Of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh
A Star Blazers Holiday Tale by Frederick P. “Freddo” Kopetz
Thanks to Ami Meitsu, Yuki Wildstar, and Gail Kopetz for the impetus to write this story
Honors to the Ghost of Mr. Nishizaki and Leiji Matsumoto for this eipc
A Nod to Quentin Tarantino for the structure of this story (and one sub-section title)
Dedicated to Gail Kopetz, Ami Meitsu, and everyone else out there who likes both Christmas and Romance…(and Thanks to Ami Meitsu for suggestions & continuity sleuth-work)
Thanks to “Bells of Nevermore” whose character of “Kalevi Denneman” appears by reference.
I. HAM, TURKEY & STUFFING
Earth
The Tokyo Megalopolis
Derek and Nova Wildstar’s Residence
December 24, 2208
Somewhere around 1500 Hours, Earthtime
Popcorn was popping somewhere in the background in Chez Wildstar over the sound of Christmas Carols as a giggling little fifteen-month old toddler in a little dress ran up to her parents’ Christmas Tree as fast as her little bare feet would take her.
Ariel Wildstar was beginning to develop the stunning looks of her mother. She had beautiful dark eyes, a cute little bow of a mouth, and a pert little upturned nose that had echoes of both her mother and father in it. Her hair was blond, although it seemed to be turning an interesting and striking coppery shade of reddish-blond darker than her mother’s honey-colored locks; as if some her father’s genetics had gotten mixed into her hair like paint on a palette.
Right now, she was chasing (some would say “tormenting”) Fluffy, the Wildstars’ pet cat. Fluffy was about seven, but she was a smallish, light creature, entirely clad in snow-white fur, with pretty green eyes and a little pink nose. She was usually affectionate and had a high-pitched little meow, and was remarkably tolerant with changes of scene; at times, her residence was here…at other times, her residence was her “parents’” other home near the beach in San Diego, California, North America. She had also been kitty-sat at times by her mistress’ parents in the Great Megalopolis or Boulder, Colorado, and she had also travelled at times with her family on the Space Battleship Argo, where she maintained a contentious relationship with her enemy and rival, the tiger-striped Tabby Mimi. Her paws had also trod the corridors of power on both Gamilon and Iscandar at various times in her feline life. Queen Starsha adored her. Leader Desslok of Gamilon had no idea what to make of the goofy little beastie with a mind of her own.
Right now, Ariel was busy chasing Fluffy up the Christmas tree, up the lights, and up over the little ornaments that were models of various EDF, Gamilon, Iscandarian, and Pellian vessels. Nova’s mother Teri thought she even saw a green Cometine Single-Deck Carrier ornament on the simulated fir tree. And she was right! That model had been made up by Derek and Nova’s adopted teenage son Jonathan, who would be sixteen years old next month. He was also studying hard in school in hopes of earning a coveted slot at the Space Fighters’ Training School; where he hoped to enroll in July 2210 as a Midshipman and member of the Class of 2214.
Finally,
Ariel had Fluffy far up the tree…just as her father, Commodore Derek Wildstar,
clad in a pair of white slacks, house slippers, Star Force uniform shirt, red
and black peacoat, and Captain’s cover (he had just gotten back in the house
from an errand for Nova) suddenly noticed what Ariel was doing, and he yelled,
“Ariel! Stop doing that to poor Fluffy!”
“Fluffy funny,” Ariel giggled. Near her, little Alex, dressed in shorts, a striped sweater, and his socks, made a face at his father and ran along, skipping over the tree as he plopped down on the floor enraptured as his big brother Jonathan began to run their Lionel set; Nova had let Derek unwrap one of her presents to him; a reproduction of a 773 Hudson steam locomotive, early, and Jonathan and Alex were now running the little smoke-belching steamer, whose whistle blew loudly as Jonathan worked the remote control, complete with tiny puffs of simulated steam coming up from the little boiler every time he blew the whistle.
“Ariel bad,” said Derek as he pulled his cap off. He stepped up to the tree, stepping over the O-Gauge tracks of the Lionel set under the tree, and he coaxed Fluffy down. “Ariel, where’s your Mommy? I was just outside fixing the Christmas lights like she asked.”
“Mommy upstairs,” she giggled again.
In the meantime, Captain Mark Venture, in his EDF blues and peacoat, walked around the foyer of the Wildstars’ house. Approaching the stairs, he heard sudden, feminine laughter and looked up just in time to see Nova, resplendent in a pink scoop-neck dress and pink choker, sliding down the banister wearing a Santa Claus cap.
He stepped back, but Nova zoomed down, hit the floor, stumbled a little on her bare feet, and abruptly knocked Venture down, knocking him right out of his house slippers as she landed on top of him. She was light, but he still ended up getting one of her knees in his crotch, which made him gasp.
“Nova!” Mark gasped. “What the….?”
“Sorry, Mark!” she said. “Little joke that got out of control. When I was upstairs, I thought you were Derek!”
“You always land on top of him and get him in the crotch?” Mark gasped.
“No…I’m so sorry…I was supposed to do a backflip! Sorry, Mark….I let my enthusiasm for Christmas get away with me at times, and end up doing all sorts of dorky stuff.”
“Cute, I’d call it,” said Venture as he got up as Derek came in leading Ariel.
“What are you doing on the deck?” Derek said to Nova.
“Looking for a contact lens,” she quipped.
