Tim flashed a grin. “I was listening…” He racked his brain to see if he could shake loose what Sabine had been telling him while he’d been imagining the various ways they could have fun with a few sets of zip ties and a large pot of Yollin honey and almost got lost in the daydream all over again.
“Tim!” Sabine waved her hands to bring him back. “You have no idea, do you?”
He hung his head and held up his hands. “You’re right, I wasn’t listening,” he admitted. “But in my defense, you totally distracted me.”
Sabine chuckled, her blue eyes sparkling. “I was just wishing you luck for your meeting with Peter. I will see you tomorrow, no?”
Her eyebrow quirked a bit and Tim’s concentration almost went again. “With bells on.”
Sabine giggled. “Now, that I would love to see.”
The screen went dark, and Tim sat there for a few minutes to shake off the dazed feeling Sabine always left him with. That woman was a witch; he was sure of it.
CEREBRO pinged the speaker on Tim’s desk, dragging him reluctantly back to reality. “What's up?”
One of CEREBRO's more businesslike voices came from the speaker. “The Achronyx is due to arrive at dock zero-zero-one within the next half-hour. Commander Silvers has just filed the flight plan with us.”
Tim pushed his chair back, getting to his feet. “Shit!” He grabbed his jacket from the hook by the door and slid his arms into the sleeves. “He’s getting here early?”
“He asked us to inform you that he will be taking a walk around the station before your meeting.”
“Thanks, CEREBRO.” Tim headed out the door, opening a link to Rickie and Joel. Guys, Peter got here early, and it looks like he’s here for more than discussing this month’s rotation. Please tell me we’re ready for the surprise inspection he’s calling a “walk.”
Oh, sure, Rickie deadpanned. I’ll just run around and close up all the drug dens and brothels we got running all over the station before Peter notices them. Shit, Tim. Chill.
Joel cut in, Shut it, Rickie. We’re good, boss. That's the old Tim talking. You've got everything under control. I'm even looking forward to giving my report on the teams.
Tim waited for CEREBRO to open the elevator door and stepped in. I know. Hell, I'm impressed at how effectively the system is working.
Joel’s enthusiasm was contagious.
Rickie didn't need any extra pep. It just makes too much sense to steer the adventure seekers toward the fight they're looking for.
The inspection isn't a problem, Joel continued, Peter is fair. It could be much worse; we could be getting a visit from the Admiral's wife.
Tim shuddered, remembering Mrs. Foxton-Thomas' last visit to the station. We should count ourselves lucky. She's almost as demanding as the Queen.
Rickie's reply was laced with admiration. Yeah, but she's shit-hot at recruiting all the unruly assholes who turn up here into the Navy.
The elevator opened, and Tim spotted a pair of those same assholes getting into it in a seating area by the vending machines.
He ground his teeth when he saw the damage they'd caused with their petty drama and strode over. “What’s going on here?” he demanded, grabbing the two young men by their hair to pull them apart.
They struggled until they saw who had hold of them. Then they went pale, recognizing Tim's face from the orientation video.
Tim released the pair of them once he was satisfied they'd calmed down.
They glared at each other, and each of the Weres began accusing the other at the same time.
Tim folded his arms across his chest. “Enough!” he roared at the young Weres. “This is a battle station, not the Wild fucking West. Whatever the hell you two are fighting over, I don't care. It's done.”
He pointed around at the vending machine guts strewn about. “Both of you will clean up this fucking disrespect you showed my station and then report to maintenance. You can spend the rest of the day there as an apology for the mess you caused here.”
He pointed vaguely at the ceiling, seeing the stubborn looks they were trying to hide. “CEREBRO will inform me if you fail to arrive, and I'll have you shipped straight back to the Federation. Now, get started before I change my mind about giving you a chance to readjust your damned mindset.”
He shook his head in disappointment and turned his back as the two young men scrambled for the spilled contents of the broken vending machine, cursing each other for the dirty work they'd been given.
