Three Square Meals Ch. 107

Charles nodded, but sounded distracted as he stared at her in fascination, "That's a worthy goal..."

"Are you alright, Charles?" Lynette asked, surprised by how distant he seemed. "Have you got something else on your mind?"

He quickly averted his gaze and concentrated on his meal. "Ah... no, Lynette. I think it's a good idea, I'll support you however I can."

She frowned at him in irritation and put down her knife and fork with a clatter. "You were like this yesterday too! Alright, spit it out... what's got you so distracted?"

Charles looked mortified and after a long pause, he reluctantly murmured, "You've got the same eyes..."

"What?" Lynette snapped, trying to keep control of her temper.

"I never noticed before, but your eyes are beautiful... they just reminded me of someone else," he admitted nervously.

"Who? Lina?!" she bristled, her hazel eyes narrowing. After going to all the trouble of preparing him lunch, she couldn't believe that he was still thinking about her!"

He shook his head. "No... Marie."

Lynette stared at him in surprise, then giggled at the absurdity of the situation. She was jealous... of herself!

Charles blushed furiously at her laughter. "I'm sorry..."

Lynette gave him a knowing smile. "My, my, she really made an impression on you, didn't she?"

"Did Marie say something?" he asked, cringing with embarrassment. "She must think I'm a lecherous old goat!"

"No, she doesn't think that at all," Lynette replied with a soft smile. "So... do you like her? Did you think she was pretty?"

He hesitated, torn with indecision as he tried to meet her curious gaze.

Lynette reached out to gently squeeze his hand. "You can tell me the truth, I promise I won't be offended."

Charles took a deep breath, then admitted, "She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. When she smiled at me, it felt like my heart had stopped beating."

"But Charles, she's young enough to be your daughter," Lynette teased him, her smile taking the sting out of her admonishment.

He rolled his eyes at himself. "I know... I can only blame the health-check I got from Rachel. I must be going through some kind of mid-life crisis."

"Have you bought yourself a red hover-convertible yet?" she asked innocently.

Charles laughed and shook his head. "No, not yet, it's on my to-do list." He looked her in the eyes again and continued, "I'm sorry I was staring at her in the gym. I know Marie is a relative of yours and I promise I won't do or say anything to embarrass either of you."

Lynette raised an eyebrow and gave him a sly smile. "Are you sure? What if I told you that Marie was wondering if you'd like to meet for a drink tonight?"

His mouth fell open in shock. "You're kidding..."

"No, not at all," she purred. "You can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps and you're best friends with the Lion. She also happens to think that you're handsome and charming."

Charles sat there stunned, his brain refusing to work. Lynette was thrilled by his reaction and elated to find out that it wasn't Lina he was pining over, but Marie! Or herself, she thought with amusement and relief.

"So, would you like to meet Marie tonight?" Lynette asked playfully.

He shook himself out of his bewildered state and grinned. "I'd love to... as long as you honestly don't mind?"

"No, I don't mind at all," she said, her hazel eyes twinkling as she sipped her wine. "I think you're a good man; you're very kind, thoughtful, and loyal. I'm proud to consider you a friend and I can't think of anyone I'd rather see dating Marie."

"Thank you, Lynette," he said, touched by her sincerity.

Alyssa groaned and said, *Just tell him now, you tease! You could spend the rest of the afternoon fucking him senseless!*

*No, not yet,* Lynette replied, as she studied Charles' face, delighted by his reaction. He looked like he couldn't believe what was happening, his expression one of awed incredulity. *Tonight...*

***

Maria Fernandez heard the pleasant chime of the doorbell and she glided out of the kitchen with an extra swish to her hips. She couldn't believe how incredible it felt to have the full range of motion in her leg again and couldn't wait to show her husband. When Jack returned home, she was going to do things to him she hadn't done in 25 years; he'd be the one limping when she was through with him.

Opening the door, she found Ed and Linda smiling back at her.

"Hello, neighbour!" Linda gushed.

Ed laughed and put his arm around the brunette. "Please excuse my wife, she's not normally this manic. We're both just buzzed about the move."

"All settled in now?" Maria asked as she led them down the hall towards the lounge.

"Well, we've got everything moved into the house, but the ground floor's a maze of moving crates," he replied, grimacing at the thought.

