The End

            “Admiral, please report to sick bay,” Phlox said over the private cabin intercom. Archer finished dressing in clean, dry civilian clothes. In the adjoining room Brannigaan and Ariannaa had bathed, put on their pajamas and gone to bed. Both of them heavy sleepers, Jonathan didn’t think twice about leaving them alone; he was in sick bay within five minutes.

            “Is she okay?” he asked before anything else was said.

            “I gave her a sedative, but I wanted you to come up here. The tocolytic I sent down with the other supplies will have been metabolized soon and she’s going to go back into labor.”

            “Back into labor…you mean—“

            “Yes, Admiral, the accident on the planet brought it on. It’s a little ahead of schedule but not dangerous; I thought you might want to stick around overnight.” Jonathan moved past Phlox without another word and went immediately to Riaan’s bed. She lay on her side, asleep, oblivious to all the sounds from the monitors and curious creatures Phlox had brought with him when he came on board. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to her, holding her hand as she had done for him day after day, week after week, until he woke up.

            It was one of the few times in his life he’d felt helpless. Jonathan hated the feeling of having his hands tied. He was too tired to sleep, but when he closed his eyes, he was back at the hospice with his father. He stood beside Henry Archer’s bed, holding his hand, his mother standing behind him. It was the last time he saw his father before the drug stopped his heart and the pain finally ended, at least for Henry. For Jonathan and his mother, it endured.

            “I’m so tired,” Riaan mumbled as she opened her eyes. “Oh, no, not sick bay. I want a real bed.”

            “Baby, it’s okay. You're okay, you're safe.”

            “Oh...hi, Jon." Riaan blinked slowly a few times. "What are you doing here?”

            “I’m not leaving your side.” He yawned and leaned back, but didn’t let go of her hand.

            “It might be a while,” she told him, then looked at the monitors above her head. “Or maybe not, I sort of don’t feel anything right now so I don't know--"

            “Why is it that I can face a thousand alien enemies and certain death, but the thought of losing you terrifies me to the core?” And then, at that exact moment, Jonathan knew without a doubt, in no uncertain terms, deep where he may have never searched before that he didn’t want to live one day into the future without her. And he wanted the rest of the world to know it. 

            “We’ll be back to Earth in a few days, Jon. Everything is fine.” He held her hand tightly, afraid to let go.

            “Ten billion people on Earth and I had to go 100 light years to find the one woman in the galaxy that I can’t live without. Riaan, I think it’s time you make an honest man out of me.” He loosened his grip on her just a little, and looked in her dramatic eyes. “Marry me?”

At Last

            “Wait. I thought you said Riaan wasn’t your great, great grandmother?” Bernard asked Valerie. He picked up a sofa pillow and gently threw it at her.

            “I never said she wasn’t. But yeah, I only ever told you I was related to Jonathan. All three of their children were full siblings. You couldn’t pry those two apart with a left handed spanner.”

            “Three?”

            “Brannigaan was their half-brother. Ariannaa, Charles Christiaan, and Abigaail were all Archers; Abby was born on Andoria, at the embassy, so she had Earth citizenship.”

            “You don’t have any temple ridges. I thought the women had them?”

            “I’m too far down the line. But if I married an Akalli they’d probably be back for my kids.”

            “Have you ever been to Akal?”

            “Yes, I like it. They’ve done away with nuclear, of course, and are using hydroelectric power. They’ve modernized and have come into an industrial age, but without so many of the problems of pollution most cultures endure before solving those kinds of problems. They had the Federation to guide them. And there’s lots of fresh water on the planet, it’s green, not overpopulated. Not space age yet, but they don’t care that much about it.”

            “Don’t get any ideas,” Bernard kidded her.

            “So here,” Valerie called. She stood in a large closet knee deep in assorted artifacts, books, antiquities, and furniture. “I found it.” Backing out of the closet she had a large, heavy box in her arms.  Bernard took it from her so she could escape without injury, and they settled down at the dining table to examine the contents.

            Valerie pulled out several preservative sleeves each filled with one or more photos.  She sorted them as she took each one from the box carefully, laying out quite a collage on their dining table. Each was labeled, thankfully, for she wasn’t sure if she would know all the people or not. Most of the pictures showed people wearing formal dress uniforms and long ball gowns.

            “I haven’t looked at these in 20 years. Here:  Dr Phlox, and two of his wives; I know that’s him, but I can’t remember his wives’ names. Captain Mitchell, Commander Sato…This is T’Pol and Charles Tucker. Here’s Captain Mayweather, Ensign French, Captain Ramirez, everyone who was anyone was there.”

            “This is Commander Tucker?” Valerie smiled and nodded. “Charles, not Trip?”

            “My great grandfather’s name, yes, after him,” she confirmed. “He and Jonathan knew each other a long time, probably the closest two friends could be. But you know about the Romulan War and him being undercover and that from history class.”  She pulled out a few more and laid them near the others. “This is Mia, and here’s…” She looked at the back. “Yes, I thought so, Brannigaan. Oh, here it is, Jonathan and Riaan, also known as Admiral and Doctor Archer to everybody else.”

