"Are you sure that didn’t happen?"
I started cackling at that point. Maybe it was done as a series of Captain's Logs. The whole idea of keeping such a personal journal and sending it back in time was so close to my idea of personal madness, laughing was all I could do to cope with it.
Cackling became hysteria.
Hysteria became hypoxia.
I passed out.
Thirty Three
"You fainted again," said Carter. "This time I did a full set of scans on you."
"And?"
"Nothing. You're perfectly healthy. Other than your left knee, which probably won't ever be a hundred percent again. Nothing wrong with your brain. No reason for why you keep fainting."
"Speculation?"
"Could be stress."
A whole section from Hitch Hikers floated through my mind, and I shook my head to try and get it out again. Under normal circumstances, a Sperm Whale and a bowl of Petunias would not appear in the same sentence, but there you go.
"I guess you'll take it under advisement then," she went on when I didn’t respond.
"What does that even mean?"
"You'll think about it."
"Then why not say that?"
She paused, and gave me the look. The one you give people who ask awkward questions you don’t have an answer for. I'd always wondered about that taking it under advisement line. Americans seemed to use it all the time. Whoever thought up the phrase originally, obviously liked making language complicated. I'll think about it verses I'll take it under advisement. The only possible reason for using the latter I could think of was to avoid saying you would think about it, because you had no intention of actually doing so. In other words, it was a cop out. Something you used to keep someone happy while you went out of your way to ignore what they'd said.
"I am not stressed."
She gave me the other look. The one which intimates not to pull the other leg because it has bells on.
"Work is what I need," I said as I rose from the Care Unit, and headed out.
The twins were waiting for me outside, but I simply nodded to them, and kept going alone.
Back on the Bridge, I found no-one there.
"How we doing Jane?"
"Last shuttle from Galactica is coming on board now. Most of our guests are packing, so they can leave first thing tomorrow, after the party."
"The party is tonight?"
"Yes. Generals need to return to their commands before other Generals decide they can do without them."
"Is that what I need to do?"
"Come again?"
"If I go missing for long enough, I can shuck all this Admiral crap? They'll see they don’t actually need me after all, and I can go back to…"
"To what?"
"Give me a moment."
"You can't think of anything to go back to, can you?"
"I said give me a moment."
"No need to get angry."
"I AM NOT ANGRY!"
"No Jon. Of course you're not. But you missed your calling."
"Huh?"
"The stage misses you."
I face-palmed.
"Can we get out of here yet?" I asked a few minutes later.
"Only awaiting your command, oh fearless leader."
"The command is given. Take us home."
"Homeward bound, aye sir."
For a moment I wondered where that was. The Gaia planets had never been home, since I'd lived on Galactica. Galactica wasn’t home, since I'd lived so long on BigMother now. But was BigMother home, any more than Gunbus or Custer had been? Or was it Hunter's Haven where my palatial penthouse awaited my return?
We lined up on the jump point into Nexus, I left the Bridge to Jane, and went in search of Angel. I found her, Nut, and Max, curled up together on my bed. I climbed on next to them, and zoned out.
"Jon?"
"Jane?"
"We're here."
"Where's here?"
"Hunter's Haven."
"Okay."
I absently tickled Angel.
"JON!"
Angel disappeared off the side of the bed in a white blur. It was quickly followed by a brown blur, and an orange blur.
"Did you want something Jane?"
"Docking instructions perhaps?"
"Do you want to dock?"
"It might make it easier for people to get off."
"They can get off however they want to."
"Fine Jon. Party is at eight. Main ballroom."
"Good."
I zoned out again.
"JON!"
Angel disappeared off the side of the bed in a white blur. It was quickly followed by a brown blur, and an orange blur.
"Haven't we done this?" I groaned.
"The cats have yes. They had dinner and went back to sleep next to you."
"Dinner?"
"It's after eight already. Are you going to the party or not?"
"Not."
"Are you still freaked out about Prophesy?"
"I don’t get freaked out about…fuck it. Yes."
"Only the twins and I know, other than Thirteen and the new Keeper. So put your game face on, and get to the party before people wonder where the host is."
"No."
"You're the only person left on the ship. Do I need to come there and put you in the shower myself?"
"No Mum."
"Well get yourself in that shower, put the clothes on which are hanging there waiting for you, and get to the party."
I sighed.
"NOW!"
"Jeez Jane. Don’t be so bossy."
"Jon. I understand you've had a series of bad shocks over the last week. But you have responsibilities. Fake it if you have to, but get your normal self to that party."
"Yes Mum."
"I am not your mother."
"Could have fooled me."
"Exactly when have I complained about the length of your hair?"
"Point."
I ambled into the bathroom, stripped, and let the hot water brighten me up. Was I home here in this shower? Or was the shower in my suite over the way home? And did it even matter? The Door was a year away again. And I knew with every fiber of my being, I’d not be going through that Door again. The dead didn’t need a home. And in all likelihood, the Darkness would be destroying everywhere else I could call home. Where did that leave me? Dead man walking? The designated homeless?
