Connor's Gambit

by Z Gottlieb

  “I don’t date others and you haven’t dated anyone in years. It wouldn’t be convenient for me to find another place.”

  “Convenience isn’t a good reason to move in together. My dating status may change for me in the near future and you should consider accepting others into your life. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with another person socially without your brother, Nan, or me.”

  Shinny stiffened in reaction. “Before we moved here nine years ago, I was in a relationship. There was no desire for me to continue it.”

  Brad was surprised with her revelation. Rarely had Shinny ever mentioned anything personal to him.

  “He reported to my father. I was aware his interest in me originated in an idea that my father would help him achieve certain things or enhance his status at work. I think he realized early in the relationship that my father would not care.”

  Brad’s heart stopped, hearing her disclosure. How long had she kept the abuse bottled up? Although her father was dead and it had been nine years, something needed to be done about the bastard who was probably still walking free. He asked quietly, “Your father knew and didn’t stop it? I don’t know what to say. Do you need me to help you find a counselor to talk to?” Maybe this explained everything. No wonder Shinny kept to herself. He wanted to hug her and reassure her that everything would be all right. He restrained himself, looking for a sign she would be comfortable with him touching her.

  “A counselor? What are you talking about?” A strange glint came from her eyes as she stared directly at him. “No, the situation wasn’t what you are thinking. The age difference between Ken and me was less than the age difference between us. I’m sorry if it sounded worse than it was. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t special either. It was more of a quasi-friendship.”

  “A quasi-friendship?” He was more confused even more from her answer. “I don’t understand, I’m two months older than you, yet always too young. However, someone who worked for your father was closer in age. Did you share the same birthday or something?”

  She rubbed her head as if a pressure there matched the anxiety in her voice. She spoke slowly and carefully, choosing her words, “Brad, this is difficult for me to explain. Looking back there was a friendship but it was never going to go further. It left a vacuum inside and Ken wasn’t the right person for me.”

  “This is one of the oddest conversations I’ve had with you. I’m not sure I understand what you want from me.” Brad ran his hand through his hair in frustration, looking back at the stars.

  “This may be odd for you, but as I said a moment ago, it is very difficult for me. I want to move in with you. I will admit that at one time I saw you being much too young for me, and you are still young, but you have also matured and changed.”

  Brad sat listening to the silence between them. He was truly lost trying to understand what she was asking from him and why she still thought he was too young. He hadn’t heard a sound, but something pressed against the side of his body. Shinny leaned against him with her face resting on his shoulder. He was flabbergasted but felt comforted and reassured with her contact. He turned slightly and cautiously caressed her face, surprised by the moisture on his fingertips, as if the floodgates had opened. “You’ve been crying. Is everything, okay?”

  “I know. I don’t think I’ve cried like this in a century since my mother died.”

  Brad choked down his laughter, hearing the sorrow in her voice. “You mean a decade. It’s been almost a decade since you moved here.”

  “You’re right, I meant decade. Seeing Connor with Nan has affected me more than I thought it would and has me thinking more and more about my mother.”

  “Is there something you want to tell me about Nan?” He asked, as he caressed her head.

  “No, Nan has been wonderful. I could not have picked a more perfect person for Connor. Their relationship just triggered a lot of craziness inside of me.”

  Brad was subdued by her statement and didn’t want to take it further, thinking he might never have another chance to hold her, but he couldn’t let it lie there, either. “Was it the craziness that spurred you to ask to move in with me?” he asked softly, closing his eyes in preparation for her answer.

  “No, I have been thinking about it for a while. I think the craziness caused me to blurt it out and have this meltdown. Nan was right when she told me I should not have waited this long to talk to you. Honestly, I’m not sure what I will do if you say no.”

  Brad watched the tears fall from her face. He had missed the signs she was ready for him, and wondered if there had been any. “You can move in but all the bedrooms are taken. One bedroom is my office, another bedroom is the exercise room, and then there’s my bedroom,” he teased as he wiped the tears off her cheek and gently kissed it.

  “I’m not asking for a room. I was thinking more the left side of your bed or the right side. The side you’re not using,” she clarified looking at him.

  “I’m not sure there’s an unused side; I think I’m using both sides.” He chuckled.

  “I think I can handle that. You might be nudged or thrown to the other side of the bed now and then,” she said with a smile in her voice.

  Brad stood and reached to pull Shinny up next to him. He held her, looking at her perfect face. “Shinny, I want you with me; it’s all I have wanted for a long time. I want to marry you but I need to have a few ground rules.”

  She tipped her face up to his. “What are these rules?”

  Brad combed the loose hair behind her ear. “No more protecting your brother. He’s a big boy and he has Nan.” She nodded in agreement. “No secrets. I want our marriage to be as good as my parents’ and I’m sure as your parents’ was. Finally, you will stop telling your brother and others that I’m young.”

  She placed her arms around his neck. “I’ll stop protecting my brother, but I will still keep in shape and train. I’ll do everything I can to keep our marriage as good as our parents’. I will stop referring to your youth.” She stood on her toes, reaching for his lips with hers.

