“Hello, Peter,” Rachel said as soon as she was in the open space.
“Welcome home Rachel Solomon, although it’s not much of a home anymore.”
“Peter, Moses told us the bad news. How are you holding up?”
“Not well, I am afraid. The future does not look as boundless as it once did. Isaac, have you come to tend to Avi?”
“Yes, Peter, I have.”
“She is very sick. Her mind is coming apart at the seams. She has always had a second personality she used in combat, but it went away when the fight was over. It’s not going away anymore. He is hurting Greg every day. I don’t know how much longer he can take it.”
“You love them both, don’t you,” Joshua said softly.
“Yes, I do. We have cared for each other a long time. Greg was my first friend.”
“Peter, you know them better than anyone. What do you recommend?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t know, but we need to do something before she kills someone by accident.”
“How are Buddy and Daisy?” Wendy asked.
“They cry all the time. They can’t fly anymore and they feel like there is no sense in going on.”
“Is there anything we can do for them?”
“Other than make them fly again, no.”
“Should we go see them while we are here?”
“They have asked to be left alone. They don’t want to see anyone.”
“That’s not hard to understand,” Isaac observed. “We need to see Avi and Greg.”
Avi was seated at the co-pilot’s station running a combat simulation when Rachel and Wendy entered the flight deck followed by Isaac and Joshua. Avi turned and looked past her two daughters and saw Isaac behind them. Floating gracefully in weightlessness, the two women approached their mother carefully. She glanced at them and then fixated on Isaac.
Wendy and Rachel silently observed their mother watching for the tell-tale shaking that preceded the shift to the warrior personality. There was no warning. Avi launched herself out of the seat, spun so her feet hit the flight deck’s ceiling and flew like a guided missile at Isaac, screaming the name of one of the gang members who had raped and beaten her sister scores of years ago.
Isaac scrambled out of the way and Avi, unable to stop her flight crumpled into the wall of the flight deck. Dazed and defensive, she turned to attack again her face a mask of unbridled anger.
“Get out!” Greg shouted. “Get out and don’t come back!”
“But Dad,” Rachel started to protest.
“Get OUT! GO! NOW!”
The foursome clawed their way out of the flight deck and into the corridor beyond.
“Close the hatch!” Greg shouted.
Joshua slammed the hatch shut. The clang of the hatch door’s impact on its frame was the final blow for Wendy and Rachel who burst into tears. Their mother was alive, but not alive, dead but not dead, beyond their ability to help and she was taking their father with her.
Even though he was not licensed as a pilot, Isaac took the controls of the small craft they had used for the trip from the marshaling point. Wendy and Rachel were the pilots and they were in no condition to do anything. They had barely reached a safe distance when Peter’s engines fired.
Peter had not requested clearance to depart. He was leaving with no announced destination. Had any other ship attempted such a maneuver, the Eretz defense system would have blown them out of the sky. Peter had been a fixture of the system for so long that he was something of an icon. No attempt was made to intercept him. The in-system patrol craft monitored his passage, but did nothing to prevent him from going. It was as if without being told everyone knew that this time Peter should be left alone.
Buddy and Daisy flew alongside Peter maintaining perfect formation. Together they turned toward the systems’ primary. The three oldest sentient ships ever created opened their throttles to full.
When Rachel realized where they were going she began to scream. Nothing Isaac could do would calm her. It was as if the ships had been waiting for her and Wendy to show up to say their goodbyes, but things had not turned out the way they were planned. Isaac briefly contemplated tranquilizing his wife who could be every bit as violent as her mother and decided against it. Together they watched through the view-port as the three ships shrank in the distance aimed for the bright ball of nuclear fire that was the system’s primary.
The three ships passed the boundary inside of which hyper drives were prohibited. Close enough that even a ten percent error in navigation would still have them impact the hottest part of the star, the ships jumped into hyper drive and were gone. Had anyone with sensitive enough equipment been looking, they might have seen the tiny impact the three ships made on the surface of the star, but no one was and so no one did.
Rachel calmed herself enough to retake the controls from her husband and brought the small craft back to port.
The memorial service, complete with full military honors was held in the university’s largest theater. Greg and Avi Solomon had been heroes since they had helped repulse Swordsman decades ago. Peter, Buddy and Daisy had been part of the Solomon mystique although only a few understood the true nature of their personalities.
The planet’s ruling coalition declared the day to be a permanent day of remembrance not only for Greg and Avi, but for all those who had died defending those they had left behind.
J. T., Mimi, and their children still occupied and maintained the Solomon family residence compound and, so, at least for now, the extended families moved back into the houses where Moses, Saul and their generation had been raised.
CHANGE OF COMMAND - CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AT WARREN’S SUGGESTION, the eight remaining siblings and their spouses moved from the headquarters station to the planet-side retreat where Warren had grown up. Given the recent assault on the station, he felt the planet’s surface would be a more secure location for his grandchildren.
