The Santana Nexus (Junkyard Dogs Book 3) (43 page)

Chapter
67.

Santana Nexus Station, January 15, 2599.

At the summit meeting that followed
in the aftermath of the Sheik's death and the defeat of his forces, the consortium of governments gathered at the Santana Nexus Station voted that the Santana Nexus be declared an interplanetary neutral zone. Federation and Islamic Alliance forces would maintain a presence but only to keep order. This meant that the United Terran Federation would no longer be using the Nexus Station as their base of operations for the Quadrant. Alternative arrangements were going to be necessary.

Kresge, Harris
, Hawkins, Kelly, Hartmann and Juan Carlos Montoya met with Admiral Kingston and with several other high-ranking officers that had come out with the Federation reinforcements. Carlisle, who was back in the hospital for observation, was absent.

"Thank you all for coming," said Kingston. "
As you all know by now, because of the decisions made at Ambassador Saladin's Summit meeting, we will not be rebuilding the Federation facilities here at the Nexus. We have been looking into some other options instead." She turned to Kresge. "What would it take to convert the
Gibraltar
, that battleship we powered up, into a permanent base station for the Reclamation center?'

Kresge thought for a moment before replying.
"That's actually not such a bad idea, Admiral. The ship is plenty stout and we all have first-hand knowledge as to how well-armed she is. As big as she is, we could continue to expand the living space as needed to accommodate as many personnel as we needed."

"There is more, Commander."

"Yes?"

"We want to move the Federation headquarters
for the entire quadrant to your Reclamation Center. The newly created task group would have a permanent presence in New Ceylon and all over the Quadrant."

Kresge didn't know what to say.

"Furthermore, we wish to man the facility with personnel from this Quadrant. That means we'd want people from New Ceylon, Catskill-Soroyan, Heard's World and...Patagonia."

Juan Carlos grasped the meaning immediately. "That means..."

"Yes, Juan Carlos, we are offering Patagonia full colonial status in the Federation!"

"On the behalf of the people of Patagonia, I accept!"

"Who's going to be in charge of this 'new' facility?" asked Kresge.

"That would be you
, Oskar, with Harris as your second in command. We would also be assigning Carlisle, Kelly and the three CPO's that you currently have, Hawkins, Allen and Jenkins. What do you say, Commander?"

"
How can I refuse?" said Kresge. "I think I even have a name for the unit."

"Yes, of course," replied Kingston, "
The Task Group would be known as 'The Junkyard Dogs!'"

***

Santana Nexus Station, January 18, 2599.

As things began to return to a semblance of order on the Nexus Station,
Ensign Tamara Carlisle was examined thoroughly before being released by the Station doctors. She was ordered to take at least two weeks off to get some rest. The multiple brushes with death that she'd experienced over the last several days and the wounds that had been inflicted on her as a consequence, along with the injuries she had suffered during the earlier Scrapyard battles had left her battered and exhausted.

Orders or not,
Kresge didn't believe that she could sit still for that long so he assigned someone to help enforce the rest regime. That someone was Lieutenant Ryan Harris, another person who, in the Commander's judgment, could benefit from some badly needed rest and recreation. The two officers, one actually convalescing and the other merely worn out, were provided rooms in a small and unique facility called "Santana's Finest Zero G Luxury Suites" located in the hub area of the second ring of the station. That close to the center of rotation, the hotel was -- as the name implied -- in an essentially weightless location. The lack of gravity was deemed to be the perfect environment for the recovering Ensign.

For the first
several days, the Lieutenant's duty was easy as the Ensign essentially slept most of the time. After about the third day, he noticed that she was beginning to perk up and Harris decided the time was right for some low-stress socializing.

He spoke to her about it while they shared breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

"What would you say if I told you we had been invited out to a really nice place for dinner tonight," he said.

She played coy
, a sure sign that she was starting to feel better. "Are you asking me out on a date, Lieutenant?"

"Well...um...yes, I guess I am."

"I'd love to go..." replied Carlisle, "except that I don't have anything to wear. Everything I own is back in the Scrapyard. Hell, I don't even have my dress uniform. It's packed away in my quarters back on the
Greyhound.
"

"
I think we may have that covered," replied Harris.

"How so?"

"Salaam's neighbor runs a woman's clothing store. He says you can come in and pick out anything you want. No charge. The neighbor wants to do something nice for 'all those wonderful people' who liberated the station."

