Gardening Lessons
It was the day after Sven and Daniel's arrival on Arus, and they, along with Pidge and Vince were heading over to the GA Base. Pidge had called Edmund to arrange a meeting, and had been overjoyed to learn that Admiral and Mrs. Hutchison were out of town for a whole week. Edmund had also added that his sisters would be there, because of a holiday at their school. Pidge was now hoping that Vince would keep his mind on the experiment, and not on the twins.
Daniel and Vince had been very excited to hear that Faith and Hope would be around, and the Faith had sent Daniel a message welcoming him back to Arus. The cadet was also happy because he was sleeping in his bed, and not having to deal with Sven or smoke pot. Vince for his part had been very lonely without Daniel, missing the chance to spend time with someone his age.
Sven on the other hand was in a state of sullen resignation about everything. Yesterday afternoon, after he'd returned from his trip to the base PX, Firth had been waiting for him with a tailor. He'd been forced to endure a long session with the two men, while trying on his uniforms, as well as the clothes Lance had bought for him.
In addition to a navy blue pinstripe suit with coordinating tie, there were several pairs of nicer slacks, some casual polo, and button down shirts, three sweaters, and a sports coat. The Viking saw that there were even socks, and shoes, including a pair of tasseled loafers that he hated on sight. Sven wondered whether he was going to be sent the bill, and if so would take pleasure in ripping it up front of the bastard.
Last night there had been a party in the pilot's rec room, but Sven had not participated in any of the festivities. He'd sat off to the side, with a plate of food, until Hunk came over to talk to him. That hadn't bothered him, since Hunk was the only team member he wasn't upset with. Pidge had sent a note about the trip today, which while making no sense, had caused him to snarl. Now, sitting in the front of the hovercar with the Green Lion pilot, he couldn't help the evil thoughts that were going through his mind.
They arrived at the impressive quarters of the Admiral, and a houseman let them in. They waited in the front hall, for Edmund, and when the young man came down the stairs Pidge was taken aback by the changes in him. The last time he'd seen the gardener, as he referred to the young man, he'd been slightly overweight, pale complexioned, and had the blood shot, blurry eyes of someone who was stoned all the time.
The Edmund who came into the hall had clear blue eyes like his sisters, and his dark hair was neatly trimmed. His body looked athletic like he'd been exercising, and his complexion was no longer pallid. Pidge said hello, and asked if he'd been working out, thinking that sounded better than asking about the pot smoking.
"Yes, I've been working out and really cleaned up my act! I've been accepted to the Science Academy on Perian Sixtus! Your asking me about my grandfather made me think about the man, and I realized how much I want to follow in his footsteps. I explained all that to my father, and then told him I was going to Perian Sixtus with or without his blessing. He decided me doing something was better than lounging around the greenhouse." Edmund smiled happily "The semester starts in three months, so I decided I needed to get into shape."
Pidge congratulated the young man, and they chatted for a few minutes about what Edmund was going to study. The Green Lion pilot was glad that the young man had been thinking about his grandfather. The diary and notes had yielded a few clues, but nothing solid enough to follow up on. Pidge was hoping that maybe talking about the diary would jog Edmund's memory, if his grandfather had said something about it.
"Let's go into the greenhouse, Pidge, so you can conduct your experiment! After that we can have lunch with my sisters." Edmund offered, after he'd been introduced to Sven. They followed the young man into the greenhouse, situated at the back of the property. Pidge couldn't get over the bounce in Edmund's step, something that had been sorely lacking the last time he visited. The cadets had been very excited to hear about lunch, and the twins, so they had a bounce in their step too.
"I know that I explained about the haggerium infection to you, Edmund, and what my original experiment had been. However, my new hypothesis is that it is either the water that has been exposed to the magma, or the magma itself that is causing the decline in the haggerium. I would like to have both Sven and Daniel drink some of the treated water, as well as handle the magma." Pidge went on to explain his protocols, and the amounts he would need.
The next hour was spent with the two subjects drinking differing amounts of the treated water, and Vince checking the haggerium levels in their blood stream. Daniel was only able to make it halfway through the test, before he started to feel dizzy, and then almost passed out. Sven did not have the reaction, but did say that he felt slightly off balance. The reactions pleased Pidge, but the test with the magma confirmed his suspicions.
He had both Daniel and Sven hold the piece of magma that Edmund used one at a time. The minute Daniel took the rock, his hands turned warm, before they started to burn. He quickly dropped the rock, but Vince caught it, noting that it was cool to his touch. The cadet passed it to Sven, who took it gingerly, seeing the red marks on Daniel's palms. The group watched as it took almost ten minutes before Sven started to feel like his hands were burning.
"I was right! This magma, whatever it is, acts on haggerium!" Pidge announced excitedly, as he brought up a holoscreen. He and Vince compared notes, while Sven and Daniel looked at them curiously. Edmund took a closer look at Daniel's hands, and said with a knowing grin that Faith would be glad to put some ointment on them. The thought that popped into Vince's brain made Daniel want to slap him.
