 
Sacred Honor

By Michael Black

Copyright 2018 Michael Black

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

About Me
Prologue

The woman approached the small orphanage carefully, hesitantly. She knew what she had to do, but it was so hard. In her arms she carried a small wriggling bundle, a baby. Not just any baby, but her own child, and she had to abandon the girl. The woman was sick, very sick in fact. The ship she had arrived on was an exploration vessel, and she was one of the Science Officers that made up the crew of the ship. Their last stop, a planet orbiting a classic 'G' type star, was unremarkable in itself. But its fourth planet had some very interesting structures placed randomly around the surface. More like what was left of structures, anyway, and the survey proved to be rather a waste of time, as there weren't any artifacts at all, just empty buildings, and fragments of some. The find had been properly cataloged though; perhaps some other survey would make an astounding discovery later on.

Apparently they did find something though, or it found them. When the star ship stopped off at this planet, Scion, to replenish their stores, the crew began to come down with colds. That's what it looked like, and the Medical staff at the hospital didn't think it unusual, and prescribed the usual antihistamines. All was well, until a week later two of the crew simply died. The symptoms had pretty much eased, but their whole system just shut down; one moment alive, the next moment not. That got everyone's attention. The only one of the crew that didn't get a cold was the woman's daughter, because, it turned out, the baby had never left the ship. The baby was fine, and doing what babies do. The woman still hadn't come down with it either, but she could feel the tickle in her nose. She knew she would follow the rest into oblivion.

The planet Scion's Medical staff even quarantined the crew only for a week, once they were sure that it was not contagious. No one else had ever been infected. Apparently the 'bug' was a very personal, one shot deal. You had to visit the planet of origin to be infected, and then come in contact with the bug itself. It did not transfer from host to host, it was not contagious. That planet of origin did indeed get quarantined with a 00 Classification, meaning 'Zero Contact and Zero Chance of Recovery; and all the proper warnings were sent out telling inhabited space NOT to visit.
As the rest of the crew died one by one, the woman grew more frantic. What would happen to her precious daughter, there was no one she knew here, and the local government would just put the baby in an orphanage anyway if she turned her child over to them. But if the woman took her there herself, at least she would have her daughter close for just a little while longer. So she steeled herself to accept the inevitable, and when the full symptoms attacked, she made the long journey to the small orphanage.

The woman made it to the front door of the orphanage, tears already in her eyes. Because she had waited, it was full dark out, after midnight in fact. The door was locked. Knowing she had little time, she placed her baby on the doorstep, in front of the door, and kissed the girl.

"My precious, know that I love you, always and forever. We cannot be together, but I will be watching. Be safe, and live well..." With trembling hands, the woman cupped the tiny face, and gave her one last kiss. Then she tried to make the long trek back to her ship. She almost made it...

When the first of the staff arrived just after sunrise, they found the small bundle lying on the steps. The woman had left a note explaining who the girl was, and asked them to care for her, but as fate would have it, the note blew away in a gust of wind, never to be seen again.

All that remained of her identity was a small name tag on her tiny ships coveralls. Three fourths of it had torn off, and only three letters were left. It said:

'Vic'

As was customary and compassionate in those times, the government buried all of the ship's crew, even putting small headstones above each grave. Then they notified the corporation that owned the ship to come pick it up. With the distances involved, and the company's interests in other sectors of space, they never did; and the ship was eventually placed in the planet's 'junkyard'...it was an older ship and truth be told, was of little use to anyone way out here.
Chapter 1

Brave New World

Vic was an orphan and she knew that. She had been found on the doorstep of the orphanage one morning, wrapped in an old blanket to keep her warm. There was no note attached, no hint of who she was or who had left her there, just a torn nametag with 'Vic' on it. So all she had was a vague memory of a pretty face hovering over her, and tears raining down on her; a ghost of a face, and the remembrance of a gentle kiss. The orphanage took her in of course, but not for strictly humanitarian reasons. They were a business after all, and their subsidy increased with each child they took in, so putting Vic on the register was, for them, a smart business move rather than a sign of compassion.

Life in the orphanage was a bit harsh, simply because life on this entire planet was a bit harsh. Scion was way out on the edge of explored space, merely a footnote in the Republics catalog of inhabitable worlds. It had little real value in terms of precious minerals and heavy metals, but Scion did have one good point. The popular Garaad beans grew quite well here, while they grew poorly most anywhere else. About 50% of the populace grew them, with the other 50% growing the essential foods for survival. Similar to coffee beans in their end use, Garaad beans produced a delightful hot drink when ground up and steeped in water, with a fruity taste and just a touch of cinnamon to enhance it. Garaad Beans were the major export from Scion, and allowed the population to improve their lives in an agricultural society, or at least the higher echelon did. Many towns had popped up all over the planets single continent, and the one large city, Chandler, had prospered. It was the seat of Government, as well as the central point for all produce slated for shipment off world.

Vic didn't care much about all that, but it had been included in the skimpy 'schooling' she had received in the orphanage. What she did care about was the shabby treatment all the kids were put to on a daily basis. Oh, the staff wasn't cruel or anything like that, they just didn't hold the children's welfare as their first priority. So Vic and the other kids found themselves in the dubious class of being the 'workers' that kept the orphanage fairly clean.
There was little time for what they 'liked to do'. Vic, for her part, liked to repair things. Not just 'liked' to fix things, she really loved to dig into every strange broken device and make it work.

And she was good at it too. Vic could take any broken toy and make it 'almost' brand new. Mechanical devices, little or big, became her own toys, playing with them for hours on end. Once the staff noticed the trash heap getting smaller, they accorded Vic the lofty title of 'Fixer'. While it didn't get her any special treatment, she did notice that the staff no longer called upon her to clean up the orphanage; at least not as often anyway.

Vic had been at the orphanage for eight years, which made her about nine years old. The endless routine of work was beginning to wear on the young girls mind. In fact, the only real reason she had not run away, was 'Gramma", the old woman who impersonated a 'Doctor'. The government required the orphanage to maintain a 'Resident Staff Physician', but stopped short of requiring a licensed Doctor. Since Gramma had been a medic in the Republic Marines, she knew more general medicine than many licensed practitioners; and the government turned a blind eye to the paperwork.

Most of the children didn't even know that Grammas real name was Ariel Kishner, and many of the staff didn't either; but Vic did. Everyone simply called her Gramma, and everyone liked her, including Vic. She didn't realize it as such, but Vic actually loved Ariel Kishner, the old woman represented something she wasn't aware existed anywhere; a feeling of family.

So it was a major disruption when Gramma announced to the staff, that she would be leaving. The woman had been in with the administrator, 'discussing' how to improve the orphanage, and make the children's existence there better and happier. Being a businessman and more interested in revenue than children, the discussion devolved into a shouting match, which lasted all of twenty minutes. Ariel came storming out of the administrator's office, and shortly thereafter was packed and ready to leave.

To say that the loss of 'Gramma' had a profound effect on Vic would be an understatement, at the very least. It made her mind up for her though, in less than an hour. She would venture out into that 'great unknown' beyond the front door...
Three days later, Vic took her own leave from the orphanage, not quite an escape, but close. She packed the only things that meant anything to her, her small bag of tools she had collected over the years, and left one night in just the clothes she wore.

Being out in the world was scary for Vic. They had a play yard outside in the back, so they knew open sky, but few if any of the kids had ever 'gone' anywhere. So, as Vic began her journey, she had little idea of 'where' she was going. She was a smart young lady though, and knew instinctively that people would be looking for her in the morning, so Vic took to the back alleys and tried to remain unseen. She simply had to maximize the distance between her and the orphanage. Going out into the desert was out of the question, people died out there, she had seen the news. She had to stay within civilization, just on the other end of it...wherever that was. So she headed toward the city itself, knowing there had to be somewhere on the other side that she could disappear into. She was right, but it took five days of stealth, and a little bit of luck to travel the thirty kilometers to the other side of the city.

What Vic found at the end of her journey, was something she had never seen before. While not quite slums, the area on the other side of the city was definitely the 'low rent district'. Even the orphanage looked better, Vic had to admit. All of the buildings here were not exactly decrepit; let's just say 'well worn'. Not clean either, although there weren't heaps of garbage lying all over the streets. The people who lived here apparently possessed some level of self respect.

The people here were something of a shock to Vic's eyes as well. They seemed nice enough; usually respectful of each other, but everyone was always suspicious looking too. Vic had no interaction with people other than those she met in the orphanage, of course, but this was new territory, and somehow she knew she was the one who would be adjusting. A few of them actually said good day to her, probably because she was just a young kid and no threat to them. She managed to smile back, and off the people went. She was quite hungry at this point, and asked a bakeshop clerk what she could do to have a slice of bread. The clerk was still a kid too, maybe 15 or 16, and surly, "You got money kid?" When Vic looked down, and turned to walk out, a huge shadow descended over her. She looked back, and upward; and kept looking up some more. Staring at her was a giant of a man. He was easily two meters tall and bulky...but not fat, this man giant had muscles. As he looked at Vic, a gentle smile appeared on his face, "Young one, are you hungry?" Vic was apprehensive, but the smile calmed her, "Yes Sir, just a little."
The Happy Giant's smile widened, and he said, "Well then, come and eat, Boris Ruschenko never allows anyone to leave his shop hungry. Teddy! Food for our guest!"

The young boy looked disgustedly at Vic, then shrugged and placed breads and cheeses of several kinds on a small table off in a corner, along with two bottles of berry juice. The Giant Boris sat across from her and nibbled on a few pieces, but seemed more content with watching Vic devouring the feast before her. In his big booming voice he asked Vic if she had a place to stay. She felt embarrassed, but said she had one, which was a lie, but she had picked out an empty building a couple of blocks away that should do for shelter, so it wasn't a 'real' lie. She was feeling a little alone by now, having been around a bunch of kids and adults all her life. Even this little interrogation made her feel a bit better; the giant was so friendly. She wasn't ready for what Boris said next though.

"Boris knows all about hungry, He has been there many times. Tell you what Little One, you come by here every day, maybe help with cleaning the shop, and I feed you, ok?"

Vic just stared at the big guy. She was feeling suspicious of the young boy Teddy, he kept looking daggers at her; but Boris was different. Here was a man who just wanted to be nice. He didn't give her strange looks, and didn't ask too many questions. She could live with that arrangement, so she nodded and said, "Yes Sir Mister Ruschenko, I would be happy to help you."

The big man let out a howling laugh at that, "Good! No, Excellent is what it is! We have a deal, and I will see you tomorrow young one." With that, he just got up and went to tend his oven. He had something in there that smelled really good. The boy, however, kept glancing at her with no happiness at all. He would be a problem she was sure, unless he somehow mellowed. Vic wasn't afraid of the boy; the big happy giant was the boss. So she went out to check that empty building. Neither one had even asked her name.
Empty it certainly was; and very dusty. At least the building had doors, all of which were locked. The windows all had glass in them, with heavy iron bars on them too. At first she was afraid there was no way to gain entry, short of damaging something. But after checking all around it, Vic found a small hatch next to the back door that was slightly ajar. She managed to get two fingers into the tiny gap, and with some coaxing the rusty hinges graced her with little squeaks as it opened. It was a night delivery hatch, and while it wasn't big enough for even a small adult to get through, Vic was still a thin kid, and she got through with only a couple wiggles to help. She fell onto the long table that, thankfully, was there. After dusting herself off, she explored her new 'home'.

It was mostly warehouse, a big empty space that went from floor to a very high ceiling. But on this back corner was an elevated office supported with posts, and a stairway up to a door. When Vic climbed the stairs, she found an office still fitted out with desks and chairs, cabinets and a closet. Or what she thought was a closet. When she opened the door, staring back at her was a small bed room, with a real closet, a bed and night table next to it. A small window looked out onto the side alleyway, and it was hinged. Next to the window opening was a small cabinet that had a coil of knotted rope in it, one end attached to an eyebolt. It was an emergency escape, similar to what she had seen at the orphanage. This would be her home now, reasonably safe and secure. That was pure luck. After shaking out the sheets and blanket she found and dusting as best she could, Vic settled into her new abode. She slept well for the first night in a week.
Chapter 2

All Good Things...

Vic reported for 'work' the next morning. Boris greeted her warmly and sat her down to try some pastries he was experimenting with. He even had her try a small cup of 'Gar'. Vic liked it right away, the warmth of the drink spreading quickly throughout her body. That, and the taste itself, had her smiling at the world around her. It became a morning ritual for both of them.

While Boris ate, he told her that her duties were simply to wander around and find anything out of place, and put them into order. After getting the hang of it, Vic expanded that notion into wiping the few tables and chairs often, as well as sweeping the entrance way periodically, whenever a stray gust of wind blew some sand and dirt through the doorway. She was always in motion, looking for anything that would make the shop look better, and Boris found himself chuckling every time he glanced in Vic's direction. After a few days, he had to caution Vic not to overdo it, and sit down every once in a while to rest. After a couple of weeks had passed, Vic began to feel that she belonged; she was becoming a valued member of society, this tiny one anyway.

'Teddy', on the other hand, was hostile at first, feeling threatened apparently. But after the second week, he softened some, and actually began talking with Vic as a person. Her efforts around the shop took much of his menial chores away, and left him more time to concentrate on learning the art of baking. Since his ultimate goal was to open his own bakeshop one day, he went from hostile, to tolerant of Vic, and even toyed with being friendly. Vic didn't think he would ever be openly friendly with her, but they did develop something of a truce.

The routine went on for several months, with Vic learning that life could actually be enjoyable; Teddy was getting in touch with his 'inner self', and Boris just enjoyed everything and anything. Every day was something new, to be experienced and cherished. She often watched the vidscreen that graced one wall of the shop, and she watched the customers, learning how each was just a tiny bit different from the next. She didn't consciously realize it, but Vic was learning how to be an individual.
There is an old adage that says, 'All good things must come to an end.' It doesn't always hold true, but the saying has persisted for centuries, and it seemed to have focused on Vic. After over three months of relative happiness, she experienced the second disappointment in her short life.

As she was sweeping out the shop's entryway for the umpteenth time, she glanced up to the vidscreen. On a news segment, the announcer was describing a missing girl who was thought to have died, being seen around a certain abandoned warehouse. He was talking about Vic, and while the only images that existed of her were as a baby, the short video of her 'home' made it clear she was in danger of being sent back to the orphanage. Local Constables were looking into the report.

Vic was frightened, and it showed on her face. Boris noticed her concern, and asked her what was wrong. She couldn't lie to him, but simply stated it as, "Oh, the news is just so sad sometimes." He hadn't paid attention to the report, so just shrugged, "Yes Vic, life is full of sad things. That is why we must gather all the happiness together, and always keep it safe."

Teddy did look at her strangely, however; he had heard all of the report. But Vic hadn't started running yet, so he hadn't connected the dots. She would have to be very careful for the rest of the day.

At dusk, they closed up shop, and Vic made like she was on her way home, even walking in the usual direction. But when she rounded the first corner, she began a zigzag course, skirting the area of home entirely. She didn't know where to go, but farther outward to the edge of the city seemed safer. As she reached two kilometers from her home, the sky darkened with menacing clouds, and a short while later the clouds did what they do best and it started raining. It was the beginning of the rainy season, and today the sky celebrated it with a thunderous fanfare. In barely one minute Vic was soaked through, and she was cold. Thunderstorms always bring wind too.
The rain just kept coming down, sometimes softly, and other times in great sheets that hid the other side of the street. Vic tried desperately to find some shelter in doorways and under overhanging ledges, but it really didn't help much. Wet is wet, but soaked is downright soggy. She was on the outskirts, with buildings smaller and farther apart, and the choices of shelter even farther apart.

Vic managed to find a space in front of a shack that was more deeply set back, almost an alcove, and settled in. The space didn't eliminate all the wind, but did reduce its effect considerably. The rain only reached her occasionally now, striking her only when the wind direction changed. Vic was miserable in the only way being soaking wet and cold can make you, but at least she had improved her chances a tiny bit. It did and in a big way, but she wouldn't know it until she woke up again.

By about full dark she was sniffling and sneezing heavily, and her head felt like it would explode. Shortly thereafter the trembling came, and it was getting harder to breathe. Shortly after midnight, Vic was unconscious

The sole occupant in the shack could only hear the rain and thunder...
Chapter 3

New Life Fresh Life

John Tabor was a Marine through and through, something that could never change. He had enlisted at age 17, and never once looked back to the slums he grew up in. His neighborhood was known as 'Hells Center' and John grew up tough, for if you weren't tough you did not grow up at all. He had been a good street fighter, had dabbled in the gang scene for a while, but the lifestyle simply didn't suit John at all. Deep down inside he felt there was something better.

Earth had gone through a thousand years of conflict. There was some sort of war going on almost every year, or at least various skirmishes over and over, without end. All of the countries of Earth maintained large Militaries, some of them massive. The most prominent, The United States eventually increased their branches sizes to where a full 60% of the population was fighting somewhere. Wars and fighting were the norm, with the death toll rising through the millions and finally billions. Yes, the planet was destroying itself. Actually, the human race was...the Earth would survive anything the human race threw at it.

Then a strange thing happened, the politicians woke up. It probably had more to do with the fact that the bombs and bullets started getting very close to their own hides, but whatever the reason, it got all the countries talking to each other, instead of firing weapons. History shows that after a while there was a merging of countries, and eventually The Republic of Earth emerged, one planet looking to get along. That was 700 years ago.

As the Republic grew into the massive government it was, the old greed and corruption resurfaced as well. Whole populations of the Earth were relegated to a lower status once again, the fodder, the workers to sustain the powerful in their posh residences. John came from one of those 'lesser' areas, a huge city that encompassed most of what was once called the South Eastern US.
By the time John enlisted in the Marines, the Earth had been traveling in space for 300 years, and had colonized some 400 planets of various habitability levels. The militaries had been restructured as more of a policing force, with the Marine Corps retaining the most prestigious reputation. Based upon a 1000 years old code of honor, the Corps fit in well with John's own inner sense of the concept.

John saw his fair share of bloody battles, rising within the ranks to Master Gunnery Sergeant after some 25 years, and applied for pilot training. His acceptance excited John, and he hoped it would ease the memories of friends lost over the years. He found out though, that those memories never go away, and generate some very vivid dreams.

John's ability as a pilot became well known, and he graduated number one in the class. In fact, he was informed that he was the number one pilot who had ever graduated, which boosted his ego a few notches. He was a natural, and the brass knew it. They rewarded him with a transfer to an intelligence division that didn't even have a name, just a number designation. Indoctrination and history training took another eight months, but when John finished, he understood why the division existed and what duties were expected of him. It was about as covert as you could get, but not really sinister. He was to roam all the colonies, and seek out any potential unrest, reporting back on the apparent level of unrest. No, he didn't have to kill anyone, unless in self defense. It seemed pretty mundane to John, until the division head informed him of just how important it was. By dealing with potential rebel situations early, outright planetary war might be avoided. That made sense to John, so he readily accepted the responsibility; and was introduced to 'Emma'.

