E:A Vol 8 Ch 6: February 23, 2121

February 23, 2121

“I found the virus,” Zy’nayth said. The High Chancellor was working away on both his shuttle’s main computer and his wife’s uncompromised tablet. The twins were sitting at the two stations behind the pilot and co-pilot seats on the recently crash-landed personal cruiser. Victoria sat on the floor between the twins and read, not of much help, but offering to do anything required.

The scenery outside of the window wasn’t the vast desert wasteland that the Raythian computers said it should be. Instead, it was a lush, green tropical expanse. Beautiful. And though readings taken said there were no toxins in the oxygen rich atmosphere, Zy’nayth wouldn’t let his family outside. Not until he knew how his personal system was compromised.

“Any idea of how it got into your system?” Ja’val asked.

“It was from our system. The code appears to be…” he paused as his eyes scanned down the code, “it was written to seek out my computer specifically. Science, this code is very intricate. They have built into it how to identify my computer and anything related to anything I might access: the children’s computers, the cruiser’s system, even the iris on my island home. Contact the Vice Chancellor, the High Chancellor’s palace is at risk.”

Ja’val nodded to Gno’toz, his second in command, who contacted Vice Chancellor Ny’van while Zy’nayth continued with his description of the computer virus he had found. “Instructions are that once the virus had taken root, it was to start corrupting…everything. Simon Harris and Jil’ana need to be informed. Any interface that has tapped into one of our computers puts them at risk. I don’t believe the Mythicans have tapped into our systems, however, they have accessed the city-ship’s computers which we also have connections into.”

“Contacting,” Kol’non broke in, then left the conversation to talk to Vince, Simon, John, and Karken’al.

Victoria was watching her husband. He was not happy. “There are only two people I know of who can pulled off something like this,” he said to Ja’val, “me and you.”

“Well it wasn’t me,” Ja’val said. “No need. I have access to most of your stuff anyway. Okay, where do I look for this code?”

Zy’nayth directed him to where he found the virus in his own system. Ja’val dug into the main system on the Raythian flagship. He scrolled down to the bottom of the code and examined it. After a few minutes, he finally spoke. “I don’t like the looks of this. Not Gyhan. Not Mythican. Not really even Raythian.”

“Not really even Raythian? Do you see traces of Raythian patterns in the code?”

“Very little,” Ja’val said and pointed him to the various lines he was scanning through quickly.

“May I ask why you chose to look at the program at the end first?” Zy’nayth asked.

“At the end, people get sloppy.”

Zy’nayth let a smile pass his lips, “Good tip. Yes, I can see the pattern here. But it does not mean it is Raythian.” He stopped. “First Commander?”

There was a click. “Yes, sir,” Kol’non answered.

“Where is my brother?”

“Give me a moment to check with the warship commander,” he said. He quickly finished his conversation with the others and contacted the warship that was supposed to be carrying Zy’nayth’s brother, the former High Chancellor. Ships on which he was held prisoner, were changed every few weeks. Koh’vash and his two sons, Di’vash and Ca’vak, were never on the same ship together. “All three major players are in their cells,” Kol’non said.

“Check for visitors.”

“They shouldn’t have any. Checking.”

“And talk with Karken’al. See if he has any information of irregular ship movement patterns in those areas…and a few others so that we do not…”

“Understood.”

Mik’kenna jumped as a crash of thunder boomed. She climbed down from her seat. “Mommy, can we go in living room? I can cuddle with you there. I no like this storm.”

“Sure, honey. Ky, you can come too. I think you need a little break from your perimeter watch.”

“Daddy, can I be dismiss?”

“Yes. I can keep an eye on things. Science, since we cannot link computers, we are going to have to work on eradicating this separately. “

“Ah, so a race!”

Zy’nayth let out a chuckle, “If you insist.”

When he got up to stretch an hour later, both kids were sound asleep on either side of his wife.

“How’s it going?” she whispered.

“Too slowly. Are you okay?”

She nodded and smiled. “We’re good.”

