by Ron Francis
Collin’s heart began pounding as the music started playing. He walked out to the sight of hundreds of people seated and waiting. He would have preferred a small gathering of friends, but he wanted Bessa to be seen by the whole galaxy. He stood at his place in front of the man that would conduct the ceremony with Josiah, Reece and Xanu next to him. Jesse would take the end spot after walking Bessa down the aisle. Then the music stopped and the bridal march began. He looked up to see the most beautiful woman in the galaxy coming towards him. He was transfixed and she was stunning with her long white gown, and her light purple skin. Her hair, styled by one of Ginderbar’s best, looked perfect. She was lovely, but the thing that he couldn’t take his eyes from was the smile. He didn’t deserve someone that looked at him with that much love and that much joy. She finally made it to his side. Jesse lifted the veil and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He took his place and then the ceremony began.
After the ceremony had ended, Collin walked with his beautiful bride through the reception hall greeting friends and strangers. He loved every second of the smile on his wife’s face. Wife, I could definitely get used to that. He was also looking forward to a week alone with his wife. No one but them at Ginderbar’s most exclusive resort. No engines, no battle, just them, and he couldn’t wait. After a famous singer named Arianna gave an inspiring performance, he stood up, thanked everyone for being there and took off with his still smiling bride. The party was to continue on for quite some time, but he no longer cared about what was going on there. He held his wife’s hand as they boarded the air speeder and their new life together had begun.
As the party was winding down, all of the delegates had sequestered themselves into one of the meeting halls to talk about their alliance. They were excited about the possibility of becoming official allies with Hyperia. Jesse found Kimi and took her to a quiet corner to talk. She had the look in her eye that many girlfriends get at weddings and he knew he had to address it. She looked beautiful in her light lavender dress, but then again, she looked beautiful in anything.
“That was a perfect ceremony, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was.” The look in her eye told him she was hoping for a ceremony like that someday.
“We only have another month before we get back home and then everyone will know we are together. Your mom and Sun, Nina and Serge; Manny and Zoe, Jason, Raina and Ariel, everyone, I can’t wait to tell them all. I know how happy they’ll be for us. I guess I’m telling you this because I want you to know how much I love you.”
Kimi looked at her boyfriend with hope-filled eyes. Please, let him be going where I think he’s going with all of this, she thought. “Jesse,” she smiled and his eyes were drawn to hers. “What exactly are you saying to me?”
He laughed at her bluntness. She had always been that way. “I’m saying that I want to be with you more than I want anything. I can even imagine a day like today for us in the not too distant future, I just want to get home and get settled before we take that next step, but I promise it won’t be long. I’m not gonna be stupid enough to let you get away.”
She was a little disappointed, but didn’t show it. He was right, it would be better when they got home, and all of their friends and family would be with them through the whole process. “I won’t be stupid enough to let you get away either,” she replied.
He took her other hand and gently pulled her close. He leaned in and kissed her gently at first, then with a little more passion. She kissed him back and they stood locked in their embrace for an eternal moment. He then took her hand again and began walking with her. “I know you won’t, Kimi.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked and smiled. She still couldn’t believe it had happened, after almost seven years, she was with the man she loved.
Suzy was transfixed on the drama unfolding before her. She was so happy she could scream. She knew it was their private moment, but she couldn’t look away. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Jesse, and now more than ever he looked like he had finally found it with Kimi. She wondered if they were talking about marriage, they wouldn’t be the first couple to talk marriage at a wedding. Josiah walked up to her and asked, “What are you doing, Suzy? Do you want to come out with the rest of us?”
“Jo, look. They look so happy together, aren’t you happy for them.” She whispered to him with a smile.
He looked over and saw what she was talking about as Jesse stood and kissed Kimi. He looked at Suzy and laughed. “It’s about time, you coming or what?”
“Yes, I’ll be along shortly.” Men are so strange, she thought. How could he not be moved by that? His best friend is finally happy and all he could manage was an: It’s about time? She turned and followed her romantically challenged friend to where the rest of the crew was waiting. She thought it would be good to give Jesse and Kimi some time alone.
Chapter ten
______
When Nina heard the news that Ladyhawk had been killed, she had to take a seat. Her actions had led to the death of one of Jesse’s most trusted associates. How would she ever be able to tell him? Ariel came in to see Nina deep in reflection. “Nina, this is not your fault, it’s mine. I’m the one that started her after Natora. You can’t blame yourself.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Ariel, I do blame myself. Her death is a result of my action.”
“No, it’s not, Nina. Ladyhawk was a spy; it was the risk she took with every job she accepted. Just because she found out the last two members of the Enclave for you doesn’t mean…” Ariel stopped as a horrible thought hit her. “Nina,” she started slowly. “Please tell me you didn’t have anything to do with those recent Enclave deaths.”
