by Saxon Andrew
Maranda turned back to her console and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Des was silent for a moment and said in a soothing voice, “You put Kendal’s life ahead of your own.” Maranda stared at the forward monitor for a few moments, and then nodded. “You have to change the way you look at the world, Maranda.”
Maranda turned to Des with a furrowed brow, “What are you talking about.”
“You weren’t the only one scared while our ship was being surrounded. I felt a huge level of fear as well. I hope you noticed that I asked you what we should do; I was too confused to make a decision. You do not have a monopoly on fear; every warrior encounters it in fighting the good fight.” Maranda stared at Des, and he continued, “I heard Rory tell Taffy that his reason for being out here fighting against Melbourne’s enemies is so that no children like Kendal will have to die on Melbourne. He’s made a conscious decision to give his life to make sure they are safe. All of us need to understand that there are millions of young children on Melbourne like Kendal that will only live if we keep the wolves away. If you’re given command of a fleet, then the sailors serving under your command are counting on you to make the decisions to give them the best chance of survival. It may come down to everyone of them dying to protect Melbourne, but they’re counting on their superior officers to find a way for that not to happen. I’ve seen how brilliant you are; I must confess I’ve come to really dislike you, but I do respect your ability and intelligence. It’s those talents that led me to offer the command of our ship to you. You do know more about this ship than I do.”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” Maranda replied. “I see everyone around me as an adversary.”
“Do you see Kendal as an adversary?”
Maranda snorted, “Of course not!”
“Then look at everyone around you like you look at Kendal. See them as someone to be protected and defended. It might not be as hard as you think.”
Maranda stared at Des and sighed, “I also dislike you, Des. But I do respect your talents; you do deserve to be here. The only reason I know more about the ship than you, is because I was involved in the ship’s final design. I think we should spend some time on the way back to Melbourne bringing you up to speed.”
Des nodded, “I’d appreciate that. Do we have a truce?”
Maranda nodded, “Truce it is. Come and stand behind me while I go over the tricks you can use with the thruster controls. We’ll look at the scanners after you have the thrusters down.” Des stood up and walked over to Maranda’s console. Louisa and Kendal came on the bridge and saw something had changed. Kendal looked at Louisa and she shook her head for her not to say anything. For the first time the two were working together. She didn’t want that to stop.
• • •
The Brer Rabbit arrived at the Rex Rabbit and found the Roo Rabbit had beaten them there. Grady appeared on the monitor and announced, “I’ve sent all of the recordings we’ve collected here to Fleet Operations and the Prime Minister has scheduled a meeting at the Government Tower with all of Melbourne’s senior officers in five days. We should arrive in three days, so you’ll have a day to decompress. I want all of you to think about what we can do about the coming Fagan foray into the Perseus Arm and be prepared to present your findings to the gathering.”
“Sir, we’ll need a place for Louisa and Kendal on Melbourne,” Des interjected.
Louisa spoke up, “No you won’t!”
Everyone looked at Louisa and she said with a determined voice, “If you’re going back to Fagan space, I will be going with you!”
Grady shook his head, “That is not a sound decision, Louisa. It could get really dangerous.”
“And it won’t be dangerous on this planet you’re going to if the Fagan invade. I’ll take my chances by staying with Desmond.”
Des stared at Louisa and then turned to Grady, “Sir, would you make Taffy stay behind if we were going back to Bellingham?”
Taffy immediately replied, “NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!”
Desmond added, “She deserves to see what’s going to happen to America.”
“What about your daughter?” Grady asked.
Kendal immediately wrapped her arms around Louisa’s neck. Louisa blew out a breath, “Where I go, Kendal goes. Grady, we should already be dead. Fear of dying is something we’ve already dealt with and it won’t stop us from seeing what happens to my people.”
“Louisa, we may decide to just leave America alone while we deal with the Fagan’s plans.”
“Even so, I demand to be there; things can change.”
