Deep Space Endeavor (44 page)

______

The following day,
Endeavor
landed in the Capital City spaceport to much fanfare. People were buzzing as they wanted to get a look at the man that saved their planet. Jesse was a little uncomfortable being singled out. He wanted the entire crew to be recognized with him, but they refused. The plan and the execution of the plan was entirely his doing and they all agreed that he was the one that needed to be honored. Josiah had convinced him that if not for his plan, the planet would have been lost, and that he was in fact the man that saved the planet. Eventually, he agreed to be honored, but only if Admiral Togglasem was honored with him. The High Council heartily agreed, knowing the Kaldorian people would take pride in one of their own being portrayed as a hero and a parade was scheduled for the following day. The parade route would travel down the main thoroughfare of the city, leading up to the planet’s capital building. Jesse and the Admiral would be honored there in front of the entire planet for their part in saving the planet from Garrinoras' invasion.

Endeavor’s
crew used their day to rest and offload the treasure they were giving to Kaldor. Even that was an event, as nearly five hundred armed soldiers arrived to escort the treasure to the waiting bank vaults. One hundred armed soldiers would be stationed at the bank around the clock until the treasure could be converted to chrons. The historical pieces were moved to Capital City's largest museum and put on display for all to see for a week until the diplomats from the invited planets came to bring their treasures home.

Each member of the crew had sequestered their share of the treasure either in their room or in a storage area on
Endeavor.
Jesse knew that after the parade he would be ready to sleep for a month. He had decided this had been a good week. He would never forget Kiah’s reaction when he gave her the jewels he had picked out for her. She was so happy and she hugged his neck so tight he couldn’t breathe.

As the week was coming to an end, t
here was only one more gathering to go, and it was the only one he was actually looking forward to. The Chairman and his wife were throwing a small party, and only people the crew of the
Endeavor
actually knew were invited. Mayor Valinor, Seeja and Kiah, The Admiral and his family, Teha and Sibbie, who were both very excited to be included on the short list, were there. Sandstorm’s sister, Dr. Kinson, his wife, and a few people Cassie, Wennagal and Enso knew rounded out the guest list. One of Kaldor’s top entertainers was invited to perform for the crowd of about thirty people.

During the party, the vid cams
came in and began rolling. The Chairman announced publicly for the first time that Mayor Valinor had adopted the orphan Kiah. A cheer went up in the room followed by the Chairman's announcement that he and his wife had also planned an adoption. The culture was beginning to change on Kaldor and Jesse felt a hint of pride as Suzy patted his back and whispered, "You made all of this possible, you know."

He just smiled as the Chairman continued his announcement.

Later, Kiah found Jesse and asked if she could play with the wolves, he led her and Seeja to the private room Shadow and Commando were staying in to play with them a bit. After that, he began making the rounds. He talked to Wennagal and thanked him again for finding the information on Hyperia. He shook hands with Enso and was introduced to Agent Sandstorm’s sister. Sibbie and Teha wanted to take vid stills with him, and he didn’t mind at all. They really were both quite beautiful, but a little young for his taste. That didn’t seem to stop them from going after Collin, though. He almost felt bad for the big fella.

As the party continued, with everyone sharing the experience from their perspective, Jesse excused himself to find Cassie. He
was a little put out to find she had left without even a goodbye. Come to think of it, he had barely seen her the whole week. He was beginning to feel like Suzy had been right when Enso confirmed it. He joined Jesse on the balcony and looked a little nervous as he began. "Colonel Marcos, my cousin has decided against pursuing a relationship with you. She wasn't going to say anything, but I felt that after everything you have done for both of us, you deserved better. I'm sorry."

"I have to admit, I'm more than a little disappointed that she couldn't tell me herself, but thanks for letting me know
, Enso."

"For what it's worth, I think she's making the biggest mistake of her life." With that
, he was gone and Jesse just stood out on that balcony overlooking the beautiful skyline of Capital City, alone with his thoughts. He no longer felt like celebrating.

