Chapter 10: A Special Announcement
As the limo carrying Jill Wilson approached the palace several of the Queen’s Guard, a special unit of the Trena Militia and the Trena Mounted Patrol came out from the gate like a spear head and pushed the media representatives out of the way of the limo. None of the Queen Guards were dressed in their normal uniforms; they were all dressed in battle dress uniforms and were all heavily armed. There was even an armored vehicle supporting them. That shook Jill a little. Once inside the gate in the entrapment area the vehicle was completely checked and their identities were thoroughly verified. The whole episode sobered Jill.
Once through the entrapment, (the space between the gate and the courtyard of the palace,) they went directly to the Wilson residence. As she stepped out of the limo a landing craft landed and Jill watched as her best friend Lamile came down the ramp. Jill waited for the girl to join her.
“I see they got you too,” Jill said.
“Mom’s detail insisted that I come here.” Lamile said.
“Is she okay?” Jill asked.
“I don’t know,” Lamile said seeing Lisa coming out of the residence. “She was with Uncle Mike and Aggie at the convention center.”
“I think she is okay,” Lisa said hugging both her girls. Lamile was as much one of her girls as Jill was becoming. Seeing the obvious worry in her young friends face, “Mike would have told me if he knew if she was hurt or not Lam. Come on let’s take a walk I want to talk with both of you.”
“But I want to…” Jill started.
“Look girls,” Lisa cut her off; suspecting what the teenager wanted to do, “There will be enough time to watch the holo to get more information than we need to have about the bombing. We can be overly worried latter. Mike’s safe, and so is Mylea. I don’t want you obsessing about the news every time something happens. Things are going to get worse before they get much better. So I want you both to focus on your family, and helping your friends. Obsessing about the news and events will not help you.”
The girls were quiet while Lisa walked with them to one of the many secluded gardens on the grounds. The security detail walked a few paces behind them. The grounds were designed to allow people to walk in relative peace and quiet, and seclusion. Lisa turned into her favorite garden, known as the Queen’s Garden; it had roses from around the galaxy. There was one ancient American Beauty rose bush that had been under cultivation since the first queen planted it over four hundred years before. Lisa had already taken several pictures of the bush. It was something to take her mind off the events going on around her. She took a seat one of the stone benches and indicated that the girls should join her.
“Jill I shouldn’t have snapped at you earlier,” Lisa said, “But this thing is horrible. I have seen some photos and holo’s that you haven’t. I don’t know when your father is going to be home, or when you can go home either Lamile. The thing I need your help with is to help keep things calm and collected at home. I won’t tell you to be happy and don’t worry. That would be a dumb thing for me to say, but I want the commotion to be kept to a dull minimum. Michael and Mylea will be dealing with an atrocious thing. The images will be raw, and they were almost killed today. I don’t know the entire story; but if the first bomb had gone off they would be dead. All of them! I had a brief conversation with the Queen and she told me the bare bones of it.”
“Damn,” Jill muttered. That got her a dirty look from Lisa. Then Jill asked suddenly, “Mom, are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” Lisa answered, “I nearly lost the most important person in my life today. I don’t know what would have happened had he been killed.”
Lisa began to cry. Jill hugged her step mother until she stopped.
“Michael is never to know about this.” Lisa said. Both girls solemnly nodded in agreement. “When we get back to the house, I want you to help me to make things good for them when they get in. I want our home to be an oasis of peace and tranquility. No matter how crazy things are getting I want our home to be sane. For that I will need your help Jill; yours too Lamile. It is important that your mother have a place she can decompress whether it’s at our place, or at yours. Michael and Mylea are critical to the evacuation. Without them this is not going to happen.”
“We’ll do our best Aunt Lisa.” Lamile said. Lamile lapsed into silence as she wondered how her mother was dealing with things. When her father was alive she had an outlet to vent. But her father had been dead for almost a crimen or three earth years now, and the special bond between them was gone. She didn’t know enough about the aqaut, to know if some of her father still resided with her mother or not. Finally she said, “Mom will be okay.”
“Lamile,” Lisa said softly, “Your mother and I spend a lot of time talking. She’ll be okay. Now we have to get back to the house.”
They walked in silence back to the house, the security team giving them their space. Georgia, who was Lady Wilson’s principle agent, was deep in thought as she followed her charge back to the residence. Mulling over what the older woman had said. Although Georgia was unmarried she understood why her charge wanted her home to be a haven against the craziness of what was happening. The Marshal needed a place where he could be husband, father and friend and be off duty for a while. She made a vow that she would help her lady achieve her goal.
When they got back to the house they trooped into the study where Abby was watching a kids program about a dragon and a little boy named Jackie with Sally. Abby climbed into her mother’s lap. Lisa held the small child as Jill and Lamile wandered off to Jill’s room.
