"You're sure?" Mac questioned.
Jen saw the look Mac gave Nikhil. "Yes, but I don't need your help right now. It would be better if I were by myself."
"It would?" Mac questioned. "Why?"
"Well first, I need to get those bones roasting that Gulzar saved for me. Then I want to go back through the dry storage unit and re-inspect what's there. I tried to group what I thought were like items together, but now I know I was wrong on a couple of them. I need to get them reorganized. Otherwise, it will drive me nuts."
"It could wait until tomorrow."
"If there's one thing I've learned, Mac, it's that there may not be a tomorrow. At least not the one we are expecting. So I'm going to enjoy the time I have doing what I enjoy, and I enjoy being in the kitchen. You, on the other hand," she teased, "would rather be with your sweet Nikhil."
"Sweet?" Nikhil, who was silently standing by the door, frowned looking from his blushing Mackenzie to her friend. "I am not sweet," he denied. "I am a highly skilled and deadly Kaliszian Warrior."
Jen and Mac looked at each other, and while Mac was blushing, they both started to laugh. Jen couldn't believe how good it felt. How long had it been since she'd laughed? Too long.
Nikhil looked to Luol. "Did the educator malfunction? Jennifer is not making sense."
That question had Jen and Mac laughing even harder before Mac walked around the couch to wrap her arms around Nikhil's waist. Nikhil's arms immediately went around her.
"I'll explain it to you when we get back to our quarters," Mac told him, and the promise in her eyes had Nikhil's breath catching.
"Alright," he replied gruffly, then remembering what the General said looked to Jennifer.
"I'll be fine, Nikhil," Jen reassured him. "As I said, I'm going to the kitchen."
"Would you mind if I walked with you, Jennifer?" Luol asked, knowing Nikhil wouldn't let her leave alone. Not after what he'd said to the General. "I would very much like to see what you are talking about."
"I would love for you to see it, Luol. So we're all good?" Jen looked to Mac and Nikhil.
"Yes."
• • • • • •
"You will keep me informed of how she is doing?” Liron asked, leaning closer to the screen, intrigued by what Treyvon had told him about the luciferins. “If she can extend our food stores as she did for her species, it would be a gift from the Goddess."
"I will, although I find it implausible that the luciferins helped with that."
"Why?" Liron asked. "Do you not remember the stories told to us of how the Goddess created the luciferins to provide the Kaliszians with everything they would ever need?"
"Those tales are meant to give the young ones hope that one day there will be food enough for all."
"And you believe that to be a lie?"
"What I believe does not matter. What is, does. Because of my ancestor, we all suffer."
"Aadi is my ancestor as well, Treyvon."
"Distant."
"As he is to you. You need to stop carrying the weight for something you are not responsible for."
"I bear his name, Liron, not you."
"And you wear it with honor and integrity. Something he never did. Don't forget that, Treyvon. You've more than earned the title you hold. Look at where the beads in your hair choose to rest. They proclaim for all to see that you are worthy."
"They can be manipulated, Liron. You know this."
"Only if removed, cleaned, and replaced daily. When continually worn, their height will reflect the worthiness of the male wearing them."
"No one removes them daily, Liron."
"You would be surprised, Treyvon, on what some would do to appear to be more than they are. Keep me informed on what Jennifer achieves. If she can do what she claims, I may need to come to Pontus myself."
• • • • • •
"Gulzar?" Jen called out as she and Luol walked into the kitchen. "Are you here?"
"Back here, Jen," came the reply and Luol shot her a startled look.
"I asked him to call me Jen, Luol. Just as I asked you to. Gulzar has graciously agreed."
Gulzar came out of the cool room carrying the pan full of bones from the night before. "Are you still going to roast these?" he asked, then came to an abrupt halt when he saw Luol. "Healer Luol."
"Warrior Gulzar. What is it you are carrying there?"
"Bones," Gulzar told him then moved toward the stove. "Is this where you would like them, Jen?"