"Daniel, the reason why you were affected quicker by the water, and the magma, is because the haggerium has not spread as much in you, as it has it Sven. That makes sense, since his infection is of long standing." Pidge peered intently at the two subjects before he turned to face Edmund "We have to find this planet!" He declared forcefully, as he brought up another holoscreen.
"I have your grandfather's diary and notes here, and I think he left a few clues about the location. Over lunch I want to talk to you about the time you spent with your grandfather, before he passed away." Pidge stated, and Edmund nodded his head in agreement.
Lunch was lots of fun, and even Sven managed to have a good time. The twins paid a lot of attention to the cadets, and even talked to the Viking a bit. It made the older man happy to see Daniel cheerful and flirting with a pretty girl. He had become rather fond of the cadet, and wondered what his son would be like when he was Daniel's age.
Pidge discussed the various clues with Edmund, but nothing rang a bell. He had Edmund tell him as many stories as he could remember, from sitting with his grandfather, while Pidge recorded them. Several things that Edmund talked about were able to be tied into entries in the journal, so at least Pidge was getting a time line of sorts to work with.
"Honestly, Pidge I wish I could be of more help. I know that my grandfather really liked the planet, and the people." Edmund got a faraway look in his eye, as the thought about his grandfather. A smile then crossed his face "He said that he even got used to the periods when the planet lost its gravity." The young man shook his head at the memory of some of the stories about floating food.
"Edmund, say that again – the planet lost its gravity?" Pidge didn't think he'd heard right. The gardener replied that every couple of months the planet would lose its gravity for several hours. Anything that wasn't tied down would float around, but since they always knew when it was coming people were usually prepared.
"Now I know what that chart was that he drew!" Pidge exclaimed, bringing up the holoscreen and looking for the entry he wanted. The table had puzzled him, because he could tell that it was noting days and times, but there was no reference as to what was being record. "I bet this is the table that shows the changes in gravity. Obviously this planet has, or had, an unstable orbit, or it came into contact with something, on a regular basis, that destabilized the gravity field. Edmund, thank you for remembering that! This might help us pin the location down."
Vince managed to tear himself away from Hope to discuss the implications with Pidge and Edmund, while Faith flirted boldly with Daniel. Sven ended up talking to Hope about her last visit to earth, and discovered that she was a skier. He had grown up skiing in Norway, and other places in Europe, so they compared notes on different ski areas. It helped to keep his mind off the thought that his infection might be too far along to be cured, even if they did find the planet.
While Pidge and company were finishing lunch at the admiral's house, back at the castle Count Fredericks was signing off a video call. He decided he needed to talk to Her Majesty, as he replayed the conversation in his mind.
"Honestly, Your Majesty when I agreed to do Commander Kogane's wedding you told me it was a small, private affair." The Count was saying as he walked into Allura's study, once Rigsby had cleared it. She looked up from the paperwork in front of her, wondering what the elderly Court Marshall was wound up about. She thought it very funny that her red haired niece, who wound up so easily, was so close to the man. They were on the surface so different, Fredericks being so deliberate while Larmina was all impulse. The end result seemed to be the same; she had noticed on more than one occasion.
"I completely understood about His Majesty, the King of Pollux, and Her Highness, his sister – they are old friends of the Commander. However, I don't appreciate the Deputy Director inviting herself to the wedding, whether she is an old classmate or not. What should I do?" The Count finished up his spiel and looked expectantly at the queen.
"Fredericks, what are you talking about? What Deputy Director?" Allura set aside the paperwork, and indicated for the man to take a chair. She was pretty sure this could take a while, to sort out what was going on. Privately she didn't blame the man for being mad about someone inviting themselves to the wedding. It took a lot of gall to do that, and she wondered who this person was.
"Deputy Director Dagmar Marsden, head of the Galaxy Alliance Security Force. She says she was a classmate of the Commander's and wants to come to his wedding!" Fredericks was almost quivering as he said it, and Allura now knew why the man was upset. The 'grey ghost' as she was known was the galaxy's top cop, with a reputation for being tough as nails. She had been brought into clean house after Wade, not quite six months ago. It was said that she had done a though job, even getting rid of some of her enemies in the process.
"Thank you for telling me this, Fredericks! Does anyone else know yet?" Allura found it hard to believe that the Deputy Director was coming to Arus just for a social visit. She opened the com link "Rigsby, please find His Highness and have him come to my study right away." When she was done speaking she looked over at Fredericks.
"Something is going on here, and I want to see if His Highness can shed some light on it." Allura explained to the elderly man, who nodded his head. He was feeling much calmer now that Her Majesty was involved.
Lance came striding into the room, looking very worried as he went to Allura's side. He put his arm around her, and kissed her before asking what was going on. He was relieved to see that she seemed fine, so he looked at Count Fredericks, wondering if something was wrong with him.
"Lance, I'm fine!" Allura reassured her husband, before she continued on "Fredericks here was just telling me that an old classmate of yours, and Keith's, wants to come to his wedding." She stopped, and waited for his reaction. He had pulled up a chair next to hers, and gave her a quizzical look.
