“I realized we might be able to use an Interdimensional Fold to return home, but we discovered it was too small. Then, like a miracle, we received a text message on our own technology. Someone asked for me by name.”

  Maren’s eyes ballooned.

  “Danny’s father!”

  “I met him alone. These so-called gods had dropped him there. He was living in a small home on wheels in the middle of a wasteland.” Exeter pointed to the hand-comm. “That device contained instructions on how to enlarge the IDF. And Michael recorded a message for his family. He refused to return with us because these creatures promised to kill his wife and kids if he tried.

  “Michael didn’t know why they chose him, but he also said he’d never be able to return. He knew the fissures were about to close.”

  “How?”

  No one needed to know every detail from that day. Not Danny, Sam, Caleb, not even Exeter’s superior officers at the time.

  “I remember Michael saying, ‘There’s one thing I’ve learned about gods: They’re tough negotiators. As in, they do the talking and you do the nodding. I stay. You go.’’’

  “We crossed into Alpha Universe, fought the Swarm, and the fissures closed for good. Entropy decelerated. Please don’t ask how it happened; I’m not at liberty to discuss it. Of course, we defeated the Swarm. I delivered Michael’s message weeks later. And I tried to support the family whenever I was home.”

  His audience fell silent. Maren stared at her husband.

  “So he really wasn’t left behind?” She asked. When Danny squirmed rather than answer, Exeter filled in the gap.

  “Michael chose to sacrifice everything he built here to protect his family. If his universe behaved as ours did after the fissures closed, then he’s likely in good health.” The rest he said for Danny’s benefit. “He’s had twenty-five years to build a new life and find happiness on the planet where he was born. Michael is resourceful and passionate; I’d like to think he’s done well for himself.”

  Exeter hoped Danny would agree, if just for Maren’s sake. Alas, Exeter should have known better.

  “Guess that would depend, X. How can a man be happy if he misses his family and worries every day whether they’re alive and well?”

  “Your father has two things on his side: Faith and time. He knew Aeternans would help Sam take care of his children.”

  Danny scoffed.

  “Until they kicked us out here to the satellites.”

  We’re going nowhere fast.

  “Losing him was a shock to everyone. But look at his children now. Three happy marriages and six kids. You moved on because you had no choice. Life is like that.”

  Danny fumbled the hand-comm as he side-eyed Exeter.

  “You think Dad started a new family?”

  Maren interjected.

  “Everybody’s entitled to love.”

  “He’s immortal,” Exeter added. “You can’t expect him to live alone and sad forever.”

  Even as the words slipped off his tongue, Exeter realized the irony. Wasn’t that exactly the course Aeternans had chosen? The two who didn’t take that route now shared a marriage in name only.

  “He’s right, love. It makes me smile to think your Dad’s having the time of his life.”

  Danny tensed under the barrage of two against one.

  “I ain’t saying I want him to be pissed at the world. But enough time’s gone by. Whatever happened to those gods who threatened to kill us, or is that classified, too?”

  Exeter flashed back to all-consuming flames and a hurried escape from an asteroid called The Hold.

  “No one knows, Danny. I doubt we ever will, but no one has seen them. I assume they’re gone.”

  Danny activated the hand-comm and threw open a holo. The still image of Michael Cooper was a more fearsome and darker-skinned version of his son.

  “Here we go, babe. My dad.”

  Michael sat at a table in the cramped, four-wheeled home where Exeter found him in a region called Utah.

  “Hey, Sam. Hey, Dan. Harry. Grace. So ... this ain’t gonna be easy to hear, but I want you to know the truth. First, don’t let anybody say I ran away. I’d never abandon my family.

  “You four ... you’re my whole heart. That’s why I can’t come home. I made a deal to keep you safe. I wish I could say more, but they won’t allow me to explain.”

  Michael fought a losing battle against tears, a quality Exeter never encountered in his dealings with the Minister.