            It was a captivating wedding photo, with San Francisco’s red Golden Gate Bridge behind them. It had been an unusually clear day and the bridge, usually fogged in, was bright and bold. The admiral wore a black formal dress uniform with gold buttons and more commendation medals than any other man in Starfleet. The doctor’s dress reached almost to the ground and was made from a deep scarlet satin silk adorned with gold trim. Riaan held a bouquet not of flowers, but of a dozen or so long white peacock tail feathers tied with a golden ribbon. They stood together on a green knoll with red-roofed white buildings scattered in the background.

            “They were married at the Presidio?”

           

“Jonathan hated crowds and parties and fanfare, but I guess this was the exception he made for Riaan. Here’s another one,” she set it down carefully on the table. Jonathan and Riaan stood centered with Brannigaan next to Jonathan and Ariannaa next to Riaan.

            “What about Abigaail?”

            “She wasn’t born yet, not until 2172.”

            “Okay, you’ve finally convinced me,” Bernard said smiling. “But I’ve never seen any of this before; it’s never talked about at Starfleet, or in the museums.”

            “Can you pick out Great Grandpa Charles?” Valerie rose from the table and wandered back into the closet to bring forth another smaller, lighter box.

            “Must be this one.” He held up a picture of a small baby boy, dark haired and dark eyed with pale skin but no cranial ridges like his sister or Brannigaan. An elder, smiling human woman held him securely for the photographer. “Who is that holding him?”

            “Ms. Archer, Jonathan’s mother.”

            “Wow, look at the clothes; very 2100s!” Bernard turned it over, reading the hand written note:

Charles Christiaan Archer, 2168

            “Why ‘c h r i s t i a a n’ with two As? I know why the girls have the extra As.”

            “Christiaan Huygens. You know, discovered Saturn’s rings, Wave Theory of Light, physics. The shuttle was the Huygens, Eta Carinae, it's a nod to him, and that's really how his name was spelled.”

            “I guess I was asleep during that lecture.” Valerie shot him a glance. “So why is Riaan wearing red?”

            “Red is Akalli tradition. Red and gold symbolize love and fortune. Here’s another one of Ariannaa, she has the white dress, and look at her eyes; she had the most beautiful eyes.” She opened the second box, and pulled out another box, wooden, but padded and covered in scarlet silk. “This is the material from her dress,” Valerie told her fiancé with a soft look. “These were given down the line to me, from great grandpa to grandpa to father, and now to me. If I had a brother he would have gotten it. I'm the last Archer.

            “What’s in it?”

            “I’m going to show you.”

            Valerie slid the photo of her great, great grandparents away from the edge of the table. Atop it she placed a number of silver and gold rank insignias worn by both the admiral and the commander. She also placed two polished platinum rings, a larger one and a smaller one, near the pips. She pulled out an elaborate hair piece made of hammered bronze but studded with verdanas and zircons from Akal; it resembled the tail of a peacock, and Riaan wore it in her raven hair on their wedding day. There was also Riaan’s gold caduceus pin, the Starfleet insignia pin from the admiral’s hat and two gold buttons from his jacket. Then she pulled out a clear box with some stationery sealed inside – a copy of the formal paper wedding invitation Riaan had insisted on using. Paper wasn’t a thing of the past on Akal as it had nearly become on Earth.

            “This looks like it ought to be in a museum,” Bernard commented, picking up the insignia.

            “Most of the stuff is there, all the commendations and uniforms. There’s two fake buttons on this dress uniform on display there.” She tapped the photo. “Now you know something no one else knows but the curator. So, you see, there are traditions that Archers follow. I wear the hairpiece. You can wear the insignia if you want to. It was special made out of bronze.”

            “Admiral Archer’s Starfleet insignia?” Bernard’s eyes widened in veneration. Valerie nodded. He picked up the pin, carefully, and barely dared to set it down again. “But you aren’t going to be an Archer much longer.”

            “Why do I have to become Valerie Scott? You could become Bernard Archer. It works either way. Or we can just be Valerie Archer and Bernard Scott.”

            “That’s not very traditional for a girl as traditional as you.” Valerie smiled. 
             "A rose by any other name."

40 kph

            A half a minute later Jonathan rappelled to her side and grabbed onto her. They held each other for a moment before getting to work. Jonathan held himself out from the wall with locked knees while unhitching a harness, some ropes, and the litter off his back.

            “Put this on, and then you’re going up the easy way. Oh, Phlox said you should take this.” She had an idea it was to slow labor, and didn’t want to scare Jon, so she gave herself the hypo without fanfare and dropped it into the ravine.

            “Easy way?” she said, watching the wind and rain swirling above their heads. Another lightning flash followed a few seconds later by a clap of thunder. Instead of being directly overhead, the squall line had finally moved to the east a kilometer or maybe two. Between the two of them Riaan got the harness around her, but it wasn’t built for a pregnant woman. While the rain continued to pour, Jonathan attached Riaan’s harness to the litter. He worked without a lot of chatter, wanting to get her off the cliff and into the shuttle as soon as humanly possible.

