Save the Last Dance for
Me
A Novellette in Four Acts
By Frederick P. Kopetz
with note to the following: STAR BLAZERS, SPACE BATTLESHIP
YAMATO, and all related names and elements are copyright (C) 1998 by Voyager
Entertainment, Inc. Star Blazers is a registered trademark of Jupiter Films,
Inc. All Rights Reserved.
NOTE: This story and its
successors represent an Alternate Reality that may or may not coincide with the
events portrayed in the STAR BLAZERS and SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO series and
movies.
Special Thanks to Derek C.
Wakefield and the rest of THE ISCANDAR PROJECT for ideas and concepts of theirs
I have been permitted to use herein. These ideas are (c) 1998 by Derek C.
Wakefield and THE ISCANDAR PROJECT. Thanks to Gail R. Kopetz
for her aid and assistance.
ACT ONE--MORNING IN
THE
I. WINTER BREEZE
December 26, 2201
Denver Megalopolis-Boulder District
The
Spruce Street
1022 Hours
It's been quite a long time since I've
seen a mountain like that , thought
Captain Derek Wildstar as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the
Boulderado Hotel on the far northern edge of the Denver Megalopolis, looking west
toward Flagstaff Mountain on the third day of his leave. It's been such a
long time since I've really celebrated the holidays, for that matter, too... he
added to himself, smiling as he bent to pick up a small object from a metal
table on the modernistic balcony.
Glancing at a thermometer on the outside
wall, he was a little surprised that it was already twelve degrees Centigrade
this morning, and in December at that. Off in the distance, he could hear the
sound of water running. Well, there goes yesterday morning's Christmas snow,
he thought again. Nova warned me the climate here can be pretty
capricious at times. If it goes up to twenty, I guess the only snow I'll be
seeing today will be in this...
Wildstar looked at the object. It was a
small, crystalline globe that contained a tiny model of the Denver Megalopolis,
with the
However, this particular Saturday would be
somewhat more important to both Derek and Nova than the holiday they had
celebrated the day before; because today was to be their wedding day.
I can't believe it, he thought in wonder as he looked south towards the
rest of
Derek looked down at himself, pleased that
his uniform was in order. He had been authorized to wear his Star Force Combat
Group whites, over which he wore the new jet black peacoat which had been given
to him upon his recent formal promotion to the Captaincy of the Argo;
the distinctive high red-lined collar, trimmed with gold braid, was currently
up against the morning chill. He reached down, adjusting his ascot again. He
wasn’t quite used to his Captain’s scarf yet, and he felt a bit like a fool
with the silken scarf on. A surge of nervous energy ran through him as he again
realized WHY he was in his Captain's coat this morning. Wildstar tried to calm
his mind, but he was interrupted as someone opened the door to the hotel room
behind him.
"Derek, why are you blathering away
under your breath?," asked a somewhat
tired-looking Lieutenant Commander Mark Venture as he came through the door
onto the balcony. He was dressed in his Star Force Navigation Group whites
with a blue officer's peacoat because all of the Star Force veterans who were
in the wedding party had been authorized to wear their Star Force uniforms.
Venture had also been authorized to wear a ceremonial sword in a scabbard over
his blue officer's coat. Wildstar himself wore no such sword because in
military weddings in those times, the tradition was that the bride and groom,
who were supposed to be celebrating, went unarmed, "guarded" by their
honor guard.
"None of your business, Venture, " snapped Derek with a slightly annoyed grin as he
paced the balcony like a caged tiger. "Oh, you know, there's
so many mysteries in this universe under God that I don't quite understand
or know how we can know all of the truth, even though I certainly believe..."
"I think you have a point. Since we've
been travelling in space, we've learned so much...and yet..."
"Well, Mark... I believe we found
another small aspect of the truth on Iscandar...and saw a little more of the
truth when...well...when Trelaina made you well again and brought you back
to us..."
"...although, sometimes, I wonder WHY
she brought me back," said Venture quietly. "Can you tell me what she
said again?" he said with a hitch in his throat.
