“I feel bad now. You didn’t have to travel all the way with me,” Ada said.
“Which is exactly why I told you it was not out of the ordinary. I wanted to be here. I didn’t want you to feel bad about me coming. It’s apparent that you don’t like to accept help from anyone. So, I’m not helping. I’m here as a friend that happens to have a bit of influence over the particular thing you’re trying to have corrected.”
Ada just stared at him with her eyebrow raised.
“So, let me help, huh? Don’t feel bad. I really, really wanted to be here.”
“Fine. But, no more deceptions,” Ada insisted.
“Deal,” Jason agreed. “As long as you allow me to help you figure things out.”
“Why would you even want to be involved in all this?” Ada asked.
“Ada Jane,” Jason said, leaning toward her and taking her hand in his. “Everybody needs a friend. And I thought you understood that I’m your friend.”
“Well, I do, but friends don’t always go out of their way to deal with this kind of stuff,” she said.
“No, they don’t. But, maybe I want to be a better friend than that.”
Ada didn’t answer. She just looked into Jason’s eyes. Despite all she’d been through, she was still naive about the way things worked between a man and woman. She’d been completely innocent when she was snatched away from her home and family. She’d never learned the socialization that came from repeated exposure to men who wanted to date you. She’d only very rarely dated and as she’d been very shy and introverted, she’d never been particularly popular in school, so those dates all happened later after finishing high school.
“I can’t be the only male that’s ever shown an interest in you, Ada Jane,” Jason said, smiling at her while holding her hand in his.
Ada’s slight smile faded and though she was looking at Jason, her mind showed her a large male with blue eyes, blue skin, and blue lips. His face fierce as he stood in her hospital room and swore that no one would ever touch her against her will because he’d protect her with his life. Ada started to get choked up thinking of Kol. He’d said she was his and he was hers, but she’d run from him. She glanced down at the floor as she wondered if she’d ever see him again. If he’d come after her or decide it was good riddance.
“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Jason asked.
Ada nodded, then raised her eyes to his. “It’s just…”
“Alright, folks. I have the answers. Dr. Cavanaugh, if you’ll just go back down to the second floor to the verification office, they’ll take your signature in person and then we can get this moving right along,” the legal clerk said, coming back to her desk and taking her seat.
“I’ll go right away,” Jason said, rising to his feet. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked, standing but still holding her hand.
Ada nodded.
“I’ll be back as quickly as I can. Wait for me right here,” Jason instructed.
“I will,” Ada Jane answered.
Ada straightened herself in her seat and faced the clerk, smiling tightly at her.
“While he’s signing, let’s go ahead and get the address you want your check sent to,” the clerk said.
“Check? You mean the restitution for being taken from Earth? You can process that from this department, too?” Ada asked.
“No ma’am, I mean the check for your property.”
Ada was confused. “I don’t want a check in exchange for my property. I just want my property.”
“I’m sorry, that’s impossible. The government owns that land now and there are several different facilities built on it. We can’t give you a government facility. But we can pay you for it!” she said excitedly.
Ada Jane wasn’t able to hold back the tears any longer. “I don’t want a check!” she insisted. “I want my land back! It’s the only connection I have to my family!”
“Oh. I can help you find your family,” the clerk said, still smiling.
“My family is dead!” Ada Jane snapped out.
The clerk was stunned into momentary silence. “I can still help you find them,” she said quietly, starting to type.
Ada Jane sat there quietly, her mind racing. Her family’s land was gone. She had no tie left to them at all. Nothing left that she could put her hands on.
Eventually Jason came back and found her nearly despondent and in tears. “What the hell happened?” he demanded from the clerk who was still busily typing away and pausing every once in a while to make notes.
“I explained that we can’t give back the land. It’s been acquired by the government and currently has several facilities on it. But we can give her compensation for it. She’s been like this ever since. I’m sorry,” the clerk at least had the decency to add.
“Ada? Ada, we won’t give up. We’ll see if there’s anything we can do, any other avenue we can take,” Jason said, trying to move closer to her and take her hands in his again.
Ada shook her head and tucked her hands away under her upper arms by folding her arms over her chest.
Jason glanced at the clerk. “What are you doing now?”
“I’ve already requested an immediate print on the check so you can take it with you. Now, I’m searching records for her parents’ burial location.”
“I’m so sorry, Ada Jane,” Jason finally whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Kol stood in the kitchenette in his quarters, his hand-held lying on the cabinet in front of him. He’d put in the information to contact Ada Jane, but hadn’t yet hit the send option. What if she didn’t want to speak to him? Would he be able to control himself, remain here and complete the duties Bart had assigned to him? Or would he be off on a long chase to locate Ada Jane and spirit her away back to Command Warship 1?
Kol sighed, and sent the request for a vidcom. He didn’t know if she knew how to receive one, but surely whatever device she answered on would be able to accommodate his request for a vidcom. Bart had said the larger more populated cities were more current in their technology.