Warren had for all intents and purposes ceded control of the company to his children. Timothy stepped into the leadership role thankful for the support his half-brothers and sisters gave him. He recognized that throughout history with this much power at stake, conflict was far more common than consensus. He was a thoughtful leader and if any criticism could be leveled at him, it was that he was too cautious and not as bold has his father had been with major decisions. However, even Warren agreed that too cautious was better than too bold under the current circumstances. Even with that, there was a difference between caution and indecisiveness. The aftermath of the battle and the reconstruction that had followed showed that Timothy could and did make quick decisions when necessary and not go back on them, but that he preferred to have more data on which to make the decision than others might have required.
Warren left for what he claimed would be his last trip before settling down to enjoy what he called his “senior years” with Alina in their home on planet’s surface. There was no question that they loved each other, but Alina refused to explain why she would not marry him. There was something in their shared laughter that somehow made it all work.
When Warren returned, both Fiona and Tabitha had delivered. Fiona and Saul’s daughter, who they named Rosalie in honor of Saul’s great-grandmother, was a bright eyed mischievous little creature fond of pulling hair and tweaking noses. Howard and Tabitha’s son, by contrast, was quiet and not as mobile as most babies. Generally happy, one look at his eyes told the story. There was nothing that escaped his notice. He took it all in. He left little doubt that he was aware of everything going on.
Timothy married one of the junior accountants in Harold’s department. A day did not go by without a discussion of a romantic intrigue of one sort or another involving one or another of the still unmarried siblings.
Rachel sent a courier stating that she, her husband Isaac, her sister Wendy, and Wendy’s husband Joshua would be the only ones returning to Stellar Headquarters to serve with Elizabeth. Even at that, they would be taking several delays in tr
ansit and to not expect them for at least another year. Moses and his team would return to headquarters after med school and advanced practicum, but that was several years off. The news of the deaths of the two founders of the Solomon warrior dynasty and three of the four sentient ships in the entire galaxy was marked by memorial services and solemn remembrances. Perhaps most of all, Warren seemed shaken by the news.
Warren and Alina retreated to the planet’s surface and remained isolated for weeks at a time. Six months after receiving the news of Greg and Avi’s deaths, Warren called his children together. “My children, I am not well. As each day passes I grow weaker and less able to see clearly. The doctors say they do not know how to cure me. They know what I have and they think they know how I got it, but they cannot stop it from eating my nerves until I can no longer feel or command my muscles to breathe. I have come to say goodbye. I will retire to my private residence with only Alina for company. I do not wish any of you to remember me by what will come. I wish you to remember the strong man I once was. I have loved you all each in your own way. I will continue to love you until I can no longer breathe and my heart stops. Goodbye, my children, take good care of the babies.”
Warren took Alina’s arm and they left the room.
Warren only lasted a few weeks after notifying the children that he was dying. He died quietly in Alina’s arms.
Fiona’s mother, Sabrina, having heard of Warren’s illness, managed an extremely difficult feat of navigational dexterity and arrived in her convoy escort warship the day before the memorial service to find Alina distraught and unable to deal with the crush of people offering their condolences. Sabrina did what she had done once decades earlier. She packed her former captain up, threw her into a seat on her ship and abducted her. Sabrina knew that Alina would never get over the one man who she truly loved and who loved her. Once her grief turned to anger, she would be so dangerous that no man would be safe in her presence. Sabrina needed to sequester the friend that had brought her in from a life of piracy to the safety of convoy escort duties. Once having drugged Alina into submission, Sabrina took a few moments to visit with her daughter and her granddaughter and give best wishes for the new one on the way.
Fiona explained to the siblings why her mother had taken Alina away as they prepared for Warren’s memorial service. They claimed they understood, but they did not. Fiona had seen Alina in hand-to-hand competition and knew that Alina did not need weapons to kill. Her hands were enough. Fiona had seen enough to know the risk her mother was taking to make sure others did not have to share that risk.
The memorial service was held on the station so the majority of people who wanted to could attend. Warren had not been a particularly religious man himself, but he recognized the importance of religion to those he worked with. He had supported an active chaplaincy and made sure they were well regarded among the station’s residents. The chaplains that spoke at the service offered their prayers for remembrance of a great man and for guidance for those left behind.
The service had almost ended when an explosion rocked the station. The explosion appeared to come from the residence area. Saul and Fiona took off like a shot fearing the worst. They had moved to the station’s residences with Rosalie a few days earlier from the escort ship they normally called home so it could be used for patrol duty. The explosion had to have been close to their quarters.
Saul and Fiona ran around the last corner into a smoke filled corridor and plowed into their senior homicide investigator. Four Marines stood behind him. They caught Saul and Fiona and held them.
“Unhand me!” Saul shouted as the two male Marines lifted him off the floor.
Fiona screamed unintelligibly as the two female Marines restrained her.
“Sir, I would recommend against going any further,” the officer said gently.
“You can't prevent me from going.”
“No, sir I can't, but I would strongly advise against it.” The man, clearly approaching retirement age, stood fast.
“I can have you courts marshaled for this.”