Grady glanced at Taffy and saw her nod slightly. His eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. Grady didn’t know what she was thinking but he turned to Louisa on the monitor, “I will do all I can to make sure you go back with us. In the meantime, you and Kendal can stay with us in our quarters.”
“I don’t want to cause an imposition, Grady.”
Taffy chuckled, “It won’t be, Louisa. Trust me there’s plenty of room and you won’t be an issue.” Louisa nodded, and the three Super Rabbits turned and flew directly above the Sagittarius-Carina Spiral Arm at maximum speed. They made certain there were no Fagan warships around them before they turned for the Perseus Spiral arm and Melbourne.
• • •
The three ships flew closer to Melbourne and Taffy announced, “I have twenty-five bogeys moving toward us.”
Suddenly, the monitor illuminated, and a young man appeared on it, “Welcome back, Colonel Henricks.”
Grady smiled, “You’re rather a long way out from Melbourne, Captain Akins.”
“Fleet has sent all the Super Rabbits out to this distance to see if any ships are moving toward our spiral arm, Sir.”
Taffy smiled, “Do you ever get home, Paul?”
Paul laughed, “Just got back from a two-week liberty, Taffy.”
Taffy smiled, “Good. How is the family?”
“Fine and I intend to keep it that way, Sir.”
“How were you able to detect us, Paul?” Grady asked.
“The scientists have programmed the scanners to detect the blocked light from stars, Sir. You didn’t appear on the active scans, but the scanners told us ships were moving this way.”
“I want to hear more about that development.”
Paul nodded, “I’m sure you’ll be covered on it during the coming meeting. Welcome back and you’re clear to go to Melbourne.”
Grady smiled, and the monitor went dark. “It looks like there have been some new technological developments in our absence,” Taffy remarked.
“And we haven’t been gone that long,” Grady replied. I’m increasing speed, I’m looking forward to getting home.”
“Amen!” Taffy replied.
Grady activated the communicator and announced, “Everyone follow me to our building and we’ll have a meal together and then discuss what we’ve come up with. Follow me in to Billabong and land on the roof of our building.”
Desmond looked over his shoulder and ordered, “Robert, Jeffry, start going over the ship’s systems and be prepared to give me a status report when you complete your work.”
The two huge robots came off their wall chargers and moved off the bridge. Kendal’s eyes were huge as they exited the bridge and Des chuckled, “Don’t be afraid, Kendal. They are our very close friends.” Kendal could only stare at them as they disappeared down the corridor toward the engine room. Even Louisa was surprised at how fast the two robots rolled off the bridge.
• • •
Three hours later, the three rabbits entered Melbourne’s atmosphere and headed toward the giant tower next to the Government Building. Maranda followed the Rex Rabbit down and shook her head, “This should be interesting.”
“Why do you say that?” Des asked.
“We’re about to see how the truly wealthy live.”
“Oh? Are the Henricks wealthy?”
“Wait and see. I’m beginning to believe they are.”
• • •
The three Super Rabbits landed on top of the giant skyscraper and the crews met outside the Rex Rabbit. Taffy led them to the center of the roof and a large cylindrical column arose out of the roof. A door opened, and Taffy led them in with Grady bringing up the rear. The elevator dropped one floor and Grady stepped out followed by the others.
Everyone stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the massive quarters. Desmond and Maranda’s eyes were wide open, and Grady smiled, “Take a seat and we’ll get organized in a moment.” Maranda suddenly realized that this was far beyond anything her family could afford.
Abby looked at Grady, “We’re going to our quarters to clean up.”
