Valley Forge
Chapter 14
Rick was pacing; Kate was quietly standing there watching him, smiling, while Alexis stood off to one side, silently fuming.
They were all waiting for a ship to land. Rick had been hopeful when Kate had asked Alexis if they were going up to their station to meet him. She'd shook her head and dashed both of their hopes.
"Not to worry; we'll all be spending almost a day there before boarding your ship that will be taken to the gate." Alexis almost instantly revived their smiles. "Or not." She honestly didn't know.
In moments they all watched as a ship landed and people started getting out. Alexis saw him first. She hung her head and remembered her promise not to kill him.
Jackson wasn't really looking forward to this. Yes, he'd been told who would be waiting for him and he was expecting to be shot, hung, drawn and quartered; maybe all that after they made him suffer.
He saw Alexis first and she didn't look happy. Then he finally saw his son and a lot of his fears left him. Richard was standing there. A little older and maybe a little taller; there was a lovely woman rubbing his arm since he looked tense. He'd been told that he was married and was guessing that was her.
Jackson took in a deep breath and began walking again. Then Rick saw him and became a statue. Kate felt him stiffen and tried to look where he was looking until she saw someone that he resembled. The man she saw was a lot more gray but not really old, not yet.
Rick was still staring at him as he walked right up to him. No matter what any of them did he knew he deserved it. "Hello, Son."
Jackson cringed the second he saw Rick move but he wasn't expecting to be hugged so tightly or to hear him sniffling in his ear. Jackson recovered and wrapped his arms around him and patted his back.
Rick started to recover; he let go of him and looked at him. "WHAT THE HELL, DAD!"
Jackson finally got the reception he was expecting. He tried to defend himself. "It wasn't my idea. I even destroyed all of our communication equipment after April died. It left me alone with a small baby until I met Martha and you quickly followed. Then someone found me and Alexis and the next thing I knew, we were on a ship headed for the gate. All we had were the clothes on our back. They kept telling me it was orders."
"REALLY? The one time you actually follow orders is the one that destroys our family. You at least remembered this place. I got dumped in the middle of nowhere, Dad. They didn't even speak English." Alexis waved her hands and walked away, still mad at him.
Jackson groaned and deflated. "She's right. I broke every law to keep us on Earth and then I didn't do anything to try and stop them. I did get her a tutor to teach her the local language, I even called in every favor I had to get her a job. I spent weeks talking to the people that ordered us here. I finally gave up and got lost." He looked at Rick and tried to gauge his reaction. "I suppose you hate me, too. Not that I blame you."
"My sister was dead; we found a body and buried her. You, you were simply gone. Mom thought you had run off to grieve. It was just that you never came back." Yeah, Rick was mad at him, too.
"I'm sorry. I don't really know what else to say. Your sister's right, I should have fought and I didn't for once." Jackson sighed. "You must be Katherine!" He moved in and hugged her, getting a hug in return. He let go of her. "Out of the two of you I thought sure Alexis would be married first and then we ended up here." Jackson couldn't believe it and then he reached for Kate's hand. "And look at the size of that rock!" He knew his diamonds and this one was a big one, around 3 carats.
"Rick made it for me." Kate was proud of him and loved her ring.
"YOU made this?" He thought his son was a tree hugger not a diamond cutter, but what did he know anymore.
"I proposed on the ship and she said yes. I used an industrial diamond we had on board and made it for her. With a little help from B2," Rick admitted while he smiled.
"You married on your ship. So no one has actually officially recognized your marriage." Jackson saw Kate shake her head. "We're so fixing that! The details are different here but it's still a ceremony. Alexis hasn't done anything about this?" He couldn't believe his own daughter. She was mad at him, not them.
Rick bristled and defended his sister. "We have been rather busy since we got here."
"And we spent almost three days in medical after our arrival," Kate added.
"Go find your sister. Katherine and I need to talk about this wedding." Jackson wrapped an arm around her and couldn't wait to get started.
Rick began to walk away but paused for a moment. "OH, they've agreed to bring Mom here." With that, he left.
Jackson stood there gaping at him as his mind tried to process what he'd said.
"We don't know when but she did tell her aide to make a call to some admiral and arrange for a cloak-capable ship to go get her." Kate hoped she got it right.
Jackson was still standing there, staring at nothing. "They agreed to bring Martha here." He shook his head. "Let's go, we have two weddings to plan." Jackson took hold of Kate and started walking only to suddenly stop. "I suppose we should wait for my son and daughter."
They saw Rick return with Alexis. "Did they tell you they were bringing Martha here?" Jackson asked, looking at Alexis.
"Of course, I made it a stipulation for them to get my help," Alexis stated and suddenly found herself being hugged tightly by her dad. She didn't want to admit it but it felt great.
Jackson released her. "I know you're still mad at me, but thank you. I don't know how you did it, but thanks. Then he turned to Kate. "You said she." His brow furrowed, he looked at Alexis. "Is Hanson not in charge any longer?"
Alexis stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "Vice Chancellor Taylor Pruitt is in charge now." He may have been way out on the edge, but surely he knew that?