"That would be great, Gulzar, thank you. I just need to get the oven to the right temperature. Then we can get them roasting."
"I do not understand," Luol said, frowning at the bones. "Why are you going to… roast bones?"
"To make stock," Gulzar informed Luol as if it should be obvious.
"Stock?" Luol frowned and looked at Jen.
"It's a fortified liquid that we make back on Earth from roasting bones. You add it to other things to make them more flavorful."
Luol looked at her in disbelief. "That is possible? To use something inedible to make something else taste flavorful?"
"Of course. Although on Earth, I would usually add vegetables to make it even more flavorful. But that isn't possible here."
"Why not?" Luol asked.
"Because I don't have access to any of them. But I can still make the stock taste good," she quickly reassured him.
"How much do you need?" Luol questioned.
"Of what?" It was Jen's turn to frown.
"Vegetables. How much would you need to make this stock back on Earth?"
"Well…” Jen looked at the bones. "If I were roasting this amount of bones back on Earth in my restaurant, I would use no less than a dozen carrots, six onions, a bunch or several bulbs of celery, and a couple of heads of garlic. They would all impart an amazing flavor into the finished stock."
"I see. So any less than that wouldn't work?"
"Less would work and still give the stock more flavor. I would just need to reduce it further to intensify it."
"Really?" Luol questioned.
"Yes."
"Then I offer you my fresh food stores to make this stock," Luol said.
"What?" Jen looked at Luol in shock. "But why?"
"While I am not Kaliszian, I have spent my entire life in the service to them. They are a genuinely honorable species that have suffered greatly due to the Great Infection. If the use of what I have can somehow help them, then it is the least I can do."
"I would say that you are a more than worthy male indeed, Luol. Thank you." Smiling at him, Jen walked up to him and gave him a hug. "Wait. What do you mean you're not Kaliszian?" Leaning back, she gave him a questioning look. Luol looked Kaliszian to her. He had the same beads in his long, dark hair and glowing plum-colored eyes. He wasn't as thickly muscled as Treyvon, but she had attributed that to him being a Healer.
"I'm Kalbaughian."
"You are? You mean you are from the same planet that the guys are going to?"
"Yes, it is a beautiful planet that straddles both the Kaliszian and Tornian Empires. Your males will be very happy there."
"I hope so." She bit her lip slightly. "You do realize that this means your Last Meal will contain less, at least for a little while."
"Yes, I understand. Now I need to return to Medical."
"Alright. Thank you for walking me here." She stepped back.
"It was my pleasure… Jen. You will contact me if you feel any side effects from the treatments." Luol ran an assessing gaze over her.
"I will, Luol,” Jen smiled at Luol, happy he had finally used her shortened name. “My promise… vow."
"Watch her closely, Warrior Gulzar." Luol gave the other Warrior a steely look. "Do not let her overdo."
"I won't, Healer Luol."
• • • • • •
The rest of the day passed quickly for Jen. She couldn't believe how much more energy she had or how focused she was when she wasn't fighting constant pain. She'd gotten the bones roasting in the oven. Gulza
r had brought her Luol's allotment of fresh vegetables, and she'd been shocked at the amount. She'd chosen what she needed and had him return the rest to the dry room. On Earth, she would have chosen only the best because she knew there was ample. But here… here it was old school where you used what you had, even if it was less than desirable. Because it was all that you had, and there was no calling to have more delivered.
She'd added the vegetables part way through the roasting time; then Gulzar had insisted they have Midday Meal. They had walked out into the garden where they sat on the bench encircling the old tree.
"This is unbelievable." Gulzar looked from the tree to the areas Jen believed to be planting beds. "I've been here several moon cycles and never even knew this was here."
"I don't suppose you had any reason to be in this part of the base."
"No, I didn't. I don't know of anyone that comes here."
"Yet sometime in the distant past, many did."
"Why do you think that?”