Tim shook his head. “Fuckin’ clownshoes. What, am I a bouncer in an officer's uniform?” He continued to the dock, bitching under his breath that the pain in his ass testosterone-fueled shenanigans like that caused was supposed to be a thing of the past.
As intimidating as he found the Admiral's wife, the prospect of her visit always became somewhat more attractive when the order he worked to maintain was upset by an overabundance of assholes aboard the station.
Peter had just disembarked when Tim arrived at the VIP dock. He met Tim with a back-slapping bearhug. “Long time, dude. Long time.”
Tim nodded as he returned the hug. “I know, right? It's good to see you. I was sorry to miss you when you picked Sabine up on your way down to the city.”
Peter waved him off. “Nah, we were only here a few minutes. It had been a big day for Todd already.”
“Sabine has told me enough that I feel like I’ve met the kid already.” Tim’s voice softened. “It's great that you honored Todd that way. I know how much his death hurt you.”
Peter nodded. “It hurt us all. But I didn’t name our son, Tabitha did.”
Tim let out a low whistle. “Wow, that must have meant a lot to you. You guys were always the tightest.”
Peter grinned. “Which is why it's the perfect name for our son.” He swept a hand to ask Tim to show him the way. “Let’s get this tour done and dusted so we can catch up for a spell.”
Devon, First City, The Hexagon, Penthouse Apartment
Peter crept through the door so as not to wake Tabitha or Todd.
The after-meeting catch-up with Tim, Rickie, and Joel had run for a few hours longer than expected. It was good to be working with the guys again, and he was satisfied that they had their end of the Interdiction handled.
What he really appreciated was that they were competent enough that he would be able to spend most of his time at the apartment with Tabitha and Todd.
Peter dropped the breakfast he’d picked up on his way home on the kitchen counter and tiptoed into the bedroom. He took a second to appreciate how cute Tabitha looked when she was asleep with the sheets scrunched around her curled-up body before peering in at his sleeping son in the Pod-crib.
He slipped into bed beside Tabitha and nuzzled her neck. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Morning,” Tabitha murmured, “or is it still night? I hope to God it’s still night.” She turned over and pulled the sheets tighter around herself. “Fair warning, Todd slept for a grand total of, like, an hour since you left for the station, so anything that pokes me in the back is likely to get snapped off.”
Peter made a pained face and skooched backward. “You get some sleep. I’ll take care of Todd’s breakfast, then we’ll go down to the kids’ apartment. Sabine’s always happy to get some time with our tiny terror.”
Tabitha half-rolled over and pried an eye open to look at Peter. “You’re my angel.” She blew him a kiss and flopped back over.
Peter took the Pod-crib into the kitchen and hummed to himself as he put Todd's food in the microwave, or whatever the hell they called it. He supposed he should take the time to find out what the correct name was, but it was kind of funny to get everyone to call the magic heat-the-food-up gizmo a microwave instead of the real name.
He snorted softly to himself and got on with preparing the baby’s breakfast.
Todd woke as the smell of his breakfast permeated the kitchen. The side of his Pod-crib became translucent as he pulled himself to a sitting po
sition and cooed at Peter.
Peter walked over to pick him up, glad he’d thought to get in Tabitha’s good books by ordering in a bulk consignment of the diapers that worked similarly to the waste disposal system in the old atmosuits. “Hi, buddy! Mommy told me you kept her awake all night.” He pressed a soft kiss to Todd’s head and deposited him in his high chair. “Something tells me you’ll be eating and going back to sleep.”
Todd banged the high chair’s tray while he babbled an indignant reply.
Peter grinned, making up Todd’s side of the conversation as he often did. “Really? You look pretty tired to me.” He placed Todd’s bowl on the table and took a seat beside the high chair with his own breakfast.
Todd’s excitement grew when he smelled the contents of his bowl.
Peter chuckled softly and held out a spoonful of the sausage and tomato baby food. “We won’t tell your mom I made this instead of your oats, okay?”
Tabitha strolled down the stairs and blinked sleepily at Peter, rubbing her eyes. “Mommy already knows.”
