by AZ Kelvin
“Opera,” Pene said in a snooty tone of voice.
The promenade was filled with people dressed in gowns and tuxedoes; conversations were murmured over cocktails, as people waited for the opera to begin.
“Ah, I see.” CJ looked over the crowd. He saw Nelson and Tad with Crissi and the Na’laann among the throng of people. He unsuccessfully tried to whistle softly to himself, because he unconsciously chewed on his lip at the same time.
“You okay?” Boss eyed him skeptically.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I’m good. It’s a great day.” CJ fidgeted with his fingernails and his jacket, the nearby plants, and just about anything else within reach, as they waited for Katy, who was the only one not there yet.
Boss looked CJ over again. “Your shorts too tight or something?”
“Yeah, yeah, yep—I mean, no! No my shorts are fine.” CJ raised his eyebrows and smiled, as he rocked nervously back and forth from his heels to his toes.
Boss apparently didn’t buy by the skeptical look on his face.
CJ attempted to change the subject. “Sure are a lot of people here today.”
“Uh-huh.” He continued to peer at CJ.
“What?”
“What are you up to?”
“No, I mean, nothing, I am—not—you know—up to anything.”
“CJ Evermore, you lie like a rug!” Boss laughed outright at his friend’s behavior.
CJ was about to break a secret to Boss when Katy finally walked out into the promenade and spotted CJ. She walked toward him through the crowd and gave him a deep long hug.
“Everything all right?” CJ asked her.
“Couldn’t be better.” She looked at all the finely dressed people. “What’s going on down here?”
“Special occasion.” An unusual tone in CJ’s voice made Katy look up while she smiled and hugged him even tighter.
Katy’s reaction was all he needed. CJ gently reached over and took Katy’s hand. He brought it up and kissed it, as he moved around to stand face-to-face with her. CJ held out a ring. “Katherine Latimer—will you be my wife?”
*~*~*
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pene had a ringside seat to CJ’s proposal; she stood with Gina and Boss, who just happened to be right next to CJ and Katy. Pene inhaled sharply; her eyes went as big as saucers and she brought her hands up to her mouth in surprise. Someone standing nearby saw Pene’s reaction, then saw CJ holding a ring out to Katy. In the blink of an eye, the entire room went silent, except for pockets of excited whisperings here and there.
“Oh, my Stars!” Cat said breathlessly and grabbed Cal’s forearm.
Cal winced from the strength of Cat’s grip and then noticed what was happening.
Boss and Gina exchanged looks of happy surprise. “Did you know?” Gina whispered to Boss, who whispered back, “No, I knew he was antsy about something, but I didn’t expect this.”
GABI, Nelson, and Crissi, along with everyone else in the room, stood in mild amazement and joy, as they watched CJ’s proposal unfold. Pene could barely wait for Katy’s answer.
Katy looked stunned; her eyes filled with tears immediately. She brought her right hand to her chest and gasped softly. A single sob broke the breathless spell. “Yes!” she managed to say before she began to laugh and cry at the same time. “Yes!” she said again. Katy’s hand shook so much CJ had to steady it to slip the ring on her finger.
He swept Katy off her feet and spun her around and around as they laughed and cried and kissed all at once. The room erupted in a chorus of cheers, as CJ and Katy were surrounded by a sea of smiles and grins with shouts of congratulations and best wishes from everyone. There were hugs and tears, handshakes and cheers, with what seemed to be every crewmember of Cantankerous Base. An anonymous “Atta boy, CJ!” was hollered from somewhere in the far back.
CJ and Katy decided immediately to have the wedding before Boss left for Keect, which set loose a flurry of activity. Fillah Weltrim and Cassandra Coughlan, both Katy’s friends from when she lived at Cantankerous Base and local shop owners as well, were so happy for Katy they started the plans right there on the spot.
“You can hold it right here on the promenade if you like,” Tad suggested.
“All right, ladies, we’ve got two days to a month’s work,” Fillah said in loud voice. “We’d best get started. We need tables, chairs, flowers, and Coordinator, we need this promenade cleaned.”