"Look at the path, Gulzar. Even with all the sand and dirt covering it, it is still well defined. Something like that takes thousands upon thousands of footsteps. It takes years, maybe even centuries."
"I can agree with that." Gulzar took a bite from his food packet. "It just seems strange to me to think that at one time, this was a place that people flocked to."
"Flocked to? What do you mean?" Jen forced herself to take a bite from the food packet Gulzar had handed her. When she'd protested, he informed her that the General had arranged for her to have her own ration of food supplies and that this packet came from those supplies. It had mollified her.
"Pontus, at one time, was supposedly a beautiful place that those from every corner of the Known Universes would travel to see."
"Really?"
"So I have been told, but to see it now…" Gulzar's eyes traveled around the garden. "It seems hard to believe."
"I suppose it does," Jen agreed. "But I believe it."
Gulzar looked at her in disbelief. "Why?"
"Because of this." Putting her meal aside, she turned and placed a gentle hand on the ancient tree behind them. "It's here, Gulzar. A standing testament to what has been lost. It's still here. A silent sentinel to all that came before. Think of what this tree must have been like when it was alive. It must have been the most beautiful thing giving all that saw it so much pleasure."
"Pleasure?"
"To see it. To sit here with its leaves shading you from the noonday sun."
"Leaves…?"
"Yes, leaves." Jen gave him a confused look. "Have you never seen a tree with leaves on it?"
"Only on screen. I have never been outside of the Kaliszian Empire."
"I… I'm sorry, Gulzar. I didn't realize."
"You have seen such things?" Gulzar asked his gaze full of wonder. "Trees with leaves? Edible things growing out of the ground?"
"Yes," Jen murmured, realizing again just how much she had taken for granted during her life.
"Would you be willing to tell me about it?"
"I… I can try. I've never really had to think about it before. It just was. In the spring, things would go from looking something like this," she carefully ran her hand over the tree, "to having little green buds on them. It's a time of rebirth. Then those buds would grow, thanks to the sun and the rain, until they became leaves. In the summer, they would be green and give shade to the ground below, cooling it until autumn would arrive and the weather would turn colder, and the leaves would change colors. I always loved that time of year. It's when food is harvested, and the trees drop their leaves, preparing for winter."
"It sounds amazing."
"It is, but I don't think I ever really appreciated it,” she admitted. “Not until it was taken away."
"I wonder which is worse?" Gulzar asked quietly. "To know what you have lost or to not have known it at all."
"I don't know," Jen told him honestly. "I guess you can't miss what you never had, but if you know you don't have it...”
"Yes. Perhaps one day the Goddess can find it in her heart to forgive us."
"Forgive you. For what?"
"For what we allowed to happen. Did you not learn about the Great Infection when you used the educator? Terrible things were done."
"I did, and yes, terrible things did happen. But you allowed nothing to happen, Gulzar. Aadi did. Your ancestors punished him. That should have been enough to appease your Goddess."
"Yet it did not."
"Then your Goddess is a real bitch, and not that different than those that did such terrible things."
"How can you say that?!!" Gulzar looked at her in shock.
"Because it’s true. She’s punishing the innocent. If your Goddess were truly the loving and forgiving being, as you seem to think she is, then she would have realized that the sins of the father are not the sins of the child. You aren't responsible for what those that came before you did, and should not be punished for them. You can only be judged on what you did, and you had nothing to do with that."
Chapter Ten
"She is right." The Goddess looked at the scene unfolding below her to her mate, Emperor Raiden Nacy.
"She is not," he immediately denied. "You are a loving and forgiving female, my love. You are doing what you can to correct the harm you have caused, but ultimately it is up to them to learn from their mistakes."
"Mistakes! How is the abuse of two females by their manno a mistake?" The stars began to dim in the presence of the Goddess's rage.
"Calm, my love. You know I only meant in what happened after, not the actual abuse of Mia and Tia, themselves."