I sighed, and turned off the water. There were civvies hanging there waiting for me, and I put them on. It felt strange wearing a real suit for once. The belt was a belt again. Jane pulsed me a belt file, and I activated it. The buckle turned into a representation of BigMother.
Angel was nowhere to be seen, nor was any of her stuff. Or any of my stuff either. By the time I was on the Cargo Deck on a trolley, I could see another trolley in the far distance. I accessed the cams up that way, and saw a cat carry cage next to Jeeves.
The trolley took me directly to the administration tower. On the way, it passed close by the lake. It was transformed from when I’d last seen it. The grounds were a lush green, and there were people enjoying being there.
I rode up alone, and stepped out into the main ballroom, hoping I'd be able to slide in unnoticed. I might have known I couldn’t get away with it.
"There he is," yelled someone.
I was mobbed.
"Help!" I subvocalized to Jane.
Aline and Miriam appeared beside me, and took an arm each. With the twins in front of me, and BA behind, the crowd was kept at a minor distance. They escorted me to a raised area on the far side.
"Oh no," I said, when I saw the lectern.
"Oh yes," said my father, standing in front of it.
I did a double take.
My mother was standing beside him.
She grinned at me, came forward between the twins, and hugged me.
"No dear, you're not dreaming. The moment I found out your father was leaving Gaia, I changed all our plans
to be here with you. We let you go through that year in hell by yourself because we were told to, but I'll be damned if you have to go through any more without family behind you."
"Where did Jane put you?"
"A very large suite on the floor down from yours apparently. It has one hell of a view."
"Mine has this view."
I indicated up. She looked, and laughed.
"Of cause you do dear. You’re the Duke."
"Be careful mother, or I'll make Dad an Earl, and you'll never see him because of all the work he gets lumped with. I'm sure David would love to share the load."
"Yes dear. Empty threat, and we both know it. Your father will be flying that ship of his until the day he croaks it. He's military, even if Gaia has never really had a proper military. Try and make him do civilian work, and he'll just ignore it."
I had to laugh. She was right. I looked over at him. He was only a few steps away, but the noise in the room was such, he hadn't heard a word we'd spoken. He beckoned me up.
My mood of a while earlier seemed to have broken. I stepped up, leaned on the lectern, and waited for the noise level to go down. Surprisingly, it did quite rapidly. I looked around the huge room, seeing a lot of people I had no idea of who they were. Amongst them, were people I did know. Everyone from BigMother was there. Janice started popping up name tags for me as I looked at people, especially for those who lived here permanently now. Amy was with a group of media people. David and his family were with a mixed group of station employees and some of the richest people up this end of the spine. Margaret was with her gardening staff, a few of whom looked like they felt under dressed and overwhelmed.
"Anytime you're ready," said Jane through my PC.
"It came to my attention yesterday, that those of us travelling on BigMother needed a party. We've been gone a long time, although it was less for us than it was for those of you waiting for us to return. I haven't seen much of the station yet, but what I have seen has changed incredibly. Those of you working with the parks and gardens are to be commended for doing an extra-ordinary job."
I started clapping, and the room soon followed, resulting in some very embarrassed overwhelmed people feeling underdressed.
"I can see the population of the station has increased a great deal since I left. For those who moved here while I was away, welcome."
I beamed a smile I didn’t feel at the room, while searching out David. I pinged him to get up here. He looked startled, but started threading his way through the crowd.
"I'd like to introduce the Duchy's chief administrator to everyone, who shouldered the load while I was absent. Somewhat belatedly, he's been recognized with an actual rank."
David stepped up beside me.
"For those who don’t know him, this is David Tollin, Earl of Outback."
David did a sort of partial bow to the crowd, and I went on.
"David will continue to shoulder the administration of the Duchy in my name. I have other things to attend to."
"Prophesy?" yelled someone from the middle of the room.
"Yes. It is real. Darkness is coming. My job now is to be ready for it."
The room was silent now.
"But for tonight, let's get this party happening!"
I stepped straight down, to the sound of happy people getting happier. I wasn’t happy, but I left my smile in place. As Jane had said, I needed to fake it. The twins could see through me of course, and they were faking it too, since they couldn’t show how worried they were about me. Aline and Miriam took my arms again, and we moved to a more private area with lounge chairs. My parents followed, while the twins and BA formed a standing presence around us.
Jeeves appeared before me baring a tray. On it was a champagne flute, a beer mug, and a glass of ginger ale.
"Welcome home my Lord," he said, waiting for me to choose.
I took the ginger ale. Aline took the champagne, and Miriam the beer.
"Jon," said Aline, "you look lost."
"I'm not sure where home is these days."
"That’s simple. Home is where you are."
Miriam looked troubled for a second, but held her mug up, and the three of us touched glasses together and drank. It wasn’t much of a toast, but I felt better for it.
