23
Earth Alliance Diplomatic Transport Earth Force One.
Hanse Davion was having a great time. After a few months waving at crowds and being the face of the Sian Raid, at least as far as the Federated Suns were concerned, he was finally able to have some private time to enjoy himself in his own way. While he was still on official duty and due to handle one of the major diplomatic moments of recent years, he had found time to indulge one of his more treasured pastimes. Reading.
When Earth Force One had picked him up, he had settled in for the month long journey to Cooperland, a fairly lengthy jaunt, even with the more efficient EA jump systems. His destination was the capital of the Alliance, a planet until now shrouded in secrecy. He was greatly looking forward to it, the idea of cracking this mystery reawakening his youthful enthusiasm for discovery. Hanse had always relished knowledge and learning - this was an ideal mission for him.
Naturally, there was more to it than just his enthusiasm. Ian needed to send someone senior enough to honour his new allies, but also clever enough to return with details on what the Alliance was truly like. Hanse was the obvious choice, and helpfully it would increase his prestige at Court, adding some diplomatic laurels to his reputation. Providing he didn't mess up. of course. As an added bonus, he also had an invitation to Captain John Sheridan's wedding. which he was happy to accept. A little normalcy after all the ceremony was more than welcome.
For now, though, he read, and with immense satisfaction. He'd found the library on the ship had almost every work of literature up to the mid 2200s, which included pieces thought lost, or things he had only found partial texts of. To read the full length versions of obscure lost poems and verse was incredibly rewarding. It had made the journey pass in the blink of an eye.
Beside the crew of the ship, Hanse had two other traveling companions. One was Arthur Luvon, Duke of Donegal and husband of Archon Katrina Steiner. His mission was no doubt the same as Hanse's, someone senior but intelligent who was trusted by the ruler of his nation. The third guest was a little less easy to read, Anton Marik. On the surface, he was no different to Hanse and Arthur, but Anton's rocky relationship with his brother Janos wasn't a well kept secret. Hanse had spoken to Anton several times and had found him to be ambitious and prideful, though that wasn't particularly unusual. He was smart enough and senior enough to be here, but he doubted there was much trust from the Captain General.
Whatever games the Mariks were playing ultimately didn't matter right now. The ship had arrived at its destination an hour or so earlier and now was waiting the presence of President Elizabeth Levy, as part of her final official duty before retirement. Each of the three had been invited to the inauguration of Luis Santiago, the next elected President of the Earth Alliance. It was the standard sort of diplomatic ceremony with the usual opportunity to establish some diplomatic ties with the new guy, determine if he was as friendly to their respective homes as the last one. Most commentary had suggested he was very keen to follow up on the initial contacts created by President Levy. If anything, Santiago was looking to expand them.
With the Capellans dancing around fighting two invasions, Draconis quietly watching events and trying to work out what they were supposed to do next, and the nearby periphery nations suddenly perking up and paying attention to their new neighbour, the galaxy was undergoing a seismic shift. There was no stopping it now, no containing the changes set in motion. The paradigm was about to be dictated by an influx of technology from the Alliance, civilian and hopefully military, and it would be the group that could amass and utilise that power to its greatest extent that would emerge victorious. Right now, that was the Suns and the Lyrans, and if Ian had his way, they wouldn't be rivals for much longer.
Hanse had his part to play, small at first, but almost certainly more central as time went on. His brother was relying on him to chart a path for the future. He would not fail.
He was still content in his book when he observed President Levy enter the lounge he was waiting in, the ruler of this most talked about faction small and frail when seen in person. Perhaps once she had been vibrant and energised, but after the tumultuous presidency she had presided over, it was no surprise she was drained.
"Prince Hanse." She still managed to summon up a genuine smile from her lined features. "Duke Anton, Duke Arthur. I hope you haven't been waiting too long?"
"Not at all," Hanse responded warmly. "It has been a great opportunity to catch up on some reading."
"Likewise," Arthur agreed. "Your early history files are very concise, but there are some unusual omissions from the twenty first century onward."
"The reason for that will become quite apparent soon," Levy promised. "We'll be making the jump to the heart of our territory shortly, we have a Lagrange point plotted, a pirate point as you'd say, so it will only be an hour or two until you'll be standing on my homeworld."