            “Okay, French, Hoshi,” he shouted upwards. “Comin’ up!” Archer pulled on his own set of ropes that started to slide Riaan up the steep hill head first. At the same time he ascended, stretching muscles he’d forgotten that he had. In the darkness he had barely enough ability to see his way up the side of the ravine. The water flowed faster down the hill as he tried to get back to what was left of the road. Rocks and mud came loose at every pull of a rope cascading down and disappearing into the canyon river.

            “It’s just a little farther,” Ensign French called down. Another two pulls and Riaan was on the edge of the road that was still secure underneath. Jonathan pulled himself up; Sato and French unhitched Riaan from the litter and her harness. The moment she was free Jonathan snatched her close and pulled her away from the edge of the ravine. The water was ten centimeters deep around their ankles, the wind blowing at 40 kph, and the darkness was giving way to moonlight. It came and went with breaks in the clouds, the large full moon slowly rose higher by the minute. It wasn’t much, but better than nothing.

            “Are you alright?” Jonathan asked her, holding her by the shoulders and checking for anything obvious.

            “Alright? I don’t know if I can make it to the shuttle, Jon! I’m out of patience, energy, I’m cold, hungry, and… and,” she wasn’t going to mention the intense cramping that signaled the onset of labor. Without another word Jonathan picked her up. The party did their best to hurry through the rushing water and mud. The kilometer out of the little vale took twice as long to traverse as normal, but the extra time spent on caution saved them any more accidents. Around the corner of the stony cliff the shuttle waited with two aboard. 

Yeah, it's a little dramatic, live with it.

            Standing in the clearing, the clean rain fell heavy and washed the worst of the mud off. They dropped their slickers and boots in the field and got into the shuttle just as soaked as with the rain gear on for all the good it did in such a wild storm. Riaan shivered while Hoshi got her a blanket, and before she could wrap her up the children jumped on her. Archer took the helm as soon as he saw Riaan was secure.

            The shuttle pod was unstable at best. It rocked side to side as the wind buffeted the little wings and tail. With six people on board it handled differently than it had on the way down with just two.

            “Huygens to Discovery, we’re on our way, ETA 6 minutes,” Archer said to the com system. “We’re getting heavy wind shear.”

            “Acknowledged,” said Captain Mitchell. He pushed another com button. “Ready the shuttle bay to receive the Huygens.”

            “It’s going to be a bumpy ride,” Archer told the passengers. Sato stumbled forward with a blanket and bumped into the back of the forward chair.

            “Here, sir, don’t get a chill,” she said trying to gain her footing.

            “I’m fine. Go make sure Riaan is okay,” he asked her without taking his eyes off the console. Ensign French took the seat behind the admiral at the science station and made some changes to their trajectory and speed. The ride was still turbulent.

            “Don’t you want to be with her, sir?”

            “What I want is to get us back to Discovery in one piece.” The shuttle vibrated as if it were riding on a washboard road and lurched again to one side. Sato retreated to the back of the craft and did her best to make Riaan comfortable with blankets and pillows. As soon as the shuttle cleared the troposphere the turbulence subsided the remainder of the trip to orbital level of 800 km. They found Discovery in a geosynchronous orbit directly above them. Docking posed no problem, and as soon as the bay pressurized Phlox, Wiseman, and Tanner hurried in to collect Riaan on a stretcher.

            “Did you give her the tocolytic?” Phlox asked Sato before they parted.

            “I got it, Phlox,” Riaan answered. “It’s working,” she told him, holding her belly with both hands. “I just want a hot bath, I’m okay, everything’s stable.”

            “Let me decide that.”

Washed Away

            “Sato.”

            “Commander, where are you?” It was Admiral Archer. “I picked up Brannigaan.”

            The ladies looked at each other. A gust of wind came through the canyon almost knocking them off their feet.

            “We’re in a valley north of the landing site, sir,” Sato shouted in the communicator. “We should be there in a few minutes. The weather is making it hard to get there.”

            “I think I’ll send Branni in after you. It could be easy to get lost in there. I’ll stay here in case you get here first, but I doubt it.”

            “Yes, Admiral, we’ll look for him. Sato out!” she shouted.

            The three continued on their short journey to meet the shuttle. Above their heads charcoal grey clouds started to churn and spill out more rain and small balls of hail. Sato took over the lead, still carrying the young girl and picking out the clear areas for Riaan to step. Rocks and mud began to fall from the sides of the cliff walls and obscure parts of the road. With the wind pelting the raindrops at them, vision was impaired much beyond their own hands.

            “Keep following the road, stay close to the mountain,” she instructed. Ariannaa buried her face on Hoshi’s shoulder and hung on for dear life. The water had been fun, but now it was cold and wet and no longer any fun at all. Hoshi wore her like a backpack in a survival training exercise. Spending so much time in space and with MACO Chang by her side, she visited the gym daily. Her confidence and strength had grown over the years to warrant her status as a commander.

