And hello back! Here is the next chapter. As I said before, it's gonna be a calmer one, as our heroes were allowed to visit Earth. And tell me, why wouldn't they do it, especially after months of fighting and destruction of Holy Order superweapon? So, most of them will go to visit their families and friends. Most, as some of them can't, for various reasons…
But let's not think about that, and simply get down to business.
XXX
July 20, 2150
09:22
Solar System
A space distortion appeared and soon, it changed into the RNS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ship slowly made it's way towards the station in the orbit of Uranus, where it docked. It was running out of fuel and Uranus Station was currently the biggest refueling station in all of Solar System. As the process was in motion, crew members not needed in directing the process were allowed to leave the ship to visit the station to eat or something else.
White Squadron members entered the station and looked around.
"Well, welcome to Uranus."Ester said to Trude."Second furthest outpost of Human civilization in Solar System."
"Impressive, as everything."the Witch said. She looked outside through the window nearby."So close to Earth, yet so far."
"That sounded poetic."Liz said.
"I wasn't going for that, actually."Trude stated.
"No matter if you did or not, it still sounded like that."Ester stated, as she turned to everyone."Refueling will take around two hours, so you are allowed to do whatever you want. But not anything, what would result in me paying or trying to explain to local police."
"Yes, sir!"everyone said, saluting.
And with that, everyone went in their own directions. Liz and Emiko decided to go to the station's museum, Arlette and Anastasia went to the local music shop, Yuko and S4ra went to the computer shop, Aquexymeva, surprisingly, went to the model shop, Suvi went somewhere where only she knew and Lena went to parts shop.
Only Jackie, Trude, Dora and Ester were left.
"So…We're gonna go somewhere together, or you wanna go somewhere else?"Ester asked.
"We went somewhere else on Angier Station."Jackie said.
"We could go somewhere and eat together."Trude said.
Ester clapped her hands.
"I like that idea."she said with smile."There is this famous restaurant on the station. We could get some food there."
"You think that our pay is enough in there?"Dora asked.
"If we all pay for what we eat, then yes."White Squadron leader stated.
"If you say so."
"Restaurant it is."Jackie said.
With this, the four went to the said restaurant.
09:54
Le Triomphant restaurant, Uranus Station
The restaurant looked pretty elegant, styled on XVIII century France. All around were people dressed in elegant dresses and suits. Certainly contrasting with four girls dressed in Fighter Infantry combat uniforms.
"Wow, things here are expensive."Jackie said, looking at the menu."You really think such a Mine Rat as me can even afford these?"
Hearing how Jackie called herself, Trude risen an eyebrow.
"Mine Rat?"she asked.
"This is how people call Minenians, due to how much time we spend in mines."Jackie replied.
"Don't worry."Ester said, waving her hand."Everything we buy will go the Navy's bill. We don't have to worry for paying."
"So we can choose whatever we want and it's Navy who has to pay for us?"Trude asked.
"Pretty much yes."Dora replied."But don't choose anything too crazy."
Jackie and Trude looked back into their menus and started thinking what to take. Finally, they decided.
"Then I will go with Soupe a l'oignon."she said."I never ate onion soup and Arlette said, that it's pretty good."
"I take Cassoulet."Trude said.
"Okay then."Ester said, closing her menu."Now, we need to wait for a waiter."
She looked around and noticed one thing. Instead of waiters, she saw people walking up to the big desk standing under the wall and telling what they wanted to eat. She frowned.
"Such a luxurious restaurant, but they have no a single waiter."she said."Okay, I will be back soon."
"I'll go with you."Jackie proposed, as she followed Ester to the desk.
This left only Dora and Trude. As Ester and Jackie walked away, Trude started looking at her things on the hand terminal. At least, she was doing it, until she noticed, that Dora was staring at her intensively. After she realized it, she suddenly started feeling uneasy with White Squadron's second-in-command drilling into her with her eyes.
"Is…there something you need?"the Witch asked.
Before she could say anything else, Dora reached over the table, grabbing Trude by collar and pulling her closer. Their faces met in the middle of the way.
