A/N: *sigh* Once again, it seems to take me forever to make an update! My only wish is that I'd have time off so I can fully concentrate on writing, for just a day or two. That would be nice. ^_^

I like this chapter for a few reasons, it gets a bit philosophical, but also, I *hate* meetings!! It seems like we have nothing but endless ones at work lately, and I end up sitting there, thinking, man, I could be writing fanfiction right about now! At least I get to ponder over some plotlines during that time. ^_^

Anyway, hope you guys like. Read on!

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Legacy: Chapter Three

Arcadia

\Ar*ca"di*a\, n. [L. Arcadia, Gr. ?.]
1. A mountainous and picturesque district of Greece, in the heart of the Peloponnesus, whose people were distinguished for contentment and rural happiness.

2. Fig.: Any region or scene of simple pleasure and untroubled quiet.

February 12, 2036 (Earth Actual)

The five-year-old girl sat upright in her bed, rubbing her eyes as she looked out the window of her bedroom. Chin-length, golden waves of hair curled around her young face, as she gazed out into the darkness surrounding her parents' home.

She wasn't entirely sure what had woken her from sleep. She was almost certain that whatever had done so had most likely been a dream, and her eyelids were just getting heavy again, threatening to close over the large green eyes, when they suddenly snapped open.

There it was again.

It was a noise. It sounded as though it were very far away, faint...maybe it was coming from the eryn, the forest behind their house. She blinked as she looked out the window again at the eryn, shrouded in darkness. The 'trees', as Momma and Daddy had called them, looked nothing like what they were during the day. Their dark branches and twisted roots made them appear ominous and scary, particularly to a five-year-old. The sky yielded scant light, even with the dual moons high above, and beyond the modest home on the outskirts of the housing colony, the tall trees blocked out all moonlight. Nevertheless, her sharp eyes searched the dark as she sought to locate the source of the noise.

Her ears pricked as she heard the sound again. It sounded like....singing? Someone was chanting?

As curious as she was, she also felt the fear of the unknown. It couldn't be any people like herself, or Momma or Daddy or Roy making those noises--everyone she knew was asleep at this time of night.

She thought of the elder, Naneth, whom she and her brother had grown very close to in the last few years. She knew Naneth and her mate, Murkta, who frequently babysat her and her brother, were not human like she was. Maybe it was Naneth's people who were making these late-night noises? She tried hard to remember the name her parents had called Naneth. It was not a name the children used with the elder. The children called her "nana".

"Sent?" she asked herself, in a whispered, childlike voice. "Ant?" She knew several Zentran words, but this one for some reason, she could not remember this one.

She heard the soft, faint chanting again, and it was enough to finally rise her from her bed. Her eyes large and luminous, Bree Hunter slid barefoot to the floor and headed directly for her parents' room, clutching her soft stuffed plush that Nana had sewn for her for her last birthday.

A soft creak sounded from the hinges, as the door to Rick and Lisa's bedroom slowly opened to the hallway. Lisa sat up in bed, squinting as her eyes took a few moments to adjust to the darkness. Beside her, Rick stirred in his sleep.

"Bree? Honey, what is it?" she asked groggily, as her daughter's lithe pajama-clad body appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide.

Bree clutched her plushie, unable to vocalize her distress. She shifted her feet anxiously.

Lisa waved her over. "Come on, sweetheart, come sleep with us." She heard the quick pattering of bare feet against the wooden floor as her daughter scampered over to their bed, and climbed awkwardly onto it, to settle between herself and her husband.

Rick turned over to face them, mother and child, an amused expression on his face as he watched Bree instantly fall asleep. He met Lisa's eyes and chuckled. "She's out within seconds after she hits the pillow in here," he whispered, as he sat up on his arm, tousling his daughter's golden head.

"I know," Lisa whispered back, pulling the covers up around them. "This occurrence is becoming a habit these days." Her soft smile told Rick that she didn't really mind as much as her words made it sound.

"I wonder what keeps waking her up at night," Rick mused thoughtfully, before he stifled a yawn with the back of his fist and settled back down in bed.

"I wish I knew," she said softly, her voice dropping to a low whisper as she put an arm around the sleeping girl next to her, and linked her hand in her husband's. They locked eyes over the blonde head and smiled to each other, a moment of happiness shared between them, before both succumbed again to sleep.