Thirty Four
"What do you mean we have termites?"
Miriam had taken me back to my suite in the small hours, and we'd only managed a couple of hours sleep before she left. It was a difficult parting. For all we knew, we'd never see each other again, or if we did, it could be in the middle of a war. We promised to keep in touch, but I'm not sure either of us was going to this time. Both of us had our commands. We were where we wanted to be, and it didn’t leave an overlap for us. I'd once read a novel about a post captain of a Destroyer in World War Two, and how he couldn’t think of anything else than his flotilla during enforced leave while his own ship was repaired. It wasn’t the same, but I could see the same level of thinking going on in Miriam, as each day passed and she wasn’t with her Wing. It's the nature of command that you worry, even when there isn’t much to worry about. She felt it, I felt it. We both knew the other knew it. We kissed at the bottom of the stairs, and she walked up them without looking back. Then she was gone.
Lightnings, and some of the faster Limos, were now on their way to where our guests called home. We'd had a short goodbye session on BigMother's Launch Deck, as one by one, all the ships which had docked with us on our way up the spine, launched for their return journey. Miriam, Greer and Vonda were taking a Limo back to Midgard. Given the long journey for some, I'd offered some of our Lightnings and Limos so people could travel a lot more comfortably, without being packed in. The bed versions were more useful for long trips, but the seated versions had mainly been used since we'd been collecting people close to home. Everyone left in comfort.
Janice's avatar had more or less frog marched me to my office in the administration tower. There she dumped a whole lot of work on me, stuff I couldn’t put off any longer. In my partied out state, I wasn’t at all happy, but I methodically worked through it.
About midafternoon, I'd noticed this report.
"How can you have termites on a space station?" I repeated.
"How can you have termites on a space station which was open to space when all the dirt went in?" I emphasized.
"They came in with some of the topsoil," responded Janice. "Also in some of the wood used for making park benches and garden bed surrounds. So none of them were exposed to space."
"Well fuck it. Open it to space again and kill the fuckers this time."
There was a silence.
"Sorry, did I say that out loud?"
"Jon," said Jane, "you need a vacation."
"Janice, do I have time for a holiday?"
"No. I estimate the paperwork you let slide will take you about four months to catch up on."
"There you go."
I thought I heard Jane mutter something about making sure I'd go, but it must have been a trick of the com system.
I signed off on the suggested methods of treatment, idly wondering if termites needed oxygen or not.
Termites. Symbolic of something eating at the structure of things. I guess it made sense then. My structure of things was certainly on the fritze at the moment. So why not compound it by having things physically eaten to throw it in your face.
I went back to work, only to be interrupted by my parents. I looked up at one point, and they were just there. Huh. The great hero who never notices anything happening around him.
"Are you okay dear?" asked Mum.
"I'm tired."
"I'm not surprised. How late did Miriam keep you up last night after you left the party?"
"Mother!"
They both laughed.
"You need a vacation son," said my father, in his command tone.
"Yes Dad. It's already tentatively scheduled for about four months from now, when I'm not buried under a mountain of digital paperwork
."
"You should delegate more."
"Are you offering?"
"Hell no, I'm on vacation."
"Did you both want something?"
"Dinner tonight at our place?" asked Mum. "Bring Aline and the twins."
"Fine with me, but you ask them yourself."
"Son," started Dad, "what really is the problem? And can we help?"
"You could have helped by ignoring the damned Keeper all those years ago, and forced me to have a normal life."
"You don’t mean that dear."
I thought about it.
"No, I don’t."
"Spit it out dear."
"Six hundred years ago, people were reading my life for entertainment. How the hell does anyone cope with something like that?"
"Why do you need to?"
They hadn't responded to the first part, so I had to assume they knew about it now. Maybe they'd had a session with the Keeper as well?
I looked at him. He was so command all the time. Give the orders and bollock out anyone who messed them up.
"Life is a novel, ignore it and move on? That’s your advice Dad?"
"Does it need to be any more complicated than that?"
I sighed. Maybe it wasn’t.
They left me to my work.
Dinner was just the six of us. They all made a big attempt to cheer me up. I assumed Aline had heard from the twins, but she said nothing. Apparently the twins had spent the morning showing my parents around the station, and I was regaled with stories of how things had changed while we'd been gone. The population had tripled for one thing, and most of the areas of the station were now complete, and had people living there. I should have been scheduling a tour myself, but I couldn’t raise enough interest.
I begged off early, and left the girls still chatting. Angel was waiting for me when I entered my suite. I carried her into the bedroom, and patted her for as long as she held interest. After she went in search of a snack, I lay there listening to her crunch biscuits in the kitchen. I shifted my suit into a belt, and lay there in briefs and socks. A few jerky movements, and I was lying where I normally slept, head on pillow.
I was sitting in my command chair, in space.
No ship, no life support, no nothing.
Just me, in my chair, in space.
Hunter Legacy 11: Home Is Where the Hero Is Page 14