"Listen."Dora said."I want you to know only one thing. Ester is very special to me and I won't let anyone to hurt her, even you. I know, that you and her are related, but I know her longer than you. So if you try any moves, you will have to try and face me. Understood?"
Trude was truly surprised by what she just heard. She knew Dora was overprotective over Ester, she saw it several times back on the ship, but she didn't knew, that it was at such a high level as this.
She nodded.
"I understand. But you don't have to worry. I see Ester as a friend and a family."
Dora let her go and returned to her previous position.
"I hope."she summed.
Right as she said that, Ester and Jackie came back and sat down.
"And? Why aren't there any waiters?"Dora asked.
"Turns out, that all got sick."Ester replied."One got ill on a trip and spread it on the others, forcing them to stay home. This is just temporary thing."
"But we got our food ordered."Jackie said."So we don't have to worry."
Trude nodded and everyone waited for the food. From time to time, she glanced at Dora, which escaped with her eyes. Jackie and Ester took a notice of this.
"Did something happen?"Jackie asked.
"Nothing."Trude said.
"Nothing at all."Dora added.
Ester wanted to ask something else, but gave up. They waited for their food to be ready. And when it was, Ester and Jackie went to take it, allowing Dora to drill into Trude once more. Witch decided to return the favor and the two started at each other intensively and stopped, then the other two came back. They ate their food in complete silence, with heavy atmosphere hanging over Dora and Trude.
11:21
Colberg Junction Station
After everyone did what they had to do on Uranus station and Ike refueled, the ship made it's way towards the main Junction Station in Earth's orbit. Station itself was pretty old, as it was the first Junction Station ever. Yet just like after it's creation over one hundred years ago, even today it was main communication hub, with shuttles flying to every corner of Earth,
Ike, due to it's size and station's disability to dock huge ships, simply stopped next to it. After that, members of White Squadron were transported on the station with a dropship.
"I hope you will enjoy your little vacation."captain Eriksson's hologram said to the squadron members."We will be back here within a week. There might be a slight slip, but either way, enjoy your stay."
With these words, captain's hologram vanished and the dropship landed on the station, allowing it's passengers to get off. When they did, machine flew out of the station and returned to the Heavy Cruiser, which then proceeded to jump out of the Solar System.
"Okay girls."Ester said, clapping her hands."We do as we planned. We go and see whatever we want for a week. After that time, we meet in London, where we wait for Ike's return. Okay?"
"Sure."entire squadron replied.
Well, maybe not entire, because from all squadron members, only Suvi was missing. It was mainly because she already came off of the ship back on Mars. Ester told her the same as she did just now, so they hoped Suvi will not forget.
"What are you actually gonna do?"Ester asked."You never told me."
"I guess most of us is going to see their families."Liz said and majority of the squadron confirmed by nods.
"I will do as I said."Jackie said."I will go and see the Great Canyon. And maybe some of the US."
"And you, Aqi?"Ester turned to the Tertan.
"You know. I always wanted to see the battlefields of the 1st Tertan War on Earth."Aquexymeva replied.
"Are you sure?"Arlette asked."Wouldn't that be…depressing for you?"
Aqi just waved it off.
"I will just go there to learn history of the conflict, which started the fall of Tertan Empire."she explained.
"Okay then."Dora said.
Next, everyone's eyes turned to S4ra. The B-Doll shrugged.
"What?"she asked.
"And where are you going?"Anastasia asked.
S4ra looked at Yuko.
"Yuko said, that I can go with her, if I want."
Ester nodded.
"Okay, I have nothing against it."she said."Now, let's go. Our dropships might fly away soon. And remember, after a week, we meet in London for our last hours of the vacation and we wait for Ike to come back."
Everyone saluted and walked away in different directions. Only Ester, Dora and Trude were left standing there.
"So, only three of us, huh?"Ester said.
"Seems like it."Trude said.
"Yeah."Dora said.
The two then looked at each other and narrowed their eyes. Ester could feel, that something was not right, so she decided to intervene quickly.
"Hey, look how Earth looks from here."she said, turning to the station's window.
