ALTERNATE
TALES OF THE STAR FORCE
STAR BLAZERS---IT NEVER RAINS IN
A Postscript to THE
NEW COMET--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz
This Story is being completed with the
Cooperation and Assistance of Derek A.C. Wakefield (as usual)---Freddo
PART ONE: OF THE WINTER
OF OUR DISCONTENT…
I. A RAINY NIGHT
Earth
The
Thursday, February 11, 2208
1505 Hours Local Time
Nova Wildstar decided
to stick her head outside
She went outside with
Dawn Hardy, who was working with her this day at the hospital.
“It’s getting warm
again,” said Dawn with a sigh as she ran her hand over her now 6 and a half
months’ pregnant stomach.
It was drizzling
slightly, and there were a few pieces of dead snow on the ground; leftovers
from Sunday’s snowstorm. Nova could see waves of steam coming up from the road
in front of the hospital beneath her sandals as she sipped at some coffee.
“Is weather always
this weird in
“No, it just used to
be rainy in the winters here,” said Dawn. “At least it was like that last
year,” she said as she sat in the grass. “My ankles hurt.”
“Water weight gain
from your twins,” Nova said. “The last time Doctor Sane and I had a look on the
ultrasound, they were getting big.”
“Too big,” Dawn said.
She looked at her pregnant stomach and sighed. “How much fatter am I going to get?”
“You remember how I
looked when I was expecting,” Nova replied. “Use that as a benchmark.”
Dawn looked down,
wiggling her own sandaled toes up. I can still just about see them over this
stomach, she thought mournfully. “Jeff thinks I’m fat,” Dawn said.
“He does not,” Nova
said.
“He thinks I am just
grotesque,” Dawn said as she was close to tears. Nova hugged her, thinking, It must be the hormones. I got like that a lot
when I was carrying Alex and Ariel.
Then, both Dawn and
Nova looked up when they heard an arguing couple approaching.
Dawn set aside her
own feelings when she saw Angie Hartcliffe, who was now close to nine months’
pregnant, walking along in silence in a short maternity dress and flip-flops
holding her stomach as Bryan Hartcliffe walked behind her, berating her.
“Yer know, you’d better take better care of yerself, Angie!” he
mocked. “Maybe then, you wouldn’t look so much like a blimp and wanna be outta
yer shoes and pants all the time! I get yer knocked up, and fer what? For you to be an idiot!”
“I can’t help it! I’m
carrying your son, you idiot! I’m calling Clive, and I want him out here to
help us!” Angie sobbed back.
“My cousin?” yelled
“Yes, your cousin! He
said he’d want to come to the States to help if he could. He knows what you are
going through with your upcoming trial and all that!” Angie snapped back.
“Don’t mention that
in public! I’m warnin’ ya!” yelled
Nova came up and
stared down
“Yeah, right! Let me charmin’ cousin steal Angie’s heart away?”
“He would not do
that, he is not that sort,” Nova said. “He knew about Derek and I and never made a move on me in late 2200.” Nova did not
mention that Clive had warned her about his cousin Bryan and his drunken,
disgusting ways over a platonic dinner one night in
“What do you think of
that, Richie?” Angie said as she talked to her stomach. She smiled a little and
said, “I think he likes the idea,
“Yer stupid, thinkin’
you can talk to a hunk of protoplasm in your stomach,” snapped
“That hunk of
protoplasm is your son, who is already complete right down to his little
toenails,” snapped Angie as tears ran down her cheeks. Nova hugged her, but
“Not that I know of,”
whispered Angie. “I’m not sure what he does late at night, though…when I cry
myself to sleep…”
“Why do you think we
need your cousin out here?” Nova said as Dawn sat nearby, looking neglected and
depressed. “Things will work out,” Nova said as she looked at Angie and then at
Dawn.
“Yeah, right,” said
Dawn.
II. MALE BONDING
Earth
The
The Wildstars’ Apartment
Thursday, February 11, 2208
1602 Hours Local Time
Commodore Derek
Wildstar had just gotten into the apartment from the Argo about half an hour ago, and he was alone, having changed out
of his uniform into grubby old clothes.
Upon checking the phone,
he found a message from Nova stating that she was done with her shift but was
waiting for either Katrina or Dawn to show up to help her get Alex and Ariel
out of daycare and into her aircar. Also, Nova asked if he could order out for
food; she was too tired to cook tonight.
Satisfied with
knowing where most of his family was,
Derek found himself looking over a menu from a Chinese takeout place that both
he and Nova liked. He was trying to decide whether he wanted Moo Shu Pork with
pancakes or a Subgum Wonton Seafood special for himself when the apartment door
burst open and Jonathan came in.