Maranda looked at Grady and he smiled, “The far end of the room is where Abby and Rory live. They own that end of the floor. Grady nodded to Abby as Taffy turned to Louisa and Kendal, “You two come with me.” Louisa and Kendal followed Taffy to a room across the huge living room and Taffy said, “Guests for room twelve.” The door to the room opened and Taffy led them into the huge room. Louisa stopped just inside the door shaking her head and Taffy smiled, “This room has been coded to you now and the door will open automatically for you when you approach it.” Louisa looked around the room and she and Kendal were stunned by the immaculate bedroom and bath. Louisa looked at Taffy with an open mouth as Taffy asked, “Computer, did you get their measurements?”
“I did, Taffy.”
“Order some clothing for both of them along with five service uniforms. Have them delivered before this evening.”
“Order acknowledged.”
Taffy turned to Louisa, “Make yourself at home and take your time cleaning up. We’ll have dinner in two hours.” Louisa glared at Taffy and she waved a hand at her, “Grady and I built a home that serves our needs.”
“Is every home like this?” Kendal asked.
“No, Kendal. Grady and I have enough wealth to build this. Our home is somewhat larger than most.”
• • •
Maranda and Desmond sat down on a huge sofa and Grady turned to them, “Taffy will show you to your rooms momentarily. If you don’t mind, I’m going to clean up.” Grady turned and walked toward the opposite end of the room from Abby and Rory.
Taffy came out of the room where she had taken Louisa and Kendal and smiled, “Please come with me.” She led them to a room in the center of the huge building and announced, “I have a guest for room 7.” The door opened, and Taffy stepped aside, “Maranda, please use this room to clean up. We’ll be having dinner in two hours.” Taffy stepped to the door next to Maranda’s and said, “I have a guest for room 8.” The door opened, and Taffy turned to Desmond, “You can use this room to freshen up. We’ll see you in two hours.”
The two stepped into the rooms and both were stunned by what they found. The huge bed looked small in the large room and the bathroom was huge. Maranda shook her head and started undressing. She took off her uniform and unpinned her hair from the bun on the back of her head. She looked at herself in the wall mirror next to the bathroom and saw that her blonde hair had grown a few inches and that she had lost some weight. Not much, but her lean, athletic body was showing more muscle in her midsection. She was proud of her appearance and this mission hadn’t changed it. She put her uniform on the bed and went into the bathroom. There was a huge tub next to the wall and she walked over to it. She looked closely and didn’t find anything to turn on the water. She stepped into the tub to look at the other side and water began flowing into the tub from jets in the walls; the water’s temperature was perfect. She sat down in the tub and the water stopped six-inches below the top of the tub. She looked around and stood up. A computer voice immediately asked, “Is there something you need, Captain Meadows.”
“I need some soap and shampoo,” Maranda replied.
A section on the top of the tub rose and she saw several bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in it. The voice asked, “Do you prefer to wash your hair with a shower or in the tub?”
Maranda looked around and answered, “I prefer a shower to wash my hair.” She heard a small click above her and saw a long pipe with a shower head extend out of the ceiling directly above her. She sat down, and the showerhead activated. She soaked her hair and it shut off. She washed her hair and sighed. It had been too long since she had done this. She stopped running her fingers through her hair and the showerhead activated again and she waited until all the shampoo was rinsed out. She washed her hair again and the showerhead rinsed it again. She applied the conditioner and reached for the bodywash. She put some in her hands and the jets in the tub suddenly turned on. She fell back, and her hands went into the water. Soap bubbles began appearing and Maranda poured some bodywash into the water. She leaned back and closed her eyes as her body was covered with the bubbling bodywash.
After about twenty minutes, she sat up. The showerhead activated and washed the conditioner out of her hair. She stood up under the shower and rinsed all the soap off her body as the soapy water disappeared from the tub. The jets blew clean water into the tub and when the shower stopped, the tub was clean. Suddenly, the jets elevated, and Maranda felt warm air being blown on her. She raised her arms and turned around and after a few minutes, the jets turned off and she was completely dry. She was accustomed to having a towel, but none were present and, truth be told, she didn’t need one. She walked out of the bathroom and saw her uniform was no longer on the bed. In its place was a burgundy colored evening dress. “Where is my uniform?!”