The two looked through the window and immediately all the bad feelings disappeared. The planet below them was simply calming them all down and nothing else could be said about the view below.
"Beautiful…"Trude found something more to say.
"Yeah."Ester said."This is Earth. Our home and place we so desperately fight to save from destruction by Holy Order."
"I'm sure that if not Tertans, this planet would be dead long ago."Dora stated.
"True, Tertans ironically saved us from another world war."Ester noticed."Hard to believe, that over one hundred years ago, it was a battlefield for the survival of our race."
"Yeah. Here, it was."Trude said.
Ester quickly bit her lip, as she remembered a certain detail about Witch's world. There, they still had war they fought and just like during the 1st Tertan War, Humanity was fighting not for victory, but survival as a specie. And she was abruptly torn out of that war effort and place in a war she never wanted to fight in.
"Sorry, I forgot about your world."she said.
"You don't need to."Trude replied."Sooner or later, Neuroi will be defeated and Humanity will be able to continue existing. But for now, Holy Order is my enemy and I'm going to focus on it."
"Good to hear that."Dora said."It's better, if there will be no more accidents like that one with Aqi, when you met…"
Ester his her with an elbow to stop her from talking.
"Either way, good to have you here."Ester said."Now, let's go. There is probably a shuttle waiting for us."
The three made their way towards the station's shuttle port, where they could see crowds of people going from one place to another, even more than in other parts of the station. They could see single men, women or entire families walking around with their luggage in tow. Around, there also were various shops, if passengers wanted to buy something before the flight.
"Okay, we should go and find our shuttle."Ester said."It should be nearby."
They started walking, but then, Trude's eyes went in a different direction. More precisely, the direction of a candy store and two small figures looking at what the store had to offer behind the window. Kids themselves looked pretty bad, with dirty clothes, with parts of these clothes torn. Something told Trude, that these were not simple kids.
"Orphans?"she thought."Wait, I will go and take care of something."
With these words, she detached from Ester and Dora and went to the candy store. She entered, while looking at the two kids. Boy and a girl had their faces as dirty as their clothes and their big, green eyes would probably break the window if they could, just to put their hands on the sweets.
Trude walked to the counter, where she saw a smiling woman, probably the owner of the store.
"Welcome, officer! What can I do for you?"the woman asked.
Witch risen her eyebrow after hearing 'officer', but then remembered, that she was wearing her uniform. She quickly looked at the shelves and finally pointed at the shelf, where several lollipops were placed.
"Can I have two of these?"she asked.
"Absolutely!"the woman said.
She turned and walked up to the shelf, from which she took the two lollipops and placed them on the counter.
"Four dollars."the woman said.
Trude looked into her wallet and pulled the said amount of money. She gave it to the woman and took the lollipops.
"I hope you will visit again!"the woman said, as Trude walked out of the store.
She stood next to the entrance and looked at the two kids, still looking at the sweets behind the window. She came up to them.
"Hey."she said, kneeling next to them.
The two looked at her and were a bit scared, seeing someone in a uniform getting interested in them.
"Y-Yes…sir…?"the boy asked.
"I have something for you."Trude said.
She pulled the two lollipops and gave them to the two. Without thinking, they snatched them from her hand.
"Why would you…?"the boy asked.
"Simple. I just thought, that you too need something good life. It's not much, but…"Witch tried to explain.
"No one ever gave us anything."the boy said."Thank you."
"Thank you, missy."the girl said with a bright smile.
"No problem."Trude said, patting girl's head."What's your names by the way?"
"I'm Mike and this is Kylie."the boy replied.
"I'm Trude."Witch said, shaking the boy's hand.
"I hope we meet again one day!"Kylie said.
Next, the two simply ran away into the crowd on the station. Trude simply came back to Ester and Dora.
"Oh, Trude, that was so sweet of you."Ester said, with real admiration in the eyes.
"I just did, what I thought was right. You seen how these kids looked like?"Witch replied.
"Yeah."Dora said."They were probably orphans. Many parents went to fight in the war and many never came back."
