Sayla steered her bike up to the front of the University of Side 7 Medical
School lecture hall. As she locked up she realized she was humming to
herself, and that was a new habit. Not too surprising though, she mused,
considering her change in life roles. In addition to dedicated medical
student and proud veteran of the One Year War, she was now a happy
girlfriend. That was something she never thought would happen to her.
It was Friday again, and she had a test today. Sayla felt prepared. In the first week or two of her relationship with Kai, they had tried spending most of their time together at her place, his being a disaster area shared with another journalism student. The experiment had failed. Trying to study in the same small quarters had invariably led to making out, which had invariably led to---Sayla steered her thoughts away from that subject, trying to keep them on the test ahead. They had decided that getting together on weekends was probably the best thing to do.
It had been six weeks, and Sayla and Kai decided it was time to tell the others. After this test, the real scary thing would happen.
Sayla was a diligent student though, and exiling Kai from her apartment paid off. She entered the last answers into the terminal on her desk and scored a 97%. Excellent.
Soon, she and Kai were back at Frau's and Hayato's. As everybody was digging in to their dinner, Kai stood up and said, "Hey, everybody."
People looked up, but nobody stopped talking.
"Hey, shut up, I'm trying to tell you all something. Uh, I know you guys weren't expecting this at all, but--"
"You're dating Sayla!" yelled Job-John.
Kai glared at him. Marker stopped to swallow his piece of sandwich and said, "Kai, you leave with her every Friday night. We all figured that out weeks ago."
"Even so," said Frau, coming up behind the appalled Sayla and resting her hands on her shoulders, "we're all very happy for you two. Surprised at first, but happy. Does this mean there's another White Base wedding coming up?"
"No," Sayla answered, "we're not even ready to get engaged yet, much less married."
"We'll talk about that after we graduate from university." Kai reached down and took Sayla's hand.
"Although we are buying a double bed this weekend. My twin bed is nice for cuddling, but a little too small for sleeping," Sayla said. Kai sat down again and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Sayla was about to keep talking when Kai's cell phone went off. He reached down to check it and said, "We have to turn on the news, sweets," he told Sayla.
"Why?"
"You'll see."
Seeing Sayla and Kai dropping down in front of the television caused the rest of the crew to do the same. Kikka had been using the remote as a baby doll and brought it, dressed in a little hooded suit, to Kai. Kai took off the hood, turned on the news, and gave it back to Kikka.
"Curling scores from Side 1?" asked Hayato.
"No, not this. Wait for it."
"Once again, our top news stories coming up. Earth Federation President Rossetti approves a new tax on the Sides. Critics call the move biased against spacedwellers. Los Angeles prepares for the Academy Awards, postponed since the Occupation. And it's a boy for Jion royal couple Queen Kishiria and Prince Consort Char Aznable. These stories and more after these messages."
Sayla gaped at Kai, who squeezed her shoulders. "Congratulations, Auntie Sayla."
The rest of the crew sat on and around the couch to watch. Frau kissed Sayla on the cheek in congratulations. Amuro stood by, watching the news with an impenetrable look on his face.
The other stories went by and finally they came to the one about the royal family. Kishiria was seated in a hospital bed, dressed in an expensive brocade dressing gown and holding her newborn son. She'd had an elective caesarian and looked fresh and rested, not to mention glowingly happy. Char was seated beside her, looking a little confused as he kissed his wife for the camera.
"What's that they're naming him?" asked Oscar.
"Casval Garma Deykun-Zabi," Sayla beamed. "They've decided to use my family name. I'm really happy about that." She looked into her lap. "I just wish I could send my brother a message to congratulate them."
"I'm sure he knows, Sayla," Frau said.
The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully, although Sayla bought every newspaper she could find with pictures of her nephew. She and Kai purchased a double bed and had it scheduled for delivery during the week. Sunday afternoon, they kissed goodbye and Kai left until next Friday.
The following Wednesday, Sayla's doorbell rang. Expecting the bed, she opened the door without thinking about it. Outside were three Federation military police.
"Sayla Mass?"
"Yes?"
"Sayla Mass, you are under arrest." One of them came forward with a pair of handcuffs. She stepped back.
"What did I do?"
"That'll be explained later. Come with us, please."
"I have to be charged!"