  Brad remembered the kiss as one that didn’t seem to have an ending. He was concerned she still had a few secrets. He could not understand the reason for the secrets and did not understand her lack of trust in him. Occasionally, he worried she might be keeping something reprehensible from him. However, he couldn’t imagine what it could be, knowing her for as long as he had. On the other hand, he couldn’t imagine his life without Shinny and didn’t want to press her. If it was something Shinny wanted to talk about, she would. He had faith that one day she would explain everything to him.

  Brad gazed at the sky again, wondering what prompted him to think about the first time he brought Shinny here. Brad wasn’t sure what happened to change Shinny when they returned to their hometown after college, but it was as if someone turned the light switch on and Shinny could see him, finally. He never tempted fate and accepted his good fortune when it came to her. Brad suspected he owed Shinny’s change to Nan, Connor’s wife, for giving Shinny the final push.

  Glancing at his watch, he was grateful that he had his own company and could be flexible with his hours since it was getting quite late. He continued to look for the UFO and saw no further signs. He stood up and stretched his legs to shake out the stiffness. He looked one more time at the sky while he slowly turned around. Seeing nothing new, he walked toward home. He would check to see if Connor found a flight record on a military aircraft that may have entered the area before he chalked it up it to an overactive imagination.

  Chapter 3

  Connor held Ben with his right arm while he placed his left index finger on the sensor reader to unlock the front door. Hearing the confirmation click, Connor gestured a command for the door to open. He stepped through the doorway past the hall closet and turned toward Nan. “I need to make sure I didn’t miss a visitor notification. Could you put the kids to bed without me tonight?”

  Nan nodded in agreement. “This needs to be settled as soon as p
ossible.” She looked at the sleeping child in her arms. “Sarah does not look like she’ll be able to walk on her own. Please ask Ben to help me.”

  Connor placed Ben on the floor and looked at his son’s small sleepy face. “Ben, I need you to help your mother put Sarah to bed. I have important work to do. I know I can trust you to help your mother.”

  “I can help Mommy.” Ben yawned as he turned and walked down the hallway with Nan. Connor watched his wife and son walk toward the bedrooms. Connor had discussed their children’s future with Nan; they both agreed on what they needed to do and to do it soon. He looked forward to the day he could introduce the children to their other relatives. He could only hope Shinny and Brad would make similar choices for Dane one day, but he was not sure if Brad would be comfortable subjecting his son to the medical procedure. He could understand Brad’s likely discomfort, considering his background. Hopefully they would be able to convince him it was a safe procedure and would benefit Dane in the long-term. Connor loved Brad like a son, but there were times Brad could be too stubborn for his own good.

  Connor walked forward a few feet and turned left, passing through the great room. Lights responded to his motion. He turned as he approached his office. He had turned the closet at the back of the room into a small office with a standing desk and small shelves holding books lying on their sides. The books were disguised, powerful servers and communication data equipment he had designed and built to support both his research and personal project. His designs were several generations ahead of what was commercially available, but he wasn’t sure if marketing his designs was the right thing to do now or to wait until the prevailing culture was more mature. Nan was working to provide him with more insight on his dilemma but currently the children limited the time she had available to focus on her research. For now, the technology wasn’t his primary concern. He needed to focus on finding an explanation for the vehicle Brad had described.

  Connor checked several websites tracking commercial and military flights. He did not see any indication that either a commercial or a military plane had flown over their area. He had hoped he would find something on the Internet because he did not want to think about the alternative. He had been leaning toward the alternative, but a dearth of evidence supported his hunch. He was baffled and wasn’t sure what to think. Brad did a fairly good job in describing the Fleet vehicle, but Connor had neither received the required visit notification nor did the station logs show any vehicles scheduled to fly in this hemisphere. In fact, the log showed that all of the vehicles were currently docked in ready status at the station. Connor was not happy, as he wasn’t sure what this meant. He would do more research and contact the station commander for more information. Once he had gathered all of his facts and had a clear understanding of the situation, he might be able to provide Brad with an answer.

  Connor was still reviewing the vehicle logs from the past few days when the doorbell rang. Looking at his watch, he couldn’t imagine who would be visiting this close to midnight, and wondered if Brad was swinging by to find out if he had found more information. Backing out of his office, he turned and walked to the hallway and sent a message to Nan, he would see who was at the door.

  Connor swiped his pad, discreetly moving the camera positioned at the front door. He saw one person, but the view was enough to cause alarm. He hadn’t seen this man in fifteen years. He was torn between his irritation an advance message had not been sent and questioning how bad the situation must be for his visitor to be at his door at this time.

  As he opened his door, the lanky, six-foot-tall, Fleet attired Admiral Griken greeted him with a terse nod of a salute, in deference to Connor. “Connor, I apologize for intruding on your home life. CIG has sent me with a request to discuss an issue with you. I also have a message to pass to the major.”

  “Griken, come in.” Connor suppressed his annoyance. He noted Griken’s reluctance to refer to Shinny by his nickname for her. It was just as well, as she had moved on with her life. Although Connor was not surprised Griken had been promoted to Admiral, he was astonished how quickly Griken had risen to his new rank. “Congratulations on your Flag rank.” Connor paused, thinking he might as well get to the bottom of Griken’s visit. “I was wondering how CIG was handling the conflict. I assume that is why you are here.”