"That's what I thought."Trude replied.
The tension suddenly started to rise again, before Ester suddenly grabbed the two under their arms and smiled at them.
"Stop arguing and better let's go to the shuttle! We won't have the next one."she said.
Next, before the two managed to protest, she pulled them with her towards the nearest shuttle going to Earth.
Later…
Dortmund, Germany
After boarding the shuttle flying to their destination, the three did not had to wait long for the machine to enter atmosphere and fly towards it's destination. More precisely, to Dortmund. Trude remembered, that Ester told her, that she and Dora came from this city. Also, she wanted to see, how Earth's cities might look like in the next two hundred years back on her Earth.
As it turned out, not much changed from what she remembered back home. Maybe except several tall skyscrapers in the center of the city and city itself being bigger in size. Around city itself, was a number of industrial sites and warehouses of various companies.
"What are you looking for?"Ester asked, bringing Trude back to the real world.
Witch looked at her.
"I'm not looking for anything."she said."I'm just checking out how this city differs from the Dortmund I know."
"And?"Dora asked.
"Basically everything is different."Trude replied.
Ester and Dora nodded.
"As the world progresses, cities also change."Ester said."And considering, that during 1st Tertan War, Dortmund was basically erased from existence, it's still amazing to know, how fast the city was rebuilt."
"I can just imagine."Trude said.
"We're approaching the spaceport."pilot said.
Shuttle slowly flew towards the communication heart of the city, where it touched down on one of the platforms. It opened it's back door, allowing everyone to exit the machine.
Once outside, Ester took a deep breath.
"So good to be home."she stated.
"Tell me about it."Trude said.
Dora just nodded her head.
"So, what's the plan?"Witch asked.
"It's simple."Ester replied."For the time being, we probably have to split up."
"Yeah…"Dora said."Let's go find some taxis."
The three made it's way off the platform and inside the spaceport. Once inside, they saw even more people than on the Junction Station. While there were crowds on Colberg, they could not rival the thousands of people in this place. The very noise they all made was enough to make someone deaf or able to wake up the dead.
"That's a lot of noise!"Trude said, shouting through the crowd's noise.
"This is how spaceports simply are!"Ester replied.
"Spaceports are communication hearts of all bigger cities!"Dora joined."People are going in all directions from these places, so it's normal!"
Witch nodded and looked around. As she did, she saw a group of children, probably a school trip going somewhere. They were probably in elementary school age, as she could notice. All had backpacks and green caps, allowing people to know, which group they belong to.
"These were good times."Trude thought, remembering her times at elementary and then Witch schools.
After few minutes of moving through the crowd, the three made it's way outside the spaceport and into the parking lot. There, they could see hundreds of cars, as well as several taxis on the side.
"Let's go."Ester said.
The three walked in the direction of the taxis.
"Where are we going now?"Witch asked.
"To make a surprise to our families."Ester said with smile."We did not inform them about our arrival to make it a surprise. And I guess my parents are gonna have double surprise, considering you."
"I bet."Trude agreed.
"So, see you later, Do."Ester said to Dora.
"Sure."Dora said, shaking Ester's hand.
Next, she walked away to a taxi, while Ester and Trude came up to different one. The driver looked at them.
"What can I do for you, ladies?"he asked.
"We want to go on Am Zitter street, please."Ester said.
"Of course."driver said and got inside his car.
Ester and Trude followed him, sitting on the back seat. The driver activated the engine and maneuvered between the cars on the parking, until finally exiting it and joining the traffic. Few seconds later, second taxi, with Dora, also left the parking lot.
They were driving in silence for a minute, before driver broke the silence:
"Straight from the frontline?"
"You can say that…"Ester replied, relaxing on the back seat.
"I know, I heard how it is out there."driver said, turning into another street.
"Really? From where?"Trude asked.
"I have a son in UNSA Marine Corps."driver explained."He moved from EUJM a few years ago. I'm pretty sure that he serves on…I don't know, I think his ship was called Dwight D. Eisenhower, or something similar."
This sparked Ester's and Trude's attention. They looked at each other and back at the taxi driver.