"Really?
That actually sounds like it might be fun but..."

"But what?"

"You have to come along and help me pick something out. You know me and civilian clothes. I have absolutely no sense of fashion whatsoever!"

"And you're
desperate enough to rely on me?" said Harris, "The blind leading the blind? Don't say I didn't warn you!"

"There's a method here, Lieutenant. With you involved, at least there'll be someone to share the blame!"

"Count on a tactician to find an angle of some kind…"

"
You expected less?" she replied.

They laughed and moved on to other topics as they finished their breakfast.

Right after lunch, the two of them made their way to Fahima's Fine Fashions, the clothing shop right next door to Salaam Alwadhi's curio store on the first level of the third ring. The concerns that both of them shared regarding fashion choices proved to be groundless as the proprietor's wife, Fahima, who had a keenly developed sense of fashion, basically took over the duties of helping Carlisle select something nice to wear for the dinner date.

Over the course of an hour and a half,
Carlisle looked at a bewildering array of some of the most beautiful clothing she'd ever seen. Ultimately she tried on three different outfits. She changed into each of them in turn and then came out show them to Harris. With her short stature and her all but perfect body, he thought she looked stunning in every single one of them. She came out wearing the third and last of the three outfits. With Harris watching from a chair nearby, she did a complete turnaround while looking at her image in the impressive bank of mirrors that the upscale store was equipped with.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," said Harris.

"You're no help!" replied Carlisle, "That's the same thing you said about the last two outfits!"

"
What can I say? It's true!"

She gave him a look of mock exasperation.

"So, which one should I pick?"

Harris was trying to come up with an intelligent response when he was rescued by the store owner.

"I can make it easy for you, Dr. Carlisle," said Gamal Kattan, "From what Salaam tells us, you'll be here for at least another two weeks. You're going to need some clothes to wear. Please, take all three of these outfits, with our complements!"

The two officers tried to argue the point but the storekeeper would have none of it.
After an extremely one-sided discussion, they left with three very nice and very fashionable ensembles suitable for a variety of activities.

Harris insisted that
Carlisle take a nap before getting ready for the evening. To his surprise, she didn't argue with him. Instead she said she wanted to be rested up for their "big date."

***

Early in the evening Lieutenant Ryan Harris and his stunningly beautiful and elegantly dressed companion made their way to the Nexus Plexus Restaurant and Bar, an establishment that had come highly recommended by Clancy Davis-Moore. To Carlisle's surprise and delight, they were met by her father and her brother Collin who already had a table and were waiting for them. Carlisle's brother looked a lot like their father though he was a little taller and not as broad in the shoulders. His Clan tattoo was the same.

The Spacers stood up to welcome the
newcomers.

"Col
lin?" said Carlisle. She gave her younger brother a warm hug, "Lieutenant Ryan Harris? This is my brother Collin O'Connell."

The two men shook hands.

"I haven't seen you in ages!" Carlisle said to her brother, "How did you wind up here?"

"
I joined up with the Piedmont forces when father came by on his recruiting mission," he replied.

The introductions over, they all took a seat.
Over several rounds of drinks and an excellent dinner, Each of them had an opportunity to describe their own adventures during the battle for the Nexus Station. They ended up the narratives with Carlisle giving them a fairly detailed account of her own harrowing ordeal. Even Harris listened raptly as he hadn't heard the whole story either. As the evening progressed, they settled into comfortable small talk.

Finally Seamus said he wanted to make an announcement.

"I thought over what you said about Collin, Tamara," said her father, "He'll be joining back up with me and taking over the
Donegal
in a couple of years."

"Congratulations to both of you,"
she replied. She wore a look that was both happy and relieved at the same time.

After another half hour or so
the two miners excused themselves and departed, leaving the two Federation officers alone.

"
This was really nice," said Carlisle, "Thank you for making it happen."

"My pleasure."

"I am getting a little tired though. I think it's time we got back to our hotel, Lieutenant."

"I'll take care of the bill on the way out," said Harris.

The proprietor of the restaurant said that the check had been picked up by the two gentlemen who had just left.

"Seems like we aren't
having to pay for much of anything," said Harris.

"I wouldn't get used to it," replied Carlisle.

They made their way back through the station to their hotel. Like they had done on another occasion several months earlier, they paused outside the door to the Ensign's room. Once again, Carlisle didn't appear to be in a hurry to go inside.