            They came to a spot that was blocked by a large blown over tree. The roots reached for the sky next to the mountain while the canopy hung into the gully on the other side of the road. Where the base of the tree had been heavy globs of mud oozed out and across the road like enormous slugs on a mission to reach the other side.

            “We’ll have to go over it,” Sato shouted at Riaan. The wind took her words away but Riaan understood the command. She used all four limbs to steady herself as they climbed up and over and down the other side of the tree trunk. The multitudes of branches were helpful to hold for stability but also a hindrance against a smooth crossing. A sharp one snagged on Riaan’s rain coat pocket and ripped a half meter hole in the side as she slid down.

            Riaan wiped the wet hair from her face and eyes, checked her pockets for the hair jewelry and sound it secure in the pocket against her body. Hoshi helped her with the landing. Once they were on the other side of the tree, they spotted Brannigaan in a bright yellow slicker about a kilometer down the trail.

            “Stay here, Riaan. I’m going to run the baby up to Brannigaan and I’ll be back to help you.” Hoshi did her best to navigate the slippery stones and mud going down the road towards the young man. She could tell this storm was not an average cloud burst but a mega storm that was about to cause a flood from down the hill and in the river below that was nearing the top of its banks. Taking the short cut had not been the better choice after all even if it did save time in the beginning. Now they were slower than had they used the longer, but better, road. Hoshi was careful bringing the admiral’s daughter to her brother.

            “Banni!” the girl shouted as soon as she saw him reaching for her.

            “Take her back to the shuttle. I’m going to help your mother,” she said loudly, as close to his head as she could reach. The sound of the rushing water and blowing gusts made communicating difficult at best. As the kids disappeared from her sight, she realized Riaan was quite a ways back, waiting for her. Hoshi did her best to walk quickly through the flooded street ankle deep in muddy water.

            A flash of white light barely backlit the steely clouds before a sonic boom rumbled right above them! The sound was almost deafening and Riaan felt the shockwaves in her body. The baby stirred with a hefty kick and a roll to one side. Her hand went to her belly, realizing that he must have felt the shockwave of the thunder as well. She looked up and saw the yellow blob of color growing larger as Hoshi neared. 

            “Come here!” Hoshi held out her hand for Riaan. A narrow path remained where the road had washed away and traveled down the hill into the gully in the same general direction as the tree had done a little ways up the path. Riaan slid her feet to keep from being swept away by sloppy mud, using the rocky hillside against her back. “I got you!” Hoshi shouted, reaching as far as she dared. Riaan reached out as well, and they clasped hands. Then it happened. As tight as Hoshi held her hand, they couldn’t maintain their grip in the rain. The rest of the road gave way under Riaan’s feet and she with it.  In horror Hoshi watched as Riaan slid 8-9 meters down the ravine with the mud and stones from the road.

            Normally cool and composed Riaan came unglued and screamed up at Hoshi, who was on her stomach leaning halfway over the bottomless sinkhole with her arm still trying to hold onto her.

            “Don’t move!” Hoshi shouted. She scrambled to her feet and pulled out her communicator almost dropping it. It chirped and Archer answered. “Admiral!” she screamed in a panic she’d not felt for years. “You have to come; Riaan’s sliding down a hill! The road gave way! I can’t reach her.”

            “Where’s Brannigaan? Didn’t he get there yet?”

            “He’s on his way back to you with Annaa.”

            “Let me talk to her!”

            “I can’t reach her, sir, and I don’t know how the cliff is going to hold – it’s really slippery and there’s rocks and mud – “

            “I’m on my way.”

            “Hoshi!” called Riaan from the gully wash. Over the rush of water and sudden barrage of thunder her words were lost in the gulch. She shivered despite her rain gear. This had been a bad idea, but it was too late to blame herself now. She looked beyond her feet and shuddered at the sight. Below her feet she stood on a rock jutting out of the wall of the riverbank. Mud and water surrounded her but she managed to hang onto a thick tree root that also stuck out of the wall.

            “Riaan!” Hoshi’s voice was a welcome sound. “Are you okay? Jonathan’s coming!”

            “Good!” she shouted. Then she received a second angry kick from inside her body. “There’s a bit of a problem, though!” she shouted upwards. Clean rain water washed the mud from her face as she looked up towards the road that was no longer there. “I’m getting some complaints from my personal passenger down here. This would really not be a good time or place for that!”

            “Hang on, don’t let go of that root!” Hoshi shouted. She pretended she didn’t hear about baby pains in hope that they would ease up once she was back on the ship, clean, and dry. Hoshi thought for a second, flipped open her communicator. “Admiral, you need to hurry!” She slammed it shut then reopened it to call the ship.

            “Discovery!”

            “What is it Hoshi?” Captain Mitchell.

            “We need rescue supplies! Transport down some climbing gear and a litter, now, to my coordinates! Hurry, Captain! And patch me to Phlox! Riaan?” she called over the ledge. “Are you okay?”

