“There’s just one problem you haven’t considered,” Star remarked. “I can’t leave Callaura. Not for eighteen days or even eighteen hours, which is what the round trip would take, not counting the time I’d spend with my mother.”
“Can’t Hunter take the baby with him?” Corona suggested.
“No one is going anywhere without my authorization, least of all a woman who’s just given birth and a barely week-old infant,” another voice announced from the back of the room.
All eyes turned to find Devorah standing in the doorway leading to the clinic. The woman stood with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.
“Now, who wants to tell me why we have two strange people roaming around Guardian Command?”
Chapter Eleven
Observations
“There must be thousands of awards in this room,” DiMackerlyn commented.
“A couple hundred thousands, actually,” Bruiser replied.
DiMackerlyn threw a look at the big man, hoping he’d interpret it as one of awestruck wonder. Turning his attention back to the display cases filled with all sorts of paraphernalia, he tried to conceal his growing agitation. They were taking too damn long with their “emergency meeting”. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear the Guardians were deliberately stalling, and he wanted to know why.
“When I heard there was the possibility that my daughter was one of you, I did a little research. I found out that this place has regular daily tours that come through here, is that right?”
Bruiser nodded slowly but didn’t answer aloud.
“Do they get to come in here?”
“Yeah. This is one of the regular stops.”
DiMackerlyn guessed all the other places the big guy had taken him were also part of the tour route. A diversionary tactic, pure and simple.
He was about to ask the Guardian where they were going next, when an affidavit suspended next to a small vid screen caught his attention. The name StarLight popped up. Curious, he peered closer as the news feature flashed in front of him, but there was no sound. He punched the button on the panel, and a small door lifted to eject a disposable audio bud. Quickly, he placed the device in his ear to listen.
“…Light for her tremendous sacrifice she gave to save the planet of Synaria from total destruction by the Ombitra. If not for the quick action by fellow Guardian, Master Hunter, the people responsible for this catastrophic event would never have been found and brought to justice.”
There was more, but DiMackerlyn’s eyes were glued to the vid and form of the man dressed in brown who stood with his arm around Terrin’s waist. A man he recognized as the same man who’d stood behind her in the docking bay.
Pulling the bud from his ear, he jerked a thumb at the vid screen. “That must have been a pretty bad time when the Ombitra attacked.”
“Damn near destroyed the city. If it weren’t for StarLight, we’d all be dead.”
“What happened to the people who caused it?”
“Hunter caught them. They were found guilty by the judging counsel and shipped to Arga Minor Four where they’re each sitting out a life sentence,” Bruiser informed him.
“The vid says my daughter almost died.”
Bruiser’s eyes glanced at the display, then back at DiMackerlyn. “She came as close to dying as a person can and still survive.”
“Is that why she’s indisposed?”
“Indisposed?”
“Yeah. Back at the police station, I was told she couldn’t see me because she was indisposed. Is it because she’s still recovering from the attack?”
“No. She’s recovered from that. She just had a baby.”
DiMackerlyn forced himself to appear unaffected by the news. A baby? Terrin had a baby? He slowly licked his lips, his mouth suddenly gone dry.
“Was her husband also injured in the Ombitra attack?” he managed to ask.
“Hunter? We were light years away on a mission when the mother ship landed. Star had remained behind at Command. She faced those grod eaters by herself, and she defeated them. It’s a miracle she survived.”
“Yes, it was.”
He ran a hand over his face. Terrin had a baby. The guy in the brown uniform, the one called Hunter, was her husband. She was married and a mother. And that puts a whole new slant on this, doesn’t it?
A baby. Was it a boy or girl?
Does it matter?
“Are you ready to move on?” the Guardian asked impatiently.
“I need to use your facilities, and then I’d like something to drink. I don’t suppose you got a place around here where I can get a cup of jocko, do you?”
Bruiser pointed over his shoulder. “The public facilities are outside, beyond the defense parameters. The closest restroom in here is on the other side of the concourse. The dining hall is adjacent to it.”
As they left the building and walked across the plaza, DiMackerlyn noted there were no guards, although he’d spotted an intricate series of security cams in the areas where the Guardian had taken him. Which made him wonder if the same held for the inner parts of the building where the public wasn’t allowed.
Chances were the answer was no. Why would the Guardians need to keep cameras in the areas where they lived?
So far, other than the landing bay, he’d been kept to the public places, the routes taken by the tour groups. But sooner or later, he’d find a way into the private sections. Somehow, he’d get a definite answer to his question.
It was just a matter of time…and patience.
Chapter Twelve
Induction
“I forbid StarLight from traveling anywhere for any length of time. Not until I am certain she’s well enough to resume this job at one hundred percent efficiency.” Devorah’s pronouncement was firm and final. “In addition to the fact that she continues to recover from giving birth, might I remind you that she’s still recovering from what she enduring from the Ombitra. There’s just so much a body can take, even those as unique as all of yours. None of you get enough rest, and don’t get me started about the stress. No. Until I am satisfied she’s fit and ready, not to mention the fact that the baby is and should be her primary concern, she’s not leaving Command.”