“Nova, you don’t wear contact lenses,” Derek snapped as Holly Venture came in. She wore a sheer black dress, with a pink top on over it to set off her coppery hair, which she had recently gotten cut and styled. Like Nova, she was also barefoot, with her toenails polished a dark wine-red. However, Holly had driven Mark crazy by insisting upon coming here without any shoes on at all, while Nova at least had a pair of dress sandals waiting in the shoe closet for their trip to church later on. Holly looked at Nova and said, “Why are you crawling around on the floor, Nova?”
“I need to talk to my daughter,” she said. Nova crawled up to Ariel, who was hiding her face in one arm. “Now, Ariel, I know by the look on your face that you’re in trouble,” Nova sang. “Confess, dear! What did you do?”
“Fluffy up tree,” she said.
“That’s not so bad,” Nova said.
“Chased her up,” said Ariel as she bit at her fingers.
“We may have to tell Santa that,” Nova said as Ariel whined loudly and began to cry.
“No presents for Ariel!” whimpered the toddler. “Ariel bad!”
“Ariel naughty,” Nova corrected her as she hugged her daughter and then got up with her in her arms. She sat down on a bench by the shoe closet and grabbed one of Ariel’s kicking little bare feet as she cried. Then, she began to tickle it. Ariel’s sniffles subsided, and she began to grin a little as her mother tickled her foot. Then, Nova yelped as Derek snuck up behind her and began to tickle one of her own bare feet. “Derek! We have guests!” Nova cried as she blushed. Nova grabbed up her Santa hat and looked simply indignant as Derek hugged her. She then smiled as Derek picked her and Ariel up and dragged the young woman and baby girl into his lap, and Nova’s Santa cap fell off onto the floor. Little Alex then ran up, grabbed it, made a face at his mother, and ran off giggling, and pointing at his parents, yelling, “MUSHY!”
“Mommy and
daddy MUSHY!” giggled Ariel, who made a face at her brother. Soon, the two
children were giggling loudly and making weird faces at each other along with
farting noises. Nova had recently finished potty-training them, but, like most
toddlers, they seemed to really have a thing for discussing elimination.
Especially poo. Nova looked at them and said, “Kids, stop the toilet noises!
Derek, stop being mushy in front of the children!”
“I know we’re mushy,” Derek said. “We’re mushy because we love you and we love each other…” he said as he kissed Nova. Nova’s eyes melted, and she smiled at her husband and kissed back, thinking, We’re not going to live forever, either of us…so, why not enjoy what we have now? Why not squeeze every second out of our time together?
“We love each other, too,” said Holly Venture as she came back into the foyer holding Mark’s hand.
Holly looked at Nova and squealed, “I hear Jingle Bell Rock on your sound system! Let’s do a dance step! One, two…”
Nova sighed a little and got into step with Holly on one of the foyer steps, going up on her toes and swinging her skirt around a little as she danced with Holly while Derek smiled at the proceedings from his place on one of the benches and while Mark watched them, noticing to himself, Is Nova all right? She’s acting happy...she’s acting with it, but her smile looks a little forced. There’s something on her mind…but what is it?
Of course, Mark didn’t know what was on Nova Wildstar’s mind at the moment; troubling memories of a strange Tarot Card reading from Vietnam from a friend the previous summer; a Tarot reading that seemed to hint at a bizarre, frightening future for Nova. She had told only Derek (who had been there) and Sasha (who had also been there) all about the troubling reading and what it meant to her, but she had told no one else, and no one else knew, except a man who went by a German name and had a strange, foreboding, and yet oddly comforting mannerism about him….namely, the mysterious Privateer Captain who had done the reading for her….Captain Kalevi Denneman.
In the meantime, outside, Katrina Foxworth-Savela (who was really Princess Invidia, disguised my the mercy of Trelaina of Telezart) came up to the steps and entered the house after Nova answered the doorbell.
“Hi!” Nova said at the doorway as Foxy and Katrina came in. Foxy hugged Nova and gave her a bag of gifts for herself and Derek. “Merry Chrimble and Happy Goo Year!” he yelled.
“Foxy, would you calm down?” Nova said with a slight laugh.
“Calm? What’s that?” yelled Foxy.
“What was
your first Christmas together as a couple like?” asked Katrina Savela as she
swept into the room pulling Foxy along by the hand. Katrina wore a very dark
purple minidress with a high white collar with a red ruby on it that set off
and complimented her dark purple locks. She had just gotten in with Foxy, who wore
a nice suit. It was cooler outside than it had been in the past few months (low
50’s Fahrenheit), but still warmer than usual for this time of year thanks to
the continued higher-than-normal activity in the Sun, so Katrina was
comfortable with bare legs and high-heeled sandals that she was just in the act
of taking off as she sat down on a bench in the foyer near Foxy, kissing his
hand as she sat.
“What brings this on?” asked Holly as she smiled at Katrina. “And where’s Michelle?”
“Curiosity…and the girl is off on a date with a boyfriend; she’d better get home on time!” said Katrina. “Foxy and I were talking about what the first Christmas together was like for all of us. I was just wondering how the three of you couples saw Christmas?”
“Okay, who’d like to go first?” Derek asked.
Holly Venture waved up an eager hand.
Mark sighed and said, “Holly, are you sure you want to…get into this now? I mean, it’s sort of….”
“Go ahead,” said Holly. “I like getting into this story. It’s cute. It’s sort of madcap.”