"Not under the War Powers Act, miss. Now please come along quietly or we'll have to subdue you."
Sayla nodded mutely and turned her back so they could cuff her. She knew what this was about. Somehow, someone had discovered her true identity.
*****
Kai Shiden was in class when two Federation officers came in to pick him up. They apologized to the professor for interrupting the class, then put hands on his elbows and guided him out of the room before he could even protest.
"What's going on?" he squawked in the hallway.
"You reservists have been called back into duty. You need to report to the military base ASAP."
"Reservist! I'm not a reservist! I'm a poor schmuck who got my ass hauled into service whether I wanted to or not!"
"Your point being...?"
Kai groaned. "Forget it. Let's get this over with."
He was driven to the base and escorted to a featureless room with a blackboard and rows of chairs. In the chairs, as Kai had expected, were all of his former White Base crewmates. Standing at the front of the room was Bright Noah. Kai looked around, smiled briefly at Mirai, then noticed Sayla's absence. He observed his friends' faces and realized that they were noticing Sayla's absence, too.
"Where is she?" Kai asked outright.
"We thought she'd be with you," Frau said.
"She's not. I got dragged out of class. What's going on, Bright?"
Bright looked down at his podium, caught. "I've been informed that Sayla won't be joining us."
Kai asked the next question. "Where are we going?"
"Mirai and I have flown in with the newly-christened White Base class ship General Revil. We're all to ship out next week."
"Okay. Why won't Sayla be joining us?"
"Sayla has been detained."
Murmurs of protest from around the room. "What did she do?" Frau exclaimed.
"She's been determined a security risk."
"That's ridiculous! Sayla's as good as any of us!" Hayato protested.
"Not for us to question why," Bright grunted. "We--"
"Bullshit!" snarled Kai. "If they want to detain her, they better take me into custody too, seeing as I'm the one who's closest to her and all."
"That is, of course, an option," Bright told him, a veneer of calm over obvious frustration. "You may volunteer yourself if you wish."
Kai stood silently, seething. Bad enough they were impressing him into service again. Imprisoning the woman he loved when she had done nothing but serve nobly and well was enough to make him want to kill.
Just not for the Federation.
The more he knew, though, the more options he had. Kai took a seat. "Okay, I won't question. Just tell me what's going on."
Bright nodded and turned on the computer projector.
It was Friday again, and she had a test today. Sayla felt prepared. In the first week or two of her relationship with Kai, they had tried spending most of their time together at her place, his being a disaster area shared with another journalism student. The experiment had failed. Trying to study in the same small quarters had invariably led to making out, which had invariably led to---Sayla steered her thoughts away from that subject, trying to keep them on the test ahead. They had decided that getting together on weekends was probably the best thing to do.
It had been six weeks, and Sayla and Kai decided it was time to tell the others. After this test, the real scary thing would happen.
Sayla was a diligent student though, and exiling Kai from her apartment paid off. She entered the last answers into the terminal on her desk and scored a 97%. Excellent.
Soon, she and Kai were back at Frau's and Hayato's. As everybody was digging in to their dinner, Kai stood up and said, "Hey, everybody."
People looked up, but nobody stopped talking.
"Hey, shut up, I'm trying to tell you all something. Uh, I know you guys weren't expecting this at all, but--"
"You're dating Sayla!" yelled Job-John.
Kai glared at him. Marker stopped to swallow his piece of sandwich and said, "Kai, you leave with her every Friday night. We all figured that out weeks ago."
"Even so," said Frau, coming up behind the appalled Sayla and resting her hands on her shoulders, "we're all very happy for you two. Surprised at first, but happy. Does this mean there's another White Base wedding coming up?"
"No," Sayla answered, "we're not even ready to get engaged yet, much less married."
"We'll talk about that after we graduate from university." Kai reached down and took Sayla's hand.
"Although we are buying a double bed this weekend. My twin bed is nice for cuddling, but a little too small for sleeping," Sayla said. Kai sat down again and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Sayla was about to keep talking when Kai's cell phone went off. He reached down to check it and said, "We have to turn on the news, sweets," he told Sayla.
"Why?"
"You'll see."
Seeing Sayla and Kai dropping down in front of the television caused the rest of the crew to do the same. Kikka had been using the remote as a baby doll and brought it, dressed in a little hooded suit, to Kai. Kai took off the hood, turned on the news, and gave it back to Kikka.