“But what about her mother?” Animator asked.
The physician nodded in StarLight’s direction. “I will check to see if there’s a way some sort of video conferencing can be arranged. I’m sorry, Star.”
Star sighed, but didn’t respond. She understood the doctor’s reasoning, yet inwardly she was relieved to know the woman was giving her a way out of this situation.
“If you want me to, I can explain why you’re not leaving here to travel there with your father.”
“No. Please don’t. As it stands right now, he doesn’t know I’m married, much less given birth to his…granddaughter.” Star winced. She hated to admit it, but DiMackerlyn was a grandfather. Worse, the idea of letting him find out, and the mental image of him holding the baby, left a bitter taste in her mouth. There was no way he would learn about the child, if she could help it.
Perlakian acquiesced. “Very well. I’ll leave that up to you.”
“Well, that takes a load off my mind,” Deceiver admitted. “Barring the use of Transport One to take you there, there’s no way you could have taken Three, even though it would have meant letting a couple more of you go with Star as support and backup. As long as Two is out of commission, we’re rather strapped for transportation.”
“Not for long.”
Everyone looked up to see Commander and the newcomer Wooly stride into the room. The big grins on the two’s faces were unmistakable.
“With Wooly’s help, we were able to fix several of those glitches that had been plaguing me. The engines are now fully online, and the relays are operational. All that’s left is to finish patching the hull, and we’re good to go. Furthermore…” He clapped a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “I would like to formally invite Melbin Wooly to be an active
member of the Guardians.”
“But he doesn’t have a specific power, does he?” Provoker inquired.
“The man hardwired a galactic freighter to a narbesium power coil,” Commander stated. “He was able to punch a communications signal through an ion storm raging at over eight hundred urgs per second. I couldn’t begin to pull off miracles like that. If this man isn’t Guardian material, then neither am I.”
“I’m going to have to side with Commander,” Perlakian spoke up. “You brought me in as a Guardian, and I have no special powers, either. Just the knowledge, training, and experience as a medical doctor that was needed. If Commander believes Wooly will be a great benefit to us, I give him my vote.”
“And mine,” Hunter added.
Sender raised her hand. “Me, too.”
Provoker rapped the table for attention. “Eh, before all this glory gabbing gets out of hand, has anyone asked the kid if he wants to become one of us?”
“Oh, yes!” Wooly finally spoke out. “I would love to be one of you! I just never…” He nervously looked around the room in obvious awe.
“You never what?” Sender prodded gently with a smile.
“I never dreamed of anything like this happening to me. I mean, Provoker’s right. I don’t have a special power. I’ve just always had a knack for putting things together that worked in ways they hadn’t before. Like when I was barely two years old, I dismantled the security system at my home and rewired it to where it sent amplified disrupter waves five hundred meters into the air above the house. I don’t remember much of what happened after that, except the police were all over the place, questioning my mom and dad. Since then, my parents were always telling me to leave things alone.” He laughed nervously, his hands wringing the hem of his shirt.
Deceiver glanced around the table. “Then let me put it this way. Are there any dissenters?” When no one answered, the Guardian leader smiled and turned to the little man. “The majority has spoken. Welcome, Wooly. You’re officially a Guardian.”
Several members, including Sender, rose and went over to congratulate the young man. Hunter gave his wife’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear. “I felt relieved, too, when Devorah stepped in. I’m sorry about your mother, but I wasn’t wanting you to go with that man.”
“Doesn’t matter.” She reached up to pat a hand. “I don’t think I could stand being away from our daughter for any length of time. Not right now, anyway.”
At the thought of the infant, she could feel her breasts begin to swell as they filled with milk. Her body was signaling it was almost time to feed the baby. Before she could mention to Hunter that she needed to return to their apartment, her husband got a funny expression on his face. At the same time, the tiny crystal chip embedded in her throat gave a soft chirp.
“Callie’s awake,” he murmured.
“Take me to her,” Star asked softly.
With a warm smile, he enclosed her within his shield, and they popped out of the meeting room. Their absence was immediately noted by Animator.
“Hunter and Star left.”
“Probably had something to do with the baby,” drawled Provoker.
“In that case, guess this is as good a time as any to call a halt to this meeting so we can head over to the dining room for lunch,” Deceiver announced.
Provoker raised his hand. “Hear, hear! That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day…so far.”
Corona threw her shoe at him.
Chapter Thirteen
Emergency
“Woman.”
Devorah stopped on her way back to the clinic and turned around, a warm smile already on her face. Commander strode up and didn’t stop until he gathered her in his arms. Hungrily, he kissed her, pressing her back against the wall in order to drag his body across hers. His mouth was insistent, making her squirm with anticipation. Too quickly, he ended the kiss to give her a mock frown.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Mmm, let me see. I’m a doctor. There’s a clinic on base. I don’t know. To the supply store?”