“Will Aunt Lisa be okay?” Lamile asked.
“You know her better than I do!” Jill snapped. She saw Lamile flinch and said, “Sorry. But I don’t know. She’s been a rock through all this.”
“Yes,” Lamile said flopping down on her friend’s bed. “I have never seen a biowoman with that much back bone!”
“Lisa is a very unique lady,” Jill said. She walked over to the holo in the corner of her room and turned it on. They watched the continuing coverage of the bombing. One of the images was of two officers walking a long line of what looked like black bags that were about the size of a body. They were in deep conversation. The voice over said “These 75 men and woman are known to have died at the center. Their identities are being held until their families are apprised of their death.
“The authorities have one person in custody. Witnesses say that the young woman the police have in custody had a bomb strapped to her body. Questions have arisen as to how she got through the explosives detectors at the convention center. Especially when there were two bombs the one that exploded and the one the authorities found. Lord Ramsey is demanding that the Marshal account for the lapse in security.” The holo dissolved to that of Lord Ramsey a middle aged man with a receding hair line. “I don’t know what the Marshal is all about maybe a suicide wish! How can he deal with our safety when he can’t even protect himself and the Queen? I will launch a full investigation into this.” The holo dissolved again to several landing craft waiting to land and a long line of military ambulances coming into Interstellar Rescue Service Hospital that had been brought down to assist in the Evacuation.
“This was the scene earlier today when the casualties from the bombing were brought to the 1052nd IRS Evacuation Hospital. Local Hospitals were quickly over whelmed with casualties. Some one hundred and seventy five people were treated by the medical community. The Evac hospital treated some one hundred of the injured from the convention center. Some of the most critically injured people from the blast were taken to the hospital. Some were evaced straight to the Hospital Patrol Ship Valiant. Admiral Klond of the Interstellar Rescue Service spoke to us briefly before she went into the carnage at the center.” The holo dissolved again to that of Admiral Klond, a small in stature older woman nearly 80 years old. “Admiral Klond what will the IRS be doing here?”
“As part of our protocol when we have been invited in to assis
t the local EMS and Medical Community during an emergency we provide a Disaster Medical Response Team. The EMTs and Doctors with me will provide triage, and initial treatment.”
“Are you here to replace the Trenaport Fire and Medical Emergency Service?” Another asked.
“I doubt if Ensign Meriwether will let me replace her medics and fire fighters.” Michelle Klond said.
“Ensign Meriwether?” Another asked.
“You know her as Chief Janet Able.” Michelle said, “She was a fire fighter with the Iris, ten fifteen years ago. She was on her nugget assignment. Now if you don’t mind, there are a lot of people who need my help now that the ordinance people are done.”
The holo dissolved again to show Mylea and another woman who was dressed in a fire fighter’s turn out gear. She was holding Mylea’s arm.
“She’s okay Jill!” Lamile said. She had been worried about her mother; but didn’t know what to do about it. If she had tried to call her mother and not have gotten her, Lamile would have been a basket case. If she got her, her mother might have ripped into her. Mylea had always told her that no news was good news, and that simply because they heard that some police officer was hurt did not mean that her mother or her father was harmed. “She’s standing with Chief Able. Oh look the chief is splinting her arm.”
“It’s only a break Lamile,” Lisa had come into the room to tell Lamile about the phone call she had just gotten, “Your mom couldn’t get a hold of you so she called me. She says there’s not much pain. She says she’s so far down on the transport list that it might be sunset before they move her. It’s a very minor injury.”
“Can I talk to her?” Lamile asked.
“She gave me a message for you,” Lisa said and then spoke to the AI that ran the residence’s systems. “Page, please playback the last part of my conversation with Mylea.”
“Tell Lamile, that I am okay, and that I will be at your place for dinner.” Mylea said, “Tell her that I love her.”
“I’ll see you for dinner.” Lisa said, “And bring my wayward husband with you.”
“Will do,” Mylea said and cut the connection.
“Mom, why would anyone do this?” Jill asked pointing to the holo image of the bomb going off.
“Jill, it is terrorism!” Lisa spat. “Someone wanted to prevent those people from going off world to a better place, a place safe from the disaster that is going to befall our planet.”
“Aunt Lisa this sounds like the Theocracy! They have been causing grief here for nearly a century!” Lamile commented.
“It does,” Lisa said, “If it is then, your mother has got her hands full. Those people will think they are helping their god in punishing us.”
“Mom,” Jill said, “Princess Carol’s here. Didn’t she and Dad serve in the Black Guard before my mother died?”
“Yes,” Lisa said hesitantly. She wasn’t sure how much Jill knew of the Black Guard, “Why?”
