Every Last Mother's Child Read online

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  “We can be on a ship out of here. This...” Mike held her in his arms. He was having second thoughts about taking this job; mostly because they would be in the public eye. That was a sure fire way for the company to be able to find them.

  “Hush.” She said standing back from him. She took in his six foot six inch frame now completely adorned in the dress uniform of a senior mounted patrolman. He had always looked good in uniform. The new uniform that Mylea had brought over was no exception. The scarlet wool jacket, with a pair of black trousers with a red strip down the seam looked like he had been born it. The rockers and chevrons of a mounted patrol sergeant had been replaced by an epaulette with five crowns that denoted his not only his grade; but his rank as the Marshall of the Trena Constabulary. Lisa had found his coronation sword and had mounted it on his gleaming black pistol belt. “You were commissioned to serve and protect these people Michael. I was created to help people. We can’t run from this. If it is to be the end of us…”She trailed off and finally said, "Well it won’t be.”

  “I promised never to put you in danger needlessly.” Michael replied.

  “I know,” Lisa put her finger on his lips quieting him, “Now zip me up!” She turned her back to him. He zipped up the elegant dress that she had last worn at the Winter Festival dance last year. They left the back bedroom and went into the living room. In the living room they found both young people were watching the Star Pony holo Lamile had brought over. Abby saw her father and mother come out of the back of the house. She saw her father in a Mounty’s formal dress uniform, and said simply, “Oh Daddy!”

  “Damn Uncle Mike,” Lamile said, this wasn’t the first time she had seen her mother’s best friend in his dress uniform, but it was the first time the nearly 15 standard year old young woman had seen him in a Mounty’s dress uniform. She now had an idea why Earth and Thonian women fell all over themselves for a man in uniform.

  “Damn yourself,” Michael said,

  “Don’t anyone move!” Lisa commanded, going for her camera. She was the photographer in the family. Some thought she was good one at that. A couple of her stills were hanging in the police academy’s lobby. One spectacular fire scene was hanging in the lobby of fire station 6 that showed their battalion chief catching a baby thrown from a second story window. The window that the baby had passed by was completely engulfed in flames. It looked as if a tendril of fire was reaching out for the child. The child’s mother had perished in the fire. Chief Janet Able received a Royal Citation for that rescue. She took a picture of her “girls” and then had Lamile take one of her and Michael. It would be the first of many pictures that she would take documenting the evacuation. As she put her camera away there was a knock on the front door.

  Mike opened the door to find a well built man in late thirties with sandy brown hair. Standing with him was a tall red headed woman who eyes never stopped moving, “Good evening Sir Wilson”

  “Good evening,” Mike returned.

  “Sir Mike,” the man said, “I am MacGregor, This is Georgia Lancaster,” Both of them had their ID carriers out. They were part of the Royal Protective Service. “We’re here to escort you and your family to the palace for your induction.”

  “Family,” Lisa remarked.

  “Yes, the Queen was quite adamant that the three of you were to be brought to the palace.” The sandy haired man answered.

  “But we didn’t think Abby was going with us!” Lisa replied. “She’s not dressed! Is she supposed to be with us?”

  “No Lady Wilson,” the Macgregor answered, “The Queen didn’t say why.”

  She suspected that the man knew more; but wasn’t at liberty to discuss the issue with her or her husband.

  “She’ll have to go as she is,” Lisa looked towards her daughter. She wasn’t dressed appropriately for court. The child was bare footed, wearing a short skirt and a tank top. “We don’t have time to dress her.”

  “Aunt Lisa,” Lamile spoke up, “if you don’t mind I can get her changed and meet you at the palace? It won’t take long.”

  “We do have two cars,” The red head injected, “McBride can stay here with second car and bring them all to palace.”

  “That might work,” Macgregor commented, “Is that okay Lady Wilson?”

  In all their married life, no one had ever addressed Lisa by her title. Her husband never used his on Trena; his nobility was tied to the Court of Columbus on Earth. When they left the empire he had given up his title of Knight Commander of the Terran Empire.

  “Yes, that’s okay,” Lisa replied she turned to her young friend, “Lam she can wear the dress she wore at Winter Lights a few months ago.”

  “The green one with the white leotards?” Lamile asked. Lisa nodded. “I’ll see you at the palace.”

  A young woman in her late twenties came into the house, MacGregor introduced her, “This is Sally McBride. She is detailed tonight as Abby’s protective agent. She’ll watch over her while she is at the palace.”

  “Hello,” Lisa greeted the young woman who couldn’t be more than twenty five or six. She was dressed in slacks and a long sleeved blouse. If the petite dark haired agent was carrying a weapon Lisa couldn’t tell.

  “Good evening Lady Wilson,” The young elfish woman greeted her, “I’ll get both kids to the palace.”

  “Lamile,” Lisa pointed to the thonian teenager, “is Abigail’s sitter.”