"It's all part of a greater mystery we
don't fully understand. Mark..". she said, as we told you in the hospital, "...I must
give him back to you....", and she said you had a destiny to
fulfill."
"Destiny," said Venture numbly as
he looked west towards
"When?" asked
Wildstar with a start, aware that neither he nor Nova had ever told
Venture what she had said about their marriage.
"In the dreams I was having," sighed Venture.
"Mark," said Wildstar as he laid a
hand on Venture's shoulder. "If this is too painful for you..."
"Derek...we don't need to discuss this
any more...okay?" said Venture. "You know I promised to be your best
man as soon as you asked. This is going to be the happiest day of your life...I
want you to get out there and enjoy it...okay?,"
added Venture. "Oh, by the way, your ascot's hanging out."
"It IS? Oh, great!"
"I think you forgot to put it in
before, Captain," Mark jibed...wiping his eyes quickly with the heel of
his hand so that Wildstar wouldn't notice the tears at the edges of his eyes.
"Oh...yeah," said Wildstar.
"Can't have Nova seeing me like that at the altar, can I?,"
he said as he shakily adjusted it.
"Y'know, Derek, you look nervous?"
said Venture in a deadpan voice as Wildstar tucked in the scarf and struggled
to adjust his collar to the proper position.
"What ELSE is new?" snapped
Wildstar. "Don't you know a man is supposed to be nervous on his wedding
day?!? Haven't you ever read the great old masters of the 21st Century, like
Tannenberg, or Han Sang...or the great writers of the 20th Century, like Harold
Robbins or Stephen King?"
"Derek, if you're spouting out THOSE
guys as the "Great Masters", you're in worse shape than I
thought!" said Venture. "Stop jittering around like that!"
"I know what I'm doing," said
Wildstar as he straightened up, and walked forward...right into the table with
a yelp.
"At the rate you're going...I hope you
remember you're supposed to hug Nova up there at the altar...and not me. Take a
deep breath, and calm down."
"Oh," muttered Wildstar. "Thanks, Mark." Wildstar looked even more embarrassed at
that. "Everything looks okay?"
"You look okay...don't worry about the
room...you and Nova will be back up here later on for a bit, after the
reception...and you know...if we don't get out of here and get on our way,
you'll end up leaving poor Nova stranded at the altar of that church waiting
for you at 1200. I'm sure you don't want that to happen."
"You got that right!" exclaimed
Wildstar. "So, let's get the heck outta here!"
At that, they stepped towards the door to
leave.
II. MEMORIES
December 26, 2201
The Forrester Family Residence
Baseline Drive
1028 Hours
Teri Forrester was sitting on the bed in a
white-paneled room right beneath a red-shaded hurricane lamp. The light somehow
seemed to compliment the pink mother-of-the-bride dress she was wearing. It was
trimmed in scarlet at the neckline and waist, and, in spite of her worries, her
husband Karl thought she looked adorable in it. Teri was just as nervous as
Mark Venture at the moment, and she sat on the bed idly playing with her pearl
necklace with one hand while tapping her satin evening-pump clad foot on the
carpeted floor.
This bedroom of the Forresters' home,
rebuilt in the early part of the year according to the original design of the
house, looked both empty and lived-in at the same time. The lived-in look came
from the scattered bits and pieces of a life that had been hauled back here
from storage underground, while the empty look came from the fact that the
owner of these possessions was, out of necessity, so seldom here to make use of
them.
But, Teri wiped away a few tears as she
absently tossed a gold-and-blue cheerleaders' pom-pom into a box. "She
won't be back to practice in the house with these again," she said out
loud to no one in particular as Karl came into the room.
"Teri, what are you doing in
here?" asked Karl with a lump in his throat. He was resplendent in a black
tuxedo coat, pinstriped ascot tie, and striped evening slacks.
"Waiting," sobbed Teri.
"Why the tears?"
"Nova's never going to enjoy these
things that we were able to keep again here in her rebuilt old room...a room
she's barely seen again…that's why," said Teri as she picked a framed
watercolor of a butterfly out of the box. "Can you believe our baby
painted this when she was eleven...the summer before we were hit in 2190? It's
a good thing she got this picture of this butterfly before the opportunity to
paint them from life passed...maybe forever? And she's going to be LEAVING us
soon...going off to
"Teri...you wanted her to get
married..." said Karl with a lump in his throat.