***

The next morning was anything but peaceful.

"Rise and shine!" Roy yelled, as he ran into his parents' bedroom, and tackled Rick and Lisa before they had a chance to warn him that they were not alone.

Roy's hard elbow grazed his younger sister's head. "Owwwwww!" came a muffled yelp from underneath the covers.

Rick laughed good-naturedly as he wrestled with his eight-year-old son, but Lisa was frowning. "Roy, you should be careful, you could have hurt your sister." She rose and grabbed her robe by the bedside chair, wrapping it around her frame. "Bree, honey, you're not hurt, are you?"

Bree stuck out a lower lip and pouted. "No," she conceded, glaring daggers at her brother and still rubbing her head petulantly.

"'S not my fault that she's still such a baby, she has to sleep with Mommy and Daddy," he taunted, as Rick flipped him over and he yelped with delight. Bree stuck out an insolent tongue at him.

"Roy, that's enough. Don't tease her," Rick reprimanded, attempting to be stern, but he soon broke into a smile when Roy attempted to wrestle his arm. It seemed, at least to Lisa, as though he could never completely discipline either of his children--Roy or Breeana--with a straight face. She knew deep inside, with a stab of despair, that she was the real disciplinarian of the Hunter household.

"Breeana, come on, let's go make breakfast, sweetheart." She took the girl's hand and helped her down from the bed. "Go get your slippers."

"Do you hafta work today, Momma?" Bree asked, sliding off the bed so her feet touched the cool wood floor.

"No, baby. Momma has the day off. It's Daddy's turn to go to meetings today," she grinned, glancing over at her husband. "So today we'll go for a walk, and read some stories, and make some treats, and do lots of fun stuff."

"Sounds fun," Rick said wistfully, pulling himself out of bed and winking at his wife, before he was tackled by Roy.

"I wanna go to Drake's house!" Roy yelled between sputtering laughter, the blood rushing to his dark-haired-head as Rick held him, standing by the bed, upside down by the legs.

"Rick, stop it already, he's turning purple," Lisa admonished lightly, as she left the room with Breeana.

Rick turned his son right-side up again, setting him down on the bed. "Nah, it's good for him. Makes him stronger, right, Roy? Are you stronger now?" Roy, still smiling as the blood drained from his head, nodded dizzily at his father. "C'mon, you're gonna have to say it out loud, 'cause Mom doesn't believe you."

"STRONGER!" Roy yelled, towards Lisa and her daughter's departed direction.

"Atta boy. You be good today while I'm gone, and don't give your Mom too hard of a time, okay, tough guy?" Rick retrieved his military attire from his closet, placing it on the unmade bed near where Roy sat. "Do all of your lessons like she tells you, and try not to give your sister too much grief, either." He folded his hands on his hips as he observed Roy's dutiful nod. "When I come home, if it's still light enough outside, we'll try out the new flyer." His own grin returned full force as he saw his son's eyes light up.

"Can Drake come too?" Roy asked excitedly.

"You betcha."

***

"Bye, Dad!" Roy called out to his father, and Rick waved from the door as he departed.

"Bye, Daddy," Breeana called distractedly, standing on a kitchen stool and mixing batter for what would become 'cakes', namely her version of pancakes that her mother had taught her to make.

Lisa went to the front window, where she could observe Rick's departure, and she watched him don his riding helmet before he sat astride the seat of his cyclone, on loan from Jack and Karen Baker. It was a beautiful blue model, sleek in design and faster than any Earth bike she'd ever seen. She flinched inwardly as he started the engine, the sound loud in the dirt path in front of their home.

She shook her head. "Can't understand why he likes those things," she mumbled to herself, as Rick revved the motor, throwing back one last look and wave at his family inside the partially tree-hidden house. Roy waved excitedly from the window, mesmerized by his Dad's awesome ride. "I just hope he drives at a safe speed."

"He promised to take me with him sometime on a ride," Roy boasted.

"Not as long as I'm breathing," Lisa warned, and shooed her daredevil son away from the window to begin his lessons.