"Curling scores from Side 1?" asked Hayato.
"No, not this. Wait for it."
"Once again, our top news stories coming up. Earth Federation President Rossetti approves a new tax on the Sides. Critics call the move biased against spacedwellers. Los Angeles prepares for the Academy Awards, postponed since the Occupation. And it's a boy for Jion royal couple Queen Kishiria and Prince Consort Char Aznable. These stories and more after these messages."
Sayla gaped at Kai, who squeezed her shoulders. "Congratulations, Auntie Sayla."
The rest of the crew sat on and around the couch to watch. Frau kissed Sayla on the cheek in congratulations. Amuro stood by, watching the news with an impenetrable look on his face.
The other stories went by and finally they came to the one about the royal family. Kishiria was seated in a hospital bed, dressed in an expensive brocade dressing gown and holding her newborn son. She'd had an elective caesarian and looked fresh and rested, not to mention glowingly happy. Char was seated beside her, looking a little confused as he kissed his wife for the camera.
"What's that they're naming him?" asked Oscar.
"Casval Garma Deykun-Zabi," Sayla beamed. "They've decided to use my family name. I'm really happy about that." She looked into her lap. "I just wish I could send my brother a message to congratulate them."
"I'm sure he knows, Sayla," Frau said.
The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully, although Sayla bought every newspaper she could find with pictures of her nephew. She and Kai purchased a double bed and had it scheduled for delivery during the week. Sunday afternoon, they kissed goodbye and Kai left until next Friday.
The following Wednesday, Sayla's doorbell rang. Expecting the bed, she opened the door without thinking about it. Outside were three Federation military police.
"Sayla Mass?"
"Yes?"
"Sayla Mass, you are under arrest." One of them came forward with a pair of handcuffs. She stepped back.
"What did I do?"
"That'll be explained later. Come with us, please."
"I have to be charged!"
"Not under the War Powers Act, miss. Now please come along quietly or we'll have to subdue you."
Sayla nodded mutely and turned her back so they could cuff her. She knew what this was about. Somehow, someone had discovered her true identity.
*****
Kai Shiden was in class when two Federation officers came in to pick him up. They apologized to the professor for interrupting the class, then put hands on his elbows and guided him out of the room before he could even protest.
"What's going on?" he squawked in the hallway.
"You reservists have been called back into duty. You need to report to the military base ASAP."
"Reservist! I'm not a reservist! I'm a poor schmuck who got my ass hauled into service whether I wanted to or not!"
"Your point being...?"
Kai groaned. "Forget it. Let's get this over with."
He was driven to the base and escorted to a featureless room with a blackboard and rows of chairs. In the chairs, as Kai had expected, were all of his former White Base crewmates. Standing at the front of the room was Bright Noah. Kai looked around, smiled briefly at Mirai, then noticed Sayla's absence. He observed his friends' faces and realized that they were noticing Sayla's absence, too.
"Where is she?" Kai asked outright.
"We thought she'd be with you," Frau said.
"She's not. I got dragged out of class. What's going on, Bright?"
Bright looked down at his podium, caught. "I've been informed that Sayla won't be joining us."
Kai asked the next question. "Where are we going?"
"Mirai and I have flown in with the newly-christened White Base class ship General Revil. We're all to ship out next week."
"Okay. Why won't Sayla be joining us?"
"Sayla has been detained."
Murmurs of protest from around the room. "What did she do?" Frau exclaimed.
"She's been determined a security risk."
"That's ridiculous! Sayla's as good as any of us!" Hayato protested.
"Not for us to question why," Bright grunted. "We--"
"Bullshit!" snarled Kai. "If they want to detain her, they better take me into custody too, seeing as I'm the one who's closest to her and all."
"That is, of course, an option," Bright told him, a veneer of calm over obvious frustration. "You may volunteer yourself if you wish."
Kai stood silently, seething. Bad enough they were impressing him into service again. Imprisoning the woman he loved when she had done nothing but serve nobly and well was enough to make him want to kill.
Just not for the Federation.
The more he knew, though, the more options he had. Kai took a seat. "Okay, I won't question. Just tell me what's going on."
Bright nodded and turned on the computer projector.