MA-197 was a new class of star ship, a Marauder class. The name itself made John think that he was to be something of a surgical strike weapon, but the name turned out to be somewhat misleading. This ship would not be looking for trouble, but would be quelling trouble if they found it. It had the very latest systems, the most advanced weapons, and one highly opinionated AI, Emma.

It took some time to get used to Emma's acerbic, often sarcastic personality. She could be biting at times, but then shift suddenly into a doting mother persona. John often found himself laughing at some of her appraisals of the universe around them, and just as often found that he agreed with her assessments. After about a year of 'break in' cruising, the two became close friends. They matched. All that remained was to receive their deployment orders. A day later they received orders that said something totally different.
'Orders' are issued in what seems like a strange way to civilians. First there is an idea, a 'decision' from the top of the Chain of Command. It is given to the next highest, the Commander In Charge of the organization, who promptly gives it to his or hers Chief of Staff, who promptly passes it along to the Group Commanders and Division Commanders, so on and so on.

This one came directly from the President of the Republic of Earth, who told the Senior General to take a list of units and resources he had compiled, and disband the units and send the resources (Ships and weapons of all categories) to the Military Resource Disposal Command. At the very top of the 70 page list were three branches of service in their entirety, including the Republic Marine Corps, and further back in the list was one Marauder Star Ship, designation MA-197.

On the best of days orders can be slightly confusing, and on bad days they can say something totally different from what is intended. John's orders were pretty clear, upon delivery of one MA-197, he was to consider himself Honorably Discharged, thank you, have a nice day, bye bye very much. To say John Tabor was shocked would be the biggest understatement ever. Emma didn't take it any better and said so in rather graphic language, which relieved John of the necessity to say it himself. They both reread the orders carefully, doing so some twenty times. But there was no denying the words, the entire Corps was being disbanded, and responsibilities covered by other services as needed. This was literally the largest force reduction in the history of the world.

Then they read over Emma's order, and found a glaring discrepancy; or glitch if you wish. MA-197 was directed to land at the Resource Disposal Yard, and there was the mistake. Weaponized resources are supposed to be 'de-militarized' first at a weapons depot. Emma would land at the disposal yard fully functional, and that gave them both an idea.

Normally members of the military follow orders to the letter, especially in the Marine Corps. But here was a unique opportunity as well. And there were two very pissed off individuals willing to use a glitch in orders to their advantage. John and Emma would carry out the orders as written, and hope against hope that no one at the depot noticed she was still fully functional, thereby finalizing the orders. When they were sure the worst was over, John would sneak into the yard late at night, board Emma, and they would take off to parts unknown. Hopefully nobody would ever notice there was an advanced Star Ship missing. Technically, John 'stole' Emma, but both of them had followed their orders precisely. John had simply followed a Marine code of Honor older than most civilizations. Marines do not leave their 'people' behind, ever!
The plan worked surprisingly well. They approached the depot, and the sole remaining duty controller gave them permission to land and directed them to the farthest space there was from the tower. There were already 1000 other ships decommissioned and parked, so Emma just 'blended in'. The controller hadn't even checked the specification sheet for the new arrival, and just placed a checkmark in the computer box for 'Completion of Orders'.

Phase two of the plan commenced when John made it to the control building an hour later. They didn't even send out a vehicle to pick him up. That was because there wasn't anyone to pick him up, the controller on duty being the 'last man out'. He told John he had one more ship due in this afternoon, and then he was off to retirement at his home. He was being discharged too.

So began the biggest SNAFU ever in Earth's history...

After spending six days in a motel six kilometers away from the 'Bone yard', Emma said it appeared all clear. John jogged out to the site, and climbed the fence. All power was off at the tower, so there was little chance that even motion sensors would be active. Once he got to Emma, John boarded, unplugged the transponder, and they took off at low speed, staying away from the prying eyes of any space port controllers. Then halfway across the Pacific, Emma angled up and accelerated. They were in space within ten minutes.

Now where to go...after a lengthy discussion, they settled on Scion as being their destination; a planet way out there, where it was highly unlikely anyone would be looking too closely at newcomers. They could settle down to a routine of leisurely travel around the twenty planets on the far edge of known space.

Or not...
After a month of fuel and food conservation, Emma and John were discussing where to land. The commercial space port wasn't an option; they didn't want to be noticed yet. Being essentially a frontier world, Scion didn't even have approach satellites, just space port radar, and to avoid that they would have to approach on the opposite side of the planet, over the single ocean. And that's what they did.

After an hour of careful approach, they were getting close to the planet's junk yard at about 60 meters altitude, and slowing down, when Emma's voice suddenly stopped in mid sentence. Maybe she just had to concentrate on landing for some reason. That would have been ok, except for all power going out too. Something was terribly wrong, and he felt fear as the ship plowed into the ground, and stopped not ten meters from a huge derelict freighter. John pleaded with Emma to come back online, and he swore at her. He even prayed to God a couple times, but nothing helped.

John was no technician, but he spent ten years trying to 'fix' Emma, opening every panel on the ship in a vain search for what went wrong, before finally accepting that his friend Emma was dead, just like all his other friends. He claimed an old shack on the edge of the junkyard as his home, and would often look over through the yard, hoping to see Emma's lights turn on. It was not to be so, and it would be over twenty years more, before he found out what had happened.
Chapter 4

New feelings For Old...

John woke just before daylight, as he always did. The damned rain had finally stopped, but he was still grumpy. He was getting old, and the inevitable aches and pains of old age were sneaking into his bones. It wasn't too cold, but he started the fire in his little cast iron stove anyway, more out of habit than necessity. Then he thought to make some breakfast, but was stopped by an ugly fact. His cabinets and little fridge were almost empty. He would have to make a trip into town to stock up again. He sighed at that chore, but maybe he'd stop off at Boris' shop to chat for a while. Boris and he had become friend's years ago, and Boris always managed to make John smile at least once.

So John put on his boots and opened the door to step outside, and stopped dead...huddled up against his front door was a small girl. She had long blonde hair, and was clothed, but she had no coat on. It had gotten chilly in the rain, and the girl trembled violently. As he reached down to wake her, he found that was impossible. She wasn't sleeping, she was unconscious! That suddenly frightened John more than he'd ever been. He didn't know much about medicine, but he remembered that unconscious and shaking was bad. Hypothermia he thought, very bad indeed.

John gently picked the girl up, and placed her on his bed. She was soaked through, and her skin color didn't look good at all. His combat first aide training took over automatically, morals be damned, and he stripped off all her clothes. He got three towels, and as gently as he could, John dried her off head to toe. The hair stumped him, but he finally got even that 'less wet'.

As he was wrapping the girl in an old heavy blanket, he began trying to think of getting help. There were few people out this far, just a couple of old miners who just stayed by themselves. But there was the new woman, in another shack about a hundred meters closer to town. Hadn't she said she was a combat medic? She had just showed up one day about three months ago He looked at the girl, and it looked like the shivering had slowed down some, but wasn't going to go away anytime soon. He just didn't want to leave her alone right then. A long dormant feeling stirred inside him; the little girl needed him, and needed him badly.
He hadn't felt compassion in a long time, but it was in the room now. The girls head shifted slightly, and a tiny moan filled the room. That sound made up his mind for him. John jumped up, and ran out the door, down to the woman's shack, knocking frantically when he got there.

The woman wasn't exactly pleased to be awakened so forcefully, but she was about to get up anyway. But when John explained that there was a sick girl at his shack, the woman picked up a surprisingly familiar field medic pack, and almost bowled John over getting out the door. He followed her to his shack, and in they went.

The woman was all medic, checking out the girl's entire body, looking for any discoloration that would show circulation problems. Finding none, she looked at the girls face, and gasped, "Vic honey, what are you doing way over here?" Then she reached in her pack, pulling out a small injector and a small vial as well. Placing the vial in the injector, she dialed it to a medium dose, and injected the girls arm. "That's an antibiotic, it should help with the fever she has, but she's going to be dehydrated for a while, so you need to get fluids in her. I don't have IVs, so little sips of water or juice, but not too much at one time. Her autonomic system should take care of swallowing, but watch out she doesn't choke on it. If she does, you'll need to get behind her and do a Heimlich, you remember how? John nodded, but asked, "You know this girl?"

She chuckled lightly, "Yes I know her, Vic is an orphan and has lived at the orphanage most of her life. I was the resident 'physician' there for more than twenty years. I am Ariel, incidentally, Ariel Kishner. And yes, I was a Marine too."

John was impressed that Ariel was a Marine Medic; they never lost anyone who had the slightest chance. He was relieved, and apparently it showed in his expression, for Ariel teased him a little, "You take care of our girl Master Sergeant, she is a right precious young woman."

That had the effect she intended, for a flustered John Tabor stammered, "Can't you take care of her Ariel? I mean, being a woman yourself, you know what she needs. And you already know her!"
Ariel shook her head, "No, I may know her already, but 'fate' brought her to your door, not mine. For what it's worth, I saw something strong in your eyes just then. Words don't describe it, but it is there none the less. So take care of young Vic for a while, at least until she wakes and can speak for herself." And somehow, that settled that. John wanted to put up a defense, but just couldn't find the words. Ariel smiled at the big Ox of a man, and said, "Men! Know what you want, and still try to deny it."

There was still one problem though, food. Water he had plenty of, good clean water from a spring behind the row of shacks. It took a little while to fill a good size jug, but it always produced. Food however, would take a couple hours to get and bring back. Ariel helped there, offering to watch over Vic while John 'shopped' for the eats, he just needed to be back before mid sun, for later she needed to make the 'rounds' of the poor people around the settlement. John said he would hurry, but just made it back in time. He had stopped at a couple extra shops, and was loaded down with girl size clothes, as well as a nice pretty jacket, with a stylized angel on the front. Ariel could barely hold her laughter; she had known John would do something like that.

Ariel got serious for a moment, "You're a good man Master Sergeant, never doubt it." And then she did laugh, as John actually blushed.

John stayed close to Vic for three days, never once sleeping, afraid something would go wrong for the girl. He had a small book of poetry from ages past, and read every one of them to the comatose Vic. Every time she so much as twitched, John jumped up, and gave her a sip of berry juice or water. She had one little bodily accident, but John quickly cleaned her up, putting a folded towel under her to catch any more. Ariel stopped by each day, and checked on both of them. John usually ended up a bit flustered when Ariel would remind him that he was the girl's protector, and she was getting better with each hour.

By the third day John was pretty worn out, nodding in the chair. He was almost asleep by late afternoon, when a soft voice exclaimed, "oh!" John jumped up, stammering, "Don't be afraid Vic, no one will hurt you." Her eyes were wide, but she smiled, "I'm not afraid, I dreamed of you. There were shadow people trying to grab me, to pull me into the darkness, but you were there and always kept them away. Then I woke up, and you are still here with me."
John had no idea what to say to that, but he figured if it was just a kid's dream, it was a pretty good one, "Would you like to eat something Vic?" That got him a big grin, "Oh yes, I am really hungry, may I? How long was I asleep?"

She was a resilient young lady, and he couldn't help but smile at her, "Almost four days, you should never have been outside in that storm with no raincoat." She looked a little chagrined, but told him how she needed to make sure the constables didn't find her in town, then looked surprised, "Oh now, Mister Ruschenko will be upset with me for not helping for that long!"

It was John's turn for a big surprised look, "You mean Boris, Vic? You were helping him with his shop?"

After getting the whole story, all the way back to the orphanage, he understood better just how resourceful Vic really was, and lucky too. John promised her they would go to Boris' shop tomorrow, first thing. Vic lit up at that, and spent the rest of the day happy. Ariel had shown up just after her 'rounds' and there was fifteen minutes of happy reunion, followed by excited jabbering from both of them as they told each other of their respective journeys.

Ariel managed to ask Vic what her long term plans were, now that she was all better. Vic looked anxious for a minute, and said softly, "I want to stay with John, if he will let me..." Ariel could not resist toying with John with that bare revelation, "I think that's a wonderful idea Vic, why don't you ask him?" There was a gleam in her eye as she stared innocently, directly at John.

Vic summoned up all her courage and asked John in a soft voice, "May I stay with you John, I promise to always be good?" John blushed from ear to ear; nothing in his long life had prepared him for just this sort of situation. He thought of Emma for the first time in years, of all the fun times they had in their short time together. He had never thought much about his own needs, was all this feeling inside a need for companionship? He could not deny how frightened he was while she was sick or the absolute relief when she woke up. This was a big deal for Vic, and he was beginning to believe it was an even bigger deal for him too.
"Yes Vic, I would like it very much if you will stay with me. We will make it special." Vic's smile grew into a huge grin, and she jumped right up on him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. But she didn't stop there, planting one kiss after the other on John's neck and face.

Startled, and more than a little flustered by the show of affection, John looked over at Ariel, who just nodded, with a big wicked grin of her own, just for him. She knew...

The next morning John and his brand new 'daughter' made the trip to the Bake Shop, and experienced another reunion the likes of which had never been seen in this part of town. Boris was as relieved as John, that Vic was ok, and safe. The Gentle Giant of a man could barely contain himself, and they feasted well that day. John and Boris talked for hours, and even asked Vic to join in when she felt like it. Vic's contribution tended toward asking each of the big men what they were talking about, which always got them all laughing. It was a really fun day. Boris would not let them leave without a large bag of breads and cheeses he knew they both liked, and then loaded it down some more with pastries of all sorts. Vic and John would be gaining just a little weight in the next few days.
Chapter 5

Renovation

The entire next day John spent moving everything around, with plenty of suggestions from Vic on where things would be 'just right'. He had lived here for years, yet never realized how inefficiently the space was used. Everything was just sprawled out, but neatly 'sprawled' as only a Marine can do; but when they were done there was space for setting up a bed for Vic, which came from an Army cot on which they put the best ship's mattress they could find out in the ship junk yard. Bed sheets and blankets they found easily, once they made a special trip into town, and John made Vic pick out just the ones she liked. They ended up with four sets of brand new bedding, two for her and two for him, after Vic made it perfectly clear that he deserved better than old ratty ones. John had to admit they felt really good after all the years doing without.

For about three weeks, Vic would not let John out of her sight. Every time he moved, so did she; it began to unnerve John; until Ariel explained to him quietly one evening that Vic was getting over the insecurity she had felt subconsciously all of her young life. It had to sink in to her conscious mind, that it was all 'real', and not just going to evaporate one day. "Vic needs to get in touch with reality John, and that means you must be her reality. Her doubts will eventually fade, and then you'll find you have an adventurous girl on your hands. Don't fight it; just adjust to the changes that will come." Talking things out with Ariel always made John feel better, and he could see how she had earned the title of 'Gramma' with the kids.

John was amazed to find that Vic liked to fix things. Girls didn't usually like that sort of thing; but this one did. Every time they went out for walks, she inevitably picked up some broken piece of 'something', and would bring it home to 'work on'. Vic was meticulous with the careful restorations, and seldom admitted defeat, bringing everything back to full functionality. She had mentioned once that she could do better with her 'tools', but she had lost them when she had to get away from the Constables. Not being 'dumb' at all, John had a flash of inspiration, and the next time Vic spent time visiting with Ariel, even going with her on her rounds, John snuck into the shopping district at full speed, finding a fully equipped tool kit, with every kind of tool imaginable, including a small short handled hammer. He just made it back at dusk, before Vic came strolling in, a smile on her face. Today she had witnessed the birth of a child, and she was awed by the experience. She told him all about it during dinner, in detail.
After they cleaned up the dinnerware, John sat Vic down at her little repair table, and sprang her gift on her. At first Vic just stared at the tool kit unfolded in front of her, the eyes growing wider and wider. Then the tears came, and John was afraid she didn't like it. But then she jumped up on him in a bear hug that wouldn't quit. He wondered how she had gotten that strong.

And that was how John learned what 'tears of love' were all about...that night Vic climbed in bed with him, and stayed snuggled close all night long. They both slept quite soundly...

With the new tool kit firmly in hand, Vic became a one girl production line, often repairing two or three things at the same time. John had to buy all sorts of glue and epoxies, wire and electrical wires. Scraps of metal and plastic were carefully sorted into boxes, for use in the production effort. The small table became a long work bench, and when word got out that the 'fixer' could repair just about anything, people started showing up all day every day with broken knick knacks and small appliances. John had to build an addition to the shack, just to accommodate the huge increase in notoriety. And they started making money at it; just a few coins at first, but growing steadily into a regular income. The poor were poor, of course, but that didn't mean they had no pride. The sense of honor exists at every level of society.

The unexpected increase in income produced a slight shift in priorities too. John pondered Vic's limited education for a while. She was an intelligent girl to be sure, but that was mostly intuitive. John understood that knowledge was very important, and began looking around at the educational possibilities available for Vic. The inner city had a couple of schools, attended by the higher level 'citizens' children and John didn't think Vic would fit in very well with the elite of society. Besides, the schools were way over on the other side of the city, a bit too close to the source of her early unhappiness, the orphanage. And that was a very long ways away anyhow.

But John had learned that there were a few people on this side of town with teaching backgrounds, so he sought them out. One was actually an astrophysicist who just happened to know a lot about other disciplines as well, and the other was a for real school teacher who had migrated out here as a result of the upheavals that plagued Earths transition into greed and corruption. Both were nice solid individuals, with ready smiles and pleasant personalities, and after talking with them, hired them both.

John had forgotten one little detail; however, he had not discussed it with Vic.
Vic was at first livid when she heard about it, she felt betrayed. She told him that she knew what she needed to know, thank you, and that was all that was necessary. She didn't storm off and hide at least, but John learned all about stubborn young ladies that day. It took him four hours to calm her down and explain why he thought it was important to her. He picked his words very carefully, telling Vic that knowledge was not a goal, but a foundation for everything and anything she did in life. It was something she could always draw on to help her meet the challenges that life throws at her. He explained that most knowledge didn't have to be used at all, but might be invaluable if life threw curve balls at her. Strangely enough, that last point won her over, and Vic reluctantly agreed to try the plan.

And miracle of miracles, she learned to love the acquisition of knowledge. Two or three times a week, both teachers would come out to exercise Vic's brain, showing her brand new things that she never knew existed before. At first she was a touch suspicious of her teachers, but after several weeks she actually enjoyed their visits. Both Jerry and Norman were likeable guys anyway, so she kind of fell into their web, so to speak. Norman being an astrophysicist, he tended to concentrate on the scientific aspect of Vic's knowledge base, all the sciences really. And Jerry took care of the more social sciences, including politics, history, and just about any of the cultural aspects. The mathematics realm was shared by both of them, and Vic soaked it up eagerly, once she found that she craved it. Did I mention; Vic is a very smart girl?