He waited as the hand-held pulsed with its repeated attempts to contact Ada Jane. Finally, just when he was ready to end the request and start the process all over, she answered.
“Hello?” she said, at the same time her image came to life as a holovid projected from his hand held unit.
“Ada Jane,” he said warmly, the adoration he had for her filling his voice.
Ada Jane smiled sadly. “Hello, Kol.”
He could tell right away something wasn’t right. “Are you well? Has someone harmed you? What saddens you?” he asked urgently.
Ada shook her head. “It’s nothing that can be helped.” She took a deep breath and painted on a false smile. “How are you? Are you well?”
“I am as well as can be expected. I am here on Earth, but assigned to Base 28. Please, tell me what saddens you. I will come at once.”
Ada shook her head again, trying to force her smile to the forefront. “I’ll be okay. Truly. But thank you.”
“But…” he tried to interrupt her, but she cut him off.
“What are you doing here on Earth?” she asked pleasantly, trying to make small talk.
His brows bunched over his eyes. Did she not know that he came after her? “My Ehlealah returned to Earth. I followed her. I will not return until she is at my side.”
Ada Jane stepped forward, closer to whatever device she was using to speak with him on. “Kol, I don’t know if I can ever go back to space. This is my home. I’m…” her words faded, as she realized she didn’t have a home any longer. “I just don’t know what I want right now. I’m not happy there, and I no longer belong down here.” Her tears started to track down her face. “I don’t know where I belong.”
Kol watched his female, her heart hurting, her tears staining her face. “Do not cry, Ada Jane. I will make it alright.”
She shook her head.
“Do not cry. We will find a
way to make your heart smile again.”
Ada looked down at her hands, no longer focusing on Kol’s image as a holovid on her side.
“Look at me, Ada Jane,” he begged.
Ada raised her eyes to his slowly.
“I will find a way. Trust me,” he said passionately.
Ada wanted to trust him. Wanted to believe he could fix everything for her, but she just didn’t see how he could.
“Speak to me, Ada Jane…” he entreated.
Ada let her tears fall again as she explained what was happening as best she could with her emotions all over the place. “I can’t have my parents’ land back. The government took it years ago and they have facilities on it. They gave me a check but I don’t want it.”
“What kind of facilities?” Kol asked.
Ada shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t even ask.”
“I will ask. What else did they say?” Kol asked.
“They were able to tell me where my parents are buried, but, it’ll be a while before I can go visit their graves. I’m in Washington D.C., they’re buried in Nebraska — the same state our farm was in. I have to go through the process of being released from observation here before I can go. And even then, Jason thinks I shouldn’t go alone. He can’t go with me for a while, so I’ll just have to wait.”
“Nonsense. I will have you released from observation. I will be there tomorrow to take you to your parents’ place of burial.”
Ada’s gaze had drifted away as she spoke, but her eyes popped up to meet Kol’s. “You can do that?” she asked.
Kol canted his head slightly to the side. “Would it please you, my Ada Jane?”
Ada smiled sadly. “Yes. Very much.”
“Then it shall be done. You are perfectly capable of moving about as you wish. You are a strong, capable female who has survived much more than this planet could offer as challenge. I shall have you released from observation so that you will be free to make your own decisions. I will be there tomorrow to escort you to your parents’ place of burial. Yes?” he asked.
Ada was smiling through her tears. “Yes,” she answered.
“Then it will be done, my Ehlealah.”
Ada Jane paused for a moment while she thought about how to say what she really needed to say to him. “I’m sorry I left without a goodbye. I just needed to be home so badly, and you wouldn’t bring me here.”
“It is my fault. I was so determined to protect you from all pain that I caused you distress myself. I will make every effort to give you choices rather than shield you from things that affect you directly. Unless it threatens your safety. Then I will kill whatever it is.”
Ada Jane smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Kol.”
“You are very welcome.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow,” Ada admitted.
“I am also looking forward to seeing you. I will be there as early as I can.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“It will most likely be midday or close to it as I must make arrangements on my end. But I will be there.”
“Okay. Thank you, Kol.”
“You are most welcome. Now, I have but one more thing to discuss,” he said, smiling lovingly.
“Alright,” she said. “What is it?”
“Who is Jason?” he asked. Kol was proud of himself. He even managed to maintain his smile and completely withhold his snarl.
“He’s the doctor that is treating me. Dr. Jason Cavanaugh. He’s been very kind to me since I arrived.”
“I am glad you have had someone to assist you since you’ve arrived back home,” Kol answered. His voice was strained, but he was for the most part in control and Ada Jane didn’t seem to notice.
“Please, do not tell him that I’m coming for you tomorrow. I am just learning my way around the politics of your world and am finding that if you let your intentions be known, you are sometimes stopped from achieving that which you aim for. I do not wish for him to stop you from being able to leave his care of your own volition.”