“Madcap,” Nova said. “Insane is more like it.”
“So vat happened?” Katrina asked.
“Just this,” began Mark. “It was around Christmas of 2202….nearly six years ago. Holly and I had been married for only a few months, when…”
“When vat?” said Katrina.
“I remember this story,” said Nova as she smiled at Holly. “It reminds me of the Gift of Gold.”
“Gold?” said Katrina.
Nova cleared her throat and said, “You know the story of Christmas, Katrina. When the Magi, or Wise men, came from the East to the Baby Christ, they presented Him with three gifts. Gold: a gift of great price, given at great sacrifice, symbolizing Him coming to Earth as a King. Frankincense: also a costly gift, symbolizing His work as a Priest, aiding us in our hopes and prayers; a symbol of our prayers, hopes and dreams. Finally, there was Myrrh; a costly spice, used in ancient times to anoint the Dead. It is a bitter, pungent spice, and it symbolizes sacrifice made in pursuit of a great ideal, such as His Sacrifice on the Cross, or, our sacrifices made for others, or for each other. To me, Mark, Holly, your tale symbolizes the Gold…how did it go again?”
“It went like this,” said Mark Venture as he cleared his throat….
II. A TALE OF CHRISTMAS GOLD….
(Mark and Holly Venture: A Gift of Great Price)
Earth
The Tokyo Megalopolis
December 24, 2202
About 1600 Hours…
“I’m home, dear!” called out Mark Venture when he came into their home in the Tokyo Megalopolis. His arms were filled with boxes upon boxes, and he looked exhausted.
“Done with the Christmas shopping, Mark?” Holly asked as she came up to Mark and kissed him. At that time, her hair was long; worn down to about mid-back, but she wore it loose, not tied in a ponytail. She had been aboard their new command for a short time today, namely, the Space Battleship Arizona, which was nearing completion. Thus, Holly still wore her skin-tight Navigation Group uniform, but she had removed her boots and went barefoot, and she had a whimsical pink apron on over her uniform.
“I think I finally am,” he said. He hid his gift for Holly; a small but expensive item, in a pocket of his peacoat as he said, “Let’s look these over, since we’ll be handing them out around the corner at Wildstar and Nova’s place tomorrow. “We got…a handcrafted model of the Argo for Wildstar, a sweater-dress and scarf for Nova….”
“Are they pink?” Holly said.
Mark nodded, and they both laughed. “We got some computer utilities for Sandor, a wrench set for that Diane Henson character, a big bottle of sake in this box for Doctor Sane…”
“I got something for you,” Holly said. “I think you’ll like it. Unfortunately, it still has to be delivered. They should be by with it later tonight.”
“It has to be delivered?” he said.
Holly nodded.
“Well, we’ll see what it is later,” said Mark. He looked around their new home, which looked so much more alive now that she was sharing it with him, and he said, “Our first Christmas together as a couple. Remember last year?”
“Yeah. Last year I was still calling you sir, sir,” said Holly. “And we barely knew each other. And you were…missing Trelaina…”
“Yeah,” sighed Mark, who shut his eyes as he remembered her. The memory was not so sharp, nor as painful now, but he still remembered Trelaina, and how she had loved him, and then how she had separated herself from him when she had destroyed Telezart, and then…how she had brought him back to life with a transfusion of some of her own blood elements…and how she had then given her life fighting Zordar.
Holly came up behind Mark and put her arms around him. “She wants us to be together, and to be happy,” Holly said. “I feel it…”
Now, what Holly had bought Mark for Christmas that year (among other things) was an aircar; a beautiful new 2203 Buick Century, to boot. She had spent much of her own money on the down payment; so much, as a matter of fact, that she had been forced to borrow money from Nova to meet the food budget for the month.
On the other hand, Mark had bought her a watch she had been eyeing. He gave it to her early, and she had it on now.
Holly, however, was looking out the window, waiting on the delivery of the car.
“What are you looking out the window for?” Mark said.
“Just for a gift to be…delivered,” said Holly as her lip began to tremble. She was close to tears, thinking, What if they don’t get it here today? What if it doesn’t come after Christmas? He’ll be so mad at me…he’ll….
Then, the phone rang. Holly ran over to pick it up. “Hello?” she said. “Yes? This is….Wimbledon Buick/Honda/Subaru? You….you…can’t deliver it today? WHY NOT?” she yelled. “Oh? The manager’s out sick? I can come over to get it, I….you’re closing? But the manager will be over tomorrow? Please! This is a gift for my new husband!” Holly sobbed. “But, it will be tomorrow morning? 0800? Thank you,” she said as she bit her lip and began to cry.
Mark ran over to comfort her. “What’s wrong?” he said.
“The car dealer screwed up my Christmas surprise for you!” Holly screamed.
“What surprise?”
“That Buick you stopped to look at? The new one! I bought it for you!” Holly sobbed. “I borrowed money from Nova to make up with what I spent on it! Now you’re going to kill me!”
“Holly, I am not going to kill you,” said Mark as he held her. “Do you have proof that you got this car?”
Holly nodded, crying. She got a small box and let Mark unwrap it. Inside was the key and owner’s manual and papers for his beautiful new car; a new car that was now sitting at a locked dealership.
“Holly…this is so sweet of you,” said Mark. “Just as nice as one of the gifts of the Wise Men.”
“But now I don’t have a gift to give you!” sobbed Holly. “I…”
Mark just kissed her and put a bow on her shoulder. “You do have a gift to give me…” he said. “If you’d just think for a moment?”