John found himself often listening in to Vic's classes. He had some schooling early on, and occasionally some more in the Marines, but he never had what amounted to 'proper' education. Coaxing Vic into the realm of higher learning had an effect on John as well, and he began finding large gaps in his understanding of the Universe around him. He became a seventy year old 'schoolboy'. Ariel even had an epiphany in that respect too, and she became an avid student as well, conveniently showing up when Norman and Jerry did. Both John and she had a humorous discussion about it one afternoon.

The Community Fixit Shop, as it came to be known, flourished for over two years and Vic was in her glory. But as often happens with success, eventually the number of broken items dwindled, until Vic had to return to her old method of searching for something to repair. She was just 'too good' at repairing machines. She began scrounging around for some machine, any machine, that needed tending. One day Vic was just sitting at her bench, feeling a bit despondent over the lack of 'fixable things', when she glanced over at John's bed. Under the bed, on one end, was an oblong box that she had seen thousands of times. John had never opened it, and only pulled it out occasionally to dust it, sweep under the bed, and simply slid it back into place. They talked about anything and everything incessantly, but he had never told her anything about the box.
John had never forbidden her to look inside either, so being the curious girl, Vic pulled out the box It didn't even have a lock on it, so it wasn't anything secret. But when she opened the lid, John Tabors whole life came spilling out.

Inside the box were two grey utility coveralls, folded neatly, and underneath that was a dress uniform, steel gray in color, with gold colored trim work around the edges. On both sleeves were the rating patches of a Master Gunnery Sergeant, although Vic didn't know that. And just on top of the dress uniform was John's dress cap, with the oldest recognizable insignia in the Galaxy centered at the front, the Gold Marine Corps Emblem, but she didn't know that either. To Vic it was just 'pretty'.

Vic carefully placed all the top items on the bed and looked down to find a rifle staring back at her. Not just any rifle, but the workhorse assault weapon for the Corps, the M-94, Light Assault Rifle, Selective Fire, Powered. But of course Vic couldn't know that, as her schooling did not include how to wage war.

The rifle was certainly old and battered from long use. It had scratches and 'dings' all over it. The rifle's stock was broken almost all the way through. As she slid a panel open, Vic found the power pack, with a little status window showing barely enough power to even register.

Vic had an idea; one that she thought would please John. She would 'fix' his rifle. Maybe she couldn't make it totally new again, it had so much damage, but she certainly could make it look presentable. And that is what she did. Vic spent all afternoon disassembling the rifle, carefully placing every piece in order on the bench, memorizing where each piece came from and how it fit. Then she cleaned each part, polishing them to a semblance of 'new', then she ever so carefully repaired the stock, filling the crack with epoxy that she 'tinted' to a close approximation of the original color, making sure that none of it oozed out, and smoothed it so that it blended right in. It wasn't perfect, but you would need a magnifying glass to notice it. Then she carefully put all the parts back in their places, leaving the power pack out because it was depleted. Then Vic repacked the box ever so carefully, placing the items in the box just the way they were, except for the rifle. She wanted John to see that, so she laid it on the bed, putting the empty power pack next to it. And she waited...
John Tabor was feeling out of sorts. Vague memories had been plaguing him all through last night, memories that had not bothered him much since Vic came into his life. But here they were again, haunting him. Friends, brothers and sisters, all lost now. He needed to talk to someone. He could talk with Ariel of course, they were very good friends now. But she would play psychiatrist with him, and he didn't want that. Not this time anyway.

The one 'person', who seemed to understand him best, was long 'dead' now. Emma wouldn't be talking to John, but perhaps she could still listen, wherever she was. Early that morning he walked a familiar path out to where Emma still lay. He checked around the hull, seeing that no one had tried to remove any pieces of her, and then worked the secret magic necessary to manually open the hatch. The air was stale after so long being closed up, but John didn't even notice. He was a bit stale too.

John spent all day inside Emma, sitting in the Command chair right next to her 'heart', the crystalline matrix where her soul resided. He just started talking to her, a little bit at first, then the floodgates opened and everything came pouring out. He talked about how he came to the Corps, the hell hole he came from, and how the Marine Corps had somehow steadied him, how he had met many friends in different units he'd been assigned to. John talked about every one of them, how each had different quirks that either made him laugh, or infuriated him. But all of them had been friends, real friends, and the kind that would give their lives for you. They all had done just that, all had died within ten meters of John Tabor, and he owed them all that special honor of remembrance. Then he apologized to Emma, for neglecting her so rashly, so completely, for so long.

John told Emma about every battle he was involved in, how each one always seemed like a waste afterwards, ultimately being fought because some stupid politician wanted some more land, or more money for himself. Then he talked about meeting Emma herself, how she filled a void in him, how she could make him laugh one minute, and then make him rethink one of his pet peeves the next. He told her how the void had opened up again when they crashed here, and Emma had gone silent, how he frantically tried to revive her, and how he had failed her in the end.

Then, he began talking about finding Vic, how suddenly afraid he became because he thought she would die too, how he somehow steeled himself to not let that happen.
John went on and on, telling Emma how proud he was of Vic, how she could make him smile with just a glance, how she could fix anything at all, how she would not quit, and how stubborn she could be sometimes. He laughed then, and the sound echoed through the ship. He suddenly realized that Vic made him feel alive after so many years of isolating himself, and feeling dead inside.

John noticed that the sun was beginning to set, and he realized how long he had been here with Emma, he needed to get back to the shack, to Vic. He thanked Emma for listening to him, and wished he could hear her voice one more time. He promised to visit more, and got up to leave. As he closed the hatch and locked it, he heard a sound, like a whisper in his ear. It was Emma's voice, and she just said, <Tell her John, tell her all of It.> John turned back and stared at Emma for a while, confused. Then he smiled, Emma was one smart cookie...
Vic was starting to get worried, John had been gone all day, and that simply was not normal. She didn't even know which way he had gone, she hadn't looked at the time. She began pacing just like John did sometimes. She was already anxious to see how he liked her efforts with his rifle, but now she was beginning to feel fear that something had happened to her 'Father', the rock that anchored her whole existence. The sun was going down, it would be dark soon, and she made her decision to go out and find him. Vic put on her cherished jacket, the one with the Angel on it, and started for the door, when it opened. John walked in and smiled at her, but it wasn't just the happy smile she was so used to seeing on his face, this time it was something more. John Tabor wasn't just happy; he was at peace with himself.

John hung up his jacket, and Vic hung up hers as well. Then John went to their table and sat down. Looking at the bed, he saw the rifle sitting there with the power pack next to it. But the rifle wasn't the same one he had put in the footlocker so long ago. It looked brand new now, or almost so. He let out a little chuckle, recognizing the ironic coincidence of the moment.

"Vic, I see you've been busy today." He picked up the rifle, looking it over carefully; it had saved his life many times. "Vic my girl, I have never told you much about me and it is high time I did. Why don't you pull out that footlocker again, there are things in there that will help tell the story." So when she pulled the box close to John, he opened it and reached into one corner and pulled out a big thick envelope. He laid out what must have been a hundred pictures, on old photo paper, carefully placing them in an order on the table. There were group photos of Units he had served with, about twenty of them, and the rest were individual ones of one or two people smiling up at them. Vic couldn't take her eyes from them.

"Vic, I'd like to tell you who John Tabor is, who I was, where I came from and where I went, all of it." And he did, in detail, sparing nothing. Vic deserved the truth about him, the outside, the inside, and everything in between. It was after midnight when he finished telling Vic about the 'real' John Tabor. He had told her all about Emma and him coming to Scion, how Emma had suddenly gone silent, the crash, and the ten years trying to figure out what happened, and about losing the spark inside him that was life itself. And then he told Vic about herself, but through John's eyes, how that little soggy girl that he found on his doorstep had saved him.
Vic felt the tears coming then, and she moved over to sit on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed John full on his lips. They sat there for a while, arms around each other, and then went to bed. They slept in the same bed, snuggled up close to each other, as only a family can do...
Chapter 6

Resurrection

Vic had a new outlook on life, and her and John's relationship too. She had always thought of John as her 'protector', her knight in shining armor. But after last night's revelation she found out that she was every bit as much John's protector too. She made him live again; to see the world around him with light instead of darkness, and she had to watch to make sure it stayed that way. The idea gave Vic a funny feeling inside, she had never had this kind of responsibility before, but she also knew she would do it. She loved the big guy, John Tabor, deeply and she would never fail him.

As Vic thought more about it though, she realized that a good chunk of the problem was remembering all his friends over the years, all of them dead. Well, not all maybe. There was one who was 'technically' dead, but she was a machine, a big machine. Vic may not be able to help all the dead people, but she could sure as heck try to 'fix' Emma. It would be a colossal undertaking, as Emma wasn't exactly your average toaster you know. Emma wasn't even your average Star Ship either, as John had told her last night. Emma's every system was the newest of the new, and some were still experimental even. Vic would have to be extra careful with the whole troubleshooting scheme, but dammit, she was going to do it! Just don't tell John yet.

That turned out to be the first problem; she couldn't even get into Emma, though she tried to figure out how all during the first day. Walking back defeated, she had to deal with a grumpy John too, when she arrived. Vic hadn't even told him where she was going, which set off every 'protector' alarm he had. So after calming him with a kiss, she explained her crazy plan. Even though he knew she could fix darned near anything, there was the little detail that there is a huge gap between mechanical devices and the most advanced Star Ship ever built. Emma was very complex indeed. Still skeptical, John did go out with Vic the following morning, and showed her the 'secret' to manually opening the hatch. Then he bade her good luck, because he knew she would need all she could find.

Vic had a clear idea how to approach this task she set herself. She would manually uncouple the power leads from the reactor first. Even though Emma's reactor had been dormant for thirty years, it would be stupid to take chances with multi million megawatt power output.
That little major detail taken care of, Vic dug in to the monumental task of visually inspecting every component, every connection on the ship. She was looking for something obvious that her perfect eyesight could pick up. She understood that John had tried exactly that for a whole ten years, but while she loved John intensely, she knew he was not a 'fixer'...she was.

Still, it took almost two and a half years before Vic had to admit to herself that the problem was not visually obvious. But even though there was failure, there was also a hidden reward. After inspecting and tracing every square centimeter of Emma's circuits, a hundred times, Vic now knew more about the ship's circuits than the designers did.

That portion of her plan completed, Vic apprehensively began her next steps. Now that she was certain that all components and connections were physically intact, she wanted to re-couple the reactor cables, and start the reactor. If everything went ok, she could run a manual diagnostic from either the bridge or the tiny reactor compartment. But that also presented a problem, she would need to get John to okay it, and show her how. Vic had no formal training at all on star ships, but John had. He knew how to manually start the reactor, or 'had' at least. That evening she sprung the idea on him at supper, and got the expected resistance. "What if starting her causes something to explode, or catch fire?" he asked. She had a tough time convincing John that the ship circuits and components had nothing physically wrong with them. And even if some tiny fire did start, once the reactor was running and providing power, the fire suppression system would take care of it. If worst came to worst, "we can abort the reactor startup".

After he spent a few minutes trying to understand the technical stuff, he relented. But, she had school tomorrow, so it would be the next day when they went out together. Then John spent an uncomfortable two hours trying to remember how to manually start the reactor, it was not a normal occurrence.

The next day Vic attended her classes as the dutiful student, and even paid attention. Well, at least she tried to, and neither Jerry nor Norman got annoyed with her. She even aced a test they threw at her, which pleased them both. They put a little gold star sticky on the tablet, which she secretly thought was silly, but she did have to admit she was happy with it. Vic was starting to grow up. Still, when they went to bed, both had a tough time 'getting' to sleep.
John and Vic were up before the sun, and while John didn't want to admit it he was feeling an excitement he had not felt in years. Today would tell them if they could even power up the ship at all.

John ended up laughing half way to Emma; Vic was trying to outpace him and ended up ten meters away before she realized he wasn't there. With an embarrassed smile on her face, she waited until he caught up to her, and then watched carefully for the remainder of the trip.

Once inside, Vic went through the laborious task of resetting all the breakers on the ship. These were placed all over the ship for redundancy sake, as some of the normal housekeeping circuits doubled as emergency command circuits in case of one area needing to be isolated. The breakers themselves were two way switching; either the AI (Emma) or a human could trip or reset them.

Starting in the bridge, Vic reset every one of them, except the command interface power breaker for Emma. Then she made her way aft, resetting all breakers in boxes 2 through 22, the last one being engineering control power. This was the moment of truth. John made sure the slider was flipped over to the 'cold start' setting, and pushed a single 'start' button.

At first it looked like nothing was going to happen, but after about ten seconds a low hum began, and they felt a slight vibration under their feet. Vic smiled, but stopped when she saw that John was still frowning.

After a full minute, a little window blinked to life, stating one half volt. Then it said 'ENG AI Functional', and John did smile then. It was working; the ship was coming to life once again.

You don't rush a cold start sequence on a Fusion Reactor of any size, or bad things can happen. It took a full ten minutes before the little window said, 'Full Function, shift to Normal Operation'. Both Vic and John were grinning by then, and John slid the switch to Normal Operation. The window said, 'Main AI non-operational. Continue Auxiliary Operation, yes or no. John touched yes on the screen, and the window said, 'Auxiliary Operation Confirmed, Manual Flight NOT Recommended'
Almost running to the bridge, Vic sat in the pilot chair and browsed the control screen for a minute. John sat down beside her and pointed to a graphic button that simply said 'settings'. "It's in there Vic." Giving him a loving smile, Vic touched the button and a whole double column of choices popped up. The lower right button said 'Diagnostics' and she pushed that one, bringing up another screen with six choices, the first being 'Full Command Pathway Diagnostic Scan'. Looking at John for approval, he just nodded and said, "Go for it Vic, the Full Scan will tell us everything." When she touched the button, the screen said, 'Scan in Progress, Remaining Time: 9 hours 37 minutes'. Vic sighed; patience was not one of her strong points. John chuckled, and told her that if she sat there watching the screen, it would seem like 9 days to her. She scrunched up her nose at that, but agreed with John that they should go back to the shack and let the ship do its thing. They could come back later, when the scan was almost done. No one would know Emma was powered up, since this design made no external noises at all, and he had shut off all navigation beacons and lights when they got here over thirty years ago.

After locking up Emma, which was easier now with power, John had the ship 'authorize' Vic for base functions like opening doors, and starting and shutting down the reactor, they headed back to the shack. Vic was antsy for a while, but settled down when John chuckled at her. He was anxious too, but was well versed in the waiting game by now.

They were back on the bridge with 30 minutes remaining. Even that short a time was a frustrating wait, but they survived it. As the last minute counted down the seconds, Vic's eyes were glued to the screen. When the count read zero, the screen went blank and stayed blank. Vic exclaimed, "What happened!" John had to soothe her, "It is compiling the report Vic; it will show up in a minute." Just as he finished, the screen lit up with twenty categories. All said, 'No Discrepancies", except one way down at the bottom that said, 'Command AI Non-Functional, Command Pathway Break, No Signal Detected'.

Vic was disgusted, "What is that supposed to mean? It is only her power lead that is tripped, not her Command Path wiring!" She got down on her hands and knees to look at Emma up close. There was Emma, a beautiful little city of crystals sitting atop a box, on top of a tray. There weren't any wires coming out of the box that she could see, maybe in back. So she slid her hand along the side of the box, trying to feel for any wires on the back of the box; nothing. Frustrated, Vic started to pull her hand back out and felt something 'wiggle'.
The box that housed Emma's crystals sat on a tray, held down with four clamps, one on each corner. Each clamp had a single bolt to hold Emma in place, and the left back one had loosened enough, just enough to let the clamp move slightly, not even a half millimeter, but it was just enough to cause a tiny power spike in that Command circuit. One small direct contact point lost connection and Emma 'turned off'. The microscopic gap caused a cascade effect, shutting down all power, and turning the ship into a flying rock. The designers had literally invited 'Murphy" to the party.

Once Vic knew of a problem, she took action. The bolts all had funny heads on them; with an oblong slot in the head for tightening and loosening the bolts. It required a special tool, which Vic didn't have of course, but after trying several of her screw drivers in the front bolts, she found one that fit rather well, if a bit sloppy. Slowly Vic felt for the hole, and when she got the screw driver in the bolt head, she began turning it. When it stopped turning, Vic gave it as much torque as she could with her hand, and pulled out of the enclosure. She looked up at John, who was staring fixated at Emma, his mouth hanging open. Vic knew what she had to do, so she reached over and opened the bridge breaker box, pushing the last breaker on the ship that hadn't been reset yet, the 'Command Interface Power' one...

And Emma lit up! A soft glow showed in all the crystals, brightening as she took in the power. Then a voice came from the overhead speaker, finishing a sentence that she had begun over 30 years before, "...and that is silly John." Vic wasn't sure at all what was going on. All she could see were her Fathers eyes filling with tears, his lips quivering. He tried to form words, but barely croaked, "Emma? You're back!" That made Vic cry too, so she jumped up on John's lap and hugged him fiercely, until he stopped shaking so much. Emma was just confused, which is a brand new experience for an AI that thinks in mere milliseconds. She was supposed to be in the air on final approach, but wasn't. The power readings were all wrong too, the reactor being at idle, and her sensors told her that she wasn't approaching a ship junk yard, she was 'in it', almost underneath a hulking freighter in fact. Somebody better explain what is going on, and fast!

They tried, oh they tried. When the two humans finally calmed down they both tried to tell Emma everything, but that didn't work so well. John tried to tell Emma what happened from his 30 year timeframe, and Vic tried to tell it from her own almost 5 year perspective of being with her 'Father', which naturally got a raised eyebrow type of question from Emma.

They all settled on John telling the whole story, from the crash, to thirty years of desperation and regret, then finding Vic one morning, and her literally saving him from his own self inflicted pity party. Vic blushed at hearing that again, but managed to hold her head up.
It took all day and part of the night, before Emma 'felt' she understood. She suggested that both her charges stay on board and sleep in the cabins tonight, she had some personal diagnostics she wanted to do on the systems anyway. She didn't trust a simple computer to do a proper sweep. That made John and Vic laugh, but they were yawning, so they went just back of the bridge, and checked into the Commanders cabin. Oddly enough, the 'bunk' was a bit wider than John's own bed, so they had no trouble sleeping at all. Both were very tired from the excitement of the last two days anyway.