“Karken’al’s ship arrived a few minutes ago.” He knelt down and kissed his daughter, “Mik’kenna, wake up sweetheart,” he said, then did the same to Ky’nayth. Both kids woke and rubbed their eyes. “I am sorry to wake you, but you need to be in on this conversation, please put your comlinks back on.”

Both kids did as instructed.

“Commander, the children are ready.”

Suddenly the kids heard the dogs barking.

“Celeste! Baxter!” Mik’kenna shouted, “We okay! You no worry! We safe. I love you!”

Both dogs barked again.

“We miss you!” Ky’nayth said. “Be good, we be home soon!”

“Are they on the flagship?” Victoria asked.

“No. Karken’al’s ship. Just long enough to say hello. We are going to bridge them back so David can take good care of them. He said he will watch over them until you return.”

Both kids told the dogs they loved them and again reminded them to be good and not to worry.

“Thank you, First,” Zy’nayth said, “and Karken’al.”

“Happy to oblige,” Karken’al said. “Just so you know, we’re showing no signs of this virus. Jil’ana is still running diagnostics. We do seem to be able to scan through the outer atmosphere and I believe we have found your cruiser. Are you able to view outside of the ship? I’d like to try teleporting a few objects down, then bringing them back up.”

“Yes, at the front of the cruiser. But I have no way to transmit coordinates, even if I could get the coordinates from the computer.”

“If you move to the front of your vessel,” Jil’ana said, “and continue to transmit, I should be able to get a good lock on your position.”

Zy’nayth returned to his pilot seat and told her how far in front of him the cruiser extended. Jil’ana calculated a suitable distance and her crew teleported a metal box down. Zy’nayth confirmed receipt of it then they teleported it back up.

After several tests, Jil’ana said, “We’ve sent ten items, all have made it through both ways, safely and intact. I’m willing to take the risk to go through.”

“Uh, no,” John said, “I’ll do it. It’s what I travelled all this way to do.”

“Jil’ana, are you sure it is safe?” Zy’nayth asked. “Absolutely sure?”

“I am, otherwise, I wouldn’t have volunteered.”

“I trust her,” John said.

“I know you do,” Zy’nayth replied, “the question is, do you trust her science?”

“Yeah. Listen, I’m coming down.”

“Science, your opinion?” Zy’nayth asked Ja’val.

“Without seeing things over there, I have to trust what she’s telling us.”

“I’m not going to risk this new alliance,” Jil’ana said, “I’ll go first. John, no. My equipment, my call.”

John looked at Karken’al. “Jil’ana go. Down then right back up. If all goes well, which it will, we can teleport you and your family up, High Chancellor.”

“I want it noted that I’m not in favor of this,” John said.

“Sometimes I get to be the hero,” Jil’ana smiled and stepped on platform. “Ready.”

Before John could say anything, she was gone. “I see her,” Zy’nayth said and got a wave from the young woman who then disappeared from his sight.

“Med team, scan her, make sure she’s all right,” Karken’al said when she reappeared on his bridge. “Once we have the report, we’ll get you up here,” he said to Zy’nayth. “Should know within five minutes.”

And within five minutes, they were told that Jil’ana was fine.

“We are gathering our things and I am attempting to lock down the cruiser,” Zy’nayth said as he finished up his work. “Children are you ready?”

Both kids nodded, their backpacks loaded and ready. Victoria stood ready, but a bit nervous. Zy’nayth led them outside of the cruiser to the location where the teleportation tests had been done then signaled Jil’ana that they were ready to come up.

A moment later, they were standing in the teleportation area of the Mythican flagship. The kids both screeched as Baxter and Celeste came running up to them. “Since things were going well, we didn’t have the heart to send them back to Terra 2 right away,” Karken’al said.

Mik’kenna hugged Celeste and began to cry. “I missed you. I was so scared. We nearly crashed and I thought I’d never see you again. I love you, Celeste. I love you so much.” Ky’nayth was hugging Baxter and showering him with affection, though he hadn’t been as frightened as his sister.