“Now you know why it’s my fault. I hired a mercenary to thwart any plans the Enclave made against our family, and if they tried to kill one of us again, she was to take them all out.”
Ariel’s breath caught and she softly said, “Lana. You called your contact after they tried to kill Lana.”
Nina began to weep bitterly, “I know it’s awful, but I had to. It was us or them. They had already taken several shots at us and Jesse….”
“But Lana was the last straw,” Ariel finished. “Nina, you did the right thing,” she comforted.
“The worst part of it all is that they actually missed the only one I really wanted them to get.” She continued to sob as Ariel held her and comforted her.
Serge and Manny came in and wondered at what was going on. “Can you give us a minute, guys?” Ariel asked.
“No, they need to know.” Nina began to explain the events that led to the death of Ladyhawk. Manny took it all in with a poker face, but Serge was in obvious shock.
“Nina, you should have come to me.” Manny said. “I’m here so your hands don’t have to get dirty. We could have figured it out.”
“Well, my hands are plenty dirty now, Manny. Will they ever be clean? Please, no one can tell Jesse.” She looked at her husband who was still having a hard time accepting what he had heard. “Serge, please say something.”
“I do not know what to say. Nina, I love you, and I always will. You must know that this cannot be the path we choose to solve our difficulties. I wish you would have spoken about it with me.” He did not want to have this conversation in front of everyone else.
“I do, too, Serge. I do, too.”
“I hate to be the one to bring this up, but we still have Natora to deal with. His orders may have come from on high, but he’s the triggerman and he doesn’t like us. The timing is too coincidental. He may not be able to prove anything, but he knows it was one of us. If it comes to it, I’m the one that takes the fall.” Manny’s tone left no room for debate, but that had never stopped Nina.
“I appreciate that Manny, but it’s my responsibility.”
“No, Nina, it isn’t. I promised your brother I would watch out for you and Ariel. So far, they’ve tried to assassinate you twice and A
riel three times, and yes, I’m counting the snipers at the med-center. They even almost got Lana. Now this? How can I ever look Jesse in the eye again having failed so miserably?”
“Manny, I’m alive right now because of you.” Ariel gently placed her hand on his arm. “You have more than kept your word. You are not responsible for our choices.”
“They will never pursue this legally anyway,” Serge began. “To do that, they would have to admit the existence of a secret organization that is by its very nature, subversive to the Coalition government. If this gets out, we will likely be seen as heroes. For now, though, we must be on the alert for any more plots. Natora is wounded by the loss of his cohorts and wounded animals are frequently even more dangerous.”
“He’s right, Nina. We’re all with you, just promise you’ll talk it out with us before any other decision like this is made.”
“Thank you, it really means a lot. I guess I should tell you, the move against Natora is still in play.”
“Who?” Manny asked. “Is it Maria?”
“How…”
“She’s the only one Ladyhawk would have referred you to. She knows how much Jesse trusts her. I’ll talk to Maria. I say, if the plan is viable we let it stand. It really is us or him at this point. If, however, she doesn’t have a plan in play, we call it off because it’s likely to be too dangerous for her at this point and she would never admit that. Agreed?”
“Agreed, and, Manny, thanks.”
After everyone left, Serge stood at the window. Nina wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling a chill.
“Why?” His voice was calm, but she could hear the underlying emotional storm brewing.
“What else could we do? How else could we stop them before we lost even more people we care about?”
“No. I mean why did you not discuss this with me? You are my wife; I thought we were partners in everything? Did you not think I might have some ideas on how to solve this problem? Did you not think how I would feel to be blindsided by this news? How did you think I would react to find out my wife could plan the executions of people without seeking counsel to find a better way?”
“Serge, I…”
He turned slowly away from her, then walked resolutely to the door. It closed softly behind him. It was going to take some time for him to get past this, if he got past this.
“Serge!” She whispered softly as he left the room. She just stood there in shock, tears welling in her eyes as she realized what she had done.
______
“Finally, back in my rightful place, I have missed this so much.” Ariel was content as she walked the bridge on duty for the first time in over three months, even as her heart was heavy over what she had just learned. Captain Snyder had done a fantastic job in her absence. The fleet was running smoothly, all problems had been dealt with and everything was ship shape for her return. “Captain, status report.”
“Vee-Fleet is currently deployed in standard Earth deployment. Yesterday’s meeting with our War Hawk captains revealed two more of Natora’s spies in position’s to do us harm. Each captain is quietly investigating to make sure there are no further leaks. All fighter squadrons and shuttles report ready for duty. Each ship is functioning within normal parameters” Captain Snyder smiled as he handed Ariel the data card. He really was very good.