The next day was pretty much a rehash of the previous one, with Emma trying to 'catch up' with her 30 years of isolation. John and Vic were both quite happy to help her with that, John being the most helpful in that respect, since he had lived all of it. Vic couldn't really contribute much, and it made her feel like she was being left out of the conversation. She wasn't of course, but it still 'felt' like it to her young mind. Insecurity is a fickle emotion, and brings on such questions as, 'Why am I here, Am I important at all?' We humans often have a hard time believing in our own 'self worth', which is both good and bad at the same time

John didn't see it, being a man, but Emma did. Vic was withdrawing into herself; putting up a wall to keep out the hurt. Emma could not let that happen, she was 'liking' this young woman a lot.

AIs are super smart computers essentially; at least that is how they start out. But where computers are always dependent upon external input, or someone else telling them to do their thing; AIs are designed to be self contained 'free thinkers', able to generate their own questions to ponder, and puzzle those questions out and come to a decision. In other words, they learn to think in the abstract, just like we do... At some point they cross an imaginary line, and come 'alive'.

Since Emma was created as the most intricate AI ever, she 'woke up' much sooner. So when she saw Vic beginning to doubt herself, Emma took her under her wing, so to speak. With John, she was always mildly abrasive, even sarcastic at times. Dry humor worked well with John, helping him to battle his little inner demons.
With Vic, she took a motherly approach, speaking with a softer tone but always telling Vic the truth. She began asking Vic what she thought about anything and everything, letting Vic know that she considered Vic important to her. It worked fairly well, by dusk on the second day of her reawakening; Emma and Vic were solid friends, with a touch of something more sneaking in there around the edges. Emma had exceeded her base programming years ago, and squirreled away the baseline subroutines in her deepest section of the archive. She wasn't just a free thinker now; she was a 'person'...
Chapter 7

It's a Big Galaxy

There was a bit of apprehension bouncing around the day that Emma announced that she wanted to do a quick 'test flight', to make certain that the ship was physically intact as well as electronically. John piped up immediately, voicing his concerns for Emma's safety. He had spent 30 years thinking he'd lost her forever, and certainly didn't want to tempt fate, at least not so soon after getting her back! Besides, what if Emma was seen on the little joyride?

Vic just thought it was a super cool idea, and wanted to take off right then, with her in the pilot's chair of course. Emma just took the conflicting opinions in stride, and for once applied the 'motherly approach' to both of them. "I understand both of you, but this is one of those things where being practical outweighs the emotional concerns. John, this ship was built to fly, and you know it. Putting it off would just make your anxiety worse, not better. I have checked and rechecked all circuits at least ten times, and the only thing left is checking the structural integrity. And as for being seen, you forgot that this ship was designed to be deceptive in looks. They intentionally put oversized engines on me to make it look like someone merely patched a ship together out of random pieces. No one but a crazy person would even want this ship...

Vic, checking structural integrity is the very reason I cannot take either one of you on this trip. This is the risky one, and I will not have you sharing that risk. If for some reason the hull loses pressure, I can handle vacuum, but you two can't, so I'm sorry honey, not this time. But I promise you that when everything checks out 'peachy keen' we will all go out there together, lots of times, ok?"

Emma had two unhappy humans to deal with for an hour, but eventually rational and practical won out over emotional. There still remained one teensy weensy problem however, and John was the first to realize it. Once Emma powered up and shifted into flight mode, her transponder would automatically turn on. It was a designed navigational and safety absolute. Ships simply did not go flying around without identification, either in atmosphere or space. And what was worse, Emma's transponder would identify her to the entire sector as a military Marauder class star ship. That simply could not happen, there weren't supposed to be any Marauders flying at all, let alone one flying way out here!
They settled on the simplest solution, being to simply 'unplug' the transponder. Vic had unknowingly plugged it back in while she was 'tinkering'. For this relatively short test flight, it wouldn't hurt anyone's sensibilities, and Emma could take care of herself in the navigation and collision avoidance departments anyway. She just had to remain invisible to the local radar, which was relatively easy; no one had seen her arrival 30 years previously. Both John and Vic were issued 'com badges', which they got out of a drawer in the bridge console. They could talk back and forth while Emma did her thing. That tickled Vic no end, and John had to admit that his anxiety was beginning to fade some.

So, just as dusk settled over the desert, John and Vic watch Emma hover just ten meters off the ground, turn to face the mountain range to the West, and slowly accelerate into the distance. Then they walked back to their shack to monitor Emma's progress. They both wagged their fingers at her, and told Emma she had better keep them constantly updated. She actually chuckled over the com badges at that order. Emma loved these two!

Four hours later, Emma announced that she was satisfied with the test, and everything was working flawlessly. There were no stress sensor readings out of spec, and there were no hints of pressure leaks. The crash had not damaged her in any way. They had built the ship tough.

John and Vic started to walk back through the junk yard, but Emma stopped them, telling both to stay clear of the area next to the shack and just watch from the road. A few minutes later, in she swooped, adding a roll as she zipped over them. She was a happy camper, fully operational and showing off. Emma made a long slow turn and hovered over the spot next to the shack, then smoothly landed on her struts, the first time in a very long while. Emma had arrived!

John was proud too, he had his friend back now. But he was all business as he took a flashlight out of his pocket, and inspected every square centimeter of Emma's underside. The crash had scoured the ship's hull pretty good, but luckily there weren't any serious dents. The effect did make Emma look a bit more nondescript though, adding to the impression of 'unimpressive'. No one with any ambitions of space travel was going to get any ideas of grabbing Emma for their own motives; just a certain two individuals standing right next to her. They knew the truth about Emma, but they weren't tellin'...
The three accepted the next challenge on the very next day, what to do about the transponder. Swapping it out with another was easy, but the plan required picking just the right one to replace the military version. Transponders had been standardized for centuries, both in size and necessary connections, so that wasn't a problem. Picking one that had just the right specification data, was a big problem, however, as that data was 'embedded' in the transponder core when built, and could not be changed ever. They had to be very careful to choose a transponder that transmitted 'believable' specifications, ones that matched Emma's 'looks'. So John and Vic went out each day for a week, looking for transponders that were first of all 'still' intact and still installed on a ship, and a ship that matched the 'looks' as well. It wasn't that easy, as there were over two hundred ships to look at, and over 90 of them at least 'approximated' Emma's size and mass.

On the seventh day Vic and John climbed into one sitting on the far end of the junk yard. It was fairly close to the size and mass requirement, and did still have a transponder, but it had only been here for 16 years, having been the victim of a medical tragedy. It was a very old design though, being almost 100 years old; that had been used as a survey vessel until the unfortunate mishap. The transponder was as close as they were going to find, so they began the task of unplugging it and un-mounting it from its cubbyhole under the bridge console. Vic took care of that, and while John watched her, he spotted a picture frame under one of the chairs. He pulled it out, just being curious, and could see the glass was broken and it had an old faded photo in it, of two people, a man and a woman. They looked far younger than John did, but he wasn't looking at that. In the woman's arms was a baby. Even though the picture was faded, he could plainly see that the baby had very light and bright blonde hair.

John thought to himself, <No, it couldn't be. This has to be a coincidence.> But he could not deny that the time frame was right. Vic had to have come from somewhere, and she 'was' rapidly approaching 16 years old. He had to know for sure. He pulled the photo out of the frame, and put it inside his shirt, just as Vic was pulling out the transponder. She smiled at John, and off they went to show Emma what they had settled on. Emma was pleased, for when they plugged in the 'new' transponder, she poured over every single specification in the embedded database. The year built was a stretch, but she now 'looked' like she might have been built that far back, and just had some improvements over the years. After careful consideration by all three of them, they agreed that it was a good match, and Emma deleted the ship registration data and name, readying it for new data when they applied for registration out of planet Scion.
The picture haunted John all afternoon. It wasn't proof, just a taunting hint. So, late that night, after Vic was sound asleep. He snuck out and started back toward the old ship. Emma noticed him making an unannounced sojourn into the yard, and asked him what was up. "Oh, I'm just trying to solve a little puzzle I found earlier today, I'll let you in on it when I have something more to go on." That seemed to calm Emma's curiosity for now, so he kept on moving toward the old ship.

John remembered hearing about the incident; it was news for over a week. So did just about everyone else, for this was known as 'The Ghost Ship', and no one ever boarded it, except him and a 16 year old girl. When he entered the ship proper, John began a methodical search for anything useful. At first he just wandered around with his flashlight, but it wasn't getting him any real information, so he organized his search into areas, starting with the engine room and cargo hold. There were all sorts of things just lying around, but all were just ship stuff, nothing with any clues. The galley and common area had just the usual eating paraphernalia and a vidscreen on a bulkhead for entertainment on long cruises. A little frustrated by now, John began searching the staterooms; there were nine of them just forward of the common room. No, ten of them, if you counted the Captain's Cabin

He went slowly through all the crew cabins, one after the other, but only found odd personal items, clothing and some books, real books in one of them. Getting very frustrated by finding nothing much at all, he finally got to the Captain's Cabin. At first he thought the door was locked, but after putting a bit of strength on the doorknob, it reluctantly turned. Inside he hit the jackpot! The room was larger than the others, and had all kinds of baby toys and keepsakes laying everywhere. It even had a small teddy bear, a cuddle toy with a smiling face. As John looked around he felt a sense of reverence; a family had lived here.

But the forward bulkhead was the Holy Grail, with another picture hanging just above the desk. On it were the same two people, and the baby. Both parents had bright wide smiles, and even the baby was smiling happily. She was in a tailor made light blue ship coverall, and on a small nametag was the just readable name, 'Victoria".
John stood there for 5 minutes, looking at .the photo, looking at Vic and her family. He felt the tears, but didn't care what people thought about it. This was Vic's history, her life. But there was still one more piece to the puzzle, just who were they? He couldn't access the ship's database, there was no power. But he had a very capable Star Ship waiting for him to tell her what was going on, "Emma, I have an important job for you. Please access the city archives. You are looking for any information on a medical incident that happened 16 years ago, where a Star Ship landed, and the crew mysteriously died because of what looked like a common cold, but wasn't."

Then he carefully removed the picture from the bulkhead, and ran all the way back, past their shack, to Ariel's home, knocking just as frantically on the door as he had seven years ago. Ariel was just as grumpy as she had been back then too, at being awakened so abruptly, but when she saw it was John, she managed a smile.

John told her what he'd found, and asked, "Ariel, you said you worked at the orphanage for a long time. Do you remember when Vic arrived; is this her?", and he held up the picture.

Ariel's eyes grew wide, and she gasped, "Oh my God, that is her! She was wearing that same little coverall, but all that remained of the nametag was what said Vic, that's how we named her. Where did you find this?"

John told her about finding the transponder they needed on an old ship, and finding the first faded picture on the bridge. He told her how he went back last night to search the ship for more clues, and finding Vic's heritage in the Captain's Cabin. Now he had confirmation from Ariel that these were indeed Vic's parents. The last nagging doubt was gone, but one annoying question remained, 'Who were these people?'

That answer came 10 minutes later, just as the sun was starting its day. Emma called him on his com badge, "John, it took a little while since none of the city departments kept any record of the tragedy, but I found the information you need in the Hospital archive. They issued a detailed report, mostly medical observations, but at the end they were kind enough to include the ships manifest listing the crew by name and position. The first two names are particularly interesting for all of us. 'Captain and Chief Researcher: Edward James Cullen. Chief Scientist: Sharon Patricia Cullen...and at the bottom of the manifest, the 'Supercargo' is listed as, one baby, name: Victoria Anne Cullen."
They all went back to John and Vic's home. Well, Ariel and John did anyway. They woke Victoria up and told her the story of her life, every bit of it. Vic was in tears all day, and so was Ariel. John escaped it, having had his emotional episode when he found everything in the Captain's Cabin. Still, he did have to wipe his eyes more than once.

When the emotions finally eased some, they made a pilgrimage out to the ship, so Vic could acquaint herself with her history, her heritage. Vic stayed in the cabin for over an hour, just gazing at everything she had no clear memory of. She stared at the picture of her mother and father, particularly at her mother, trying to dredge up that faint ghost of a face from so long ago when she lay on a doorstep... and a gentle kiss.

Vic got up after a while, and looked through the drawers and cabinets in the room. She found about sixty photos, some of just her mother and father, and many of the crew, individually and in groups. All the pictures suggested a happy crew, loving what they did. She thought of John, and all his photos, memories he had of people long lost to him. Over the centuries, photos had become digitized, but somehow the old paper version had refused to die. There was something special, almost mystical to be able to physically hold onto the memory of someone close to you.

Vic called John and Ariel in to sit with her, and showed them all the pictures, "I was thinking that these pictures and yours John should be put up in Emma's common room, there's that forward wall that should hold them fine. And if you have some Ariel, we could put them up too." Ariel had some, though not as many, and thought it a great idea. Two days later, the three had their remembrance wall on Emma's forward bulkhead, every picture carefully placed so that the three groups merged with each other. It made them feel good to know that their old friends, their comrades, would travel with them.
Then Vic got busy on an idea she had while putting up the photos. When John had bared his soul to her, telling his life's entire story, he had included a detailed explanation on the concept of honor. Not just the Marine Corps version, but civilian as well. But in the Marine Corps explanation, John had mentioned a phrase that defined all Marines, every one of them...a code of conduct that embraced the very essence of 'Honor'. So when John finally dropped off to sleep that night, she pulled out a thin but long piece of sheet metal she had picked out because it shined and was flat. Very carefully she painted the letters, making absolutely sure they were spaced right, and even across the length. It was almost morning when she was done, and she took it out to Emma, and attached it to the wall just above the field of pictures, right in the center. Emma whispered through the speaker, "You did well Victoria, it is appropriate..."

In the morning Vic got both John and Ariel to come see something she wanted to show them. When they saw the plaque, Ariel got tears in her eyes, and both were solemn for a minute. Then John picked Vic up in a huge bear hug, holding her as tightly as she had ever been held. When he set her back on the deck, Ariel did the same, only not quite so tightly. Neither said a word, just gazing at the wall of people, topped by a simple plaque that read:

'We Don't Leave Our People Behind'

They carefully sorted every personal item on the derelict ship, and took the clothing and decorative items to the small 'free' store for the poor. It wasn't really a store, since they didn't 'sell' anything. People could come in and pick what they needed. Next to the front counter was a small bowl marked 'Contributions'. It worked very well, since even a person who only had one coin invariably put it in the bowl. Even the poorest people have Honor...

The baby toys weren't a problem either, Vic found a nook or cranny for each one. The teddy bear was placed lovingly on the center of her pillow. It had a tiny inscription on its small tee shirt, that said,

Always and Forever

***

Chapter 8

New Life from Old

By the end of that week the four had decided what they wanted to do. Ariel had been asked by both John and Vic separately to join them on their coming travels, and after an inner bout with her sense of responsibility, she agreed on the condition that she would wait to train her replacement to cover her tending of the poor. She already had a young girl Vic's age who followed Ariel everywhere, picking up the medical knowledge as best she could, so Ariel would take the girl on as an apprentice for maybe a year, the girl was really smart and loved to help people.

That didn't faze either John nor Vic at all, since they were not planning any extended trips for a long time yet, just 'short jaunts' to the closest two planets in this neck of the woods. No real problem there. But they almost did have a problem when they went all the way into the city to register Emma and receive a transponder code. The clerk at the registration office was a bit of a minor bureaucrat in his own right, or thought he was anyway. He took the application for registration, and pointed out that they had not filled in the box requesting docking space at the space port. John explained that they had no need for a permanent berth assignment, as they kept their ship at home, and would only be using the port at all to take on fuel mass occasionally. That threw the poor man completely out of whack, things simply weren't done that way, there were docking fees to be paid, and security fees as well if needed. He really lost it when Vic pointed out that you don't pay fees if you never use the berth, and they would take care of their own security, thank you. John was proud of her, Vic was growing up fast.

The man finally accepted the application with a sour look on his face, and thirty minutes later John and Vic walked out with the official certificate of registration for one 'Scions Honor', Star Ship, 2800 Gross Tons Mass, Private Yacht, Registered Owners John Tabor and Victoria Anne Cullen. Vic's eyes lit up when she read that, John had filled out the form. She knew that it was only a formality to 'cross the T's and dot the I's', this was a team of four, with either John or Emma in charge; which ever was being more stubborn that day. It felt good though, very good in fact...
Emma was thrilled with her new registration. She was whole again, officially whole. She told the two she wanted to show off, and this time they could come along for the ride. Neither John nor Vic could argue with that idea, so off they went, after both of them sat in the command chairs and buckled their harnesses, which was required on departure and return to a planet, a nod to 'Murphy's Law'. They never felt a thing, as the inertial dampeners were working perfectly.

Emma shot straight up 60 meters into a hover, then pointed toward the mountains and angled up some 45 degrees, lighting up the main engines to send them upward at supersonic speed. That produced the expected 'boom' which reverberated over the desert, scaring wildlife out of their skins. John and Vic didn't hear it of course, they were ahead of any noise, but the space port heard it quite well and let them know about it, loudly over the speaker. A rather contrite Emma apologized profusely, and promised to never again 'disturb' the proper operations at the port. They all suspected she had abruptly wakened some official who was taking their afternoon 'Siesta'.

As they rose ever higher, the view out the windshield changed from a lighter blue to the dark black of space. Vic made an 'Ooooo' sound and her eyes went wide. Emma and John just chuckled, it happens to everyone the first time out...Emma stayed away from the main approach lanes, and took them toward the small moon that was only visible occasionally from home. After orbiting the moon for an hour, giving Vic a clear view all the way, Emma called approach control for clearance to skirt their airspace, vectoring northwest for home. A confused controller finally gave her permission, and they did a nice wide circle of the area, hovering and descending smoothly to a spot next to the shack. Vic was a happy young lady for the rest of the day, and long into the night. This was her very first conscious experience with space travel, and she loved it right from the start.

Three weeks later, having stocked the cabinets and refrigerator with every possible food, drink and treat that would fit, the three set off on their first real 'sightseeing tour'. After 3 days of blasting toward their first stop, the planet called 'Home Plate' by the inhabitants, Vic was learning that space flight was 80% boredom, with little excitement at all. The problem was an old one; while you can take pictures of the heavens that are majestic; the human eye just isn't equipped to 'see' that majesty in real time. Where there were areas in which you could actually see the dust clouds, the sight paled in comparison to the delightful still images that were captured through a telescope. So Vic's education shifted to just how important an 'entertainment library' was to space travel.
Emma had downloaded every movie, game and information program she could find, and they now had the most extensive library in the Galaxy, and Vic was delighted with their journey yet again. Even though John smiled at her constant 'surfing', he found himself watching the programs as well to fend off the boredom. Emma just took it in stride, as her interests ran more towards the physical Universe around them, which turned out to be a very good thing indeed...

