KETTY'S SUBDIVISION Wattys2017

Chapter 18-Part I

This Chapter dedicated to @Daina-ann a faithful reader who loves Kato. Hear you go.

Everything about her was perfect today, not a hair out of place, or a bit of doubt about who she was. Ketty's black skirt fit like a second skin with blue starbursts around the hem. Her eyes were filled with the wonder of it all. They held a deep wisdom, despite her youth, which spoke of the ancient will to survive. The radiance emanating from every fiber of her being was a byproduct of believing in herself. A simple human characteristic born of knowing who she was and how she was going to accomplish the impossible. Her journey laid on a road she was familiar with and had learned to embrace. Once too often she had been unprepared, so today a blaster was strapped to the gold belt accentuating her tight nanolon bodice with a modest neckline. Cradled above her heart was Harazel's necklace, worn with dignity, it was a clear sign she was not afraid of declaring her victory. On the opposite side, her Ion knife was stuffed into a custom scabbard with fine stitching, the one weapon she couldn't do without. Her features were not a bluff, or something to be trifled with, in fact her determination was a byproduct of who she was. Miss-cordoy had hand wrapped her hair into four pony tails, using colorful fabric which allowed them to hang straight down and frame her face, along with a touch of makeup she used to her advantage. She came with a message to declare, and she planned on letting everyone know they were at war. The final touch was the silk stockings that fit nicely into her boots, providing a modicum of protection should any fighting transpire. It was inevitable in a society where communication was the foundation of all endeavors that her message would be heard. In fact she planned on letting everyone know she was here. If the people were on her side then who could stop her?

When Kato saw her enter the bridge, sweat instantly broke out on his back, making him realize not taking a steam bath this morning was a bad idea. He caught his reflection in the view screen, and already a five o'clock shadow was creeping across his face, but he wasn't concerned about his appearance as much as his character. It had been a wakeup call seeing Ketty almost die at the hands of Harazel, and the time in deep space was productive for him, almost to the point of obsession. Belletine had called him an over exercising anorexic, but he pressed on, aware of one thing, up until now, he sucked as a person.

Each morning he had dedicated several hours to working out, performing combat exercises, and reading up on the art of warfare in space. But more than that, he did some soul searching. In deep space, with death behind him and death in front of him, it was more of a spiritual quest than anything else. His parents were gone, his life would never be the same, and his feeling for one person seemed to consume him. Every time he thought of her it was as if he was about to have a heart attack, so he decided to take control of his life. Some might say he was growing up, becoming a man so to speak, but no one had told him it would be this hard.

He had spent hours with Egor, making him repeat every lesson on etiquette which he had ignored for so long. The hunchback was a relentless teacher, never tiring of lessons on humility and moral character. He downloaded volumes of material on social responsibility, government structures, and the rise and fall of empires, along with an endless supply of motivational lectures on fidelity, faithfulness, and spiritual matters. Without being arrogant, he was feeling pretty good about himself, but there was always the knowledge, deep down, that he was doing it for Ketty, which he knew was wrong in every way. One of his favorite sayings was from an Old Earth author whose name had been lost in a sea of history.

"A man should search for life's answers away from a woman, so when he finds them, and learns to know himself completely, then and only then can he come to her. He must not pursue her as the adventure or some prize to be conquered, but he must invite her into his adventure. Then she can be caught up and join him in this journey called life." It was good advice but putting it into practice was hard for a young man.

"Suck it up, Kato," he said under his breath, trying to ignore Ketty and function in her presence, but it was painful. He knew he was in love and it felt worse than death.

The holographic display of Faraday was a maze of red green and blue only an adept navigator could decipher without some form of artificial help, yet that was the way of society and Ketty had no problem leaving the heavy lifting to Palamandry. They were entering the edge of the solar system from deep space, an avenue few traveled, but within minutes of dropping from light speed, they were inundated with heavy traffic.

"Follow the guide beacon for now, but keep a good distance from the primary planet." Despite the possibility of losing her bots, Ketty was feeling rejuvenated after Harazel broke her hand. For the last month they had all become proficient in personal combat, as well as some sporadic flight simulation. Then there was Greer who claimed to be recalling her bots. He had assured her they would be well cared for, but when asked if they would be released to her, he remained evasive.

"Battle cruiser on intercept course," intoned Belletine with a little irritation in her voice. "Were done now." Belletine had vehemently objected to them coming in the first place, but with Bromide's authority and Boondocks seizures, what choice did she have?

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