Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match (35 page)

After a couple hours of talking and reminiscing, Cassie and her crew stood to leave. Everyone said their goodbyes and then Jesse left for his dinner meeting. It was a casual meeting, but he was sure there would be a debrief period and probably a pitch of some sort. Even so, he was excited about seeing his friends in person, and the steak he was going to order. He also found out that while he was sleeping, the election took place and Tarrick was now Governor Valinor. That made him smile as well.

______

Jesse was greeted at the entrance to Sector Steaks by a waiting Enosal. He was dressed in a military cut civilian tunic and flanked by a four person protective detail.

“Greetings, Colonel Marcos,” He called. “Now that I am the recognized leader of Ginderbar, I cannot go anywhere by myself anymore.” He greeted Jesse with an embrace as he added, “Governor Valinor will be here momentarily; shall we go find our table?”

“We don’t have to wait to be seated?”

“Of course not, we have a reservation. It would not do to have the hero of the Lawless Sector loitering about, would it?” He gestured at the people waiting to enter the restaurant and they all nodded enthusiastically. As they were escorted to their table, they could hear the people waiting to be seated remarking.

“Well done on Chawanas, Colonel Marcos,” Called a middle-aged man waiting with his wife.

“Colonel Marcos? Where? I missed him?” Asked a confused university student.

“We love you, Colonel Marcos,” Shouted a small group of teenage girls followed by some hearty giggling.

“Are you seeing anyone, Colonel?” Queried a vid news reporter with his cam operator behind him recording the encounter.

Jesse just nodded politely and waved as he and his associates took their seats at a hardwood table that was mostly square, but had rounded corners. Governor Valinor arrived a few short minutes later, and Jesse stood in greeting. After exchanging pleasantries, the men sat down and a young waitress arrived to take their drink orders. She was very attractive but clearly nervous as she introduced herself, “Hello, my name is Dazi; I’ll be your server for the evening.” She fidgeted as she waited for the leader of the planet and one of the most famous people in the galaxy to order.

Governor Valinor ordered first, “I’ll have a Sollonian Brady, young lady.”

“I will have a pint of Ginder Ale,” Enosal added as he and the waitress looked to Jesse.

He looked at the waitress and she blushed slightly as he addressed her, “What do you suggest, Dazi? Do you have a favorite?”

The waitress couldn’t believe Colonel Jesse Marcos was asking her opinion for a drink order. She looked to the Chief of State as if to ask for help, only to find him looking at her expectantly. She stuttered as she replied, “I…um I really like the Julanii Black Lager.”

“And that’s the beverage you would recommend to go with one of your fine steaks?” He asked while looking at the menu.

“Y…yes, sir,” came the nervous reply.”

He looked directly at her, smiled and said, “Great, I’ll have that then. Thank you, Dazi.”

She smiled and retreated to go ready the beverages for the three most important guests she had ever served.

“Well, that certainly wasn’t nice of you, putting that girl on the spot like that,” Governor Valinor chided. “The poor girl looked like she was about to have a panic attack.” He laughed as he spoke.

Enosal began to laugh as well, “I didn’t know you had a mischievous side, Jesse.”

“I wasn’t teasing the girl,” He replied defensively, “On Earth, it’s customary to ask the server’s opinion when you are unfamiliar with the menu. It lets them know you trust their opinion. I meant no disrespect.” They both gave him a dubious look to which he countered, “I really wasn’t trying to tease the girl.” Just then she arrived back with the beverages and he looked at her as she worked and said, “Dazi, my apologies, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. On my planet, it is common practice to ask a waiter or waitress’ opinion when one is having trouble deciding what to order. If I have offended you, I am deeply sorry.”

“It’s no trouble at all, Colonel; in fact, I am quite flattered that you asked.”

“Are you sure? Because I feel terrible now that my friends have so gently reminded me that I am not actually on Earth. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

She gathered her courage and replied, “Might I be able to get a vid still taken with you?”

“Absolutely, Dazi, it would be my honor.”

A big smile crossed her face as she turned to Enosal and began to take his order. When she had finished taking the orders, she disappeared into the restaurant kitchen and her guests continued their conversation.

“I’m really happy that I had a chance to sit down with two of the galaxy’s greatest leaders, and two men I consider friends before I begin my exploration of the Federation. I wish I could spend more time here with you, getting to know your planets and your cultures without fighting for my life on an almost daily basis.”

“You could stay,” Governor Valinor suggested. “Every planet in our alliance could use a man like you advising them, I know Kaldor can.”

“Thank you, Tarrick, that’s kind of you to say.”

“He’s not just saying it,” Enosal interrupted. “I feel the same way, as do all of the planetary leaders we have met with over the last few weeks. The way you handled the situation on Chawanas, in spite of how badly the odds were stacked against you, showed not only a ferocity rarely seen in the humans of our sector, but also an incredible intelligence and poise. People would rally around you. The Federation is already in the process of making several vid dramas chronicling your exploits since you arrived in our galaxy.”

“Wow, now I actually wish I was going home,” he joked. “I really wouldn’t mind staying, and I will come back before I go back to Earth, that is a promise.”

