The Star Captains' Daughter
Page 26
Some tears escaped. Junior looked at her father tall in the doorway, light brown hair, gentle green eyes like hers.
Clean-shaven, regulation haircut, Edward Delano was human again in a tan raglan shirt which emphasized his massive chest and shoulders. Her mother must’ve picked out the shirt for him. He pulled something out of his pocket and sat down on the bed’s edge. Taking her hand, he placed the something in it.
Junior opened her hand to the glittering gold. “Your wings.” Even though pilot’s wings were no longer pinned to uniforms, it was still tradition to award them after the first solo flight.
Her father looked upon her. “Well, I figured if you’re going to be a pilot I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone else teach you. I mean…” he shrugged, the regret clear on his face “…if…if you want me to. I’m in charge of all the Maverick’s U. F. cadets now.”
Gripping the wings in her hand, Junior tried to smile and managed to get out a whisper. “I want you to.”
Delano smiled and cleared his throat to hide the emotion behind it.
Olivia spoke up. “’There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots; the other is wings.’”
They looked at her.
Olivia smiled. “Cecelia Lasbury.” She smoothed Junior’s wavy red hair over her shoulder.
Junior spent that day and night in the medical bay while Karana monitored how well she adapted to the Specialized Neural Inhibiter. She asked and was permitted to stay in the more private Intensive Care Unit, even though there were no complications. She accepted no visitors, except her parents.
The following morning, she left the medical bay a little earlier than scheduled and made her way to her new private quarters through the work conduits. As she climbed ladders and crawled through the technical tunnels, she marveled out how much smaller they seemed compared to her childhood days of unbridled energy. At last, she popped a vent outside her door and rose to her feet in an empty corridor.
Replacing the vent, Junior faced the door to her very own private quarters. If not for the ship’s new counselor, she would still be sharing quarters with her parents. Thank God, the counselor was able to convince them that she needed to ‘individuate’ from them as part of the healing process. She stepped up to the door and it slid open for her.
Inside, the décor was standard issue gray. Storage containers with her childhood belongings stacked in the far corner, waiting to be unpacked. She had nothing from her time in the Menelaen Empire.
“No, wait.” Junior reached inside the neck of her Jade silk blouse and pulled out Ariez’s gold ra chain coupled with her silver bennu necklace. Breathe in, breathe out. “Stella, locate Star Captains Olivia and Edward Delano.”
“Captains Olivia and Edward Delano are located in the Mess Hall.”
She walked over to her computer desk and tapped the monitor. “Display security screen Delta-nine.”
The screen illuminated with the image of her parents holding hands on a small round table, framed by the starry window. Dad laughed his great old booming laugh and Mom smiled like she was plotting some terrific trick.
Junior rolled her lips and rubbed her stinging nose.
The door chimed.
Groan.
Rehama’s voice came over com. “Open the door or I’ll hack into the security protocols.”
Frown. “Come in.” She tapped off the image of her parents having breakfast.
The door slid open and her best friend, besides Ret, walked in, ice cream container and two large mixing spoons in hand. She held up the container as the door slid closed. “Double Altarian chocolate – the finest cure for a broken known to humanity.”
“Broken heart?” Junior harrumphed, just like Isaiah, folded her arms and glared at the stars.
“We’ve been best friends since we were babies.” Rehama came to stand beside her and thrust the container into her arms. “We don’t need telepathy.” She held up one spoon.
Now pushing twenty years of age, Rehama wore her long black hair loose and her face had lost all of her childhood roundness.
Junior almost forgave her for needing a bra before she did. “Give me that before you hurt yourself.” She took the spoon and the container and slumped into the sofa.
Rehama snickered and slumped down beside her. “Was he worth it?”
“Yeah. He was.”
“I’m still a virgin.” Rehama dug in her spoon too.
“Really?” Cram in the ice cream and swallow.
“Ret’s gay and everyone else is too old, and Jakoby’s… ” Rehama cut off her own sentence with a dignified bite of ice cream.
“Ret’s gay?” Junior licked the edge of her spoon. “I don’t know why that never occurred to me before. Well, why didn’t you go to the Academy on Earth then? There’s gotta be tons of gorgeous, heterosexual guys there.”
“I wanted to hang out with my best friend again. We never got to say good-bye before. Who knows how long it’ll last before we traipse off in our own directions and never see each other again?” Rehama dug in her spoon again. “Besides, do you really think you can serve under your parents’ command for long?”
“I never thought of that either.” Junior licked the back of her spoon and studied the stars.
“Even if you make admiral, you’ll always be their little baby girl.”
Junior had to laugh a little at that. “Oh, you're right. They're pathetic! The first time Mom tries to clean a smudge off my face on the Bridge, I’ll probably run screaming the nearest airlock."
Rehama laughed.
“I don’t want anyone calling me ‘Junior’ anymore.” Junior took a small bit of ice cream and rolled it around on her tongue before swallowing.
“What do you want us to call you then? Rowan?”
“Oh, God, no.” Junior let her head hang back on the sofa.
“What then?”
“Gennie Delano.” Deep breath and she straightened up. “I’m Gennie Delano all on my own now.”
The End
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Food for the mind
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24