  “Sam. I walked across the stars to save us. We had twelve good damn years together. It’s more than I deserved. And you gave me three beautiful kiddos. Love and protect them. It’s what you do best.

  “Kids, you listen to your Mom. She’s never wrong. Not one time. She’ll make sure you have the best life.”

  Michael paused for a beat and cleared his throat.

  “Danny, I’m putting you in charge of your little brother and sister. You show them what it means to be a Cooper. Tough as nails, straight-talking. Who knows? Someday, you might be Minister, too. Stranger shit has happened. Talk to the immortals. They’ll tell you all the stories. And lastly, I want you to know this, Son: As long as I live, I’ll never forget all those times I took you into Lake Nilsson to play Periscope. I had more fun than you.”

  Maren wiped her cheeks and reached for a handkerchief.

  “Harry, I wish we had more time. Listen to Danny and your mother. Grace, you’re too young to understand, but when you’re old enough, I hope you’ll see this and be proud of your old man.

  “I gotta wrap now, but there’s gonna be somebody else in your life. Think of him like a godfather. His name’s Exeter. He’ll deliver my message. The truth is, I wasn’t always nice to him, but I know he’s a good man and he’ll be close by in the difficult times.”

  Exeter, who hadn’t seen this message in more than twenty years, had forgotten the last bit. Those details suggested Michael recorded shortly before Exeter arrived.

  Humbled. Defeated. Reflective. Resigned.

  A far cry from the man Exeter knew prior to that day.

  “I love you all,” Michael finished, his voice cracking. “God help me, I wish there was another way.”

  Danny deactivated the device.

  “Still tears me apart. What do you think, babe?”

  “Oh, it must have been so horrible to stay behind.” She grabbed Exeter’s arm. “What was he like when you saw him?”

  “Composed. He knew what he had to do. I all but begged him to return with us. I said we’d protect his family. But Michael knew what he was up against. We didn’t understand the full scope until later.”

  Exeter had no desire to share that scope. Danny often probed for those details in the early years afterward, but Exeter deflected. Too many questions and not enough answers.

  “You have any regrets, Uncle X?”

  “About what, Dan?”

  “Leaving him there. Despite what he said, you could’ve forced him to come home.”

  Not this again.

  “No one forced your father to do anything. I honored his wishes. Perhaps it’s time you did, too.”

  It had to be said. Twenty-five years was too long to grieve.

  This time, unlike previous encounters, Danny nodded with muted reservation and retreated to the back with the hand-comm.

  “He doesn’t blame you,” Maren said. “My Dan is stubborn.”

  “Worse. He has too much of Michael in him.”

  “Would you like to see the girls? They aren’t awake, but we can peek in.”

  Anything to excise the tension.

  She led Exeter through the bedroom to the pram, which was docked to a life monitor station. Danny said nothing as they passed.

  Little Hallie and Samantha were a matching pair, with both bearing a greater resemblance to their mother.

  “They’re on a schedule,” she said. “It’s made life so much easier, you can’t imagine.”

  “I assume they’re still a challenge.”

  Maren reached inside the pram and adjusted Hallie’s blanket.

  “It’s not the routine. It’s ... see, I’ve never been afraid before.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The girls. They’re so fragile. Mother warned me. She said after they were born, I’d be a worrier for the rest of my life. Mother is always right.”

  Exeter doubted Caleb and the other Revivalists had considered the strain of raising a new generation from infancy.

  Danny joined them.

  “The girls will be all right, babe. They got both of us, and that shit won’t change. Ever.”

  The moment felt like a recovery from the tension-filled air after Michael’s last goodbye. Then Danny took a jab Exeter did not anticipate.

  “Soon, they’ll have a granddad, too.”

  9

  EXETER EXCUSED HIMSELF to speak with Danny outside. He refused to have this conversation in front of Maren.

  “Enough games, Dan. Why did you invite me here?”

  Much to Exeter’s surprise, Danny did not feign offense.