“I am just thinking out loud that maybe the Princess and some of the guardsmen she has in orbit and on the ground could find these people.” Jill said.
“They could,” Lisa said, “but first they need to know if they are working alone or not. It’s not as simple as it sounds.”
“This is going to get very ugly isn’t it, Aunt Lisa.” Lamile replied, “I mean if this is the first strike of people trying to prevent us from leaving, then the government is going to have to do things that may be hard on all of us.”
Lisa looked at her friend, realizing not for the first time that Lamile was not the typical teenager. She had amazed Lisa more than once with how she understood a situation and some of the consequences. “Yes this is going to put a new light on the whole thing. Michael and I talked about some of this. He is very concerned about who and what may try to stop us.”
“75 people,” Jill commented, “Hundreds more hurt. Not to mention the impact on all the people responding to this, or who survived.”
“My friends in the mental health service will be busy for the next little while,” Lisa remarked. “Let go into the study I’ll have Maggie bring us some lunch.”
All through the afternoon they three of them watched the coverage of the bombing. Occasionally Maggie would sit with them. She was plainly upset. She had never seen anything like the bombing. Trena was normally peaceful. The few malcontents were normally not violent. The ones that were, were dealt with only the amount of violence needed to contain the situation. This was the worse man-made disaster anyone had seen for a long time.
Lisa had gotten up to stretch and just happened to glance at the bay window in the study and noticed that the sun was setting. Abby wandered in and said, “Mommy I’m hungry!”
“Okay baby!” Lisa said, wondering why Sally hadn’t mentioned something to her, or had fed the child herself. Lisa looked at the time and said, “It can’t be that late!”
“It is mistress,” Maggie said, she had decided to wait until her mistress said to start dinner. She wasn’t going to disturb the family for anything. Missing a meal wouldn’t hurt anyone.
“Get dinner started,” Lisa said, “Jill can you help her? Do you want help Maggie?”
“We were going to have stew.” Maggie said, “Instead I am serving cold cuts and finger food.”
“Nothing that looks like a body part,” Lisa replied then thinking of all the tragedy that had happen and the visit she had made to see doctor Klond. She knew what she had to do; but first things first.
“Maggie would you have Francine join me for a moment,” Lisa asked.
“Sure Lady Wilson,” Maggie had thought it odd that Lisa’s personal secretary had not been around much of the day. The nearly sixty year old delta biowoman had been part of the household for several weeks.
A few minutes later the elegant and stately looking woman that had been part of the palace staff for nearly forty years came into the study.
“Francine,” Lisa handed her a sealed envelope, “Would you take this over to the Complex and give this to my husband.”
“Yes ma’am,” The biowoman said leaving quietly. Lisa knew she couldn’t just go over to the complex and the EOC where her husband and his team were working and ask him to come home. There was nothing wrong with giving a note for Francine to deliver for her. The note, a simple message, “Michael, I know you and your friends are trying to save the world, but you have to eat sometime. Dinner will be ready when you are ready. Try not to be too late.”
She could have called; but she didn’t want to seem the nagging wife. With Francine safely on her way she went into the kitchen, and waited until Jill left for a moment before she spoke to Maggie, “Maggie, you know I was at the Evac hospital today?”
“Yes ma’am for a checkup or something,” Maggie said wondering what her lady was getting at.
“I wanted Doctor Klond to confirm something,” Lisa said, “I am pregnant with Michael’s children.”
“Children,” Maggie said the first smile to cross her face since the horrible events at the convention center were brought to her attention. Even though she was confused about how a biowoman could be pregnant. By imperial edict several centuries before all bioengineered humans were sterile.
“Yes I am carrying twins.” Lisa said, “I haven’t told Michael yet. I am going to tell him tonight.”
“I see,” Maggie said, “Why?”
“After so much news of death, I think it’s appropriate to announce the beginning of new life.” Lisa replied. “What do we have in the wine cellar?”
“I have just the thing,” Maggie said. Jill and Lamile had come in on the end of their conversation.
“Mom,” Jill asked, “Did I just hear that right?”
“Yes,” Lisa said, “Though your father is not to know I am carrying his twins. I want to tell him in private about the twins.”
“Sure thing,” Jill hugged her stepped mother. “But how are you pregnant? I thought you were sterile?”
“I am obviously not,” her mother replied, �
��It’s one of the reasons Ebio wants me back.”
“Oh,” Jill puzzled, wondering what other secrets her step mother had.