“Can you get me over to my flagship?” Zy’nayth asked Karken’al.

“We can shuttle you over. Your First doesn’t want to risk the bridge.”

“I know. Do you think it is safe to bridge my family back to Terra 2?”

“No, but what we were going to do with the dogs was bridge them to the new facility. Jil’ana has a team there and as with our systems here, those in the underground facility show no sign of tampering. Major Kessler is taking, or has taken, a shuttle there from the SVBS-2.”

Zy’nayth nodded then knelt and embraced his children. “I need to stay to get this fixed. I want you to go back to Terra 2 with your mother.”

“You be ‘kay?” Mik’kenna asked.

“I will be fine.”

“We can run shuttles back and forth between our ship and yours,” Karken’al said, “if you have teams that wish to bridge somewhere or to teleport down to the surface.”

“Thank you,” Zy’nayth replied as he gave both children hugs and kisses, then turned his attention on his wife, “I love you, and you do not need to worry.”

She smiled, “I won’t. Well, maybe a little. I love you. Be safe.”

“I’ll escort you guys home,” Chris said. “Big Guy, do as your wife says and be safe. Getting tired of having to come rescue you all the time.”

“I apologize for the inconvenience,” Zy’nayth said with a straight face, then watched his family being escorted to the bridge room of the ship. “Now, Jil’ana, we could use your help.”

“Does this mean I get to see the inside of the Raythian flagship?”

“Unfortunately, no. I copied the virus program onto this tablet. I shall work from my own computer, this is my wife’s. This should also help you isolate it if it is on your system or the Expedition: Andromeda system. Can you work with Simon?”

“Of course, though I’d still love to see the inside of that ship.”

“One day,” he smiled, “I promise.”

***

Once they were home, Janice, Becket, and Amelia stayed with Victoria and the kids the rest of the afternoon and Janice fixed dinner for all of them. When Mik’kenna and Ky’nayth were off playing with the dogs, Victoria mentioned how scared Mik’kenna was.

“I know she’s not even four. I was scared. But…that wasn’t like her. Not like that…she was terrified. Ky was scared too, but not like his sister. One of the first things she said was that we’d get home and we’d find the dogs dead. She was utterly terrified of that happening even though she knew the dogs were with David. Even Zy, who usually has a calming effect on them, had trouble getting her to calm, but then, when we were teleported to Karken’al’s ship, she burst into tears again.”

“Like you said, they are only three and a half,” Becket said, “and what happened is terrifying for anyone. It’s natural for them to want their security blankets, in this case the dogs. Besides, given that the dogs were targets the last time something bad happened, of course she’d be terrified of not seeing them again. Try not to overanalyze the situation. Yes, she’s studying astrophysics, but she is still just a little kid. Remember that.”

Victoria nodded, “You’re right. I’m so used to both of them being so strong and almost self-reliant. It was just a bit unnerving to see her so terrified.”

“Keep an eye on her, which I know you’ll do. We can all comfort her and help her. You know we will.”

Mik’kenna and Ky’nayth came bounding into the kitchen, where the adults had stayed to chat as they cleaned up the dishes.

“Is Daddy coming home to sleep?” Mik’kenna asked.

“No, honey, he’s going to stay on the flagship,” Victoria said.

“Then can Bubby and I sleep with you? Please!”

“I’d like that. I’m still a little shaken from the events of the day. I could use my kids in my arms tonight.”

“I still scared. Mommy, why I so scared?” Mik’kenna asked, fidgeting a little with her hands, which was also uncharacteristic behavior.

“Why don’t we go into the living room and talk?” Becket suggested.

“I’ll bring in some lemonade,” Janice said.

The group went into the living room and Becket went to one of the oversized chairs and motioned for Mik’kenna to climb up on his lap. He asked her to tell him what she was feeling or thinking. She could tell him anything.

