Michael wasn’t worried. Even if his agent secured the coordinates, the odds of the data proving useful were slim to none.

  “My family at the lake?”

  “They are. Want me to pilot the rifter?”

  He slapped Rikhi on the back.

  “No thanks, dude. I can handle a rifter. Odds are, I got another three or four good days ahead of me before the next attack. You make a beeline to the council meeting and offer my apologies. Do that proxy thing you do so well.”

  Rikhi choked up. “Yes, Minister.”

  “Hey, hey. None of that shit. Keep it together. Feel me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Michael didn’t want Rikhi’s gloom to rub off. His kids never knew a father who wasn’t all smiles. Even when the pangs of another collapse arrived, he pushed through long enough to disappear and allow Sam to excuse his absence. That wasn’t about to change at Lake Nilsson, on their favorite beach.

  When he arrived and stepped off the rifter, the kids were eating lunch in their swim trunks. Ten-year-old Daniel, a peanut butter aficionado, preferred his sandwich layered tall between two thick slices of crusty bread. He first tried peanut butter Aeterna-style right here when he was four. Six-year-old Harry insisted on jam and thinner slices of bread, cut into squares. Thirty-month-old Grace sat in her mother’s lap dipping her finger into a canister and made a mess eating the brown goodness. All waved when Dad arrived.

  “Chowing down on a classic, guys?”

  “Like kings and queens,” Sam said.

  “Dad, will you take us out for some periscope?” Danny asked.

  “Two at a time,” Harry added.

  “Wait? You mean I don’t get to relax with you guys for ten seconds? And you,” he told Danny. “Getting a little on the big side, ain’t you?”

  “I don’t … I don’t have to, Dad. It’s just … well, take Harry at least.” The boy pouted. “It’s fun.”

  Michael bent down and pinched Danny’s chin.

  “I’m having you on, bud. We’ll go out in a jiffy. Promise.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  He ruffled a hand through Harry’s curly dark locks and settled into the sand next to his wife and daughter. Grace did not aim well when she targeted globs of peanut butter for her tongue.

  “You like that, baby girl?”

  “Gooey.” She offered the canister. “Want some?”

  Michael scooped a fingerful, ate most, and tapped the rest on her nose. She giggled.

  “You’re funny, Daddy.”

  “I’m the funniest man in the world. Don’t you forget.”

  He tilted the canister toward Grace, but she shook her head.

  “What? You’re all done?”

  “Done.”

  Sam cleaned her nose and wiped away the mess below her lips.

  “She ate a third of it. I should’ve stopped her a while ago.”

  “I’ve never known my beautiful little girl to take no for an answer. Ain’t that right, sweetheart?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you like to go for a little piggyback with your old Daddy?”

  “Yes, please!”

  “Right answer. Tell you what, I need to talk with Mama for a few minutes, and then we’ll go piggyback. K?”

  “K.”

  “Danny, Harry. Why don’t you two take your sister for a little walk?”

  “How far?” Danny asked.

  “Maybe the north point.”

  “Periscope when we come back?”

  “Bet on it.”

  The boys took their role of big brothers seriously. Each held Grace’s hand as she walked between them. Michael watched them for the first thirty meters or so, fully aware Sam was staring at him.

  “Mom and Pop were right,” he said. “They grow up so damn fast.”

  “These are the best years. Don’t you think?”

  “I want more, Sam.”

  She caressed his cheek.

  “What did they say?”

  “No change. They don’t know what’s going on or how long it’s gonna last. They’ll keep conducting tests and gathering data.”

  “But it’s happening more often. What if …?”

  Michael shrugged. “They say we’ve got a good plan. Just keep it up. Ranke thinks my body might be adapting to the changes. She says it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.”

  “Honey, are you lying to me?”

  “What? When have I ever lied to you?”

  “I don’t keep a running tally, Michael, but I know you better than anyone. I saw it in your eyes when you watched the kids walk away. You were deciding how to blend a little truth with a little fiction.”