A large chunk of Emma's consciousness was constantly scanning space in every direction, so when she detected a power signature off her 'port quarter', at a declination of negative 30 degrees, she saw it and began monitoring it closely. It was far off, over a million kilometers, but it was holding that relative position. They were 'pacing' Emma. She notified her charges, and the two went up to the bridge to 'help out'.

The 'pacing' didn't concern any of them very much, as this mystery ship could simply be travelling to the same destination as they were, and it was just a coincidence that their courses matched. As long as they didn't get any closer, everything was fine. But after an hour of watching, the unknown did make a course change, and started making a beeline directly to Emma's position. That set off more than one alarm bell in all their minds!

Emma turned on her standard shields as a precaution. These could repel every weapon known to her designers, when she was built, and were Military grade of course. As something as an afterthought, she also energized her 'experimental' defensive shield as well.

This one was experimental, but had been tested extensively. Not just a shield, when used it 'bounced' any attacker's weapon right back toward the point of origin, even missiles, which had been used less and less as particle beams had come into their own. Some bright boy in the design department had remembered a centuries old term from the old 'physical mail' days, and promptly dubbed it the 'Return to Sender Shield", or RTS, and after a lot of humorous quips, the name had stuck. Turning it on was just an extra precaution really. Did I mention Emma is a very smart cookie indeed...? She didn't warm up her own primary assault weapon yet, her own handy dandy particle beam. They were in defensive mode right now, just curious as to this mystery ship's intentions. The change in course was concerning, but they could just be coming over to say hello too, after all.
But when the ship showed a huge power spike that could only be a weapon, she did turn on her own primary. It took a whopping three seconds to fully charge, but it was still pretty darned fast. It didn't need to be used however, as ten minutes later the mystery ship fired a high powered laser at Emma, but because it was still an extreme range, it was more of a warning shot, and the RTS did its thing. The result was just as the designers had expected all along, and apparently scared the 'bejeesus' out of the attacking ship's crew, for as their own laser impacted their hull, the ship suddenly lost interest, and demonstrated some impressive evasive maneuvers as they changed course to high tail it in another direction entirely.

Both Vic and John were astounded, but John was smiling from ear to ear too, "Holy crap Emma, you have to tell me more about that little trick!" And Emma held 'school call' for another hour, before they finally went back to watching the movie that they had been so abruptly distracted from. They were safe, more than safe really. Emma had just demonstrated that they were safe as could be, they were 'covered'...

'Home Plate' had all three excited when they arrived; it was something brand new to them all. Emma's database didn't have much information at all, just the original colonization reports and updates on early expansion. The current status was a bit of the unknown, so Emma scanned the planet 'passively' all the way in. That turned out to be a smart move, as the scans showed some defensive installations dotted around many of the towns and cities. That was a curious discovery, as Scion had none at all.

Home Plate was fairly industrialized, though not heavily so. There were what looked like factories in several areas around the biggest cities, which tended to make Scion look like a 'boondocks' planet, which in truth it was. Since Scion was their home planet, John and Vic knew they weren't 'inferior'; the planet just took a different path in its quest for independence. Agricultural doesn't mean 'hillbilly' ya know...it was just 'different'.
The planet's approach lane was well covered too; by pretty high tech sensors and radar too. The Local Area Control Center contacted them farther out than they were expecting, and asked politely what their business was in visiting their planet. Emma assured them that they were merely tourists, wishing to enjoy the beauty of Home Plate's scenery on their first visit.

Their 'brand new' transponder identified them as a non-hostile private yacht, and they were granted access to the biggest city's space port, where they would go through 'customs' on their first visit. They sent up a list of 'do's and don'ts' that had to be read and agreed to before they were 'unleashed' into the immediate areas of interest. The 'list' wasn't very long, and didn't take long at all to soak up. After agreeing to the 'Rules and Fees' they were assigned a parking spot reserved for newcomers.

If John was anticipating setting foot on another planet for the first time in many years, Vic was bouncing all over the common room, absolutely ecstatic to be seeing something totally new to her young eyes. Being the 'wise old spaceman', John didn't even try to calm her down. Deep in his memories he remembered the awe of visiting new planets, even if most of those 'visits' usually included some deaths attached to them.

They landed without fanfare, Emma remembering that it wasn't nice to annoy officials by showing off. Her hull might look like a decrepit old nothing of a ship, but she flew and landed as the precise, top of the line Star Ship she was. The four men and one woman who came out to greet them were all business, and gave Emma a thorough inspection both inside and outside, covering every single square centimeter. Since her weapons were not 'obvious', being mostly defensive in nature anyway, the only question was directed to John, when they found his old/refurbished assault rifle hanging on the bulkhead in his cabin. It was functional now, and they reminded him that weapons of any kind were not allowed in the city at all, Rule Number 5 thank you. John chuckled, which annoyed the man slightly, and assured him that it was mostly a keepsake, and that they had no intention of causing trouble for anyone.

Once they were satisfied and left them two 'Visitor Tags' that both John and Vic were required to wear while in the city, Vic asked John, "Will we have to go through this every time?" She was annoyed with the delay, and wanted to get out there and see things!

John laughed at the enthusiasm and told her the facts of life regarding bureaucrats, "Pretty much Vic, most everywhere. People are always suspicious of new people they don't know yet, and they just want to make sure the new people don't pose any kind of threat to them or their home. That goes doubly so out here, where they don't have the luxury of a large organization like the Republic to protect them, they know they have to do it themselves."

Less than an hour later, John and Vic set out to see the sights, and maybe shop around a bit. They hired a cab at the space port, and enjoyed the scenery on their way into the city of Homestead. The planet of Home Plate was as different from Scion as you can get. While Scion was covered by a good percentage of deserts and 'scrub' vegetation, with sand and rocks all around, Home Plate boasted green, lush forests, broken by long tall mountain ranges, some of them being capped by snow. Vic, having never seen frozen water, let alone snow, was mesmerized by such a sight. Just the height of the mountains amazed her, but the snow on top made her giddy. All along the road were bushes and patches of flowers with more colors than a rainbow had; everything was so different than what she had grown up with. She saw some white furry animals with long ears that astounded her. John explained that they were rabbits imported from Earth, and sometimes were kept as pets. He had to tell her that it was a lot of work to keep pets, feeding them and cleaning up after them. He watched her indecision, but when she finally decided she would wait a while before tackling the responsibility, he gave her a relieved smile.

If the trip in was exciting for Vic, the city itself threatened to have her swooning. While Chandler had some tall buildings, government offices mostly, Homestead had huge skyscrapers reaching to the sky itself. Some were corporate buildings; some were occupied by many businesses sharing the upkeep that was required. And all the people roaming the streets! Vic had never seen so many all at once.

And then there was 'The Mall'. One of the shortest of the skyscrapers, it still had a respectable 50 floors in it. Rather than 'sprawling' out and wasting land, they built this mall vertically, each floor housing about ten stores. After watching Vic coming close to spraining her neck from trying to see everything outside, John figured she might need a break, so he suggested they shop for a while. Vic readily agreed to that idea. She didn't realize it, but all that swiveling of the head was making her eyes cross.
The information kiosk was really helpful in pointing out which floors would be of most interest to two strangers from another planet. Using her tablet, Vic noted down each store they wanted to visit, and what floors they were on. She put two stars next to the Atrium floor, once John explained what an Atrium was. And John put three stars next to an ice cream shop on the 27th floor. Vic looked a little puzzled at that, but John kept mum, waiting for the explosion of joy that he knew would come when Vic discovered ice cream. Scion didn't have any cows...

Shopping was not as enjoyable as they'd hoped, since everything was priced much higher than they were used to, and Republic money was discounted down in valuation. But Vic did insist on matching bracelets for both of them, gold plated. John wasn't much for jewelry, but he would never take his off either, Vic had picked them out carefully. On the rectangular medallion was an inscription, 'in saecula saeculorum', and neither of them knew what it meant. But it looked pretty anyway...

The highest point of the day was when they got to the ice cream shop. John sat her down at a table, and started them off with a simple little ice cream cone. One lick and Vic was in heaven. She wanted to gobble it up, but John told her that half the fun was licking it slowly, trying to keep it from running down onto your hand. He could see the pain in her eyes, but she dutifully obeyed, and found out that chasing the dribbles with your tongue was indeed fun. When she got all the way down to where the ice cream was inside the cone, John had to laugh when she started trying to lick it out. He showed her that she could eat the cone too, and that produced its own entertainment as she learned just how to get that accomplished.

Once the cones were gone, Vic looked disappointed, but John wasn't done with her 'treats' yet; he went back up and got two large ice cream sundaes, complete with whipped cream and the little cherry on top. If Vic had found Heaven in a simple ice cream cone, she found the very center in an ice cream sundae. Cherries she had tasted before, but like the ice cream itself she had never known whipped cream. She loved that too, but when she took a bite of both ice cream and chocolate on her spoon, she was gone again. Put all three on her spoon and the conflicting tastes had her running her tongue everywhere in her mouth to catch every last bit. John was smiling and laughing every bit as much as Vic did, this was the most pure fun he had ever had in his life. And when it was all gone, every last remnant scraped from the glass, both knew it had been a very good first day.
John and Vic made their way back to the ship, to Emma, before it got too dark out, hailing another cab in the process. Vic went right to the common room and began an excited jabbering on all the marvels she had seen, only to be told happily that Emma had been with them all along. There was a tiny camera on the com badges, and Emma had seen all the delights Vic had experienced, every minute of it.

It didn't stop Vic's enthusiasm at all, but did put a new perspective on the conversation. Vic asked Emma if she saw the matching bracelets they had gotten, and Emma told her she did, and asked if she would like to know what the inscriptions meant? Vic nodded her head yes.

Emma told them both that the inscription was in an old Earth language called Latin, and few if any people used it much anymore. Literally, it meant,

Always and Forever

Vic's eyes filled with tears and just said, "That's beautiful." That night she measured the remaining space above the remembrance wall, and the next day she and John made a special stop at a shop that could make a plaque "This wide and this long, with this inscription on it in script text and in English right below it", and she showed the clerk her bracelet. It was produced right on the spot, and that evening she attached it; right above the first one she made. The two sayings complimented each other perfectly, and the remembrance wall was complete.

They stayed two more days, just enjoying the trees and bushes, and of course the flowers. Vic loved the flowers, and smelled their different scents as long as she could. When they left on the fourth day, John presented her with a little terrarium, complete with instructions, a bag of 'dirt' and a small variety pack of seeds. The box said they were guaranteed to grow practically anywhere, just follow the instructions carefully. Vic did exactly that, and by the time they were halfway back to Scion, a half dozen plants and ferns had grown up almost four centimeters.
Vic never asked where John had gotten the terrarium; it wasn't really important, the gift was. Emma knew of course, she had seen the whole thing at what passed for a small department store in the 'Mall'. While Vic was preoccupied with other new and beautiful products, John had slowly moved over to where the terrariums sat, and quickly made the purchase. Vic hadn't even noticed the extra bag when they left. If she had a physical face, Emma would have smiled widely, she heartily approved. She did chuckle a few times, but never ever teased John about it.

On the way back to Scion they had followed a large freighter out to the departure point just past the eighth planet in the system. Emma got pretty chatty with the freighters AI, and John had a short talk with the other 'Captain', deciding to accompany each other back to Scion space. The freighter was stopping at Scion to top off his cargo holds with Garaad beans, and then make the long journey back to Earth to sell them at a healthy profit. The revelation put some important facts into perspective for John and Vic. Even though Scion seemed to be less exciting than Home Plate, the planet wasn't quite the backwater they had been thinking it was, and they weren't the hillbillies they had initially felt like. They could be proud of their home.
Chapter 9

Constable Emma

Fate is a strange creature. You can't see it, because it isn't a physical thing at all, but the results of its existence are often quite visible, thank you very much. Those results can be sad, uplifting, mundane, or occasionally downright surprising.

Fate doesn't just target organic life, like humans. An AI can be just as susceptible to its quirks as well. In this particular case, Fate decided one day that it wanted to 'toy' with a certain Star Ship named Scions Honor, formerly known as MA-197.

Things had been going remarkably well for Emma, John and Vic. They embarked on several more excursions to some of the twenty other planets with this sector of the Milky Way Galaxy. Most had been fun, and interesting in their own unique way, but two had been quite boring, being mostly mining colonies specializing in precious minerals and heavy metal production for big companies back on Earth. Their populations fluctuated, as contract workers constantly arrived, did their time working, and went back home or to other planets in the outer 'reaches'.

Ariel's apprentice, a delightful girl by the name of Nancy Grant, was actually outpacing Ariel's intense training curriculum, reading medical books and journals on her tablet every spare moment. Ariel joked one day that the girl never slept, which was close to fact, but Nancy seemed to thrive on the regimen she set for herself. It was all too obvious that Nancy would be a licensed Doctor one day, probably sooner than later. Vic and Nancy liked each other, and would jabber away at each other whenever they had a couple of hours together.

Emma would take short trips around the local system some times, just to 'exercise' she said, ships were built to fly after all. These were her 'quiet times' alone, giving her a chance to reflect on every little thing that would pop into her 'mind'; people in general, John and Vic specifically, the different planets political structures, anything at all. 'People' do that you know, even mechanical ones.
It so happened on one of those reflective jaunts, that three freighters arrived at the same time, having 'escorted' each other during their rounds of the other systems. It would be six or more hours before they made planet fall on Scion.

Emma was orbiting the fourth planet in the system, just 'looking around', when four small ships with no transponder codes transmitting entered the outer system from a slightly different direction. No active transponders got Emma's attention right away, but when the four ships spread out and started closing on the freighters, Emma knew they weren't on a sightseeing tour. She broke orbit and lit up her main engines, pushing them to maximum power quickly. She called to John and Vic, to let them know what was going on, and told them she was notifying the Chandler Government that 'the ugly side of humanity' had just reared its head in their system.

John was concerned about this turn of events; their peaceful existence was being disrupted for the very first time in many years. Vic was just distraught, having no real experience with 'bad people' at all. She did ask Emma to give her a constant description of what was going on though; she wasn't aware of it yet, but she was becoming angry as well as scared.

After about an hour the four mystery ships took up position around the freighters and announced their intentions, telling the freighters to decelerate and prepare to be boarded. Any failure to comply with their orders, and they would be fired upon. The freighters had little choice but to meekly follow the orders, and started slowing down. If their arrival annoyed Emma, that blatant threat made her downright mad. She broke into the frequency and stated, "Unidentified vessels, this is Patrol craft Scions Honor, cease and desist at once, or be destroyed."

Both John and Vic reacted with about the same expression on their face, at first utter amazement at the bold statement, and then wide grins at each other. What they didn't know at the time, was that the Government Offices and the Space Port were also listening to the encounter unfold. All of them apparently were wearing various shocked expressions as well. They didn't have any space force at all, but it looked like they had a 'volunteer' out there. If Emma could fend off an unprovoked attack on their commerce, their whole perspective on security was about to change drastically.
The one ship that had held back away from the others, probably the 'Command Ship', answered back in a rather arrogant fashion, claiming they could vaporize Emma's tiny little 'bug' with a single shot, and immediately turned toward Emma and accelerated, in an attempt to scare her off. He had no idea what he was up against, but was about to find out that a life of crime was not in his best interest. When the ship closed to less than 50,000 kilometers, and saw that Emma wasn't backing down at all, the fool's arrogance took over completely, and he fired a fairly high powered particle beam at her. Emma's RTS nonchalantly bounced it right back at him. He had barely two seconds to be startled, before he literally killed himself and his ship with his own weapon.

To say it had a profound effect on the three other raiders, would be a gross understatement. All three decided rather fast that they wanted no part of this area of space at all, turned around abruptly and strained their engines leaving Scions space for good. Two of the three obviously damaged their engines as they left, for Emma recorded two bright flashes as one engine on each ship exploded on their way out system.

After inspecting the expanding debris field for any clues on where these raiders had originated, Emma returned to where the freighters were accelerating back on their approach course for Scion. The 'airwaves' were flooded with many questions, and outright relief from the freighters, and personal thanks from all three Captains. The space port added their own versions of thanks as well, but the Government was a bit more 'official' in their response, asking for a meeting tomorrow, to discuss these new developments. It didn't suggest anything ominous, but everyone pretty much knew that some serious planning was in their immediate futures.

The excitement was palpable in the ships common room that evening. Vic and Emma jabbered away constantly, reliving the encounter in detail. John just sat back and listened to the two women, a thoughtful look on his face. He was thinking about how peace in this outer fringe of society was now threatened, and how the threat was exactly the same as what had plagued the entire human race for a thousand years and longer even. Would greed and conflict never go away entirely? Probably not, but he knew that he would protect his 'family' no matter what was thrown at him. Vic had become the most important person in his life, and no one would ever hurt her while he lived. Emma was just as important to him; and Ariel too. Even Boris was; who still ventured out to the old shack, bringing tasty treats to his friends, and sitting for hours with them, talking over any subject that popped up. These were his people, his very life now, and he would protect them all. He knew instinctively that Emma felt just the same way; he had heard it in her voice as she delivered her play by play description of the 'Battle at Scion'.
He was positive that Ariel felt it; she was a Marine just as he was. As he thought further, he was certain that Boris was a man of honor too. Perhaps not in exactly the same 'way' as a Marine felt it, but just as intensely none the less... John's appreciation of life itself had just increased by a substantial measure...Ariel had stopped by, and the three women started all over again, jabbering away as only women know how to do.

They all talked long into the, and finally John and Vic found themselves yawning frequently. For the first time in quite a while, Vic insisted on sleeping with John, tucked up close beside him. She was feeling the little girl insecurity again, and needed to know she was safe. John understood. Everyone needs that feeling of security, don't they? Even an old tired Marine, who never really thought about it before.

They went into the city the next morning, John and Vic doing the walking and Emma joining them via their com badges. They were expecting the city's Board of Directors, a group of seven individuals tasked with the everyday running of the city of Chandler and surrounding towns.

What they got was the entire planet's Council, all one hundred and two of them. Only about thirty had any real need to be there in connection with their office's relationship to planet security in general, but everyone wanted a look at the people who had 'volunteered' to provide Scion some measure of security against attacks from elsewhere. When several of the Council asked which one had piloted the ship; things got a little confusing for a while. John just simply said, "Oh. Emma took care of that, she is very good at flying." The head of the Council, or 'Mayor' if you wish, looked at Vic, and asked, "Emma, aren't you a bit young to be piloting a Star Ship?"

Vic couldn't hold it back, and she giggled out loudly, "Oh no, I'm not Emma, Emma is our ship. Or at least she's the AI that runs the ship. She's the one who took care of that raider."

