Time For Some R&R
"So how did you arrange for this nice ride," Jack asked Carra.
"It turns out General Robertson knows a friend of the CEO of the airlines and arranged for a private flight." The flight attendant was starting to deliver the evening meal, roasted chicken. It was such an honor to have these guests and an easy flight with only nine guests and three attendants. Downright empty for a 747. The guests spread out across the first class cabin. This plane was supposed to be retired, but at the last minute the airlines asked for volunteers to take a special crew to Hawaii and stay there for an extra vacation.
Nobody mentioned the destination and the crew were instructed to keep it a secret and to pamper the young lady dressed in ragged, but comfortable looking jeans and a worn out Ricky Skaggs tee shirt. Probably her favorite outfit. She noted that five of them were in military uniforms and one man was in a flowered shirt. He sat next to a young lady dressed in a very nice pantsuit, well suited for travel.
The youngest one there was in a nice dress, reminding the stewardess of a peasant dress, a dress Carra saw the first time at the second hand store, but it was excess baggage at the time. Maybourne went back there after talking to the Sheriff and Agent Thompson and bought it for her. On the window side of her was the guest of honor. On the other side was the young Air Force corporal. They were talking about all kinds of things; planets, stars, physics, animal husbandry, biology, cooking, aviation. The stewardess was never interested in any of those things in school, but they sounded so interesting when this young girl talked about them. She just might have to take another look at biology when she had some free time. She had a week in Hawaii. She just might have to pick up a book or two.
"I kinda feel sorry for that television news crew. They worked hard to get this story and they got blocked off at the gate at the airport," Amanda said to Carra. The television crew arrived just as the crew left the Sheriff's office. The tech had found two schools and both looked like they might have been the right one. They guessed wrong the first time and it took until almost six o'clock to get to the second candidate.
"They can get their story later. Right now we need to take care of our little baby." Carra patted Amanda on the stomach and Amanda put her hand over Carra's, holding it over the baby.
Amanda smiled, reclined a little, and took her plate from the stewardess, "Thank you so much." The attendant smiled and said, "You're welcome." Such nice people. The tall, black man and the man next to him were rather bland to her, but cordial. Certainly not problem guests, but not exactly outgoing. She had been around enough to know that if they got to know her better they would open up. They were just locked up in their profession. And the black man had an interesting hat on, not matching his uniform. She smiled at that. He had an imagination and a sense of humor. She wished she could see it come out.
The flight was so relaxing. What could be better than this? Amanda didn't care where they were going. This was so nice. The lights were out, everyone was either asleep or quiet. She was exhausted from the past few days and slowly fell asleep.
She awoke to a rumble outside. An F-16 was flying at the wingtip of their plane. Jack was up and spoke in a hushed voice, "we're going to an Air Force base. It is perfectly natural to have an escort. We're after hours for the commercial airport." She heard and felt the gear go down. She only guessed what the sound was, seeing as she never flown in an airplane before. The noise and jolt woke everybody else up, everybody except Daniel. The fighter escorted the plane to the ground and then flew off.
On the ground were two hotel limousines, with a military escort, of course. Hilton Waikoloa Village. That sounded Hawaiian! The palm trees reminded her of her dreams of a tropical paradise. The salty breeze smelled better than she imagined! She noticed two other limos there with military symbols and several uniformed officers were there.
Two of the officers walked over to greet the group. The General saluted, "Ambassador Carra and Ambassador Carol. Welcome to Hawaii. You need any assistance, please contact us." They handed Carol, Carra, and Amanda their business cards, the Air Force and the Navy commanders for the Pacific Theater! "These are our private numbers, no hassles to contact us." They turned to Amanda, "You are one brave lady, and lucky to have such wonderful friends. We're glad you met up with them." They shook her hands! WOW! She liked the attention!
"We know you're here to relax, but we have an informal officers dinner already planned for Wednesday. If you would like to join us, please do not dress up. Jeans and tee shirts. It's just a friendly get-together we have about every five or six months. No shop talk allowed!" The smile showed her this was genuine. Her head was spinning over the attention. She suddenly wanted to get away from it all and just enjoy her fantasy. These last three days were too much to take in at once. She wanted to go to sleep with the window open and absorb that delicious salty breeze floating through the air.
The two Generals took Amanda by the arm, escorting her to one of the hotel limos. The ladies all piled into one limo, with the men following along climbing into the other. The luggage was already being loaded into one of the military vehicles.
The limos took the scenic route from the military base to the hotel, not the long way, but no rushing either. Amanda opened the skylight and stood out in the breeze, the driver slowing down for her to enjoy the view, what was left open at four am on a Monday morning. There was enough light to see it all.