***

Rick sped away from his family's home on his cyclone, heading along the dirt path that would lead to the main road towards the SDF-3, where the biweekly conferences met. He traveled briefly along a tree-lined area, before the trees fell away and wide open space engulfed him, mountains to his right and a valley to his left. He let his eyes wander briefly from the road to the valley below, and again marveled to himself. The morning colors in the rays of Th'ala's sun were a kaleidoscope of oranges, greens, pinks and yellows. Pristine and untouched by any human being, Zant, or any other creature except the native ones, the landscape was unearthly beautiful and dream-like. Even after four years of being shipwrecked, he could not believe their fortune to have landed in such a wondrous place.

In the distance he could see the hulking outline of the stationary battleship, comfortably at rest after four years of disuse. It looked as though the ship had been making itself at home, nestling itself in the surrounding hills and greenery; when in fact the foliage had simply grown around it with the passage of time.

Within minutes he had arrived at the grounds of the battlefortress, and a uniformed guard at the gated entrance saluted him and waved him on in, his laser rifle shouldered. Even though there were no immediate threats to their small colony, the SDF-3 crew liked to maintain a semblance of military order and upkeep. Beyond safety precautions, it reminded them that they were still soldiers.

Rick parked the bike in the yard of the compound, hoisting himself off and straightening his uniform. He blew on his cold hands as he entered the hangar that served as the main entrance to the battlefortress, warming them in the crisp air. Should have worn gloves today...I still haven't gotten the hang of predicting this Th'alian weather, he noted ruefully.

Officers in uniform saluted him as he walked briskly past, but Rick was less formal. "Good morning, guys," he said amiably, grinning. The soldiers returned his grin.

"Good morning, Major General sir."

He grabbed a cup of steaming coffee from an aide near the meeting room, hastily assembling the creamer and sugar to his satisfaction, and barely slid into the conference room down the hallway corridor as the meeting was starting.

Emil Lang eyed him with a sideways half-hidden grin. "Nice of you to make it here today, General Hunter," he offered haughtily in his clipped Germanic accent.

Rick smiled as he took his seat. "I do believe I'm on time, Lang," he reminded the scientist jovially, "and I even had time for my morning dose." He lifted his cup to show him.

Lang smiled. "I was beginning to think you were still getting used to the thirty-five hour day schedule," he teased. Th'ala rotated on its axis much more slowly than Earth, Lang calculated, because of its relative size and distance from its sun. As a result, the days were thirty-five hours long instead of twenty-four, resulting in approximately twenty-three hours of nonstop daylight. It had taken the SDFers approximately two years and many midday naps before they had been able to adjust, particularly the elder crewmembers. The children had seemed to acclimate almost instantaneously.

"Nope. But it sure does give new meaning to the words 'I wish there were more than twenty-four hours in the day'," Rick quipped, and the table laughed at his words. He looked around at the group as he sipped his coffee. The freeze-dried stuff was still bitter to his taste, but coffee was coffee, and in this new land he was glad to have a few luxuries of their old world. "Okay. What's on the agenda today?"

Lang shuffled papers in front of him. "First order of business....the power grid. The new magnetic transformers work much better than the previous ones did. We now have unlimited capacity." A murmur of approval went up around the table.

"Unlimited energy?" Rick asked, unbelieving. "That's incredible!"

Lang shot him a sideways glance. "I always told you, General, I don't work well with deadlines. But give me a bit of time, and I can make miracles happen." He winked to emphasize his point and Rick laughed. It was obvious that whatever tensions had been between the two men years ago aboard the starship were long forgotten in the new settlement. Lang had proven many times over just how valuable he was to the entire crew.

"By harnessing the magnetic energy of the planet via these conductors, we will not have to worry about our energy supply on this planet ever again." Lang looked exceptionally pleased with himself, but he was also reflecting happily on the amazing advancements of his team.

Max Sterling cupped his chin in his hands in wonderment. "How is it that no one on Earth thought to think of this answer for an energy crisis?" he asked.

Colonel Pierce spoke up to answer him. "Maybe they were distracted all this time with all the alien invasions going on." Pierce smirked at Sterling. "That can tend to occupy one's attention, you know."

Max shrugged. "It's never stopped us before."

"Anyway," Lang interrupted, shuffling papers. "The issue is not 'why did we not think of it before', ladies and gentlemen; the issue is finished. It is done." Rick smiled behind his coffee cup as Lang brought the room to order. "Next order of business. Lt. Colonel Crawford is going to update you on the status of the construction of the educational system."

Rick's smile faded. It's gonna be a long meeting.

