Epilogue
“Were you ever scared?” Kat asked.
“Sometimes I was.”
“I was scared when I met you,” she said quietly.
“I know you were. But you are here now, right? So, it worked out.”
“But your . . .”
“I’ve got a better one now,” Rev said, rapping his forearm with his right knuckles.
He could tell she wasn’t buying it. But she didn’t challenge the statement. Instead, she asked, “But you don’t have to be scared now. The Centaurs are our friends now, right?”
Rev wasn’t about to go that far, but arguing politics wasn’t something he was going to do with two young girls. “Right, Kat.”
Neesy had been listening in, and she asked, “What did you do when you were scared, Rev?”
She’d changed so much since his last visit. She was still a little girl, but there were hints of a young lady showing through now.
“Oh, wow. Good question.” He paused to figure out how to answer when it hit him. “You’re not going to believe this, but sometimes, I sang a song.”
“A song? Really?” Kat asked. “Which one?”
“I think you know it. Here, let me sing a little of it.” He cleared his throat.
Sorry, Mommy. Sorry, Mommy,
So the little bear said.
That’s OK, my little one.
And she kissed him on his head!
Kat squeaked in delight, her hand over her mouth, and Neesy asked, “You’re not just saying that, are you?”
He looked to see his mother watching them, smiling as she shook her head. He could tell she thought he was just saying that for the girls.
For his mother just as much for Neesy, he said, “No, really. I did. And you girls gave me that.”
“I love that song so much. Can we sing it?” Kat asked.
“Girls, Rev said he had to leave. Don’t beg, OK?” Rev’s father said.
Kat looked up at Rev. Her eyes were begging even if she was not asking aloud.
“OK, one time. But I really do have to leave.”
Both girls squealed. The young lady Neesy vanished so that the little girl could reappear again.
Kat insisted that they put on the music first, so she had to get her pad. But within a few minutes, the holo was playing as Kat, Neesy, Rev, and their father were singing along while their mother watched, laughing, but demurring, when they asked her to join in.
As Rev expected, it wasn’t just once through the song. It was three times, the last time with Rev’s father pulling his mother out of her chair and dancing in the middle of the room. The girls jumped up at the refrain and joined them.
“Keep the visuals of this. I want to save it,” Rev told Punch when the song was over.
<I’ve filed it under Family.>
“Thanks.”
“OK, girls. I’ve got to leave now.”
“But—”
“Kat, you promised.”
She frowned. “I know.”
Rev got up and kissed his mother on the cheek. “Good meal.”
And he meant it. His mother was really improving, so maybe there was something to this “real” cooking that was becoming so popular.
He shook his dad’s hand, then hugged both girls. “You tell Grover I’m sorry I missed him.”
“He’s with his girlfriend,” Neesy said with just a hint of disdain. The young lady was back, the little girl gone.
“I know. But next time, we’ll all have dinner together.”
“Promise?” Kat asked.
“Promise. Pinky swear,” he said, holding out his little finger in the ancient oath-keeping seal. He locked his with Kat’s, then with Neesy’s.
He looked up at his father. “You ready?”
“Let’s go.”
The Gazelle had survived the invasion, and with autocabs still scarce, his father had offered to drive him. He’d said he didn’t want to put his father out but gave in when his father insisted. Now he was glad. It had allowed him to spend a little longer at home.
Home? he wondered as the hover pulled out. Is it really still my home?
For the last six years, he’d lived in the barracks at Nguyen, the Naval Hospital at Anastasia, and all around the galaxy. He’d even made it to the Mother, of all places. So, was his parent’s house his home? He wasn’t sure.
“You never mentioned your plans, son. We heard that all of you involuntary enlistees are going to be released.”
Rev patted the letter in his pocket. He had planned on showing it to his family, but the timing hadn’t seemed right.
“That’s the rumor, Dad.”
“So, it’s not true?”
“Who knows? They said that before, and then you know what happened.”