Amanda couldn't believe the hotel lobby. It was beautiful! She never dreamed of anything like this. They didn't even have to check in, being escorted directly to the, no she heard wrong, surely not the Presidential Suite. Yes, she heard wrong, three presidential suites! They were in the Palace Tower! They discussed sleeping arrangements and decided the ladies would share the top floor and have a week-long pajama party. Maybourne and Mayse shared the middle suite and Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c shared the lower suite, and of course the elevator would be locked for security. Amanda didn't know how to handle the pampering. She wasn't even allowed to touch her bag!
Most of the crew settled in pretty quickly, but Carra and Teal'c settled outside, having already had enough sleep for the evening. They sat by the lagoon discussing Goa'uld and their families. Eventually, just at dawn, they settled in to some sparring practice. They tried to be quiet, but captured a little attention, drawing security to the scene. Carra and Teal'c broke out laughing when they saw their audience and just continued their sparring. Security was warned about the special and unusual group they had as guests and quickly realized who this was, finally recognizing them from TV. They looked different in the morning light and less serious than in the video. Carra asked if they wanted to practice also, but after watching only a few moments realized that both of these people were way above their comfort level and declined, but stayed on for at least five minutes, amazed at the moves and force they both gave and received. If anyone dared to attack either one of these two, security would not be enough to stop them. Best just call for a few ambulances.
It was a casual two days on the beach. Monday afternoon Amanda had a massage, a manicure, and a pedicure. She enjoyed the pampering. Jack taught Carra the fine art of the cannonball and the belly flop while Amanda slept in the first day. Surprisingly, Jack joined in as Sam started a game of Marco Polo. Daniel joined in on that one, along with Maybourne. He didn't have this much fun since he was a child. After Amanda woke up and joined the fun, Carra imitated a whale, shooting a stream of water from her mouth onto Amanda, who responded with a cannonball next to Carra, which stated a splash war. The other night at the Pizza Pizzazz was just a hint of the eight year old girl still there, but hidden from view. She still asked a few questions, but very shallow, compared to the Carra they were all used to.
It reminded her of home. The games were different, but the attitude was the same. She was beginning to be a little homesick the last week, even before the adventure began, but now she felt at home. While Amanda still needed some of "counselor Carra" at times, she was mostly "little sister." For the most part it was Carol who stepped up as counselor and teacher. The six year old that died at the hands of Eddie was being reborn. The eight year old Carra was as much a comforter to her now as the soldier Carra had been days earlier. It was very good for both of them. Monday night it was Carra who started the popcorn war that turned into a pillow fight, which ended with everybody laughing. At one point someone hit Carra hard, sending her rolling off the bed, but she came up laughing and swinging! The thump was heard in the suite below, but they figured either someone was in deep trouble or they were having way too much fun upstairs.
Amanda was everything from six years old to a serious adult woman. The abuse had stolen her childhood and the motherhood that was being forced upon her had its influence, but right now she was free to live and be the lost child with Carra. She would eventually "find" herself, but right now she needed to live what was lost to her. Carra had a saying, "be." She was living that right now and enjoying it.
Tuesday afternoon Amanda came out of the ocean, talking to her child within. She laid down on the wonderful sand in front of the group. She wanted to enjoy the feel of the sand on her body and play with it with her toes, describing the sensations to her baby. They were all there, either in the sun or under an umbrella, some on blankets, some on loungers. All except Sam. She was getting surf board lessons. Jack admired her from afar and Maybourne was eyeing Carol lying on the blanket. She was an amazing woman. Almost two months ago she was a scared, abused woman, but now she fought Goa'uld and renegade senators with the confidence of a seasoned soldier. At the same time, she was such a calm encouragement and role-model for Amanda. Besides, she pretty good looking, too!
Mayubourne had his drink replaced when Carra and Carol were startled. As Carol was looking around frantically, Carra stared at Carol. Did she have that gift too? "Someone's hurting." They both started looking around and stared at the young waiter. Carol waved her hand, "Sir!" The waiter turned and saw Carol's hand waving to him. It was an honor to wait on this group. He saw the video the other night!
"How may I help you," he asked as he walked over to Carol.
She looked at his nametag, Kapono. "Kapono, could I get some lemonade please?" She looked deep into his eyes and saw a distance there. He was attentive, but his mind was distracted.
"Right away Ambassador." He turned and left. No guest ever called him by name before, certainly not one as important as an Ambassador! His heart was beating faster with excitement to serve such an important lady!
Carol looked at Carra. She knew too. Lady Virginia had talked about Carra often. She also had the gift. "What do you think?"
Carra looked into her eyes and smiled. "Pain over a loved one, I believe." Yes, that fit the pain she felt.
Kapono returned with a tall glass of lemonade, with a straw and umbrella in it and set it down on the small table next to her. Carra looked up from the beach blanket and addressed him, "Kapono. That means righteous. Interesting name." He looked deep into her eyes.
"Interesting," said Daniel, not even looking up from his Hawaiian archeology book he picked up at the local university, "but you used a Polynesian accent." He smiled, thinking he caught her in a mistake.