“I no know why I so scared. I worried ‘bout Celeste dying ‘cause Bubby and I not there to take care of her and Baxter. And that pillow thing we in for crash, I no like it. And I thought my fault ‘cause I want to see star. And…I still scared, but we home. I no be scared now but I am. I no know. Maybe you scan me see if I ‘kay? Maybe hit head and no ‘memmer.”

“First of all, sweetheart, I am sure your mother and father told you this wasn’t your fault.”

“They did. But still I think it is.”

“It’s not. Some bad person got into your dad’s files and did some bad things. This is definitely not your fault. Now what is the pillow thing?” Becket asked Victoria who explained the crash room that had airbags that deployed to cocoon those in the room. “Ah, well, you might be a little claustrophobic.”

“I no know that is,” Mik’kenna replied.

“You don’t like being in small spaces, or enclosed spaces.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I no know.”

“Well, there’s that possibility, but there’s also the fact that this was a pretty scary thing you went through.”

“Been through scary stuff, ‘fore,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Like when we kidnapped and Bubby and I stayed in wall in cruiser. I scared but this worse. I no know why.”

“Baxter and Celeste were with you that time. They weren’t this time,” he said.

“Oh! Yeah!”

“Yeah, puppies were with us. But they tried to hurt puppies,” Ky’nayth said with a little angry expression on his face. “Try to hurt Baxter and Celeste. Mean people!”

“Well, you’re home, you’re safe, your father is safe, the dogs are safe. And, my lovely little godchildren, you might be scared for a little while yet. I would be,” he said.

“Will I has nightmares?” Mik’kenna asked.

“I hope not, honey. But if you do, I want you to understand that it would be perfectly normal for someone to have a nightmare after something like that happened to them.”

“I still need scan. Make sure I’m ‘kay.”

“Perhaps we should. Ky, you too,” Becket said. “Make sure that if your dad calls, we can tell him that Uncle Becket did his job and gave his kids a thorough checkup.

“It best,” Mik’kenna said, “just case.”

The kids were thrilled that Baxter and Celeste got to go with them. Janice did her nurse routine and helped her boss with the scans, treating the kids like real patients. Victoria and Amelia chatted and kept their eyes on the dogs who decided to say hello to the few patients in the infirmary.

“Well, Mr. Ky’nayth, your scans are clear. No sign of any injury,” Becket said after he ran the scan. “Your turn Miss Mik’kenna.” He helped her up onto the scanning table, then he made sure she was in position. “No wiggling.”

“I hope I ‘kay,” she said.

“We’ll find out in a few minutes,” he replied. “Okay, hold still.” After a couple of minutes, he sighed, “It’s as I feared,” he said.

“What? I has something wrong?”

“Well, sort of,” he said and smiled at her, “you are just too pretty for the scanner to find anything wrong with you.”

She giggled, “You silly.”

“A little,” he winked. “Mommy, her scans are clean, too. No sign of injury. Your turn.”

“My husband made sure I was fine.”

“Gotta do the whole family. As Chris would say, it’s the rules.”

“Go Mommy,” Ky’nayth said, “It no hurt.”

Victoria also got a clean bill of health then they went into Becket’s office and prayed together. Victoria and the kids returned home and got into their pajamas. As much as she wanted to call her husband, she knew he was quite busy, but to her delight, just as they were getting into bed, he contacted them. The kids put on their comlinks, since their computers stayed behind with their father so they couldn’t do a video call, and talked with him, prayed with him, then said good night.

Baxter and Celeste hopped up on the bed and curled up next to their guardians. Everyone was asleep almost instantly.

February 24, 2121

“Good morning,” Victoria said, “special breakfast today, French toast with strawberry syrup.”

“Really?!” Mik’kenna giggled and hurried to her seat at the kitchen table.

“Really. I thought after our adventure yesterday, you deserved something special.”

“Can I has two pieces?” Ky’nayth asked.

“I made extra for both of you,” Victoria said. “Did both of you sleep okay? Any nightmares?”

“No bad dreams,” Mik’kenna said, “I slept good.”

