We Have a Problem

Obsidian Arrows

Time of our Lord Creatos 1539, Thursday the 17th of Manhuary

We Have a Problem

With the ship secured and the mock gate removed we were ready to head down to the planet.  There were details to take care of and a wedding to be at.  Much of which was planned by Merisa’s mother, Mrs. Francieen Clarish.  Tarinnish still remembers the painful conversation they had to have with her parents some two alunars ago.  It was a lot to take in at one, the fact that their daughter was in a relationship and that she had decided to get married.  Yes, it was difficult.  They are somewhat old fashioned, and their daughter had never really shown much interest in men.  It’s not that she didn’t like them, they just didn’t fit into her plans.  As for the men that joined the Obsidian Arrows, few were to her liking.  Most were arrogant and too self-assured. Which was the exact composition the order was looking for.  They were the best of the best. Which, if you think about it, made no sense at all.  Why would you send the best you have on a fool’s errand? Tarinnish scolded himself for getting off track.  What other men were like did not matter now. He had made his way past her mental barriers.  The ones she had made for herself to keep others from getting too close.  But he had done it.  He was the love of her life and more importantly, her soul mate.  Now he was contending with her parents to be accepted.

Which was not going to be an easy task.  Especially when it came to Francieen.  Who started to change some of the arrangements that Marisa had already set up.  She insisted that the ceremony take place in the arboretum and that flowers and ribbons be placed in the aisles and tables.  It was to be a grand occasion, not just a cold procedure.  That would not do for their only daughter.  Marisa tried to stop this insanity, but it was no use.  Her plans were swept aside, and a grand fiasco was being erected in its place.

As the conversation continued and the event of their marriage was being orchestrated by Francieen, Marisa apologized to her lover repeatedly. Tarinnish squeezed her hand in reassurance.  He had been through so much and this, well this was just another thing to get through.  In the end, he would have her.  No, they would have each other.  Most of the rest of the conversation was a blur.  It didn’t matter what they thought anyway.  Francieen would see to most of it and they would be pawns in this event.  

 Now that they were back in orbit, things were getting real.  They had to make another call to Marisa’s parents and this one was going to be even more difficult than the last one.  Tarinnish kept delaying the inevitable, but with just three Rotations before their departure this task had to be done.  Marisa insisted that they tell their parents before their arrival as it would give them time to accept the circumstances before they had to face them up close and personal.  It might have been a bit cowardly, but Marisa insisted that this would be the best way to deal with her mother.

 After the initial hellos and customary “how are you?”, Marisa dove in.  She was a lot more like her mother than she wanted to admit. However, before they broke the news Francieen asked a question, “So when is the baby due and when were you going to tell us?” 

 There was nothing but silence as the question hung in the air.  They may have been thousands of kilometers away, but the news still managed to make it all the way to her mother’s ears.  Finally, Marisa said, “That’s what we’re calling for… Congratulations, your going to be grandparents.”

 Thats when Jack, the ever-silent partner spoke up, “And where are you going to raise this child?’

Marisa cleared her throat but Tarinnish broke in to answer the question.  “Well, sir… We need you to help us with that.” He paused to let that sink in and when the silence continued, he felt as if he needed to give them more. “Marisa said that you could not have another child and we… Well, we are not in a position to be… there.”  This was not coming out right.

Marisa looked at her mother and said, “Mom, I know how much you wanted another child… and I’m going..” She didn’t want to say it.  It was that unspoken thing that was never to be given breath.  They were headed into certain death.  And that was a truth.  Never spoken, but the truth, nonetheless.   “I want to give you a piece of me.. Of us… just.”

Francieen would not let her finish, “Until you return.”  Tears started down her face.  She loved her daughter but did not understand why she was going away.  

Marisa father, Jack, spoke again, “We would be honored.” He now hugged his wife who was full on crying.  Sobs and tears flowed on both sides of this chasm.  Her parents on the planet and Marisa in space.  Tarinnish had never seen such family love.  He could not fathom the emotions that were charging the atmosphere.  He just watched and kept his hand in Marisa’s.  

Jack finally cut it off, “We will meet you at the spaceport.”

Marisa interjected, “I’ve already made arrangements to meet you in Botanica.  Which was short for the real name of the city, Botanical Oasis.  “We will be there in three rotations, at noon.” Tears still flowing down her face but trying to sound excited, “I’m looking forward to being home.” 

Her mother never looked up.  Her sobbing had subsided, but tears were still flowing out of her eye.  They were dripping to the floor as she was bent over in grief. Jack just held her and shook his head in agreement.  

Tarinnish ended the transmission and Marisa buried her head in his chest.    

That was three rotations ago, now they are headed for the shuttle and more uncertainty.  On planet side, so much can go wrong.  Here in the quiver, things are ordered and efficient.  You could set your watch to when things happened.  That is how life was here.  Safe and ordered, but on the planet, things were chaotic and unpredictable.  He had to look relaxed but be ever wary of who was around him and whether to offer his left or right hand for identification.  It would be a seventh full us opportunities for fate to mess with him.  