***

Hours later, Bree looked out the plane glass window at the front of the Hunter home, watching forlornly as the sky began to darken, and heavy clouds of bluish-gray began forming in the atmosphere above.

"Momma, it looks like it's getting dark-uh," she reported as she stood on a chair to get a better view.

Lisa didn't look up from the book she was reading with Roy, A Wrinkle in Time. "Yes, honey, it does," she noted with some concern in her voice. "It might rain. Looks like we'll have to postpone our walk until later."

"But I like the rosse," Bree complained, still watching through the window.

This time Lisa looked up. "What?" she asked, not sure if she heard correctly.

"Nana calls 'rain' rosse," the little girl explained proudly.

Lisa blinked. "Is that so?" She looked down at Roy next to her, who nodded. Amused, Lisa realized I'd better learn the language or risk getting left behind by my own offspring.

She looked out the window now, following her daughter's eyes, and gazed outside at the darkening sky.

It seems so unreal sometimes, being here, like being in a dream, she thought. Who would have ever guessed that we would be marooned here, for so long...and yet look how comfortable we've grown.

She looked around her at the comfortable home that they had built and furnished, and how much they had really begun to think of it as their family abode in the last few years, and not just as a temporary residence. She and Rick had decorated their home with pictures from the SDF-3, as well as drawings their children had made, and decor they had fashioned from the surroundings of Th'ala. They had modern comforts, such as machines that cleaned utensils and dishes, and refrigeration, and heat and electricity thanks to Lang and his experiments with magnetic power grids; but the home had a very rustic, comfortable feel to it as well, with floors that had been made of a solid sturdy wood, and warm blankets and quilts of various materials that she had sewn herself, in an effort to keep up with the clothing demands of her husband and children.

Beyond that, the home was beginning to have precious memories associated with it. Breeana had said her first few words here, taken her first baby steps on her own without any help...Roy had already lost six of his baby teeth...they were continuing to grow day by day and the progress they made intellectually---under the watchful eyes of her own and Rick's tutelage---was astounding. Lisa knew without any bias that her children were exceptionally smart.

She noticed other things about her children, as well...in particular, how after a year of being marooned on the planet, the nighttime vision of both of her children seemed to be enhanced tenfold, and continued to increase day by day. She had sworn one night when Breeana and Roy had been awakened by noises, that in the dark she had thought she'd seen their eyes glowing....

"Mom, don't forget where you left off," Roy reminded her, snapping her attention back to the present and back to the story she'd been reading to him.

She smiled. "Right. Sorry." She went back to the chapter she'd been reading, spinning the story about traveling to mysterious alien planets.

Bree continued to watch outside as it began to rain. She stared without blinking, unseen by her mother, for several minutes.

***

Rick looked down at his wristwatch. Thirteen hundred. Still several hours to go. The meeting was dragging on forever, he felt, and it seemed as though there was more debate rather than progressive discussion.

"But I really think that the idea of such a 'university' would create dissatisfaction, especially when it becomes selective about its chosen students," Crawford was saying to the group. "Some of them may not be admitted because of the scores or marks they receive aren't good enough. Do we want to be turning people away in a limited colony like we have here? It will only breed discontent."

"The bottom line is, Colonel, we need to begin training our young people now for advanced roles in the scientific disciplines," Lang argued, "and we have to make sure their education is rigorous and demanding; if we lessen the requirements for such fields, we'll be selling ourselves short in the long run in terms of advancements." He put his palm firmly on the table for emphasis. "We can't sacrifice scientific merit for egos!"

Crawford was shaking his head vehemently. "I can't believe you would try to assert such an elitist notion such as that! We are all we have here on this remote planet, besides those kooky animals---each other!" Rick visibly winced at the reference to the etto zants. "We can't afford to be creating dissent among ourselves!"

Max stood. "All right, that's enough, these arguments are getting too heated and we're not accomplishing our meeting objectives that way..."

He was cut off by Crawford continuing his rant at Lang. "I think this is all a scheme of yours to sequester certain youths so that you can start building your super scientist regime, or whatever!" He spat the words with distaste. "You and your notion of perfect intelligence!"

"Which you would appropriately know nothing about," Lang huffed, folding his arms. Crawford turned a shade of pink and looked as though he were about to self-implode.

