Victoria's Challenge (44 page)

He’d informed his second in command
, Carnot, that he was in charge of the space base. William would be working from home until further notice. He needs to be here not only to help Cassandra handle everything but to protect her. News of her pregnancy is starting to leak and he wants to stay close, especially with what Quinn told him earlier about Stannic and Oschofield.

“Daddy!!!!” He smiles as his sons run towards him. Three more sons, the ancestors have truly blessed him. Kneeling down he catches Kayden and Jacob they never walk anywhere. Bringing up the rear is Willie, charging after his older brothers. William encloses them all in a big hug as he looks up to see their security. He increased it earlier in the day.

“How are my boys?”

“Good!” They chorus.

“How much trouble have you
gotten into today?” He asks, because not a day goes by that they don’t.

“None.
” Kayden tells him. His innocent violet eyes, the color his father passed on to them all, sparkle at him.

“Really
….”

“Really
, daddy.” Jacob reassures him. “We never got caught.”

“Jacob!
” Kayden slugs his younger brother, hard.

“Ouch
! What?”

William
works on not smiling.

“What didn’t you get caught at?
” He looks to Kayden, who now knows he has to ‘fess up.

“Well
… we… sort of… broke a vase.”

“Sort of?”

“Broke it good, daddy.” Willie helpfully supplies, eager to be included.

“Did you now.
” Then William frowns. “Which vase?” He hopes he’s wrong.

“
One of the really ugly ones.” Jacob tells him.

“In the formal living room?”

“Yeah.” Kayden looks down.

A thousand cycle vase
. William closes his eyes. “How?”

“We were playing catch daddy.
” Willie innocently smiles at him.

“In the formal living room Kayden?”

“Yes, sir.” He kicks at the ground.

“What’d you do with the evidence?”

Kayden raises guilty eyes to him. “Put it in the other ugly vase.”

“It’s a
great
hiding spot daddy.” William has to bite his lip to not outright laugh at his youngest.

“
You’ll
be the one to tell your mother Kayden.”

“Yes sir.
” Standing, William carries Willie, letting the older two walk beside him as they enter the Palace.

“Majesty, the High Admiral has returned home.” Javiera whispers in her ear. Cassandra nods slightly still listening to Assemblyman Stannic, her heart lightens.

“I understand your concerns Assemblyman Stannic but understand
me
. The House of Knowledge will help the other Houses whenever there is a need. We have been blessed by the Ancestors, we will not hoard those blessings.”

“
Those
blessings
were earned by others, Majesty, by squandering them on those unworthy, rewards them for being complicit.”

“The House of Growth was not complicit
. They did everything possible to prevent this disaster, had we been there earlier, it still would have happened. People will not suffer needlessly, not when the House of Knowledge can help and I
squander
nothing, Assemblyman Stannic.” With a nod, she dismisses him. As the door closes she looks to Javiera.

“That’s it
, Majesty.”

“Really
? Thank the Ancestors and you, Javiera, go home, and give Leander and Dell a hug for me.”

“I will
. Ignore Stannic, he’s an idiot. Make sure you rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Marat, head of the Queen’s security, personally escorts her back to the Queen’s wing. Looking from the extra guards to him, she raises an eyebrow.

“Orders from the High Admiral Majesty.
” He’s been with her long enough to know her looks.

“Thank you
, Marat.” Cassandra walks through the outer rooms and formal living room before she stops. Turning, she looks around the room. Something’s missing. Scanning one more time, she zeros in on the large vase. There used to be two. Walking over, she sees the lumps under the rug, lifting it, small pieces of vase, looking into the remaining vase, larger pieces. This is obviously the work of her boys. Shaking her head, she moves on.

Entering
the family area, she stops. There he is, her life mate, her husband, watching as their sons play. At 7’1”, he is tall even by Carinian standards. His thick dark hair is grayer then when she met him nine cycles ago but that is the only thing that’s changed, he still makes her breath catch, just by being. Sensing her, he turns. Walking to her, he pulls her close, giving her a deep kiss.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Resting her head on his chest, she relaxes, taking a moment, sometimes they were hard to find.

“So which one
did it?”

William smiles
into her hair. “Saw that already, did you?”

“At least it was
the ugly one.”

“That’s what Jacob said, seems they were playing catch.
” He lets Cassandra hear his enjoyment of his sons’ antics.

“In that room of all rooms
, well, what do you think?”

“Air shoes?
” Nodding she agrees, at this rate they won’t fit them by the time they got them back.

“How are you feeling
? You’re not doing too much, you’re resting?” His hand moves to her protruding stomach.

“I’m fine
. She’s been very active today,” She moves his hand so he can feel his daughter kick. “Especially during my meeting with Stannic.”

“Stannic.
” William stiffens, his voice going cold. “Stannic was
here!
In the Palace! Were you alone with him?”

“William?
” Her eyes shoot to the boys and then back. “What’s wrong?”

“Were you alone with him?”
he demands.

“No, Javiera was with me the whole time
. What happened? What don’t I know? Has Victoria been attacked again?" she demands.

