Hunter Legacy 11: Home Is Where the Hero Is

by Timothy Ellis

  The twins caught a trolley to head up into the ship, and Jane took me to the Launch Deck in another one. We took the Gig.

  Twenty Six

  On the way down, I described everything I could remember about the nightmare. The position of the sun, gas giants, asteroid fields, and where the black dots started appearing. It wasn’t much to go on. The only hope we had of advance notice of where and when, was if Jane could come up with a realistic visual of how each system moved, which hopefully all three of us would recognize when we saw it. To do that, she had to figure out where the visions we'd had put us in the system. There was every chance this wasn’t going to work, simply because we couldn’t provide Jane enough details to present the right picture to us. With luck, the twins would remember more than I did. After all, while I was a visually oriented person, I wasn’t noted for being overly observant.

  Had the nightmare only been once, or very far apart, I'd have been useless as far as this was concerned. But I’d been having the nightmare from a very early age, and the view across the system was etched into my brain. The pity was, we couldn’t just connect my brain up, and download the image. PC's had come a long way, and the integration of brain and computer was advancing all the time, but we weren't yet at the point where an image out of a dream could be captured by the computer. They were working on it.

  Jane went over it from every angle she could think of, until I snapped at her that the third degree was getting tiresome. I apologized immediately. It wasn’t her fault. The timing was bad, was all.

  Jane dropped me off on the roof of my parent's building, and was gone before I entered it. I sent an 'enjoy the inquisition' ping off to the twins, and received a 'gee thanks' back.

  Everyone was there, including my Dad, who should have been on Galactica finalizing leaving. David was also there, so I wasn’t the only one being fare-welled.

  Dinner could only be described as painfully awkward. Mum was dry eyed, much to my amazement. Saying goodbye to her husband and son at the same time had to be tearing her up inside, but she put a brave face on it. Grandma Violet on the other hand, had a wet face the whole way through. Even Fred was unusually quiet.

  We talked of family matters, politely ignoring the real reason for the dinner. Other than David's family, who were staying with him on Hunter's Haven, the rest of the family who'd been living on Outback, the Orbital, or been working freighters, had all come home. The family apartments had been emptied. As soon as David and I left the system, the working members of the family would create a new business structure, working towards what Gaia needed in place in a year's time, or whenever after. They covered some of the basics with David, until impolitely told to shut up by those not wanting to hear people talk shop at the dinner table.

  After dessert, while most were enjoying their coffee, and a few were indulging in what they said was a fine Port, I stood. Talk subsided as people noticed me. I looked over to where Jane was standing. She'd come in quietly a short while earlier, with a look which suggested I needed to be gone soon.

  "Jane, will you record this please?" I sub-vocalized to her. "And can you get Sarah linked in so she can see this too?"

  "Confirmed," she replied through my PC.

  A few moments later, Sarah's face appeared on one of the walls.

  "I have some announcements to make," I said, in a tone you usually used for making a toast. "David, please stand."

  He did so, looking confused.

  "David Tollin, for your unstinting work on behalf of the Duchy of Hunter's Run, especially when I wasn’t around to carry any of the load, I hereby bestow on you the title of Earl of Outback."

  I'd chosen Outback instead of Nexus because it had a habitable planet, and this technically speaking, was a granting of land.

  There was a shocked silence, almost immediately followed by a room going crazy. I allowed the congratulations to go on naturally, until things quietened down, and David gestured me to go on.

  "I've not prepared any insignia as yet, so we'll need to discuss this when we get home."

  Home. The word echoed in my mind. Home wasn’t Gaia anymore. It was Hunter's Haven, or BigMother, depending on where I was. I'd known this, but at the same time, I hadn't. It hit home now. Some wit had once suggested that home was where you parked your shoes at night. It wasn’t here anymore. And actually, it never had been here at all, since I'd lived in space. The whole concept of home began to slip away from me.

  David nodded to me. I knew we had a lot to discuss. I'd been away a long time, and needed to pick up the slack again. But it had to wait until we left the Gaia system. He sat, and I remained standing.

  "I want to officially acknowledge that Sarah's son Michael is my son. We didn’t marry as she'd wanted, but he is a Hunter, and with Sarah's permission, he will be Michael Hunter."

  I looked to the wall, with a look asking for her to agree. All eyes were on her.

  "I have no problem with that," she said.

  "Good," I said. "Because I hereby bestow on Michael Hunter the title of Earl of Gaia."

  Sarah was shocked. I guess it had never occurred to her I could do such a thing. I went on over the hubbub.

  "The Gaia council today deeded to the Duchy the city around us, as an embassy for the Duchy. Everyone in this city is now a citizen of the Duchy of Hunter's Run. The city is now an Earldom, and Michael is its Earl. I won't be here to guide him, so the task will fall to the family. In the event that all is lost on the other side of the jump point and I don’t return, Michael will be Duke to replace me. In such a case, and should a suitable planet become available in the future, I’d recommend the Duchy settle such a planet."

  There were nods down the table from the more senior members, particularly those who administered the family businesses. I made eye contact with them, and added my nod to theirs. But I wasn’t finished.