"Did I say something wrong?"the driver asked.
"Of course not."Ester said, shaking her head."But can we know, what's your son's name?"
"Jens Grubber."the driver asked."But why do you need his name?"he added, suspicious.
"We might tell him you greets, if you want."Trude said."We also serve on Eisenhower."
Driver looked at them in the mirror with surprised face.
"Really?"he asked."Would you at that. How small is this Galaxy we live in."
"Indeed."Ester said.
Rest of the way was spent in a nice atmosphere of talk and friendly conversation.
13:02
Am Zitter street
The taxi pulled over to the street and stopped. Back door opened and two girls got out of the vehicle. Ester approached the driver's window and pulled out her wallet.
"How much do I owe you?"she asked.
But the driver shook his head.
"Don't worry. This one time, I will not take any money from you."he said."Treat it as a friendly favor."
Driver winked, closed the window and left. The two looked at the taxi, until it disappeared behind the turn. Next, they started walking towards Ester's house.
"Why did you wanted to stop here, not next to your house?"Trude asked.
"I just want my parents to have a surprise. Double, if I include you."Ester replied with smile.
"I should expect such an answer…"Witch said, rolling her eyes.
White Squadron leader poked her with her elbow.
"Don't worry. Mom and dad are nice people, I'm sure they will like you."she said."Besides, you're not my boyfriend to be so stressed."
"Do you even have a boyfriend?"Trude hooked up on the subject.
"No."Ester replied, looking away."But let me be honest with you…I'm not the straightest crayon in the box, so to say."
With frowned, thinking about what Ester told her. After few seconds, she understood.
"Oh, so you are…"she said.
"Yeah."Ester confirmed."But in these times, it's nothing fancy or wrong. There are many people like that."
"Guessing. Cultural and social changes?"Trude asked.
"Indeed."Ester confirmed.
They walked by several meters, until Trude noticed a strange thing. Or more precisely, strange someone. It was a woman, dressed in a white overalls, with black elements on it. She had her hair tied in a ponytail and was watering the flowers. As Ester saw her, she held her breath.
"Who is…?"Trude asked, but was stopped by Ester.
"Don't look, just walk past."Ester said.
Suddenly, Ester started walking faster, pushing the Witch in front of her. As she did, she constantly shot glances towards the white-dressed woman.
"Oh, miss Ester!"the woman said after seeing them.
"Damn it."Ester said through gritted teeth and turned to the woman."Hello, miss Klein! How's the day?"
"Really good and blessed."miss Klein replied."The Big One shines upon us as always."
"That's…good."Ester said, starting to sweat."I hope he will always do."
"He would never leave his children."miss Klein stated."And who is your friend?"
Trude suddenly felt uneasy because of the interest this woman showed her.
"This is Trude. She joined my team lately, back on the ship I serve on."Ester explained, starting to push Trude forward.
"Oh, good to meet you."miss Klein then looked at her watch."Oh, forgive me, but it's time for prayers. Would you join me?"
"We would really like to, but we don't have time."Ester reasoned.
"If you say so."the woman said and entered her house.
Ester quickly sighed and started leading Trude away.
"What was all that about?"she asked, perplexed.
"Um…"Ester said."She is a member of Paraden, a religious cult that came to life during the 1st Tertan War."
"And what is this whole cult about?"
"They believe, that one day, their god named Paraden will cleanse Humanity from all it's sins and allow it to take place between gods."
Trude raised her eyebrow.
"That's a pretty…concrete beliefs."she stated.
"Yeah…But, they sometimes take…'drastic' measures to make people believe in their religion."Ester explained."And don't understand me incorrectly, I just…don't like any religious cults…in general…"
"Okay, understandable."Witch said."Let's better go to your house, okay?"
"Kay."
Next, the two walked for few more minutes, before they finally stood in front a simple suburban home. It was nothing fancy, simple one-family home with ground and upper floor, garage and a garden in the back. There was a car standing on the driveway.
"So. This is your home?"Trude asked.
"Yeah."Ester replied.
"Pretty cozy looking."