"Gentlemen," Max warned, with the authoritative tone in his voice, but inwardly he was rolling his eyes. Man, this is worse than having to discipline Drake all day, he thought. At least my seven-year-old half-Zentran son has learned not to resort to petty insults!

Rick rubbed the bridge of his nose between his eyes, and finally stood. "I'm going to take a five minute break," he mumbled, heading for the door.

He turned back to look at the room when he heard it fall eerily silent, and found all of the officers watching him intently, save for Max, who was nodding at him...go...run while you can.

Rick managed a small half-grin and pointed at his forehead. "Ibuprofen. I have a headache." He backed slowly out of the room, the officers keeping their eyes on him as he left, but as soon as he'd exited through the sliding door and he heard it click closed behind him, he could hear the voices raised in heated argument again. Oh brother...someone save me from this, he thought dejectedly.

He made his way over to a water cooler, where he poured himself a cup and leaned his back against the wall for support. He tilted his head back against the cool tile.

Normally he would have jumped right into arguments such as this one---usually siding with the person on his team whose logic made the most sense to him---but right now he couldn't concentrate on it, couldn't let his mind be cluttered with the notions of ego and elitism and dissent....they were too much to think about. Not here, not now, when everything around them was beautiful, welcoming, fresh and new---and had been from the very day they had landed here. But it was as if some of the crew didn't see it, didn't acknowledge the beauty and peace in front of their eyes....as if they couldn't see it, right under their noses.

We take everything for granted, he thought with irony. Look what happened when the SDF-1, an alien starship, landed on our planet---we were all in the midst of feuding with ourselves, not even thinking of what dangers lay beyond Earth in store for us. Even now, we humans living here, in a virtual paradise, have trouble letting go of petty arguments. We can't resist taking that proverbial bite of apple and casting ourselves out of Eden.

He looked out an adjacent window at the skies, which even darkening with rain made the landscape haunting and ethereal. Even when it rains it's still beautiful here, he thought again. Maybe it's the air here or something....or I'm coming down with a fever....but I haven't seen a single moment living on Th'ala so far that hasn't been short of magical.

As he was thinking he formulated a plan in his weary head, one that brought life back to his eyes and traveled down his face to finally end in a smile.

He reached for his cellular phone, a boyish grin playing on his lips.

***

Lisa was just finished with her children's lunches, clearing the used dishes from the table, when the cellular chirped out its ring. Her hands in the sink, Lisa called to Roy, "Honey, can you get that for me?"

She heard the beep of the receiver, and her son's greeting. "Hunter residence." Lisa listened in as she finished rinsing the dishes, catching Roy's affirmative staccatos. "Uh huh. Uh huh. Yep. Fine. Uh huh." Finally there was a pause. "Can Drake come out to play today?"

Lisa dried her hands, realizing it was Miriya on the line. She strolled downstairs to where Roy was with the phone, and offered to take it from him, smiling. "Maybe Drake can come over later."

Roy was shaking his head and shrugged. "It sounds like I'm going over there." He handed the phone to his mother.

"Hi, Miriya," Lisa smiled into the phone. "So you'd rather have Roy come over there?"

"Actually, I need both of your kids to come over here today," Miriya said, her voice neutral. "There's been a change in meetings I've been told, and Rick needs you to come down and help him at Command."

Lisa was instantly alert. "Is anything wrong?" She paused. "Why didn't Rick call me directly?"

"His cellular isn't working. He had Max call me to tell you and to bring Roy and Bree over here so I could watch them for you."

That made a certain degree of sense to her, and she nodded to herself, sighing, resigned to going into work. The playtime she had in mind with the children would have to wait until another day, she realized grudgingly.

"I'll bring them over as soon as I'm dressed then," she spoke into the receiver, but she was cut off short.

"I'm afraid you should bring them over before then," Miriya said quickly. "Before the weather gets any worse, that is. It's scheduled to storm today."

"It is?" Lisa looked out the window. "Are you sure? It looks like it's just going to be light ra---"

"Admiral." Miriya's tone was authoritative, and Lisa was a bit taken aback. "You should bring them over right away. Whatever preparation you have to do for work can wait."

Lisa was stunned into relative silence by Miriya's tone, and managed a tepid response. "I'll...bring them over in five minutes, then." She blinked, non-comprehending.

"See you then." Miriya uncharacteristically clicked off suddenly.