“Jon, you’re late!”
teased Derek as the boy got out of his school sandals and shrugged off his
uniform blazer. “No kiss for your dad?”
“C’mon, Dad, I’m too old to kiss you,” joked back Jonathan
when he ran in. “That’s the sort of stuff my baby brother Alex does! Where’s
Mom? I’m hungry?”
“Your mother’s tired;
we’re ordering Chinese food tonight,” said Derek as he tossed him the
“Eight egg rolls,”
said Derek. “Junk food?”
“Egg rolls are not
junk food, Dad. And you eat most of the egg rolls whenever we order out. Mom
looks at you funny.”
“She looks at you
funny, squirt,” teased Derek as he slapped his son playfully in the head.
“Yeah?” teased
Jonathan. “I learned some wrestling tricks in gym today. Wanna try me out?”
“I’m not sure I want
to wrestle now,” yawned Derek. “I want a beer, to be honest.”
“Oh, Dad’s getting
old? The big hero is getting old?”
“You’re on!” yelled
Derek as he tossed aside the food menu. Jonathan and he began to circle around
the living room, jumping at each other when the time was right.
They met in the
middle of the floor with a crash. Derek tried to pin Jonathan, but the teenager
had gotten stronger since they had sprung him from the orphanage some months
ago. Also, he was smaller, thinner, and more wriggly
than his father. He squiggled out of two holds, and had his father laughing as
he jumped on Derek’s back and began pulling his hair. However, Derek was not
letting his son pin him.
Someone’s bare leg
knocked over a small end table and a metal fruit bowl and the fruit went
flying. Derek laughed as he tried to pin Jonathan again, but saw his son just
wriggle free.
The two of them wrestled
and knocked more things over for another few minutes. They did not notice the
door opening, and they didn’t notice Nova and Katrina holding Alex and Ariel
and looking down at them with a mixture of bemusement and annoyance until Derek
looked up and said, “WHOOPS!”
“And what were you
two doing?” Nova asked as she held
Alex.
“Inspecting the
floor, Mom,” said Jonathan..
“It looked like you
were both wrestling,” said Katrina dubiously as Derek jumped up and kissed Nova
and Alex.
“We were inspecting
the floor, Nova, honest,” said Derek. “Then…uhh…we got carried away, and…”
“Didn’t I tell you
two to take your wrestling matches out into the yard?” Nova snapped.
“Does this happen
often?” said Katrina.
“More often than
you’d know,” Nova said as she mussed Derek’s hair and then pulled Jonathan over
to kiss him. “These two boys here are both a little idiotic when it gets hot!”
“Of course, I do
different things to you,” Derek said with a grin as he grabbed Nova’s bare
legs. A minute later, the barefoot, nurse’s-tunic clad young mother was being
tickled like crazy as she held Alex.
Alex cooed and
crawled out of his mommy’s lap. Nova squealed, “Alex, help your mother! HELP!” Nova was soon squealing with laughter as Derek was
tickling her ribs. Then, Nova winked at Katrina, and did a quick wrestling move
of her own, and the great Derek Wildstar found himself pinned by his fast,
slender young wife, who got on top of him and began to tickle him until he
yelled.
Alex laughed like
crazy, and Ariel screamed with giggles. Then, the little girl added to the
noise by banging a few “chords” on a tinkly baby toy piano that her parents
left around. Then, she found a ring toy and threw a few rings at Jonathan while
going “PHHHHHBBBBT” and blowing raspberries loudly with her tongue.
“Is it just me, or
has everyone in here gone crazyish?” Katrina laughed. She sat on the floor
bemused as she watched all five Wildstars tickling each other, making noises,
wrestling, or throwing baby toys around in what looked like organized chaos as
Nova yelled, “Derek, where’d you put that Moon Panda Garden Menu?”
“I dunno,” said Derek
in reply.
III. BRYAN, BRINGER OF CHAOS
Earth
The
The Wildstars’ Apartment
Thursday, February 11, 2208
1745 Hours Local Time
“So what are you
doing in town, Katrina?” asked Derek a while later after he had called out for
food and after it had arrived.
“Work, and I miss
Foxy,” sighed Katrina.
“Work?” asked Nova as
she sat on the floor with Alex in her lap. Nova had changed into an old sweater
and bikini bottoms; she was alternating between feeding little Alex some baby
food from a small dish and offering her breast to him.