“No
. Everyone’s fine.” He reassures her, taking a deep breath. “But something has happened. Something we need to discuss but later, after the boys are in bed.” They made a point of having 'family only’ time whenever possible. Only emergencies were allowed to interrupt it and Cassandra knew if this were one, William wouldn’t hesitate to tell her.

“Okay, later.
” Arm in arm, they go to their sons.

At the knock on his door, Magnes looks up from his report. “Enter!” Seeing Victoria enter his office, he sets it aside.

“Victoria, is there a problem?”

“No, everyone’s fine, better than fine, your treatments have done wonders.”

“That’s only because of the excellent work you did before getting them to me
. I still have a hard time believing they survived when I re-read your initial readings. To be honest, they shouldn’t have, between the radiation, the malnutrition and the dust infiltration, none of them should have, the Ancestors were watching over you.”

“I think you
’re right Dr Magnes and that one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you.”

“What can I do for you?”

“Tell me what it would take to set up a burn unit here on the Retribution. I know the actual treatment processes. However, I've never been involved in the logistics. Everything was established in Camotes, I just utilized it. You’ve had cycles to think about this, I need your input to approach the High Admiral.”

“You’ve made your decision.”

“Yes, this is where I need to be for personal and professional reasons. Therefore, we’re going to make it the best burn treatment unit ever seen, one that even Camotes will envy.”

Magnes smiles at her

“Well then, let’s get to work.”

Working through the paperwork that’s piled up during his absence Lucas groans. He
hates
paperwork.

“It only gets worse.
” Looking up Lucas finds the Admiral standing in front of him.

“Nice to know.”

Quinn sits down chuckling.

“I want to meet Vagi.”

“Yes sir, I’ll get him, Lorre’s got him working on cleaning parts.”

“Cleaning parts
? I thought he had talent.”

“He does
but he still has to earn his spot,
and
he’s found problems with ten percent of the parts.”

“Really
? Have you asked what he knows about Stannic?”

“Yes sir
. He stated that Stannic never told him anything about the Guardian, just as Kee and Laiza said. He was nothing more than a tool to Gad, not worthy of anything but his disdain. I believe him.”

“How the fuck do these people get into the Coalition?”

“They cheat their way in.”

“So it would seem
. Get the boy.”

“Yes sir.”

“Vagi!” Lucas yells above the noise.

“Sir?
” Vagi looks up from the pile of parts he’s cleaning. Lucas notices he has them separated by what repairs need to be made to them.

“My ready room, the Admiral wants to speak to you.”

“
The Admiral
?”

“Yes.
” Lucas decides to give the boy some advice. “Just be honest with him, Vagi.”

“Yes sir.
” Entering the ready room, the Admiral has assumed Lucas’ seat behind the desk.

“Private.
” Both stand at attention.

“Admiral, sir.”

“I’ve read Major Zafar’s report and his recommendations. What I want to know is why the fuck I should keep you on my ship! Why should I trust you Private?” The Admiral demands.

“I
… sir… Admiral.” Vagi takes a deep breath, collecting his thoughts, and then looks him in the eye. “Sir, I’m the best mechanic you’ll ever have.” Quinn raises an eyebrow at the statement.

“That’s pretty cocky Private, especially considering who you’re up against.”

“Not cocky Admiral, confident. I was taking apart and fixing things before I started being educated. I took apart my mother’s recycler when I was four and once I put it back together, it had an efficiency level of ninety-five.”

“How long did it take you?”

“Excuse me?”

“To put it back together.
”

Vagi flushed chagrined
. “Four days sir.”

“At the age of four
, you took apart a recycler and rebuilt it to ninety-five efficiency in four days. You expect me to believe that, Private?!!”

“I’m not a liar
! Sir! You can contact my father, he’ll tell you.”

“Not your mother?”

“No sir.” Vagi’s tone is subdued. “She was killed in the Regulian attack on Nuga in 49.”

“I’m sorry
Private, 49 was a bad cycle for the Coalition.”

“Yes sir
, it was but my skills will help make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Really.
..”

“Yes sir, one of the reasons for all those losses was the Coalition’s inability to make timely repairs to their ships, I can fix that.”

“Not short on confidence are you Private?”

“Not when it comes to fixing things
, Admiral.”

“And what about your ability in choosing friends?
” Quinn challenges.

“If you are referring to Stannic and
his
friends then you are mistaken Admiral. They aren’t mine.”

“But you assisted them so they could have careers in the Coalition
. Careers they didn’t earn and certainly didn’t deserve. Positions that someone more qualified should have had. Positions that affected
lives,
Private.”

Lucas
watches the boy’s confident attitude crumble under the Admiral’s attack.

“I betrayed not only the Coalition but my father and myself
, Admiral. I knew Stannic didn’t deserve his placement, knew he couldn’t handle it, but I allowed it so I could have mine. I’m no better than he is. A self-serving foabhor.”

Behind
him, Lucas raises a shocked eyebrow as he looks at Quinn.

“Would Stannic or his friends admit the same
, Private?”

“Fuck no!
” Eyes glare at him. “Sorry, Admiral.”

“Why wouldn’t they
, Private?” Quinn asks softly.