“Me too,” Ky’nayth said. “Daddy call this morning?”

“Not yet. He probably knows you’re just now getting up. Okay, Ky, honey, want to pray for us since Daddy isn’t here?”

“Yes!” he exclaimed as they all joined hands. He prayed then Victoria served up the piping hot breakfast. The kids were allowed to use as much syrup as they wanted, but both took only a slightly larger serving than what Victoria normally gave them. They also took handfuls of fresh berries and munched on them.

“These good,” Mik’kenna said. “Blueberries and blackberries and strawberries and redberries, but I like strawberries best.”

“Me too!” Ky’nayth said. “Redberries good too.”

“Raspberries,” Victoria corrected. “The Ag team just brought in fresh bushels of them this morning.”

“You already out this morning? Without us?”

“Actually, Janice was kind enough to stop by. She left the berries on the counter with a note. We have to remember to thank her.”

“If we no use bridge,” Ky’nayth said as he looked at Baxter, “how we take puppies out?”

“David already took them out. I think they’re just catching one of the boats to the mainland, like we used to do when we first got them.”

“David here early.”

“He’s looking after Scout and Hero too, plus Montie, so I guess since he had to take them out, he thought he’d stop by and take Baxter and Celeste with him.”

Mik’kenna nodded. “He always takes good care of puppies. I no need worry when we stuck on planet. I was silly.”

“No, you weren’t silly. You were a scared little girl who missed her puppy. And that’s okay. I know your brother was a little scared and worried about Baxter, and that’s okay, even if he is Student Pilot One. After all, Daddy gets scared too, and he’s the High Chancellor.”

“You get scared?” Mik’kenna asked.

“A lot. I was scared of crashing. I was scared of my two most precious treasures getting hurt. I was scared that your Daddy would get hurt. I was scared about a lot of things.”

“Treasures?” Ky’nayth asked.

“You and your sister,” she replied, “are my most precious treasures in all the universe.”

“We are?”

“Yes, you are, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to either of you.”

“Me either!” Mik’kenna said.

Victoria’s comlink buzzed and smiled as she heard the familiar gravelly voice. “Good morning to you too. We’re just finishing breakfast. Kids, go get your comlinks, it’s Daddy.” Both kids ran back to the master bedroom. “They slept well. No nightmares.”

“Good,” he replied. “We prayed for them, and you, last night.”

“Daddy, we on now,” Ky’nayth said.

“Good morning, children. Your mother says you slept well and did not have any nightmares.”

“We did and Mommy made French toast with strawberry syrup for breakfast,” Ky’nayth said. “And Miss Janice brought berries this morning. All kinds.”

“What did you has for breakfast?” Mik’kenna asked.

“Uncle Kol’non made me an omelet,” he said.

“Was it good?”

“It was. I prefer your mother’s, however.”

“Daddy, I come help today if need me,” Ky’nayth said.

“I appreciate the offer, but I want you and your sister to stay on Terra 2. I do not want to use the bridges since they may have this virus. It is safest for you there. Besides, you need to look after your mother and sister for me.”

“I will.”

“I am afraid I must go now. I just wanted to hear your voices and tell you that I love you.”

Everyone passed along their love, then Victoria asked how the work was progressing.

“Slowly, but that is because I have Ja’val tracking down how this got into our system instead of helping me with the ridding of the virus.”

“Maybe you should combine efforts on that then worry about how it got in,” she suggested.

“I am afraid that if we do not block how it got in, when we fix the code, it will only be tampered with again. I would rather do this once.”

“Understandable. Well, we’ll let you get back to work. I love you.”

“I will try to call at lunch and dinner,” he said, “I cannot promise. If I get absorbed in this programming, I may not realize how much time has passed.”

“It’s ‘kay, Daddy, you work. It’s ‘portant,” Mik’kenna said. “Love you, bye.”

“Love you too!” Ky’nayth said, “I still help if need.”

“Thank you. Have a fun day.”