After a while, Wennagal came out to say goodbye. "Colonel, I don't know if you have been told, but Captain Reed has been offered a position heading up Kaldor's Special Assignment Task Force. Enso, Sandstorm and myself will be joining her and she can choose anyone else she would like
for the task force."

"That's great
, Wennagal, I'm really happy for you guys. I just wish Captain Reed had had the courtesy of telling me herself."

Wennagal could see he was hurting and surmised Enso must have spoken to him. "I'm sorry
, Colonel. She's never been very good at goodbyes. I do hope our paths cross again; I consider you and your crew to be friends."

"I would like that
, Wennagal, goodbye, my friend, and stay safe."

After a
short embrace, Wennagal left, and the Colonel was alone on the balcony.

______

As the party ended, everyone said
their goodbyes and goodnights. They were not scheduled to leave until after the diplomatic art reception scheduled in two days, so he planned to sleep in. All of Cassie's crew had already offloaded their belongings and treasure and it was now back to the original crew plus a still sleeping Reece. He now knew that Suzy had been right, and Cassie did in fact use him. He realized he should have seen it coming, but he was still hurting. He was happy he wasn't going to see her again, he wasn't quite sure what he'd say.

“Are you all right, Jesse?”
Suzy asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

“I will be,” he replied, knowing he couldn’t dodge this conversation.
She just knew him too well.

“It’s for the best; I just
hope Kimi can get over it. Then, maybe you two can finally get together,” she offered with a smile on her face.

“It’s not that simple
, Suzy,” he replied. “You were right, Cassie was playing me, and finding that out hurts. Getting over it might take a little time. Kimi is probably feeling pretty hurt, too. Maybe Kimi will be a possibility when she's ready; but I'm not even sure I'm really interested in her.” He was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince her. He did have feelings for Kimi, but he might have ruined his chances with her. Cassie had been a mistake from the start.
The first woman I fall for since Rebecca, and it had to be her
, he thought bitterly.

“
Really? Jess,” she replied with a dubious look. “I don't know about that, but I do know the last thing you want to do is hurt her again."

“
I know, Suzy, I’m gonna go get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” He kissed her on the cheek and turned and went into his room as she walked down the corridor towards hers. She watched him disappear into his quarters and wished she hadn't helped talk him into helping Cassie. While they did make some good friends, it wasn't worth the pain Cassie had caused her oldest and closest friend.

______

They were finally ready to explore the remaining three sectors of the Kalephi galaxy. Four months and eleven days after they had arrived through the matter conduit, they had been to seven planets and they were leaving Kaldor as heroes. The reception had gone very well. Grateful planetary leaders took their prizes back to their worlds, thankful for Colonel Marcos generosity. He had spoken briefly about not deserving to keep important history from the people it was meant for and received a rousing ovation. Jesse hoped that giving priceless ancient works back to planets like Chawanas, Taglaharn and Zinnebulous as well as dozens of other worlds would ease some of the tension that had built up in the sector due to Garrinoras' attack on Kaldor. By having the event on Kaldor, Jesse hoped to build some goodwill between them and the planets they hoped to align themselves with. Now that the reception was over he said a final goodbye to Mayor Valinor, Seeja and Kiah as well as the rest of their friends and made their way back to their ship.

As Jesse and the crew stood in
Endeavor’s
landing bay, they waved goodbye to the enormous crowd that waited at the spaceport as the hatch slowly closed.
Endeavor
lifted off slowly as people came out into the streets and cheered the crew that had saved their planet. Then Kaldor began to fall away behind them. He sat in the commanding officer’s chair, put Cassie out of his mind, and looked at this beautiful painting that he hoped would get them an audience with King Dominus of Hyperia. Suzy arrived on the bridge and reported no change in Reece’s condition. Jesse knew he would one day wake up. He just hoped it was soon. More than anything, he hoped for the opportunity to make things right between himself and Kimi. He tried to put that out of his mind as well. It proved to be more difficult than he thought.

“Lieutenant Torrensede,” he began, “Plot a course for Hyperia.”

“Aye, aye, Colonel,” Collin responded.

As the seam opened for the jump to light sp
ace, Jesse could only wonder about what adventures the next ten months would hold for them.