“You don’t think that will happen again, do you? I mean, don’t you think the peace is real this time?” his father asked in a worried voice.
“I think it is. But I can’t say what’s going to happen in the future.”
He hated to lie to his father. The release of the conscripts was a done deal. But he wasn’t a hundred percent sure what he was going to do yet.
“I hope it’s real,” his father said with a sigh. “And if it is, remember, that slot with the BOCT is still open.”
“So, I can settle down, get married, and have kids? Mom never asked me about Mia Szeth.”
“Woah, quite a reaction there, Rev. And your mother knows you and Mia aren’t a thing.”
Rev turned to his father, eyebrows raised.
“She’s pregnant, and we know you’re not the father,” his father said with a hearty laugh. “She and Witter Smith are getting married next week, in fact,” he leaned in and said in a hushed voice as if selling illicit drugs. “You know, I’m in close with Witter’s dad. I bet I could score you an invite.”
“Real funny,” Rev said. “Ha, and let me repeat, ha.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Your mother was never really sold on Mia, though. You were so out of that girl’s league.” He gave Rev a lopsided grin.
Which was news to Rev. In school, Mia was always one of the in-crowd where Rev was a hanger-on.
“No, your mom has got her sights locked on Tomiko or that Malaika girl. This isn’t a drill, Marine. She wants, I’m assuming, thirty or forty grandkids, so you better get working on that.”
“Dad!”
“Another big reaction there. But calm down. You’re her oldest, and she wants . . . well, she wants you to be happy. That’s all.” He paused for a moment, then added, “And I guess for her, she thinks that means you should be married and making little ones.”
“Well, she can tell it to Grover. He’s the one with a girlfriend, not me.”
“Noted. Sorry, I hit a nerve.”
“Oh, no, it’s alright. It’s just that everyone seems to want to see me hooked up with someone, and as a Marine, with the situation . . .”
“I understand. I was just joking around. You do what’s right for you.”
The Gazelle pulled in front of Leteeka’s. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Any time.”
“And sorry I jumped on you. I just . . .”
“Don’t worry about it. Here, lean over and give your old man a hug, then go have some fun.”
“Thanks. For everything,” Rev said.
He was sure his father knew he wasn’t thanking him just for the ride.
He stepped out and waved as his father drove off before turning to the bar. A large “Grand Re-Opening” banner hung over the door. There were indications of new construction on the outside, but it basically still looked like Leteeka’s.
Not so when he stepped inside. The bar was completely new, with real wood replacing the old white plasticrete. The floor was divided into two sections, the new one built where the old storerooms had been. All of the booths along the walls were upgraded, and modular tables populated the open spaces. Best of all, in Rev’s opinion, the owners hadn’t done away with the rail delivery system but rather upgraded it. Each of the booths and a few of the tables had a modern, sleek-looking arm, and as Rev watched, a pitcher of something went zipping across what looked to be an aqueduct or a mini-bobsled run instead of the old rails before it smoothly descended to one of the booths in the back.
The old rail system had been fun, but pitchers could be a little problematic, so people tended to walk up to the bar and carry them back. This system looked much better.
But Rev wasn’t here to ogle—not really, at least. He was here to see his friends. The place was packed, though. He had to survey both sections before he saw them in the very last booth in the new section.
“Look who’s finally made it,” Yancey said as he came up. Rev tapped Ten’s chair with his social arm, and Tomiko slid over on the bench, pointing to the spot she just opened up.
“You gotta see this,” Yancey said.
He turned to the ordering panel and said, “Give us a pitcher of Hausner Ale.”
“Coming right up, Yancey,” a natural-sounding voice said.
“See, it knows me.”
Nothing to be too excited about.
Once registered, any autoserver can identify a voice.
“There it comes,” Yancey said, pointing.
Over the bar, a pitcher smoothly rose on a thin rail of some sort. It reached the top and shot across the ceiling, branching off several times until it was overhead, where it suddenly slowed down, then lowered gently to the table.
Puzzled, Rev ran his hand over the pitcher. He didn’t feel anything.