"I never realised we'd accumulated so much stuff!" Linda chimed in with a groan. "It's going to take forever to unpack it all."

Maria gave them an understanding smile. "Trust me, it gets much worse when you have children. Our loft looks like a toy shop... but it's so hard to throw those things away when they have such lovely memories attached to them. My excuse is that I'm saving everything for the grandchildren."

They walked into the lounge and she gestured to the sofas and the coffee table covered in plates full of sandwiches. "Take a seat and dig in. You must have worked up an appetite after all that hard work."

The couple gave her a grateful smile and sat down, picking up plates and choosing some sandwiches.

Strolling through to the kitchen, Maria called out over her shoulder, "Tea, coffee?"

"Coffee!" they both said at once, then laughed.

"I'll need it to stay awake, we've still got so much to do," Linda said with a sigh.

Maria had already boiled the kettle, so she soon reappeared with steaming cups of coffee on a tray. "Yes, I can imagine," she said sympathetically. "You'll need to set up camera surveillance and stow away all that combat gear before bed tonight. Would you like sugar, Faith? How about you, Joel?"

They nodded in agreement, caught completely off-guard by the deceptively mild tone of her voice that hadn't shifted from the earlier pleasantries. The two operatives suddenly froze, staring at each other in horror.

She gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I know you're here to protect me. Executive order 8990421: Protect Maria Fernandez at all costs; agents must be willing to lay down their lives to ensure her safety."

They gaped at her in mute astonishment as she recited their mission's primary directive.

"I'm touched that you'd volunteer for such a mission, but please don't throw your lives away on my account," she said gently, reaching out to pat Faith on her hand. "You seem like a lovely young couple... even if you aren't actually married."

"Oh God..." Commander Sharp groaned, holding his head in his hands. "You know everything!"

Lt Commander Marshall's face was ashen as she mumbled, "H-how? When did you break our cover?!"

Maria tilted her head to one side as she thought back to their first meeting. "I think it was about thirty seconds after we met." She put down the tray and picked out a sandwich. "I hope you like the bread and ham, it's from a lovely little farm shop not far from here. I'll have to take you there sometime."

Faith stared at the sandwich, then let out a burst of nervous laughter.

"This isn't funny..." Joel said morosely. "We were supposed to stay undercover!"

"It's better this way," Maria said, her voice firm. "Now I can work with you and make your job easier. There must be a genuine threat if the Fleet Admiral is assigning me bodyguards..."

The two ISD agents glanced at each other, then Joel sighed and nodded to his partner.

"We haven't been briefed on anything specific," Faith said, meeting Maria's curious gaze. "We were just told to protect you at all costs. Our plan was for me to befriend you, so that I could be close at hand if there was any trouble, while the Commander kept watch for threats."

"I could always use a new friend, the empty nest can get a bit lonely," Maria said with a warm smile. She frowned and added, "But there is one thing I'd like to know..."

"What is it?" Faith asked, leaning forward and hanging on her every word.

The Latina's eyes twinkled as she replied, "Did Jill Hutchingson leave a brown casserole dish behind? I really liked that one and she left without returning it!"

Faith grinned at her. "Don't worry, Ma'am. We'll track it down for you."

***

David Gibbons drove the open-topped hoverjeep across the ferrocrete courtyard outside the Citadel, carefully weaving his way around the blackened shells of burnt out tanks. As he rounded the corner to face the main battleground, his eyes were inexorably drawn to the enormous draconic cadaver that lay sprawled across the shattered fortifications. He'd seen the battle with his own eyes, but he still struggled to believe that the Lion had actually fought a duel with the colossal red dragon. The once terrifying and magnificent beast had been brought low, and now its corpse was surrounded by scientists in hazmat suits, who were busy examining it and taking samples.

As he neared the battlements, David spotted a cluster of uniformed officers gathered together along the parapet wall, as they surveyed the battlefield. He parked the hoverjeep next to the ramp and stepped out, walking briskly to reach the upper levels. He smiled as heard his commanding officer issuing concise orders, the score of men surrounding her listening attentively.

"I want the battlefield scoured for Kintark equipment, particularly the portable shield generators from those Kintark Royal Guard; have them delivered to the Sentinel Alpha armoury." Without pausing, she continued, "What's the status on the Kintark cap ships?"