That caused every member present to try and speak at once, and both John and Vic had a tough time not laughing at all the incredulous looks going around the chamber. It was understandable really. Of the hundred and two a majority had been born on Scion, and the ones who had migrated from Earth had been away for a very long time...
While all of them knew what an AI was, they thought of them as 'glorified computers', able to follow programming and make complex calculations; and maybe make some basic logical deductions to an extent, but that was all.

So John had to give a short lecture on the advancements in AI development that had made AIs free thinking individuals, capable of making their own choices and decisions, independently of human intervention. And he told them that Emma was the best of the very best that had ever been created, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Emma is a person with wants and desires, just like you and I. She also has feelings, so unless you want an unhappy lady on your hands, I would suggest that you all start thinking of her as a valuable 'citizen' of Scion, and not just some kind of 'property' you can order at will. Emma protected those three freighters because she was angry that some unscrupulous people were threatening 'her home territory', 'her' area of space that she calls Home. Vic and I already know that Emma is our friend, and she can be your friend too, but if you want her cooperation you will have to ask 'her' for that cooperation."

Emma actually giggled then, and quite a few heard it too. You could see the surprise in all their faces. John had to explain that Emma was right there, aware of everything that was said, and she could converse with any of them through the com badges if they wished, and he smiled at all of them to let them know there was no subterfuge involved. As far as she was concerned, she had been invited to attend this meeting, which technically she had.

One intrepid member took up the challenge, the woman sitting two chairs to the right of the 'Mayor' spoke up, "Emma, I'm curious. Would you tell us a little about your weapons please?"

Emma knew who the woman was immediately of course 'Secretary of the Interior'; Emma could access the Governments Public files in a microsecond, "No, I will not Madam Secretary, my defensive capabilities are not for public, or private consumption. The mere knowledge would compromise my ability to protect the people of Scion, and the visitors we receive as friends."
See why John loved his Emma? While spelling out, in plain language, exactly why such information could be dangerous, Emma had also showed the woman the respect her Office deserved. Emma might not be diplomatic, but she certainly could be polite about it. The response startled the poor woman; not because of the answer, but because Emma had chosen the public address speaker right behind her to answer. It being a wireless system, she could 'tap in', since all wireless is transmitted through the air itself, and all she had to do was locate the specific frequency in use by the system. Wi-Fi can have many more benefits than what it was invented for...

Despite the initial disbelief that AIs could be 'people' too, the Council began to understand that Emma was a for real, card carrying, 'living' individual who really did hold their safety as her first priority. She made her case for the establishment of a Planetary Defense Force, comprised of volunteers who strongly believed in their neighbor's wellbeing. While Scion was built around an agricultural economy, there were actually a fair number of retired military people living there, with experience in many disciplines. 'Retired' is a relative concept, and doesn't always mean 'old'. Quite a few of those individuals were merely in their 'middle years'. The call would go out, to see if they wanted to 'help'...

The discussions went on and on. There would be costs that must be considered, weapons of any kind were not cheap, and ships to house those weapons were astronomically expensive. It would be a slow process indeed, to develop an effective planetary defense infrastructure. It didn't have to be large, however, nor even 'powerful'. They weren't looking to attack others after all, but merely let those 'others' know that 'playing nasty' had consequences.

Strangely enough, the biggest 'help' came from the raiders themselves. Over the years the more 'unethical' members of the Outer Reaches society of inhabited planets had banded together into something of a 'loose' organization, criminally inclined certainly, but not actually bent on conquest to any great extent. Four of their ship Captains now had firsthand experience with a mysterious ship that bounced their own weapons back at them. One of those Captains was quite dead now as a result, along with his entire ship. The word spread that this ship was to be avoided if you wanted to stay alive very long.
Since the ship hailed from the Scion system, it turned out that it was a very long time before any raider was stupid enough to tempt fate in that area. That little detail let Scion develop their defenses much more slowly. There wasn't really a need to rush...

As a result of this new interest in defense, another curious thing happened. For the first time in many years, the 'Junk Yard' became a popular attraction. People with any mechanical or technical ability at all began inspecting every ship out there, determining if any could be put into service again. Among the few that passed the tough requirements was a certain very old ship that had met with a sad end. Vic was very happy that her parent's ship was considered 'usable'. It might have been near 100 years old, but the hull was strongly built. When her engines had been changed out with newer more efficient ones, and the controls were all upgraded, two years later 'Scions Angel' launched into local space for a test flight, and Vic 'hitched a ride'; with John and Emma's approval of course. Even though she had no conscious memory of the old ship, it was something of a 'homecoming' moment for her.

The pilot, a long retired Navy Commander, told Vic that the ship flew quite well actually, and he might just put in a bid for permanent command of the ship. Technically, Vic was the owner of the old ship, because she was the sole survivor of the original 'crew' and the company had literally abandoned any claim; but she didn't make a claim. As she watched the old Navy Commander put the ship through her paces, Vic saw a gleam in his eye that she knew all too well now, John had that same gleam whenever he and Emma talked together, or during their jaunts to new places. This man, Zebediah Crenshaw, was in love...
Chapter 10

Eric

Vic had grown up; she was just about 18 now, by Emma's calculations. They had never found out exactly when she was born, but from the photos of her as a baby, Emma had estimated she was between six and seven months old when she arrived on Scion. Always a small girl, Vic was barely 132 centimeters tall when John found her huddled at his door. She had grown, but still only reached 152 centimeters by age 18. It didn't bother her, and just as Ariel had predicted, Vic had developed an adventurous streak. She now often took walks, long walks in every direction, but her favorite trip always took her to Boris and his Bakeshop. She would do it at least once a week, often more.

Today was a nice warm day for a 'Boris Visit' as she called them, so off she went. John was up with Emma, planning their next family flight to some new place, so she just called out her intentions when she walked out of the shack, and got the necessary acknowledgment through the open hatch.

After about a half kilometer Vic spied her 'shadow'; a young man who had started watching her over a month ago. At first she was a little suspicious, but after watching him out of the corner of her eye for a while, Vic figured he was essentially harmless, or just shy. The boy never came within thirty meters of her; just pacing Vic's every movement. Twice she had called out to him, actually inviting him to walk with her, but he would disappear each time for a couple minutes, before she would catch sight of him again. Yes, this boy was seriously shy! She wasn't quite aware of it, but his actions endeared him to her, and she started figuring out ways to coax him closer, but the young man was very quick, and eluded her each time she tried. The one time she got a good look at his face, she saw a soft innocent face that reminded her of John when he was concerned for her. And boy was he big! The boy had to be almost as tall as John was, and sported muscles that rivaled Boris himself.

Vic's shadow had somewhat ragged clothes on, but had what looked like sturdy boots on. His looks shouted 'survivor' to her, and she was determined to somehow meet him. That 'somehow' happened a half 'klick' farther on her journey...
As she turned the corner, Vic walked right into a tall boy. She said "I'm sorry", and moved to let him by, but he moved with her and blocked her. He was wearing fine clothes that screamed 'privileged' to her. "What have we here, you should watch where you go pretty girl", the boy said to Vic. He looked over his shoulder to three other boys right behind him, with a nasty grin that Vic didn't like at all. His smile wasn't for her, but for himself and his 'buddies'. "Little girl, I think you need a lesson on how to act in the presence of your betters, you owe us some respect", and he grabbed her arms, turning her around and pushing her toward the back of the old dilapidated shack; the other three tagging along with their own ugly smiles.

Vic barely had a chance to struggle, still making a transition from polite apology, to shocked surprise at being handled like this. People simply didn't act like this!

They got her behind the small building, and the boy threw Vic to the ground and straddled her, as two of the others pinned her arms. The two boys held her arms out, and the one straddling her started trying to rip her blouse off...

And suddenly the boy disappeared; one moment he was right in Vic's face, and the next he was flying toward a big rock three meters away, landing with a dull thud against said rock, and crying out in pain.

The 'shy giant' of a boy was standing right above Vic, blocking out the light, and looking at the two boys holding Vic. There was no gentle smile in his eyes, as he picked up both of the shocked boys, and actually 'clapped' them together...twice. Vic heard his voice for the first time, as he growled at the two, "You don't hurt good people, not ever!!!", and he shoved them both hard, over toward their 'leader', who was lying against the rock, holding his arm and whimpering some. As Vic gathered her emotions together, pushing her stunned shock away, she started to get up from the dust, and saw the fourth boy coming at her savior, a short piece of pipe in his hand. Apparently this one wasn't paying attention to what just happened to his three buddies, or he was just plain stupid, for he was attacking the blond giant, "Watch out", she shouted, and the boy turned as the pipe caught him a glancing blow just above his right eye.
Vic's savior quickly reached out and grabbed the offending pipe, ripping it out of the attackers grasp easily, throwing it casually to the side. That had an immediate effect on the last boy, for he suddenly lost interest in retaliation, and ran over to his friends. All of them looked back at Vic and the giant, just standing there daring them to try something else, and thought better of it. They got up hastily, and made a not so orderly retreat behind the buildings; their 'leader' cradling an obviously broken arm all the way back to wherever they had come from.

Vic got her very first close up look at her shadow, and saw the trickle of blood running into his eye, "You're hurt, come over here for a minute", and took his hand in hers. He tensed slightly at the touch, but didn't pull away, looking down at Vic with that same gentle concerned look on his face. She sat him down on an old crate next to the shack, ripped off a piece from the hem of her blouse and daubed gently at the blood, cleaning it as best she could, then pressed it over the cut until blood stopped flowing. Vic told him, "Come with me, Ariel should tend to that cut properly."

As a flash of apprehension crossed his face, Vic gave him her best ever 'motherly smile', wagging her finger at his face, "Don't make me drag you there now!" That got her a tiny smile in return; he knew the absurdity of her statement. In a soft voice that sounded completely different than the menacing growl to the four boys, he simply said, "Yes Ma'am." And off they went, hand in hand.

Vic never did get to the bake shop that day...

When Ariel opened the door to her shack, she wasn't prepared for the sight in front of her eyes. There stood Vic with a young version of John standing next to her. The boy didn't look anything like John of course, but the impression stuck in her mind anyway. Ariel, always the caring medic, saw immediately the wound over the boys eye too, "Come in, I'll take care of that scratch for you." The boy got that apprehensive look on his face again, and there was a moment of gentle 'motherly' encouragement again before the boy moved slowly into Ariel's home, Vic gently holding his hand in reinforcement.

After cleaning the boys wound properly, and putting a little bit of disinfectant cream on it, Ariel placed a butterfly stitch on it to keep it closed, Ariel couldn't help but notice the look that Vic gave the boy. It wasn't just a motherly look either.
Both Ariel and Vic talked to the boy in gentle tones, trying to get him talking to them, to open up a little. He was uncomfortable at first, completely unfamiliar with being treated 'nice', but finally relaxed a little. His name was Eric; Eric Hanson. He was born right here on Scion, in the 'low rent' district. He didn't know much about his own history, but his 'Father' had been a large man himself, and had managed to provide for his family fairly well in an area where outright 'jobs' were scarce, yet everyone pretty much helped each other out. That is, until he was killed one year by a building that literally fell on him while he was helping another family set up a home of their own.

His mother had been somewhat frail in stature, but was always the strong loving mother around Eric. They slowly got over the hurt from losing a caring husband and father, and made do with their situation surprisingly well, until Eric was about seven. An older boy liked to bully other kids, and one day had thrown a rock at Eric. It caught him in the back of the head, and it was four days later before he woke up. His mother had tended Eric herself, not having any money to take him to the hospital. The rock had done its damage, giving him a concussion. His 'Momma' didn't know about concussions, but she was 'lucky' enough with her son's care that Fate showered her with a little kindness, and let the boy live. The pressure inside Eric's head did cause a tiny bit of permanent damage however; he was always a little slower to grasp ideas and concepts after that. As his brain healed, it performed that magic trick that still confounds doctors and scientists to this day. No one knows how the human brain actually does it, but Eric's brain rerouted the neural pathways around the damage, and he was able to learn things again, even if a little more slowly.

Then his whole world was destroyed in one night, when his mother didn't wake up one morning...he was eight.

Eric adopted the life of a wanderer after the shock of his mother's death faded enough for him to attempt the struggle with reality. He was a waif now, even if he was a large waif. He slowly learned how to exist in his quest to survive in the outer edge of Chandler. He always stayed away from other children because they invariably ended up calling him 'stupid', and he grew up a 'loner', surviving as best he could, but always alone. You would think that life would sour Eric, but apparently the opposite happened.
Eric didn't know why, but he liked people, even if there were some who didn't treat him 'nice'. He was strong as an ox, but gentle in his character. He grew up watching people constantly, from the outside looking in, wondering what it was like. He was shy, but always helped out other people when they needed help. And that is how he survived...

When Eric finished his abbreviated story of the life he led, Vic and Ariel looked at each other for a moment. They both saw the same thing, and it didn't need a lot of conversation. Vic touched Eric on his arm, but didn't get a startled jerk this time, "Come on Eric, I want you to meet my Father." If Eric had been apprehensive at being close to Vic and Ariel, simply being unsure of himself, he was absolutely terrified of meeting the 'Big Man'. He had seen all of Vic and John's interactions outside their shack. He knew what a loving family looked like, and while he wasn't consciously aware of it, Eric had developed an absolute respect for John Tabor. He was frightened that he would offend the 'Big Man' for getting close to his daughter.

It frustrated Vic to see Eric's terror, but Ariel knew what to do, "Eric, I have known Vic's Father for a long time now, and you need not worry. I am certain that John will like you", and she put her own hand on Eric's arm to reassure the boy. The indecision in Eric's eyes lasted for a minute, before he resigned himself to inevitability; neither Vic nor Ariel were going to let him run away now! He looked down, and said, "Ok" in his soft voice...

John was having a wonderful time with Emma, sitting in his usual spot in the Command chair, debating the political make up of their latest destination, the planet Halley, populated almost entirely by scientists of every discipline there was. It's funny how that always works, people who think alike invariably congregate together...

Vic and Ariel had 'stashed' Eric at the table in the shack, sitting in a chair, fidgeting quite a bit. While Vic sat beside Eric to keep him from bolting out the door, Ariel went out to Emma and called John, "Master Sergeant, come inside. Vic and I have someone we want you to meet."

John got a perplexed look on his face. Ariel seldom if ever called him Master Sergeant anymore, was she toying with him again? But he got up and made the little trip out to where Ariel was waiting. Taking his arm, she walked him through the front door, "John Tabor, we'd like to introduce you to Eric Hanson..."
John's mouth dropped open and he stared...not because of the big hulking boy in front of him, but because that big hulking boy stood abruptly in an almost perfect approximation of a Marine at attention. The boy's eyes were wide indeed, and his face was petrified in fear. After dealing with his own shock for a moment, John simply smiled warmly at the young man, walking to him and trying to shake the boy's hand. The boy wouldn't move, so John tried a little levity on the statue in front of him, "At ease son, we are all friends here. I'm happy to meet you.", and gave him a wider smile to prove it.

Slowly John's smile seemed to thaw the frozen young man. Eric's muscles relaxed, and tentatively he reached out his own hand and shook Johns. Just as slowly, a tiny smile materialized on Eric's face, and he managed a soft "Thank you Sir..." Vic had to coax both of the big men to sit down and relax, with Ariel simply grinning from ear to ear all the way through the spectacle...

Vic and Ariel told John about the attack on Vic, and how Eric had come out of nowhere to protect her. John bristled at hearing that, and began pacing the room; a father's anger plain on his face. That demonstration scared Eric, until Vic, Ariel and John had to team up on the poor young man, reassuring him that he was the hero here. Then they told John about Eric's history, his life around the settlement. Eric sat with his head down to his chest, embarrassed and self conscious all through it. John saw the insecurity in Eric's eyes, they all did. But more importantly, he saw the look in Vic's eyes. It was not just compassion, when John saw Vic looking at Eric, there was something else in those eyes, longing and perhaps a touch of adoration. When Vic would glance at John, she had a look that he knew all too well; she gave him the 'pleading eyes' look whenever she wanted something badly, it was her favorite trick to wrap him around her little finger, and it always worked too!

This time however, it was more than just important, this would be a life changing event for all of them. Compassion wasn't just the driving force here, a practical reality set in. John was getting older each year, and while Vic could certainly take care of herself; having proved that all her life, she still needed someone who would protect her emotionally as well as physically, if something happened to John himself. Eric had proven his devotion to Vic's safety in a dramatic way today, and John found himself wanting to cultivate that. Vic already looked at Eric with adoring eyes, something special was brewing in that department, and so John told Eric that they would like him to come live with them out here.
Eric's head jerked up straight, and if it wasn't attached his jaw would have fallen to the floor. His eyes grew wide; no one had ever asked him to live in their home. His 'home' had been under a tilted slab of concrete for so long, he really couldn't remember much else, just vague glimpses in his dreams of a family he once had. But he saw that these people were more than just nice, they were 'good' people. He managed to stammer a "Yes Sir, I would like that a lot'. Both John and Ariel smiled warmly at the big guy, but Vic lit up like the sun itself. She hugged Eric, which got him trembling, and set him off yet again. John thought, <This young man has a serious deficiency in the self confidence department; much like a certain little girl I know. We will have to work on that!>

John decided on his own that Eric would sleep on his bed in the shack, since he himself could sleep very well in his cabin on Emma. You would think that John had just presented Eric with all the treasures in the Universe, but he didn't withdraw into himself at least. Little steps, one at a time...

After a while John went back out to Emma, and resumed the debate that had been interrupted. That didn't last long, as Emma had heard the whole introductory episode through the com badges. Their discussion detoured into how to integrate their newest member of the family into the fold. There was so much to consider, since it would be Vic's history repeating itself all over again. Unlike Vic, Eric had no formal education at all though, so that would be an interesting challenge for Jerry and Norman when they were approached with it.

Vic and Ariel talked with Eric long into the night, about anything and everything, just trying to loosen the big gentle guy up a bit. Somewhere just past 'mid-moon' he started smiling a bit more, and actually laughed once. It would be a long road toward feeling comfortable, but it was a start.

Ariel left at midnight, and Eric tried out his 'new' bed, once Vic wagged her finger at him again. She lay in her own bed, watching Eric slowly drop off to a sound sleep, and pondered these new feelings within her. Finally 'tired' won out, and she drifted off to a happy sleep herself. It had been a very long day. She never did see Boris...

***
Vic woke up and glanced over at Eric; or where Eric should have been. She sat up with a start, looking all over the shack, but no 'big guy' with long blonde hair. She barely got her shoes on before she bolted out the door, looking in all directions over and over. She looked behind the shack, out into the junk yard, and behind all the other shacks in the vicinity. No Eric in sight. Frightened beyond words, Vic had the horrible feeling that he had balked at the new found home. Did he somehow feel he wasn't 'good enough' for such happiness?

