by Neal Jones
"Dinner is at seven. At Papa Joe's," she said as she stood.
Lewis embraced his sister, and Jennifer squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the lump in her throat not to swell any bigger. When she pulled away, she hurried into the house and didn't look back.
( 5 )
Alanys Gabriel was on her knees in her flower garden, spreading the mulch around her rosebushes, when footsteps on the gravel driveway caused her to turn. There had been many times when that sound had caused a burst of warmth and relief in her chest, and she would run to embrace her husband. Robert would be walking up to the house, his favorite black duffel bag slung over one shoulder, and Marc was always the first to come running out of the house, but now he was the one whose footsteps were giving Alanys joy and relief.
After embracing her son, Alanys turned to the young woman who was standing next to him. "Hello, dear."
"Mom, this is Karri Benson, my chief science officer."
"Nice to meet you." Karri held out her hand. "I've been told some very nice things about you."
"And yet," Alanys replied, "I have heard nothing about you."
Karri's cheeks reddened, as did Marc's, but Mrs. Gabriel only laughed. "It's all right," she said, squeezing Karri's arm. "We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other. Come inside. I have fresh rhubarb crunch on the table, and the coffee is almost ready."
As she led them into the house, Alanys missed the look which passed between her son and Karri. She wasn't yet aware of Marc's new orders. As she poured the coffee and got the plates from the cupboard, Marc and Karri sat at the table. The rhubarb was cooling in a pan in front of them.
"You have a lovely home, Mrs. Gabriel," Karri said.
"Oh, please, call me Alanys." She placed two spoonfuls of dessert onto a plate and handed it to Karri. She gave Marc four spoonfuls and Karri laughed.
"Nowhere else in the universe will you have rhubarb crunch that is this good," Marc said. "Go ahead. You'll be wanting more after that." He motioned to the tiny amount on her plate.
Alanys scooped some for herself and sipped her coffee. "Melissa will be here in a couple hours, although Ethan and the kids can't make it until tomorrow afternoon." This time she didn't miss the look which was exchanged between her son and his science officer, nor the disappointment in Marc's eyes. "What's the matter?"
Marc shifted in his chair and was about to say something when the back door opened and Jason stepped into the kitchen. He was wearing greasy coveralls and his face and hands were smudged with oil and dirt. When he saw his little brother he smiled and held out his arms.
"Marc!"
"Fuck you!" Marc replied, laughing as he stood and backed away.
"Oh, that's right," Jason teased, walking to the sink. "The officers never get their hands dirty."
"That's what the noncoms get paid for," Marc retorted.
"All right, boys, enough. And Jason, I've told you before not to wash your hands in that sink."
"I'll clean it when I'm done." He dried his hands on his grease rag and walked over to Karri. "I'm Jason."
She stood and shook his hand. "Karri Benson. I've heard a lot about you, too. Marc said you restore classic hovercars."
Jason nodded. "It's the career he wishes he had."
"Well, someone had to carry on the family tradition." This time there was an edge to Marc's tone and something flashed in Jason's eyes. He was no longer smiling, and Karri glanced at her captain, sensing something that went beyond typical sibling rivalry.
"I find it hard to see you in mechanics overalls," she said to Marc before turning to the family matriarch. "Alanys, I'd like to take a closer look at your flower garden. Were those DrayH'M lilacs that I saw?"
"Yes, they are. And I would be delighted to show them to you. I've also got a vegetable garden out back where I've succeeded in growing some Murdohn crine. Now, boys, please be civil to one another. I'd like to not have blood on the dining room table when I serve dinner at seven." Although she smiled, there was a stern undercurrent to her tone.
Her sons appeared not to acknowledge her warning, and after Alanys had given her a brief tour of the garden, Karri asked about them.
Mrs. Gabriel smiled as she settled herself on the porch swing and motioned for Karri to sit beside her. "I'm sure that Marc has told you about his father, his grandfather, and his great grandfather."