“Girls, come with me,” Maggie commanded breaking into Jill’s thoughts. She led the two girls through a door in the back of the kitchen down a set of stairs to a small cramped pantry and wine cellar. “I was going to save this until our last night here. It was bottled the day before the Queen made her announcement. I purchased several cases of it.” Maggie brought out four bottles off the rack. She handed two bottles to Jill and two to Lamile then carrying two of the dusty bottles herself they climbed back up to the kitchen. There she dusted off the bottles and opened them and set them on the side board in the dining room. The vintage was not lost on Lisa when she looked at what her maid had chosen.
Eventually, the five of them the Queen, General Alphine, Mylea, Lord Mercer and Michael arrived at the Wilson residence an hour later, and found Lisa waiting for them in the dining room.
“Daddy,” Abby ran to her father. Michael scooped his daughter up into his arms.
“What are you doing still up?” Mike asked his youngest.
“Mommy said it was okay,” Abby answered as Jill nodded.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Mike wondering what was going on Mike put his daughter down and walked down to their room to get out of his uniform
“Mom; are you okay?” Lamile asked seeing her mother with a cast on her arm.
“Yes it’s a simple break.” Mylea said patting the sling that held her arm. “It’s been set and the fast heal drugs are taking care of business. I’ll be okay in a day or so.”
“Myl do you want me to do PT with me?” Lisa asked. She was a registered physical therapist and worked all over Trena, or had before the disaster.
“We’ll see.” Mylea replied, “I have an appointment with Doc Klond tomorrow and I’ll see what she says.”
“Well let’s get seated.” Lisa suggested gesturing to the seats around the formal dining room table.
When Michael came back to the dining room Lisa had seated everyone. As he entered Lisa nodded to Maggie who went to the side board where several wine glasses had been filled with the wine she had chosen. Maggie placed a glass before each place and quietly withdrew to a space behind Lisa. Ready to assist her mistress in anything she needed. Wilson looked at the wine glasses cocked an eye at Lisa and wondered what was going on. It had been a hideous day, and he wasn’t up to any of craziness. Lisa didn’t let him wonder long.
“Normally I wouldn’t be this dramatic for such a simple thing as announcing my pregnancy.” Lisa said softly, “but with today’s horrible events I think a little drama is appropriate. Normally a wife should tell her mate she is carrying his child in private so he can share his feelings with her without an audience to witness his reactions,” She locked eyes with Mike and nodded, “Sorry Michael. However as all of you are part of my family it is appropriate that I share this wonderful news of a new life with you. More so on this day that has taken and harmed so many souls.
“I offer this toast,” Lisa raised her glass, “to life, both new and old and to a future that brings peace to all of them.”
Wilson walked around the table and took his lady in his arms and kissed her passionately. Every woman at the table seeing the expression on Lisa face wondered how they could be next. After a few seconds, Maggie cleared her throat, “Lady Wilson may I serve dinner.”
“Yes,” Lisa said quickly, afraid to say anything more.
“Dad,” Jill said, “Mom. I hope I am as blessed as you are when I marry.”
Jill got up from her seat next to Lisa, and went to where her father normally sat. Her father seeing the silly grin on his daughters face said, “I hope you are truly that blessed.”
In the few weeks she had been on Trena, she had not seen her father much. He made a point of sharing at least one meal with the family a day. Sometimes it was breakfast, sometimes it was diner. He rarely missed a single day without connecting with his family. Although she missed her grandmother, she had found Lisa okay to be around. She had thought Lisa would be a green eyed monster or worse. But she hadn’t. Lisa had given Jill her space; but had let her know what was expected of her, and was there when Jill needed someone to talk to. They had started to bond. She was wishing that she had met Lisa years before. She locked eyes with Lisa and slowly nodded. There wasn’t a doubt in either’s mind where she stood with the other.
“Well enough of this sentimental slop!” Lord Mercer said seeing it was time to move on, “It’s time to fuel the furnaces.”
“Lisa,” Afterwards when dinner was over and the others had left, the Queen lingered long enough to speak to Lisa alone, “If you need anything you let me know.”
Although the memory of what she had seen Lisa do was always in the back of her mind, she couldn’t relate it with the soft gentle woman she come to know.
”I will your highness.” Lisa said.
“Lisa,” The young monarch looked into the older woman’s eyes with a stern expression, “if you don’t start calling me Aggie I am going to send you to the dungeon. “
”Okay Aggie,” Lisa said, it was hard for Lisa to break her lifelong habit of knowing her station. Most of her life she had been a servant to people of Aggie's class. It was foreign to her nature to call even this young woman who was becoming more like a daughter rather than her husband’s employer by her given name. Even when she consider with Michael’s nobility she was closer to the Queen’s peer than a servant. Sensing Aggie needed something, but not what, Lisa spoke softly, “come on lets walk you back to your place.”
With that the two women walked from the Queen Mum’s residence to the Queen’s.
Every Last Mother's Child Page 74