Lisa held the phone away from her ear and looked at it curiously.

She was almost done pulling fresh play-clothes over Bree's head, when she heard Roy go running past his sister's room, headed for the door.

"Roy!" Lisa shouted after him, "Don't forget your raincoat!"

"Aww, Mom!" He groaned and Lisa could hear him shuffling through the closet. "Hurry up! I wanna go to Drake's house!!"

"Patience, Mister," Lisa warned, and she could feel her stress level beginning to rise as she thought of how the rest of her day was going to play out. Meetings, meetings, and more meetings...and no more fun time with her children, or husband, or friends. She only hoped the meetings wouldn't last as long as they normally did. They seemed endless sometimes.

She finally had Bree dressed appropriately and ready to go, and she took her kids out to the military-issued jeep that was their 'family car' of sorts. The rain outside was a gentle mist, but nevertheless the traction that the jeep gave in all conditions was something she wouldn't have dared trade for a luxury car.

Within minutes she'd reached the Sterling home, nestled against the woods of the other side of the forest from their own house. Roy hopped out and ran to the door, as Lisa helped Bree out of the car and up to the front of the house.

Miriya was at the door, a strange look on her face. Lisa tried to read her expression, covering her own face from the misting rain. "Well...here they are," she said tentatively, wondering if her friend was in a bad mood for a particular reason, and treading lightly as a result. "Thanks for watching them...I'm going to head back and start getting ready---"

"Won't you come in for a minute?" Miriya seemed to have schooled her face neutrally, and she waved Lisa in. "I have some...some snacks I wasn't sure if it was okay for your kids to eat, and I wanted to show them to you beforehand."

Lisa hesitated. This was kind of strange. "Um...Miriya, I trust your judgement. I don't think you'd feed them anything particularly bad." She turned back towards her car. "I really have to get going, I don't want to make them wait at Command for me---"

"Just...for a minute?" Now Miriya looked as though she were pleading, and suddenly a thought occurred to Lisa...Maybe she wants to talk...maybe she and Max are fighting and she wants to confide in me about it, she thought. It made sense---Miriya was still very formal where relationships were concerned, and perhaps she didn't know how to approach Lisa to talk about the subject....it was surely very uncomfortable to discuss such a thing, being a proud Zentraedi...then again, wouldn't it be natural for a Zentran to have a domestic dispute, given their temperment? Lisa was confusing herself with overanalysis.

"All right," Lisa conceded, and walked up the steps into the house, Miriya looking relieved that she had done so.

"Miriya," she said, once inside the house, "what's this about? Is anything wrong? You're acting very strangely..."

Miriya ducked her head and hid her face---something she never did. "Nothing's wrong, Lisa, really...I'm fine." She moved off to the kitchen to do something, but Lisa, swept up in compassion, caught her arm.

"No, you're not," Lisa said more firmly, trying to make the Zentraedi woman look at her. "Please...you may not feel comfortable talking about it at first...but I'm your friend, and I'll listen to whatever you have to say." Lisa tried to smile. "You would do the same for me."

"But you'll be late for your meeting," Miriya argued, but Lisa waved it off.

"Those stuffed coats. They just want to sit there and argue for hours anyway. I don't care if I'm late." She smiled again at Miriya, taking her hand. "Your well-being as a friend is more important to me than a bunch of boring meetings."

A genuine smile came to Miriya's face. "Thank you, Lisa."

"Can you tell me what's bothering you?" Lisa asked, as she heard the kids running in the playroom, presumably overjoyed that they got to play with Drake's toys, which were understandably more destructive in nature than the toys at the Hunter household.

Miriya looked undecided, her eyes shifting, until Lisa spoke up again. "Did you have a fight or disagreement with Max?"

Miriya's face seemed to light up in some sort of recognition upon hearing Lisa's words. "Yes...yes, we had a fight." She looked sorrowfully at Lisa. "It was very bad."

Lisa softened. "Oh Miriya, I'm so sorry," she said consolingly. "What was it about?" She braced herself to listen to the sordid details.

Miriya looked as though she were steeling herself also, although not for something that would sound unpleasant. She looked confused. "Um...about...." She scoped out her immediate vicinity. "It was about..."

She picked up an object on the counter behind her and showed it to Lisa. "This," she said, with some determination.