Ada thought about it and nodded her head. “I understand. I won’t say anything until you arrive to pick me up.”
“Thank you, Ehlealah. I do not wish for another to ruin your plans to visit your parents’ burial place.”
“Me, neither. Until you are standing in front of me tomorrow, I’ll keep our plans to myself.”
“Excellent. Until then, Ehlealah, sleep well.”
“Thank you, Kol. I will try.”
“Wait!” Kol nearly shouted before she ended the vidcom.
“I’m still here,” Ada Jane said.
“You do have a private place to sleep where others do not have access to you?” he asked, worried that this doctor may have more than being a friend on his mind.
“I do. I’ll be safe until you get here.”
“Very well, then. Sleep well, my Ada Jane.”
Kol ended the vidcom, and couldn’t help but release a snarl of frustration. Whoever the hells this Jason was, he had no business anywhere near his Ehlealah.
“Missy!” Kol snapped.
“Yes, Kol.”
“Please contact Chairman Bartholomew at once.”
“Please standby.”
Chapter 6
“What do you mean you need me to arrange Ada Jane’s release from observation?” Bart asked.
“Just what I said. She is being held for observation and Jason,” Kol said, almost snarling the name, “will not grant her release because he feels she should be gradually reintroduced to society.”
“Why?” Bart asked.
“I do not know. But she does not need to be gradually introduced!” Kol shouted. “She is strong! As I told her, she has survived more than this planet could ever present her with. She does not need doctors telling her what she can and cannot do!”
“Okay. Okay, Kol. Calm down,” Bart said.
“He will not allow her to journey to her parents’ place of burial without his company,” Kol spat.
“Maybe he’s just concerned with safety. Earth is not as she remembers it, much has changed,” Bart suggested.
“He wants my Ehlealah,” Kol stated.
“You can’t possibly know that,” Bart argued.
“And you can’t possibly know that he does not!” Kol countered.
“Maybe he wants to keep her in quarantine until he’s sure she’s safe to move among the public,” Bart added.
“I am not in quarantine. She was moving among me and my quarters before Rokai ahl stole her from Command Warship 1 and brought her here.”
“Ugh, Rokai ahl. That male has been the bane of my existence for some time now,” Bart commented.
“And mine of late as well!” Kol agreed.
Kol watched as Bart ran both his hands through his hair on the vidcom. “Alright, tell me once again, without all the personal opinions what Ada Jane told you.”
“She said, the government has seized her property and placed facilities on it. She said that they will not give it back, then she said they gave her a check. What is a check?” he asked.
“A check is a document guaranteeing credits will be placed in your account once you open one,” Bart explained.
“She also said that she has found the burial place of her parents, but the doctor will not release her to go visit this place until he can accompany her.”
“That doesn’t sound right,” Bart said more to himself than to Kol.
“I agree! He wants my female!” Kol shouted. “I shall liberate her this night! Right now!” he yelled insistently.
“No! No, you will not. You will do exactly what you said. You will go to pick her up tomorrow. I will arrange for her release and they’ll be advised of it tomorrow morning. There’s nothing I can do right away about her family’s land. If there is indeed a military facility on it, there may not be anything that can be done at all. But I’ll look into it. Tell her not to deposit the check. If she does, she’s accepted payment for the land and there is
definitely nothing anyone can do to change it,” Bart explained.
“I will tell her,” Kol agreed, his voice still growly.
“Kol. You need to calm down. This is Earth. You can’t do the things you’re used to doing in defense of your Ehlealah. If you start murdering people, they’ll arrest you and you will be jailed indefinitely, if they don’t kill you on sight.”
“Free my Ehlealah, and make it so I may take her out when she wishes.”
“I will. And I’ll try to arrange for a place for her to live, too. Any ideas?” Bart asked.
“Yes. She will live here with me,” Kol said definitively.
“Has she agreed to that?” Bart asked.
“No.”
“Then she’s not living there with you. Let me look into it and I’ll see what I can come up with. Com me tomorrow when you’re on your way to get her. It should take you no more than an hour to get there.”
“I will be there in half that time.”
“You can’t take a battle cruiser across the United States.”
“I need my ship nearby! All my communications with Command Warship 1 and Missy are routed through my ship. As are my communications with you. Otherwise I have to go through standard routings and all risk being intercepted,” Kol explained.
“You’re going to give me an ulcer,” Bart said simply.
“What does that mean?” Kol asked.
“It means you are causing me more trouble than I expected.”
“Perhaps you could…” Kol started.
“Just give me a minute!” Bart snapped, cutting off Kol.
There were a few minutes of silence while Bart thought, and Kol tried not to shout at Bart for shouting at him.
“Can you disarm the cruiser?” Bart asked.
“It would take quite a bit of effort, but if necessary I can. But, what if I need the weapons before I’m finished with your assignment here?”
“Can you make it look like they’re disarmed? Perhaps disarm most of them?” Bart asked.
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