“Electro-magnetics,” Yancey said. “Pretty cool, huh?”
“He’s been like this since he got here. He’s done almost all the ordering so far, which is fine with me. Let him pay,” Tomiko told him.
“That’s good enough for me. I’ll drink on his credit.”
He grabbed a glass and filled it but didn’t immediately take a swallow. He just sat there for a moment, looking at his friends. If this time the war was really over, then they’d all beaten the odds. Eight of them, from different designators, somehow making it through the battles that had taken so many others. He never really thought they’d all survive.
Rev had ups and downs in his career, to say the least, but on a personal level, this was what it boiled down to. They had all made it through, and right now, surrounded by his friends, he was content. He lifted the glass and drained it.
Cricket and Udu were sitting together, of course, Udu’s hand almost possessively on his arm. They were an odd couple at first glance, but Rev had begun to realize that they meshed well, two different pieces of a puzzle coming together to make a beautiful picture. It still amazed Rev that despite the war, despite their service, despite being separated by their different designators, they had found each other, and not only that, seemed to be making it work. As Rev refilled his glass, Cricket was discussing the menu of their rescheduled wedding with Bundy. It sounded like the couple was going all out.
In a silent, personal toast, Rev lifted his glass to the couple and drained it. Udu caught the act, gave a puzzled look, the turned back to her chat with Ten.
Hell, why am I giving silent toasts? What good is that?
“What’s my BAC?”
<Zero-point-zero-two.>
Good enough.
He refilled his glass and suddenly stood. “Hey, listen up. To the posse.”
“To the posse,” everyone shouted, lifting their glasses.
“Oh, God, he’s going to give a speech, and he isn’t even drunk,” Fyr said.
“Yes, I’m going to give a speech. And to be more accurate, I’m not drunk yet.”
“Ooh-rah!”
“After we lost Krissy—”
“Respect to the fallen!”
“After that, when we made our vow to meet at our End of Obligated Service, I don’t think any of us knew what was in store for us. And we’ve faced more than I could imagine. But whether it was the Gods of War or Saint Chesty himself—”
“To Saint Chesty,” Yancey shouted, and everyone had to toast again.
“As I was saying, no matter who was looking out for us, somehow, we all made it. And for that, I am so very grateful. I love every one of you, and you are my family. And now, with the convicts being released, I don’t know if we’ll all be here on our EOS anniversary. So, before we start to go our separate ways, I just wanted to tell everyone that no matter what, the posse will always live on. Marines or civilians, that doesn’t change the bonds that bring us together. Every one of you will be a part of my life until we pass this mortal coil.”
“Mortal coil?” Bundy asked. “You sure he isn’t drunk?”
Everyone laughed, and Rev sat down. It was probably a little too over-the-top and sappy, but he was glad he’d said it.
Bundy kept the floor. “So, if I may, how about a toast to Rev, our Raider extraordinaire with his amazing Pashu, the person who made us swear an oath to meet when all of this was over.”
“To Rev!”
Rev felt his face getting red, but he smiled and nodded to everyone.
“And if we can move on from the big oaf, I’ve got something to say.” Bundy started along the same lines of family and love.
Tomiko leaned her head close to Rev’s and said, “Pretty flowery. I thought you were gonna cry.”
“I almost did. Now listen up to Bundy.”
One by one, each of them stood up and said a few words, except for Ten, who spoke but stayed seated in her hoverchair. Rev half-listened and just sat, soaking in the atmosphere, the love. He hoped what he said was true. As some left the Corps and some remained, and some, like Udu and Cricket, got married and had kids, priorities changed, and life got in the way. He just hoped that the bonds between the members of the posse were unbreakable, and every one of them would be a vital part of him for the rest of his life.
“What do you think, Punch? Are we all going to remain close, no matter what?”
<That is impossible to say. There are too many variables.>
That disappointed Rev more than it should have. How would Punch know?