            “I’m still here,” drifted a faint voice from below. “But things aren’t getting any better. I don’t think I can climb up there. Ouch!”

            “Phlox here.”

            “Phlox, send something down with the rescue supplies! Riaan’s trapped and she might be going into labor!”

            “That’s not a good thing,” he replied. “I’ll send you down a tocolytic. Give it to her as soon as possible.” She snapped her communicator shut. 

             “Hang on, Sweetie!” Hoshi called again. A moment or two passed and she heard the twinkle buzz of a transporter materializing something. She looked behind her and saw a littler with climbing gear appear in a thin, clear plastic container. She sighed deeply with relief.

            “Hoshi?” She heard Archer’s voice in the distance and looked down the road.

            “Over here!” she screamed. Daylight was fading but not gone yet. She jumped up and down a few times and waved her arms. She could see the admiral and Ensign French coming up the road waving back. The rain poured down, the thunder felt like oil drums bashing together, and the wind never ceased its relentless aggression. Couldn’t they move any faster?

            “What in hell happened?”

            “Stop, Admiral, the road is gone!” Hoshi threw her arms up to make sure the men didn’t go too far and end up on top of Riaan.

            “Where’s Riaan?” Hoshi looked down over the edge; Archer did the same. He stopped breathing for a moment, trying to think but wanting to panic. Then the old captain, the Jonathan Archer he had been years ago, before Enterprise was decommissioned, before he’d been grounded from the transporter damage to his brain, before he was Admiral Archer, came to life. “Baby! Are you okay? I’m coming down there!” he shouted. Then he turned to Hoshi “Glad you thought of that,” he said, indicating the box of climbing gear. “French, bring it here. Riaan?”

            “Jon, I’m stuck down here, hurry.”

            Archer was an experienced climber, but it had been years since he’d last scaled a mountain. Undeterred, with the rain falling and wind blowing, he quickly secured ropes, wrapped up descenders, fastened carabiners, put on the harness, and in four minutes, soaking wet with the litter on his back and hypo in his pocket, he rappelled down the muddy slope, doing what he could to avoid dislodging more rocks, dirt, mud or other debris on the woman below him.

            But an onslaught of mud came over the road and continued down onto the two people under where the road had once been. The water was relentless and the daylight was nearly gone. Never could Jonathan remember being so covered in mud and water in his life. He couldn’t hear and he was losing his sight to the darkness and mud. His hands slipped on the ropes without gloves. Each meter down the slope was harder than the last. He looked down and saw Riaan looking up, her face wet but cleaned by the rain.

            “Riaan watch out, I’m coming. Are you hanging on?” he shouted. She nodded, thinking that was a ridiculous question. She was tired of shouting and relieved to see Jon coming down the cliff into the ravine despite the mud, rain, rocks, thunder and lightning, wind and darkness. And then another kick from the baby reminded her that she’d put their son in peril all for a piece of jewelry. What was she thinking? Ouch! Why was he kicking so hard?

            And her rock ledge started to concede to the gravity of Akal. Riaan felt her footing starting to skate on the flooded muddy boulder. She looked up, but Jonathan was still several meters up.

Squalls

            “Oh, this one’s lovely. So is this one. There are so many to choose from.”

            “How soon do you need it?”

            “Today,” Riaan said reluctantly. “I’m leaving town tonight. I may not be back for a long time.” The woman’s face changed to disappointment and concern.

            “I don’t have my craftsman here today. Wait, what kind of gems did you want?”

            “Verdanas and white zircons.”

            “Oh, verdanas, I don’t have any of those here anyway. But my craftsman may have them at his home, and I’m sure if you took the clip to him he could set them for you right away.”

            Riaan gave her some gold nodules that she asked Jamison to fabricate for her in engineering. Gold wasn’t hard to come by on Earth, but it would have been in the wrong shape to use as currency. She took the map the Famkee had given them and tucked the hair piece in the pocket of her cloak. As they left the jewelry shop, Hoshi’s communicator chirped.

            “There’s a supercell squall making its way towards your position, Commander.  I’m sending Mr. French; you need to return to the landing site in 30 minutes.” Riaan snagged Hoshi’s communicator from her.

            “Captain, I’m not ready to return. I still have business here. And Brannigaan’s out in the countryside. I’m sure I could reach him but he may not be there in 30 minutes.”

            “When can you be there?”

            “A couple of hours, at least. And he isn’t planning on being there until sundown.” Silence on the com. “Captain?”

            “Riaan, this isn’t a rainy day in San Francisco.”  Jonathan’s voice was stern. “It’s a fast moving thunderstorm with a lot of wind, rain and lightning.”

            “We’ll stay indoors until it passes,” she assured him, and handed the communicator back to Hoshi. There was another long pause.

            “You contact us as soon as you’re done,” was his reluctant response. “Archer out.” The two women looked at each other, then up at the sky. A breeze had picked up, and there were plenty of clouds, but perhaps the admiral had been overly concerned. Riaan didn’t put it past him. She shook her head.