Carra looked at Daniel, "What accent?" Daniel jerked his head from his book and looked deeply into Carra's eyes and then smiled. He learned something about her planet, but also quite puzzled, as she had no noticeable Polynesian features.
Carra turned back to Kapono, who was also puzzled by the accent, "I believe you have a pain that's troubling you. Care to share it?"
He looked nervously around, unsure what to think, "um, I'm not supposed to talk about things like that with the guests."
Maybourne interrupted, "Kapono, could you please bring the concierge here? I'd like to have a word with him." Kapono looked quizzically at Maybourne, turned and went to find the concierge.
Maybourne looked at the ladies, who also had puzzled looks, "don't you think it would be nice to do some shopping and sightseeing?"
"I think Maybourne has a surprise for us," said Carra slyly.
Amanda spun around, rolled over on her stomach, resting her chin on her cupped hands, observing the group intently, "if you think I'm staying behind, think again. I want in on the action, whatever it is you have planned."
Jack wanted to go to, but Carra rejected his offer. "I already have something planned for you and Teal'c." Carra paused for emphasis as Jack and Teal'c stared at her. "In about twenty minutes or so, someone is coming to take you deep sea fishing. My treat."
Jack responded in his usual sarcastic tone, "are you some sort of mind reader?"
Carra laughed, "only a dead person wouldn't know how much you love to fish, you and Teal'c. Enjoy yourselves."
Jack leaned back in his lounger, adjusted his ball cap down over his eyes, adjusted his sunglasses and said, "You're the boss on this trip." The ladies all laughed.
The concierge and Kapono returned to Maybourne. "How may I assist you today, sir?"
Maybourne stood and faced the concierge, "the three ladies here and I would like to do some shopping and would like Kapono here to drive us around."
"Sir, I, uh, am normally able to help you out, but that requires a chauffer's license to drive the hotel van. I have several eligible drivers more than capable of handling your request."
Carol interjected, "Maybourne, did the package arrive?"
"The embassy package? Yes, yesterday afternoon."
Carol addressed the concierge in a professional tone, "when we put the embassy flag on the van our driver does not even need a driver's license. We like Kapono and would like him to be our driver. Please see to it we have a vehicle ready in twenty minutes."
The concierge tried to refuse, but Carol's look and raised finger told him he better do as she requested. He bowed and submitted, "as you wish Ambassador." Maybourne excused himself to get the embassy flag. That woman was definitely bold. He admired her profound, but confident authority.
Carol turned to Kapono and told him to sit down as they discuss their travel plans for the afternoon. "We need to get Maybourne a new favorite shirt. His other one was Carribbean, but I think Hawaiian should do nicely. The three of us would like some nice Hawaiian clothes also." Kapono nodded absently as she described what she wanted and started lining up some stops in his head.
Carra interjected, "and I would also like to find an original language Bible. I read the first seven books of the motel Bible earlier this week but want an original."
Kapono lit up at that request, "Mother would know that!" His eagerness gave way to sadness.
"I think we found it." Carra said with compassion. She walked over to him and took his hands in hers, waiting for him to look her in the eyes, "Please tell us what's wrong. Carol and I both felt your pain."
A tear started falling and it took several moments for him to speak softly, "mother has stage four cancer. The doctors only give her a few months to live. She won't see the birth of our first child." He looked down. It felt good to speak it out, almost a relief. And these ladies cared about him.
Carol looked at Carra with a smile, "my turn with this one." She got up out of her chair and stood behind him. Her hug was full of warmth and compassion. She whispered in his ear, "your mother will live to see the birth of your child." He turned, jaw hanging down, eyes wide open.
Mayse, who had been listening, almost feeling out of place with the group spoke up, eager to join in, "can I come too?"
Carra went over to Mayse, who also choose the blanket over the lounger, and held out her hand with a smile.
"Will!" exclaimed Amanda, eyes wide in excitement at the realization of what was about to happen, again!
"Let's all get ready for a field trip," Carol said with delight. Amanda raced Mayse back to their rooms to change. Carol and Carra approached Jack.
Jack looked up at the serious looks on their faces. "Okay, what's up now?"
Carra spoke up, "We didn't tell you everything about the encounter with the Asgard. When we get back we need to take a field trip, and the Generals may both need to be there. We didn't want Maybourne to hear about the, um, 'special attributes' of my cargo ship."
Jack stared at the pair for a few moments, "weapons." The pair smiled excitedly. Jack had to think about the situation for quite some time. They had hid this vital information, but they willingly volunteered it now. Was it actually possible to trust them? What kind of weapons were they talking about? Virginia was able to hold off several mother ships, apparently with ease. The pair gave the impression they were going to share the whole thing with Stargate Command!
The questioning in Jack's expression was obvious. Carra almost giggled, "Let's just say that daddy and Lady Victoria were in a friendly competition over who had the best cargo ship. Daddy gave me his ship." Carra's excitement over sharing her secret was obvious.
"I got an old beat up Falcon in high school, and I had to pay for it," said Jack, obviously jealous.