Karri nodded. "The famous Gabriel legacy. Captain Elijah Gabriel served in the first Chrisarii War, and his son, Austin, became a Fleet Admiral by the time he was forty-five, the youngest ever to attain that rank."
"Robert was proud of that legacy and he passed his passion and pride on to his sons. Jason, however, wanted none of it. He and Marc are as different as the sun and moon. Jason always resented that Robert was never home for more than a few weeks at a time, and when he was home he spent more time with Marc than with his oldest son. Robert was a good man, but I think he became a little blind to Jason, if only because Marc was eager to share his father's passion for the uniform and everything it stood for." Alanys smiled wistfully and patted Karri's hand in a grandmotherly fashion. "Marc is his father's son and Jason is mine. Unfortunately, the boys have never found a way to meet on middle ground. It was far worse when they were younger, but now that they're adults they've gotten along much better." She blinked and leaned forward in an effort to stand. "That's enough family history for now. I've got a roast that needs to get in the oven and vegetables that need peeling. I'll bet it's been a long while since you've had a home cooked meal."
Karri helped Mrs. Gabriel to her feet. "You're right, and I'd be happy to assist. Assuming the kitchen is still intact, of course."
It was, and there was no sign of Marc or Jason. The women set to work and were joined an hour later by Melissa. Karri wanted to tell them about Marc's orders, that tonight was the only night he would have with them, but she kept her silence. She suspected that Marc was waiting until dinner to spring the news, and that was probably for the best. Knowing now how Jason felt about the Navy and his brother's devotion to the uniform, he was bound to be more civil with his mother and sister present.
( 6 )
Mariah slipped out the kitchen door and skirted the edge of the garden. Several party guests were grouped in the courtyard, near the large gazebo, and she slipped past them in the shadows created by the portable beacons that had been set up at even intervals around the courtyard's edge. Once Mariah was on the other side of the hedge which bordered the entire garden, she crossed the street and walked to the end of the next block, to the sidewalk bench where she knew Beth would be sitting alone, smoking a joint of something. It would most likely be her preferred brand of Kingston Blue, a mix of the lith herb from Takas-four and the zho leaf extract from Bajin Prime. But once in awhile Beth had surprised Mariah by smoking more potent stuff, especially when she was going through a particularly stressful situation or period of adjustment.
"Hey, sis," Mariah said as she neared the bench.
Beth's head snapped around, and she slapped a hand to her mouth to stifle her scream of fright. "Mar!"
Mariah giggled as she plopped onto the bench beside Beth. "Works every time. I thought by now you'd expect it." Beth took a drag and offered the joint to her sister, but she declined. "I have to be up at oh-six-hundred tomorrow."
Beth nodded as she exhaled, then shook her head. "I still can't believe you accepted that assignment. I know your taste for adventure, but Exxar-One is pushing it, don't you think?"
Mariah shrugged. "I served on the front lines in the war. Exxar-One will be a luxury cruise compared to some of the stuff I've been through."
"I know, but still..." Beth inhaled deep and held it. The tip of the joint flared orange, a single tiny eye burning in the dark. She expelled the stream of blue smoke away from Mariah. "I don't think you realize what you're getting yourself into."
"So now you're a political and military expert?" Mariah hadn't meant for her tone to be so sharp, but before she could apologize, Beth cut in.
"Don't believe everything mom tells you," Mariah said dryly. She shrugged off her sister's embrace, stood, and walked to the street corner, listening to the crickets and the various murmurs of suburban nightlife.
Beth took one last drag and threw her joint on the ground where she mashed it with the toe of her shoe. She leaned back as she exhaled. "C'mon, sit back down. I'm not in a hurry to get back to dad's party, and you obviously aren't happy about something."
Mariah smiled sadly as she obeyed. Beth was right, as usual. "Have you met Todd yet?"
"Yes, and he's far too self-centered and obsessed with the sound of his own voice. He's perfect for mom, though, if she and dad ever decide to split. I think that's her problem as a matchmaker. She subconsciously finds men who are suited more for her than for either of us. But that's not what's eating at you, so stop trying to change the subject. Talk."