David reached the battlements and glanced out at the gigantic Kintark flagship that the Lion had knocked out of the sky. It had ploughed bow-first into the ground, the superstructure buckling and twisting as the rest of the ship crashed down. Behind it, three hulking Kintark battlecarriers had also smashed into the earth and now lay like a trio of beached green whales, looking forlorn and dangerously out of their element.

"The surviving crewmembers have been taken into custody and they're in the process of being shipped off-planet," a marine wearing a Commander's rank insignia informed her. "My men have the wreck-sites secured and Engineering teams are currently stripping the vessels for useful components."

"Excellent," Wessex replied, stepping away from the crowd and up to the parapet wall.

Colonel Madison Wessex was wearing full-dress uniform, complete with her new rank insignia. Despite her stern expression as she looked out over the scenes of devastation, there was no denying that she was a very beautiful woman.

David marched up to her and stood at attention. "Ma'am, General Horton has requested you call him at your earliest convenience."

She glanced his way and gave him a curt nod. "Thank you, Sergeant Major." Turning to face the waiting officers, she continued in a clear authoritative voice, "Most of you are new transfers to the Sentinel Battalion, but we have a reputation as the best unit in the Terran Federation and I fully intend to maintain those high standards. In the upcoming weeks, I will be relying heavily on you to help me rebuild our forces and recruit the best possible candidates to replace the heroes we lost defending the Citadel. Any questions?"

The officers snapped to attention and saluted her. "No, Ma'am!"

"Very good, you're dismissed," she replied, returning their salute with a crisp one of her own before walking away.

David fell into step beside her as they descended down the debris-strewn ramp to the courtyard below. From here he had a good view of the Citadel itself, which was now covered in scaffolding as construction teams worked to repair the sections demolished by Baledranax. He was amazed at how fast they were working, with a lot of the plasma scars on the Citadel's walls already repaired.

He quickened his pace to reach the hoverjeep first, then opened the door for the Colonel. Wessex nodded politely as she climbed inside, then she watched him as he walked around and sat beside her, the vehicle starting with a quiet hum. Anti-grav cyclics lifted them from the ground and he turned the hoverjeep back towards Sentinel Fortress.

As they pulled away from the wall, Madison finally relaxed and smiled at him. "Thanks for coming to collect me, David."

"I was already on my way to meet you for lunch when Horton called," he said, darting a glance at her and returning her smile. "Do you think he's going to make it official? You're already acting C.O. of the Sentinel Battalion."

Madison hesitated then gave him a helpless shrug. "It's a highly sought-after position; there's a lot of prestige associated with it."

"He'd be a fool not to put you in charge," David said firmly, slowing the hoverjeep as he waited for a tracked crane to turn off the ramp ahead of them.

The recovery crane turned slowly, the tracks grinding over rubble as it drove towards the battlefield to salvage damaged battletanks.

Madison smiled at him fondly. "I think you might be a little biased."

He nodded, taking his eyes off the road for a second to make eye-contact with her. "Absolutely. If it wasn't for all the pre-battle preparations you put in place, the Kintark would've rolled over our defensive positions with ease. The minefields, the enfilading gun turrets... I saw just how much of a toll they inflicted on the lizards. Then when Brigadier Garcia was killed, you led our forces, pulling troops back to the final lines to stop them being overrun. No one would've survived if you hadn't stepped up to lead our forces, you deserve that position."

She was quiet for a long moment after he finished speaking, watching David intently as he drove towards the command centre. "You really don't feel threatened by my rank, do you?"

David glanced at her with concern. "I'm sorry, Colonel, I hope I didn't say anything out of turn?"

Madison placed her hand on his arm and quickly said, "No, no! David, I don't mean it like that. I just meant that you don't seem to be intimidated by the fact that I outrank you... I was worried it might be a threat to your ego."

He frowned in confusion and shook his head. "Why would I feel threatened by your success? You're brave, driven, dedicated, an inspiring leader... it's obvious why you've earned your rank and I can see you rising much higher in the chain-of-command."

The hoverjeep pulled up outside the battalion headquarters and they sat in silence for a few seconds as they looked at each other, an awkward tension in the air. Madison frowned when she saw there were a group of officers standing near the stone steps, well within earshot of the jeep.