Peter hung his head and grinned ruefully. “Busted. What are you doing up? You should be sleeping.”
Tabitha ruffled her bedhead. “Nah, I’m awake. Besides, we have appointments today.”
Peter groaned. “What’s the point? You haven’t liked a single one of the properties we’ve viewed so far.” He made a spaceship out of the next spoonful.
Tabitha bent to kiss Todd on her way to the fridge. “I feel good about today.” She took out the juice and poured herself a glass, leaving the carton on the counter as she sipped.
Peter kept his tone cheerful as he obliged Todd with another spoonful. “That’s what you said about the last billion places we looked at.” He paused for a moment, looking up as if in thought. “Sorry, I sit corrected. Billion and one.”
“Ass.” Tabitha placed her glass on the counter next to the open carton and strutted over to the table to drape her arms around Peter’s shoulders. “And I’ll keep saying it until we find the perfect place. I don’t see this war being over and done with anywhere near as quickly as Bethany Anne wants. There are some things even she has no control over, and I kind of like it here. Don’t you?”
“I like wherever you are, Tabbie. You know that.” Peter turned his head to look at her and Todd knocked the spoon out of his hand. He grabbed a towel to wipe up the mess. “Fast little…fff..iretruck.” He dodged the swipe coming in from Tabitha. “But it’s not the worst place, if you overlook the crime rate.”
Tabitha kissed Peter and released him. “Actually, the crime rate is one of the attractive parts. Think of all the fun we could have reducing it!”
Peter shook his head in disbelief. “Really?”
Tabitha nodded, smiling sweetly over the rim of the glass she’d just retrieved. “Didn’t you know? Vigilantism is all the rage these days.”
Peter nodded. “Sure, but you hate to follow the crowd. Besides, the teams are doing good work down here. Joel tells me they're part of the scenery now, and some of the outreach services they've set up are starting to get some uptake.”
Tabitha narrowed her eyes. “So you’re not even going to play along? I'm pleased that the teams are doing well, but wouldn't I look super-cute in a cape?”
Peter shook his head. “Nope.” He made a face when he realized what he'd said. “Well, yeah. But if you want some action, why don't you take a few fights downstairs?”
Tabitha’s lip curled. “It's not exactly action when you're the walking manifestation of Lady Death and the competition is a bunch of untrained streetfighters. The regulars are a bit more disciplined, but not much.”
“Okay…” Peter complied with Todd's demands for another spoonful of his breakfast while he prodded his tired brain for an answer to Tabitha's restlessness. “What if you… I don't know, train some of them? The ones who can take a beating and get up again.”
Tabitha grinned and squeezed Peter. “That might not be the worst thing you ever came up with. I could be a modern-day Miyagi, passing on my wisdom to the worthy.”
Peter chuckled at the dreamy quality of her voice. “You and your decidedly ungirly obsession with eighties movies.”
Tabitha leaned into his ear and whispered, “Can you tell me that you don't want to snuggle up and watch Karate Kid once Todd goes down for the night?”
Peter groaned, knowing when he was beaten. “No.” He opened his mouth to return her teasing, but all that came out was a yawn.
Tabitha took in the luggage he was carrying under his eyes, the stubble coating his jaw, and his generally wrung-out appearance. “Yeah, I’m going to cancel our appointments for today. Get some sleep. We'll go visit with the kids.”
Peter couldn’t hide the yawn in his reply. “If you insist, I’m not going to argue.”
Tabitha took Todd’s bowl from him and bumped him with her hip to get him out of the chair. “Nurse Tabitha says you need sleep. You can tell me about your meeting when you wake up.”
Peter stretched and let out another huge yawn. “If I’m a good patient, will I get a house call from Nurse Tabitha?”
Tabitha grinned and shooed him out with Todd’s spoon. “Go to bed, and maybe you’ll find out later.”
Location Seven, QBS Izanami, Bridge
Michael lifted a hand to touch Bethany Anne's arm as she paced the space between the couches yet again. That will not make our window for sneaking through the blockade come around any faster.