  Griken nodded. “Thank you. I credit the promotion to my time with you as my mentor,” Griken announced. “However, I also credit the Aneplé for the rapid advancement.” Griken paused, taking in a deep breath. “You were right. Truthfully, CIG and the Fleet have not handled the current conflict well. As you predicted, it appears as if the Treaty gave the Aneplé an opportunity to implement a strategic pause to plan, rebuild, and expand. CIG has lost a number of planets, transit gates, and weapon platforms,” Griken stated, grimly. “Overall, the Fleet’s performance in defending those areas has been unacceptable,” Griken added, deepening his frown. “Is the major here?” Griken glanced around the house, trying to hide his curiosity.

  Connor was not happy to hear the Aneplé mentioned and his body tensed in reaction to Griken’s description of CIG’s current status. The ramifications were unsettling. He was sure Griken would have more to say about it once Shinny joined them. “No she isn’t, but she is close by and I’ll ask someone to retrieve her.” Connor sent a message to Nan to ask Shinny to join him, after she finished putting Ben and Sarah to bed.

  Nan stepped into the hallway and saw an Admiral standing with Connor. Alarmed, she asked Connor through her chip if she needed to take the children across the street. He responded that they were safe, but asked her to encourage Shinny to join them as soon as possible.

  Griken was surprised to see the petite woman with long flaxen hair and a small, four-planet solar system tattooed at the corner of her eye, enter into the hallway. Nanlinen Quananx was an academic celebrity, renowned for her research on the four observed planetary systems represented by her tattoo. She had been personally responsible for shepherding three new planets into CIG’s fold. Seeing Quananx here would explain some of Connor’s apparent idiosyncrasies.

  “Nan, I would like to introduce you to an old friend of mine, Admiral Velslun Griken. Griken and I worked together at my last Fleet assignment.”

  Griken smiled and addressed Nanlinen. “Nanlinen Quananx, it is my pleasure to meet you. I’ve read many of your studies and hope there will be an opportunity to discuss your current research.”

  “Admiral, please call me Nan. I now go by Nan N’Klaftin,” Nan insisted, as she returned the smile. “Currently, I’m working with a team observing the varied cultures on this planet. Unfortunately, the research is not mature enough to discuss outside of our circle,” she explained. “I promise as soon as the analysis is complete and we can release our findings, I will ask Connor to contact you. I assume you have more important issues to discuss with Connor. I look forward to speaking with you at a later time.”

  Griken was confused why she referred to N’Klaftin by his Fleet honorific title Connor instead of his name, but it must something between the admiral and Nan. It wasn’t his position to question her choice. However, he was pleased with the prospect of one day sitting down and learning from Nan about her research of an observed planet. “I understand. I will look forward to you sharing your findings with me when you have completed your research.” Turning to Connor, he smiled. “You are a lucky canine to have Nan as a life partner.”

  Connor and Nan gave him an odd look, and then Connor laughed. “The idiom is ‘you lucky dog’,” Connor said, as he opened the door for Nan to leave.

  “Hmm, the language uploaded on my chip shows canine as a synonym to dog. Does the station need to update their language ontology?” Griken asked.

  Connor motioned for Griken to follow him as he walked into the great room off to the left. “No, it’s an odd language and there are quirks that need to be learned over time or with an advanced language module. If you return, you may want to ask for the update.” Connor walked tow
ard a sitting area at the center of the room and motioned to Griken to sit. “Nan went to retrieve Shinny; it may be a few minutes.”

  “Shinny? Who is Shinny?” Griken crossed to the mantle to look at the family pictures on display. He had been stunned at how much Connor had aged in the short time he had been on the planet. Connor had definitely turned off his chip’s rejuvenation capability. Looking at the family pictures, Griken realized that although the planet was somewhat primitive, he had been too quick in judging Connor’s decision to move here and turn his rejuvenation function off solely on his appearance.

  “Nee decided she wanted to be known by her given name, Shin, but then decided Shinny would be easier for the natives on this planet to accept. Since we were in a new area, it was an easy change. Would you like to have a seat? Can I offer you a beer?”

  “I have been sitting for a while. I’ll stand, if you don’t mind, and I’ll take the beer.” The station briefer had mentioned if he was offered a beer to take it, since he might enjoy it. “You were right when you predicted the treaty would weaken the Fleet and eventually lead to further losses of territory. CIG has finally reached a point where the losses can’t be ignored. They are attempting to recall a number of admirals who were set aside.”

  “I’ll keep my comments to myself for now,” Connor responded, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. His anger built inside, knowing the price paid by so many individuals in the Fleet for the CIG’s negotiation of a worthless treaty. Although CIG’s politicians had negotiated in good faith, as he expected the Aneplé had not abided by the terms agreed to by both sides. Connor shook his head in amazement at the naivety of the politicians.

  “I can understand your reluctance to discuss past decisions. I am curious about what you have been working on since you arrived. Are you part of Nan’s research team?”