Solbidyum Wars Saga 5: Desolation (21 page)

“That sounds good, but why can’t you take Kala and both babies at the same time?”  I asked.

“Well sir, I guess we can, but Jenira is afraid Kala might drop one of the babies.”

I laughed, “Tell Jenira I will tie the babies to Kala, so she can’t drop them; besides there is no way Kala would ever drop one of them.”

The entire operation to get us out of the tunnel and safely back on the ground lasted about 30 minutes.  I watched as Kala’s basket touched the ground, and Jenira raced over to hug her and immediately take both babies from Kala’s arms and start playing and fussing with them.  Minutes later, I too was on the ground, and Jenira handed the babies both back to Kala and ran over and hugged me tightly and then stood back and looked at me laughing as she began signing, “You  look funny with all that hair on your face.”

Indeed, in the months since the fusion reactor had stopped working on the
ALI
I had not been able to shave, and a rather long ragged beard had covered my face.

“I guess I do look quite the sight,” I said to Jenira as I stood looking at her.  She was indeed a lady now.  There was nothing girlish about her appearance and she now looked every bit a woman.  I saw a tall, dark haired, muscular man exit the ship and walk toward us, and it took me a minute to realize it was Padaran.  In the almost year we had been gone he had put on weight and muscle and had turned from being a gangly looking youth into a rather handsome and muscular man.  “Tibby,” he said, as he approached, “it’s so good to have you back.”

“Believe me, it’s great to see you all again, and I can’t wait to get a real shower and into clean clothing.”

“Well if you will just step into the ship. I’m sure you will find all you need inside, and you can be showered, shaved, and dressed before we reach the
NEW ORLEANS.
”

Kala came and put her arm around me, and we stood looking at Padaran and Jenira at his side as she held both Lunnie and Reidecor in her arms.  Both twins stared at her intently as though trying to figure her out and wondering why she didn’t speak.  Kala and I turned and looked one last time at the place where we had lived and survived for the past few months.  We would be leaving this planet and heading back to the Federation and its luxuries, but in our hearts, I think both Kala and I realized that Lunnie and Reidecor would always be children of Desolation.

As always, my one complaint about showers in the Federation is that they are too short.  Three minutes, that’s all.  Just three minutes.  I wanted longer, but that’s all I got.  Once showered, I used a styling wand to cut my hair and remove my beard.  I looked at myself in the mirror and was surprised at how much weight I had lost.  I didn’t look emaciated, but I had definitely lost weight.  However, I looked healthy, though more pale that I would have liked.  I went into the captain’s cabin, temporarily mine, to get my uniform, only to find that a formal white uniform with pale blue piping laid out on the bed for me.  I realized immediately it was my formal fleet admiral’s uniform, and for a moment I almost wished I was back on Desolation.  I donned the uniform and looked at myself in the mirror.  I had to admit I looked every bit the military man I was to represent.

Moments later, Kala entered and gave me a, “WOW,” and a quick salute.  “They aren’t wasting any time in getting you into action,” she said.  “My turn in the shower.  I need to get presentable before we land on the
NEW ORLEANS
.  Padaran says we’ll be there in about 10 minutes.”

“Are we still on the planet?”  I asked

“We’re just getting ready to take off,” she answered.

“Where are the twins?”

Kala laughed, “Where do you think?  Their
Aunt
Jenira has them.  We’ll be lucky if we ever get to see them again.  She has already told me that once we get them to the
NEW ORLEANS,
she is taking them straight to the med unit to have them checked out.”

“How come she isn’t using the ships med unit?”

“She says it’s not as good and that only the best will do for the twins.”

As Kala entered the shower, I headed to the control room where Padaran sat in the command chair; as soon as he saw me enter, he immediately evacuated the chair for me to sit in it.

“Admiral, you are looking quite at home in the uniform.” he said.

“I wish I felt at home in it.  Tell me, Padaran, what’s going on in the Federation?  What’s happened while I have been gone?”

“You’re asking a very large question, one I’m not sure I am best suited to answer.  I think perhaps you should talk to Captain Kerabac and A’Lappe before you go meet with Admiral Wabussie and Rear Admiral Regeny.”