            The women only had two kilometers to walk, maybe 30 minutes. Telephones didn’t exist, so they hoped to find the jeweler at home. Ariannaa started to drag her feet. Hoshi signaled to Brannigaan but he didn’t answer his communicator.

            “What’s so important about this hair piece?” Hoshi finally asked.

            “Oh, I guess that I didn’t tell you,” Riaan said.  “It’s a wedding tiara. It has to be made of bronze, but the gems are whatever you like.” Hoshi stopped in the middle of the street.

            “When did Admiral Archer ask you to marry him?”

            “He hasn’t. But there’s nothing that says I can’t ask him.” Hoshi smothered her laughter with her hand and gave Riaan the best hug she could without squeezing her middle. “You think he’ll agree?” she asked her friend.

            “Of course!” Hoshi said. “I don’t know why he hasn’t asked you already.”

            “Well, that’s why I’m getting the hairpiece. I don’t think I’ll have a chance to come by here any time soon, and I want to get some verdanas for it. They are like emeralds on earth. But so far from home, I’d like to have something Akalli, something that will last.”

            “Do you get something for Jonathan?” Suddenly, Hoshi realized that was the first time she’d ever referred to that man as Jonathan, even in her own mind. He’d called her Hoshi for years, but she’d never called him anything but captain or admiral.

            “He gets me, what else does he need?” They both laughed, starting and stopping and starting up again until they reached the craftsman’s home up the street. The wind sustained a steady speed of 30 kph which the women were happy to leave outdoors.

            With her hair ornament in hand, the three women left the dwelling and decided to head to the landing site. Hoshi tried to raise Brannigaan again. This time he answered.

            “Meet us at the landing sit as soon as you can,” Riaan told him. There’s a storm coming in off the ocean,” she said. The wind blew in many directions at once making it hard for the women to walk, especially Riaan. Hoshi took her Riaan’s arm and Ariannaa’s hand to steady the both of them. Walking through the city the lights remained on. People, however, were closing up and going inside. Hoshi snapped open her communicator again when they ducked into an alcove to rest.

            “Discovery, this is Sato.”

            “Go ahead,” was Captain Mitchell’s reply.

            “We’re on our way to the landing site. About 30 minutes, I’m thinking.”

            “Understood. What’s the storm like down there?”

            “It’s windy, getting cooler, looks like rain any minute.”

            “He’ll be waiting for you.” 

            “We need to find a place to wait this out, Hoshi; it’s getting worse.” A mist of rain began to shroud the city.

            “Mama, it cold.”

            The three of them dashed towards the library to take cover. By the time they’d gone the half a kilometer the squall line hit with no sympathy. Winds whipped the rain into projectiles and small balls of hail joined the action.

            “We’re going to have to wait it out in here,” Hoshi insisted. They shook some of the rain off themselves; Hoshi pulled out her communicator and called Discovery.

   “French is about to leave, he’ll be down there in twenty minutes. If you don’t come now I don’t know when you’ll be able. It looks like the line is almost on top of Tammalynnia.”

            “It is, but we are in the library and we can wait it out.”

            “No, get to the landing site. You have time. Archer will kill me if I let you stay down there with Riaan and Ariannaa. Did you get a hold of Brannigaan?”

            “He’s on his way to the landing site,” Hoshi said, realizing that he’d be there and they wouldn’t be there. “I guess we can’t stay here and leave him alone.”

            “In another hour that thunderstorm will be a depression and you’re all too close to the coastline. It could become a cyclone. Maybe I can just transport you up?”

            “Phlox said no transporters.”  The com fell silent.

            “Stand by,” Mitchell told them.

            “I’m sorry, ladies.”  An Akalli woman approached them from the bookshelves. “But we’re closing, everyone needs to get home now before the storm hits.” They all looked at each other. Ariannaa sat down on the floor, tired of all the walking and standing.

            “Riaan,” said Archer over the communicator. “Just stay in the library, we’ll down in a few hours once the line passes.”

            “Oh, Jon, they’re closing so people can go home. We have to go the landing site after all. And Brannigaan’s communicator just beeps; last thing I told him was to get to the landing site.”

            “Stay there, I’ll have some rain gear transported down, and I’ll pick you up in an hour. Be careful, stay away from trees and tall buildings. Damn it, Riaan, this is the last away mission you go on alone.”

            “Alone? Who are Ariannaa, Brannigaan and Hoshi? I asked you to come.”

            “Never mind that. I’ll see you at the shuttle site.” 

            “Admiral, I can’t condone you going down there in that storm front,” Captain Mitchell told him in the shuttle bay. “You’ve been through a lot in the last couple months, the weather is dangerous. Let French go.”

            “You ever flown a shuttle pod in a squall line storm with 60 kph winds, Ensign? I have.”

            “Admiral, I’d be remiss in letting you take the craft alone, not to mention it’s against regulations. At least take a co-pilot.” Archer nodded.

            “Come on, French,” he ordered.