Marisa could feel his uneasiness, “It will be fine.  We will wear our uniforms like trophies wherever we go.  We will act like the heroes we know we are not.  But that is all they will see.”  She gave his hand a squeeze. “Besides, they will have to deal with a commander of the Obsidian Order, and I can be such an ass when I want to be.” 

With that assurance, Tarinnish steeled himself for the trip. He could do this, one last time.  

The trip down was uneventful.  The customs guards were in awe that such distinguished guests were in their presence that they did the bare minimum to clear the two. The same thing happened in Botanica.  It was as if the whole planet was awed by their presence.   Even out of uniform everyone seemed to know who they were and what they represented.  And the fiasco that Francieen had planned, well it grew into a full-blown circus.  The whole town wanted in on their local hero being married.  Everyone was putting out their best.  The Town’s central park was turned into the venue.  The mayor was to officiate the ceremony with the justice of the peace as the signer of the certificate.  The local band had offered to perform live music and there was enough food to feed a horde of miners.  

Two seamstresses were fussing over the wedding gown and Tarinnish had six formal suites to choose from.  It was way over the top for him.  He had spent decades trying to hide.  He had no idea what to think of all this.  He did find that getting up two hours before first watch and meditating seemed to help.  Then, if they had to venture out, he took Marisa with him. She was very good at deflecting people or bring the attention to herself and sparing him.  Yes, she was his soul mate and she was determined to keep her partner safe.

 On the afternoon, that they were to meet with the doctor. Tarinnish was especially unsure.  The doctor would have to take a DNA sample from each of them and the baby.  Then they would analyze it for genetic defects, probabilities for illnesses and other screening.  This doctor was selected from among the friends that his mother and grandfather had given him.  But fate can be fickle and if his allegiance had changed, then all would be lost. 

The doctor conducted the procedure to collect the samples and tests them himself.  He then put the results on a secondary storage device and turned to talk to his clients.  He was looking at his pad and thumbing through the results.  “Your child will be remarkable.  He… Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t ask if you wanted to know the sex.  I don’t usually do the interview, just oversee the results.”  He looked up so see if they wanted him to continue.

Marisa assured him that it was okay and to continue.

The doctor looked down and continued, “He will be about two meters tall, Brown eyes and hair.  His tone will be darker than the both of you, a recessive trait that has become more assertive.”

Tarinnish was squirming in his seat.  All this was great, but he needed to know if there was any DNA that would give his son away or put him in danger.

The doctor turned to Tarinnish, “I’m aware of the issue that haunts you and I will assure you that your son is free from this problem.  I cannot tell you how, but there is only one strand of DNA that is of consequence and it shows no sign of an issues.  The best anyone can determine from it, is that the parents are from mixed systems.  And as I recorded it in our records.  Your son with be a citizen of this world.  Permanently, anchored here.” He looked at the pad again, then gave the following advice, “To keep your son safe, I would stay clear of him.”  I know that you are planning to have a surrogate birth the child and I assume someone else will raise him while you are away.”  He looked up to both of them shaking their heads yes. “Good, then if you survive.” The words just few out. The doctor looked up and corrected himself, “When you return, I would suggest you have off world visits to keep exposure to a minimum.” 

The meeting went on for another thirty minutes as they discussed various markers in the DNA, possible aptitudes and general health.  It was upbeat and just good to know how their son is going to be as an adult.  He was projected to live a long try centennial life.  He could handle abnormally high radiation levels and he was not prone to the two diseases that Marisa family had passed down to their offspring.

 Tarinnish felt very good at this point.  He could leave knowing his son was safe and secure here.  With Marisa’s parents.  And he didn’t have to disclose where he was from or who his parents had been.  Or so he thought.  Once they got home that afternoon Francieen was in full marriage prep mode.  She prodded him for information about his family.  The Clarish family could trace their lineage back to the first colony ships.  Dates and places properly stored in memory chips that were almost a thousand cycles old.  Tarinnish had only developed his lie back a few generations.  Just enough to satisfy the military requirements and no further.

Mrs Clarish was not impressed.  She was going to dig into this issue and gets some results. Tarinnish turned to Marisa for help.  He needed to stop this inquiry.  If Francieen could find out about the pregnancy while they were thousands of kilometers away, she would certainly dig up some unpleasant details that were best left buried.   After the first attempt with her mother Marisa admitted that they may have to tell mother everything.  

Marisa was whispering in Tarinnish’s ear, “She doesn’t know when to quit.” 

Tarinnish was trying to think up a suitable lie that would satisfy his mother in law without revealing the truth.  