"I am very much looking forward to it." Anton Marik stepped forward. "Your origins are the subject of feverish speculation. There's a massive betting pool in Parliament."
"I can almost guarantee nobody is collecting that money." Levy checked her watch. "Alright, here we go."
The lounge had a series of large windows to the left and right, sitting at the edge of the rotating disc of Earth Force One. It meant the view outside was constantly shifting as the habitable section spun to mimic gravity, but also incredibly panoramic once a passenger grew used to the motion. That view now altered, the very brief blue flash of a KF hop fading back into black space, now with a lustrous purple nebula off to one side. The background was astonishing attractive, but its impact was quickly lost as the rotating windows brought something far more menacing into view.
"That is a Nova Class Dreadnought," Levy helpfully narrated, the massively armed ship tracking them for a few moments until it confirmed their IFF signal. "My Generals tell me there is no ship known to man that can stand it's broadside for more than five seconds."
Looking at the rows of massive cannons, Hanse could believe it.
"You can see one of our Orion battlestations on the other side, and several cruisers, and some automated satellite heavy weapons platforms," Levy listed off. "We've mapped each potential entry point to our home system and made sure they are protected. Nobody gets in without permission, or if they do they certainly don't leave."
"That is a lot of security." Arthur Luvon made the obvious comment. "I don't think anything in the Inner Sphere is enough of a threat to necessitate all of this."
"Perhaps, but we're not in the business of taking risks anymore." Levy shook her head. "Not with our homeworld."
With their identity confirmed, a mere formality for a ship as well known as Earth Force One, the journey continued. The dreadnought had raised some questions with Hanse, mostly regarding what a ship like that was needed to fight. The Omega destroyers had been formidable. He'd watched the recordings of the battle over Sian dozens of times to better study the weapons on display. He'd considered those ships to be highly effective killers, but here he was now seeing something even more brutal. There was nothing he knew of that could hurt even the smaller ships this Alliance fielded. The dreadnought was obscene overkill. Unless Levy knew something he didn't.
"You can only see a hint of it, but coming up is Luna and her shipyards." Levy caught his attention again, the windows turning to show a gleaming white moon much like the one over Terra. "At this distance its just a small speck, but up close, it's a sprawling complex of hundreds of construction slips."
"Hundreds?"
"Correct. There's another one at Mars even larger, plus a smaller one at Io."
"Mars and Io?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You named the worlds of this system in honour of Terra? Like you kept the name Earth?"
"Not exactly."
"Why so many yards?" Anton asked. "With just two or three, you'd have more shipbuilding capacity than the entire Inner Sphere. Hell, a single functional warship facility is more than we have."
"We need them to build our fleet to sufficient numbers. My generals require at least five thousand ships, though more is better."
"Five thousand is more than the Star League at its peak," Hanse mentioned carefully.
"The Star League didn't have to fight the wars we have."
"Those numbers are absurd." Anton grunted and folded his arms. "You could take every Successor State."
"But not hold them," Arthur added. "Just ruin them."
"You are not our enemies. If you were, I wouldn't be hosting you and showing you our secrets."
"So why are you showing us all this?" Hanse picked up. "To intimidate us?"
"To be truthful," Levy stated simply. "The Capellans would probably never have provoked us if they had seen what we really have."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Hanse pondered. "They may have just sought a different method."
"In any case, the time is right for us to be open." Levy nodded behind them. "We'll be coming up on my homeworld any moment."
All four of them gazed out of the windows expectantly, even Levy, who had seen this moment many times, still devoted to it her full attention. To her, it was never routine, there was nothing normal about seeing her home in all its radiance. Earth was never anything less than breathtaking, and her obligation to it never less than total.
The blue sphere hove into view, the rotating action of the ship not making it easy to pick out details all at once. It took a while before realisation started dawning.
"That looks a lot like North America." Arthur tilted his head to follow the movement of the windows. "And Africa. It's uncanny."
"It's identical." Hanse had seen Terra in person. It wasn't just pictures and videos to him. "What is the meaning of this, President Levy? Why are we at Terra?"
"This is Earth, my home, not Terra that you know." Levy kept her eyes on the world. "We are a duplicate, a mirror image of the planet you know here as Terra. We are from what is best described as a sister universe, a different reality separated by possibility. We are here by accident, our whole solar system transplanted to this point in time, space, and reality. We are not your Earth, but it is Earth, the same world from a different version of reality."
