Hi - next episode up. This one's a little more introspective, just something to start things off and set the scene of things to come. Hope you like it. And I thought it was good to give Laura a part in this story too.

Bhar: I know you asked for some chapters in Fenton's perspective. This story starts with Laura and ends with Fenton, a couple of chapters running.

RagnaICE: Thanks for your efforts to comment properly, I very much appreciate your efforts. I hope this story will be more 'normal' in terms of conversations and behavior since it focused more on the relationship with only a small number of action, and a major space battle.

And YAY, another new reviewer! Welcome Suganya! please do continue reviewing! But more importantly, enjoy the adventures up coming! Cheers!


To Come Home on an Alien Land

By Jolly

Episode 10

Big Brother Blood Brother Soul Brother

Laura Hardy glanced at the digital timepiece that adorned the wall opposite the kitchen wall.

"18th hundred hours standard galactic time," the clock told her.

Laura sighed. What a strange AI. Why bother telling her the time after it saw her read the time?

She was still trying to get used to the idiosyncrasies of this new world she found herself in after death. And it was after death, for she was supposed to have been killed in a drug raid by a Colombian lord back on earth almost a month back. Not only her, but also her husband Fenton and elder son Frank.

But then they did not die. They were retrieved by an old man and a young lady and taken into space, through some sort of a portal, into this world. And more than that, they found out their younger son, Joe, who had gone missing over three years back, was also saved from death and retrieved and currently striving in this world. Well, sort of striving. As much as she loved seeing Joe again, she did not really know how to handle the battle-hardened young man. Even as she acknowledged that Joe had always made an effort to present to her the side of him which she was more familiar with. And she appreciated that effort and that consideration immensely.

And she feared that soon Frank would also go the same way. The Old Man, whoever and whatever he was, beyond being a member of the High Council, had made it clear that the reason for retrieval was to help them fight a war, and one of galactic proportions. She did not like the idea. But there was nothing she could do about it. Would it have been better if they were never retrieved? Then she would never see Joe again, a tiny voice told her from the back of her mind. And Joe would live out his life totally alone here… Laura supposed this way; at least the family was together once more…

And Joe… It was good to see him again. She knew her husband and Frank felt the same too …

How could she even imagine what a galactic war was like? The biggest war she ever knew of was the Second World War back on earth. And even then, that occurred before her time. She had no conception what it was like to live in a time of war, and to live through a war. But she knew it involved deaths. And that was not good. She knew it involved killing, and that was worse.

They were currently living on an asteroid. The entire city was built on the asteroid and this city was called Oasis. Oasis was located a fair distance away from the frontier where the war was taking place. And it was built for the Academy. In preparation for war, which she was told, was inevitable. Because the enemy was bent on imposing their own laws; and exterminating any non-human life-form regardless of its sentience.

Now, she found herself in a totally different world and immersed in a totally different culture altogether. That did take some getting used to. She turned back to the food cooking on the kitchen stove. But some things never changed. People still have to work or study, and they still have to eat. And her sons would be home soon, from their day at the Academy.

She smiled wistfully. She wished this could last forever. But she knew this was only for two more months. The Old Man had said Joe and Banz were off active duty for three months, and the first month had already gone by…

And sons. It was so strange. To have three 'sons' in their early twenties living in the same apartment with her and Fenton. Back on earth, the children would have moved out at eighteen, nineteen latest. She shook her head. And she gained a third son. Banz Kalosis. With his fiery red hair and emerald green eyes. She had seen his prowess as a fighter and seen him cast spells, in defence of her family. Joe had told them that it was Banz's contribution and sacrifice that had enabled them to live in this very apartment. She recalled Banz handing Joe a little cube and how they merged. And when Joe said that Banz was an orphan, she and Fenton had unhesitatingly offered to unofficially take him in as 'son'. Banz was already Joe's Soul Brother anyway. The apartment was small with only two bedrooms. She and Fenton were given the master bedroom with the ensuite, and the three boys had taken the second bedroom and cramped themselves in somehow. She knew there were only two beds in the second room, and had sneaked a peek at how the boys were managing once. She was shocked to see Banz sleeping on a rope stretched across the room.

"Training," he had told her with a casual shrug of his broad shoulders. "And it will be Joe's turn next week" he added. She closed the bedroom door.

And then there was the issue that both her natural borne sons had soul mates. Which was sort of like wives. But not quite. But they would eventually bond fully and be properly mated. That was what she meant by the idiosyncrasies of this world. At least back on earth, either you were married or you were not. Here you could be soul mated but only partially bonded. Whatever that was supposed to mean, Laura sighed in frustration.