Ariel began to think of how well Captain Snyder had done in her absence, and while he had given her updates and taken suggestions, he was ready to lead. He should at least have his own ship, she thought. She also thought that with Jesse due back in just over four months, they would be making their decision on where to keep the production facilities soon. If they moved to Polisia for good, Ariel might retire from Sea Side Enterprises. At least now, she knew that Vee Fleet would be in capable hands if she did. “Captain, please call Crewman Lana Evans to the bridge.”
“Yes, Ma’am!” He fired off a crisp salute, and then called for Crewman Evans to report to the bridge. A few minutes later, Lana walked in, dressed in the standard SSE uniform worn on the Vanguard. Ariel stifled a laugh as she lovingly looked at her niece. She couldn’t show favoritism on the bridge, even though everyone knew she was Lana’s Aunt.
Lana saluted and called, “Crewman Evans reporting for duty, ma’am,” She tried to hide her excitement, but she loved this whole military atmosphere. She had continued her martial arts training with Jason and Raina after being shot. She had taken a three-day break after the recovery pod healed her wound. Raina had stayed in med-bay with her the whole time, even when Jason was not on the ship. Raina had told Ariel of how Lana tried to distract the guards so she could get away. She had hesitated and that’s when Lana got shot. She felt terrible and Ariel had to convince her it was not her fault. She was just thankful Lana had found such a good friend. Since that point, Lana had not been allowed off the ship, so Ariel had decided to train her and put her to work.
“Crewman Evans, it has been brought to my attention that your hand eye coordination tests and technology aptitude tests have come back very high.” She could see Lana smiling. “Top one percentile, in fact. With that in mind, Captain Snyder has convinced me that you should be taken off the maintenance detail, and sent to pilot training. Effective immediately.” Lana was practically bouncing out of her boots by this point. Ariel knew she would really enjoy the simulators, and since she couldn’t leave the ship very often, she might as well have something fun to do. After all, she was only sixteen. “Captain Snyder will now take you to meet your instructor. Dismissed.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Oh, don’t thank me yet, you have not met Lieutenant Commander Briggs.” She smiled mischievously and winked, then her happy niece was on her way.
Lana couldn’t wait to become a pilot. She tried to imagine how proud her dad would be of her if she were a pilot before he came back. She couldn’t wait to meet him. She was also nervous. What if he didn’t want her? What if he didn’t believe she was his? What then? Would Aunt Nina and Aunt Ariel still love her and treat her with such kindness? As much as she wanted to meet him, she almost dreaded his return. Captain Snyder introduced her to Lieutenant Commander Briggs and he spent about a minute explaining the simulator to her. As soon as she had indicated she understood, he had her inside. He said he wanted to see if she had the talent for piloting. This would gage how much work she had to do. She was supposed to be piloting a civilian shuttle through a routine landing, but the simulator was set to viper mode. When the Lieutenant Commander had realized his mistake he shot a worried glance to Captain Snyder as the simulation started.
Lana thought the Commander was just trying to play a trick on her. She turned and dove. She did everything she could to keep out of the enemy crosshairs. It took her a minute to figure out where the firing controls were and how to use them, then she started shooting back. She was faced off against four Jarlevian fighters, and they were good. She was in the simulator almost four minutes and had destroyed three of the enemies when four more showed up and her guns stopped working. She lasted another minute before the simulation ended. She stepped out of the simulator covered in sweat with a big smile on her face. “That was fun! How did I do, Sir?”
Captain Snyder looked to Lieutenant Commander Briggs and he could see how impressed the man was. Impressing the Lieutenant Commander was no easy task. “You did very well, Crewman, no first-timer in the combat simulator has lasted five minutes before. Some have shot down more bogeys, but none have lasted longer. I just have one question, Crewman.”
“Yes, Sir?” Lana answered tentatively, not knowing what to expect. She knew that sometimes these military training types would pretend to be impressed and then knock you on your butt over some missed protocol, so she braced for it.
“Why did you only use missiles, why didn’t you use lasers as well?”
“I didn’t know there was anything else, Sir. It took me a minute to even find those. Wait, these things have lasers,
Sir?”
“Crewman, weren’t you paying attention to the briefing?”
“Yes, Sir,” she replied, starting to feel self-conscious.
Captain Snyder stepped in to help her. “Lieutenant Commander, you didn’t show her any of the firing controls. We thought she was landing a shuttle, remember?”
“That’s right, I was so focused on how well she did that I forgot that wasn’t the initial plan. The fact that you thought you would be landing a civilian shuttle makes it even more impressive. Well done, Crewman. I’m tempted to skip your shuttle training altogether, but it shouldn’t take you too long to pick it up. Then, it will be back to the fighters. Ready for a shuttle ride now?”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Alright then, what are you waiting for? Get back in the simulator.”
When Lana had gone back in the simulator, the Lieutenant Commander turned to Captain Snyder and said, “Tell Captain Marcos we have an honest to God natural with this one. She’s gonna be very proud.