The door chimed as Zy’nayth ended the call and Ky’nayth went running to the living room. “Hi!” exclaimed to Becket. “You no work today?”

“Danielson’s shift. Your mother here?”

“Kitchen,” he said and shut the door, “we just had breakfast and talked to Daddy.” He darted ahead of his uncle to the kitchen. “Uncle Becket here. Dr. Danielson’s doctor today, Uncle Becket day off.”

Victoria thanked her son for the information and smiled at Becket, “No nightmares, everyone slept well,” she said.

“Good to hear,” he said, “when you finish up here, want to go take a look at our new toys?”

“Most definitely,” she smiled.

“Kia’myn stayed behind to run some diagnostics on the equipment, I asked if I could head over and get more familiar with the things. So, I thought that since you’re here, we can head over. The kids can come too.”

“Can we take Baxter and Celeste?” Ky’nayth asked.

“We better not.”

Mik’kenna’s face fell. “I no wanna go without Celeste. I stay with Uncle David and watch puppies.”

Becket sat in a chair and pulled her into his arms. “We’re just gonna be a few miles from here. Not at the other end of the solar system. A quick shuttle ride and you’ll be back. I’d really like my number one assistant with me over there.”

“I no know. I still little scared to be without Celeste.”

“I understand but think of it this way: this is just a little trip. We’re not going too far. It’ll help prepare you for when you have to go on a longer trip without her.”

Mik’kenna sighed. “I no have tablet to take notes.”

“You can take a notepad. Do it the old-fashioned way.”

“Kay. I go. Mommy can you call Uncle David to take care of puppies?”

“I will, sweetie. Go and get dressed. Becket, we planning on being there all day? I’ll need to pack a lunch.”

“We will be there all day, and my wife has packed lunches for us. Just sandwiches, fruit, chips. You’ll need to pack water bottles or something.”

“Works for me,” she smiled and put the last of the dishes away. “And thanks for helping Kenna.”

“I’m glad she’s willing to go. I was starting to worry for a moment.”

“So was I. She is so close with that dog.”

The kids returned, dressed with backpacks on. “We has pens and notepads,” Ky’nayth said, “need thermos for drinks. We ready to ‘splore.”

Victoria chuckled, “I’ll have your drinks ready in a second, and David should be here any minute to pick up the dogs.”

“I go wait by door,” Mik’kenna said and bounded off with Celeste.

The very moment the door chimed, Mik’kenna opened it, startling David.

“Thank you for taking care of Celeste and Baxter,” she said, “I worry ‘bout them. I know you do good job with them.”

“Happy to help, and you know I love the little guys.”

“Please give Celeste extra hugs for me. I so worried yesterday, she prolly scared.”

“Maybe not,” David said, “these are tough dogs. I think it would take a lot to scare them. Though I know she missed you very much.”

Mik’kenna nodded, “I missed her too.” She hugged her dog, “I no go on ‘venture like yesterday. I no be scared and you no worry. I love you, Celeste.”

The dog licked her cheek and let out a little bark. Then Mik’kenna gave Baxter the same affection after her brother got done with his pampering of the pets.

“Should be back by 5:00,” Becket said, “thanks for looking after the pups.”

“Call if they need us,” Mik’kenna said, “we come back right ‘way.”

“I will. You have fun learning new stuff. I hear Dr. McKenna has all kinds of new toys to play with.”

Mik’kenna nodded. “Mommy ‘cited to go.”

“And we should be going. I don’t want to keep Major Kessler waiting on us,” Becket said.

Mik’kenna gave Celeste a kiss, “Be good. I love you.”

Becket, Victoria, and the twins were taken by shuttle to the new facility where Kia’myn met them. “The High Chancellor can get into the details with her when he returns, I thought we could have a general overview to get you familiar with what we have. I could also use another overview to make sure I have things sorted out in my head.”

“Miss Kia’myn,” Ky’nayth said, “where can we set our packs? I no want them get in way.”

“How about over in that corner,” she pointed. The kids ran over, took their packs off and set them down. Each pulled out a notepad and a pen and hurried back so they wouldn’t miss any of the demonstration.