Through the Vale

            The trek back to the landing site had its difficulties, despite the rain coats and galoshes to help keep them dry. Of course Ariannaa delighted in jumping in each puddle and Riaan let her enjoy the nature of Akal before they returned to the ship for the final journey home. She thought it odd that Earth seemed more like home than Akal did, but she was glad she felt that way.

            The squalls whipped leaves on the trees and most anything lighter than a kilo was no longer on the ground. The three held tight to each other. Thunderclouds obscured most of the light from the star, such as it was, but dusk was still a few hours away. Hoshi tried to contact Brannigaan again without success. It seemed as if the line was stuck, not moving out of Tammalynnia nearly as fast as it had moved in.

            “We can take a short cut through that canyon,” Riaan indicated. “Maybe we’ll get a little protection from the wind coming off the plain.”

            The party moved towards the valley, following a lightly traveled road. They hoped to meet up with Brannigaan before the shuttle arrived. The cobblestone streets were wet; street lamps, now electric, cast their light beyond the center of the town and out to the very edges. Beyond the town to the right green grasses stretched as far as the eye could see; on the left the terrain rolled and dropped in and among the widely scattered homes and farms, growing into foothills. A grove of trees on the plain marked their landing site in the distance. They followed a stony path alongside a creek that led towards the trees. At the start of the canyon the electricity came to a halt with the streetlights.

           Commander Sato carried Ariannaa to hasten their pace. Riaan had enough trouble alone balancing her ephemeral weight distribution in the gusty wind and irregular road. Rainwater spilled from smaller shallow waterways into the larger tributary that followed the road. The rocky cliff along the other side of the road started to support small waterfalls making the stony road even more difficult to navigate. Sato’s communicator chirped. 

One Day

            “Ah, Admiral, you’re doing very well, very well,” Phlox noted. “Your vision is almost normal. How’s the night vision?”

            “I’d say improved, not exactly like a cat but I can get around well enough with a little light.”

            “Perfect. You’re making excellent progress. But when we’re back in San Francisco I think if we meet weekly that will suffice. Keep visiting the gym twice a day, 30 minutes. You can cut back on the hand-eye coordination exercises, but there is still some mild cognitive impairment so keep up with the brain training games.”           “Hey, it’s my turn to see Phlox,” said Riaan as she walked into sick bay. “Then we can take a shuttle down to the planet. French said there are lots of lakes and trees but it’s on the cool side, about 15 degrees.”

            “I’ll ask the chef to pack us some food and we’ll just bring cold weather gear. I’m ready to get off this ship and breathe some real air made by real trees.” The admiral slid off the exam table and left. Riaan took his place, but with a little more difficulty getting on.

            “So two more weeks,” Phlox said. “The Captain said we should be back to Earth in 8 days, so we’re cutting it close.”

            “It can’t be soon enough. My brain doesn’t even work anymore. I can’t think. I feel like I swallowed a melon that won’t stop moving around.”

            “No more time in sick bay unless you’re here for an exam. You’re off duty. Stay off your feet, don’t pick up Ariannaa, and come see me daily. The baby has turned, he’s almost ready. And no transporter travel! I don’t care if protocols have been revised down for people, understand?”

            “Anything else?” she asked dryly, smiling with her eyes but not her lips.

            “No, I’ll talk to your only ‘problem’ myself.” Phlox slapped his knees and stood up; Riaan wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but concluded that perhaps he meant Jonathan.  

Jeopardy

            “I’m so glad we can stop at Akal. Ariannaa can see my home world, and I can say hello to some old friends.”

            “Well, I’m the ranking officer. If I say we go, we go. It's only a day off our trajectory,” Jonathan told his love, pulling the bed covers up and nestling as close as her body would allow. “I want you to be careful. This is not a time to be running through open fields or taking long konji cart rides.”

            “Aren’t you coming? It’s just for the day.”

            “I’ll just be in the way. You go down and have a great visit. French can take you down.”

            “Why not you? I might like to introduce Ariannaa’s father to people.” Riaan scrunched the pillows, placing one between her knees to keep her from rolling over; she did her best to be comfortable but it wasn’t easy anymore.

            “You look a little pale; do you feel okay?”

            “If I’m pale it’s your fault.”

            “Doc said you are not supposed to, let’s see, how did Phlox put it, ‘engage in strenuous physical activity’.”

       “You know what he meant, not visiting friends,” she chuckled, burying her head on Jon’s shoulder and enjoying the feel of his unshaven chin on her forehead, the rough hair of his bare chest on her cheek. So many sensations stirred her desire to join with her protector, her provider, her passion. Somehow the obligatory prohibition on making love to each other only intensified the craving to do just that.

            “I felt that!” Jonathan put his hand gently where a foot or a hand had nudged him from inside Riaan’s body. “And that one, too.” No matter how many times he’d felt the movement of another life in this way it never lost its fascination. Through the most primitive of emotional actions a new person appeared in less than a single year from within another. 

   “You go nowhere near the nuclear plant,” Archer said to Riaan, placing a Jo-Ann firmly on her face.

            “I have some things I want to buy and places to show Ariannaa. The factory is someplace I never want to go again; don’t worry about that.”