“Mark?” said Holly.
He just winked at her. She smiled and said, “Mark, you can come get your gift in a few minutes. I’ll…I’ll call you to the…bedroom,” she said with a kiss. She winked at him, began to undo her apron, and she took off for their master bedroom…
Mark then stopped smiling. He and Holly were not about to tell this part to the others. But, he smiled at Holly, and she at him, as they remembered what had happened…
..when they had gotten all alone in the bedroom….
TEN MINUTES LATER….
“Mark!” called Holly from the bedroom.
“Yes?” said Mark Venture with a smile.
“Come to the bedroom…your gift is ready,” she purred.
Mark smiled, and took off his peacoat and shirt.
He went into the bedroom, and, there, he found Holly.
She was smiling at him, wearing the bow that Mark had stuck on her shoulder a few minutes ago when she had been in uniform.
She was not in uniform now. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Holly Venture was now naked.
She smiled shyly at Mark and said, “Like your replacement gift?”
“And what is that gift?” he asked as he climbed up into bed with her.
“Me,” Holly said in a tender voice as she kissed him….and began to relieve him of his clothing….
Then, the lovemaking that followed….
…was just magical.
Mark Venture, needless to say, was very, very happy with his Christmas present….
III. A BALLAD OF FRANKINCENSE
(Kazuo and Katrina’s First Christmas: Prayers of Hope)
Earth
Foxworth Manor
The Tokyo Megalopolis
December 24, 2207
About 1800 Hours…
“Who has the next story?” Nova asked as she sat on the short bench a few minutes later buckling on her sandals. They were about to leave for the Christmas Eve service at church, but Nova knew they had to get there early because she and little Alex had roles to play in the Christmas Pageant that year in church.
“It’s us,” said Kazuo. “I can’t tell all of it….” he said as he glanced sidelong at Katrina. “However, I can tell you most of it,” said Foxy.
“Our first Christmas together,” said Foxy as Nova nodded, finished putting on her shoes, and then watched with a smile as Derek hauled little Alex up onto his shoulders after getting his little brown dress shoes on. The little boy giggled and looked at Katrina and Foxy as Foxy, also known as Kazuo, said, “Well, after the war ended, you all know we got married and we had our second wedding ceremony and our second wedding night on the twelfth of December last year. Then, we went home to Foxworth Manor while I prepared for Christmas.”
“I had no idea what this “Christmas” really was, except that it was and is some kind of religious ceremony,” said Katrina.
“I, the Buddhist, had to tell you about everything,” said Foxy. “The birth of Jesus, the coming of the Wise Men…”
“An interesting story….”
“How He was brought gifts as a Special, Holy person by the Astrologers or Wise Men who predicted His Birth. You liked the part about the Frankincense. Why was that?”
“Because you know I needed prayers…many prayers…for my success upon Earth,”
Katrina said as she looked back in her mind as Foxy spoke…
“So vat is this?” asked Katrina as she looked at the Christmas Tree set up in the foyer of Foxworth Manor. Michelle was at the other end of the room, putting up Christmas stockings above a mantel.
“This is a Christmas Tree,” said Foxy. “It symbolizes rebirth…eternal life. The evergreen never dies, and never fades, so this is supposed to symbolize Life. Life. I don’t quite believe that the Christ brough Eternal Life by Himself as the Christians do, but I do believe nothing, and no one ever really dies.” He sighed as he looked at one of the ornaments. “Those we have lost live on. My faith says some unite themselves with God, while it teaches that others return again, in the cycle of Karma, to live again…to love again.”
“Like my mother?” sobbed Katrina as Foxy held her. Michelle overheard and ran over to hold her adopted mother now, saying, “Mom, please don’t cry! She’s in a better place!”
Foxy nodded. “Your Mother may be with God now….or, maybe, just maybe, she has returned as a new child, to someone, somewhere. Or maybe she has yet to be reborn. For all we know, she could be reborn to one of our friends someday. It might be amusing if she came back as Sasha and Deke’s child….”
“Not the one they are about to have, I am sure. My mother had dark hair,” snapped Katrina. “My guess is that with Sasha being Iscandarian they all have blondes! Go on?”
“Or, she may come back to us as a future child of Derek and Nova’s. Who knows?”
“Yeah? Who knows?” Michelle added.
Katrina nodded, although it hit her years later, that, perhaps….perhaps, a future child of the Wildstars, a beautiful girl with dark hair known as Anastasia, that maybe, somehow, her mother had returned to be reborn as Anastasia Wildstar. Katrina would become very close to that girl, and she would think that maybe her mother had chosen that guise to return to her. It was consistent with Buddhism, and even with some of the beliefs of the primary Cometine religion, the worship of the goddess Arishna. For, her worshippers believed that, at times, when one died unjustly, in an untimely fashion, Arishna took a hand and caused them to return to finish their business; sometimes as others, very, very rarely, and as a great miracle, as themselves. Katrina knew by now that Mark Venture had returned to them in such a fashion and was living proof this could happen. Much later, when someone very close to Katrina would die and then return to them in a very dramatic fashion, Katrina’s faith in Arishna and Her merciful hand would become greater than before….
“Life,” said Katrina. “The gifts below the tree?”
