"Private Jenson." Nathaniel stood at the front of the room after Wash read the dispatches.
"Sir?" A young man spoke up. He did his first tour with this unit in Somalia at age eighteen and was one of the lucky few survivors and the Commander wouldn't part with him for anything. Taylor kept an eye on him looking for signs of mental stress. The private seemed to recover his ordeal like a true soldier.
"It has come to my attention that you have a girlfriend." He paused and waited for the private to answer.
"Yes, Sir." The private had never heard the Commander address the issue of a girlfriend before.
"And her name is?"
"Jennifer Morgan, Sir."
"I have an assignment for you soldier. I want you on your next date with Miss. Morgan, to explain to her you're being transferred to another unit so she doesn't have to worry about you going away."
"I don't understand, Sir?" Private Jenson was perplexed that his new girlfriend would cause such a reaction or interest from the CO.
"Just follow my orders, Private, or I WILL transfer you. When are you seeing this girl again?" Nathaniel was aware he was entertaining his unit to no end and the private would be subjected to ribbing later, but he had to make a point even at the expense of this kid.
"I'll be seeing her on Saturday, Sir."
Taylor grinned and pointed to a spot on the floor. "And on Monday, you'll stand right here and tell us how the date went."
Later, Jenson cornered Major Tate and Lieutenant Washington. "Lieutenant, I have a question."
Wash was amused with the young man, but kept her expression neutral. "What can I do for you, Jenson?"
"I don't understand the orders Commander Taylor gave me. Do you know what this is about?" He shuffled from one foot to another.
"At ease, Soldier," Wash ordered and he stopped his feet in a spread stance with hands behind his back. "If the Commander gives you an order, you'll carry it out and no complaining, dismissed." She almost laughed as he hurried from her sight.
"What if it's really true love you're breaking up?" Alex asked. Wash had previously filled him in on the girl in question who dated Darrell and the results.
"Not on her part, Alex. She wants a ticket to the past and has no interest in these boys. She's not going and next Monday, the Commander is going to make sure all the young men know her name and game." She started walking and Alex fell into step with her to the maintenance building for more mechanical instruction this dim spring morning.
"This close to leaving, we'll have to screen all the women wanting to marry into our unit." He hated his kids being used.
"The Commander convinced Cayman to join our unit as liaison officer so all people as of now will be run through her. Our soldiers may be dense where women are concerned, but she'll sort through them. Wait until they get the order on Monday that all dates have to be approved by her." They both laughed.
Lucas Taylor settled into his seat on the transport to Rio de Janeiro. The covert message came in with a date and place two weeks before. A cab picked him up and took him to a private club in one of the eight linked domes. He could see the slums built around the parameter of the domes as he rode in the recycled air of a luxury limo cab. He looked with distain at the child beggars who held hands out to his cab.
He was escorted by a military officer of unknown country to a large conference room full of men, all older than him. The President of Brazil saw him enter and broke off his conversation to rush over, "Seníor Taylor, this meeting is for you. The men in this room are leaders in their own countries with specialties in either politics or business. Listen to what they have to say and learn our vision of the future. A presence and arm circled Lucas' shoulders and his head cranked around to see a smiling General.
"Lucas, we've been waiting anxiously for you." General Richard Philbrick spoke warmly to the teenager.
He took him around and introduced him to the key players in this clandestine organization.
Hans Gustafson, an older white hair man took the head of the table as the members sat, Lucas at his right with, Philbrick beside the boy. "We have decided upon General Philbrick's recommendation to trust you with our plans. We need help and have been told you're the best in your field," he spoke directly to Lucas, who showed no emotion, just watched the man talk. "You are close to calculating the energy needed to stabilize the portal, but you can only make it go one way. We want it to go both ways. Can you do it?" He cut right to the issue on everyone's mind and drilled his steely gray eyes into the sixteen year old.
"I've not worked on calculations to go both ways. I would need to be on that side and work back, but if I make it go one way, there's a way back." Lucas sounded confident.
"All our plans hinge on your success. We have the ability to become very rich by plundering that time period for its riches. I've been told you assured General Philbrick your loyalties are to avarice over family."
"I have no family outside an elderly grandmother. Nathaniel Taylor is my father in biology only. The day he left my mother to die was the day he forfeited the right to be my father." The venom in Lucas' tone and eyes convinced the leader of the organization what Philbrick had been trying to tell them, the boy really hated his father. That was good, because certainly the elder Taylor would be dead within the next few years.
"We need to be able to communicate both ways in between the portal openings. I've been told the control was given to Taylor's new assistant, a woman named Cayman Washington." Gustafson looked at Philbrick. "Give us a report on your failed mission." Lucas was heard to mutter, another Washington.
General Philbrick stood up so he was visible by all, and walked to the head of the table. "We suspect Argentina has a rift of some sort and are developing a portal to make their own excursions to the past. We sent Apollo Washington, Cayman Washington's husband to the area with some Commander trainees as a cover story if they got caught. He was supposed to report back to me exactly what was going on without being noticed. The private army had enough advanced surveillance equipment to detect them in the area and tried to kill them. Three survived. Unfortunately, Apollo Washington was among them."