Lisa's face lost its concerned expression and registered bewilderment. "A wooden spoon?"

"Yes," Miriya said, her face again becoming forlorn. "Max told me not to use it to cook with, but I went ahead and used it anyway....he got very angry." Miriya shook her head. "I've never seen him so angry."

Something didn't sit right with Lisa. She eyed Miriya and the spoon skeptically now, raising one eyebrow. It didn't sound like Max to get so upset over such a ridiculous thing. Compared to Rick, Max's temper was almost non-existent, so she'd heard. "Really?" she asked, her voice betraying a hint of her disbelief.

Miriya either didn't notice her expression, or pretended not to notice. She nodded. "I was so hoping he'd get over his anger, but he hasn't. I don't know what to do."

"Over a spoon," Lisa reiterated, her raised eyebrow still lifted.

Miriya nodded again, but there was a strange light dancing in her eyes. Lisa held her gaze longer, and saw what she thought was a glimmer of something in the Zentraedi's violet eyes.

Suddenly the phone rang, and Miriya rushed to answer it, grateful for the distraction. "Miriya here." She listened for a brief few seconds, then said, "Oh yes, Rick, I'll tell her for you. She's here with me right now." Lisa made a halfhearted grab for the phone, realizing it was her husband on the other line, but Miriya dodged her effectively. "Yes, I'll be happy to pass along the message. Is there anything else you'd like me to tell her?"

"Miriya!" Lisa hissed, trying again to grab for the phone, but the warrior's reflexes were too quick for her.

"Okay, thanks again for calling, General." Miriya clicked off the phone, just as Lisa finally grasped it.

Lisa put the dead receiver up to her ear frantically. "Hello? Rick?!? Hello?!?" Realizing it was dead, she put it down and glared at her friend, unknowingly almost having caught a glimpse of a concealed grin.

"Miriya, do you mind telling me what this is all about now? Why wouldn't you let me talk to Rick?"

"He just called to give you a message, that you'd better head home and pick up the files on the Gloval Base construction project," Miriya said, her expression neutral once more. "He said to hurry, that some of the board members were getting quite restless."

Lisa was frustrated now, and her patience was wearing thin. "But what about your 'argument' with Max?!?" she demanded. "I thought you wanted to talk about it!"

"And we did," Miriya retorted, smiling. "Thank you so much for listening, Lisa. I really appreciate it," she said, as she walked the surprised Admiral to the door.

"Don't worry about pick-up times for the kids---they can even stay over tonight if your meetings run late. Don't forget to stop at home and pick up those files. And don't worry...everything will be all right. Okay. Byeeeee!" Miriya shooed her out the door and shut it behind her.

Stunned, Lisa could only look at the closed door and watch as drops of rain began to catch in her loose-flowing hair.

She scowled.

I feel like I just got played for the fool or something, she thought. Hopefully I can sort this out with her later. But for now...have to run. She headed back down the steps and out to her jeep.

***

The sky was already growing darker as the jeep pulled up quickly into the driveway of her home, the tires splashing puddles where the rain was collecting in their driveway. She hurried out of the car, covering her forehead with her hand to keep the misting rain out of her eyes, and ran for the door.

That's funny...I thought I left some lights on. She fumbled for a switch near the wall, and nearly slipped on a small puddle of water near the door. What the---

Before she could react, someone in the darkened living room lit a match, and lit three large candles, illuminating a familiar figure.

The figure turned to speak to her. "Welcome home." He was dripping wet, but his voice and posture unmistakable.

"Rick!" she whispered. He lit more candles nearby, and now she could see his face.

"In the flesh," he added, his eyes glinting in the candlelight.

"I didn't even see your cyclone outside, where---"

"It's parked out back," he answered easily, lighting more candles as he spoke.

"But---but what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at Command, you just called Miriya and told her to---" Lisa paused, her brain finally clicking on. "---told her to tell me to---" She finally put her arms down after her futile gestures, and watched, now amused, as her rain-soaked husband approached her in the candlelight.

"There is no 'special meeting', is there?" she asked now, with a lopsided smile.

"Well," he said softly, having reached her side and gently removing her raincoat from her shoulders, slowly kissing her neck as he did so. "I wouldn't say that."