  “Yes ma’am,” the young woman acknowledged. She had read dossier, on the Wilsons and the Atomi’s. She knew who the thonian teenager was, Chief Atomi’s daughter. “I’ll help her if she needs help.”

  “Let me go in and tell Abby good bye,” Lisa went to her daughter and said to the girl. “Abby, Lamile and her friend Sally are going to take you to the palace where me and Daddy will be waiting for you.”

  “Will Aggie be there?” the child asked, She had surprised her mother by going right up to the Queen and climbing right up on to the young woman’s lap early that morning. Abby normally didn’t warm up to strangers. She had been asking about the Queen all day. Lisa hadn’t thought the girl knew who their early morning visitor had been.

  ‘Yes,” Lisa replied, “its Aggie’s home!”

  “Did you hear that Star Pony?” the little girl cried as she hugged the stuffed animal, “I get to introduce you to my friend Aggie!”

  Lisa smiled as she turned back to the group standing in her front room.

  As she did, she caught Macgregor sneaking a peak at his watch and Lisa got the message it was time to get to the palace. She turned to Lamile, “Don’t let her see the announcement. I’ll have to find a way to tell her what’s going on.”

  Lamile nodded “Come on Abby let’s get you dressed.”

  She picked up the child and took her to her room so she could dress the girl.

  Lady Wilson had touched on something Sally McBride had been pondering since they were briefed on the disaster that morning. How would they tell the children that Trena was going to be destroyed?

  Lisa walked to where her husband was waiting to walk them out of their home. When they exited the building they found four cars parked in front of their home. All of them were unmarked with not even the insignia of the royal family on any of them. As they got closer to the vehicles, a very tall thonian got out of the middle vehicle, and held the door for them. Once settled in the limo the convoy pulled away from the house. As they cleared their street two hover cycle cops fell in with the convoy, blocking cross roads all the way to the palace.

  It took almost no time for Lamile to dress Abby. Lamile packed a bag of clothes for the girl. As they left the house Abby had a death grip on Star Pony. Abby was shy around most strangers, and Sally McBride was no exception. The little girl hugged Lamile’s leg as they left the house. All the way to the palace Abby stayed as close to Lamile as she could.

  It took a few minutes to get to the palace. Lamile watched Trenaport pass by. More cops and soldiers were in the intersecti
ons they passed through on the way to the palace. She even saw barricades piled up on sidewalks at some of the intersections. A few were even set up. As they pulled up to the palace Lamile couldn’t help but notice that the gates were closed and a large tracked vehicle was blocking the gates. There was small vehicle parked nearby. It was an open topped vehicle with some sort of weapon on the back of it. It unnerved her when the weapon tracked their car. The guards thoroughly checked the vehicle and scanned their identification papers before they were allowed in. The driver took them to a low rather plain looking building that Lamile remembered as the Queen Mother’s residence from a school tour she took the previous school year.

  They were met by a petite middle aged woman with coal black hair with a white stripe that started from her forehead to where the hair fell just below her shoulders.

  “Hello,” the woman greeted them, “I am Maggie. I am residential housekeeper for the Queen’s Mother’s residence. I will be looking after you tonight. Let me show you to your quarters.”

  “Maggie,” Sally McBride spoke up, “this is Miss Wilson,” she pointed to the small child. Abby shrank away from the housekeeper when she tried to greet her. “And this young lady is Lamile Gr’then Atomi, Chief Atomi’s daughter.”

  “Welcome to this house Miss Atomi,” the housekeeper replied.

  ”Miss Maggie,” Lamile spoke to the housekeeper, “Thank you. Don’t worry about squirt here. She takes a while to warm up to strangers.”

  “Oh,” The middle aged woman responded. “Let me take you to the family room.”

  The house keeper led them to a large room near the center of the house. There were several large sofas scattered around the room, along with a couple of recliners and a table tucked into a corner. There was a book case stacked with books and along with several data cards on it, Lamile put the program she had brought with her into the player. Abby didn’t make it through the first program. She fell asleep on the sofa.

  “Let’s take her to the bedroom,” McBride suggested, “She’ll be more comfortable there.”

  “Okay,” Lamile bent down and lifted the child from the sofa. She woke then and walked with her baby sitter to one of the bedrooms. When they got to the bedroom Lamile was astonished to see what was over flowing one of the beds onto the floor. Abby saw the contents of the bed and ran to it jumping in among the stuff animals.

  “She’ll be okay here,” McBride commented, “I’ll sit here just in case she wakes.”

  “She’ll sleep.” Lamile remarked, “We should have gotten her out of her dress.”

  “Don’t wake her,” McBride replied. Lamile nodded and went in search of her bag, Finding her bag, she rummaged around in it until she found her reader with her school work on it. Deciding not to watch the announcement in case Abby woke up and came into the family room she curled up on one of the sofas and worked on her homework instead.