"I know. Now, let's go."
The two approached the door. Ester pressed the bell button, which made the typical ringing noise and they waited. Soon, they heard someone's footsteps and as the handle was pressed. The door opened, revealing a woman in the middle of her thirties. After seeing Ester, she had a warm smile on her face.
"Hi mom."Ester said, hugging the woman.
"His sweetie."the woman replied."Why didn't you call and tell that you're coming today? We would prepare something."
"I wanted it all to be a surprise."Ester replied with a smile and turned to Trude."Mom, this is Gertrude, my new squadmate. Trude, this is Clara Barkhorn, my mother."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am."Trude said, giving the hand to the woman.
Clara grabbed the hand and shook it. She had surprisingly strong grip.
"I see you're not a pushover either."Clara said jokingly.
"Same."Witch said.
"Come in, I will make you some tea."
The two entered and Clara closed the door. Next, they all made their way towards the kitchen, where Trude and Ester sat on the chairs at the table. Meanwhile, Clara started pulling some things from the cupboards.
"I must say, your mother has a strong grip."Trude whispered.
"Well, she and dad were in the military before. They both got hardened then."Ester replied.
"They were in the military?"
"Yeah, they served in European Union Joint Military and met there. However, they decided to leave when mom became pregnant."
Witch nodded in response.
Clara, in the meantime, turned on the stove and placed a kettle full of water in it. Next, she placed bags with tea in three cups.
"How much do you sweeten?"she asked Trude.
"Two spoons."Witch replied.
The woman nodded. She sat down in front of Ester and Trude.
"So, what brings you here?"Clara asked.
"Well, we were allowed to take few days off."Ester replied."So I decided to simply pay a visit to you. Simple."
Clara nodded and looked at Trude.
"And why would you come here?"
"Well…"Trude was looking for appropriate excuse.
"She just wanted to meet you, that's all."Ester quickly replied.
Clara looked at the two for few seconds and finally threw up her arms.
"Fair enough, I guess."she said.
Right then, the kettle started whistling and Clara quickly stood up and turn the fire off.
"Why won't we tell her, that we are actually a family?"Trude whispered.
"We will, when everyone else come."Ester whispered back.
"How many people live in this house?"
"Without me? Three."
"What is happening?"a new voice asked.
The two looked in the direction of the entrance to the kitchen and saw another girl standing there. She looked to be only few years older than Ester and was dressed in black sleeveless T-Shirt and checkered pants. She also had bags under her eyes, showing, that she was still extremely tired.
"Look who finally woke up."Clara said.
"I woke up only because I heard a noise here."she said.
She then looked around the kitchen and saw Ester and Trude sitting at the table.
"Oh, hi sis."the girl said.
"Hi, Penny!"Ester replied and turned to Trude."This is my older sister, Penny. And Penny, this is Trude, my teammate."
"Hey."Penny said and yawned.
"Still looking for a job?"Ester asked jokingly.
In response, Penny just smiled slightly.
"Not anymore."she said."The reason I'm so tired, is that I had too much work in my job."
Ester whistled, surprised.
"No kidding?"she asked.
"Yup."Penny said and yawned again.
"So she had problems with finding a job?"Trude whispered again.
"Yeah…She was always either sent away or someone else took the job she wanted."Ester explained.
Trude nodded.
"So, where are you working, sis?"Ester asked.
Penny sat up in front of them.
"Guess? I got job as a receptionist in UNSA HQ in Geneva."she said with smile.
"Hey, this still is a good and well paid job!"Ester exclaimed."At least, you will be self sufficient."
"You know, you can't constantly live from mom and dad's money."Penny replied and laughed.
"Oh, you know, that we will always help you, when you need."Clara said.
She then placed cups with tea in front of everyone, including one additional. Trude looked at it.
"And why is there one more cup?"the Witch asked.
"Well, my husband said, that he should be home around this hour."Clara explained.
Right then, everyone heard the house door opening. Few seconds later, a rather large man entered the kitchen. He had short hair, cut almost at the skin, small beard and dressed in black pants, gray shirt and black jacket.