Reiko had returned to stay with her mother, which was of course expected. And Ceri and gone with her. It seemed like both were fast becoming good friends. She supposed it was a good thing to have the two daughter-in-laws on good terms with each other. And they had dropped by each weekend for a meal.

Then Laura turned her thoughts to Frank and she frowned a little. Her poor elder son was having a hard time. She could tell. He was brilliant back on earth, his IQ placed him within the top two percent of the population, and he was a member of the MENSA. But everything he knew and learnt from earth was barely applicable here. He had to relearn so much, and in such a short time-frame too! She could still remember the nights when he sat in the living room his face buried in the books or his personal mobile computing unit and AI trying to work out the problems. And Joe was there most of the time, patiently explaining the logic (or illogic) behind each problem.

It did not escape her notice that there was lots of tension underlying the brotherly relationship among the three. Banz and Frank had alternated between wanting to monopolize Joe and feeling guilty and literally throwing Joe at the other brother for quality time. And the unintentional but constantly alternating game of tug-of-war and ping-pong between the two had left Joe far more confused than he should be… but it was clear that Joe had matured well in the last three years. He was still coping with Banz and Frank and had yet to lose his temper. But she wondered how long more he could keep his temper under control.

She was not doing too badly in this world, if truth be told. She was a normal housewife in her former existence. But here in this world, her skills in cooking was actually very much appreciated. Apparently, food was the BIG thing here, and there weren't many good cooks around. So back on earth she was merely skilled. Here, they said she had mastery over culinary preparation. That sounded cool, did it not?

Laura laughed as she recalled when she, her husband and Frank first walked out of …well … their version of an immigration department after registering their presence in this world. Joe was there waiting beyond the gates, and he looked so embarrassed that she wondered what happened. And behind him stood a whole gang of people, including The Old Man and Reiko and Swordmistress Isogawa, all with this hopeful expectant expression on their faces.

She found out later that Joe had been boasting of all the great food of earth, and also of her culinary skills. And they were all waiting for her to request for a cooked meal or two. How could she refuse? The moment she said 'yes'; Reiko and Banz had rushed off. And next she knew, she was standing before a makeshift garden barbeque grill and an electric oven in a garden. And she was flabbergasted to find two huge containers of frozen pizzas amongst all the other junk food like frozen pies and potato chips. It seemed that Joe's version of good food was junk food. Poor poor them… and that was just so Joe! And it did seem that Reiko and The Old Man had done some serious shopping before coming to their rescue.

And she was now just a week away from getting her own Chef license, with which she could work as a chef, and later perhaps even opening her own eatery, if she saved enough capital. She could not help but to feel excited about that prospect.

Then her eye fell on Fenton. He was sitting quietly by the window, staring into nothingness. He was doing that a lot recently. She supposed he had it hardest of all. At least Frank was here for a reason. And she found something she could do. It was not that there was no need for private investigators here. Someone somewhere would always needed something found. But this world was so different, and the rules were so different, that he could not port over his skills from earth to here. And the other part of investigative work was the network of contacts and informants that was built up through the years. He had neither of those here. Finally, he was almost fifty, making it much harder to start over. If Frank was struggling, Fenton had it many times worse.

Yes, she was most concerned over her husband. Even though he had worked hard to keep all his fears and insecurities from all of them. And he had been supportive of her and her desire to get out there and do something with her life. So Fenton, working to ease her fears even when he was drowning in his own. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. He turned and looked at her and gave her a small smile. 'Don't worry about me' he seemed to project to her. But she could still see the sadness deep in his dark brown eyes. Her heart went out to him, and she tightened her embrace in hopes of being able to take over some of that sadness. That was all she could do for now. And later, maybe, when Fenton was ready to talk, she might be able to do more. For now, they would simply enjoy each other's company and what they could.

It was not long before the door bell rang. And she knew, they were home again for the day. They both turned towards the door and smiled. It was always a good feeling, seeing their sons back home each day. And they hoarded those moments jealously.

The door opened and three young men burst through. It looked like all three were in high spirits, especially Frank. He passed his theory paper and was ready for his first practical pilot lesson. It was great news. And both Laura and Fenton were proud of how quickly Frank was learning. But they could not resist the feeling of apprehension slowly rising. Both exchanged a nervous look, which all three young men had missed, lost in the exuberance of the day's good news. Every successful achievement by Frank meant that he was a step closer to being ready for combat… and it was not what any parent would want to look forward to for their child.