  "Fred. Stand please."

  He stood, not knowing what to expect, and he wasn’t alone in that.

  "You're a bit young for this, but I don’t have an alternative. As the only other Hunter male beside Michael and myself, I bestow on you the title of Baron of the Run, equivalent to what the British call a Baron of the Royal Court, when lands are not included in the title. Further, when you reach eighteen, I appoint you Regent of the Earldom, until Michael turns eighteen. Ages are to be in standard years, not Gaia years. You will hold the title of Regent immediately, but under the guidance of the family administrators."

  He looked stunned, as did a lot of others.

  "It's not ideal, but it’s the best I can do the night before I leave."

  I looked down the table at the few I knew really ran the family businesses. I looked each of them in the eye, and waited until they nodded. There was nothing I could do to make sure they guided Fred rather than bossed him around until he turned eighteen, but I could at least make them aware I knew what I was asking of all of them. The nods came, and I had hopes this would work.

  "You may sit Baron Fred."

  I grinned at his discomfort, and he sat awkwardly. His mother hugged him, saw me watching and mouthed 'thankyou'. I mouthed 'you're welcome' back. And it was the least I could do, given her husband and his father had died a year ago, on my road to legacy.

  Michael would be Duke one day. I had no doubts about that. Fred would hopefully grow up into a wise advisor. I'd done what I could for their futures, it was now up to them.

  I nodded to Jane, and Sarah vanished from the wall, and the recording stopped. I gave Jane permission to release the recording to Amy. The council needed to see it, and it needed a combined release to the media.

  The final goodbyes were long and painful, ending with Grandma Violet, and my mother. Neither wanted to let go.

  I asked my Dad if he wanted a lift topside with me, and he told me he was coming up in the morning, before breakfast. We were scheduled to leave at nine. David told me the same thing. I assumed he was going to be spending much of the night giving instructions.

  With last kisses
from Grandma and Mum, Jane dragged me out of there. I hadn't found a tear override, but hadn't needed it. Until now. The tears flowed all the way home.

  Aline and Angel were waiting for me.

  Twenty Seven

  "GOOD MORNING GAIA!"

  I jerked awake at the sheer volume of it. Next to me, Aline did the same, proving it wasn’t in my head, but had happened for real. Angel yowled, her fur stood on end, and she shot off the bed.

  "Jesus Christ on a bloody crutch!" I exclaimed. "Jane!"

  You rang?

  "Jesus?" I said in my head.

  Of course. You called for me.

  "No I didn’t."

  Yes you did.

  "Sorry, no. Gut reaction to extreme stimuli, leading to taking one's name in vain."

  Ah. Well while I've got you, I have a message for you.

  "Shoot."

  You wish me to take you literally?

  "Err, no."

  You wish the message?

  "Please."

  Take them.

  "Take who?"

  Them. All of them.

  "Fine. Anything else?"

  Yes. Leave those as well.

  "Take them and leave those?"

  Yes.

  "Jon!" yelled Aline. "Get a grip!"

  "What?"

  "You were muttering to yourself."

  "No I wasn’t."

  "Sounded like it to me."

  "Whatever."

  I fell off the bed.

  "Jon," said Jane. "Get up. Meeting in your Ready Room in ten."

  "Can whoever it is come here? It feels quite safe down here."

  Aline hauled me up, and frog marched me into the shower.

  Nine minutes later, I was in my Ready Room. Annabelle appeared before I’d settled into my desk chair.

  The day was supposed to be so simple. Get up, ignore breakfast, button up the ship, wait for Galactica to undock and start towards the jump point, follow her, and together turn up at the Shipyard in Outback somewhere before lunch. Transfer everyone from Galactica, with all their stuff, and be back at Hunter's Haven for dinner.

  "We have a situation Jon," she said as came in and sat opposite me. "Actually, we have two situations but they're really two halves of the same whole."

  It took me a moment to take that in.

  "Today was supposed to be uncomplicated. We leave. We go home. How did complicated situations come into this?"

  "They just do. You know that as well as anyone."

  "Fine. What's the first half?"

  "We have marines and pilots who don’t want to leave."

  I didn’t take it in.

  "What?"

  "Some of our marines and pilots want to stay here with their families, now they've moved here."

  "How many?"

  "About a team's worth of marines, and ten pilots. This includes the Major who leads team five, and one of the 617 squadron leaders."

  I sighed. Obviously this was the 'leave them' part.

  "What do the marines plan to do here?"

  "Continue acting as one of our teams, under Colonel Jane's command. Gaia has no marines, at least not trained to our level. The local militia commander came to see me last night, and begged me to leave someone behind who could train them to our level. The word got around. I think it's worth doing. When push comes to shove in the future, we may need a force of marines here, who haven’t seen any fighting elsewhere, and are fresh troops for whatever situations occur. As well as training, they could also recruit."

  I sighed again.

  "Fine. Approved. I don’t think they'll find too many recruits here, but maybe some of the kids coming up through the non-spiritual communities will want to train. What about the pilots?"

  "They think Eric and Jessie need an escort, and want to take Gladiators, so they can live on their ships for long periods at a time."