"Why unfortunately?" Gustafson queried.
"He's slated to take my position when I retire. I plan on retiring rich and not on the military pension alone. He will never condone our plans and would greatly hinder our efforts if he were aware of them, so this has to be finished before I retire."
"His wife was given a position you were instructed to fill with someone loyal to us." Again, Gustafson wanted an explanation.
"Taylor came to me personally. Up until now, he's left the filling of positions to me. I didn't have a choice. If I refused, he would have become suspicious. She answers to me alone and I'll make sure anything we ship through will be carried by our people."
"So our people will also be on the other side?" Another man down the table spoke up.
"Yes, Weaver. In fact I propose you go and do the ground work when he gets the portal working in both directions," Gustafson issued the command.
Weaver nodded, not looking pleased.
Gustafson looked up at Philbrick standing at his shoulder. "Tell us about this Cayman Washington."
"She's honest and a good soldier. Due to a stroke of bad luck, she got demoted and removed from command of her unit. I was going to quietly place her in the headquarters pool and forget about her until Taylor's request. She'll never be one of us," he started to tell of the relationship between Taylor and the daughter, but Lucas was not stable and he needed the kid focused, not ruminating on his father's love life. If needed, we can get rid of her. Apollo will be taken out of action with her gone. He's devoted to her above the military."
"Should we eliminate him?" Another person asked.
Philbrick shook his head. "No, he's too powerful. He took two bullets in Argentina and walked to safety. A lesser man would have been hunted down and killed. He has an impressive history of killing and surviving impossible odds. The other Commander's, all of which he trained, look up to him like he's some kind of demigod. No, our best bet is to plunder the past while I'm in charge. By the time he figures it out, we'll be too powerful for him to stop."
"Do we need a contingency plan for if you die?" Gustafson felt Philbrick was placing too much faith in his own ability to survive.
"Hans, you'll take over and make sure Hope Plaza comes under our control for the final push and utilize our private army if Taylor puts up a resistance."
"What are we going to do about Argentina?" Weaver asked.
Philbrick looked at Juan Coretta, the President of Brazil. "I think you need to invade your neighbor to the south and take that canyon out. Since we have a treaty with Brazil, we'll send our units if necessary."
Coretta nodded. "How soon?"
Philbrick thought. "As soon as possible."
"What will be my excuse?"
"Brazil shares a short border with Argentina. Invent a border dispute."
"What did Commander Washington find in that canyon?" Another man dressed in a garish, orange expensive suit asked Philbrick.
"Something important. He guessed it was probably a time rift deep in the mountain and the private army was enlarging a cavern to provide access for vehicles. We know that the University of Buena Ares has a top-secret department that is rumored to be doing calculations to go through the fissure. We don't know if they are building a portal to harness the energy or waiting for an appearance to utilize it, but after Hope Plaza, I'd put money on the former."
"We have our second portal built." Coretta informed the room. "It is waiting for Lucas here to finish his work at Hope Plaza then come and help us." He looked directly at the teenager, "You get your father on the other side of Hope Plaza, then you'll have freedom to come and work on ours."
"I'm not letting you go to the past without communication between the two of us," Philbrick added to Lucas who nodded. "I want that special communicator you're working on finished soon."
"I'm almost done with the unit and it'll even have visual and can be used anyplace. It'll open a portal just large enough to get a signal and visual through."
"Will it affect our timeline and change events with random openings?" Gustafson directed to Lucas.
Lucas shook his head. "No, not this timeline. I think there are several fractures to alternate worlds. My goal is to find more and once we've taken the wealth off the eighty five million year rift, I'll find us more and keep an unending source of minerals flowing to our world."
"I like how you think, young man." Gustafson nodded his approval to Lucas. They ended the meeting after another hour of discussion and hustled Lucas back to Chicago before anyone knew he was missing.
Apollo looked up from plexpad reading in his office to a knock on the doorframe of the open door.
"I see you two found your way back." He motioned Peirce and Ryan into his office. "Take a seat and show me your wounds." He looked at the scar on a healed left forearm to Shawna and a crucifixion scar on Samantha's right hand.
"Do we get to see yours?" Shawna asked glad to see him. She spent a month fantasizing on how he would perform in bed and she was sure to find out soon. Men just couldn't turn her down.
Apollo glared at her. "No."
"Can't blame a girl for trying." She smiled, flirting all the way and not letting his standoffish manner deter her. He was cute and she wanted to know what he was like in bed, more importantly, hers.
"I see you two are cleared to resume active duty. You'll do physical conditioning along with tactical evaluation. Mornings will be physical and afternoons we'll play war games. Since it's only you two, I'm comparing your scores and answers to previous contenders." Apollo stood and limped around his desk so they could plainly see the brace on the outside of his pants. "Let's do a drive around the base and I'll point out the units."