Mariah couldn't help but laugh, though it didn't last long. "You remember Marc Gabriel? He was a close friend of Paul and I, when we were stationed on the Tokyo several years ago."
Beth nodded. "I've still got the holo you sent me when you three had leave on Kelatia-two."
"Right before Paul died." Mariah flicked the stub of Beth's joint with her toe, kicking it into the dark. "I found out yesterday that Marc is Exxar-One's new commanding officer."
"Oh," was all Beth could manage. She had never learned the specifics of Paul's death. She only knew that he had been killed in one of the final battles of the war, and the few times she had gently pressed Mariah to talk about it, her sister had shut her out, changing the subject or ignoring the queries completely.
"Paul died during the skirmish in the Zadroth system. Bryson was critically injured early in the battle, and Marc took command of the Tokyo." Mariah was peering into the shadows, as if she was examining the darkness for something. Her honesty surprised Beth, and she kept silent, waiting for Mariah to continue. "When the fight was over, Marc ordered Paul to conduct repairs on the reactor core which had been damaged in the attack. But while he was making the repairs the Chrisarii attacked again, catching us off guard. We barely survived the battle, and we lost the entire engineering hull." Mariah paused. "I blamed Marc for Paul's death, even though there's no way he could have anticipated the second assault. One of the dreadnaughts which had been damaged in the first battle had slipped away to hide in the nearby asteroid field. It was able to make some repairs, and because our stardrive core was off line, we had only sublight. There's no way we could maneuver in time to avoid the volley from their forward cannons."
Mariah swallowed and dabbed at her eyes. She was surprised by the force of the memory, by the detail with which it came to her even after all these years. She remembered the alarm which blared on Lieutenant MacAfee's panel, signaling a bulkhead rupture. She remembered his words as clear as if the fight had happened yesterday.
Hull breach to engineering, decks seventeen through twenty-two! Reactor core has been breached! Containment fields are on line and holding!
But it was too late. Mariah had insisted on taking a shuttle out to see the damage for herself. The bridge crew, as well as the emergency personnel, had successfully completed a hull separation. The engineering hull was tilted onto its side, floating like a dead fish. A massive chunk was missing from the underside, as though a giant mouth had taken a bite and left the rest for scraps. Later, back on the bridge, Mariah watched the forward viewscreen and listened to Marc's order. Lieutenant Sauer fired the trio of torpedoes, and the engineering hull bloomed like an orange-and-crimson flower, expelling debris like pollen, and then wilting almost immediately, vanishing into the darkness.
Mariah sniffed, wiping her eyes and sitting back. Beth put another arm around her sister, and Mariah leaned into her. "I haven't spoken to Marc for ten years." She almost confessed the details of her fight with Marc, the one that occurred just after Paul's memorial service, but Mariah bit her tongue. She had kept that secret for all these years, had not even confessed it to Commander Westerman, the counselor who had been helping her deal with her grief in the aftermath of Paul's death. It was the one reason she had not spoken to Marc in all this time, although the burden of guilt had made her sit down and write a letter once. But she had immediately erased it. Now, all she could think about was that night on Kelatia-two, the same night which Ensign Morely had snapped the holo of Paul, Marc and Mariah, the same holo which Mariah had sent to her sister.
( 7 )
Marc carved the roast, putting two slices on his mother's plate first. Melissa handed over her plate next and then Karri. Jason was last, and he said nothing as he cut his pieces and began to eat. Alanys asked Melissa how the school year was going thus far. Melissa was a fourth grade teacher at Drymar Academy, an elite private school in New Seattle. Karri joined in the conversation, but Marc found he had no appetite. He sliced his meat and slowly chewed the piece as he moved his vegetables about his plate. Jason also kept quiet but had no problem devouring his dinner.