"They were so young, Raiden, so innocent.” Tears filled the Goddess’s eyes. “They were never the same after. How could Berto have done such a thing?"
"I do not know, my love. He was always such a fit and worthy male. Neither of us saw it coming. Maybe that's why it was such a betrayal."
"She," the Goddess looked back down to Pontus, "has lost so much, is so angry. And in so much pain. I don't know if she can do what we need her to do to correct what I have wrought here."
"We can only watch and see, my love. The rest is up to them."
"I'm not very good at that… only watching. I like to do." Giving her mate a teasing smile, she moved into the haven of his arms.
• • • • • •
"You want me to what?" Gryf frowned at Treyvon.
"I want you to find more suitable quarters for Chef Jennifer. Preferably near Squad Leader Nikhil and his Ashe."
"But, General, that area is reserved for officers."
"I realize that, but I feel Chef Jennifer would be more comfortable closer to one of her own."
"I…” A myriad of emotions crossed Gryf’s face before going blank, and he stiffly answered. “Yes, General."
"You have something you want to say, Gryf?" Treyvon knew his Second well.
"I… it's just that I don't understand why you are making such concessions for this female. I understand she has been severely injured while within our borders, but to move her into quarters that our males have worked and sacrificed greatly for. It makes no sense to me. Especially when a male would have to move quarters."
Treyvon sighed deeply, turning to look at the map on the far wall showing all the locations of where the Zaludians had been mining. "What better quarters are available?"
"The only quarters available are Tu-bo's, who needed to return home. They are closer to Nikhil’s quarters and the food depository."
"Make it so. When Tu-bo returns, new quarters will be found for him. And, Gryf, make sure the best available supplies are placed there. Pull them from my allotment."
"From yours, General?" Gryf didn’t try to hide his shock.
"Yes,” Treyvon told him. “Make it so, Commander."
"Yes, General."
• • • • • •
Gulzar frowned at the pot of simmering bones and vegetables. When they had returned from sharing their Midday Meal, they had worke
d on cleaning out and organizing the cool and cold rooms. Now they were as spotless as the dry room, and he felt a sense of pride when he looked at them.
"Confused?" Jen asked smiling slightly.
"Yes. It is nearly half gone."
"It's supposed to be that way."
"But it will serve fewer males this way."
"It’s not meant to be eaten as the meal, Gulzar, but as something to enhance it."
"So you will still remove the bones?"
"Yes. Actually," Jen stood on her toes to look into the pot then turned to gather what she needed. "It's ready. So if you will carefully pour it from that pot into this one, we can get it strained."
"Strained?"
"Yes, by running it through this." She showed him the strainer she'd been shocked to find in the dry room. "It will separate the liquid from the solids, and then we'll have the perfect stock. Careful now. Go slow. You don't want to burn yourself," she told him as he lifted the pot from the stove and began to pour.
"So the vegetables you put in here are to be thrown away?" he asked, shaking the last of the solids from the pot.
"On Earth, it would be, but not here. At least not the vegetables. I can mash or puree them into something else, and they will help thicken it. The bones, though, there's nothing else I can use them for."
"You've used them more than I or any other male would have."
"Thank you. So now we let that cool, and we store them overnight in the cool room."
"Why not just put it in there now?" Gulzar asked frowning at her.
"Because it will change the temperature of the room, warming it up. That's not good for the other items in there."
"Oh."
"So what are you making for Last Meal tonight?" she asked, taking the now empty pot from him. Carrying it to the sink, she began filling it with hot water.
"The same thing I make every night."
"Is that the only recipe you know?" she asked
"Recipe?" Gulzar gave her a confused look.
"Yes, recipe." As she spoke, she began scrubbing the pot. "It’s a written set of instructions on how to make something."
"I have never seen one of those before. I only know how to make one thing, and that's only because Tu-bo told me what to do before he left."
"Tu-bo?" Jen tried to remember if she had met that Warrior before.