The last stop was the hospital where Apollo parked and they entered. He was scheduled for a checkup, but didn't bother to tell his tag alongs. In the hall, he ran into Michelle Whiley in her walking brace that covered her entire frame.
"Michelle." He limped to her and took an offered hand. "What brings you to our favorite hangout?"
"Apollo, I heard about you getting shot." She took his hand and pulled him in for a kiss to cheeks, which he allowed given her condition. Michelle didn't need rebuffing at this stage of her healing. "I'm here for my usual checkup, you?" She asked him.
"They want to scan the leg again. I tell them to take a picture, it lasts longer. They tell me they do, but I think they're lying," he joked with her.
She looked to the women flanking him. "Change your women out, Apollo? You know I'm still waiting for you." She winked.
"These are yours and Cayman's wannabe replacements."
Michelle focused on them. "The survivors? That's not much of a competition, Apollo. You should find a few more and make it a real match."
"Philbrick is tired of this contest and wants it over and left it up to me, not even showing any interest in the results. He's gone a lot now. I got called in on Friday to cover for him. He flew off someplace." Apollo was disgusted he was forced to accept two women over the best candidates.
"Not to change the subject, but I saw Cayman last week and she told me she was pregnant again. She also told me you were getting soft in your old age, I hope not in the bedroom." She grinned up at him.
"She is referring to my not giving this training effort my best. She has no complaints in the bedroom." He knew Michelle was teasing, but it was his manhood at stake.
"You take care, Apollo. See you around." She held his hand, glad for the human contact.
He smiled and on impulse squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek again. "Miss you in the units, like I do my wife."
He told the women to wait for him, so they settled in the waiting area near the entrance just down the hall from the emergency entrance.
"I want you to start exercising without the brace morning and night, nothing drastic, just a walk across the room and back. Do that for two weeks then we'll access the muscle fusion. If all goes well you'll be off the brace in a month for good."
"When can I get back to my full physical regime?" Apollo didn't make a good cripple.
"Ask me again in a month." The doctor released him and he hobbled back to his unwanted attachments.
"Okay, ladies, name all the units, their mascots and Commanders." Apollo motioned them to follow him.
Before the first unit was named, a commotion at the emergency entrance stopped them to let the injured by, all escorted or carried by members of their unit. The last two through the door stopped his heart. Nathaniel was carrying an unconscious Alicia and yelling at his Sargent, what was his name? Apollo felt he should know and the guy looked familiar. Then he remembered, Boylan. The guy dated his daughter to seek revenge against Taylor. Taylor was yelling that it was his fault and he wanted an explanation on how a sonic cannon could get turned and fired directly into the crowd. It was total chaos as about a dozen injured carted in by others of Taylor's unit were looking for beds. An emergency page went out for all spare doctors to emergency, multiple injuries. All thoughts of leaving flew out of Apollo's head and he followed Nathaniel as he looked for a biobed and found one off to the side.
"What the hell happened, Nathaniel?" Apollo caught his attention in the bedlam with a hand on his shoulder.
"Sonic blast into the unit at close range." He looked around for a doctor, while her father turned his attention to his daughter. His heart was in his throat again at the thought of her being injured or worse.
Alicia was out cold and quickly a physician pushed them out of the way and flipped the bioscreen on. The men, standing back a pace, looked for broken bones and didn't see any.
"Concussion, bruising along the right side. No laceration or bleeding to the organs, that's good." The doctor took a closer look at the skull. "She's been injured before. Who is this?" He called out.
Nathaniel and Apollo stepped forward together. "Alicia Washington," Nathaniel spoke first.
Shawna and Samantha stood just behind them out of the way. They thought they recognized the woman in Taylor's arms, Apollo's daughter. Then the old injury list popped up and they both gasped. The list went on and on. The doctor did an overlay of old injuries on her head.
"Good, good. This is wonderful," he muttered to himself as he compared results. He worked down her body and compared notes. "Looks like her last trip was for a mis…" A sharp blow to his kidney took the wind out of his verbal rundown of her medical history.
"I believe her medical file is confidential," Nathaniel growled in his ear.
The doctor wiped his eyes to focus again and looked around. Other than two women who were looking intently at them, everyone else seemed occupied elsewhere. "Are you her C.O.?"
"I am and this is her father." The doctor looked up into a furious countenance.
"I don't want my daughter's medical history blabbed in front of anyone, understand?" Apollo snarled. By the time he realized what the doctor was going to say, Nathaniel, thankfully was taking action.
Wash moaned and the doctor turned back to her, happy for the interruption, but his side was starting to ache.
"Don't move, you are going to be in pain. I need you to tell me where." The doctor leaned over her face.
Wash opened her eyes and looked at a young doctor. Reaching up she snagged his ear so fast he didn't have time to jerk out of her range.
She had a firm grasp on and his head twisted so that ear was down and yelled as loud as the pain would allow. "I can't fuckin breath you moron." She released him with a moan.