Wessex reluctantly opened the door and climbed out. "I'll speak to General Horton, then I think we should continue this conversation later, Sergeant Major."

"I'll keep my afternoon clear, Colonel," David replied, giving her a cautious smile.

She looked like she was about to say something, then quickly changed her mind and nodded instead. He watched her in confusion as she strode up the steps, the beautiful brunette clearly troubled by something as she disappeared inside the building.

***

Commander Ryan Murphy stood at attention beside his fellow fighter pilots as the huge hangar door lifted ponderously into the Zeus' hull. Bright sunlight shone through the widening gap onto the group of mourners, golden rays glinting off the new golden hawk insignia attached to Murphy's chest. He waited with the other surviving strike craft pilots from the Zeus, each of whom had fought in the Battle of Terra. Only nine had returned to the fleet carrier on that fateful day, the rest of the 40 Claymore pilots and every one of the 400 manning Rapiers had all been killed in action. A solitary coffin had been positioned on the deck before them, draped in the Terran Federation flag, a symbolic representation of the fallen pilots they were about to inter in the blackness of space.

Captain Lewis stood on the opposite side of the coffin, facing the small gathering as he continued his eulogy. "These brave men and women served the Terran Federation with honour, never hesitating to fulfil their duty to protect the citizens of Terra. They paid the ultimate price so that millions more would live to see another day... a legacy that will never be forgotten."

He pressed the remote in his hand, then saluted the coffin. "And so we commit them to Space, knowing that the memory of these brave souls will live on for generations to come, granting them the immortality that all heroes deserve."

The other survivors all saluted as well, turning to watch the coffin slowly float away through the hangar door, the anti-grav motors propelling it out into space. Murphy's thoughts turned to all the friends he'd lost over the last couple of months... recalling the happy memories he'd had with each of them, while trying not to dwell on the terrible moments of their deaths. It was sobering to know that out of the original complement of strike craft pilots who'd rushed to defend the Zeus at the Battle of Regulus, only he and Binary were left.

Lewis turned back towards the mourners and said quietly, "Funeral detail... dismissed."

Abbott walked up to Murphy and gave him a sad smile. "We're going to head to the bar to drink to lost friends. You're welcome to join us."

He glanced at Binary who still stood at attention, staring out into space. "Sure, I'll be along in a while."

The young woman nodded and patted him on the arm, before turning and walking away with the rest of the pilots, leaving Binary and Leprechaun alone on the flight deck.

"So I guess this is it," Murphy said standing beside his friend.

His old wingman nodded. "Yes, my shuttle departs in thirty minutes."

"Are you sure I can't change your mind?" he asked, glancing at Binary out of the corner of his eye.

Binary turned to face his friend, his face drawn with sorrow. "I know you hoped I'd take up a training position at the Academy, but I'd never be able to escape the guilt. With every set of new recruits, I'd see their faces over and over again; it would be like a constant reminder of how I failed them."

"I think the pain will get easier," Murphy said gently. "I used to feel that same sense of guilt when I was training my wingmen, but everything's different now. When I see Lincoln and the others, I feel like Angel has forgiven me."

Placing his hand on Murphy's shoulder, Binary slowly shook his head. "It's not the same, Ryan... Angel was our Wing Commander, our training was ultimately her responsibility, not yours. Any guilt you felt after Regulus was completely misplaced; you weren't in any way to blame for Angel's, Snakebite's, or Romeo's deaths." He let out a heavy sigh. "But I have no excuse, I'm entirely to blame for not training those rookies hard enough. They went into battle unprepared and were wiped out because of it... that your entire wing survived proves how badly I let them down."

"You'll never put this behind you if you quit," Murphy pleaded. "Don't make any rash decisions; just give it a few weeks before you choose what to do."

"I'm not quitting..." Binary said, his expression pensive. "I took another posting, but it's not at the Academy."

"Oh... that's great!" Murphy exclaimed, feeling a surge of relief. "So where are you shipping out to?"

Binary glanced out the hangar door at the massive six-armed space station that dominated the Alpha Centauri system. "Olympus Shipyard... I'm going to be a test pilot for the next wave of strike craft they're developing." His troubled expression lightened a little. "Perhaps I can work on getting the ship designers to improve pilot safety in the next generation of fighters."