutes.”
“That would be good.”
Rocky stood up and smiled at Jill, “Thanks for understanding.”
“Yes Sir.” Rocky stared at her and Jill paused before taking a bite of her sandwich, “You’re right, Sir. If you try to second-guess your decisions to wonder what I’d think about it, we’re dead. You’re doing what’s right.”