"GOOD! Now I can hunt Hanson down and make him hurt. That son of a bitch is the cause of all this." He was going to start the hunt almost immediately. Jackson began to stalk off. "Full body traction for life is too good for that asshole."
"He hasn't changed much." Rick looked at Alexis and grinned.
"Apparently not." Alexis resisted smiling but a glimmer still leaked out.
"I think you two need to talk to me about him. He's going to be my boss after all." Kate began to follow Jackson who was moving away but when she heard Rick begin to speak, she came back.
Rick recounted an event that had taken place when he was much younger. "Dad's emotional and protective not to mention opinionated. I remember him interjecting himself into a squabble between some guy and a woman. Dad intercepted his hand just before it hit her in the face. He told him that he really didn't want to do that. The guy started to rip Dad a new one until finally he threw a punch. The next thing I really remember was explaining it all to the police as an ambulance took the guy away on a stretcher. There was blood, I know that much."
"Dad's well-trained," Alexis agreed. "He also isn't above fighting dirty."
"He always said if you get in a fight, make sure it ends fast so that you don't get hurt. No matter what it took. I simply took that and made sure I never got into a fight if I could prevent it," Rick added.
"He talked about planning weddings. Ours and his. I think he means to marry Martha after she gets here," Kate shared with them.
That had Alexis stopping dead in her tracks. "He wants to marry Mom…again? Here?" She snapped her head around to look at her dad with new eyes. She was still mad, but not quite as pissed off as she used to be.
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Kate was with Alexis while Jackson had Rick somewhere else. Kate was flipping through what was hanging there with a woman who just wanted to help hovering close by. "These are wedding dresses?" she whispered to Alexis who was standing next to her.
"This isn't Earth, Kate. They do things differently here. Just pray Dad doesn't guide Rick toward anything too weird." Alexis almost wished she had gone with him instead of helping Kate.
"I already have a ring." Kate flipped past a couple more dresses.
"Oh this isn't about a ring. This is about matching tattoos," Alexis told her.
"TATTOOS! …MATCHING?" Kate stopped looking at dresses and stared at Alexis.
"Dresses." Alexis waved her hand at the dresses they hadn't looked at yet.
Kate was back to flipping through gowns again. "Rick chooses the tattoo I have to get?" She was suddenly very concerned. "He better be careful or I'll shoot him." She huffed and rejected yet another dress.
Alexis made a face. "It's not Rick I'm worried about. It's Dad. He has enough skill to take on everyone in this building and he knows how to survive out in the wilderness."
"Skull and cross bones?" Kate mentioned and shuddered.
Alexis trailed her fingers across her chest. "More like a giant wolf head tattooed here."
Kate's eyes were huge as she stopped to glare at Alexis, wondering if she'd lost her mind. "I'll kill both of them." Then Alexis started laughing and actually reached out for something to hold onto.
"Ooo, I'm so getting you for that." Kate shook her finger at Alexis.
It took Alexis a couple of minutes to calm down. "They don't even have wolves here. But Rick is looking at matching tattoos; I wasn't yanking your chain about that." Alexis gestured to more dresses. "Just be thankful that you don't have to do it naked like on Star Trek." She was still smiling broadly at what she had done to Kate.
"So what else is different?" Kate grinned wickedly at Alexis. "Do I sacrifice my future husband's sister? Cut out her heart and offer it to the gods?"
"Very funny." Alexis pointed, trying to get Kate back on track. "Dresses. Kissing is involved, though. So flex that PC muscle." Alexis began looking at dresses for her.
Kate rolled her eyes. "I can pucker up with the best of them."
"Wrong lips. The PC muscle is your other lips." Alexis dived a little deeper into the dresses to hide her smile.
"NO WAY!" She growled a little. "You are so getting it, I swear." Kate watched Alexis break down, laughing her ass off again.
"I… don't know about you… but I'm having fun," Alexis managed to get out between laughs.
"Anything else?" Kate turned to the attendant that still wasn't far away who was doing her best not to laugh.
"First or renewing vows?" she inquired.
"First," Kate answered.
"Renewing," Alexis told her.
That had the poor woman looking between the two of them.
"Married on a ship but not officially recognized," Alexis explained.
"In that case, follow me." She took them into a smaller side room.
"NOW WE'RE TALKING!" Kate loved this room.
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Kate and Alexis caught up with Jackson and Rick for a late lunch. "What did you choose, Castle?"
"Uh-uh, Kate. Not until the ceremony." Rick wasn't talking plus his dad had explained parts of the ceremony which he had to admit were different. He'd even questioned the meaning behind the tattoos.
"CASTLE!" Kate protested.
"It's customary for the bride not to see the tattoo until during the wedding," Jackson explained.
"You already have a tattoo, Kate," Rick reminded her.
"That I chose during one of my more stupid moments. So what is it, Castle?" Kate wasn't giving up. "CASTLE!" She bit out his name and shot daggers at him.