"Oh...I know...but it's all happening
so fast!" sobbed Teri. "At least...well...at least he's a good young
man. I don't care WHAT my sister says about him..."
"Teri...do you want Nova to hear you?
She's right there in the den with Natalie and the rest of the bridesmaids,
putting the final touches on her hair and nails..."
"I hope she won't be cold outside
today," sobbed Teri. "That dress...she's hardly got anything on her
head, and she's not even wearing a decent pair of hose with those strappy shoes
of hers..."
"You know what the rationing's
like...you said she was lucky to get a white dress or shoes of any kind. She'll
be fine," said Karl reassuringly. "It doesn't seem that cold out
today, and she won't be outside for long...and, besides, I don't see you
complaining about your neckline or those peep toes on
your shoes..."
"I'll be wearing a wrap! What about my
daughter?" said Teri. "She'll freeze without
a coat on...like she does in those skin- tight uniforms she wears in the space
service!"
"Standard issue...and hasn't your
brother-in-law Hiram told you that those uniforms keep her quite warm when they
have to?"
"Oh...he has," sniffed Teri.
"Besides, Captain Wildstar's not about
to let her freeze," chuckled Karl.
"He's so young, though..."
"And he has the thanks of all of Earth,
AND a brand-new house to give her," said Karl. "They'll be
fine...Mother, you'll see..."
"I hope so...I just hope that Derek
eventually talks some sense into her...and that she goes off and brings forth the children Earth needs..."
"Which she'll do; she's told me that,
Teri."
"When?"
"When it's the right time to have
them," said Karl. "She told me..."
"She told you...?"
Both Karl and Teri were hushed by the sound of
the doorknob rattling in the den down the hall. They ran to the door, expecting
Nova, but were suprised to find Nova's old friend, and maid of honor,
Lieutenant Natalie Fisher, emerging from the room, instead over the low sound
of several other young ladies' voices in the den. She wore an elaborate satin
gown in deep pink, with matching pink gloves and high-heeled sandals. There
were, appropriately, a few pink rosebuds in her dark brown shoulder-length
hair.
"Where's Nova?,"
said Teri anxiously as the silent young woman tiptoed up.
"She's not…having second thoughts...is
she?," asked Karl.
"Not at all," whispered Natalie as
she came up to Karl and grabbed him gently by the arm.
"Well, what's she waiting for?"
asked Teri.
""She just wants to knock your
socks off, that's all," said Natalie. "Everyone
else is ready and waiting downstairs?"
"They certainly are," said Karl
with a lump in his throat.
"Okay...it's
ten-thirty…we have an hour...we're fine," smiled Lieutenant Fisher.
"On your mark...," whispered Natalie. "Get set..."
Then, she paused. After a moment, Natalie
sang, "Nova, you can come OUT now!"
Karl took a deep breath as, ever so slowly,
the door began to open.
"Mama...Papa..." said a tentative
voice from the other side of the door. "How do I
look?"
After a long pause, Teri said in a tiny
voice, "Wonderful, my baby...WONDERFUL...."
III. ARRIVAL
December 26, 2201
Rockies Outlook Church
Baseline Drive
1051 Hours
"Where's Wildstah?," asked Senior
Lieutenant Jefferson Hardy as he stood near his old shipmate Stephen Sandor in
the back of the round sanctuary of Rockies Outlook Church, part of the North
American Catholic Church that had instituted some reforms but retained ties to
Rome. Both of them, like Venture, were
members of the wedding party honor guard, all of whom were here to prepare for
the ceremony. As such, and as Star Force veterans, Sandor and Hardy were both
in their respective Star Force uniforms and blue peacoat, which were decorated
with white boutonnieres. All of them wore scabbards with ceremonial swords at
the ready.
"Venture and he had adjoining rooms at
the hotel," said Sandor as he glanced down the aisle, making sure that the
white runner was in place on the aisle floor.