  "I doubt they want to."

  "Well no, but they know you can't spare anything better. It's not so much combat ability they want, as a ship which can stay out there a long time. Actually, I think they want the opportunity to be real explorers."

  "I can understand that. Approved. Jane?"

  "Yes boss?"

  "Do we have anything in Outback at the moment which could be used as a support ship?"

  "Not really. But we are leaving a comnavsat freighter here. I can leave specs to have it upgraded to also build missiles. Locals would have to supply the resources, but it could also carry food, water, and other consumables for the fighters. They'd need to supply some cargo droids as well. It won't be any use for the pilots themselves, since it has no life support. Hence the need for cargo droids to do the heavy lifting."

  "Fine, organize it please."

  "Confirmed."

  "Are you leaving a standard avatar here?"

  "I was. You think it should be non-standard?"

  "I was thinking its role is now military commander for this system, and possibly this whole area of space. It might be better if she looked older and more experienced than the sweet young thing you usually are."

  "Closer to D-Jane?"

  "Yes, but look like a Colonel is expected to look like."

  "Buzz cut hairdo, severe face, and sun bronzed leather-look skin?"

  Anabelle laughed.

  "Sounds about right."

  "I can do that."

  "Good. Better get quarters on the station, and live like a normal person too."

  "Confirmed."

  I looked back to Annabelle.

  "They have an hour to get their arses off this ship."

  "I think they're already packed. Shouldn’t take that long."

  "What's the other half of this mess?"

  "We have about two hundred people who want to leave with us."

  "Why?"

  "Mixture of reasons. Some want to follow you. Some want to be marines where marines are welcomed. Some want to learn to fly, where they can use it to effect."

  "Marines aren't welcomed here?"

  "Nothing military is. You should know that. The police are para-military, and there is a small army force in case one's needed, without much expectation of it. But all the spiritual communities don’t welcome them in. They co-operate, but begrudgingly. How come you don’t know this?"

  "I spent most of my life on Galactica. We space borne people don’t do dirtside very well. It was somewhere to visit, and as a kid, it was mainly with school groups, which wouldn’t have been threatening, even coming from the space based community. I knew we had something, but they mainly do relief work. Or at least, that’s all I heard them ever doing."

  "You know some of the feed from our takeover of the mining asteroid made it onto media reports. It seemed to act as well as a recruiting advert. Our CAP has been getting media attention as well. People here are accustomed to Galactica, and shuttles flying around, but Fighters zooming around at very fast speeds is something new. The media have shown some of the training flights as well, and so we have pilot recruits who want to do what they saw zooming around."

  "What does BA think?"

  "She's already planning boot camp."

  I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

  "Lacey?"

  "Has already approached a couple of his pilots to act as instructors."

  "Fine. Approved. Camp them on the Cargo Deck until we get to Hunter's Haven. Jane?"

  "What is thy bidding…"

  "Knock it off. Is the Hunter tower on Hunter's Haven ready for a boot camp?"

  "It can be very soon. Just needs outfitting of one of the barracks we haven't needed yet."

  "Talk to BA about how she wants it set up. The pilots can be run through it as well as the grunts. Once they have the basics, the training can be diversified according to what they aim to be. And tell BA to be on the lookout for potential officers. Co-ordinate through General Smith. BA can be as hands on as she likes, but if we need to be somewhere else, it needs to run fine without her."

  "Maybe you should tell her tha
t."

  "Chicken."

  "Bruck, bruck."

  Annabelle was laughing again.

  "When you get a moment General, talk to Walter Harriman. He might have some people who need or want the type of marine training we can offer. Or he may have some recruits who want to start from scratch our way."

  "Will do."

  I gave her raised eyebrows to ask if she had anything more.

  "There are also about fifty people who just plain want to leave."

  "Leave? What on Gaia for?"

  "As I understand it, they want to see the spine for themselves. Travel for as long as they can."

  "Tourists?"

  "Apparently so."

  "Do they have permission to leave from the council?"

  "No idea."

  "Ask the Keeper to find out. But I have no objection if they don’t."

  I thought about it a bit more.

  "I have no objection even if the council objects. It's very likely Galactica has stowaways already. May as well make it officially okay. But make it quite clear they are on their own when we get to Nexus. They either have to find accommodation, crew on ships heading out, or buy passage to where they want to go. The free ride ends in Nexus."

  "I'll get on with it then. Thanks Jon."

  She rose and left.

  "Can I go back to bed now?"

  "No," said Jane.

  Twenty Eight

  I pinged Lacey to come join me. He bounced in a short time later, interrupting my email processing. I waved him to the chair across from me.

  "How do you feel about the deserters?" I asked him.

  He laughed. I looked at him seriously.

  "I have no problem with it, and happen to agree with their logic. The two Camels really do need some support. Besides, the ones going are the ones who have the hardest time with sitting around doing nothing but boring patrols and training. Exploring is in their blood. Let them do what they love, and it helps the AMS people at the same time. Anyway, you never liked any of our people flying Gladiators into combat, so it gets rid of a few of them."