“Gifts that I give you to show you that I love you. And you have given me gifts, in like fashion…”
“Yes...I know,” said Katrina. “You had me give you gifts…”
“And I have given you gifts. Open this one first,” said Foxy as he kissed her. “Michelle, we’ll do yours next.”
“Okay,” she said.
Katrina opened the box. It was a small wooden box that held some perfume. “What sort of perfume is this?”
“Read the label,” he said. “My agents had to go through a lot of effort to get this for you…”
Katrina looked at the bottle. “’Expose’ Perfume or K’Fdrachna Vaga in the Pellian tongue…from Pellias! Kazuo! How did you…?”
“I wanted to give you something from home,” he whispered. “I love you so much…”
Katrina’s eyes filled with tears. The others did not know, but he knew, and she knew, she only had some of the Pellian Blood in her; the rest was Cometine, from her father, the mighty Zordar. She knew what he intended, so…they kissed.
They kissed, and they embraced, again, and again, and again.
Michelle smiled, and showed enough good grace to smile and slip out of the room to make a phone call to her brother Jonathan and bug him at that time….Nova later remembered hearing Jonathan and Michelle yelling some really stupid jokes to each other back and forth over the phone….which was right before she came over on her bike to play Monopoly with him with her gift, a new, very elaborate Monopoly set her mother had made up for her with a contribution of her father’s…real money.
“Then?” Nova purred, curious.
“Do you tell me about your sex life with Derek?” said Katrina, who began to shake as she remembered this part. She looked deep into Foxy’s eyes and said, “While you finish getting Ariel together…we will remember this on our own! SHOO!”
“Okay, lovebirds,” Nova said with a smile and a wink as she picked up Ariel’s little dress sandals from the shoe cabinet along with her little coat and beret. Soon, the little toddler would look adorable in her little knitted beret, coat, dress, and cute little open pink sandals that looked just like her Mommy’s. Mark and Holly smiled at Katrina and Foxy and whispered to themselves as they left the young lovers all alone…
To look hard into each other’s eyes….
And remember the rest of Christmas of 2207….
…what had happened, that is, after Michelle biked over to Derek and Nova’s place to annoy Jonathan. (Nova would drive her and the bike home later in the day in and on her car, which had a bike rack)
Eventually, Foxy put some of the perfume on Katrina. Then, he picked her up, and, after they prayed together in their own fashion, for happiness, he carried her out of the foyer…and back to a special room in the house…that he had saved for tonight.
Katrina found herself carried to a simple, beautiful, yet austere room.
It was a Japanese-style room, with classic wood and paper walls…tatami mats, and a very simple futon.
Katrina and Foxy fell onto the futon…kissing, grabbing at each other, and then stripping off each other’s clothes as if they were dying, and needed to touch each other as soon as possible.
“Oh…goddess…oh…goddesss!” gasped Katrina as they made love…and exploded into and around each other as she threw back her head, flexed her toes, and screamed like a wild thing.
“Foxy, Foxy, Foxy, Foxy,” gasped Katrina. “Damn you, do not stop, do NOT stop…!”
And, he didn’t stop.
The lovemaking went on in the tatami room for half the night. Then, and only then, did her carry her naked to their bedroom.
There, they didn’t need to wait up for their Christmas gifts….
…because they gave them.
To each other. He made love to her again as her, and then, in the dark of the night, she used the power Trelaina had given her to Change again, and to finish the night with him naked in his arms as her true self, as Princess Invidia.
There, they made love until Christmas Morning came.
Then, obviously, they slept late….
…very late…
IV. A
POEM OF MYRRH
(Derek and Nova’s First Christmas: A Day of Sacrifice)
The Solar System
Near Saturn-Titan Space Station
December 24, 2200
About 2000 Hours…
Finally, they arrived at the church; St. Luke’s Cathedral in the Megalopolis; the spot where the Wildstars and Ventures usually worshipped when they went to church in the Tokyo Megalopolis. It was the place where Alex and Ariel Wildstar had been baptized in only their skin as small babies in the baptismal Font one very hot day over a year ago, and it was the same spot where one of the toddlers, namely, Alex, would make his acting debut at the age of just under sixteen months in a little Christmas Pageant.
“We’re here early,” Derek Wildstar said as they entered the lobby. Katrina watched with interest as Nova, raised Catholic but now a member of an offshoot sub-denomination of the Church that, in the twenty-third Century, was in full communion and friendly accord with Rome stopped to dip her finger in the Holy Water font and cross herself as Derek did the same. Nova then helped the children do so as her parents smiled at them, and said, “It’s almost time, honey. We’re going inside. They need you and Alexander in the green room in about forty minutes…”
“Thanks, Mom…we can catch a little of Mass before the Pageant begins,” Nova said. This year, the reading of the Gospel of Luke would take place within the context of the children’s’ Christmas Paegeant in a show that they hoped would come out right. Alex giggled as he heard a braying sound from inside the church. “Mommy, what’s that?”
“Something rare, Alexander! A real donkey’s in there!” Nova said.
“Yeah, and real donkey poop,” quipped Derek.
“Derek!” Nova said as she playfully slapped her husband. “Really, dear, all you’ll do is encourage them!”
“Poo poo pee poo poo pee pee,” Alex began to singsong as Ariel giggled and began to pull up her own skirt.
Nova grabbed Ariel’s hand and said, “NO, honey! We save that for the bathroom, or the room where your pink potty chair is? Remember?”
“Mommy, that thing there looks like a toidey,” Ariel said.