“I’m hungry and I don’t want to eat alone.”
Before she could respond, he set her back on her feet, grabbed her hand, and pulled her along with him as he headed for the dining hall.
“All right. Guess I’m on my way to dining hall,” she quipped.
The first time he had demanded her undivided attention, she had resented the intrusion and interruption. Until she realized her quiet husband acted that way because he needed her. Needed to see her and touch her, and have her near. Needed to seek her comfort, as well as her wisdom. She was his sole, safe ear to whom he could confide in. If something bothered him, he sought her out to immediately resolve the problem.
After talking with his family, she learned he was not the type of person to keep things bottled up inside himself. But since joining the Guardians, he’d been forced to keep a wide array of information secret for the security of the team. He had faced horrors without being able to discuss the details to anyone other than his fellow teammates. And for the most part, that had been a satisfactory outlets.
Since his emergence from the wormhole, along with Hunter, Seeker, and Disaster, he no longer wanted to remain in isolation. And that had included the fact that he was willing to risk exposing his true feelings for her the moment they returned.
Perlakian looked up at her husband as she hurried to keep paces with him. He must have sensed her stare, and glanced down.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing,” she replied. “Just thinking about the antithesis of your actions.”
Her comment stopped him in his tracks, and he gave her a confused look. “My antithesis?”
She tried to smother the grin that would give her away. “You’re like light and dark, Paol. From one extreme to the other just like that.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis.
“And that’s a bad thing?” he questioned, tilting his head slightly to one side.
“Not really. Considering how often you rush from one place to another, like everything’s an emergency, you certainly can take your slow, sweet time making love.”
Her admission got the results she hoped for. A flush came to his face. Slowly, inevitably, that beautiful smile she rarely saw except in private spread across his lips.
“Dev, sometimes you confound me.”
“Oh? How?”
“You’re like an alien circuitry board. I never know what to expect from you. I can never tell how you’re going to react. And I sure as crap can’t figure you out most days.”
“Paol Beni Tuazi, I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”
He laughed, a deep, hearty sound she was starting to hear more and more from him. But, again, only in the privacy of their quarters. Otherwise, he projected an intensely serious attitude that was meant to frame his Commander persona. After one more sweet kiss, they hurried into the dining hall where the rest of the Guardians were sitting down to eat.
While getting her tray, Perlakian noticed that Hunter and Star were still missing, but didn’t find it unusual. Taking a seat next to her husband, she dove into her soup, vaguely aware of that exact topic being discussed at the next table over where Morning Fire, Corona, and Animator were sitting. Fire remarked as such to the doctor.
“Any idea where Hunter and Star could be?”
“You might as well expect that type of behavior for the next few months,” the physician told the women, but loud enough to where others seated nearby could hear. “Star needs to feed the baby at regular intervals. Get used to her sudden disappearances until Callaura gets a little older, and the feedings become less frequent.”
“Speaking of disappearances, where’s our newest member?” Disaster wondered aloud. He looked at Commander, who shrugged.
“The kid went to find the restroom. What can I say?”
“You didn’t offer to show him the way?” Perlakian teased.
> “I gave him directions. He’s a big boy. He can figure it out.”
“Speaking of,” Time Merchant spoke up as Wooly walked through the door.
“Hey, where have you been?” Provoker asked. “Dinner’s getting cold because of your tardiness.”
Wooly blushed furiously. “Sorry. I…”
Sender got up from where she was eating and walked over to where the young man was awkwardly shuffling from one foot to another.
“Hey, don’t let Provoker get to you. That’s what he does best, irritating the crabbies out of you. Come on, I’ll show you where you can find something to eat.”
“I meant to ask you earlier,” Deceiver remarked to the newcomer. “Do you want us to call you Wooly? Is that the Guardian name you want to be known as? Or is there another name you’d prefer?”
Wooly paused. His eyebrows knitted together as he considered the Guardian leader’s question. “Well, you guys can still call me Wooly. But as for a Guardian name, can I get back to you on that? Let me think some more on it.”
Sender gave Wooly’s jumpsuit a tug. “And when you decide what you want to be called, maybe we can design you a niftier looking costume.” The young man blushed again, but it was apparent he enjoyed Sender’s attention.
“If you’re needing a little time, that’s not a problem,” Deceiver answered. “By the way, did you have any trouble finding your way around? This place can seem a bit convoluted.”
Wooly threw a thumb over his shoulder. “Nope. I ran into Bruiser. He told me which way the men’s dorms were, and where the nearest restrooms were located. He also said I get to have my own apartment.”
“That’s true,” Sender told him. “We each have our own apartments, except Seeker and I share a room. The women’s quarters are on the other side of the concourse, separate from the men’s.”
“And the married unit is separate from the other two,” Time Merchant added, tossing a finger in the direction where Perlakian and Commander were sitting. “Except for those two. They have their bunk at the rear of the clinic.”
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