  “I wanted to remind you what’s at stake.”

  Exeter reached inside a pocket to retrieve a cigar and fire flick.

  “Your girls’ future. Yes?”

  “Partly.”

  “OK. How about your wife’s happiness?”

  “That, too.”

  Exeter lit his cigar and contemplated how firm a stand he needed to take. After the last puff, he said:

  “You must put this delusion about your father to rest. It will tear you apart. Then it will destroy everything good in your life.”

  Again, Danny responded with a firm but placid demeanor. Nothing like their last conversation.

  “What if I said I wasn’t deluded? What if I said there was a way, and I needed your help to make it happen?”

  “Then I’d say you’re not listening.”

  Danny pointed down the grand avenue.

  “Follow me, X.”

  There were worse fates than an evening stroll after a meal. Exeter complied but did not back down.

  “Dan, I’ve been a smoker since I was seven years old. Do you know why?”

  “Everybody has bad habits. You picked up one early.”

  Exeter stifled a laugh.

  “I smoke because I need to. The rhythm provides a comfort. In a way, it girds me. Whiskey also helps, but I discovered it later.”

  “What’s your point?”

  It wasn’t one he ever hoped to make out loud.

  “If I don’t have something to help keep me steady, I’ll have to face everything I’ve done in my life – and everydamnthing done to me. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about my early years.”

  Danny replied with a nervous nod.

  “I wasn’t alone among my kind, Dan. Many of us suffered abuse and degradation before we were rescued. But life handed me a worse fate than most. See, I’ve killed thousands of people.

  “When I was half your age, I pressed a button that activated a rail gun. It destroyed a cruiser carrying sixteen hundred civilians. Hundreds were children. My mentor said they were the enemy, and I believed him. Until the day he became the enemy.

  “After that, I killed because I had to. Sometimes, they killed me, but I always awoke and went straight back at it.”

  Danny interrupted. “You were a soldier.”

  “And eventually, I rose through the ranks and lost good men and women I was supposed to protect. More recently, I found myself having to kill again. Except these people used to be brothers and sisters who swore to the same oath.

  “My life has been soaked in blood. I smoke and drink just often enough to maintain a type of equilibrium. My head is still clear – more or less – and I can call upon my best instincts. If I ever allowed the horrors to consume me, no amount of sallowtop leaf or whiskey bottles will save me.

  “We all live close to the edge, Dan. But some of us have benefits we don’t appreciate. You were born on an impossible world to loving parents. You have grown up in paradise. You have love and children. They are your equilibrium. This madness about your father will come to no good end.”

  Exeter knew he’d never make a stronger argument. Danny was thirty-five, well past the point where he should’ve known better. So he waited for Danny to absorb the lesson and acknowledge an end to this foolish crusade.

  “It’s right up ahead,” Danny said, pointing.

  Well, I tried.

  They approached the Michael Cooper Memorial.

  “I’m sorry you weren’t able to attend the dedication. Looks just like him, don’t it?”

  Too much, for Exeter’s taste. Here stood not the liberator but the boastful salesman, the paranoid narcissist, and the warmonger.

  “Your father would have loved it. That much I’m certain of.”

  Danny pointed out the interactive biographical features.

  “Wanna go around?”

  “No, thank you. I know his story. I lived part of it, including the last bit. Dan, did you not hear anything I said?”

  Even in the dim light, Danny’s smile beamed.

  “Hell yeah. I heard. But I reckon you haven’t listened to me. Dad’s coming home soon.”

  Like throwing my fist into a titanium wall ...

  “And how would that be, Dan?”

  “It’s where your help comes in. Uncle X, you ever hear of trans-wormholes?”

  Cudfrucker!

  “I’ll be blunt: You might as well rely on a hope and a prayer. Trans-wormholes are fringe science at best. Decades away if ever.”

  “What if I said you were wrong?”

  A natural response, especially from someone groping for a miracle.