“You remember that I
work for the Jane’s Aerospace Magazine”,
said Katrina as she sat with Ariel in her lap. Ariel was giggling as Katrina
occassionally dangled a jangly toy above her head. “I had to come into the
office this week to catch up on some work I could not send home to my home
office via the Web. I also had to visit some ships because I’m doing an article
on the refits going on here in town.”
Derek rolled up his
eyes at that one; earlier that week, on the under-refit Argo, Katrina had interviewed him in his cabin for close to an
hour. Derek had responded to her questions as best as he possibly could without
giving anything away. He was eating some Moo Shu Pork at the moment, and was
trying to keep from dropping it on the floor as Jonathan sat beside him wolfing
down roast pork fried rice. “Yes, we know that, Katrina. Or, I know that.”
“Why didn’t you tell
me, Derek?” said Nova as she worked on some orange-flavored chicken herself as
she gave Alex her breast.
“I forgot?” said
Derek. Nova playfully kicked him with a bare foot just as the doorbell rang.
“May I put her down
for a moment?” said Katrina as she handed Ariel to Jonathan.
He nodded, and
Katrina ran up to open the door. As she opened the door, she was shocked to see
Foxy standing there!
“Wha…?” said
Katrina, at a loss for words as Foxy smiled at her.
“I followed you here
to the States.”
“Why?” whispered
Katrina.
“I missed you,
silly!” said Foxy.
Both of them hugged
hard on the threshold of the townhouse, sobbing slightly with joy as they
kissed.
Then, a moment later,
Katrina pulled back, in just enough time to see a sobbing Angie Hartcliffe
running up to the townhouse, holding her stomach.
“What’s happening?”
asked Katrina as Angie ran up the steps to the porch as quickly as possible.
“My stomach hurts! It really hurts! I need to see Nova!”
Nova sat up (with
both Alex and Ariel at her breasts now) in enough time to see Angie running
into the living room, crying her eyes out. She looked very pale.
“Nova! I need to have someone look at me!
“Did he hit you
again?” Nova hissed as she took the babies away from her breasts and buttoned
her sweater up over her slender tanned form. She handed her children to Derek
and got up, pulling up her knit swimsuit bottom up a little to make sure she’d
be decent.
“Nova, I want to go
to the hospital, but he’s laughing at me! I need someone to look at me! NOW!”
“Come on into the
bathroom,” said Nova. “We’ll get a look at this. I’ll have to get your pants
down…”
Angie nodded as, at
the door, Katrina’s eyes narrowed as two aircars whirred up to the driveway in
front of Derek and Nova’s townhouse, with one of the cars almost hitting the
rear bumper of Nova’s car. A wild-haired young man jumped out of that car and ran
up towards the porch, yelling, “ANGIE! Yo, ANGIE? Are you there, you crazy
bloody bird?”
Someone jumped out of
the second car, yelling, “STOP CALLLING HER THAT!” Derek pushed aside Foxy, to
notice Bryan Hartcliffe about to jump up onto his porch, with Deke Wakefield on
his heels. Sasha came behind him, running as fast as her pregnant bulk would
allow her to move.
Katrina looked at
“You’re not getting
in here, you son-of-a-BITCH!” snapped Derek.
“Where’s me wife?” he
yelled. “Crazy bird’s actin’ like ‘er ‘ead is screwed on bloody crooked!”
“Your wife is pregnant,” snapped Derek.
“Let me in to her!” yelled
Deke ran up,
snapping, “You hit my car, Hartcliffe! And you didn’t even stop!”
Derek punched Bryan
in the head when the crazed pilot tried to tackle the Commodore and to punch
Katrina, but Katrina kicked him as he reached into the house to grab a
porcelain knick-knack of Nova’s to try to hit Derek in the head.
Then, Deke tackled
Hartcliffe and punched him, yelling, “How dare you hit my car with my pregnant
wife in it?”
Derek kicked him and
said, “How dare you try to knock over a superior officer?”
“How dare you try to
hit a woman?” yelled Katrina.
Nova ran up with wet
hands and said, “
“Labor? You mean she’s gonna pop ‘er cork?”
Nova slapped him
across the face as she said. “YES! ANGIE’S WATER JUST BROKE! IN MY BATHROOM! We
have to get her to the hospital!”
“Oh, bugger,” said
“Well, there goes our
romantic dinner for the night,” sighed Foxy as he
looked at Katrina.
“Let me at him,
Nova,” Katrina hissed.
“Later,” said Nova.
“We have to get Angie to the hospital.” Then, Angie screamed again. “Before she
has her baby in our living room, that is…”
TO BE CONTINUED….