PART TWO.
Thirty years passed.
He held the hand of his grandson as they walked from the child-care unit to his parent's home in Section M-12, in the deep underground of Moonbase Alpha's apartment complex, Helena-9.
"Did you pass the spelling test?" John Koenig asked the boy.
"Of course I did." The ten year old replied. "I always do. I'm the best in my class."
Ethan was very smart and John, amused, should have known better than to ask. Still, he thought, the boy might benefit from a course in humility, maybe one of the other children beating him at his own game. Still, one day he might make a good Commander of Alpha. Confidence was important.
Koenig reconsidered. He suspected Ethan's interest was in the sciences. Already, he was superior to many with regards to his knowledge of the cosmos. He had even made a list of questions for his educator, asking difficult questions that even Professor Ibsen had to search the memory banks of Computer for the correct answers.
Sadly he, like many of the children, really was not interested in hearing about Earth. It did not matter to him as a third generation Alphan, a child of the moon, to hear about his ancestors errant past. John could remember his daughter's vague interest when she was a girl. They looked upon Earth as a history lesson – but little more.
The child's superior expression dissolved when he saw his mother, "Ma!" He ran to her, a smile on his face, into the arms of the exhausted woman.
She crouched and took him into her arms, hugging Ethan tightly before releasing him. Quietly, she told him to go into the flat and eat lunch while she spoke with the Commander. "Hi Dad." She put an arm around him, blond ponytail bobbing, and gave John a quick but tired hug, "Sorry but I've pulled heavy shifts in Medical Center since Abigail and Dr. Morgenstern had their twins. Hope Ethan hasn't been too much of a hand-full."
"No, he's a good boy." Koenig said and smiled at the woman. The older she got the more she looked like her mother. "Have you heard word from Darrin?"
"He's still digging with the other engineers." She blinked, both annoyed and understanding. "He said they probably have another week." Sarah half-smiled, "Ethan and I miss him but once Helena-21 is opened and the new apartments built, we will be able to spend more time together as a family."
"I wish things were easier for you, Sarah." Koenig said, "Even during our busiest times your mother and I were able to spend quality time together." His eyes dimmed a little at her memory, sorry he had mentioned it when his daughter looked uncomfortable.
Her mother had died many years ago. Sarah had seen photographs of her and so many told her what a wonderful woman she was; how she had been instrumental in keeping their moonbase alive during those early years when it could have been destroyed at any given moment. Dr. Helena Russell-Koenig had been a beautiful woman, accomplished and much-loved, and someone Sarah never felt she could live up to.
Some said she looked like her but Sarah, as a girl, had stared into a mirror and could not see the resemblance. Sarah knew from a young age that she would one day be a doctor and remembered her father telling her how proud her mother would be of her. 'Perhaps." Sarah thought, "Or perhaps she would feel anger because her daughter was never going to rise above a surgeon." No, Dr. Sarah Soback, daughter of two highly respected command figures, would never become Alpha's CMO. She didn't have the stomach or ambition for it. Being a doctor was not a passion for her. It was a job. Nothing more.
Briefly, as she had done many times during her life, Sarah wondered if she had also failed her father.
There was always such love in his eyes when he mentioned Helena. He had never taken up with another woman after her demise, after that terrible accident that nearly killed her – allowing Helena to live long enough to give birth to she and John Koenig's only child. It amazed all that Sarah had not just come out unfazed or scarred by the accident but healthy and happy. Her father told her she barely cried as a baby and it was always a pleasure to be around her – even if he was deeply grieving at the time.
Sarah had never known him before her mother's death but some of the older Alphans, including Alan Carter, said he was far more dynamic when Helena was by his side. When they had fallen in love, John's sense of humor and obvious happiness was clear. After her death, despite having a beautiful daughter, John had become much like he was just after Alpha left Earth orbit; stern and driven. He remained a good leader who did not allow his private demons stop him from continuing their expansion project.
And he loved Sarah. That too was obvious. Without her, despite his resolve, he might not have survived those years of aloneness. That was what Pamela, one of the older Command Center staff personnel, had told her.
Alan also said that the day John was told by the dig-team that each opening of a new living space would be dubbed "Helena" in Dr. Russell's honor; tears had formed in their stern Commander's eyes. He was deeply moved and pleased by the engineers' gesture.
"There is going to be a party at the park near Helena-6. It's Iesha Sugimoto's birthday. I promised Ethan we would go. Want to come with us, Dad? They're having cake."
"When?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Can't." he said, "I have a walk-through in Hydroponics. It's their new synthesizing device. Promised I would be there to cut the ribbon."
It amazed many that John Koenig had remained their Commander after so many years. It did not surprise Sarah. He was still wise and brave; every inch a command figure. He could not do the heavy lifting he once did, commanding all sections of the expanded Alpha, so he delegated. But his mind was still sharp and, despite the sadness in his life, John Koenig still exuded confidence in their future.
Sarah wondered, not for the first time, what Moonbase Alpha would have done without him. What would she have done without him? Sarah brought her arms around her father's neck and gave him an affectionate hug, "Bye, Daddy. Don't make yourself so scarce. Ethan misses those family meals with you. And so do I."
He nodded, smiling mildly. "Bye, honey." He watched as she entered into her home. When the door opened he could hear Ethan calling for her …
Koenig turned around, his smile fading, and put a hand to his aching chest. As he walked to his solitary quarters he thought about - as he had so many times in the past - the birth of his beautiful child and the death of the woman he loved … He then lay down, sleeping, and dreaming of a planet with trees, blue sky, fresh air - and she was waiting for him.
"And that evening, at the age of seventy two years, the Commander will die." The voice told her.
"But Alpha will thrive." Helena nearly smiled. And John will live a long, productive life …
"A lonely life." The voice had read her mind, "A very lonely life."
"He will have his people and our daughter …" Helena shook her head as if the fantasy had finally made itself known, "That is impossible." She finally said and looked about the darkness, "I'm not pregnant. I'm not having a baby. John and I talked and agreed that a woman my age …"
"You are fully capable of baring a child, Doctor. If we were to change this current time-line … a child will come."
"When will it happen? When will I – die?"
"Next year at this time."
"But until then John will live. We will have a full year together?"
"Yes. Do you agree?"
He must live. Helena gulped, "Yes." She said, "I agree."
There really was no other choice.
PART THREE: soon to come.