They stood in silence for a long while watching the planet, then Anton Marik scoffed.
"Do you mock us President Levy?"
"It is the truth, but I don't expect you just to take my word for it. We will land, you may attend the inauguration, and then for the next few weeks you may go anywhere you wish. Any corner of the planet, anywhere you know, anywhere you have read about. It would be impossible to fake."
"It's Terra!" Anton waved aside. "I already know Terra!"
"If it is Terra, how are we here so fast?" Hanse quickly worked out. "Even with enhanced drives Terra is much further out than four weeks."
"Comstar wouldn't permit Earth Alliance warships to patrol its space," Arthur had to admit. "And that nebula, that's the deep Periphery."
"It's obviously a trick, this is nonsense!" Anton remained unconvinced. "These windows are projection screens."
"That is why you can head down to the surface and explore as you see fit," Levy repeated. "Talk to random people, stroll the cities or wilderness, investigate whatever you want. You'll have a shuttle and a staff who will obey your every decision. See it with your own eyes, then tell your governments what you have learned."
"The relics of Rome?" Hanse asked.
"If that is your choice." She nodded. "Then try Istanbul, Athens, Giza."
"What about Unity City?" Arthur raised.
"You can go to Seattle or Vancouver and see that it doesn't exist."
"If this is true, then what does it mean for your goals?" Hanse was thinking ahead. "You have no roots here, no ancestral obligations, the Star League has no cultural or personal value. What do you want?"
"That isn't an easy question to answer, but to try and sum it up. We want to survive," Levy reasoned out. "We are here because of an accident with an experimental technology we were developing as part of our war efforts. That war was with an alien race known as the Minbari, and they were about a week from winning."
"So Aliens too now?" Anton sighed. "This is the plot to a terrible vid series."
"I've arranged for some of the aliens stranded on Earth when the incident happened to meet you." Levy half smiled. "That might help open your eyes."
"You were losing your war then?" Hanse focused in. "Were these Minbari superior warriors?"
"Their technology was greatly superior to our own, but not their fighting spirit," Levy bristled slightly. "But as I believe recent events have shown, courage alone cannot match massive naval supremacy."
"How superior?"
"We averaged between ninety nine and one hundred percent losses in every battle," Levy responded flatly. "On average losses were between fifteen and twenty to one in their favour. We won a single battle, just one, and even then it cost us four ships to their seven."
"So you are saying these Minbari ships are almost twenty times as powerful as your ships?"
"Not exactly, strategy and formations count for a lot. But, essentially, yes. The Minbari obliterated every fleet, every army, every defence. They had the goal of exterminating our entire species. We were desperate. That desperation inadvertently brought us here."
Hanse had been suitably impressed by the Earth Force warships, they were like nothing the Inner Sphere had seen since the catastrophic battles of the First Succession war, maybe not even then. But if Levy was to be believed, those ships were barely speed bumps to this alien race.
"Is it possible, Madam President, that if you made the journey here, that others might follow you?" Hanse fixed her with a very serious stare. "Could you have brought your enemies with you?"
"This is the question which has occupied us ever since our arrival, and it is one of the reasons we are building our fleet to the strongest it has ever been, an unprecedented expansion of our armed forces." Levy matched Hanse's seriousness. "My people tell me it is incredibly unlikely, that nothing like this has happened in any recorded history from any contacted species. That it was random chance, that even if the Minbari did recreate the circumstances, there are infinite universes and the chances of them finding this exact one are virtually zero. But not impossible."
She grimaced at the thought.
"If they did follow us, we would be the first and only line of defence. We were ready to fight to the death, we were resigned to it. If the Minbari arrive, we will make our stand against them. But there is more than that, we were not a single star system. We had colonies, settlements, territories around dozens of other stars which we left behind. Many of my people wish to return one day, once we have sufficient strength, to liberate those worlds. Or to avenge them."
"This is quite a lot to take in," Arthur stepped in. "None of this seems believable, but its hard to deny what I can see."
"Take your time and satisfy your own curiosity. As I said, you can travel freely with your staff." Levy applied no pressure. "I've assigned guides to each of you, who will make sure you see what you need to see. Confirm it with your own eyes."
"I don't understand what you are trying to do here. It makes no sense." Anton remained highly sceptical. "Why go to all this trouble?"