"Well doctor, it looks like you were so impressed with her history you missed this." Apollo had a hand on the young doctor's shoulder and the vice grip made him wince and look where Apollo was pointing. The screen showed swelling and some bleeding where the muscles along her right torso were ripped from the ribs. "I suggest you either sedate her or make her not feel that." His fingers clenched once and he let go.
The doctor grabbed his shoulder in pain and looked up at the man. "I'm filing charges for assault for what you just did to me. Who are you?"
Apollo's smile didn't reach his eyes. "And I'll have you up on charges that you read a patient history aloud in a room full of people and failed to diagnose your patient. You don't want to play in my sandbox. In fact, get away from my daughter." He looked around for another doctor. He saw one who was her primary physician of two years before. "Nathaniel, go get Dr. Lowe." He motioned to a doctor nearby.
Dr. Lowe looked down at Alicia who was struggling to breath, taking shallow breaths and holding her right side. He looked at the screen and at Dr. Ripley. "What have you administered for this?"
"I, uh, well you see, these men have injured me and distracted me from treating her."
"I'll take that as nothing." He opened the drawer under the table and pulled out a syringe. "Alicia, you'll feel no pain about now." He watched her relax on the table.
"I owe you one, Doc." She managed to say in an almost normal tone.
"What caused all these contusions and ripped muscles, not to mention a few broken bones?" Dr. Lowe knew whom to address as he looked at Nathaniel, who was holding his Lieutenant's hand.
"We let the base idiot fix the sonic cannon."
"Impressive, was it just one blast?" The doctor sounded excited.
"Just one," Nathaniel confirmed. He was settling down and wanted a report from Boylan, who was staying well away from him, near his friend Casey Durwin, who was also a victim.
"I'll get a publication out of this incident in the military medical journal." He sounded very pleased the accident happened.
"While you're gathering information for your story, I need a complete list of injuries for my own report." Nathaniel wanted the doctor to get back to treating his wife. "What can you do for Wash here?"
"I just did it. Time will heal her, and all we can do is make her comfortable and pumped full of the good stuff, like most of your people. She's not going anywhere for at least a week so we'll make her comfortable and doped up."
Nathaniel squeezed the hand he was still holding. "I'll come back when they have you in a private room. I have to find out what happened." He looked at Apollo. "Can you take over at home?"
Apollo nodded and replaced Nathaniel with holding his daughter's hand. He leaned over and kissed her brow. "Don't worry about home, I got a good report from my doctor today. I'll take care of Cayman and Trey."
"Okay, Dad." Alicia closed her eyes against the bright overhead lights.
Nathaniel stalked across the room to Casey's bed. "How badly are you injured, Durwin?"
"Took a blast to my stomach, Sir. Ripped a couple abdominal muscles, just enough to get the real drugs and a few days off from you." He grinned and actually brought a twinkle to Nathaniel's eyes and one small twitch to his lips.
He patted Casey's shoulder. "Looks like you're going to miss Private Jenson's account of his love life on Monday."
"Oh no, Sir. I'm sure I'll be well enough to sit in the club house and hear all about his date." Suddenly Casey felt his injury wasn't all that bad.
Nathaniel smiled and looked at Boylan and wiped his jovial expression clean in a split second. "With me, Boylan." He turned and marched out.
Apollo motioned the women to go with him and he left. He wanted to stay, but knew he had responsibilities at home. He drove back to his unit, called Mallawarri on the way and told him to take over as Alicia got injured again.
In the rover, Shawna commented. "Your daughter's had lots of injuries. Do you mind telling us where she got them?" For once, she sounded sincere.
Apollo shook his head. He didn't know these women well enough to open up about his family. "No, I don't want to discuss it or anything about my family." The rest of the ride was made in silence. "We'll meet here tomorrow afternoon. Follow my instructions for the physical activity in the morning. We'll pick up where we got interrupted today." He didn't get out of his vehicle and drove off after they exited.
He went straight home to see how Cayman was faring with Trey. Entering the house, Trey yelled, "Daddy," and ran up with his arms outstretched. It was an act that always brought a smile to Apollo's face, even when he had bad news. Limping into the living room with Trey in his arms, Cayman looked up with a smile from her studies.
"You're home early. What did the doctor say?"
"I need a drink first." He put Trey down and went for a scotch. Settling beside Cayman, he started talking. "I was with the bubbleheads at the hospital. I took them around and then was going to test their memory. Oh, I ran into Whiley. She said she saw you last week. How come you didn't tell me? We were on our way out and lots of injuries came in and Alicia was with them…"
"Honey, you're rambling. Did Alicia get hurt?" Cayman watched him take a drink before answering.
"Nathaniel carried her in and she was unconscious."
"Oh dear, what happened?" Cayman kept her hand on his thigh while he recounted what he saw.
After he finished, he asked her, "Are you up to a trip to the hospital after supper?"
"I couldn't sleep if I didn't see Alicia tonight."
"I better go and fix something." He took his glass to the kitchen. Cayman got up to help over his objections and she told him to can it and let her help if he expected her to eat the food.