“I’ll see to it immediately, Fillah,” Tad assured her with a smile.
“Come on, Katy, I have just the dress,” Cassie said.
“What about the opera, don’t you–” Katy started to ask.
“Oh, this is much more fun!” Cassie said with a grin.
Katy threw a smile and a wave to CJ, as she was swept away by a cloud of women including Gina, Cat, and GABI.
Pene took a couple of steps to follow them, and then she hesitated.
“Pene,” Katy called out, “Come on!”
Pene smiled and shot a quick look at CJ who waved ‘bye’ to her. She sped off to join the others.
“Well, the girls are gone”—Cal rubbed his hands together—“and I know this little bar…”
The following day the crew helped base personnel to clean and rearrange the promenade for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding ceremony, which was set for the following afternoon. Katy had asked Nelson to walk her down the aisle, and he was honored to accept. Boss and Cal gladly agreed to be best man and groomsman, respectively, while Katy asked Cat to be the maid of honor, Gina and GABI to be bridesmaids, and Pene to be the ring bearer. Tad offered his services as station coordinator to perform the ceremony, which CJ and Katy happily accepted.
The rehearsal dinner went without a hitch. The girls found a room not far from the promenade where they could spend the night and the next morning together. CJ’s tuxedo arrived in the morning and he was rather impressed with it. The white shirt was accented with a deep red-colored paisley silk vest. Black pants matched the jacket, which had a red handkerchief folded into the breast pocket. Boss and Cal showed up in their versions of the same tuxedo, except they had steel-grey vests and handkerchiefs, instead of red.
“Well, don’t you boys look good,” CJ said to them. “Thanks for standing beside me.”
“It’s my honor, Cap,” Cal said.
“Likewise, Seedge, I’m very happy for you and Katy. Gentlemen, shall we proceed to the promenade?” Boss said as he led the way down the corridor to the transtube. “I believe they are still serving breakfast, somewhere.”
The time up until noon went by in a flash and the hour and a half afterward was hardly noticed at all, but the half hour up to the ceremony itself seemed to stretch on forever. Eventually, Tad arrived and told them everyone was seated and it was time for CJ and the men to come in.
A small garden in the promenade was lined along the perimeter with floral arrangements spreading out from a central backdrop where Tad stood. A string quartet sat off to one side and began to play the Banyan Wedding March as Cal walked with GABI down the short aisle. Next, Boss and Gina took their positions next to Cal and GABI. CJ and Pene went down the aisle next, arm in arm. Nelson and Katy stood at the end of the aisle by the time CJ turned around.
Katy was a true beauty to be sure, as she stood in a floor-length wedding gown with a lace back and arms that had a flower pattern throughout. She carried a bouquet of small yellow flowers with larger red flowers mixed in, tied together with a bright yellow ribbon. Nelson beamed happily as he walked Katy down the aisle. She kissed him on the cheek as she stepped away to face CJ. Katy smiled up at him with happy tear-rimmed eyes, and then they both nodded to Tad.
“Welcome friends. We gather here today to gladly bear witness to the marriage of Crucible Johannson Evermore and Katherine Marie Latimer,” Tad began. “Pene, will you bring up the rings, please?”
Pene came up with a small velvet pillow that had their rings held firmly in two silk-lined slits. The rings were identical e
xcept for the difference in sizes. The solid gold band was embedded with a braid of tri-colored gold that secured the two halves of the same Sunfire gemstone in place on both rings. The light-refracting qualities of the Sunfire gem gave the stone the appearance of a ring of flame that burned inside.
“These rings are symbols of the bond that lies between CJ and Katy.” Tad began the ceremony.
CJ slipped Katy’s ring on the ring finger of her left hand.
“They represent the open commitment of one person to another.”
Katy placed CJ’s ring on his ring finger as Tad continued to speak.
“Woman…”
“And Wife,” Katy answered.
“Man…”
“And Husband,” CJ answered.
“State your vows.”
CJ and Katy faced each other with their hands at their sides.