“Yes, sir, but as I said it would not be in your best interest to go into that corridor. The forensic teams and medics are there. If we are to find out who did this and bring them to a successful prosecution we need to be left alone to do our jobs.”
Saul looked over to his wife who was still thrashing futilely against the two Marines. “Fiona, you’ll endanger the baby. Stop it.”
“But Rosalie!” Fiona screamed.
Saul turned to the Marines. “You can put me down now.” They set him gently on his feet.
Tears poured down Fiona’s face. “What happened?”
“We think it was a suicide bomber in your quarters.”
“But you’re not sure,” Saul said.
“Pretty sure. There’s not much left in there.”
“And Rosalie?” Saul asked.
“Neither she nor the babysitter could have survived the blast. I’m sorry.”
“Jessie was such a sweet girl,” Fiona cried.
“Who did this?” Saul demanded. “The Muslims are the only ones who use suicide bombers any more.”
“Apparently, historically they are not the only ones. Until we get the lab results back, it is useless to speculate. Sir, please allow my Marines to take you to someplace where you can safely wait until we have real answers.”
The Marines carried Fiona and assisted Saul to the law enforcement complex lounge where they waited for news. Hours passed in silence. Duty officers, aware of what was going on, left them alone. One officer paused long enough to make eye contact. Fiona reached out to him. “Was anyone else hurt?”
“None seriously, Ma’am. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Fiona nodded and sat down sobbing once more.
The homicide investigator returned and sat between Saul and Fiona. “It was a Swordsman suicide bomber. She was a girl who was friendly with your babysitter. We arrested the people we thought were her parents, but were actually Swordsman operatives. Both of them committed suicide before we could question them. From the papers in their quarters, we determined that the two of you were the real targets, but the bomb went off prematurely. Our guess based on the locations of the bodies is that Rosalie grabbed the trip wire trying to pull the girl’s hair.”
“She died saving us,” Fiona said through her tears.
“It would appear so,” the officer said. “Why don’t you take a room in the visiting officers’ quarters and I will post guards on your door. There is not much more you can do from here.”
“Thank you.”
The memorial service for Rosalie and Jessie revealed a community as stunned as it had been after the attack two years earlier. Even the siblings stopped meeting for two weeks in shock with the idea that a Swordsman suicide bomber could infiltrate their safe-haven. Neighbor turned on neighbor. Accusations flew. More Swordsmen were rooted out until twenty confirmed agents were found and imprisoned. How many more there were, no one knew, but everyone was suspect in the witch hunt that followed the initial arrests.
Elizabeth returned from a mission resupplying an established colony. Saul and Fiona moved into the safety of her officers’ quarters where Elizabeth monitored every move everyone made on board the ship.
Warren Elias Mahoney Solomon Rothschild Cohen was born in Elizabeth’s otherwise vacant sick bay. A loud, active healthy boy, his arrival did little to raise his parents’ spirits. They found a nanny to take care of the baby and Fiona returned to her regular duties as quickly as she could. Saul returned to duty as well, but while his days were devoted to the logistics of maintaining a secret force as large as the Third Force, his nights were devoted to his anger.
CHANGE OF COMMAND - CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EACH NIGHT AFTER HIS REGULAR work day, Saul would retire to the security of Elizabeth’s bridge. He would use the quiet space to plan the force’s next moves. The Federation Space Force had either tired of the chase or been bought off of the pursuit of the organized crime s
yndicates that had been responsible for the attacks on Headquarters and on the Queen Elizabeth that drew Saul away from defending Headquarters. Since they would be of no further help, he needed to take matters into his own hands.
Saul’s only dependable allies were the Eretz intelligence service and his own intelligence service which Tab had purged of people ranging from spies and counter intelligence agents to people too lazy to do their jobs properly. As Harold often said in her support there was no sense in paying people who did not earn their keep. They kept Saul supplied with the information he needed to plan his campaign.
Saul often said that he was better off without a real plan, but this operation was so big and spanned so much of the inhabited galaxy that he needed Elizabeth’s computing power to keep track of it all.
The first indication that anything unusual was going on was the simultaneous Third Force attack on a half dozen drug runner bases scattered around the galaxy. In each case the strategy was the same. The planet’s defenders were drawn away from the planet by what appeared to be a huge Federation force descending upon them. The drones slid in behind them and destroyed them. Manned ships then selectively targeted space ports and runways leaving the planet’s inhabitants isolated and defenseless. The loss of human life was mostly restricted to the combat crews, but the destruction of the criminal enterprise’s infrastructure was immense.
The attacks were followed by press releases warning of more such attacks unless the Federation and Swordsmen took up the battle against crime in their jurisdictions.
Both Swordsman and Federation media sources derided the attacks and press releases and another round of attacks followed. The reaction was more muted, but not at all conciliatory.
A third round of attacks followed without a press release. There was no doubt that whoever ran the Third Force was angry about something. Some of the news analysts suspected that what was going on was a lot larger than was obvious, but even they did not get it right.
“Saul?”
“Yes, Elizabeth?”
Solomon Family Warriors II Page 137