“Ariel, that is a Holy Water font! Not a potty!” Nova explained as she tried to keep from getting the giggles herself. She had had a little Egg Nog before she had left, and was slightly giddy as a result. “Ariel, do you need to GO?” Nova whispered.
Ariel shook her head as Katrina asked, “Nova, do you and Derek have enough time to tell us your First Christmas tale before we go in?”
“I think we do,” Derek said. “Nova?”
Nova nodded. “Let me start. Holly…I don’t know quite where to start…It was 2200, after all…”
“You had your first Christmas together in 2199, Nova, on the Argo,” said Mark.
“Nonsense…I had a thing for him then, and he for me, but we didn’t know it then,” Nova said. “This is about our first Christmas…as a couple?”
“But, he was with the Third Squadron of the Earth Defense Forces, on patrol in space on the Argo then,” said Mark. “And you were on Earth. Right?”
“We were,” Derek said. “Except for one brief, magical, sacrificial moment….”
The year was
2200.
As Christmas approached, a small Space Frigate slowly approached Saturn-Titan Space Station as it came through the thick cloud cover of the icy world, over the growing base being built on one of Saturn’s moons.
She was known as the Sun H’tsu, and she was being used as a courier ship to carry people back and forth between the hospital at the Saturn-Titan space station and Earth. This worked both ways; sick people were being brought to Saturn-Titan and others were being ferried back to Earth.
Also, some doctors and nurses were aboard the Sun H’tsu. Some were being reassigned to Saturn-Titan; others would only be there on TDY as badly needed personnel filling empty slots there for a few days before heading back to Earth.
One of those people was a recently-promoted Lieutenant known as Nova Forrester.
Nova was being shipped out to Saturn-Titan for, maybe, a week to assist in operations and procedures there before heading home with those heading back to Earth on the Sun H’tsu’s next trip back. Part of her didn’t like the idea of heading out to Saturn-Titan for the holidays, while another part of her liked the idea of a little adventure, and getting away from her Mother and her picture books of potential suitors, even though Nova was trying to get it across to her mother Teri that she already had a boyfriend, probably soon to be fiancee’, named Derek Wildstar.
I wonder where Derek is right now with the Third Squadron? Nova thought to herself as she sat in a compartment on the Sun H’tsu with her bag, and with a scarf she had been meaning to Post out to the Argo (through her Fleet Post Office address) before leaving. It was her Christmas present to Derek; a new silk Captain’s ascot. Derek was aboard the Argo as her Acting or Deputy Captain, although he was not currently the Commander of the Third Squadron. That post was occupied by Commodore Jose’ Managua, a middle-aged officer who usually commanded the Argo himself as Fleet Commander, having young Lieutenant Commander Derek Wildstar serve under him as his XO and Deputy Captain.
Unknown to Nova, the Third Squadron was approaching Titan from a different direction, and Commodore Managua would soon be one of her patients. Managua had chronic trouble with ulcers, and the Third Squadron had to stop at Titan to pick up supplies and to drop off the Commodore on Titan for the operation and then for a brief period of recovery. The Argo and the Third Squadron could stop for only eighteen hours.
Nova didn’t think that much about her lonely predicament as her ship came in for its landing. Playing about with her red ascot, worn with her white jacket over her nurses’ tunic, her mind was on the operation….
SIX HOURS LATER…..(0200 Hours: December 25, 2200)
The operation had been a success.
Commodore Managua lay sleeping peacefully in a bed in a small room in the hospital. Nova, two other nurses, and a Doctor known as Doctor Bellingham had gotten right to work on the patient as soon as the Sun H’tsu had landed.
Nova was
alone in the room with him, watching quietly as he slept, occassionally
checking his vitals and recording them on a chart. She sat down, waiting for
her replacement, an Ensign named Lynda Simpson, to spell her so she could get
something to eat. I got to work as soon as I got here, Nova thought. I’m
famished. We were so busy with him, no one even told me what ship or fleet he’s
with. I wonder if it’s in his chart?
Nova got up and began to page through his chart until she heard a tap at the door. “Who is it?” she said.
“Can I come in to see him?” a young man asked. “My name’s Ensign Franklin. I’m the Commodore’s Yeoman and I’m kind of worried about the old guy, ma’am.”
Nova sighed. “I’m Lieutenant Forrester; his charge nurse. You can come in to see him, Ensign, but only for five minutes. He’s still under anesthesia but he’s going to coming out of it soon. He won’t need a convention in here when that happens.”
Franklin nodded and he came in to sit with Managua as Nova smiled a little, thinking that they must have been close. I wish I’d brought my clogs, Nova thought as she yawned. These danged new boots are too tight….
Nova watched Franklin sitting with Managua when another knock came at the door. “More people?” Nova sighed out loud.
“Must be the Skipper,” said Franklin.
“I don’t care if he’s Genghis Khan; he’s not getting in here,” Nova said as she opened the door a crack without looking at the face of the officer banging on the door. “Listen, you!” Nova snapped. “I don’t know who you are, but he can’t have another visitor right now! Go away and come back later!”
“Number one,” snapped the voice outside as Nova stopped in her tracks. “I have to leave this log extract in his valise! Number two…I believe we know each other, Nurse? You sound familiar…”
Nova threw
open the door, glared at her visitor, and then stood there in shock as she was
looking right at her surprised boyfriend!