“What began in friendship…” CJ reached out and took Katy’s left hand in his right, palm to palm.
“Continues in love…” Katy reached out and took CJ’s left hand in her right in the same manner.
“For now and always…” CJ brought his right hand up, along with Katy’s left, in between them, to rest against his heart.
“Our hearts are one…” Katy did the same, and now they stood close together with their hands clasped and their arms crossed between them at their chests.
“I will love you forever,” they both said together.
“CJ and Katy, I pronounce you Husband and Wife!” Tad finished the ceremony with a huge smile. “You may kiss the bride.”
The second CJ and Katy’s lips touched, two things went off: cheers from their friends and then security alarms. Everyone thought it was a joke at first, but announcements began the general quarters alert. ‘General quarters—security alert! This not a drill—general quarters, security alert, this is not a drill! Senior Coordinator to the control center!’’
The gathering for the wedding broke up immediately, as surprised Cantankerous Base personnel scrambled to take their action stations.
Nelson and the base command staff headed for the control center to see what the hell was going on.
“No, no, no—not in the middle of our wedding!” Katy groaned.
“What is this, some bad cliché come to life?” CJ grumbled as the alarms continued to blare their warning. He grabbed Katy’s hand and they followed Nelson, along with the rest of the wedding party, to the base’s control center.
The view on the main screen in the flight control center showed two clusters of a dozen Blood Star ships each, spread out around the base’s exterior.
“Blasted Blood Stars!” Nelson swore, as he looked over to Tad, who shook his head, indicating as formidable as the defenses of Cantankerous Base were, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the number of ships sitting at their doorstep. Nelson gave Tad a meaningful nod and Tad disappeared quickly from the room.
Blood Star Commander Kendra Varrin hailed Cantankerous Base and ordered them to surrender or face the consequences.
“Open a channel,” Nelson told his comms officer. “Commander Varrin, it has not nearly been long enough.” Nelson coolly answered her hail.
“Enough unpleasantries,” she replied curtly. “Your defensive forces will stand down and you will hand over to me, CJ Evermore, his crew—and the Altered Moon.” Commander Varrin regarded him with a cold and commanding stare. “Any sign of resistance and we blow a hole in your air pocket and let you all suffocate.”
“Varrin, you incredible bitch!” CJ seethed at her, “You crash my wedding with an armed armada? Something blue at my wedding will be the muzzle glow of my particle cannons as I blast your ass into—”
“You won’t do a damned thing, Evermore!” the Blood Star commander cut him off abruptly. “You won’t even be able to open the door before I destroy you, your crew, and the entire base. Old Man Moon, this isn’t the first time you and I have been here, is it?”
“Damn you to every hell imaginable, Kendra Varrin!” Nelson cursed at her. “You Blood Stars are a blight upon all Humankind.”
“I knew that it was you at Skriti Station, the second I heard the report,” Varrin said with disdain to CJ. “And I knew just where you’d run for repairs.”
“So tell me, what’s the problem, Varrin? A little too much law and order in the cosmos these days? The Blood Stars not finding as many dark corners to hide in, as you’d like?”
“Dark corners will soon be a thing of the past for us. We are the most powerful force in the quadrant and the time has come for us to show the Alliance who we really—”
“Oh, get stuffed!” CJ scoffed. “Why do all shitheads feel the need to monolog?”
Varrin’s anger began to spill over. “You will tell me where Leland Stile has gone! Or, I will destroy this place and you with it.”
“Leland Stile? How the hell should I know where he is? We left him back on Skriti.”
“Don’t try your bullshit on me, Evermore,” Varrin spit her derision on him. “McCarthy has already beaten it out of that fat ass, Bluay”
“Don’t you mean Blood Star Commander McCarthy?”
“Lieutenant Commander,” Varrin scowled and became even angrier.
“Oh, is that a touchy spot for you, Kendra?” CJ sarcastically asked. “Why’s that?”
She ignored his question. “We know he went to Trydden. We know you set him up with a ship! Where did he go?” she demanded.