"It doesn't make much sense to us either, yet here we are. We can't deny what has happened." Levy had little else to add. "If you don't believe me, so be it. But at least believe that we are an industrious world that would like to work with you, going forward."
"One that enjoys telling tall tales." Anton sighed. "But, I suppose if your money is good, what does it matter?"
"Spoken like a true Marik." Arthur chuckled a little. "Well, a free trip is a free trip, I'll take your offer Madam President."
"As will I." Hanse agreed with the others. "I'll keep an open mind, but you are asking a lot from us. Even if you convince me, very few others will ever believe this."
"That's their choice. All I can do is let you see us for what we are. After that, it's up to the individual to decide."
Hanse looked back to the planet, to Earth. It answered a lot of questions, but replaced them with infinitely more. If it was true, it would be the scientific revelation of the millenium, the biggest discovery since faster than light physics. If it wasn't true, then why tell such an obviously ridiculous story? He would take his time, apply his wits and see if he could unravel this tale and find the truth. He didn't know what was worse, that all this was a lie, or that it was the truth.
A week later.
Kansas, North American State
"I now pronounce you man and wife." The Reverend wrapped up with a gigantic genuine grin. "You may now kiss the bride."
He didn't need much encouragement, the now Mr and Mrs Sheridan locking lips to cheers and applause from the assembled congregation within the small white wooden church. It was difficult to get more small town Americana than this and the assembled friends and family enjoyed every second of it.
John and Anna walked arm in arm back down the aisle, all smiles and good cheer. Just outside the doorway, a guard of his fellow officers waited to send them on their way, sabres drawn and crossed over their heads, forming a passage of gleaming steel for the Captain and his new wife. Both trotted through the ranks, John thanking them on the way, and proceeded the short distance to the town square, where an open air reception was laid out on wooden tables under the midwest summer sun.
Most of the town had turned out, which wasn't a huge number of people, given it was mostly a farming community, and while largely outnumbered by the uniformed officers and assorted scientists invited by the newly weds, they knew how to throw a party.
"This is the most twentieth century, old movie looking place I have ever seen." Michael Garibaldi gazed in awe at the town square. "Did we just hop back to rock and roll days?"
"Behave." Angela Ginelli punched his arm and pouted at him. "It's nice here."
"Think they have comsnet access? Or even electricity?" He peered around. "I've never seen so many checkered shirts."
"Shut up and let's try the Cider." She steered him toward a table. "Ooohh, orange juice."
He smiled to himself and went along for the ride, eyes scanning the crowd, his old instincts sparking to life. He was military now, but he'd started out in the family business of private security and investigations, and he liked to keep his senses sharp. He noted the naval officers in their dress uniforms, all friends of Captain Sheridan. He noted some assortment of well dressed but slightly out of place persons, scholars and scientists likely tied to Anna Sheridan, which included Ginelli. He spotted plenty of locals, and among them some casual older characters, probably friends of David Sheridan and his wife. And then, grouped at the edges looking around in mild amazement, a small cluster of very different uniforms and those were the ones he kept a watch over.
He kept his distance as Ginelli began systematically blitzing the ranked plates of snacks, taking a glass of orange juice, and seeing who the outsiders interacted with. For now, they seemed to be captivated by the town, looking at the small shops and services, examining the various trucks and vehicles, sampling the food and drink. To all intents and purposes, they were acting like tourists.
"Quite the set of uniforms, aren't they?"
Garibaldi snapped his head around to lock eyes with the man of the moment, John Sheridan, offering an amused nod before following his gaze.
"That they are sir." Garibaldi relaxed a little. "That starburst pattern, nothing subtle about that."
"That's Prince Hanse Davion, I figured he'd want to make an impression but, yeah, he's wearing more gold braid than I am at my own wedding."
"Michael Garibaldi, by the way." He offered a hand. "Here with a friend of your wife."
"Doctor Ginelli, right?" Sheridan recognised as he shook the hand. "Interesting woman."
"That don't cover the half of it." Garibaldi laughed before remembering his place. "Sir."
"Relax Lieutenant, we're off duty." Sheridan waved it off. "Does she ever actually sleep? All I ever saw her do was drink coffee and talk really fast."
"Pretty much, though two or three times I've seen her sleep standing up."