  He put up his hands as if under arrest.

  “You got me. I left out the good news. They said your data shows no comparison to mine. Since you were born in this universe, you might be able to avoid my troubles.”

  “I thought they were skeptical about us being unstuck in time.”

  “They’re coming around. Guess that happens when you can’t find a scientific cause. They might’ve been trying to humor me.”

  “I’m going to speak to Ranke and Atwater. I can’t believe they haven’t made progress after all this time.”

  Michael felt tension in the back of his neck.

  “I’d rather you didn’t. Just let them do their work. Please.”

  “This affects our entire family, Michael. It’s bad enough we’re hiding it from our people. We …”

  He pressed a finger over her lips.

  “Valentin said a lot of things to me on the Aston James before he died. He told me to remember when I was just a boy in love with a girl. He said, ‘Find that boy, Michael. He will tell you how to finish your life.’ That’s all I’ve tried to do, Sam.”

  “You have, sweetheart. You transformed.”

  “Now I need you to trust me. I have a plan.”

  He hated lying to the woman he loved.

  5

  UNF Central Command

  Battle Cruiser Yellow Dawn

  Kartuffe system

  H IGH ADMIRAL CANDO ALEKSANYAN paid no mind to public reaction after his interview with Edina Playos aired. He heard a few mumbles of positive spin, including that it hit the right notes among warriors down the chain of command. He cared about nothing else. Plus, this was a special day unlikely to be repeated soon if ever.

  Cando raised his glass for a toast. He stood in a circle with the seven surviving Talons who fought the Swarm at his side: System Admirals Hiro Parke and Yusef Matook; Commanders Leto Ahmed and Force Carmel; and Captains Paul Ochoba, Lin Sangoon, and Exeter Woolsey.

  “To brothers,” he said. “In this universe and the next.”

  “Brothers,” they replied in unison and threw back a shot of Cando’s favorite whiskey.

  Yusef did not hesitate to pour each man a second round.

  “Wish we could mark the occasion by drinking each other under the table,” he said, “but the High Admiral here couldn’t clear an entire night of liquid-soaked debauchery.”

  “I was excited to find thirty minutes,” Cando said. “So many meetings, and your duty posts await.”

  The UNF rotated System Admirals and other key personnel through Central Command for classified briefings and updated training. Cando manipulated the process to bring his brothers here at the same time before circumstance made it impossible.

  Force, the biggest Talon but often the most reticent, spoke for everyone when he said:

  “I never thought I’d see the day, my brothers. When we split from Scylla, that was all she wrote. How’s the old girl doing, Paul?”

  Scylla’s Captain, who took command when Ham Cortez died, grew into the chair he once feared. He became so attached to it, he declined when Cando suggested promoting him to System Admiral.

  “She’s not four years out of dock,” Paul said with a grin, “and you dare to call her an old girl?”

  “A term of affection, Captain. Compared to most of the fleet, she is heading on up in years.”

  “Last I checked, we’re still the flagship of the UNF.”

  “Here’s to Scylla,” Force said, offering the second toast. “She got us through the rough bits.”

  “To Scylla.”

  Exeter said, “It’s so strange seeing all of us in a room together not wearing the black.”

  “Those were the days.” Yusef nodded. “Still seems like yesterday.”

  “Always will,” Leto said. “What we shared isn’t the kind of thing you forget.”

  Yusef sighed. “I still hear their voices. The ones we left behind. June, Lucas, Meena.”

  “Ryllen.”

  Force drew awkward silence with his inclusion of their former ‘Colonel.’ He lifted his glass nonetheless.

  “Whatever you think of him now, the fact is, Ryllen saved all our lives more than once. He killed Swarm like nobody else. Right to the end, if you believe those reports. To Ryllen.”

  All glasses raised, but Exeter hesitated. Cando saw the lingering resentment in the young Captain. He decided to flip the mood.

