No Place Like Home
Posted on Sat Oct 12th, 2024 @ 10:34pm by Lieutenant JG Jaya Maera Garlake & Lieutenant Colonel Storr Garlake
Mission:
S1E6: Where Skies End
Location: Earth
Timeline: MD 1 - 7
The USS Achilles dropped out of warp into the heavy Sol system traffic. Untold numbers of freighters and supply ships weaved to and fro at glacial speeds in a congested spaceflight line that nearly created a second belt between Earth and Mars. Storr and Jaya had no need to be alerted of the ship's arrival. As a covert SFMC vessel used for discreet VIP transport, the Achilles had codes that could jump the line in due course, but for the moment, that had to disappear into the queue.
"I can't believe it..." Jaya said with a gasp. It seemed like ages since the Venus mission and the collapse of Spacedock One that had destroyed the Federation capitol in Paris. She had remained on Overwatch Station for the entire crisis while Storr went straight into the heart of the dark planet and got himself concussed in the first battle against resurrected ancient horrors best left unmentioned at present. Looking at the unfiltered system traffic with her own eyes only enhanced the gravitas of the destruction Earth had faced. Even with the Federation pulling out all the stops, it would be years before Earth was restored to its former glory. She turned to Storr. "How was it that your family's home was untouched by... by..." By what had made this vast reconstruction effort necessary.
He sighed, though happily. "My family's location is not what many would consider...strategically important. I would argue that they aren't looking hard enough, but if it means avoiding this," he said, a sweep of his hand over the black eye on continental Europe still visible from space, "I'll take the cultural snub." Jaya's face was still one of shock and loss as he took her hand in consolation. "I know my family being on Earth will always make them a target of some sort, but we Afrikanners are a tough sort. That, and one of the augments during the Eugenics War, managed to...solve...our most pressing issue while the northern portion of the continent was embroiled in conflict." Storr could see more questions in his bride's face, but they were interrupted before that train of thought could be pursued.
"Sir, we've been cleared for expedited planetfall. London, Antwerp, Beirut, Pretoria."
Garlake's brow arched. "Why the roundabout itinerary?"
"While we are a Trojan Horse of sorts, making a direct approach to our destination could belie our intentions far more than we wish. Sir." The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Marine could have been a recruiting poster for the Voortrekkers of almost 700 years ago. And he was right.
"Understood. I won't lie about looking forward to seeing some of my family's continental homelands or Sandhurst if we have time, but we're both..." he looked over at the triple-incubator just beyond his glowing wife and corrected himself, "...all ready to complete this journey."
"Of course. We do have actual disaster relief supplies that we'll be delivering in Belgium for the recovery in and around Paris and continuing on to England and Lebanon for matters of little importance more than cover. I expect we'll have you there in less than a week."
A week?! They'd already been on this rust bucket for that long, already getting to earth, so their destination being so close yet so far away still irked him, no matter how much sightseeing they'd be able to accomplish. He felt a hand on his as he also felt the heat in his cheeks rise, the sudden contact snapping his eyes to Jaya and her cherubic face. It still amazed him at her ability to read him like a book, even before the cover was cracked and turned to a single page. Yes, being an empath and having bonded themselves at the near-genetic level might have something to do with it...but it still surprised him nonetheless.
"We'll be on this ship for a week?" Jaya asked, clearly dejected. "Not even any sightseeing..." They had been abducted on Risa from the middle of a sailboat tour. Starfleet was not taking any more chances. She crossed her arms and glanced back to the door that would lead to their quarters. It wasn't like they'd be doing much sightseeing even without the added security measures. "I guess it won't make much difference," she said. "Our hands are full either way."
"I'm sure we'll be able to get out at each stop, if even for a little while," Storr said sympathetically, rubbing his wife's back while shooting a look at the Sergeant that both pleaded and demanded such. He looked over at the triplets, smiling wistfully. "But yes, our hands will be full. We'll be there before we know it."
Jaya shamelessly draped herself around Storr and hung from his shoulders with her bare arms. "I hope so," she cooed, eyes closed.
A dozen or more Marine grunts made themselves even more engrossed in their duties without making eye contact with the Colonel.
A week later
Mtendere had greeted Storr and Jaya just as he had years ago, though this time, the party size had doubled, and the family car had to be replaced with a more "modest" passenger van. As a chauffeur, the Nguni was excellent, and his conversation was still as light and jovial as it had ever been, though a few more lines at the crease of his eye and far less color in his hair belied the passage of time since their last visit. Storr idly wondered as he gazed out at the magnificent jacaranda trees beautifully coordinating with the steel and glass highrises if he, too, was showing signs of the years. Quickly dismissing the thought (mostly based on the premise that thinking it would make it true), he focused more on the passing of urban highrises to the more scattered buildings that finally gave way to the African bush. It wouldn't be long now until they arrived at Laphalale...his home.
"It hasn't changed a bit," Jaya said with wonder. The appeal of an unchanging homestead had been lost on her before, what with growing up in a completely terraformed environment filled with unnatural hues and bright themes limited only by artistic imagination. Something so... rustic and pristine awakened a feeling in Jaya that she hadn't felt in a good while. Not since her previous visit, in fact. "I understand a little more why it means so much to you, my love. The world can change so quickly that something is lost in transition, never to be seen again." She leaned into Storr and enjoyed the feeling of nostalgia she soaked in from his soul almost as much as she did the view. "I'm glad we came here first. Feels right with our new family."
The Afrikaner smiled, stealing a glance at his radiant bride before looking back out the window. "It's grounding, something that I know has been, is now, and will be for our children and their children's children. Its roots are like the baobab tree, deep and wide. It's...home."
As the car turned off the street and through the wrought iron gate at the beginning of their drive, Storr felt like a weight immediately lifted from his shoulders. And, if he knew his Deltan at all, she shared that feeling with him.
Behind them an escort vehicle followed at a low altitude. The Marine fire-team within would remain with the Garlakes on site and out of sight for the duration of their stay. While the beauty of the scenery wasn't lost of them, they were stonefaced and all business. They would lose sleep despite the boredom so that their VIPs would sleep soundly.
