CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

PHOENIX was in orbit of the Aldarian homeworld, accompanied by a Quix military ship and three Senfo freighters. The hangar deck was bustling with activity as transports and shuttles were busy ferrying Aldarians and personnel assigned to the planet. Their job was to help reinforce the structural integrity of the cave where the Aldarian city was located.

“I had a chance to say good-bye to Julie last night,” said Thresha as her and John entered the hangar. John ordered a one week honeymoon for the couple, which they were taking on the Onixin homeworld. Julie made a promise to herself to return there and enjoy herself on the planet that Alex’sis had fallen in love with. The Onixin council was gracious enough to send a cruiser to pick up the newly married couple so that PHOENIX didn’t have to make the trip.

“Julie wouldn’t have forgiven herself if she didn’t see you before she left,” said John as they walked together with their arms interlocked. “The engineering teams already have a pretty good idea how to reinforce the cave so you can focus on your new duties.”

“You have always ensured all our interests are met,” said Thresha as they approached her shuttle, where her assistants were waiting for her.

“When we finish our mission, I’ll be making my first stop back here to see you,” promised John.

Thresha was pleased to hear that. Although she never told him, she had planned to remain on PHOENIX if she hadn’t been selected as the new Yearden. She had decided long ago that if her people did return home, her place was on the ship. But her selection as Yearden changed those plans.

“I look forward to that day,” smiled Thresha.

John kissed her on the cheek. “The Aldarians are lucky to have you as their Yearden. I wish…” No, John resolved he was going to be strong. There was no need for a sad good-bye. “You’re going to be great.”

“I will miss you dearly, John Roberts,” said Thresha. “You will always be in my thoughts.”

John stepped back as she boarded the shuttle. Thresha took her seat and smiled at him through the window, knowing her friend would be alright. She sensed no sadness within him, only warm feelings.

As the shuttle departed, John exited the hangar and took the long way back to the command deck, heading down to Central. This was the heart of the PHOENIX and the best place to get a pulse of the ship. It was amazing that, even with new sections of Central opened up, how busy all the streets seemed. A mixture of human and alien crew members went about their business, discussing matters affecting their daily lives.

“Mu, how’s the new business?” as John approached Central’s newest restaurant: Homeworld Decadence. It was the brainchild of Mario before he died. To honor him, Mu elected to open the new restaurant and continue operating The Stardust Café. The idea for the new restaurant was to serve dishes popular from all the alien homeworlds.

“I have managed to survive the first few days of operation,” replied Mu as he served dishes to a couple of Senfo at a patio table. “I have already received several recipes from the crew and will be modifying the menu again.”

“Sounds good,” said John. “Just try to keep the use of xixia to a minimum.”

“When Mario and I created the plans for this new restaurant, he explicitly mandated no dish would be served with xixia,” explained Mu. “He wanted the ship commander to have a place to dine without worry. I thought it appropriate to honor his wishes.”

John chuckled. “Then it looks like this will be my new place to eat.”

********

A couple hours later, the captain arrived on the command deck. He approached the operations table where Tim Richardson, Korifluxinina, and his new operations officer were standing.

“Those command bars look good on you,” John said to Tim.

“Thank you, sir,” replied the newly promoted commander.

“Just try not to do too good of a job, otherwise Julie might get worried,” as John winked at him. He looked over at his operations officer, who was clearly nervous as beads of sweat dotted her forehead. “You ok?”

“Yes sir,” she stammered. “I’m just a bit nervous.”

“You’re doing fine,” encouraged John. He knew she was nervous about serving on TERRA’s flagship. Thousands of TERRA officers applied to serve on the ship. The consensus was only the most experienced officers should be given priority. But John didn’t agree. He wanted a mixture of experienced officers and newly graduated cadets on the ship. Word was the officers who weren’t selected complained to the command council when they found out John selected a graduate to be his senior operations officer. The council never questioned his decision and John never offered an explanation to anyone except for Julie. “Just focus on your task and you’ll be fine. We’re all here to help you, even Vish.”

“Yes sir. Thank you. I just don’t want to make a mistake.”

“A little later I’ll tell you the story about this smart-ass cadet who helped steal an experimental starship and used it to explore space. He made some blunders but things turned out ok in the end.”

The operations officer smiled, grateful for his reassurance. “I understand.”

“Then what’s our status, Shelly?”

“Um, we’ve finished unloading all personnel and equipment,” she reported. “The Senfo freighters are on the planet and the Quix starship has signaled us they are ready to take over patrol duties of the system.”

“Then we don’t have a reason to stay.” John turned to the navigation station. “Jufo, have you plotted a course for us?”

“Yes, captain,” replied the Senfo officer.

“Take us out of the system, then initiate jump,” ordered John.

“Better limit it to factor two,” advised Bret. “We want to be sure that Julie and Mitchell can catch up to us.”

“Good point,” said John. “Factor two, Jufo.”

“Understood. Taking the ship out,” announced Jufo.

“You have the deck, Tim,” as John exited the pit.

********

John left the command deck and took a tour of the ship. He visited some of his favorite decks: farming, botanical gardens, Skunkworks. He stopped and took the time to chat with crew members who wanted a word with him. He enjoyed every conversation he had with the people he conversed with. No topic was mundane or small to him. What they all said was important to him. He didn’t get back to his apartment in Central until late. X was waiting patiently with a hot meal for him.

That night, John was laying asleep in bed. X was holding one of his hands and singing the same melody it used to sing for him as a child. The nightstands on both sides of the bed were littered with picture frames. They housed pictures of many of the friends he made on the ship. X’s melody drifted into John’s dreams as he enjoyed the memories of those in his life and those who had departed.