Bethany Anne resisted the brief urge to see if she really could shoot lasers from her eyes. It isn’t a secret how I feel about waiting.
Michael dipped his head in acknowledgment. It is known, my love. However, we know that the captured Leath are being treated reasonably well for now.
Bethany Anne snorted. They’re in the middle of a strange planet, exposed to the elements in a fucking pit. How is that being treated well? The Leath are by no means my favorites, but I wouldn’t keep them like that.
Michael raised an eyebrow. Sweetheart, you’re not the taking-prisoners kind. If you had been the one who captured them, they wouldn’t be alive to be rescued. Besides, I’ve seen worse. He shrugged at the pointed look she gave him. I didn’t say they were comfortable, but they will be fine for a few hours longer until we can get there.
She sighed and sat down on the edge of his couch. Okay. It's just that we're so close. Are you sure about leaving the children alone on the ship?
We will need Addix, or they may refuse to be rescued, Michael qualified. Many Leath still fear you too much.
Bethany Anne scowled. Why do you think I'm still here, fucking waiting? If I didn't think there was a high chance they'd lose their shit at the sight of me, I would have just gone through the Etheric and gotten them already.
Michael's mouth twitched. That could very well occur whether Addix and I are present or not.
Bethany Anne got to her feet. In that case, there's no reason for me to work myself up about it. In fact, getting in some pre-mission mother-daughter relaxation is a much better use of my time.
Michael raised an eyebrow. You're taking Alexis to the spa scenario.
Bethany Anne looked back as the elevator door opened. You bet your peachy ass I am. Mama wants a mud pack and a sugar scrub.
Michael smiled and waved his fingers at her. That sounds like an excellent idea. I'm sure Gabriel and I will find something to entertain ourselves.
Chapter Nineteen
Training and Recreation Scenario: Earth, Mongolia, 1176AD
Gabriel lifted his snowshoe and shook off the drift that had accumulated there. This is grim, Dad. Did you really stay in a place like this?
Michael nodded, forging ahead to cut their path into a stand of thin trees through the shin-deep snow. I traveled most of Earth long before I met your mother. Eve constructed this scenario directly from my memories.
Gabriel ducked to avoid a shower of snow from an overhead branch as he hurried to keep up with his father. What’s the objective in this scenario? he in
quired.
Not so much an objective, Michael told him, as an experience to be gained.
Gabriel looked plaintively at his father. Is that all you’re going to tell me?
Michael chuckled dryly. Yes. I want you to reach your own conclusions, not adopt mine without deciding if you agree.
Gabriel pondered that while they trekked through the stark frozen environment. A group of winged white creatures burst skyward, startling him into speaking aloud. “What are those?”
Ptarmigan, Michael supplied. Birds. A smile touched the corner of his mouth at a memory. They tasted good wrapped in herbs and leaves and baked underground.
Of course, he continued, food always tastes better when you’ve caught it with your own two hands and the brain in your head. And spiced by hunger.
Is that why you were so obsessed with the dinosaur that time? Gabriel teased.
Michael fixed his son with a look. One day you'll understand, son. This experience might just be the first step toward that day. He lifted a hand to point out a long shadow in the distance. There, in the shade of the rise. That is our destination.
The shadow resolved into multiple shadows, then bulky tents on the backs of wagons. Gabriel drank it in. I’ve never seen anything like it! he exclaimed when the light of many small fires appeared as they neared the camp Michael had led them to. What are those beasts?
Michael chuckled. They are steppe ponies. A word of caution: don’t breathe too deeply at first. The particular aroma of the nomad clans takes a little bit of time to acclimatize to, thanks to those creatures.
A gruff voice challenged them from the shadows at the edge of the camp. “Who are you to come to our home?”
Michael called back, “We do not come empty-handed.” He reached into thin air and pulled out a pair of jewel-encrusted gold vambraces.
A vast bearded fur-covered man emerged from the shadows belly-first. His dark eyes shone at the sight of the gold and his hostile grimace melted into a wide smile. “Welcome, weary travelers.”
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