“Must you return to Earth when the conduit opens back up, Jesse?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure if I’m going to stay, I really like it here. I have narrowed a return trip down to a four and a half month journey, so once I get my affairs in order, I just might return to this galaxy. After all, it is the galaxy of my ancestors. Any of my friends and family that would like to come are welcome to join me. Until then, however, I must return to make sure my sister, my cousin and my company are safe and taken care of.”

“Are they not safe now?” Enosal asked, concern evident in his voice.

“They will be safe as long as I return on time, so I must return for them. Our leader is a great man, but there are powerful elements within our government that would rip the company my sister and I have built away from her under the guise of planetary security, by any means necessary. If I don’t return when I’m supposed to, they will have that opportunity, and these men are not above hurting my family.”

“Why is your company so important to your government?” Enosal added, interested to know what it was Jesse was going home to.

“My company is called Sea Side Enterprises. It is a technology company started by myself and my brother-in-law, Serge. My sister, Nina, came on board about two years in to take care of the finances and with her running that half of the company, we went from being kind of rich, to being unbelievably wealthy. We now have the largest tech company in our entire thirty-two planet coalition. We design and invent new technologies. We do medical, entertainment, construction, and most importantly, military. Our ships are the most powerful ships in the galaxy and our weapons are used by all of the Coalition’s military forces.”

“So there are more ships like
Endeavor
in your galaxy?”

“No, not quite. The war ships we build are all much larger, and far more powerful than
Endeavor
. That’s what my enemy Admiral Natora wants so badly to control. We build four to six ship fleet groups headed by our
Leviathan
Battle Carriers, our largest warships, which are capable of carrying forty assault shuttles we call
Eagles
and two hundred forty of our starfighters called
Vipers
. Each
Leviathan
is supported by either three or five
War Hawk
frigates, and each frigate carries twenty-four
Vipers
and four
Eagles
. What makes our fleet groups so effective are the powerful weapons on the ships combined with the sheer numbers of
Eagles
and
Vipers
in each fleet group. If you attack one fleet group, you can expect up to three hundred sixty
Vipers
. Not only that, but our
Eagles
are almost as powerful as a gunship, and each fleet group carries up to sixty of them. So you can see how valuable the production of these ships might be to someone with nefarious intentions. Our planet’s military still builds their own ships, but they also buy ours, as fast as we can make them. The reality is they need to produce at least three of theirs for every one of ours.”

“That is most impressive, and you believe this, Admiral Natora, would harm your family to confiscate your production facilities.” Enosal asked as he was thinking about the ships Jesse had described.

“I know he would, and he might not wait the entire fourteen months, either. That’s why I have to get home, to make sure they stay safe, but I would really like to come back. Whether it is the four and a half month trip or a substantially quicker trip, I feel like my place is in this galaxy. I am now convinced that this is the birthplace of Earth’s ancestors. I have already begun research into the conduit that brought us here, and it is my hope to create a galaxy drive for our ships. It would be an intergalactic light drive, capable of propelling a ship across galaxies much more quickly. It would make our four and a half month trip a weeklong trip or even quicker. It’s just an idea at this point, but one I plan to pursue.”

“I have no doubt that if it can be done, that you will be the one to do it.” Tarrick added as the food arrived.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll need Serge, Collin and a couple more of my top people. I’m hoping that between us, we’ll be able to cobble something together, just like Collin and I did to make getting home a reality if we miss our window.”

“Even that is a most impressive accomplishment; so you are sure there is nothing I can offer you to get you to stay?” Enosal asked in a last ditch effort as he took a bite of his dinner.

“I’m sorry, but no. I do make you this promise, if I come to stay, we will always be allies.” With that, he began to eat his own dinner, savoring every bite of his delicious steak. The mouth-watering barbeque sauce complimented the flavoring of the steak in such a way that Jesse wanted to savor every bite he took. This was not the type of meal you ate quickly.

They continued to eat, talk and laugh for another hour and a half before they finally had to part company. Tarrick had to go back to Kaldor, Enosal had to address an urgent matter and Jesse was ready to explore the Federation. They said their goodbyes, all swearing this would not be the last time they met, and then they were gone. Jesse decided to walk back to the ship and along the way he was stopped several times by well-wishers. People wanted to take vids with him and young women proclaimed their love for him. He finally had to get in an aircar because it was getting late, and he was getting tired.

Chapter nine

______

Jesse caught up with Kimi when he returned from his dinner. He hadn’t had the chance to speak to her about the battle at the arena yet. He knew she was upset about losing a friend,
this may be the first real friend she has ever lost in battle
, he thought. He briefly wondered if now would be a good time to bring up their situation.
After that kiss, how can I not? It may have been quick, but I know it had meaning; I can’t just leave it out there
. He sat down on the couch next to her and began. “Kimi, how are you doing? I know we haven’t had a chance to speak much since I woke up from my injuries in the death match.”

“I don’t know to be honest. Seeing Ogen lying there when it should have been me still hurts a bit. Knowing he did it because he loved me and that I didn’t share his feelings somehow hurts more. I almost feel like he was giving his life for nothing.”

“Kimi, please, don’t think that. Ogen was an outstanding man and he would have done it for you whether he liked you or not. I’m sure of it. His niece was also there, too. He really did it for both of you, and it was not for nothing.”