“How should I know where he went? Maybe he got tired of Skriti Station hospitality.”
“Oh, give it up! I know you found Fulson Stile’s body, Captain. That blob Bluay told us everything he knew before McCarthy began filleting chunks of fat from his body.” Varrin’s patience seemed to be wearing thin.
“I don’t know who this Bluay guy even is.”
“Bobby Bluay owns a bunch of bars on Skriti Station, Cap,” Cal informed him.
“I still don’t know who he is, so…” CJ said to Varrin.
“Regardless, he’s the one who gave Leland Stile secret passage off the station to Trydden. Where he found a ship waiting for him, paid for by none other than—the West Becreth Trading Company.”
Boss cringed a little at that particular piece of information.
Varrin had calmed down now and spoke in a ‘be reasonable or be destroyed’ tone of voice. “I want to know where you found Stile’s body, and I mean to have anything that you found along with it. Don’t push this into hostility.”
“We’re not the ones pushing,” CJ pointed out. “We found some poor old soul crashed in a freight ship and managed to track down his family. So, what? What does that have to do with you?”
“Where did you find him?” she asked slowly.
“I don’t recall exactly—out by the Qune Star Cluster, I think,” CJ lied. “No, somewhere out on the rim maybe?”
“Evermore…” she drew in an exasperated breath. She played the roundabout game well, which meant she didn’t want him to know just how important whatever they were after, really was. “Last chance,” she warned him. “Very well, then. You force my hand.” Kendra Varrin nodded to someone out of sight.
“We have movement!” one of the technicians called out to Nelson, as six of the Blood Star ships moved out ahead of the others and powered up their weapons. The accumulated firepower of the ships was enough to blast an enormous crater where the control center now was. The other ships would undoubtedly penetrate the base’s defenses and take whatever they wanted before they lay waste to the rest of the base.
“Kendra, I don’t believe you’re going to murder innocent people,” CJ told her straight out. “You’re not that cold-blooded.”
“Command and compassion are a fool’s mixture, Captain. This has been in the Blood Star ledger for more than a century. Do you think that I’m just going to go away?”
Shit, CJ thought to himself. She doesn’t give a shit where Leland is, or Fulson…she’s after the location of the loot. Shit! he swore again to himself because he knew that
he wouldn’t risk their lives to keep it from her. CJ wanted to say something smartass about her being the one who ran away that day at Arzia Octonus, but he was too smart to open his mouth at this particular moment. He looked down and groaned before he looked up at Kendra Varrin in disgust.
Commander Varrin smiled the devil’s smile when she saw the look on CJ’s face. She was about to acquire something the Blood Stars had been after for a very long time. I’ll make Commodore for this, she thought to herself as she savored her personal victory over CJ Evermore. “This makes us even for Arzia Octonus, you know. Those artifacts should have been mine.”
The situation changed abruptly over the next few seconds, as an even bigger armada of Keect’na ships jumped into space and took up defensive positions against the Blood Star ships around Cantankerous Base.
“What the hell?” Varrin yelled out, as she saw the Keect’na ships jump in and surround her forces. Kendra Varrin sat there in a calm anger as she quickly ran her options on what actions she could take.
“Excellent work, my friend, excellent work,” Nelson complimented Tad when he came back into the room.
“How is this possible?” the Blood Star Commander fumed. “The Keect’na don’t have jump technology.”
Nelson smiled deviously at Varrin. “Friends share.”
Kendra Varrin’s eyes darkened with anger as she realized her only choices were to leave; or be destroyed. Her anger turned to rage at being backed off again, but she calmly ordered her forces to stand down.
“You think that I am just going to let you come to my home and threaten the ones I love? Hmm, yes, and here I thought you were a strategist,” Nelson threw in a zinger.
Commander Varrin controlled her rage. She just looked at CJ and Nelson. “Yes, you may have won today, but there are a lot of shadows out there and I’ll be watching from one of them.”
CJ returned her stare, icicle for icicle. “Do what you like, Commander, but today, you just showed your hand. From now on, I’ll be the one watching.”