By lunchtime, Victoria felt overwhelmed. “It’s like my first week of PhD classes,” she said, “so much to take in.”

“I’m thankful Kia’myn is going to spend a lot of time with me on this,” Becket said, “I’m pretty sure I can handle most of the stuff for general purposes, but to really get everything out of them, that’s going to take some studying.”

“And a lot of trial and error,” Kia’myn said. “I still find new ways to utilize some of the equipment. Especially in the research lab. And give Amelia my thanks for lunch.”

Becket nodded, “Not much, but I didn’t want to leave you out.”

“Good sammiches,” Ky’nayth said. “Miss Lia make good saucy stuff for them.

“That she does,” Becket said.

Victoria’s comlink buzzed and she smiled. “We’re having lunch with Becket and Kia’myn. Honey, there is so much to learn!” She laughed at his response and signaled her twins to turn on their comlinks.

“Hi Daddy!” they both said.

“Did Uncle Becket run scans on you?”

“He did and so did Mommy,” Mik’kenna said. “We get lots of scans today!”

“Did they find anything wrong?”

“No, we fine,” Ky’nayth said.

Zy’nayth listened patiently as the twins told him about all of the equipment they got to examine. When they finished, Victoria asked if he’d be able to make it home for dinner.

“I would love to. I miss you and the children very much. But it is best if I stay focused.”

“Are you getting some rest?”

“Some.”

“I know how important this is, but you and the First Science Commander better get a good night of sleep tonight. You’ll think better if you do.” She heard him groan, making her smile. “You know I’m right. Try, please.”

“I will try.”

“Daddy we pray for you,” Mik’kenna said.

“Any word from Simon or Jil’ana?”

“Terra 2, the Earth systems anyway, are infected,” he said, “but Karken’al’s systems are clean. For that, I am very thankful.”

“So am I. Get back to work, and if you can’t call at dinner, at least call at bedtime so we can pray together.”

“I will. I love all of you very much.”

“Love you too,” the kids said then the call was disconnected.

Victoria was exhausted by the time they returned to the city-ship. “That infirmary is amazing. All of those extra beds. Could have used those a month ago.”

“Indeed,” Becket said and greeted his wife with a kiss as she met them in the shuttle bay. “You look beautiful,” he winked at her.

“Thank you, Dr. McKenna. Hi Kia’myn.”

“Hello. Thank you for lunch.”

Amelia waved off the remark, “Just sandwiches.”

“I invited her to join us for dinner,” Victoria said, “how are things in your neck of the woods?”

“Things started going a bit crazy with the computer systems. Simon has shut down all non-essential stations, so basically everything but the control room and energy rooms. Jil’ana arrived about an hour ago to help him out. Any word from your husband about fixing this virus?”

“He’s buried in the code,” she replied, “and probably hasn’t slept.”

“I don’t think Simon has either.”

Victoria tapped her comlink, “Simon?”

“Hey Victoria, what can I do for ya?”

“Have you had dinner?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Come by my place in about forty-five minutes. I have a few others I’m feeding, one more isn’t gonna hurt.”

“Well, sort of buried right now. Jil’ana just got here and we’re…we’ll just have something sent up from the mess.”

“Pork chops, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans,” she enticed.

“I really…breaded chops?”

“Yup. One of your favorites, I know it is.”

“Okay. Is it okay for Jil’ana to come along? John’s still on Karken’al’s ship so I don’t think she has anyone to eat with.”

“Bring her along, I’ll have plenty.”

“See you in forty-five, thanks, Victoria.”

Kia’myn and Amelia helped fix the dinner while Becket made a quick run to the infirmary to check on things. If Simon had the systems shut down, that would mean a lot more work for his staff.

“No, he’s keeping us online,” Neville Danielson said, “but I let the staff know to be prepared if he takes us down. Back to old-fashioned medical treatment.”

“It’ll do ‘em good,” Becket smiled. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”