  “I’d say you’ve been listening to a charlatan. Trans-wormholes are theoretical. There’s no practical application. And, for the record, Collectorate law forbids any attempt to reopen passages between the universes. You’ll recall it didn’t go so well for us last time.”

  Danny spoke not to Exeter but to Michael.

  “Times are changing, and so are attitudes. And just because you were High Admiral of the fucking UNF doesn’t mean you’re up to speed on every scientific development.” He turned to Exeter. “Dad is waiting. You left him. You have an obligation to help me.”

  Cool your heels. Don’t ruin this relationship, Exeter.

  “See this uniform? My obligation is to protect and defend Aeterna and everyone who lives here. The fissures are closed. Your father is gone. I beg you, Dan. Let him be.”

  Danny crossed his arms.

  “We need him more than ever. I know what’s happening with the immortals. You’re split down the middle. Some of you are doing shit Dad would never approve of. He needs to come back and set things right. You know it’s true. Help me make it happen.”

  Exeter pulled on his cigar and thought of ways to bring this evening to a quick conclusion.

  “Your dinner invitation included talk of sitting down and catching up. But tonight was actually one long sales pitch. And I must say, both clumsy and disappointing. I thought better of you.”

  At last, Danny’s body language turned toward defense.

  “You don’t have to talk down, X. I turned to you because ...”

  No more diplomat. Time for the bottom line.

  Exeter pointed a finger.

  “Your father would’ve laughed you out of the room. Last year, I had a choice to make. A man I used to call a friend betrayed me and the UNF. After he was arrested and charged, this man made a sales pitch. He said if I showed mercy to his traitorous cohort, I stood a better chance of holding the fleet together.

  “The next day, we executed his cohort, and I shot my former friend in the head. Why? Because I knew my obligation fell to the men and women who put their oath above personal ambition.

  “I love you, Dan, but I will not put you before the oath. This matter is now closed. We will never discuss it again. Understood?”

  Danny stared like a rebuked child caught in limbo, now questioning his next strategy. Exeter feared he’d turn and stomp away. Instead, Danny exhaled, glimpsed his father’s visage, and nodded with apparent acceptance.

  “Fair enough, dude. Fair enough. I really wanted you to be part of a grand adventure. If you can’t help, I’ll make it on my own.”

  “Dan, I want you to know ...”

  “It’s fucking OK. I’m cool. And we’re still cool. You know? I won’t hold this shit against you. I mean, someday you’ll apologize for not believing in me.”

  Exeter could’ve done without that last bit. Yet he accepted Danny’s hand, presented with a firm grip.

  “Your girls are beautiful. Take the best care of them.”

  Danny winked.

  “You know it. So, maybe we oughta go back. Maren’s probably wondering what in ten hells happened.”

  “Say my farewell. I should return to Lioness.”

  Exeter waited until Danny left before turning to the memorial. He was Michael’s sole visitor.

  “You wouldn’t care how destructive he’s becoming, Michael. You always justified any means to achieve an end.”

  Exeter paced around the memorial.

  “I’ll never tell him what you were like at your worst moments. Or how most people you visited in the outer worlds came to hate your arrogance. How most of our kind don’t talk about you anymore because they’re relieved you’re gone. I won’t tell him for one reason, Michael. I don’t want to break his heart.”

  He felt someone sneak up from behind. She spoke before Exeter pivoted.

  “Talking to a statue or yourself, Commander?”

  Rosa Marteen carried a box under her arm.

  “If you were eavesdropping, I’m sure you know the answer.”

  She sighed.

  “It’s fine. I’ve talked to the bastard a few times myself.”

  “Does it help?”

  “Most certainly not.”

  “Then nothing has changed. What brings you out here, Rosa?”

  She laughed.

  “It’s my city. I have to be careful when strangers appear.”

  “Hilarious.”

  “I saw you talking to Daniel. Is he trying to rope you into one of his schemes?”