"What about Nova?" asked Hardy.
"She'll be here with her parents right before the ceremony starts, according to the
old tradition."
"She's gonna make Wildstah sweat, huh,
Sandor?" chuckled Hardy.
"Excuse me a minute," said Sandor
as he left the group momentarily to greet the Commander with a salute and
escort him and his wife to their places in the front pew.
"Think Wildstar'll get here on
time?" asked Hardy after Sandor returned back to the lobby a few minutes
later. "He seems kinda late."
"I hope so," said a young
blond-haired man as he strode up and doffed his sunglasses after helping to
seat an elderly guest.
"Wait a minute," said Senior
Lieutenant Dash Jordan, who was present as a guest but not part of the honor
guard. "Uhh...you're the only one here I don't know," he said,
looking over at the rest of the honor guard, all of whom were standing around
in a little group waiting for more guests to escort to their seats. "May I
ask who you are?"
"I know OF you, Jordan, but as you evidently
don't know me, let me introduce myself," said the blonde-haired fellow. "Name's Lieutenant Samuel Josiah; one of the bride's three
surviving cousins. You'll meet the other two: Jane and Kristin, a little
later today. Although, granted, I wouldn't advise you to try to move on Jane,
because I'll be escorting her today during the reception, or on Kristin: she's
just five." He grinned a little and said, "It's hard to believe that
my cousin and I received went to Sunday School and all
that in this church; and that now, she's to be married here. Boy, how time
flies."
"Heyy!" yelled a cheerful little
fireplug of a man who just happened to be Dr. Sakezo Sane, the Argo's chief
medical officer. "Anyone need a sip of Captain
Avatar's spring water?" he asked, extending a bottle towards the group.
"We can wait until later, Doctor,"
said Sandor quietly after he saw a high-ranking officer to his pew.
"Oh, why not LIVE a little?" asked
Dr. Sane as his gold and black tiger-striped cat, Mimi, came up to him and meowed.
She was wearing a white bow around her neck with a little rosebud; and Dr.
Sane, looking as eccentric as ever, was dressed in his Medical whites, to which
he had added a black bow tie.
"It's because we know what that spring
water REALLY is, and, besides...aren't you forbidden from bringing it here on
holy ground?" grinned Veronica Davis, who was
standing near Sandor as she began to shake her head. The young Afro-American
RSO looked very nice today in her yellow bridesmaid's gown, which left her
shoulders and arms bare. A dainty foot, which looked very different in a satin
sandal as opposed to an EDF uniform boot, poked out from below the floor-length
hem of the gown for a minute as Ronnie adjusted her stance, gallantly aided in
her chore by Josiah, who would have the task of escorting her today. As
Veronica was rather pretty, Sam didn't exactly mind this part of his job
description, in spite of his usual cool reserve.
"Humph! You don't know a thing,"
said Dr. Sane. "In about an hour, Wildstar and Nova will be sipping wine
together at the altar as part of the ceremony. I think I'm entitled to
this," he said, patting his omnipresent bottle of "spring water"
as Chris Eager came up towards the group from the other side of sanctuary.
"How's it going?,"
he asked in his interminable
"Still waiting for Wildstar and Venture
and a million guests," said Ensign Paul Rosstowski with a shake of his
head. "I'm here, Sandor's here; Sam Josiah's here, Hardy's here, and"
"...I'm here, too!" said a young, rather
slight man with a chuckle as he came up from behind a support pillar at the
back of the church, making an effort to keep his ceremonial sword straight.
"Royster!,"
said Eager. "What're you doin' here?"
"Easy...I was wounded in action, like
the rest of you, and Sandor proposed to Wildstar that I should be a member of
the Honor Guard! I accepted. First time I've ever done this, heh, heh, and who
knows...I might get very close to a really nice girl today!"
"Really?" said IQ-9 as he came up
behind Royster.
"Yes, REALLY," huffed Neville
Royster. "I'm supposed to be escorting a young lady named Laurel Hartmann
today during the reception."
"Does she like you?"
