The Independence Mutiny

Chapter 24:Now I'm No Longer Alone...

 The one year anniversary of the beginning of the adventure and the crew decided to meet in Richmond, and rented the old Ford plant as their venue. It was centrally located.

"Franks! Hilda! Who is this little guy?" Dennis called.

Dennis, I'd like for you to meet our son, Heracles David Thomas."

"An unusual name, To honor Hera I'm sure, but what about the rest?"

"To honor THE FLYING HAMBURGER," added Hilda.

"How's life treating the family?" Dennis asked.

"We're the first officer on a legit freighter running from the Moon and Venus. I could get more money if I hauled to Saturn, but this way, we're home on weekends, and the skip says we're worth two of anyone else aboard."

"I second that!" Hilda added and gave the Franks a honeymooner look, "How are things with you, Dennis?"

"You know me and Heather broke up? This is actually going to the first time we see each other since the memorial service." Dennis was a little antsy. He loved Heather, but they couldn't keep a long distance relationship up.

"But I bet she's gonna kick herself, letting Mister platinum album of the year go?" Frank chided.

"No, it was mutual."

Deb and Jimmy came in, "Hey guys look what Jimmy gave me!" She held out a large rock with a finger attached.

"Oh Jimmy, that's a nice purse you bought Deb," Deb deflated, then hit Dennis over the head with her purse.

"Congratulations, you two!" said Hilda. Millie and Shifty came in, and Millie and Deb started to scream and jump up and down.

"We just got in from Huntsville, and boy are my arms tired!" Detective Sergeant Clarence Gruber of the Huntsville Police, was carrying the luggage from the train station. Somehow Millie had ended up on a do not fly list. Millie started to rattle off some of the 'exciting' trivia of terminal ballistics, and how nice it was Lockheed was paying her to go to UAH, and let her work at the same time. Mr. Cold's pointers and Shifty's first hand experience enabled him to make a large smuggling bust while still in the Academy, and already the FBI was trying to steal him away.

Soon two officers in summer dress whites showed up. Lieutenant Alice Warren was being escorted in by LT(jg) Jonathan Warren. Alice was about two inches taller than she was before, and about one cup size bigger (the battery packs she needed had to go somewhere, why not the breasts?) Externally one could not tell Alice was a cyborg. Johnny was all smiles, hating his job but the family life was good. And when he was at work, he was always with Alice. It was really his wife's boss he hated.

"Yeah, things are going great with us, though many of the details are classified," said Johnny.

"is that at work or in the bedroom?" asked Big Frank. Hilda elbowed him. Little Frank protested that he didn't do nothing.

Heather and Keiko walked in and walked straight to Dennis before they could say hi to anyone.

"Where's Ed?" asked Heather. Her and Keiko were in their Navy Academy uniforms, they would report after the reunion.

"Hello Dennis, nice to see you again after eight months," replied Dennis, "Keiko, you're looking well," Keiko blushed, having lost a lot of weight to get ready for the Academy.

"It's not like that! Look!" Heather handed Dennis some photos and Dennis ran outside to find Ed.

Ed was looking over the water, at the twisted ruins of San Francisco. The Sun Hera was winking in the distance, a phenomena scientist had dubbed "The Hera Paradox" or "The Echo-Delta Anomaly." The existence of the star itself was a paradox, as the blast should have dissipated, but there it was. Mr. Cold had explained the DNA of him and Hera were more complex than genetic code, even folding into other imperceptible dimensions for it to all fit. It was all over Ed's head, and all he knew was he still missed Hera, and the hurt was not going away. He looked at the MOHAWK tied up alongside, his prison for the next three and a half years. His current crew was all on leave, his former crew came up alongside him.

"Heather has some pictures she and Keiko took of Hera, thought you'd like to see them," Johnny, as former leader, handed over the envelope.

Ed leafed through the photos. One of him and Hera working together repairing the navigation control of FLEETFOOT, another of Hera in her Captain Mercury costume. A photo of Hera through the porthole, taken by Keiko using her telescopes. Gathered in their uniforms on INCHON. The leave on their date to the soda fountain on Halifax, and Hera smacking ice cream into the face of Emma when she woke up from her second brain surgery. Then a picture of the star Hera.

"We took these on our last cruise on FLEETFOOT. We decided to pay our respects." Keiko was somber.

There was a picture of the dedication of a memorial to the Star Scouts who lost their lives in the war, built on the site of the Promenade. It was a bronze statue of a woman that looked a lot like Hera, at a ship's wheel. Many cranes were visible in the background. Ed had never saw the sky of Olympia so blue. A Union Jack flew in the background. The Jovian system and the Asteroid Belt had joined the Commonwealth, to act as a buffer between the Federation and Saturn. Ed shed a tear and flipped to the next photo. It was another picture of the second sun, but with a small dot in front of it. The next photo showed a closeup of the dot. It was shaped like a woman!

"How old is this?" asked Ed.

"Keep flipping!" prodded Heather.

The figure was moving. "Did you try to pick her up?"

"We couldn't keep up. Too fast for us," Keiko said.

He looked over at the MOHAWK, unattended. About then some Navy officers arrived, accompanied by a king and queen. A very pregnant Bunny came out while Admiral Amy and Lieutenant Miko carried a cake made to look like INDEPENDENCE in.

"Stand by and render honors to your Queen!" Said Queen Beatrice.

"Sorry, I can't stay, but my Queen is up there!" He kissed Bunny on the cheek and showed the officers Heather and Keiko's pictures.

"What are you hanging around here for? Go after her!" Shouted Bunny. Ed headed towards his cutter. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and looked at it never having the heart to put it away. Ray called after him.

"You're gonna need a preacher! I'm coming too!"

"Hop on then! Anyone else!" Ed was more alive than he had been in eight months.

"Ray, you're going AWOL! You too Ed! Hey, that's government property!" shouted Amy.

"Yeah, well after stealing four of my teenage years and trying to steal four more of my adult years, I don't think me and the government are quite square yet, Captain!" Amy had to concede the point to Ed.

"What about Intelligence? You know they are going to chase you and Hera down when they find out about this!" Shouted Alice.

"Let them chase me! I'm sure Hera would love a rematch with you! And I kicked Johnny's ass before! Dennis, Emma! You two aren't doing anything, and I hear Io is the new entertainment hot spot. Care to come with?"

"We're with you, skip!" the two hopped aboard and they waved to the old crew on the wharf.

"Tell Hera hi for me! And give her this!" Miko tossed her Victoria Cross and purple heart to Ed.

"I can keep the Fleet off of you maybe three days, after that I have to catch you!" Shouted Amy.

"You have to try to catch us! Besides, this is exactly the mission we've had since the days of the U.S. Lifesaving Service-You have to go out, you don't have to come back." MOHAWK went out. It did not come back.