  “While we’re here, there’s some good news I’d like to pass along. It seems I’m not going to be the only married man in our happy band of brothers. Capt. Woolsey is about to snag a husband.”

  The exultations uplifted the room, as handshakes and congratulations followed.

  “Our little X is getting married,” Force said. “You’re gonna put us all to shame.”

  “Thank you, guys. Caleb and I are very excited.”

  “I can speak to that,” Paul said. “My XO was practically floating when he heard the news. He didn’t believe the Aeternan council would grant the petition.”

  “It’s not the most popular idea with our people. They don’t think it makes sense for immortals to marry. But it’s right for us.”

  Paul raised his glass. “What else matters?”

  “It’s inspiring,” Hiro said. “For years, we survived just to see the next sunrise. We didn’t live; we avoided death. It’s good to know we can live again. I wish you and Col. Silver the very best.”

  “Thank you, Hiro. That means more than you know.”

  “When’s the big day?” Yusef asked.

  Exeter glanced at Cando, whose own timetable determined the next steps. They intended to speak later.

  “We’re working on it. We’ll probably have to squeeze it in our schedules, sort of like this reunion.”

  “On Aeterna?”

  “We’d like to. Small and private. It’s not like everyone can request leave at the same time. We’ll send vids.”

  “Speaking of vids,” Yusef said, “I hope everybody caught our illustrious High Admiral talking to that Catalan busybody.” Nods suggested they had. “All I can say is, Cando, you didn’t screw the pooch. Congrats.”

  Just when he thought that awful business became old news …

  “The next time I speak to the media, I’ll announce our victory over the Swarm. Until then, I’m a ghost.”

  “I thought you held your own. That cunt was looking for a way to cap your knees. You never allowed an opening.”

  “I gave her a time limit. The length of our jump. She cut it off with nine minutes to go. I think she was bored. No breaking news.”

  “She won’t be calling again.”

  “My aide says the public liaison office has already forwarded a dozen requests from other worlds. He’s good at letting them down gently.”

  Leto wriggled his shot glass between his fingers.

  “I think it’s best we avoid media. Allow our work to speak for us. I haven’t forgotten Orzed’s propaganda machine. Always with the hyperbole, even after the worst defeats.”

  “That’s the truth,” Force said. “We returned to base after that nightmare at Ramallen, and you’d have thought we won the war.”

  Hiro nodded. “Not a mention of the eight thousand dead.”

  “Ramallen?” Exeter said. “I never heard about that one.”

  “It was before you or Ryllen crossed the divide.” Hiro looked around. “That was the worst one, wasn’t it?”

  “Worst I recall,” Cando said. “Fight lasted what? Ten hours? Damn miracle any of us walked out of there alive. Field Marshal refused to order the retreat, so his XO shot him in the head and took command.”

  Force moaned. “I heard they drummed out the XO.”

  “They found an airlock with his name on it, most likely.”

  Exeter frowned. “Wait. They executed the officer who saved lives?”

  Yusef laughed. “And presented the Field Marshal’s widow with a Medal of Distinction for glorious service.”

  “It’s all speculation,” Cando said, although he believed the second-hand reports at the time. “The XO might have saved a few thousand lives by killing a madman, but he also disrupted battlefield analytics. Projected casualties and such.”

  “Whatever the hell happened,” Force replied, “we came out the other side smiling. That’s the only damn victory worth a spit.”

  “Here, here!” Yusef raised an empty glass. “Look at us now. Leaders all. Going back into the stew against those bastards, but this time we bring a winning plan. I’ve never been prouder to be a Talon. And seeing our little X over here …? Just a scared boy dropped out of nowhere smack into a battlefield all but dead on arrival. Now look at him. Damn fine warrior, Captain of a warship, about to take a husband. And I used to think I had the best story to tell.”

  Exeter’s cheeks reddened a touch, but Cando knew what Yusef’s message meant. The boy turned expert soldier spent most of five years in Ryllen’s long shadow.