"We've...well...we've only met once,
heh, heh...at the rehearsal. At least she didn't laugh at me. IQ?"
"Yes?"
"What do you think is the probability
that Miss Hartmann will give me her phone number today?"
The squat red analysis robot said,
"Deep down, I'm somewhat depressed today, but permit me to make an
analysis." His sensors and lights began to bleep as he cogitated.
"Based on my analysis of your appearance, Royster, I calculate the chance
of your doing anything more than getting Miss Hartmann to laugh at you today is
about .05234 percent."
"I think your analysis is FAULTY!"
yelled Royster. "You know women don't always go for the strong and brawny
types!"
"Yes, but do most officers use greasy
kid stuff on their hair? HA HA!" said IQ-9, who had enough intelligence to
can it when General Stone came up and harrumphed quietly, leading his wife,
Danielle, by one arm.
"Sir, permit me to escort you and your
wife to your pew," said Royster.
"Thank you, Mister," said Stone
formally. The General smiled at his blonde wife (something most of them had
never seen him do before), and she and Royster talked a little as they went to
their place. When he came back, Royster noticed IQ snickering. "Why don't
you knock it off? I just completed a very fearful job, you know," snapped
Royster after rejoining the rest of the Honor Guard in the lobby of the church
for a moment.
"Oh, I will...just let me fix your hair
a bit," said the robot, who reached out and began
to muss up Royster's hair before the young man could react. Then, over the
yells of a protesting Royster, and the laughter of some of the others, IQ said,
"Now you look a little less like you used a pork chop to comb it! Ha!
Ha!"
At that, Royster took off with a huff.
"IQ, I'm a little surprised you got
invited if you're going to act like that today," said Sandor.
"I'm just blowing off some steam!," he said. "Hello there, Veronica," he said
as he rolled up to Miss Davis. "Nova rejected my last-ditch proposal of
marriage a few days ago. Would you like to marry me? I'm getting really
desperate for some real female companionship in my later years. Finally, my
sensors indicate that your legs are gorgeous."
Ronnie began to laugh, more with
embarrassment than anything else.
"IQ!" snapped Sandor in
exasperation, "Did you have your last 10,000 hour checkup?"
"Yes, I passed with flying
colors," said the little robot.
"How??" snapped Sam. "You
don't act like a gentleman, you rolling trash can!"
"I did. Because your cousin Nova didn't
like what I did a few days ago, when I proposed again, I went to her place and tried
to apologize. I was desperate; I brought flowers and candy to her apartment,
and I had a bow tie on. I tried to be the perfect gentleman."
"Which we can see you obviously
AREN'T," hissed Sam with his teeth bared.
The argument ended for a moment when more
guests showed up and Samuel, Sandor, and Hardy had to, respectively, show them
to their seats. The sanctuary was filling up now.
"What did Nova think, IQ?" asked
an amused Dash when they returned.
"That's beside the POINT!" snapped
Ronnie. "Don't you guys care what I think?"
"I think you have cute legs, Miss
Davis," said IQ morosely. "But not as cute as Nova's."
"Well, thanks a LOT!" said Ronnie,
now even more insulted.
"IQ-9, I think you owe her an
apology," said Josiah.
"All right. I'm sorry, Miss Davis."
"Accepted if you don't propose to me
again," snorted Ronnie.
"I won't."
"IQ, what about you and Nova?"
insisted Dash. "I hope she...and her...cousin'll forgive me for pressing
you about this story, but it sounds kind of funny. What happened when you went
to her billet?"
Oh, BROTHER, thought Josiah as he rolled up his eyes behind his
shades. And Nova always told me these guys were so HONORABLE! Why doesn't
that jerk Dash QUIT it?
"Well, I believe I caught her at a bad
time," said IQ. "After she came to the door in the cold in nothing
but a pink bathrobe with her fists clenched and a wet head of hair, she finally
calmed down and said my sentiment was sweet, but it was far too late for
us."
What? thought
Josiah. A robot with a crush on my cousin?
How come you never told me about THIS, little lady? This is weird!!!