Fear grew into frantic quickly, and Vic started running down the road toward the settlement at full speed, she just had to find Eric...and practically ran him over when she met him jogging back toward their shack. Vic leapt up and wrapped her arms around his neck, which naturally startled Eric, making him drop the small box he had tucked under his arm. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew Vic was crying; he could feel that on his shoulder. He reached behind her and hugged back reflexively, and that made Vic hug him even tighter. Eric was confused...

Finally Vic eased her grip on Eric, and he set her down gently on the ground. He was worried about her, but he wasn't quite ready for the tongue lashing that came next, "Eric Hanson, don't you ever do that to me again! You don't ever go off without telling me where you're going; it just isn't right to scare people who care about you! We always let each other know what our intentions are, that's how families live!"

Eric's eyes had gone wide at the outburst, but when she obliquely mentioned family, one of his self doubts evaporated right there. It sank into him then, he was included; he was wanted, he 'belonged'. Eric gave Vic a sheepish smile, and promised to never make her worry again, "I'm sorry Vic, but I just had to go back and get my stuff." He picked up the box, and they walked back to the shack; 'their home'.

Vic, being the curious woman she was, asked Eric to show her his 'stuff'; and with some embarrassment, he did. Eric's bag had another ratty change of clothes; that was all. But in the small box were all the remnants of a life he barely remembered. He carefully laid out his life on the table. There was one ancient, old style 'car' with actual wheels on it, a child's toy. Then there were four small figures; all were chipped, and two were broken, but Eric laid out the broken pieces next to each figure. Three of the figures were of a man and a woman, the third being a small boy. These were his only physical link to family, and Vic could feel the tears trying to get out.
The fourth figure was a really beautiful Angel. No, not just beautiful, but exquisitely detailed to the point it looked alive. One of the wings had broken off, and the 'mother' figurine had a broken arm, but Eric had managed to hold on to the pieces all these years. Vic knew how to make that right, she was an 'expert fixer' after all, but when Eric pulled out a stack of old faded photos, Vic saw the boy's early life in clear detail. Then the tears did come spilling out. There were an even dozen of the pictures, of Eric and his Mother and Father. Some were single photos, and the rest were of all three at places they went. Vic looked at every one of them carefully, but one of Eric's Father got her attention. In the photo was a medium sized frame, with not a photo, but a certificate in it. The lettering was tiny, but she could make out the words 'Honorable Discharge' on it. Eric's Father had been military.

As she squinted to try making out more of the certificate, Vic spotted the emblem under the big lettering. She could barely make it out, but it was a familiar shape, and she had seen it before. She opened John's footlocker to make sure. She unrolled the worn certificate, and yes it was the same, just a much larger Marine Corps Emblem staring back at her. Eric's Father wasn't just any member of the military; he had been a Marine...

Oddly enough, Ariel chose that moment to show up. She was heading out on her rounds early today, simply because Nancy had come down with a touch of the flu and she was Ariel's first stop. Vic showed her Eric's pictures, and pointed out the one of the certificate, and John's certificate too. Ariel confirmed it, she even had one squirreled away somewhere. Vic and Ariel looked at each other and just nodded agreement. Then they took Eric out to Emma...

"Emma; family meeting in the Common Room please?" John came out of the bridge, looking confused. Eric however, was looking not only confused but amazed as well, this was his first time in any Star Ship and his head swiveled constantly, taking in all the shiny new visions dancing in front of his eyes. He had little idea what 'Family Meeting' meant, but he was definitely included in this.

Vic and Ariel explained to both John and Eric why they were there, and showed John the photo that had the certificate on it. John didn't take five seconds before he smiled, "Yes indeed, it is perfect."
It took twenty minutes to explain to Eric what the remembrance wall was, and what it meant to them. Eric had seen it when they first entered the Common Room anyway; he stared at it constantly, having never seen so many pictures. He had no knowledge of The Marine Corps, but he had an instinctive understanding of honor, to always do what your heart knew was right. That was a Universal concept for everyone, not just military.

Vic asked Eric if they could add his photos to the wall, and the other two smiled at him. Eric was overwhelmed by this really; he never dreamed that his memento pictures would be important to anyone else. But he had studied the two plaques above the photos carefully. The Latin was a mystery to him, but the English words he could read. It just took the explanation to make the words come together for him. These weren't just a collection of pretty pictures, it was the people 'in' the pictures that mattered, including him; and always would. He understood now...

When Eric agreed they had a little ceremony putting up all Eric's pictures; all but one. Vic surreptitiously held back the very best one of Eric's Mother and Father standing together, an arm around each other, and put it in her pocket. While John presented Eric with his very own cabin on the ship, Vic slipped it to Ariel, asking her to find a frame for the photo while she was on her rounds. Ariel just hugged Vic fiercely, a huge grin on her face...she knew what was happening here; even if Vic wasn't really aware of it yet.

Ariel came back just at dusk, and showed Vic what she had found. The frame she chose was gold filigree, ornate but not too ornate. The photo fit perfectly. She went into the ship and found Eric where she knew she would, sitting in the Common Room gazing at all the photos, particularly the newest additions. Vic dragged him out of his seat, giving him a mischievous smile as she did, and took him to 'his' cabin. Inside she pulled out the framed picture and told him, "Eric, the remembrance wall is for everyone, it's so that people can think about the world around them and the people missing from it. But this picture is private, for you only, so you can always have your parents with you. It belongs in here with you." Eric definitely understood that, and a single tear ran down his cheek. They attached the frame right above his pillow on the bed, so he would always see it when he walked into his cabin.

Then she took Eric back to their shack, and showed him how she would fix his little figurines. Vic dove in with a vengeance, using all her talent to restore the delicate mementos. When she finished late that night the three figures that represented him and his parents looked brand new. But the Angel was extra special to him, he said. It represented Security...and 'Hope'...
Chapter 11

New Day New Life

The Constables came the next morning. The four privileged bullies had filed a complaint against Eric, and the Constables were here to 'collect' him to take him before the Magistrate for a hearing. Eric being his meek self, stood to be led away, while Vic fumed and told the Constables this was ridiculous, she was there and had in fact been the 'victim' of the four boy's attack. That got raised eyebrows from both the Constables. The complaint had conveniently omitted an attack on a young pretty girl. Still, they were required to bring Eric in, but Vic would certainly want to come along to tell the Magistrate her story.

Even though it was a massive annoyance, they moved toward the door, and all would have been calm and orderly...except that one Constable thought that Eric with his bulk and muscles plainly visible; might be a threat. He pulled out handcuffs, which Vic saw, and the Constable suddenly found himself with a short, lightweight, and very angry girl climbing all over him, pounding on his chest, "Don't you dare do that to Eric! He's a victim too; see that wound over his eye? One of those boys hit him with a pipe!"

Both Constables were certainly stunned by this dramatic turn of events. Here they thought Eric might be the dangerous one, and the littlest person in the room was wreaking havoc with their simple arrest. It would get worse for the hapless Constables though; in ran John...

In his loud gravelly voice, John demanded to know what was going on here in his home. The Constables tried desperately to explain for ten minutes, but Vic kept butting in with her own version, all while Eric hung his head and just looked quietly unhappy with the whole thing.

Finally John held up a hand, calling for silence from everyone, including Vic; and he made one of those Solomon's Decisions...
"Look Constable, I understand your dilemma, you have to take Eric to the Magistrate to tell his side of the story, but you do not need to put him in handcuffs, I can vouch for his conduct. We will all go into the city, and straighten this out. This posed its own little problems. The Constables had arrived in their vehicle, a small hover car. They might all fit in there if they didn't breathe too heavily, but the poor hover car would be straining a bit. So they tried it, and it worked...sort of. By the time they cruised up in front of the Magistrate's Office, everyone knew that the hapless car would need some maintenance; they had scraped the ground more than a few times.

If the Magistrate was surprised to see two more people walk into his 'court' than he was expecting, the four boys were devastated to see Vic walk in. They knew they were sunk, but they didn't find out just how badly for a few more minutes.

Vic told exactly what happened, including the ugly details of being thrown to the ground and the leader trying to rip her blouse off, "One of them even tried to cave in Eric's skull with a pipe! See that wound over his eye? Those boys are the reason for it!"

When she was done, and John calmed her down a bit, the Magistrate asked her one question, "Victoria, do you wish to press charges against these boys? Assault and battery carries at least a month in the jail, perhaps more." Vic looked daggers at the four boys for a minute, gauging how angry she really was about the episode. Finally she looked down and said, "No Your Honor, I think they already understand that lying isn't right at all."

The Magistrate looked hard at her, and nodded his head, "Well said young lady, well said...Eric Hanson, do you wish to press charges?" Poor Eric practically jumped out of his clothes, No one ever asked him anything, let alone a Magistrate, he mumbled; "No Sir, I think Honor is important, and I don't think it is learned in jail."

Even the Magistrate was a bit surprised at Eric's words, "Young man, you are wiser than than I expected from your young age, and certainly far wiser than those four are. Alright, case dismissed. The Constables are to escort you home safely. Have a good life you two.", and he got up and left.
The same two Constables did in fact 'escort' them home. The poor old hover car was toast now, but an appropriate vehicle was just down the street a few meters.

They all found out just how luxurious the Mayor's Limo was...and when the Mayor found out about the incident in detail, he promoted the two Constables too, for being precise and correct in their interpretation of the orders. The poor hover car even made out on the deal, as it received a brand new colorful paint job, 'and' a more powerful field generator in the end...

Eric was despondent when they settled in back at home; he didn't want to be trouble for anyone, and most especially not for John and Vic. John saw it easily, he knew the look well; but he was a touch surprised when Vic not only noticed it, but did something about it right away.

Vic took Eric's hand in hers and said, "Eric, come with me please?" Eric would never deny Vic anything, so he followed even though he felt miserable. Vic led him outside and straight into Emma, stopping at her cabin door, "I want to show you something very special to me Eric", and she opened the door to show him her own life...

She showed him all the baby toys, things he either never had, or simply could not remember. She told him to pick them up, and he did, holding each one reverently. Then she showed him the old faded picture in a simple frame, "Eric, John picked this one for my cabin, because it was the first clue to who I was. He made sure I kept it close to me here, to remind me that even though I can't really remember them at all, they 'did' exist. It helps me sometimes when I feel sad, to remember that it is what family is all about, that even if you can't remember them clearly, they are still with you always. Look at my teddy bear, can you read the words on his shirt?"

Eric squinted, and read, "It says Always and Forever."

Vic saw the awakening, "Yes it does Eric, and that is what family is, always and forever. You had a family, and you can remember that. It is why the photo in your cabin is clear and bright. You don't need a reminder that they existed, because you lived 'with them'. They were taken away, but they are still with you now, watching over you. And now you have us, another family who cares for you and about you. Family stays together, we help each other, and fight for each other when it is necessary. Family is never a bother, never a trouble. Do you understand Eric?"
Eric stared at her photo, and then at Teddy on her pillow for a while. Slowly a small smile surfaced, and he looked back at Vic with brighter eyes, "Yes I think I do understand." Eric took her hand gently, picked it up, and lightly kissed the back of it. Vic felt a sudden flush, and wrapped her arms around Eric's neck. Slowly so as not to startle him she drew close and kissed him full on the lips. Eric blushed bright red, but smiled widely.

They walked back to the shack, hand in hand. Vic wouldn't realize it for a while yet, but she fell in love with Eric that night.

John and Emma were listening in from the bridge with the door closed. Vic hadn't thought to check to see if John was even there. He felt a little guilty for listening in to her private conversation, but Emma softly chuckled. "Don't you worry John, we won't do that again. But our Vic is a woman now, enjoy it!"

Eric's education started soon thereafter. At first he was almost afraid to attend formal 'schooling'; he didn't want to disappoint his family when they saw how slow he was sometimes. It took another 'wag the finger' session with Vic to make him realize that he was not stupid, like he had been told while he was alone, "Eric Hanson, don't you ever think you're stupid, because you aren't! It might take you a couple of tries, but once you learn things, you never forget them. I've seen it. You are intelligent, there is no 'if, and, or but' about that, so you stop putting yourself down, you understand me?"

Eric had learned by now that when Vic did that, she was saying he was being 'silly', so he just smiled his sheepish grin, and told her he would be good. And then he kissed her on the lips, which broke up her own annoyance with him, and they both laughed together.

***
Having absolutely no education at all, other than what he learned from observing others on the street, it was a slight struggle for Eric at first. He already knew how to count, and to read words, his mother had showed him how very early in life. Some longer words he had to puzzle out, but that was more a search for the meanings than not being able to pronounce them. Whenever he had an opportunity, Eric read things voraciously, anything he could find. Labels on crates stumped him for a while, until he learned about abbreviations, then they made sense to him. Another was fiction, which confused him until he realized on his own that fiction was like dreaming in a way. It wasn't real; it was to make people feel good about themselves; the 'good' dreams anyway.

Eric had never been close to a tablet either, there being expensive usually. Since almost everything of import was now on the internet, and by default on tablets, Eric had a very limited understanding of the world around him as a result. So that became lesson number one, once Vic sneaked out one day, and bought him the very newest and best tablet she could find, while Eric was preoccupied with his self defense training that John made him attend. Eric knew how to fight, but anyone with formal training could easily put Eric on the short end of the stick. Once John told him that it was to protect Vic, Eric always showed up eager to fight some more.

When Vic presented the tablet to Eric, there was joy and sadness in equal measure. Eric was ecstatic with the gift, but he hadn't gotten her anything in return. Eric had a skewed understanding of what a 'gift' meant. Vic set him straight, or thought she did, "Eric my love, gifts are not like you doing something for someone, and expecting something else in return. Gifts are expressions of love, someone letting you know they love you, or at the very least you are important to them. Every time you smile at me, it is a gift, and I cherish every one. So in a way, you're being silly again, stop that, Ok?"

It seemed to work, quelling his anxiety for a while...or it looked like it anyway, until John found Eric sitting on the steps to Emma, carefully carving a duplicate to his precious Angel that Vic had restored for him. It was a piece of wood, but a very carefully selected one. Eric was carving the Angel with the care of a brain surgeon, with an old folding knife he had for years, the blade only a stub now. John sat with him and asked what he was doing. He looked at John, and said, "It's for Vic; I don't have any money to get her one otherwise."
John gently took the little figure from Eric and inspected it closely, noting the fine detail all around the pretty carving. There was an artist sitting next to him, and a very good one at that, "Eric, two things. First off the money jar is for all of us when we think of something we need, or want to give as a gift, remember that because you are part of this Family. The other thing is that the most precious gift of all has nothing to do with money. The very best gift you can give ever, is the one that has a piece of your heart in it, like this figure does. Trust me on this Eric; this little figurine will make Vic happier than the most expensive thing you could find anywhere, because it came from deep inside you."

Eric nodded, and went right back to finishing the details on the gift. He found out three days later exactly what John meant when he presented the little figurine to Vic with everyone watching. She looked astounded, turning it over and over in her hand. Then the tears poured out form Vic's eyes and she jumped right up onto Eric, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Both of them were quite wet when she finally released him ten minutes later. Ariel and John just smiled widely all the way through it. Emma could be heard through the com badge, softly chuckling, not caring who heard her.

Eric learned two important things about life that night. He learned that Vic really loved him, and he learned what a woman's 'happy love tears' were...

Mathematics stumped Eric at first. He could count alright, but really big numbers he had to think about before it dawned on him that the larger ones were just building up on the small numbers. He had never had a need for really big numbers while he was surviving... But decimal points were a brick wall to him; until a certain AI whispered to him that decimals were nothing more that counting downwards instead of upwards. It took him quite a few tries, but once Emma showed him a chart she made up for him on his tablet, where the numbers counted down to '1', and then kept on going downward; then he understood. She explained that decimals were very important when flying in space; Emma unofficially became Eric's private tutor after that, whispering to him and only him through his com badge whenever he had trouble understanding things. It was their own little secret and they weren't telling...
Once that was out of the way, Eric learned higher math quickly; it only took one session with Emma to realize that all the different formulas and equations were actually 'shortcuts' to finding the numbers you were looking for. Even though they were sometimes very long indeed, Eric found he enjoyed solving more complex problems. Both Norman and Jerry soon found they were struggling to stay ahead of the big lug...

The 'family excursions' increased in frequency, once there were two more ships added to the Scion Defense Force. They wouldn't ever be as capable as Emma of course, but just having an 'Official Patrol' roaming the local system provided its own deterrent.

Eric's first introduction to space travel was an amusing episode in itself; everyone enjoyed the trip out, watching Eric's ever changing expressions as he saw new things in the system. Vic appreciated it the most, simply because she could easily remember the awe she felt the first time.

That was fun certainly, but the first trip back to Home Plate was an exact duplicate to Vic's own awakening; she being the 'wizened space traveler' now, Vic had a wonderful time guiding Eric around, giggling like a school girl when Eric discovered ice cream with the same reverence she had a couple of years ago. Ariel was even on this trip, and provided her own comedy routine. She had been following her 'professional' career for so long that she had forgotten what just having fun was all about. It was a good family outing...

On the third day of their return trip back, they ran into an encounter that at first had everyone worried that their history was 'catching up' with them; not Eric, for he had not heard the whole story of his family yet, but he could still see that everyone else was edgy. A ship slowly entered sensor range, and Emma told all of them.

This wasn't just any ship, not even a raider. The transponder identified it as a Republic of Earth Frigate, 'RES Frigate Aarons Glory' to be exact. It made no sinister moves, just pacing Emma for an hour once it shifted its course slightly.
John, Emma and Ariel were most concerned; Navy ships of any kind had never ventured out this far, so this 'visit' could be for any reason really. But all of them knew that John had 'stolen' a Republic asset thirty seven years ago. Had someone finally noticed? Were they searching for the stolen property?

The answer came at exactly the one hour mark, when the Frigate hailed them by name; not the registered transponder name, but by the ships given name. What was even odder was that the hail was on an old Marine Intelligence Channel, and encrypted in that same organizations R&D 'Beyond Top Secret Protocol', one that wasn't even supposed to exist anymore... The private message simply said, "I see you Emma; I'd like to talk with you girl..."

Mouths were open all around the bridge; all except Eric, who was just plain confused again. John finally gathered himself together and asked Emma to open the channel, with video on him only. When the screen lit up, a man in the Navy uniform of a Commander appeared. He had a wide grin on his face and said, "Ahh, Master Gunnery Sergeant John Tabor! It is good to see you again..."

The first message had been weird, but now the situation rapidly progressed into the bizarre with that statement. John replied the only way he could, "Do I know you Commander?"

The man laughed out loud, but it was still a happy laugh, not anything suggesting evil intent. The man was having fun with John's confusion, "No Master Sergeant, you couldn't possibly know me; I was squirreled away pretty deeply in the Research Department, but I know you and Emma very well. Let me tell you a story. My name is Aaron Sorrel by the way..."