"No kidding?"
"No kidding."
Sheridan poured himself an orange juice while observing the distant visitors.
"He's been touring the planet, learning where we came from, what we're doing here."
"Yeah, I bet he's got a lot of questions."
"For the love of all that is good and right in the world, don't let them get close to Dr Ginelli," Sheridan quickly requested. "Promise me that."
"Abso-fraggin-lutely, we do not need to deal with that fallout." Garibaldi took a swig. "We'll both be swabbing floors on Io."
"His people seem decent enough, better than most of the powers we've met. Maybe we can make something work with them." Sheridan shrugged. "You're with the mech squad right? Testing out those captured machines?"
"I was, but as I hear it we're about to be made operational," Garibaldi related. "Your little mission convinced them to build a mech strike force. I get to be in it. Yay me."
"You're not so sure?"
"I dunno, maybe. I'm just a Ground Pounder." He shrugged. "I just get the idea that, well, you don't build a force like this and then just leave it sitting around. Not with that kind of investment. Whole new branch of the army like that?"
"I see."
"Let's just say we're not training for defensive missions."
Both of them took a silent drink, mulling over their thoughts before Garibaldi piped up again.
"This is great orange juice, gotta be freshly squeezed."
"From my own family farm." Sheridan showed some relief at the more pleasant topic. "My mom runs the place, every time I go back, it's just the same. Never changes."
"Must be nice to have that sort of stability," Garibaldi appreciated, his eyes catching Ginelli balancing a ludicrously overfilled plate. "If you'll excuse me, I see a comedy sketch waiting to happen."
"Huh? Oh." He saw the same thing. "Well good luck, Mr Garibaldi."
"Thanks." He moved away. "And hey, congratulations. She's a good catch."
"That she is." Sheridan raised a parting glass to the mech pilot before deciding to go see how his guests were handling things. He made his way over to the Inner Sphere representatives, noting his father had decided the same thing at the same time. Both intercepted the group simultaneously and were greeted warmly.
"Mr Sheridan, and Mr Sheridan." Hanse inclined his head. "Congratulations to you, Captain. A wonderful service, very heartfelt."
"Thank you highness, my dad arranged it all, that's where the credit belongs."
"Must be a little different to where you usually go for weddings?" David guessed with a jovial arched eyebrow. "I bet this whole town could fit inside one of your cathedrals."
"Maybe so, but I think I prefer this. Sometimes a ceremony can lose its meaning, but not here." Hanse sipped some of his champagne. "This is your hometown?"
"That's right."
"Sic Parvis Magna," the Prince recited.
"Great things from small beginnings," David translated the Latin. "Often the truth."
"This town is a wonderful place, Captain." The second of Sheridan's guests spoke, Colonel Jaime Wolf. Much like Hanse Jaime, Joshua and Natasha Kerensky had been invited to the wedding as personal friends of the Captain. There had been some back and forth with the security service, but ultimately if Earth was opening up to the Inner Sphere, at least to a degree, then they needed to welcome more than just a few nobles. "I think I can understand more about you, that earnest boy scout aura you carry with you."
"I was raised right." He nudged his father and shared a laugh.
"So I see." Jaime nodded. "This is a good place to belong to, a place well worth fighting for."
"To hearth and home." Hanse raised his glass. "And love eternal."
The group joined the toast, drinking from their glasses and reflecting for a moment on the words. Some perhaps more than others.
"How have you all found Earth?" David raised a new topic. "It must be a bit of a culture shock."
"I'm not going to pretend to understand the science, tachyons and whatever." Jaime frowned. "But I never thought I'd set foot on Terra, or Earth, or... well, I'm glad to be here. It's like stepping back in time to when we were still new to the stars."
"Rome was beautiful, untouched in its history," Hanse appreciated. "Venice, Florence, Milan. I regret I only have a few weeks here."
"Nothing stopping you returning," John suggested.
"Affairs of state Captain, I have a planet to run soon, a campaign to support, a brother to stand beside. But this has helped my perspective. This simple town is so much like those scattered across my stars, though they still have many hardships. I want them to be like your home, captain, so they too may produce great warriors and wise statesmen. You have given me inspiration, and for that I thank you."
"What about you Colonel?" David switched targets. "You must have leave built up?"
"No rest for the wicked," Natasha jumped in with enthusiasm. "Did you hear who hired us?"