"She told me our relationship was
settled many, many years ago," continued IQ-9 in his high, electronic
voice, "and she also said that if I didn't remember that and remember how
much she loves Captain Wildstar, I would be acting like a tinwit instead of a
genius. She said we could still be friends, though, and she said she'd see me
after her honeymoon with Wildstar. And, then, she asked me to be the ringbearer
at the ceremony. That was the worst shot of all."
"Why?,"
said Eager. "Least she asked ya to be part of the weddin' party...".
The conversation ceased again when Royster,
Rosstowski, Hardy, and Sandor had to leave the group to escort some more
guests, and resumed on their return when IQ-9 could be overheard saying,
"I'm a genius about these matters, too, Eager! I researched everything I
could find about human weddings. My research indicated that children usually
are asked to be the ringbearers at these events. She has me...doing a child's
job. Can't she see how I feel about her? Can't she see I have a broken
heart?"
TOUCHE', cousin! Good thinking. thought Sam Josiah. "IQ-9...it would never work
out," he said with a wicked grin. "My cousin's a human being...and
you're just a robot. Can't you see that?"
"Yes...all I am is...a...
ROBOT," he said. "I'm just a hunk of scrap metal, like Nova said on
Beemira. Excuse me, everyone. Hunks of scrap metal aren't supposed to be
suffering from broken hearts..."
The robot left in a very subdued manner.
Sandor looked at the group and took a deep sigh.
"Hardy," he said. "I'm
leaving you in command for the time being. Come and get me when Wildstar and
Venture show up. I've got to go off and talk with IQ-9. If this depression is
causing his odd behavior, I'll have to put a stop to it. Miss Davis, my
apologies," said Sandor with a bow.
"It's all right, sir. You couldn't have
anticipated it." said Ronnie stiffly. "Where's Jane? You're supposed
to escort her later on, you know."
"My other cousin's helping Nova get
ready, I think, sir," said Josiah. "She'll show up soon."
Sandor nodded. "Hardy?"
"Right, suh," said Hardy with a
salute as Sandor left.
"Hardy, does my hair look okay?"
asked Royster as he came back from escorting another couple "I was trying
to fix it up in the head before I had to escort General Remsenberg and Mrs.
Remsenberg."
"Looks fine to me," said Hardy.
"Do you think I'll get Miss Hartmann to
notice me today?," he asked plaintively. "She
didn't pay much attention to me at the rehearsal. All she did was watch me a bit."
"Why not?" said Hardy, more in an
attempt to cheer up the young officer than anything else. "Take a gander
at it," he said with a conspiratorial wink as he nodded towards the side
of the lobby where many of the women were gathering. "I don't see Miss
Hartmann...but...ain't they a bunch of lookers?"
"Who's Nova's maid of honor?"
asked Eager.
"She just came back out; she's the one
over there with the orange gown and the reddish-brown straight hair," said
Sam Josiah. "Her name's Natalie Fisher. Commander Venture'll be escorting
her today at the reception. She and Nova grew up together here in
"Yeah," said Eager, who immediately
swiveled his head like a strike fighter's aft turret when he got a look at a
striking young dark-haired woman with Eurasian features in a purple gown.
"WHOA! Who's that?"
"A young lady known as
Mio Hoshiyama," said Hardy with a grin. "I'm heh escort, and ah
talked to her a moah than a little at the rehearsal...and, by the way, if your
Lisa knew how you was lookin' at her, I think she'd KILL you, son."
"Does she have a boyfriend?," asked Dash.
"None of yoah business," said
Hardy with an evil grin as Angelique Hartcliffe bopped up in a bright pink
minidress with lace-up sandals remarkably similar to the sort she wore with her
bridal mini a few days before at her "shotgun" wedding, walking along
with her wild-haired newlywed husband Bryan on her arm. "Hello,
ma'am," said Hardy. "Shall I escort you and your husband to your
pew?"
"Sir, if, like, you DON'T mind,"
said Hartcliffe. "she's MINE to escort. Know what
I mean?"
Rosstowski noticed, with distaste, that
Hartcliffe's little wire-rimmed pair of round glasses made him look somewhat
like several historical musicians of the late twentieth century, specifically
the mid-to-late 1960's. His droopy brown handlebar mustache and slightly
twisted grin made the historical resemblance complete.