"Hi dad."Ester said.
Man crossed his arms and smiled.
"Well, well. Visiting without further notice?"he said."I would take a day off from the job especially for you, if you would call us beforehead."
"Surprise is a surprise."Ester said.
She got up from the chair and hugged the man.
"Good to see you, dad."she said.
"I'm also happy to see you."he said."And I see you brought someone?"
Ester looked at Trude.
"Yeah, a friend."White Squadron leader said."You might introduce yourself, yes?"
"Sure."the man cleared his throat."My name is Daniel Barkhorn, Ester's father. Pleased to meet you, miss…?"
Trude was about to say something, but was stopped by Ester.
"Well, not that everyone is already here, I can spill the secret."Ester said, casually standing beside Trude and saying it as casually."Meet Gertrude Barkhorn, Trude for friends."
Silence hung up in the air, as the remaining three members of the Barkhorn family processed what Ester just said.
"Wait."Penny finally said."I never knew we had a Gertrude in family? She's from some place far away?"
"You can put it like this…"Trude said."I'm from different reality."
Once more, silence hung in the air.
"Different reality, you say?"Daniel said, suddenly changing his expression to a warning one."What did you put in my daughter's head, huh?"
"Wait, dad, before you start breaking necks"Ester stopped him"Trude, you know what to do."
Witch nodded and activated her familiar. This made the three jump from surprise.
"Wha…?"even Clara was out of words.
"So, let's explain things, shall we?"Ester said.
Everyone settled down on the chairs and waited. Finally, Ester started explaining how she met Trude, how she learned, that she's female version of their predecessor, then about Witches, Neuroi and alternate World War 2, where Neuroi replaced Nazis as the enemies and all countries work together to defeat them. Clara, Daniel and Penny just sat and listened.
"That's a lot of information."Clara said.
"Pretty unbelievable, but it must be true, seeing her here."Daniel said.
"My brain hurts…"Penny said.
Ester nodded.
"You know, it was pretty hard for me to believe."she stated."But hey, even the DNA test showed, that we're basically relatives. So, why shouldn't I treat her like a relative?"
The three nodded.
"Good point."Daniel said.
"So I guess, that we simply now have to call you somehow, as our relative. Because I guess, that granny won't do it?"Clara asked.
Trude sighed.
"That makes me feel old."she said.
"Figures…"Daniel said.
The five got to thinking about it. As it turned out, it was not an easy task to find a way to call Trude in their family. But then, Penny finally spoke up.
"What about cousin?"she asked.
Everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean?"Ester asked.
"When you think about it, it's the only sensible thing to do."Penny said."After all, we are related, but we're still extended family. And in that case, 'cousin' might be the best way to refer to you. What will you say?"
Entire family looked at Trude, waiting for what she will say. She threw up her arms.
"Why not? I think it's also the best way to do that."Witch stated.
"Well then."Daniel said, extending his hand to Trude."What can I say, except welcome to the family, Trude."
Trude grabbed his hand and shook it.
"Honestly, when I got here, the last thing I expected to find here is some kind of family."she admitted.
"Life can be surprising in many ways, right?"Clara stated.
Everyone nodded, including Trude.
"I tell you Trude, this week is gonna be awesome!"Ester stated.
At the same time…
Unknown location
A man was sitting at the table, surrounded by more men. They were all dressed the same: black jacket, gray T-Shirt and black pants. On the table, there was a map, several computers and hand terminals. The men were working with all these things, preparing the plan for what they were intended to do.
"How is everything going?"the man asked.
"We're still gathering intel, boss."one of the men at the computers replied."We're making the list of targets and people that could be eliminated.
The leader nodded. Next, he grabbed the assault riffle laying next to him.
"I advice you with hurrying up with that."the leader said."We're starting within a week."
Everyone nodded and quickly got back to work.
XXX
And here this chapter comes to an end. Trude met Ester's family and they actually accepted her as one of their own. After all, they all have the same surname. In the next chapter, our team will again meet. However, this meeting will not be as peaceful as they would like it to be.
Until then, see ya!