"Candace Liao." Jaime cleared his throat. "Oh I know, I know. I'm as surprised as you are. Apparently no hard feelings over us stomping on her house."
"I find that hard to believe," John expressed some caution. "Is it a trap?"
"Maybe, but I don't think so." Jaime shook his head. "It's common for mercenary units to work for people we were just shooting at. She's put the blame on her old man, acknowledged we were just doing our job, and was impressed by our performance."
"She knows quality when she sees it." Natasha seemed pleased enough.
"I still think you should renew your contract with us," Hanse recommended. "You know where you stand."
"We respect that, but our goal has always been to travel the galaxy, see how everyone else does things," Jaime politely refused. "But who knows? Give it a few years and we might be back."
"Though we did also sign a contract with President Santiago," Joshua cut in. "To provide some training units, a company on rotation to drill your new mech forces."
"That right?" John spotted Garibaldi in the distance. "That'll be fun for them."
"I also want to put you in touch with a man called Cranston Snord." Jaime raised. "Crazy sort of guy, got dropped as a baby one too many times I think, but he's a damn good mechwarrior and his small gang might be a good long term prospect to help you out."
"Crazy as a bag of monkeys," Joshua agreed. "But yeah, he knows his stuff and won't sell you out."
As they considered the future, they were ultimately joined by Anna Sheridan, radiant in an elegant white dress. She hadn't stopped smiling yet, a marked contrast to the dour young woman in uniform arriving beside her.
"John, there you are. Not talking business again, are you?"
"Just catching up with some friends. Prince Hanse, Colonel Jaime Wolf, Major Joshua Wolf, Captain Natasha Kerensky."
"Ah yes, I've heard a lot." She shook hands with each, Hanse planting a kiss on her hand in the ancient style. "I've never met a prince before, you're certainly living up to the stereotype."
"Enchanted, Mrs Sheridan." Hanse bowed slightly. "You make a fine match. You are a scientist, I understand?"
"Xenoarcheologist," she confirmed. "We dig up old technology, see if it still works."
"That so?" Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Snord is definitely the man for this job."
"Snord?"
"I can fill you in later," Sheridan said, a small snicker escaping Natasha. "Business stuff."
"Right," she moved on. "Have you met Susan? Lieutenant Ivanova?"
"Captain," the inexpressive officer nodded. "I'm here with the Prince."
"Oh?" John gave Hanse a half smile.
"My guide, Captain." Hanse quickly shot down any other hints. "The Lieutenant has been extremely helpful, indulging my passion for old history and literature."
"Yes. For the last two weeks," she said flatly, before brightening a bit. "But it did bring me here. Thank you for making the space, Captain. Not everyday I get to meet a genuine hero."
"I'm nothing special, just doing my job."
"Don't be so modest." Anna grabbed his arm. "Did he tell you about the Black Star? How he took a crippled ship and destroyed the flagship of the Minbari Navy? And then her escorts when they came looking for her?"
"Really now?" Hanse regarded the Captain. "No, he kept that quiet."
"Way I hear it your fleet only had one real win in that war, and it was you?" Jaime smiled. "And their flagship, too? How?"
"Short version, nukes," he answered. "Long version, a lot of nukes."
Jaime snorted a laugh. "Well, that'll do it."
"I can't really imagine fighting in such a war. So much destruction, with no chance to meaningfully retaliate." Hanse grimaced. "Perhaps it was the same for our ancestors in the last great wars."
"Maybe so," Jaime agreed. "Let's try not to find out."
"Would you care to join me on a visit to Scotland, Colonel?" Hanse inquired. "I plan to see if I can find some relatives. After a fashion."
"I'd like to see more, but we need to be going soon," Jaime apologised. "We lost over a quarter of our people lately. It's time we resupplied."
"Yeah, before we go break bread with Candace Fu- Fragging Liao." Natasha forced a smile. "Make sure we're ready in case she tries to murder us."
"A pity," Hanse sighed. "Just us then, Lieutenant Ivanova."
"Yeah. Looks like." She summoned zero enthusiasm.
"Maybe not though," Anna leaned in. "Just about every single woman at this party has done nothing but ask about you."
"That so?" He glanced around the crowd. "Well, that might be an interesting bit of adventure."