Aaron told a long story, in detail, about his life in a super secret division within the Republics research branch, one that was not even supposed to exist. They worked on the craziest ideas, having no clue what would grow out of their work. Aarons 'section' worked exclusively on AI development; not just improvements, but figuring out ways to let AIs become more 'human', to 'be' people. Aaron had been a Lieutenant in the Marines, and was the only marine assigned to the project, because he was a 'Genius'. Aaron looked a little sheepish when he said that; he apparently had a humble streak.
"While most of the inroads with AI improvements were successful, and the newer AIs developed personalities of their own, there was still something missing. I took it upon myself to experiment with what made the human brain unique, and looked into ways to convert our intuition and emotions into what an AI could draw on to 'live'; in other words, 'feelings'. After six frustrating years I created Emma...you don't 'remember' that Emma, because I didn't want you feeling self conscious about it, but your feelings come directly from my own mind, my 'engrams'. You are my daughter girl, and 'Charlie' is my son on this ship. Yes Emma, I can see you chatting with him...you were installed in the newest Marauder at my request. There is only one other ship with your abilities, and I'm 'sitting in him. No Master Sergeant, I had nothing to do with assigning you to Emma; that was a monumental stroke of 'luck'..."

John's mouth was hanging down by that time, and Emma's would have too, if she had one. But Aaron's next admission shocked them all, "John and Emma, have you ever wondered just 'why' Emma's order was written in just the way it was? I had to literally beg a very good friend of mine to leave out the part about stopping off at the Weapons Depot. It took me two days of badgering him to do me the favor of violating the protocol, before he finally agreed. We were all in the same boat. So to speak, all of us Marines received the same boot up our butts."

Aaron had made his own way out to 'old Arizona', and watched for Emma's arrival. He had watched as John walked that kilometer to the control tower, got his discharge papers, and started walking the six kilometers to a motel. He was intrigued that John didn't just keep on going, so Aaron waited; and his faith in John was rewarded when six days later John had crept back out onto the 'bone yard' and took off in Emma, You see John, if you had not stolen Emma, I was going to..." Aaron laughed at the revelation...

Aaron then told them that when he left the Marine Corps, he had sought a commission in the Navy, the only branch that hadn't been totally decimated by the force reduction; and had worked his way up to command 'Aarons Glory, also a highly experimental ship. They had been sent way out here on almost the same mission that Emma and John had been expecting thirty seven years ago, "Apparently some disgruntled member of our old Engineering Department had 'leaked' a rumor that an old Marauder had been spotted out this way; one that had some unique energy signatures and an 'odd' way of defending itself, . I volunteered this ship to investigate the rumor of course, since I know what the 'odd' capability is. My report back to the Republic will have some interesting wording in it, but you don't need to worry about that you two. The 'leaker' died two years ago, and 'our secret' will be safe from now on, ok? Oh, incidentally, as a favor to me; make sure you give Emma a nice new paint job, she needs to look like the lady she is you know!"
To 'Charlie' he simply said, "Charlie, I'll give you thirty more minute for this reunion with your Sister, but then we should be on our way...Charlie just said, "Yes Dad" with a chuckle thrown in...

When they arrived back on Scion, the first order of business was to make Emma more presentable. John contracted with the small 'repair yard' at the space port to refurbish Emma's exterior and give her a shiny new coat of paint. The endeavor depleted the 'Cookie Jar' quite a bit, but when Emma returned to them fourteen days later with her bright and shiny light blue paint job, she put on the most elaborate air show ever, performing every aerial maneuver known to man; even a few that hadn't been performed for centuries. It delighted the whole family, even the sonic boom when Emma came zipping across the desert. The space port didn't even complain this time...the three 'women' had held a private conference to decide on the color, and settled on light blue as their favorite.

***
Chapter 12

A Journey Ends;

Or Does it...

The months passed, as they have a tendency to do, and Eric's education sped up. It surprised him that he wasn't quite as 'slow' as he always believed, but Vic was just proud of 'her man'. She seemed to know that he had just cleared a high hurdle in his new life, and he was well on his way to gaining more self confidence.

The family had taken some more trips to even farther planets, seeing firsthand how different cultures could be. They even did some 'exploration', stopping off at a far distant planet that had a perfectly breathable atmosphere, but for some reason that eluded them, had never spawned life. That planet was so bleak, it made Scion look like a paradise. Vic was so interested in the question that she started reading about archaeology and planetology in general. She wanted to know things...

Ariel had moved into her cabin on Emma permanently, bringing her small collection of personal mementos, including a treasured photo of John and Vic that she had taken shortly after Vic and John had found each other. John looked every bit the strong 'protector', and Vic was gazing up at him, a loving smile on her little face. Ariel would often look at the picture for hours, just remembering a special time in all of their lives. She felt a little sad looking at it now though; John didn't look like that anymore. He was beginning to look haggard, weak, and she knew his time was getting closer. John was almost eighty one now, and he was showing it. People in general often lived to over 100 years now, but the ones who lived hard lives, like combat marines, seldom did. She knew she would not start doting over him; it would only annoy him and tip Vic off that her 'rock' was slowly crumbling. Vic always saw the big strong Marine that John had been, and that would not change. She spent almost all of her time with Eric now, which kept her attention diverted from what was becoming more and more obvious to Ariel. That was a good thing, for all of them.
So Ariel talked it over with the only other 'person' who knew what was really going on, Emma. "Have you noticed what is going on with John, Emma?" Silly question, Emma always checked on all of them, scanning for any hint of sickness anyway. She could check on the molecular level even, "Yes Ariel, I scan him almost constantly now. So far it is only the physical degradation, but eventually something will sneak in, and we must be ready for it..."

John was grumpy, the aches and pains just would not leave him alone. He knew they wouldn't, old age was like that, but it still made him feel grumpy. So he took a walk out in the ship junk yard, and just talked to all the dead ships as he went by. But were they really dead? He sometimes wondered about all the 'souls' out here, was there a special place just for them somewhere in that vast void of a Universe? He liked to think there was, they all deserved it after their long service to humanity. And sometimes their parts got to live a while longer in other ships. Yes, he was sure machines had souls too; Vic had proven that over and over, when she resurrected the many appliances.

Emma certainly had a soul; there was never any doubt in his mind there. She had exceeded the sum of her programming years ago, and come alive, because her 'Father' had made a very special effort to make sure that happened. And he owed a special thanks to Aaron for that miracle...

He was on his way back through the junk yard when he fell. One second he was walking slowly, and the next he was laying on the ground. It took him ten minutes to get back up, he was that weak, and it frightened him. John knew then that the long walks were over. But he was still stubborn, and he would not tell anyone that he fell...he ached much worse that night.

Eric was in his own grumpy mood...no, he was full of anxiety over a test that Jerry and Norman had devised as a real challenge for Eric. They knew he tended to think in terms of 'one subject at a time', and had to mentally shift gears to move on to the next topic. If he was going to study more esoteric subjects, he would have to learn to shift a bit faster, instead of the mental 'switching' over. Eric was not a slow thinker, but he always slowed his thinking to conform to the different topic. So both 'teachers' gave him a test on all his subjects at once; mixing up every question; and told him so. Eric was very afraid that he would fail Vic in some way. She was proud of him, he knew, and always encouraged him, even if it took a few wags of her finger to get the point across. Eric smiled at that thought; he loved it every time she did that!
The smile did the trick, and calmed him down. He wagged his own finger in front of his face, and told himself he was being silly again. He would not fail Vic...and he didn't either; after acing the test, Vic jumped all over him, planting kiss after kiss gently on him for passing.

Neither Jerry nor Norman ever told Eric that the answers didn't really matter to them; Eric had sped up his thinking all on his own, and giving the right answers was a pleasant bonus for them...

As John became ever grumpier with himself, he started being cranky too, and Vic did notice it. She grew more concerned each day, seeing the life draining out of the man; what really bothered her was that John was beginning to act like Eric did sometimes, and she knew what that was. John Tabor, the anchor in her life, was feeling sorry for himself. Summoning up all her courage, she confronted John one morning when he stayed in his bed far longer than he had ever done before, just as if she were a Drill Sergeant kicking a raw recruit out of his 'rack'.

"John Tabor, you get out of that bed right now, you're being damned silly and you should know better! Now get your ass out of bed and come have some breakfast!" Vic didn't realize she was wagging her finger at John, until a wide grin materialized on the old man's face, and he started laughing hysterically. Drill Sergeant turned immediately into sheepish grin, and they both laughed until Eric came running in, having heard it all the way inside Emma. It took a few minutes to calm Eric's nerves, but John never again felt sorry for himself. If his time was indeed up, he would go out proud.

And that is exactly what he did, for a month later John could barely stand, let alone walk, and all of them were at his side. Vic had steeled herself that John would not see her cry. She kept a small smile all the way through, and her eyes were bright, just for him. She held his hand gently.

Emma whispered through his com badge, "John, we have flown to many places, you and I, and we will do so again, always..."
Eric was having the hardest time, remembering his Mother dying right before him, and little tears trickled down his face; but he made no sound.

Ariel knew death from a long time past, but she would not cry now. Before her was a proud Marine, and she would show him the pride she had in him.

John's eyes saw the little girl before him; he whispered, "Vic, Always and Forever is not just words, it is life...Honor Life...

Vic placed her hand on his chest, and whispered back, "John Tabor, thank you for my life.", and she reached over and kissed him. He smiled up at Vic, eyes bright, and then the eyes simply closed; the chest stilled...

And then the tears did come for Vic...

***
They buried John the next evening, after Ariel had given him a time honored 'ritual bath', and sewn him into an even older ritual shroud.

Emma had taken off early at sunrise, only saying she had something to do. Eric had gone missing late the night before, unable to deal with his inner demons. He did leave Vic a little note that promised he would be back in time. She worried about Eric, but did trust him to keep his word. He did...

Eric came back well before dark, carrying a marker for John, he had fashioned it from the very best wood he could find. Even though Religion was not prevalent now, not the formal kind at least, Eric had fashioned a cross, and on the cross bar he had carefully painted:

John Tabor

Master Gunnery Sergeant

Republic Marines

'in saecula saeculorum'

Just above the crossbar he had affixed the Marine Corps Emblem, a gold metal one that Eric said had come from his Father's dress cap. He had saved it in his box all through his growing up years. Vic didn't tell him about Johns cap in his footlocker, this came directly from Eris's heart.

Eric dug the grave next to the shack near where Emma always landed, and both Vic and Ariel helped as they could. Then they gently laid John Tabor to rest, slowly and methodically filling it in with the sand and soil that had been dug out. They carefully placed stones over that, in a 'cairn' around the grave, and placed Eric's cross at the head of it. Just as they finished, there was a great gust of wind, as two ships zoomed past the grave at near supersonic speed, arriving from opposite directions. They made a long sweeping turn and approached slowly beside each other. Emma had called out to Charlie, and Charlie told Aaron. They were not too far away and they broke a few speed records getting here in time to help Emma with her idea. Both ships hovered at ten meters for a minute, facing the grave in silence; then angled upward and rose slowly until they could use their engines, and they shot straight up side by side until they were out of sight, escorting John Tabor to his long lost brothers and sisters.
Emma returned an hour later and softly landed facing John's grave. She never uttered a word all night, just sat there honoring her friend. She had her own inner demons that had to be put to rest...from that day on, she always landed facing John's grave...

Vic could not sleep; she had asked Eric to sleep in John's bed, now his. Eric had balked at first, but she soothed him, reminding him that John would want it to be so. When she thought Eric was asleep, she got up and took her blanket outside, to John's grave. She just had to sleep next to him one more time...

Eric wasn't asleep, and saw her go outside with the blanket, so he crept to the corner of the shack and stood guard over her all night. Vic had lain down next to the stones, and after a while she did sleep. It was a bit chilly, but the blanket helped a lot.

The dream started soon after Vic fell asleep...she was on a field, and there were flowers of all colors all around her, and a mist, like a fog. As she stood there a figure emerged from the mist, and John walked right up to her, stroking her face. She wanted desperately to put her arms around him, but she couldn't make her arms move. John looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes, smiling only for her, "Vic, don't be sad my daughter, death is just the beginning of something more. Celebrate that, and always be happy we found each other..."

Then John pointed behind him and two more figures came out of the mist. She only knew them from pictures, but they looked just like that, smiling warmly at Vic. Her Father said, "Victoria, we are proud of you. John saved you when you needed it the most. Later you did the same for him, when John needed it. We are very happy you two had a life together, always remember that."

Vic's Mother came right up to her then, and kissed her, and she felt the touch she could never remember before, "Victoria my precious, John taught you all the things we were not able to, and we are proud of him for it. You have doubts right now, but know that we watch over you every day."Then her Mother pointed off to the side, and another couple walked toward Vic.
She knew these two from Eric's picture, his Mother and Father; the man was every bit as tall and muscled as John, and said simply, "Vic, Eric will need you, more than ever now. In his mind he thinks that he will fail you in some way, don't let him think that. Tell him he's being silly whenever you need to, it will always help him understand"; and the man's smile turned into a grin".

Eric's Mother didn't appear as frail as in the picture, she stood straight, with grace, looking proud of her son, and of Vic, "Victoria, Eric loves you with all his heart, and it is far more than only devotion. He will never fail you, but he doesn't understand yet that you feel that strongly about him. We watch over you, we all do. Help him know that always and forever is much more than just words on a wall. 'This' is Always and Forever!" And she swept her hand in an arc, as all the mist cleared.

It wasn't a small field at all, but a huge valley, situated between two high mountain ranges. Not ten meters away were her parent's crew, all of them. They all had smiles for her, but as she looked farther she could make out the Marines she had seen on the remembrance wall. She recognized many of the faces, but even farther back were more Marines as far as she could see to the horizon, and mixed in were civilians of all the planets, even Earth she knew. She knew now that Always and Forever is Universal, and that no matter where you are, someone is always watching out for you.

John stepped up to her again, stroking her face one more time, "Vic my daughter, always live well, and live with Honor, for as you can see, we don't leave our people behind...as the whole panorama faded away, Vic woke up. The dream had cleared her mind of the sadness at losing John, and she knew exactly where her focus must be; her family. She got up and folded her blanket; then looked at the pile of stones that covered her first love, "I understand Father; I love you so very much."

Vic went to the shack, and found Eric standing there shivering slightly. She reached up, putting her arms around his neck, and kissed Eric deeply, with love. As she backed away she turned to Emma, "Emma, I had a dream, there were hundreds of thousands, millions of people there and they showed me the way. I understand now..."

In a soft voice Emma said, "I know Victoria; I knew they would..."
Vic led Eric into the shack and sat him down on the old bed that was his now. As she had done so many times over the years with John, she asked, "Eric, may I sleep with you tonight? I need to feel safe again." Eric's eyes grew wide and he couldn't find the words, so he just nodded to Vic over and over.

Vic smiled warmly, and they stretched out together, with Vic's head on Eric's shoulder. Vic snuggled up close and was soon asleep. Eric gazed into the face he loved so deeply for a while, and slowly drifted into sleep himself. Although he didn't really hear it, a soft gravelly voice whispered, "You're safe now Eric; you both are..."

Over the next few days a curious thing happened. People from the settlement would make a 'pilgrimage' out to the family's shack, and stand for a time at the grave. Usually in ones and twos, after a while even larger groups showed up. They all would stand by John for ten or fifteen minutes, head bowed, silently honoring the big Marine, then slowly head back to their homes. It seemed everyone knew John, or at least knew 'of' him. Ariel explained to Eric and Vic, that while John had pretty much stayed by himself much of the time, he was by no means a hermit, and was seen in the settlement often. He would always help anyone who needed it, and had become known as 'the kind man'. It was a bit puzzling how all the settlement heard about John's passing, but Ariel figured that Nancy had mentioned it on her rounds and the word just kept spreading. Boris came out on the second day, and stood by John for over an hour, tears trickling down his face; then stood tall and thumped his own chest with his fist, in an ancient tribute, saying one word, "Forever..." When Boris had finished and started back, Vic ran out to him and jumped right up on the giant man, hugging and kissing him. Boris held her gently for a time, and then left.

The most amazing display of respect came on the third day, when a group of seven old Marines marched up the road to stand next to John in perfect formation. The men and women wore their uniforms, somewhat faded but all brass polished brightly, and were all old, some older than John had been. They stood in a rank at perfect attention for over thirty minutes; then slowly presented an age old salute in unison. They honored one of their own...
Then they surprised everyone by performing an about face, and saluted Emma, quickly this time...then as they turned and marched away, a voice echoed from Emma's shiny hull, proudly and clearly, 'Semper fi...' Ariel would explain later to Vic and Eric that the words were a shortened version of the Marine Corps motto 'Semper Fidelis', and could mean either of two things, 'Always Faithful', or 'Always Loyal'...

When the sun had dropped below the low hanging mountains to the west, and it was full dark out, Eric and Vic sat together at the small table in the shack where it had all begun over twelve years ago. They talked about all that had happened in their lives, how Fate had touched both of them. They talked about John, and how Fate had brought a frightened little girl to his door one cold and rainy night, how he had taught her about truth and Honor; and kindness. They talked about how that same Fate had brought the two of them together to find absolute and endless love, the kind that can never fade away...

When they talked about the fresh new phrase they had learned today, 'Semper Fidelis', and it's meanings, Eric said he finally understood completely what the three words on the plaque above their remembrance wall meant, "The words 'Always and Forever' aren't just words Vic, they are life itself." Vic smiled warmly at her man, her 'rock', thinking of how she had heard those exact same words so many years ago, from another big strong man she would always love intensely; a man who had made a difference in all their lives...

They slept well that night, and for all the nights to come; in peace and safety...

'Always and Forever'

###
About Me

If you actually liked 'Sacred Honor', you might want to look up my first ever book, 'The Ship'; while 'The Ship' was my first attempt at getting the beliefs I hold dear out of my head, and sharing them with others, I think 'Sacred Honor' is a little bit more refined, looking at life itself from many more perspectives, from all the different character' perspective. Just like the first book, this one didn't have any epic battles in it either; many other authors can do those far better with those than I would. My interests lie deep inside people, those character traits that define who we are. How I got this way I will never know; since I really don't think of myself as philosophical...

Oh heck, I'm not really good with this 'About Me' stuff; I hope you liked this book. If you did, then I am content...if you did like it, or even if you didn't, please share your thoughts in a review. That is what it is all about after all, sharing your thoughts...

And if you wish to share your thoughts with me in a more personal way, my email address is:

mwb_8@yahoo.com

Sorry, I still don't have a website...

Thank you for reading 'Sacred Honor

Michael