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"IT'S A TATTOO! YOU DON'T JUST GET THOSE REMOVED!" Kate was pacing and yelling at Alexis since Rick and Jackson had left.
Alexis tried to reach her. "That's kind of the point, Kate. It's permanent; marriage is meant to be permanent. You're supposed to trust the man you're marrying. Trust that he'll make good and wise choices. Or is it the lack of control that worries you?"
"WHAT? …Why would you say that?" Kate demanded hotly.
"I barely know you, but my brother loves you. Since you've been here you've led, not followed. Rick follows you. If you chose the tattoo would you be this pissed off? What if Rick was this pissed off?" Alexis stood up. "Or is this about Earth again?" Alexis began walking away.
"You were born there, it's your home, too," Kate yelled after her.
"It's also a dead world, Kate. They just don't know it yet; or worse, they don't care about the future. Going back there means death. Earth has no future. Their last chance ended when your ships and their domes were destroyed." Frustrated and worried, Alexis headed for the closest train station.
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"Alexis?" To say that he was surprised would be an understatement.
"Hi, Dad." Alexis walked past him and into the room they'd given him. "I need a favor and I think you're just the person who can do it."
Jackson closed the door and turned to face Alexis. "Okay, I'll bite, what brings you here?" He was pretty sure she hadn't just stopped hating him for what he did or hadn't done.
Alexis paused, considering how to begin. "Rick loves Kate, so much so that I fear that he simply does what she says."
"This is about the tattoo, isn't it?" She turned to look at him. "I'm old not blind, Alexis. Katherine is a force of nature. Used to being in control, used to getting what she wants. Not used to taking no for an answer. Fights for what she wants. I can relate to that as your mother well knows. So what is it this time and why are you here?" He had to be her very last choice for her to be here.
"She's hung up on Earth. That Earth is home and that it isn't dead. I… I want to know if you'd go there, gather all the information you can, and bring it back. In their words, not mine or Rick's. I don't think she trusts either of us in that regard.
"I know Earth is home, but home is where you are. If one burns down, you make a new home. I just don't think Kate gets that. She's agreed to go to the Pegasus Galaxy; I'm not sure she's going to be happy there." Alexis looked at him with the best pleading eyes she could give him.
"And make Richard's life a living hell because he can't fix it for her." Jackson headed for his bedroom. He came back out with his bag packed and made a call.
"Dad?" She hadn't meant immediately.
Jackson ended his call. "You didn't think I could do this alone, did you? You leave in six weeks. Delay them as long as you can but I may have to meet you there. Hm, maybe I can get Martha to help. I doubt if they've launched a mission to go get her yet. Three people against an entire planet. They'll never know what hit 'em." Jackson started grinning an evil grin.
"Thanks, Dad." He walked right up to her. For a moment Alexis thought he was going to hug her and somewhere deep down she wished he would.
"I should have fought back like I should have and I'm so sorry, baby girl. I failed you, Richard, and Martha when you needed me most and I'm sorry. I gave you the space that you wanted when we got here and that was likely another of my mistakes. My son needs me now and it's one test I have no intention of failing.
"I like Katherine, but I suspect you're right. She needs to learn where her home really is." Jackson leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back." He headed for the door.
"Thanks, Dad, and I'm sorry, too." This was the man she remembered.
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Jackson greeted him. "Hey, Phil. I see you're packed." He hugged his friend and slapped his back.
"Jack." Phil did the same to him. "So what's the gig?" Jackson hadn't said much, just that he needed him and his skill set.
"Clandestine work on another planet. I need you to hack their systems and download all you can while I hunt for a paper trail. How's your translator?" Jackson inquired.
Phil lifted it up and Jackson spoke in English. "Sounds like it works perfectly." Jackson was satisfied.
"Yours, mine, borrowing, or stealing?" Phil asked.
Jackson took exception to the word stealing. "We'll give it back."
"Stealing, got it. Good thing I know you or we wouldn't have a code to get back. Let's get started." Phil began moving.
Jackson said, "We'll need to load it with supplies. Not a lot. Six weeks tops."
Phil quirked his mouth a little. "Hacking droids to do the work is child's play. Might even take one or two with us." His mouth turned into a smile. "It's good to have you back. What have you been up to lately?"
"My son, his wife who wants me to teach her, and my daughter were chosen to go to the Pegasus Galaxy. That's the reason for the six week timeline," Jackson said.
"Lucky you. You need another man?" Phil was more than willing.
"They did hire me as a private contractor so I suppose that means I can bring who I want with me. Keep in mind my wife will be going with me and you'll need to help train my son's wife," Jackson warned.
Phil grinned. "I like women in uniform and breaking in a greenie sounds like fun. You want me and I'm in."
"Just so you know where we're going is where my wife's located. …And she thinks I'm dead."
"Man, I'm glad I'm not you. She's going to remove your ass and your ears will be ringing for days. I'll see if I can find an extra medical pod." Phil started laughing at the look Jackson was giving him.
"This is going to be so much fun." Phil started rubbing his hands together. "Lethal or stun? Never mind, we'll bring both just in case."