They quietly entered Alicia's room. To their surprise, she was alone and appeared to be sleeping. Apollo limped to the side of her bed. He wanted to touch her, but didn't want to disturb her rest. Cayman came up beside him. "She looks unharmed," she whispered.
"All the damage is underneath," Apollo whispered back and pointed to the right side.
They turned to leave when Nathaniel entered.
They moved away from the bed. "She's sleeping," Apollo murmured softly.
"Let's talk in the hall." Nathaniel led the way.
Apollo set Trey down to run and told him to stay in sight.
"We went back to the sonic range. Someone tampered with the guns we were checking before packing for shipping to the past. Boylan had taken the back off to perform a maintenance test on the new gun. He noticed the wiring didn't look right and pulled up a schematic on his miniplex. He wasn't sure if it was a new type of machine or one manufactured wrong. He was messing with the back and didn't notice the gun had spun on the turret. He had the safety on, but when he showed me the wiring and what he did to try and fix it, the gun went off with the safety on."
"Trey, get back here," Apollo ordered in his no nonsense tone. Trey ran back down the hall. This time Nathaniel scooped him up and flipped him over making him laugh. He up righted him and put him to his shoulder.
"You think it was done on purpose?" Cayman asked.
Nathaniel looked at her. "I don't know. Tomorrow we'll tear everything new apart from that contracting company. I informed Philbrick and he put a lockdown on all sonic canyons and all the units will have to check theirs at the range. We get first crack and Philbrick sent out a memo, which went to your unit that you're last on the list due to your unit being placed on reserve along with Cayman's and Whiley's."
"Did you fire it before Boylan opened the back?" Apollo asked.
Nathaniel shook his head. "Wash had just taken the unit to the range to check the new guns that arrived the other day. Boylan insisted on checking them out before putting anyone on them. We planned on checking only one before packing and shipping to Chicago. We'll check all others by remote. Philbrick said he wants to be present tomorrow when we check the guns."
"Well, we better get home." Apollo noticed Cayman looked drained and knew seeing Alicia in the hospital again was upsetting her. He took Trey from Nathaniel.
"Have you eaten?" Cayman asked a somber Nathaniel.
He shook his head. "I'm not hungry after today."
"Come home, I have a plate waiting for you." Cayman wanted him to eat.
"I'll see how Wash is doing. If she needs me, I'm staying." He disappeared behind her door.
She was still sleeping and he looked down on her for a minute just happy once again, she was spared. Finally, he leaned over and buried his face in her neck, his whiskers tickling until she stirred. "Nathaniel, stop." He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand.
"Are you in pain?" His voice was soft and low.
"No, just sleepy. What happened to put me in here?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow, but you and a dozen others accidently got shot with a sonic canyon."
"I didn't train anyone to have that kind of accident."
"The gun discharged with the safety on. I'll know more to tell you tomorrow. I'm going home to help with Trey if you don't need me." He smiled into her groggy, obsidian eyes.
"Oh, I need you, but can't keep my eyes open." They exchanged a tender kiss and he left.
Nathaniel took Wash home in seven days. She was still so sore she could hardly move, but with pain meds, she was able to sit on her couch with pillows. That night Nathaniel told them he had something that they would enjoy watching. He turned on the large screen in the living room.
Taylor was at the front of his meeting room and Tate was just finishing the dispatches.
"Private Jenson step up here." Taylor was seen to order. Soon a young man marched into the camera's view. Nathaniel smiled at him. "This is your inexorable moment of life. You are hereby ordered to share your date with all of us."
"Yes, Sir. I picked the young woman up at her parent's home in the dome. It was very expensive. Her father told me he was changing his mind about soldiers, especially the ones going to the past. We went to dinner and I told her I was being transferred to another unit and we wouldn't have to be parted. She started asking about the other blokes in the unit and if they were married. That's when I figured out what Commander Taylor already knew. The woman was a gold digger. So when I took her home, I didn't tell her, but I'm not seeing her anymore."
"Very good, Private. You're smarter than you look, sit down." Nathaniel addressed the unit. "They are out there and they want your name. Unfortunately, they don't want you. What these women are after is a ticket to Terra Nova. They know our time here is short so they'll be coming. This particular female used a soldier from another unit to hopefully encounter me. When we met, I told her exactly how to get to Terra Nova, hook up with one of my soldiers, then the other soldier was encouraged to dump her. I had feelers out for her name. It took a few weeks, but she managed to land one of you. We have new rules for dating. Nobody dates without approval of Commander Cayman Washington, our liaison officer on this side. She'll do a background check and tell you the odds the woman is a gold digger. Also, no last minute dates. If anyone violates my order and say gets married, I have the authority to have it annulled and the woman will not go to Terra Nova. And for you female soldiers, the same goes for you, no men on the side that hasn't been checked." He looked at Alex. "Major?"
Major Tate spoke up from beside Taylor. "I'll be in charge of collecting names and transferring them to Commander Washington. You don't go to her directly, but come through me, and I'll want details of any sexual contact." The room erupted in laughter.