<But from what I have observed over our time together, I think it is very possible that you all do remain close.>
That made Rev feel inordinately better.
“And last, but not least, let me hand off the floor to Miko,” Fyr said.
Tomiko was a fireball, but she didn’t feel comfortable with public speaking, even among friends. She rose from her seat but didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Stand up,” Yancey shouted.
“Oh, bite me,” Tomiko said, and that seemed to break her hesitation. “Yeah, like you all said, I love you, yada, yada, yada. But, for me, it’s been more than that. Bundy, you’ve got your kids. Cricket and Udu, in two weeks, you’re getting married, for Pete’s sake. Yeah, married. Rev and Fyr, you’ve got your families, and my sister Ten, everyone loves you. Yancey . . . hell, no one loves you, so I’ll skip past that.”
Everyone laughed, and Ten reached over and pulled Yancey in to give him a kiss.
“I was going to say bite me, but if it gets me a kiss, keep talking like that, Miko!”
“Seriously, though. All of you have somebody on the outside. Yeah, even you, Yancey. But you all know my story. I don’t have anyone.”
She held up a hand to quiet down those who started to object to that characterization. “I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m just stating what it is. But that doesn’t mean I’m alone. I’ve got the posse, and that means more to me than anything else can. Like Rev said, in his own corny way, you will all be a part of me, way up until, yeah, we pass our mortal coil.”
“To Miko!” Rev shouted, and they all drained their glasses.
“And one last thing, in case you didn’t hear. The message hit the fleet this morning, and my best friend, Reverent Pelletier, made the list for staff sergeant. I think he deserves another toast.”
There were cheers and comments that Rev had better start saving for his wetting down.
Still standing, Tomiko turned, hugged Rev, and kissed the top of his head.
“Congrats, Rev,” she whispered into his ear.
“Way to go!” Bundy said, coming around the booth to shake his hand. “Now I won’t have to keep hanging out with all these low-life sergeants!”
“It won’t be for a while until my number comes up. Maybe six or seven months.”
Bundy frowned, then asked, “So, does that mean you’re staying in? They’ll let you?”
Shit! Open mouth, insert foot.
He really hadn’t wanted to discuss that today. He wasn’t even sure what he was going to do.
Oh, hell, who are you kidding? You’ve always known.
Sitting there, feeling the camaraderie, feeling the sense of belonging, had only confirmed what he was going to do. There had never really been a question.
“Excuse me, Miko,” he said.
She was still holding her arms around his neck, and she quickly let go and sat down.
Rev reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope. He stared at it for a long moment, then slipped out the letter inside, a real letter, on official stationery. The kind people framed for their I Love Me wall. He handed it to Bundy.
“What’s this?” Bundy asked as the table went quiet, a little bubble in the hubbub of people enjoying the reopening. He read it, his face expressionless, until he looked back up and asked, “You going to do it?”
Rev just nodded.
“What? What the fuck is that?” Tomiko demanded, her voice getting a little strident.
Bundy held the letter out, and Tomiko snatched it out of his hand. She read it, her eyes getting round. Rev suddenly took close notice of his hand as if he’d never seen it before, and he could feel Tomiko stiffen.
“So, what’s the big deal?” Yancey asked.
Tomiko looked up and said, “This is from the commandant. Rev is getting orders to the Home Guard.”
There was dead silence for a moment until Yancey broke it with, “No fucking shit!”
Everyone started shouting their congratulations, with Fyr almost breaking Rev’s back as he pounded it.
“Hey, everyone. My buddy here’s going to the Home Guard!” Yancey shouted to the packed house.
Pitchers started flying across the bar’s delivery system, all heading to their table. Rev was embarrassed, and this was just one reason why he hadn’t wanted to broach the subject here. Sending someone to the Home Guard on New Titan was a pretty big thing, and here in a military town, it was even bigger.
The other reason he hadn’t wanted it to come out here was sitting silently beside him, not offering him congratulations. More booze than they could drink was coming over, and their own tab reading suddenly disappeared from their station. Someone, either the bar or a patron, and just wiped it clean.