“Admiral Wabussie?”  He’s an admiral now?”

“Yes right after the incident at Plosaxen the Senate insisted that if he was going to head up the FSO, they wanted him to be an admiral.”

“What else is new?”  I asked.

“Well you probably know, since you were the one who proposed it, but Commodore Stonbersa is now a fleet admiral, and back in the Federation military.  He's heading up the home fleet until you can get back, and then he is to be transferred out to take over the second fleet near Oxall in the 2
nd
sector.”

I had forgotten that I had proposed to the Admiral, that Stonbersa would be one of my choices for a fleet admiral.  “So who is running my personal fleet now that the Commodore is gone?”

“Kerabac is mostly with the assistance of Captain Felenna.  They seem to have it under control at the moment.”

“I’m glad to hear that.  What about A’Lappe?  Did he ever get back from wherever he went?”

“Yes, and he was extremely upset when he heard you were missing.  He was working out all sorts of algorithms trying to determine just where you might be.  After you disappeared, it was a while before we figured out what had happened.  We went back over the computer records, and they showed your ship hitting the Tottalax just after they initiated their sleep weapon.  A’Lappe figures that because you were so close, it may have knocked you and Kala out for days or even weeks before you revived.  He said the effect of the weapon is greater the closer you are to it, and you and Kala were about as close as you could have gotten.”

“Just where the heck was he, anyway?”  I queried.

“I think I’ll let him tell you that.  He’s made a rather huge discovery and one I think you will be especially pleased with.”  By now, we were approaching the
NEW ORLEANS,
and I could see the ship on the screen and for a moment I choked up a bit seeing her there.

“One more thing, Padaran.  What happened to the Brotherhood ship that was in orbit here when you arrived at Desolation?”

“We never saw or detected any ship other than the patrol ships on the planet.”  Padaran answered.

“But there had to have been one, I heard them talking on the radio.

“Yes, we heard them too, but we found no trace of them when we arrived.  We’ve brought back the men we captured on the surface; perhaps they can answer that question.  Their leader is pretty upset with you, apparently you took out six of his men.”

“Bunch of idiots, all of them,” I muttered, as we entered the hangar bay.

I wasn’t quite expecting the welcome that greeted us when we exited the ship.  I think nearly everyone who was not at a duty station was in the hangar bay.  They cheered as Kala and I came off the patrol ship carrying Lunnie and Reidecor, and I could see that many of them were crying.  Kerabac was there to greet us as were A’Lappe and Cantolla.  It seemed strange not seeing Stonbersa and Marranalis, and I made a mental note to see to it that I got Marranalis back under my command and reassigned to me.

Kerabac immediately stepped forward, “Welcome home, First Citizens,” he said to both Kala and me.  What have we here?  Two new crew members it appears,” he said with a big grin, and he walked over and looked at the twins.  Reidecor just stared at Kerabac black face, but Lunnie immediately reached out and grabbed hold of Kerabac’s uniform.

“And just who might this one be?” he asked, grinning at Lunnie.

“This is Luinella; she is named in honor of my sister.”  Kala said.  I noted Kerabac’s eyes tear up for a moment, but he managed to contain them before they started to flow.  Kerabac had been quite close to Kala’s sister, and they had often danced together, winning several competitions.

“And this is Reidecor.  We thought it fitting to name him after Reidecor since both he and Lunnie died at the same time.”

Kerabac choked a sob for a second as he took Reidecor’s little hand.  “A noble name.  I owed Reidecor my life and in honor of him, I will swear that life oath to your son,” he said, “But come now, let us go inside; we have a feast prepared for you.”

Kerabac had barely turned to lead us into the ship when A’Lappe stepped up beside me.  “First Citizen, I am most pleased that you have returned safely.  I was most upset when I discovered all that had happened, and I regret not having been around to assist.”

Kerabac made a small speech about how glad they all were that Kala and I had been found safe and their joy and congratulations about our having twins.  There was then a brief moment where Kala and I thanked everyone before we finally sat down to eat.  I had a million questions to ask, and although it had been ages since Kala and I had truly great food to eat I was more interested in what had happened while we were gone.  Kerabac slowly began to fill me in on the details as I worked my way through a wonderful salad and then started on the most fantastic fubalo steak I have ever tasted.