Taylor stepped up again. "Fun part of the day is over. I have an update on the sonic blast that put thirteen of our unit in the hospital. It was isolated to one weapon, but they are tracking every unit he had a hand in building. Eight were sent to this base. Turns out the new employee was dyslexic and colorblind. If he concentrated hard, he could wire correctly, but the colors are a mismatch of guesswork. He was moved to a different position when his bosses found out by a call from our own General Philbrick. He felt bad that his deceit caused injury. Now he is a safety speaker to the contractors on his experience and the results. I spoke with him and he told me he was desperate for work and knew of his problems, but thought he could overcome them. If someone died, he'd go to prison. I told the contract company, I believed everyone deserved a second chance. And...," he paused thinking, "that's all I have.
"When's the Lieutenant coming back?" A voice that sounded like Boylan spoke off the camera range.
"In a couple weeks, why?" Nathaniel asked.
"The Major's so ugly I want to hurl just having to watch him every morning. Our Lieutenant is much easier on the eyes."
Nathaniel was seen to smile as the room started clapping and agreeing.
"I'm hurt," Alex responded. "I've been told I'm rather good to look at myself." He was good looking at six foot two with medium brown hair and bright blue eyes and dimples with each smile.
"Your wife doesn't count. She gets your paycheck to say such things." Someone in the crowd hollered and the room laughed.
"If you'd rather look at the Lieutenant, I have no choice but to make you run." Moans were heard and the screen went blank.
Apollo led Shawna and Samantha into his house for part of his afternoon. It was the day after Alicia returned home and he was worried Cayman would do too much trying to take care of her and Trey. He was going to test them on tactical situations and they could do that in his living room. "Daddy," Trey ran up and got his usual scoop and hug. He stopped his enthusiastic greeting and focused on the strangers. "Down," he ordered his father. Once on his own two feet, he ran off. Leading the way to the living room, Apollo found his daughter propped up on pillows on her couch with a plexpad on her lap and Trey struggling to get up beside her. She didn't reach out and help and finally he managed and sat by her.
"Hey, Dad." She saw him first and didn't notice he brought company until he moved further into the room.
"I decided to work here for a while." He motioned the empty couch to the women. "Sit down. I'm going to give scenarios and I want reactions, first on your plexpad, then we'll discuss your answers. Ignore anyone else here and, Alicia, I don't want you to butt in."
"But, Dad, but, but." She stopped when he glared at her and smiled back.
"Where's, Mom?"
"Taking her afternoon nap so keep it down." She went back to training Trey. "What's that?" She pointed to something on the screen.
"Cat."
"No, it's a dog." She hit something and the dog barked.
The doorbell sounded and Apollo cursed and jumped up to answer before whoever it was woke Cayman. Limping fast to the door, he flung it open. "Shit, Barry, what are you doing here?" He stepped back to let him in.
"Gail has her meeting with Commander Meyers and we flew in together so I could talk to you." He followed Apollo to the living room. "Hey, Sis, why are you here?" He noticed two women on the other couch and settled by Alicia and Trey. Trey climbed on him for a hug and kiss.
"Got shot by a sonic canyon."
"Ouch." He looked around. "Where's, Mom?"
"Sleeping, so keep it down." Apollo resumed his place in a chair.
"I'm assuming if Gail gets the position, you'll want to come back to Larken?"
"That's what I want to talk to you about."
"If she gets the job, you can come back as a private."
"Thank you, Sir." Barry was relieved it was so simple and he didn't have to explain how he'd changed.
Apollo turned his attention back to the waiting women. "You're on an island, cut off from backup for days. An army is invading the island over the only bridge. You're outnumbered two to one and soon to be three to one. What do you do?" He waited while they put their answers on their plexpad's and then sent the answer to his. He noticed Barry and Alicia were listening. He read the answers quietly and pointed to Samantha. "You first."
"Well, Sir. I'd look for safe areas for our units to hole up unnoticed."
"And you, Peirce."
"I'd find boats and all floatation and get off that island."
"So one hides and one runs. Did you think about standing your ground and fighting?"
"Against overwhelming odds?" Shawna shook her head.
Apollo sighed. This was worse than he expected. "Alicia, what would you do?" Everyone looked at her.
"Oh, probably take a bullet to the leg and hope my Dad would come and rescue me, but he wouldn't, so I would have my C O bind it with a mash dressing and get me to a place I could sit with my back covered and shoot whoever was dumb enough to enter my range."
"And how would you get this bullet to the leg?" Apollo asked.
"Maneuvering under the bridge setting explosives to blow it."
"And why didn't you two think to take an offensive?" He glowered at the couches occupants.
They were silent and Shawna finally answered. "I wouldn't. That's taking heavy losses trying to cut the supply route off. I wouldn't engage such odds, I'd run."
Samantha listened to the daughter and her answer wasn't too different from hers. "No, that's a good plan. You'd lose some, but then you'd know the odds and hopefully some would survive providing help arrived like in your scenario."