            “Take care of my girls,” Archer said to Hoshi since he wouldn’t allow Riaan to go alone in her advanced condition with a toddler in tow. He wasn’t sure Brannigaan would enjoy sticking close the entire day.

            “Of course, sir,” the commander agreed.  The four passengers climbed into the shuttle pod, French making certain that he was extra careful to help Riaan into the vehicle. When the launch bay was clear, the shuttle left for Akal.

            The trip to the surface was routine. Given that the planet had been introduced to Tellarites and Orions landing the shuttle craft near the town facilitated the women’s visit without causing any undue panic. The biggest difference Riaan noticed was the extent of the electricity that reached to the farthest corners of the city. Oil lamps, street corner fireplaces, candles in the windows were gone. Without open fires people could walk the streets safer, but some of the ambiance of the community was also gone with them.

            “So where will we find these verdanas?” Hoshi asked.

            “They are available at gem shops. What I want is a hair comb that I can have them set into. It’s kind of a special piece of jewelry. And I knew the jeweler, so I’d like to say hello.” Ariannaa skipped alongside oblivious to the environment.

            “Mother, can I go out to our old home and say goodbye to some friends, and pick up a few things we left behind?”

            “Our private things are all at The Okana’s. There’s not much but you can retrieve what you like. Don’t take more than you can carry.” He kissed his mother and jogged off toward the road that led to the country homes. “Be back before the sun is gone, Mr. French will be back then with the shuttle,” she called after him. He waved but didn’t look back.

            “This is a beautiful town. I remember the shop over there that brought us here all those years ago.”

            “That’s right, you came along, but I never met you then,” Riaan recalled; a smile appeared on her face followed by a giggle. “You were the one in charge of the translators. Thank you, Hoshi.”

            “I don’t understand.”

            “Jon’s translator stopped working, but he didn’t want me to know because he was still pretending to be an Akalli.”  Hoshi shook her head, still not understanding. “He kissed me so he could fix it behind my back.” Hoshi began to laugh. “So thank you.” They wrapped arms around shoulders and hugged while walking towards the center of town.

            On their way, Riaan dragged Hoshi and Ariannaa in and out of shops looking for people she knew to say hello and goodbye to. They stopped in the library, and Riaan was astounded to find the volume of books was three times what it was before. The electricity ran printing presses and no longer did publications have to be hand set and manually rolled. She found the building busy with eager readers, many of them children.

            They walked up the street to glance at Riaan’s former city home where she’d been when the humans came to earth. Windows in the roof let in streams of light that made it easy to peer in the windows. No longer was it a single room dwelling but had been divided into a small family dwelling. Ariannaa looked in all the windows she could climb to, touching the worn wooden sills and marveling at the antiquity of the structure.

            As the orange sun travelled higher in the sky, it seemed to shrink as well. Riaan sat often on public benches between their ins and outs until they decided to stop and eat at a café. Cafes were a relatively new industry in Tammalynnia once the electricity offered opportunities to preserve and serve food most any time someone desired to eat. Electric lights hung on cords draped over open air seating areas in front of many of the restaurants, some were only indoor or outdoor; in any case, the choices were plentiful.

            In the distance white plumes of steam from cooling reactions could be recognized above the 10 story cement cylinders of the electric plant. The accident hadn’t slowed any progression, it just drove a need for better safety, which, was of course, provided by additional electricity to run those safety features. Each new invention created another dependent invention. Akal had embarked on its Industrial Revolution with gusto and passion rarely seen in other civilizations.

            “I remember the jewel shop just up this street,” Riaan said as the three ladies left the café.

            “What is it you’re looking for, exactly?”

            “I want to have a piece made to wear in my hair,” she explained. “And I can’t get the gems on Earth, only here. They’re called verdanas.  I think on Earth they are like emeralds, or jade, or something in between.”

            “This is such a great city,” Hoshi remarked. “It’s quaint.”

            “I’m not sure I’ve heard that word before.” They found the jewelry shop and went inside. A few rows of tables covered in soft dark fabric took up most of the floor space. Items were sorted into rings, necklaces, ear cuffs, arm bands, and hair pieces. Most were simply the empty settings, waiting for the buyer to choose what precious stones or gems to have set which made each piece unique.

            “Ladies,” the woman at the far end of the shop called to them. “What are you looking for today?” The woman was older than Riaan, but not so much that she would have been a second generation mother. Her clothes were plain, much simpler than Riaan remembered dresses from a few years back. As in the restaurant, Riaan had to think quickly to respond in her native language.

            “I need a hairpiece,” Riaan told her, “in bronze.”

            “Riaan?” the woman asked.

            “Famkee?” 

            “Hello, I haven’t seen you in so long. Well congratulations, dear, that’s wonderful! I have many styles.” The woman and Riaan gathered at the hair piece table, and Hoshi watched their interaction, trying to ascertain what was so special about what Riaan wanted. Ariannaa skipped from table to table, looking at all the different ornaments but obeying her mother’s order to keeps hands off.