"While you work on that, John has to get ready for the speeches." Anna began steering him away. "And I'll be tossing the bouquet soon. Good luck!"
"What does that mean?" Natasha asked. "Tossing the flowers?"
"No idea." Jaime shrugged. "Test of strength?"
"Old tradition." Hanse explained for them. "The bride throws her bouquet and whichever girl catches it is the next one to find a husband."
"Really?" Natasha watched Anna go. "Does it work?"
"I don't know, maybe try it and find out?"
"I will." She began to stride off, filled with purpose.
"I... I honestly don't think..." Joshua jogged up beside her. "I mean marriage?"
"Who said it would be you?" She gave him a grin and set her course, Joshua glancing back at his brother, who just raised his glass.
"Sure I can't convince you to stay with us?" Hanse and Jaime stood alone now at the side of the group.
"Sorry Highness, I like you guys, but we all have a job to do."
"I see." Hanse continued to watch the crowd. "Do you think it's all true?"
"If it was a lie, it wouldn't be this wild," Jaime acknowledged. "Besides, you met those aliens, right?"
"That could be faked."
"Recreating the entire planet? Just duplicating Terra and faxing it to the ass end of nowhere?"
"Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains, however improbable..." Hanse trailed off. "But if that's true, then the Minbari are also true."
"Yeah. That's going to put things into perspective," Jaime agreed. "We'd all be targets to them. I doubt they'd distinguish between this Earth and Terra. Or any of the rest of us."
"So what do we do about it? About that possibility?"
"I'm just a humble mercenary. That's a job for the great lords to figure out."
"Then I suppose we better pray it never happens," Hanse spoke simply. "Or we're all dead."
At the centre of the party Anna took her position, turned her back to the gathering of single women, and prepared to throw her bouquet up and over her head. Most were keenly aware of the prince in attendance, by all accounts a fabulously wealthy man who lived in an actual castle, like a real fairy tale. The fact he was dashingly handsome just made the competition even more fierce.
They were however also facing Natasha Kerensky, a woman not known for losing, and Angela Ginelli, a woman with more energy than a supernova. As Anna prepared, Natasha cracked her knuckles, beside her Ginelli chugged two full cans of energy drinks she'd smuggled in for this moment.
"Better get a suit picked Mikey!" She shouted over at Garibaldi. "This is going down!"
"Get in front of me and it's your funeral." Natasha steeled her gaze.
"Try me, red." Ginelli wasn't intimidated. Off to the side, Garibaldi and Joshua stood side by side, terrified of what was about to happen.
"Ready?" Anna called back. "Go!"
She lofted the flowers with the sort of swing unexpected from a scientist. It sailed clean over the crowd and fell into the lap of the young Lieutenant Ivanova as she sat at a distant table, demolishing a small sandwich. She looked at the prize and tossed it onto the table with a grunt.
"Like hell."
Five seconds later, all out war commenced as the table was swamped with slightly drunk people who really should have known better.
"So, what next Mrs Sheridan?" John wrapped his arm around his new wife. "Any plans?"
"Well, there is a standard procedure to follow on a wedding night," she spoke softly. "I'm expecting you to uphold tradition."
"I mean after that, after the honeymoon too."
"I don't know, I'll keep excavating Cooperland. I guess now we're opening the doors, IPX will start getting work across the Inner Sphere."
"I heard the old Star League buried stockpiles of weapons across the galaxy. They keep getting dug up. Probably worth a fortune."
"Then that's definitely where IPX will be," Anna huffed. "Follow the money."
"We've confirmed peace with the Capellans, hopefully that means it'll be quiet now."
"You believe that?"
He spotted Garibaldi struggling to keep the ultra caffeinated scientist he was dating from climbing over several slower women. Sheridan recalled Garibaldi's concerns, that Earth was building up its power for the purpose of exercising it.
"I don't know. I hope so."
"Me too." She leaned into him. "IPX is starting a survey on Mars, ground scans of the deserts, maybe I'll transfer there."
"You'd be bored in half a day." He grinned. "Stick with Cooperland, maybe we should get a house there? Looks like a nice place."
"I think I'd like that." She leaned back in his arms. "Come on, dancing time."
"You know I can't..."
"Tradition." She cut him off. "Come on, enjoy tonight and let the future come tomorrow."
She leaned in again.
"Whatever it brings."