  “You guys saved me,” Exeter said. “You taught me honor and courage. No matter what happens next, I’ll take the lessons I learned from you into battle.” He raised his empty glass. “My brothers, in this universe and the next.”

  It was a fitting end to their first reunion in two years and perhaps their last. The war was close at hand. Central Command compiled enough evidence to suggest the Swarm were weeks from having the ability to invade on a massive scale.

  The eight Talons hugged it out. Five officers left the gathering, with Yusef and Exeter trailing at Cando’s flanks. The trio stayed behind. When the door slid shut, they wasted no time attending to business. Cando sat down with them and answered question No.1:

  “Operation Crossbreed is a go. The Inner Group approved it this morning. They were pleased with your reports, Captain.”

  “I’m relieved to hear it,” Exeter said. “These new pilots are better than expected. They adapted to the web scheme in hours.”

  “Outstanding. Here’s hoping you don’t have to use them.”

  “Do we have a window?” Yusef asked.

  “It opens in four standard days. I’m working on a few thorny issues of personnel for your team, Admiral. It will be sorted. Captain, I’m going to send you an additional package of LSMs.”

  “How many?”

  “Twenty. A precaution. In most contexts, I’d say you have enough missiles to do the job. But there’s nothing normal about this mission.”

  “The Admiralty wants us to jump in there stacked so high? It might send the wrong message.”

  “An acceptable risk. You have two hundred seventy-five men and women under your command. We need to provide them the best chance. Agree?”

  “I do, Admiral.”

  “If the crew of Lightfoot knew why they were training in the Kartuffe system, I think they’d be more than a little unnerved.”

  Exeter beamed with pride.

  “My team can handle anything, sir. They might be entering the war a little sooner than expected, but everyone understands the stakes.”

  “I’m sure it’s been difficult to hide this from people you care about, but they’ll see the value.”

  Yusef exhaled long and deep.

  “Talons used to do everything together.”

  “I know,” Cando said. “Not this one. Captain, given the timetable, you have a choice to make.”

  “Sir?”

  “Your wedding. There’s enough of a window if you and Col. Silver wish to make it official in, let’s say, the next two days?”

  Exeter turned pale.

  “I just assumed it would have to wait now.”

  “Let’s do the math. Fifty-seven minutes by worm from Kartuffe to Aeterna. Col. Silver is in the Hokkaido system. That’s twenty-one minutes at the outside. Seems to me, that’s enough time for a legal ceremony and a chance to be alone afterward.”

  “Admiral, I don’t know what to say.”

  “You haven’t seen each other in four months. I think we can spare you for several hours. Yes?”

  “We’ll have to coordinate leave. There are channels to go through.”

  Cando and Yusef laughed.

  “I’m the top of the chain, and I happen to be good friends with Col. Silver’s Captain. I think we can sort it.”

  Exeter bit his lip.

  “What if Caleb … Col. Silver … asks why the rush?”

  “I’m not an artful romantic, but I might go with something like, ‘I love you, and there’s no time like the present.’”

  “If he’s not keen to that,” Yusef said, “you might need to ask some serious questions. Then again, I suppose immortals have all the time in the world, so what do I know?”

  They broke into laughter. Cando saw Exeter wipe away a tear.

  “I can’t thank you enough, Admiral.”

  “No need. I’m sending you into a potential war zone in a few days. Be a good husband then be a better Captain.”

  He dismissed Exeter soon thereafter but asked Yusef to stay.

  “What do you think? I chose him on your recommendation.”

  Yusef nodded. “He was the first Aeternan to sign on to the UNF. That kid … well, he’s not exactly a kid anymore. That man can handle whatever scenario he’ll face. You’ve read the same reports, Cando. The Lightfoot grades out near the top of the fleet in all facets. His crew loves him. They’ll follow him into fire.”

  “They might have to if this goes wrong.”

  “Not if my team has anything to do with it.”

  “Speaking of, I have more question, Yusef. A simple yes or no.”

  Yusef smiled. He knew what was coming. The answer did not surprise Cando.