Derek looked just as surprised as he stared at Nova. “Uhhhh….Nova? Is that you?” he said in a softer voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Derek, why aren’t you with your fleet?” Nova said. “Is the Argo all right?”
“You didn’t see us in Dock Twelve when we landed?” Derek snapped.
“Dock Twelve was empty when my ship came in,” Nova said. “Do you have anything to do with the Commodore?”
“Yeah…he’s the Old Man in charge of the Third Squadron; I’m his XO as well as Captain of the Argo,” Derek said. “Man, it’s been lonely out here…”
Nova nodded. “Same here…back on Earth. I…miss you,” she said.
Franklin looked at them. Then, he said, “Wildstar, hey! Hate to intrude, sir, but is she The Girl?”
“The Girl?” Nova said, amused.
“Yes, Miss….I mean…ma’am,” said Franklin. “This guy here has pictures of you at his post on the ship, and in his single patrol plane. He talks about you every day, and he practically worships the ground you walk on! He carries some stupid pink thing on him all the time, because it reminds him of you, and when he got a little tipsy on beer in the ship’s messhall one day, he said he wished he could have snuck you on board ship with him in a box with air holes in it.”
Nova giggled at Derek and said, “Derek, you’re silly! I wouldn’t fit in a box…with air holes in it! But I do appreciate the devotion and how much you miss me,” she said shyly as she kissed him.
Franklin said, “So when’s the wedding?”
“We haven’t set a date yet,” Nova and Derek said together, almost like a Greek Chorus. Then, they laughed, but Nova turned serious when she heard Managua coughing. She ran to his side and helped him to sit up, thumping his back to clear his lungs as the middle-aged flag officer looked at Nova and said, “So you’re the angel whose sad eyes I saw under that mask when you put me under?”
“I am,” Nova said. “I’m Nurse Nova Forrester. TDY assignment from Earth. Right now, you just need to take it easy, sir,” Nova said, blushing as Derek gently took her hand. “Derek…I..?”
“Wildstar?” asked Managua. “Dating a nurse? Won’t that girl of yours back home kill you, son?”
“This is the girl back home, sir,” said Derek. “Sir, meet Lieutenant Nova Forrester. Girlfriend, and you could say, fiancee’. We had a commitment ceremony right before I left with the Third Squadron, but I haven’t been able to get her a ring yet or meet her parents. She was one of the Star Force members who served with us when the Argo went to Iscandar. She served with Lieutenant Homer Glitchman and I.”
“I’m so sorry, Nova,” said Managua with a smile. “If I didn’t need him so badly on the Argo, I’d let you take him home with you as a Christmas present. Wildstar, what are you in here for?”
“Sir, the log
extracts,” Derek said as he saluted. “Nova, is his valise in here?”
“It is,” Nova said. “I put it in his locker under lock and key. I’ll put it in there. I have to stay with him for a while…”
“When can me meet up?” Derek said.
Nova scratched her head. “How about in an hour from now…the messhall on the Argo? It’s still open all night, right?”
“That it is,” Derek said. “See you there…”
Nova smiled at him as he left.
AN HOUR LATER (0300 Hours: December 25, 2200: Earthtime)
“I’ve missed
you so much!” Nova said as she stood in Derek’s arms in the near-empty messhall
on the Argo.
“Yeah, me too,” Derek said back as he kissed her. He thought she looked adorable in her white jacket, scarlet scarf, and trim little white pumps. Her long bare legs showed up to nice advantage in her short nurse’s skirt, and the two of them twirled together as they hungrily kissed again before getting on line with a surprised Space Marine from the Argo’s small Security platoon under the command of the ship’s Master-At-Arms.
“Wildstar, I’ve never seen ya kiss a girl before,” said the Corporal from the Marine Group.
“This isn’t just any girl,” snapped Derek. “This is the real Nova. She’s alive, Shimanski! And here in the flesh! Isn’t she gorgeous?”
“Yeah, she is. Lady, yer cute!” said Shimanski.
“Thank you,” Nova said with glittering eyes and a blush. “I’m the real thing. I’m not a figment of Derek’s imagination.”
“So are ya assigned to us now, ma’am?” said Shimanski. “We could use a cute girl here on the ship. We don’t have no ladies. This ship needs a feminine touch for this stupid patrol.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not assigned to this ship at this time,” Nova said after ordering some Shrimp Scampi off the board. “I’m serving on Earth…going back and forth between TDY assignments of all sorts; survey assignments; nursing assignments. I’m supposed to go right to Long Island for some survey work on the beaches to see how well the Cosmo-DNA worked when the Sun H’tsu drops me off on Earth again in a few days, so I’ll probably be in Times Square for New Years’ with a bunch of my colleagues and girlfriends,” Nova added. “Wish you could get leave on Earth, Derek…we’d paint the town red!” Nova laughed.
“Yeah,” said Derek as he ordered a cheeseburger and fries. Nova made him add a salad, yelling at him good-naturedly for living off junk food. “I can’t believe you!” Nova snapped. “I send you away for a year, and you’re eating crap! And you still don’t know how to comb your hair. I swear, I need to send you a brush!” Nova snapped as she ran her hands through his hair.
“Yeah….I know,” Derek said.
Then, Nova opened her bag and pulled out a long, long box. “Derek, sorry I didn’t get to wrap this; it’s for you!”
“It’s?”
“Your Christmas present, silly!” Nova said. “Open it!”