A computer voice answered, “It has been taken to be cleaned, Captain. Taffy has provided a dress for you to wear to dinner this evening.”
“How does she know that dress will fit me?”
“Your measurements were taken when you entered the room and the dress was made from them.”
“I don’t have any shoes to wear with that dress!”
“There are a pair of shoes next to your nightstand, Captain.” Maranda walked around the bed and saw a shoebox next to the nightstand. She opened the box and the color of the heels matched the dress perfectly. She exhaled sharply and knew that Taffy was sending her a message. She knew that being wealthy allowed one to act like a snob and look down your nose at anyone with less money. Taffy was showing her that being wealthy didn’t require snobbery. If Taffy hadn’t told her, she would have never known just how wealthy they were. They treated everyone with kindness and good manners. Maranda realized she didn’t do the same. She sat on the bed and thought about how Taffy had described her as a driven woman with no regard for those she harmed around her. She knew that the dress would have taken weeks to special order and here it was in less than an hour. The heels would have taken longer. The clout to make that happen was something beyond her understanding. She sat on the bed a long time reflecting on it.
Chapter Seven
The computer announced dinner was ready and Maranda stepped out of her room. She saw Taffy and Abby standing at a large table across the large room and stopped in her tracks. Des had stepped out behind her and his head went back, “Wow, you clean up pretty good.”
Maranda glanced at Des and smiled, “So do you. However, I don’t hold a candle to Taffy and Abby.”
Des looked across the room at the two women and smiled, “They are quite beautiful, but you can hold your own with them.” Maranda snorted and then saw Louisa and Kendal come out of their room. Maranda and Desmond were surprised by what they saw. Louisa had worn an old farm dress with her hair tied up the entire time she was on the Brer Rabbit. She was incredibly striking with her long black hair down wearing a royal blue colored evening dress. Maranda saw Des staring at her and pursed her lips; looks like she’s number four in the looks department.
Maranda never really thought about her appearance. She knew she looked good, but she did nothing to make herself look better; she wasn’t interested in getting any man’s attention; she had better things to do. But coming up short tonight bothered her. They walked to the table and Des sat down next to Louisa. Marand
a’s eyes narrowed but she took a seat next to Kendal and gave her a hug, “You look fabulous, Kendal!”
Kendal giggled and hugged Maranda, “So do you!”
Grady walked in with Rory and they took their seats, “Please enjoy your dinner. Thank you for sharing our home.”
Louisa looked at Grady and said, “Grady, Kendal and I have never consumed meat. I’m not sure our bodies can handle it.”
Taffy spoke up, “Louisa, did you and Kendal eat the brown food balls on your ship?” Louisa nodded. “Those balls were made from meat and other animal proteins. Did they upset your stomach?”
“No, they didn’t.”
“Well, taste it and if you want, I’ll have the kitchen produce more vegetables for you and Kendal.”
Louisa cut off a small piece of steak and took a bite. She chewed it for a moment and then cut off a bigger bite. She turned to Kendal and cut up her steak before turning back to her plate.
Grady and Taffy were marvelous hosts and included everyone in the conversation and had seconds delivered to them without being asked. The dinner went well, and Maranda looked around, “Grady, where are the servants that prepared the food?”
Grady waved a hand, “There are no servants here, Maranda. We like our privacy, and everything is done by computer here.”
Maranda’s eyes closed slightly, “Are you telling me a computer cooked this meal?”
“Absolutely. And if you can think of anything you want, just tell the computer and it will prepare it for you.”
“I know it’s probably impolite to ask, but how much did these digs set you back?” Des asked.
Taffy smiled, “We could afford it, Des.” Des tilted his head and continued to stare at Taffy. Taffy chuckled and looked at Grady, “How much did the land cost for the building, Grady. Do you remember?”
“About two hundred and seventy million crowns,” Grady answered.