“So after we arrived at Plosaxen,” Kerabac began, “we situated the
NEW ORLEANS
between the
HAPRIN
and the planet as the ship arrived.  We were cloaked, so the
HAPRIN
didn’t know we were there, but it didn’t take them long to figure it out once they started firing at the planet, and their shots were blocked.  They kept trying to reposition the
HAPRIN
to get a good shot at the planet, but we stayed right with them, then we were joined by the
HOSPIN,
and together we shielded the planet.  They tried several times sending out nuclear weapons in GW pods, but we could track them and shoot them down before they even made it to the planet’s atmosphere.  That’s about when Marranalis showed up with fighters from Nibaria, and the Tottalax showed up from wherever they were.

“You arrived just as the battle was really getting warmed up.  You must have been right on top of the Tottalax ship when they released their sleep weapon.  Our men in the fighters were knocked out as you were, some didn’t awaken for over a day; fortunately, we had enough Nibarians on both the
NEW ORLEANS
and the
HOSPIN
to keep both ships functioning and blocking the shots from the
HAPRIN
.  Commodore Stonbersa had given instruction that if we were hit by the Tottalax weapon that the Nibarians on our ship should open fire on the
HAPRIN
.  Both ships did so immediately and kept firing; we were joined from fighters from the surface as well as one corvette stationed at Plosaxen.  Together we all focused fire on the
HAPRIN
.

“As A’Lappe had predicted, eventually the shields of the
HAPRIN
began to weaken, and we got some shots through before the
HAPRIN
turned and fled with the Tottalax at their side.  By then most of the crew on the
NEW ORLEANS
and the
HOSPIN
that had been knocked out by the Tottalax weapon were awake again.  We fired on the Tottalax ship, but it had no effect that we could see.  At some point, the
HAPRIN
must have gotten someone from the captured crew to talk, because they suddenly cloaked and were gone.  The Tottalax kept flying away until they exited Federation space.  It wasn’t until we returned to Plosaxen and tried to contact you that we realized you were missing.  We started analyzing all our recordings of the battle until we figured out what had happened. What threw us off was your impacting the Tottalax ship, and that altered your course.  It wasn’t until A’Lappe arrived back about two weeks later that he determined what had happened, but then we still were unsure just where your ship had gone.  We kept expecting to hear from you any day, but when months went by we started to fear the worst had happened.  A’Lappe was the only one convinced you had survived, and that it was just a matter of time before we received an emergency signal from you.”

“At what point did Admiral Regeny step in and take Stonbersa and Marranalis?”  I asked.

“He contacted Stonbersa three weeks after the event at Plosaxen.  The Commodore really wanted to wait until you were found to make the transition, but when Tagren fell to the Brotherhood attacks a few weeks later, Stonbersa realized the need and relented to the Admiral’s request.  It was the next week that Admiral Regeny contacted Marranalis and said that without you being around the agreement you had with him regarding Marranalis was void, at least until you were found again, and he was reinstating him to active duty.  Marranalis managed to talk the Admiral into delaying things another week until he could find and train a new director for your security team, and as you can see, it ended up being Padaran.”

I glanced down the table at Padaran, who was laughing and engaged in conversation with Jenira.  It was obvious that they both had become attracted to each other.  Kerabac noticed where I was looking and said.  “Those two are quite a pair.  Both are natural leaders, and both are highly skilled.  “Jenira has put together a team of female warriors the likes of which I have never seen, or heard of.  She beats me every time now with the swords.  And Padaran is fast and smooth with his martial arts and has a really good rapport with his men.  There is a sort of competition between Padaran and Jenira, in that both want their teams to be the best, but they have different goals and complement each other more than conflict.  They work out together and spar all the time, both with swords and with martial arts.  Jenira is by far the better with the swords, but Padaran is better with martial arts.  To be honest, Tibby, I do not believe anyone is better with swords than Jenira; I certainly have never seen anyone better.  And Padaran, I think he would give you a real challenge now with martial arts.  Besides what you and Marranalis taught him, he also has learned some other techniques from Slater and Wang Lin How.”