The door opened again and this time Nathaniel entered. He looked at the full room. "Something I should know about?" He looked at his wife and she shook her head.
"What are you doing in my new office?" Apollo asked and watched Nathaniel settle in the last open chair after crossing to the couch to shake Barry's hand.
"I'm here to consult with my new partner. Why are you here?"
"I came to check on the girls. I can do my tactical training right here. We're discussing a tactical decision on a little island you had some experience with." Nathaniel was filled in on the answers and why.
"I wouldn't have changed what I did even if Wash here took a bullet. We put her in a good location and she sniped at least thirty of those Chinese and that was after she was wounded."
"This is a real scenario?" Shawna asked.
"I don't have to make stories up." Apollo looked back to his plexpad. "Ryan, for hiding and showing no aggression, you failed. Peirce, for showing a yellow streak and running without any thought of aggression, you fail also."
"How did you handle the situation, Commander Taylor?" Samantha asked.
Nathaniel shrugged. "Blew the bridge and repeatedly attacked mercenary style until the cavalry arrived and got us out of there."
"So you didn't play it safe." Shawna observed.
"Not in this job description. As Commander you have to assess all sides and do your assigned task if possible, even against impossible odds."
Cayman chose that moment to make an appearance. She looked at the full room and shook her head. Her family was over protective and she wouldn't trade them for anything.
Barry jumped up and gave her a hug, and told her if Gail got the position, Apollo was letting him come home. She looked at her husband and he smiled at her. She sat between Alicia and Barry, and Trey promptly crawled in her lap. She looked at Barry. "Send a message to Darrell and tell him to come for supper. You can stay, can't you?"
Barry smiled. "Might not be a happy reunion if Gail doesn't get the job."
"Anytime my kids are home is a happy moment." She patted his thigh.
He grabbed his miniplex and sent a message to his brother.
"Cayman, how's the studies coming?" Nathaniel inquired.
"I am familiarizing myself with the buildings and materials that'll have to come from this side. I think you need an industrial park as soon as possible, tooled to build everything. That priority should be moved up to under ten years."
"We won't have the trained manpower for at least ten years. No, we can ship what we need for now."'
"That's a huge mistake, Nathaniel. At least let me start shipping the dies and machines you'll need, even if they sit in storage."
"What's your priority?" It was easier listening to her than arguing.
"Lazers, wire making equipment. That way instead of shipping rolls of wire, you can make what you need and pipe manufacturing. I'm assuming you'll find the metal you need and a refinery should be first. Then you need to make your own weapons and uniforms. We don't know how long that portal may last. It seems stable today, but a well place bomb could end it."
He listened to her wisdom and liked what he heard. "You're right. We should be prepared in case something happens on this side. We have so much to do in such a short time. I don't see us even looking at fabricating for years, but we'll provide for your ideas."
"Are you guys going to work in my new office?" Apollo wanted to get back to grilling the women on tactical exercises.
"This is my office, Apollo." His wife reminded him. "Unlike you, I lost my office away from home so I think you need to take your act and leave."
Apollo and she had a battle with their eyes. Apollo nodded. "I just stopped by to see how you and Alicia were doing. I'm going back to my office since you're mean enough to kick me out."
"Just be home early as the kids will be here."
He got up. Taking their cue from him, the women stood. They waited for Apollo to lean down and kiss his wife and daughter and son. With another, last kiss to his wife, he motioned for them to follow and left.
He grilled the women hard for the rest of the afternoon and was happy to see some improvement. He looked at the clock, half an hour to closing and he needed to address his unit. "That's all for today, dismissed." He looked down at his plexpad for the days messages that he had to respond to before meeting with his unit. He heard the door shut and assumed the women closed it when they left. Sensing he wasn't alone, he looked up.
Shawna was alone with him. She had to know, did he cheat. Walking around his desk, she slipped into his lap and looped arms around his neck. "I suspect a man like you can handle more than one woman at a time." She placed her lips on his expecting a passionate response like all men gave her.
Shocked, he didn't respond. When he did, it was with a hand around her throat. He stood and lifted her with him by the tightly gripped fingers. He knew his fingers were leaving marks and he didn't care. "I'm a one woman man, and you're fired." He walked her backwards to the door. Opening, he shoved her out. "Don't ever let me see you again." He turned and stared at his desk in amazement. "Wow, even Michelle never touched." He locked the door and went back to his plexpad. He answered a couple queries from other Commanders. He sent a message to Chris asking for a short visit tomorrow at his office in the morning. He sent a note to Philbrick telling him why he fired Peirce, and he was planning on filling her position with drawing using the Commander trained men in the Special Forces units on base and if he had any objections, he needed to know before morning as he was contacting Commanders for their Lieutenants. He sent a note to Mallawarri asking him to dismiss the unit. Suddenly he wanted to be with his wife.