After awhile, Alanys decided there was something bothering Marc, something more than his differences with his brother. She swallowed her bite of carrots, sipped her water, and cleared her throat. "All right, gentlemen, you've been as silent as heathens in the presence of the Gods. Marc, you've obviously got something on your mind. Would you care to talk about it?"
Jason glanced at his brother as he put down his fork. Marc swallowed and sipped his coffee. Karri was sitting next to him, and underneath the table he felt her hand over his. She gave a gentle squeeze and he responded in kind.
"The good news is that I've received a promotion. As of tomorrow morning at oh-eight-hundred I'll be a commodore."
"Congratulations!" Alanys beamed at him.
"The bad news is that I've been assigned to Exxar-One as her commanding officer. I've been ordered to report for duty in five days, which means I have to leave tomorrow morning at oh-eight-hundred." He returned to his plate, slicing another bite of meat and chewing slowly.
"Will you pass the potatoes, mom?" Jason asked.
"Why so soon?" Melissa wondered.
Marc shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't read the entire packet yet. But I'm sure I'll back here in time for Christmas."
Jason walked into the kitchen to refill his coffee mug, and Alanys called for him to top hers off as well.
"Rank has its privileges," Karri observed.
"Mom, that roast was delicious," Melissa said, pushing back her plate. "I'm going to need an extra hour on the treadmill tomorrow."
"Well, I hope you saved room for dessert. I'm trying a new recipe for chocolate cheesecake."
Marc glanced at Jason, who was pointedly ignoring everything but his potatoes. When his plate was clean, he grabbed his coffee and excused himself. "I need some fresh air. Thanks for dinner, mom."
"You're not staying for dessert?"
"Save me a slice."
Karri and Melissa set about clearing the table, and Marc loaded the dishwasher. Alanys sliced up the cheesecake and everyone gathered around the table once more. But the women were the ones who carried the conversation, and Marc kept glancing at the screen door.
( 8 )
The Gabriel house had been designed in the tradition of a mid-twentieth century farmhouse, complete with a porch which wrapped the entire circumference. Jason was sitting in one of the wicker chairs on the back porch, his feet propped up on the railing, puffing on a cigar.
"God, I miss that smell," Marc said, taking the other chair.
"I hate it," Jason said, suppressing a cough. "I never understood why he smoked these things."
"He told me once that it calmed his nerves, especially before a battle."
Jason didn't reply for several minutes, and Marc turned his eyes to the distant pe
aks of the Rockies. A bank of clouds hid the moon, but it was easy to see the shapes of the mountains as they blotted out sections of the starry horizon.
"I'm as angry about this as you are," Marc said at last.
"You don't act like it."
"I don't have a choice. Orders are orders."
Jason stood and doused his cigar in the ashtray that was balanced on the porch railing. "I have to get up early tomorrow to accept a parts shipment. I'll see you at breakfast." He walked off the porch and disappeared into the dark.
( 9 )
Karri excused herself and thanked Alanys once more for the dinner and dessert.
"You're welcome, dear," Mrs. Gabriel replied. "Marc's room is upstairs, last door on the right. The bathroom is straight across from it, and I laid out a fresh towel if you'd like to take a shower before bed."
Marc couldn't help his smile. This was typical of his mother. Not even a family squabble and palpable tension could distract her from offering her guest a pleasant stay under her roof. "I'll be up in a minute," he said to Karri before she started for the stairs.
Melissa had retreated to her room several minutes earlier so it was now just mother and son in the spacious living room. He was on the far end of the couch, and she was in her favorite easy chair next to the fireplace. Marc sipped his coffee, looking anywhere but at his mother, and this time she refused to be the one to break the silence. He sighed and set his cup on the end table.
"You were married to dad. You know how the chain of command works. You know I can't refuse this assignment, and I've already written a transfer request. I'm giving it to Will before I leave tomorrow morning." When his mother didn't immediately reply, he finally met her gaze, and he was startled by the pain in her eyes. Her face was taut, her fingers clutching her cup handle so tightly that he feared she would break it.