Marisa whispered back, “She will know you are lying.  She always knows.” She paused to look around.  “I don’t know how, but she always caught me when I was lying. Its freaky, but she just always seemed to know.” 

“Can she handle the truth?” Tarinnish asked.

“I don't know?” Marisa admitted.

“Well we'd better do it now, before she trips some internal investigation.” Tarinnish said, his voice slightly higher in tone.  

“Tonight, at dinner.” Marisa countered.  “Besides she’s out looking at flowers this afternoon. She was given two choices for arrangements and she just couldn’t decide until she saw the flowers in person.  

“Are you going with her?” Asked Tarinnish.

“No.” Marias looked at him in surprise. “I have no interest in flowers.”

“I think you need to go with her.” Tarinnish said suspiciously, “She needs to be watched.”

“What are you saying?” Marisa was getting offended.  This was her mother not some admisary.

“Your mother found out you were pregnant while we were seven thousand kilometers away.  How did she do that?  That’s private information.” 

“I don’t know.”  Marisa fell silent.  Thinking of how her mother had gotten the information.  She then said, “I’ll go with her.” 

Tarinnish felt better about that.  It just seemed weird that her mother had access to their life without them knowing about it.  He wondered if she knew of their relationship before they told her.  Tarinnish’s mind was racing ahead of him.  Thinking of all the possible ways that this information was leaked and what other information might be out there.    

While Marisa and her mother were walking through the greenhouses full of fragrant flowers.  Marisa and her mother were separated.  Marisa was studying some interesting varieties of orchids and her mother had moved on to look at some lilies.  Marisa then saw a man dressed differently than the greenhouse employees.  He stood out as he was not looking at any of the flowers.  He walked in and immediately approached Francieen.  Francieen looked upset when he approached her, and she quickly looked around.  It was obvious she didn’t want people to see them together, or she didn’t want Marisa to see them together.  He handed her something and quickly walked away.

Marisa charged up to her mother, “Who was that man?”  and when she saw the panicked look on her mother’s face, “What have you done?” 

She didn’t answer at first.  She just held her finger to her lips to indicate that Marisa be silent.  And for some reason this Lieutenant Commander of a star ship complied.  This was her mother.  They quickly slipped out of the greenhouse and found a secluded spot on the grounds where they could talk.

Marisa repeated in a whisper, “What have you done!”

Francieen looked away like something had caught her eye, but she spoke in her low motherly voice, “I’m your mother and I know when something isn’t right.” 

“That didn’t answer my question.” Marisa insisted.

“Let’s just say that God has a sense of humor.” Francieen said.  

“What!” Marisa was getting annoyed with this evasion. “What does Creatos have to do with all this?”

“I wasn’t talking about Creatos.” Frincieen said as she looked at her daughter.

Marisa stopped talking, she quickly looked around.  Her mind was screaming at her that her mother was about to drop the biggest truth ever.  “No.” was all she could say.  How could she not have known? “You’re not one of them?” she managed to get out.

“One of who?” Francieen asked.

“Is father?” Marisa asked.

“Who do you think told me about Him?” Francieen said softly.  

“When?” Marisa asked.  Because they had always gone to Creatos Temple when she was growing up.  Never had her parents spoke of another God.  Never.

“About the time you left.” Francieen told her.

Marisa thought to herself.  This is not the place to be talking about this.  They had to leave, but they couldn’t.  They had not picked out the flowers yet and it would be in insult to leave before they did that.  They would have to talk about this when they got home.  However, she needed to know one thing.  She asked, “What did that man tell you?”

Francieen didn’t have anything to hide at this point, “He told me that my daughter had managed to find that most wanted man in all the seven systems.  The son of Sarack.”

If it weren’t for her military training, Marisa would have bolted in panic.  If her mother could find this out, so could others.  They had to leave, but they had to look as if nothing was wrong.  Marisa summoned all her mental strength and told her mother.  “We will pick the lilies and let the florist do the arrangements.  Whatever, they come up with will work.  Is that clear.”  

For once Francieen did not argue.  She simply nodded her head in compliance.  

With the flowers done and nothing on the agenda for the rest of the day, they went straight home.  On the trip home the tension between the two women was so thick others could feel it and no one wanted to break the intense silence.

Once at home, Francieen went to get Jack and Marisa ran to Tarinnish.  They met in the living space.  No one spoke as they sat down.  Everyone knew the stakes.   

Jack finally broke the silence, “So, we have a problem.”  

End of Chapter 6

Next Chapter 7

This blog contains two books of the Remnant Series If you want to start at the beginning of Book 6, click the link below.

1st Chapter of Obsidian Arrows

If you want to read more about the Remnant Series see the links below.

            Book 1-3: Graham Heights available on Amazon.com

            Book 4: The Grey Abyss available on Amazon.com

            Bood 5: Chaos coming soon to Amazon.com

Book 6: Obsidian Arrows

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R. A. Legg

    
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