"Do you remember
way back a few months ago when we were on the New Ceylon Station?" asked Carlisle.

"
How could I forget?" replied Harris, "You asked me to kiss you goodnight." He looked at the floor. "It was wonderful and...and awful at the same time."

She gave him a curious look.
He shifted his gaze back to her eyes.

"I was absolutely certain that I'd never see you again!" he paused for a second and added, "
...but I'd be more than happy to kiss you goodnight again if you'd like."

She paused for a long moment while she gave him a calculating look
. The advice that Frank Talbot had given her just a few days ago came back to her,
"Think of some things that you really want to do, just for you, and find a way to do them!"

"Actually,
" she said, "I was wondering what you would say if I asked you to kiss me good morning?"

It took Harris a moment to decide if he'd heard her right.
His response, when it came out, was very Carlisle-like,

"
Um...sure...I mean...Um...of course, how I could possibly refuse!"

She laughed
and favored him with a dazzling smile.

"
You are truly something special, Ryan!"

"And you are the most amazing person I've ever met, Tamara
Carlisle!" replied Harris.

"
You know what they say about Spacer girls, don't you?" said Carlisle, as she opened the door.

"Um...no I don't."

"They don't need gravity," she replied.

S
he closed the door.

Over the course of the next few hours, Harris found out that
the saying was absolutely and delightfully true!

Epilogue

On board private ship
Carpathia
, in deep space somewhere in the Santana Quadrant, February 8, 2599.

Nearly a month had passed since the liberation of the Santana Nexus and the escape of t
he
Carpathia
from the aftermath. The luxury ship headed away from the jump point for the Lazarus System. It had been a busy few weeks with little time for any rest. Fahada was by herself in her customary quarters. She felt an enormous sense of relief, the escape from the Santana Nexus had been harrowing. She found herself in the unexpected and unaccustomed position of being the leader of these people. The sudden, unfamiliar burden had kept her very busy but all of the activities associated with leadership had the advantage of not allowing her the time to think about the abrupt change in direction her life had taken.

The Sheik of Barsoom,
shortly after he revealed himself to be Prince Merrikh of Jasmine, was suddenly, finally and undeniably dead. The man that she had dedicated her life to was gone, forever. Perhaps the Sheik had somehow known what was going to happen to him. She thought of her new husband, Captain of the very ship that had carried them both away from certain death. One of the old man's last acts had been to make sure that she was taken care of. She had been putting off this next activity, perhaps because it seemed so final. With a heavy heart, she opened the letter that her beloved Sheik had given her on the day she was married, a scant five weeks ago.

"My dearest Fahada,

If you are reading this letter, it means that I am no longer among the living. If my plans for the Santana Quadrant had been successful, all would have been revealed and I would have requested that you return this letter because it was no longer needed.

I am telling you this because
I and a few others have kept secrets, secrets that were necessary to protect ourselves and to protect our loved ones. What you do not know is that I was married shortly after my escape from the final battle of the Succession War. Though it seems difficult to believe, my wife and I had a quiet life for a good many years as I slowly and carefully gathered my allies and my resources to launch my campaign to right the wrongs of this Universe. We had a son but we did not dare to raise him ourselves. Instead we left him with trusted friends and he was nurtured and cared for by them until he grew up. He himself got married and had a son who died early in life. He also had a daughter. She was cared for by the same trusted friends who had raised my son.

The daughter
of my son is you, Fahada.

Yes, you are my granddaughter
!

To you I leave all of my worldly goods, including my beloved
Carpathia
. The man I chose for your husband is a good man and is as dedicated to my vision as anyone you are likely to meet.

Do not let my Revolution die with me.

Your loving Grandfather, Sheik of Barsoom, Prince Merrikh of Jasmine.

Fahada leaned back in her chair, the letter in her lap, and contemplated what the next phases of her life would be like. The letter changed everything. She smiled as all of the pieces came falling into place. She had visited the infirmary earlier that day. In spite of only being a married for a few weeks it had been revealed to her that she was pregnant. The child was male and though it was very early, he appeared to be healthy and normal.

With Prince Merrikh dead,
Fahada's son would be the sole and rightful heir to the throne of Jasmine. His parents, dedicated to the late Prince Merrikh, would see that the heir had a very special upbringing. Perhaps the Universe could be set right after all.

It was just going to take some more time...

The End
.