The British pilot, in his blues and a
peacoat, stood leering at the group, and grabbed his blonde wife a bit closer
to him, as if to say, "See what I've got?" Angie giggled at
his attention, with her giggles growing louder as Hartcliffe tickled her tummy
for a moment.
"Hey!" yelled Josiah. "Don't
you know you're not supposed to do that in front of other fighter jocks?"
"Yeh?" said Hartcliffe. "Tell
me, sir, are you gonna protest when Wildstar bloody kisses 'is bird up at the
altar?"
"HIS "bird", my friend,
happens to be my cousin!," snapped Josiah in a
hissy whisper.
"Hey, sir. Chill out. Didn't yer Mum ever tell ya you're not
supposed to swing at a guy who's wearin' glasses?" mouthed off Hartcliffe.
"Specially when he's with 'is wife, who's also
wearin' glasses?" he said, pointing at Angie's Ben Franklin-style glasses
as she smiled.
"Listen," said Josiah in a low
voice. "You don't want to know most of what my mother has said about
people like you! It's a really good thing she's not here today."
"Why? Should I be scared o' your
Mum?" chuckled Hartcliffe.
"If you're sane, YES," said Josiah
firmly. "My mother, Mister, is, for whatever reason, about as crazy as a
bedbug. She's at a religious retreat today, and you'd be wise to stop talking
nonsense about that woman."
"Why? She gonna put a…"
"
"Apology accepted," said Samuel
stiffly. "Don't let it happen again, Mister?"
"Right, sir," said Hartcliffe with
a flat, unreadable expression on his face. He and Angie left. "I like your
dress," he said in a low voice as they walked up the aisle together
admiring the ornamental white and red ribbons of the pews and the Christmas floral
arrangements near the altar, which had a huge golden crucifix hanging over it,
"even if it's all we could manage with the bills."
"Thanks. I feel terrible," said
Angie sadly.
"Why?"
"Well, you know, Nova asked me to be a
bridesmaid...but you know we couldn't afford to lay out five hundred credits
for one of those long gowns. I felt terrible saying no to her, after she was
the only lady in the squadron who stood up for me at our wedding."
"How'd she take it?"
"She offered to pay for my
dress..." said Angie sadly.
"You didn't tell me that, luv,"
said Hartcliffe in a soft voice as they sat down. "Why didn't cha take 'er
up on the offer?"
"I COULDN'T,
"I see," said Hartcliffe.
"Can we drop it?"
"Yes...I guess...but...aren't they
pretty?" said Angie in a forlorn voice.
"How come the bridesmaids have
got…y'know…different colors, luv?," asked
Hartcliffe.
"Did you forget? It's Nova's idea. She
talked to both of us about it," said Angelique softly. "They're all
supposed to be a rainbow. You know...Natalie, who'll be next to the bride, is
supposed to be red...Becky over there's supposed to be orange...Ronnie is
yellow...Jane over there is green...Mio Hoshiyama is purple...and that cute
little Kristin there with the bare little legs is supposed to be blue, of
course."
"Didn't know that. Sorry. Where's that dark shade o' purple between
violet and blue?"
"That's going to be indigo. And
that's..."
"The white-haired bird we saw at the
rehearsal?," said Hartcliffe.
"WRONG. She's platinum blonde,"
said Angie.
"Wot was 'er name again?," chuckled Hartcliffe. "She was in the other
squadron...Wildstar's, I think..."
The mystery was being answered at the same
moment out in the lobby, where everyone went silent as Sandor came in outside
with a tall and gorgeous young redhead on his arm in a green gown; she was Jane
Forrester, Nova's other cousin. He was followed closely by Laurel Hartmann.
The most striking thing about
Finally, Sandor stood with Jane and Laurel
before the others. The tall Mechanical Group leader formally extended his left
hand towards Jane and said, "Gentlemen, this is Nova's cousin Jane. Not
long after the Gamilon war ended, she inherited her father's ranchland a
distance south of here and received a small allotment of cattle to reconstruct
the ranch."