Finally, when most of the excitement died down, Tomiko leaned over and whispered, “This is how I find out?”
“I just decided right now that I was going to stay in.”
“Bullshit, Reverent. The moment you got this, you knew you were going to accept it.”
Which was true. He hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself, but deep in the back of his mind, he’d always known what he would do. And he also knew he should have told Tomiko beforehand. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she called him her best friend. As she was his.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“Damn right, you should have,” she hissed. “I thought you and I . . . we . . . fuck!” She sat back in the booth, arms folded across her chest.
Rev frowned. He and Tomiko had never discussed life after the Corps, not in any specifics. And when it got down to it, this was his decision. Not his family’s, not the posse’s, and not Tomiko’s.
For the next five minutes, she sat like a statue as Rev accepted the well wishes of other patrons, civilians and Marines alike.
Finally, she leaned forward again and asked, “Is this a done deal? Can you change your mind?”
“I’m not changing my mind, Miko. I’m sorry, but I want to do this.”
She leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, then stood up. “Excuse me,” she told Cricket and Udu, passing through them to get out of the booth.
His heart a heavy lump, he watched her make her way through the people and out the entrance.
“What’s with her?” Cricket asked.
“She’s not feeling well.”
“She never could hold her booze,” Cricket said before turning back to Udu.
Rev stayed in his seat for another twenty minutes, the excitement he should have felt gone. He kept telling himself that Tomiko was at fault and this was his and only his decision. But he still felt terrible.
Finally, he’d had enough. He needed to get out of there. Yancey made him stay for one more round, but that was it. He made his excuses, promising to hold his wetting down before he left for the Home System.
Rev had to endure the backslaps of others as he made his way to the door, and finally, he was out. He looked around, but Tomiko was gone. He expected that, but he wanted to apologize and talk things through.
Maybe tomorrow. Stay away from the barracks tonight and let her cool off.
He was debating going home and crashing there when a voice called out, “Rev!”
He spun around. “To—”
Malaika was hurrying out of the entrance and coming at him. She was dressed to kill, in a cream, shimmery dress that hugged every centimeter of her body. The cream color and her dark skin made a stark—and attractive—contrast. Her face . . . it took a moment for him to realize she had makeup on. She looked . . . different.
“I thought you’d be here tonight for the reopening,” she said breathlessly as she pulled down at the hem of her dress, her smile radiant.
“Uh, yeah. I was meeting up with my posse.”
“I figured that.”
“So, what are you doing here? You with your platoon?”
“No, I came alone. I took a seat at the front of the bar so I could see everyone as they came in and out.”
Rev just looked at her, waiting for her to get to the point.
“Wow, you really are dense, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?” He was worried about Tomiko and a little tipsy, and he didn’t really have time for guessing games.
“I came to see you. We haven’t seen each other much since the invasion, and now with us getting out, I thought we could, you know, just talk.”
Oh, shit.
Rev could be oblivious sometimes, but not that oblivious.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed Malaika in that way before. She was a funny, bright, and attractive woman, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t had a few daydreams of what could be between them. But the demands of the service were an obstacle in personal lives. He’d learned that lesson with Krissy, and he’d sworn not to go through that again.
“So, you’re getting out?” he asked, his mind grasping at anything to say.
She frowned. “I’m a convict, just like you. They’re kicking us out. And I thought that maybe, in the outside world, we could—”
“I’m not getting out, Mala.”
She furrowed her brow. “But you’re a convict. All convicts are getting released.”
“Not all of them. Like me.”
“But . . . they’re letting you stay in?”
“They asked me to. I’m going to the Home Guard.”
Her eyes got big, and she said, “That was you everyone was yelling about? I heard all of that, but it was all going on in the back. I couldn’t see who it was.”
“Yeah, that was me.”
Her body seemed to deflate, the smile gone from her face.
“Oh, my God, I feel like such a fool. Here I am, throwing myself at you, looking like a . . . a . . .”