He arrived home just as Darrell showed up and they entered together. Gail was there, snuggling on his couch with Barry. They both looked ridiculously happy and were all over each other, kissing and talking privately. Nathaniel and Alicia were on the other couch sitting close, only touching with their hands which were entwined and they were talking softly. Trey was playing with his toys on the floor. Cayman was nowhere to be found. He went looking for her while stripping out of his uniform shirt.
"Darrell's here." He threw his dirty shirt on a chair and looked for a civilian button up shirt with long sleeves. He put it on and left it open as he approached the bed where Cayman was lying down again and sat beside her. "Do I give the impression I want more than you?" He looked worriedly into her eyes.
Cayman reached out and stroked his arm. "Why, did one of those women come on to you?"
He nodded. "Peirce, and I never gave any indication I was interested, which I'm not."
"You weren't. Some women are always on the prowl. If she was married and another man came along, she wouldn't think twice. You've seen man-eaters like that."
"But not after me. As a rule, women avoid me; I scare them."
"What exactly happened?" He told her everything. "You did right in sending her packing or I'd be in jail for murder." She tapped his wedding ring. "You wear that as a reminder for them."
"I don't need it for me. I'm happy with you and don't want the mess of an affair. I was worried I might be subconsciously telegraphing something I don't feel."
"Are you really happy with me?" She wanted reinforcement.
He leaned over and kissed her softly. "I don't ever want another woman." He stood and took his brace off. Shoes followed and he lay down and pulled her close. "I messaged Philbrick with what happened and told him where I was getting the candidates. He's supposed to veto the idea before morning or I take it he approves." They talked of little things like what he overheard her and Nathaniel discussing. Slowly, he felt better. This was his family and perfect life and no other woman was going to ruin it.
Chris wandered into Apollo's office at mid-morning. "You wanted to see me? Please tell me it's for nothing more than an invite to another party." He sat without being asked. "I enjoyed your birthday immensely."
"I almost killed one of the bubbleheads yesterday." Apollo didn't start with the usual greeting.
"On purpose or accident?" Chris subtly switched to work mode.
"On purpose. Peirce came on to me and I almost snapped her neck." He felt a small twinge of remorse and knew he hurt her and her crime didn't warrant his brutal grip.
"And you didn't encourage her?" Chris spoke softly, not judgmental.
Apollo shook his head. "Never thought of them that way. I love my wife and family."
"Did you tell Cayman?" Again, Chris used his kind fatherly tone to draw the reaction he wanted.
"Everything, as soon as I got home. She trusts me and I her." Apollo unknowingly smiled at the mention of his wife.
"You and Cayman are okay?"
Apollo knew that was Chris' primary question. "We are more than okay. Believe it or not, our relationship is getting stronger and better."
"This baby is to help with the impending loss of Alicia?"
"Nothing will ever replace her. We honestly got pregnant again for Trey. We chose a girl, more for Cayman than me. I'd have been just as happy with another son. You know, two boys to hang out with."
"I'm going with Major Tate on the second pilgrimage so won't be around much longer for you and the other Commanders. I'll give you reports on your daughter, you can count on that." Chris reassured him.
"I know you will." He got back to the matter at hand. "I'm calling five men in the units who've gone through my Commander training. I'm going to draw two names out of a hat and they'll become the next Commanders. Lieutenant Ryan will be reassigned to one of the units that I've taken a Lieutenant for Commander slot. She needs more time as a second. Maybe in a few years she'll be ready to test again."
"And Philbrick?"
"He didn't contact me so I'm taking his silence as a yes. I expect him to either retire or be promoted to Richmond."
"And you're going to be the General?"
Apollo shrugged. "I'm in the running. We'll just have to wait and see."
That night, Nathaniel laughed at Apollo. "You have the same luck picking Commanders as you do girls."
"I took the five best and pulled two names. How'd I know one of them would be Mallawarri. And he wants Cathy Meyers for his second. Brian's pissed as hell and came unglued all over my ass before I got away. He wanted his wife, like I want mine, safe at the base."
"Alicia and I are going to Chicago next week now that I'm not so sleepy all the time." Cayman spoke up and looked up at her husband. They were snuggled on their sofa while Nathaniel and Alicia were happy on the second. Alicia was still sore and all they could do was hold hands.
"Why?" He pulled her closer, not wanting her out of his sight in another city.
"Relax, it's just for a long day and I'm getting a tour of Hope Plaza."
"No long walking. That place is enormous."
"We'll be riding on carts everyone uses to get around," Alicia told him then looked at Nathaniel. "I want to go to bed and lie down." He helped her up and they vanished with good nights all around.
"Who got the other slot?" Cayman missed his earlier announcement when he first got home.
"Kyle Randals, Larkens second. I'm sure I'll hear from him tomorrow."
"Speaking of Larken, it'll be good to have Barry home. Did you say anything to Brian to give Gail an edge?" She knew he could be sneaky.
He smiled at her. "I told him my sex life depended on it."
Cayman burst out laughing. "Why don't you pick our sleeping kid up and after you put him to bed and I'll show my appreciation." They shared a long, deep kiss before he carefully lifted a sleeping Trey off the floor.