"Are you raising the cattle for
meat?" asked Eager.
"No...I'm just trying to rebuild the
stock against the day when I can sell the cattle again," said Jane.
"If it all works out, someday we'll have real
Then, Sandor looked towards
"How'd ya do?" asked Hartcliffe,
who looked a little skeptical, in spite of the fact that he had a rather good
pilot standing there on his arm.
"Second-highest amount of kills in my
squadron in that engagement," said
"No, he should be here soon," said
Sandor.
"Hope he ain't overdue!" said
Eager with a stupid grin.
Throughout all of this, Rosstowski had
remained silent, alternating between leaning against one of the carpeted support
pillars, looking at his light brown boots, and looking out vacantly over the
crowds in the hall below the round white church building. He was just kind of
looking at his boots again when he suddenly spied a lady's sandal-clad foot
next to his.
He looked up, taking in the sweep of orange
satin that confronted his gaze, and found that he was standing next to a rather
cute young woman with dark brown hair that sort of spread out in wings at the
back of her neck.
"Hello, stranger," she said.
"Who are you? I mean...I saw you at the
rehearsal, and I know I'm supposed to be escorting you during the reception and
all, but..."
"Lieutenant Rebecca Falworth,"
said the newcomer in a light Anglian accent, who thought that it would be a
good idea not to mention that her father had just been appointed the commanding
Admiral of the Combined Fleet. "Like my gown?" she said, pirouetting
a bit. "I thought I'd be freezing outside today, but it was kind of nice
outside today, even though it's a good thing we're meeting downstairs. Isn't
this
"Yeah," said Rosstowski
unenthusiastically as he came back from escorting another guest.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just...kind of thinking of my own wedding,"
said Rosstowski.
"Is your wife here?" asked
Rebecca.
Paul shook his head. "No. And she never
will be again."
"I'm so sorry," said Rebecca.
"You once told me she was a nice person."
"When?"
"On our mission to
Iscandar...remember?" said the young lady. "I was an Ensign in
Analysis then."
"I was in Combat...but I don't think we
ever met."
"Weren't you a Black Tiger?" asked
Rebecca.
"No, I wasn't."
"We DID meet. You don't remember, I
guess," said Rebecca. "So, if I'm not intruding...what happened to
Clarissa? Was it...well...because of the bombings?"
"No," said Paul. "And it's
not like you think, either. She didn't die. She divorced me early this year.
Now do you see why I'm not that happy today? I'm just here for Wildstar, that's
all."
"I'm sorry," said Rebecca with a
sigh. "If you'd rather be left alone..."
"For now...it might be a good
idea," said Rosstowski with a sigh as he walked off, leaving Rebecca
flabbergasted.
Rosstowski walked along by himself for a
bit, heading upstairs into the church lobby, which was irregularly shaped,
following the curvature of the building. He ignored a happy couple as they
walked through the high brass outer doors and headed into the church's main
sanctuary.
He sighed, and, unmindful of how he looked,
he leaned against the wall. Damnit, why
bother about appearances? No one can help me. Clarissa dumped
me...never wants me back...wouldn't even come or bring our daughter...or let me
bring her...nada. Nothing. What should I do today?
Smile and act like a jerk?
Rosstowski sighed, leaning against the wall
all by himself for a moment. A moment later, he heard the doors opening, and
they heard Sandor's voice calling out, "All honor guard members and
bridesmaids...to your places! Wildstar's just arrived!"
A tinge of jealousy went through Rosstowski
as he realized the implications of what would soon take place. Like many others
on the Argo, he had stolen quite a few glances at their cute Living
Group Leader during that first mission, even though his wedding ring and child
had been among the most formidable of many barriers between the two of them.
Still, he didn't begrudge Wildstar his happiness as he went outside and saw him
approaching with Venture and Natalie.
Still, he and Venture locked eyes for a moment,
and saw that, indeed, for different reasons, they seemed to be brothers today.
Brothers of a sad kind,
for theirs was a brotherhood of
shared grief, albeit for different reasons.
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