Derek did so, and he pulled out a Captain’s silk ascot in white. “ooooooo, nice!” he said. “Now, Nova, I’ve got something for you,” he said as he pulled a clumsily-wrapped thing out from an inner pocket of his peacoat.
“And this is?” Nova said.
“Unwrap it,” Derek said. “I got it at the PX, granted, at just 0220 Hours, but…”
Nova opened the item and smiled as she pulled out a bottle of Coconut-scented body wash that was only available through military channels right now. Not much had even been allotted to posts on Earth yet. She smiled, thinking that right now, her girlfriends would kill for a bottle of something this exotic that could barely be found on Earth. “Derek…this is very sweet…thank you! I’m going to hide this when I get home…otherwise, Natalie will kill me for it!”
The couple smiled at each other and kissed again, then they ate.
A few short hours passed. Derek showed Nova his cabin, and they sat in there for a while, talking about everything and nothing at all. Nova told him all about life on Earth, and Derek told her all about the tedium and loneliness of life with the Fleet.
Then, they went up to the empty, dimly-lit First Bridge, where they had been through so many perils and adventures together, and would experience many, many, more adventures in the coming years.
Derek put on a song from the computer banks at Communications, and Nova kicked off her shoes to slow-dance with him around the Astro-Compass as the strains of White Christmas played quietly on the near-darkened First Bridge. As they danced, Nova whispered, “The weather on Earth is still adjusting. I haven’t seen any snow yet, so thinking of snow makes me cry…”
“Why?”
“Because we haven’t had a snowball fight together yet!” Nova laughed. “Nor have I built a snowman and made him look like you yet. I wish we could be together right now…for good…”
“Me too,” Derek said. The dance ended, and they kissed. Then, a little beeper went off on Nova’s wristwatch. She stepped back and stepped into her shoes.
“What does that mean?” Derek said.
:”Darling, I have to go,” Nova said through brimming eyes. “I have another surgery scheduled at 0700, so I need to go back to the hospital and get a little sleep before I get back to work again. Thank you for the….the bath stuff! I love you!” Nova said. “I….”
“Nova…I…” Derek said as they kissed again. He wanted to say more when a signal went off on the comm panel. He answered it. “Yes?” he sighed.
“Wildstar, this is Homer. I was Officer of the Deck while you were seeing the Admiral. We had a fight in the engine room that me and some of the others just broke up. We need to do a Captain’s Mast ASAP. You up for it?”
Derek sighed. “Yeah…I am…I…Homer, you would not believe who’s here with me for a little while. I…”
Nova smiled and put a finger across her lips. Then, she kissed him and whispered in his ear, “See you later…” Then, like a will’o the wisp, she was gone, back to her world, while Derek returned to his own.
Wildstar thought, Yeah, and the Three Kings gave Him some gifts. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Myrrh means suffering. Yeah, that’s what Nova and I have to do…suffer…and wait…until life brings us together again…
After Nova and he told their story, Derek and the others went to the pews with Ariel while Nova kissed Derek and went off to the green room with little Alex.
In church, the usual readings began. Songs, hymns, readings from the Old Testament.
Then, finally, the Christmas Paegeant started, with a young boy reading from the Gospel of Luke as he read, “…And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed…”
Then, children in robes representing the Shepherds came out with their animals. A real donkey, some sheep, and a cow. The crowd in the church tittered a little as one of the kids (Jonathan, in robes) had a hard time getting his sheep to come in.
More readings came, and, finally, the lector got up to the sixth verse of Luke, Chapter Two, which read: “…And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her Firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger…”
A moment later, a spotlight came up, and the parties playing Mary and the Child (who had not been seen before) came in.
Portraying the Virgin was Nova, walking up with her hair in a simple ponytail, clad in two simple silken gowns, and barefoot, but elegant and tasteful in her simple portrayal of Mary.
In her arms lay little Alex, dressed in only a simple little linen gown, with his little bare legs and feet wrapped in a blue baby blanket.
Then, when Nova appeared, a female soloist sang “Silent Night,” as Nova held and rocked little Alex, her real firstborn son, in her arms, looking out with love to Derek with eyes that made him want to cry.
Finally, when she was done, Nova spoke a little into a hidden wireless mike in her robes, and said, “While I’m not the Mother of our Lord, she and I have a lot in common. I can sympathize with her. Like her, I had my son almost alone, with only my husband and a very few people there.”
Nova continued with, “Mary was away from home and she had Him in an inn. I had my son and daughter in a shuttlecraft. She probably barely even had a blanket to cover herself after the birth, and lay on straw. I was lying on a mattress on a ship with nothing to cover me but a ragged blanket. We were both scared. We both had a very inexperienced man trying to comfort us. I…slugged my husband during the labor pains. For all we know, she probably slapped St. Joseph around a bit, too. Maybe that’s why they made him a saint?” Nova said with an ironic smile as the crowd chuckled a little.
Nova then said, “I can identify with Mary, but she had a tougher job. She had to raise the Father’s Son, a King. All I have are two cute little squirts, including this one here…right, Alexander?”
“Right, Mommy,” said Alex. “When can we go home?”
“Soon…as soon as church is over with.”
“Thank you, Mommy,” said Alex as Nova put him in the manger and tickled his little toes as another hymn played.
Then, later, she and Derek went home with their children.
When they were all tucked in, safe, dreaming of Santa, Nova came back into bed with Derek.
There, they shared their final Christmas Presents of the night.
Namely, each other.
And then, it was a beautiful night….
END.