"Do you want me to tell you if the guy is really a friend of his?" Lance was a little put off by what was going on. Fredericks could just have asked him directly, he thought, not seeing why the man had bothered Allie with the matter. She had enough other matters on her plate to deal with.
"It is a she – Dagmar Marsden; Deputy Director Dagmar Marsden." Allura let it hang out there, and Lance felt a cold chill go up and down his spine.
"The grey ghost? No, you're not serious?" Lance could see the woman in his mind; tall with hair so fair it was almost white, large grey eyes, and pale skin. She was from Denmark, and was as cold as the North Sea itself.
"Yes, Your Highness I am. I just finished talking to her aide who gave me the news." Fredericks replied in a cross voice "She will stay in the guest quarters on the GA base, here on Arus – at least we won't have her in the castle!"
"Was she in your class at the academy? How does she know Keith?" Allura directed her questions toward Lance, who looked unhappier than Fredericks.
"It is not her relationship with Keith that is the issue, Sugar! It is her association with Sven that will be the problem, and probably why she is coming to the wedding. Well that and the arrest warrant." Lance sat up straighter as he made his comment. Allura gave him a 'get on with it' look, so he complied.
"Sven and Dagmar dated at the Academy, and were even engaged to be married." Lance divulged, "However, it did not come to pass and Dagmar has never forgiven Sven for dumping her."
"Wait a minute, Sven was engaged to this woman, and broke it off? Why?" Allura was trying to imagine Sven with the Deputy Director, but it wasn't happening. Lance saw how her mind was working, and helped her out.
"It does seem unlikely; I know which is why it came apart. They got together the first year, both being from Scandinavia. The affair was passionate, but outside of bed they really had nothing in common." Lance turned to his to Fredericks, who was following the conversation with large eyes. "Dagmar was as ambitious as they come, and very status conscious, while Sven; well you know Sven."
"It sounds like it would have been a bad marriage, so why is the woman still mad at Commander Holgersson? Did she never marry?" Fredericks inquired, trying to put it all together.
"Actually, after Sven dumped her, she ended up marrying the guy who was First Captain our year. Interestingly, he loathed the Viking with vengeance, even before Dagmar. It was all for naught though, as he was killed in the final days of the war." Lance explained, "I don't think it was so much that Sven dumped her, but how he did it."
"Lance, what did he do? Was it horrible?" Allura requested with great eagerness. Lance's stories from his academy days were always interesting.
"Allie, he made it to the altar, but just before the vows started he announced that he couldn't go through with the wedding! Honestly, you really can't blame the woman for hating him as much as she does. It was in the large chapel at the Academy, which was packed with family, friends, and various notables." Lance disclosed to her and Fredericks.
"Did the Commander give a reason?" The elderly count asked, trying to fathom how anyone could do something like that.
"Sven later told me felt like he was obligated to go through with it, since they had been dating for so long – but damn it he should have picked sometime BEFORE they got to the altar, to tell her!" Lance shook his head, "Not that it really mattered …a few days later we were all in Graham's office, receiving our orders to go to Arus." Allura and Fredericks exchanged looks of understanding.
"How does the arrest warrant come into play?" Allura had an inkling, but wanted confirmation.
"Honey, you know that only Bandor's intervention kept Sven from being arrested, but that was under the old Deputy Director. Dagmar could decide to arrest him, and she would be within her rights to do so." Lance took a deep breath, as he had another thought.
"I don't see Bandor stepping in again, to help Sven. You've heard him; he is at the end of his patience with the man. Letting Sven be arrested for treason would give Romelle grounds for a divorce where she would look like the innocent party. Dagmar settling her old score would take care of Bandor's problem too." Lance had no illusions about what the Polluxian king would do, if it meant protecting his royal house and his sister.
"But Lance, Bandor was telling us that Romelle wants to reconcile with Sven, and that he is in favor of it." Allura twitched her nose, as she remembered what Bandor had said. She saw Lance get a disbelieving look on his face.
"Allie, how do we know Romelle really wants reconciliation? Maybe they are just saying that, so Romelle looks like the devoted wife. Sven comes off as the bad guy, and she gets all kinds of sympathy." Lance snorted, "It is not a bad ploy actually, and good public relations."
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, all I ask is that if the Deputy Director wants to arrest the commander, please have her do it before, or after the ceremony. I don't want all my hard work to go to waste!" Fredericks stood up, and made his declaration in a prissy voice, before he took his leave.
"Lance, I think I need to tell Bandor about this, and you should probably talk to Sven, to warn him that his ex-fiancée coming." Allura advised, as Lance stood up, and pulled her with him.
"Yes, we have to, but I'm not looking forward to that conversation." Lance put his arms around, as he suggested "Sugar, I think we, as queen and prince consort, need to meet her when she arrives. Maybe we can find out what her game is." Allura acquiesced to his plan, and was rewarded with a deep passionate kiss.