“You’re throwing yourself at me?”
She closed her eyes for a long moment, then said, “By the Mother, you’re dense, Rev. Do you know how hard this was, getting up my nerve, getting dressed like this? I bought this dress a week ago,” she said. “I don’t know what I expected. It’s just been so long, and you, me, we seemed to connect. I’m sorry. I’ll let you go,” she said, spinning away.
“Mala!” he said. One word, low and firm.
She stopped but didn’t turn back to face him.
“Yeah, I can be dense. That’s been more than pointed out to me tonight. But I swore off relationships for the duration. I lost someone early on, and that taught me a lesson. It made a . . . I won’t form a bond that will destroy me if I lose it.”
“It’s OK, I understand,” she said with a little hitch in her voice.
Rev reached up, took her shoulder, and turned her around. Her eyes were glistening in the streetlights.
“You are an amazing woman. An amazing Marine. I’ve enjoyed every moment we’ve had together since we both died.”
She gave a little chuckle. “Yeah, I’m a good buddy, a great pal. Big giant Mala, she’s just one of the boys,” she said, her voice forlorn. “I mean, she plays rugby. She must like the girls. I’ve heard it before.”
“Stop it. I like your company, but not as one of the guys. You are an amazing woman.”
She smiled and then said, “But . . .”
And yes, there was that but. Rev was still serious about relationships in the service. He knew some couples made it, but he wasn’t sure he could devote all of his attention to someone while still serving as a Marine.
Suddenly, though, he didn’t want there to be a but. He didn’t want to always wander through life alone.
“You said you were throwing yourself at me.”
Malaika raised her hands over her face. “I’m so embarrassed. And I’m sorry for assuming anything. I didn’t want to put you in this position.”
Rev slowly but firmly lowered her hands from her face. “And what were your plans? What did you expect to happen?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s too embarrassing now.”
“Tell me.”
She dropped her eyes and toed the ground. “I got a room for the night. One of the temporary shelters they put up. One of my teammates is the night manager at the site, and when I told her about us, or what I thought was us, she did me a solid. Isn’t that so pathetic? I didn’t even ask you first. I just assumed.”
“Look, Mala, I’m going to the Home System. I don’t know for how long, and I don’t know what my life will be there. So, I can’t promise you anything.”
“Yes, I know. I understand. Really, I do.”
“No, you don’t understand. What I’m saying is that with no promises, no obligations, if you want me to spend the night with you . . .”
Her eyes lit up, then they turned to a scowl. “Rev, I appreciate what you’re doing, but I don’t need a mercy f—”
Rev stopped her with a finger over her lips.
“This isn’t a mercy anything. I like you. I always have. And I would love to get to know you better on a more personal level.”
“You really would like to spend the night with me?”
“Yes, I would. And we can’t disappoint your friend, right?”
She lifted her head and laughed, then punched Rev in the arm. Hard.
“No, I guess we can’t. And I accept, no promises, no obligation. Just two Marines.”
The hard-punching woman disappeared as she shyly linked her arm through his social arm. “It’s not far. We can walk.”
“It’s a beautiful night for a walk.”
She pulled him in tight.
Rev didn’t know if he was making a mistake or not. He didn’t know if this was going to go anywhere. But for one night, at least, he was going to rejoin the human race.
They walked in silence, both lost in their thoughts. But soon, maybe too soon, they were at the housing complex, rows of little geodome huts put up to house the dispossessed from the invasion. Rev let Malaika lead him as she followed the numbers until she came to a stop in front of one that looked exactly like all the others.
“Well, I guess this is it,” she said.
“Wait a moment. I need to take care of something first.”
“Is something wrong?”
He shook his head.
“Punch?”
<Yes?>
“Go to sleep.”
* * *
Rev will return in AN UNEASY ALLIANCE, coming September 2021. Preorder now on Amazon.
For updates on this series, be sure to join the Facebook Group, “J.N. Chaney’s Renegade Readers.”