Lisa chuckled, a low, sultry laugh that made his spine tingle. "But General Hunter, I'm not even dressed for the part." She had on a long woolen skirt and knitted top, and had been planning on changing to her military uniform before she was to head to work.

Rick reached behind her to a side table, where she saw he'd hidden a bottle of iced champagne. She gasped in surprise, then smiled knowingly as he took the bottle and filled two flutes to the rim. He handed her one of the flutes, and took her free hand in his own.

"I think what you've got on is just fine," he purred, leading her away from the entryway and into the living room, surrounded by candles. "Besides, you won't have it on the entire time, anyway," he added with a lecherous grin. He pulled her into the circle of candles, and now Lisa could see that he'd made a nest in the middle of the living area of comforters and pillows, soft down blankets, and arranged it so that they could have a perfect view of the rain coming down over the valley through their large living room window, faced the opposite direction from the forest behind the house.

A love nest, Lisa thought, her heart warming as she looked at it, and looked back up at her husband. His eyes were a shimmering color of cobalt blue in the dim light.

"The kids are gone for the rest of the day and the night and possibly even tomorrow," he began, and Lisa laughed in slight protest. "Now, now---Miriya said she was more than happy to have them stay, I think she misses having more kids around anyway." He pulled her down onto the comforter with him, after she shed her rain boots, and placed his champagne glass aside for the moment. "We have all the food we need for the next 24 hours without having to lift a finger to cook, or clean. That means," he said, looking into her eyes, "that you and I have all of that time to ourselves, starting now." He put his arms around her and settled her back against the comforter, surrounding her in his embrace, grinning. "I plan on thoroughly enjoying you for as long as I can, and then repeating the process all over again."

Lisa smoothed a lock of his damp, dark hair aside from his eyes, and smiled up into his face. "That's going to be an awfully long time, General." She regained her composure long enough to ask, "May I ask what brought this on, today?"

He leaned in to kiss her, his lips moving gently at first against hers, then more insistent, making her gasp as he deepened the kiss and pressed the full length of his body against hers.

Finally he pulled away long enough to gaze into her eyes again soulfully, and whispered, "I guess I just missed my wife."

***

"U'kome....come on, kids, we're going out to the forest to meet Nana," Miriya sang out, and the brood of children responded instantly to the softened but ever-present authoritative edge to her voice. She made sure Bree, Roy, and Drake had on raincoats and boots, and they headed outside towards the eryn.

Roy and Drake were ecstatic to be in each other's company again, laughing and racing each other outside to see who could be the fastest. Bree instinctively took Miriya's hand in her mittened one, carefully taking the wet steps one at a time as her mother had taught her.

"Breeana, do you want me to carry you?" Miriya offered, but the little girl shook her head, blonde wisps peeking out from underneath her raincoat hood.

"No, I can walk by myself," she asserted, and Miriya smiled.

They made their way into the forest, the sky momentarily cut off by the tall trees as they plodded on.

"Miwiya, did you and Max get in a fight?" Bree asked, looking up at her guardian.

Miriya's face registered uncharacteristic shock. "U'dana?" she asked, before she smiled and said, "were you listening to my conversation with your Momma?"

"Sa," Bree nodded.

The Zentraedi warrior chuckled to herself. "No, Bree, I did not have a fight with Max. I told your Momma a lie to distract her."

"What's a lie?" She had heard her parents speak the word before, but didn't know its meaning.

"A lie is when you say one thing but you really mean something completely different," Miriya explained, as they trudged on further through the forest floor. She stopped as they reached a clearing. "A lie is actually a betrayal....but the one you end up betraying is yourself." She looked at the girl in the red slicked raincoat. "Remember that, gal'hiin," she said more gently, smiling. Bree nodded obediently.

They looked on ahead to the clearing, where the trees parted to allow the sky to come in. The light and misting rain swirled together to form a scene that, in Miriya's mind, was resplendent in beauty. Nothing she had ever seen on any world before touched her the way this planet did.

Jurruuqi, she thought. [1]

Up ahead, the shelters where Naneth's people lived could be seen outlined against the trees. Naneth herself came forward out of the shadows, her keen sense of hearing having picked up the footfalls of her human and Zentraedi friends.

"Par Dessu," she called, to the group, and Miriya waved.

The children lurched forward in excitement and ran to her, screaming her name. "Nana!"

Naneth was all smiles for the children, embracing them in her long furry arms as they hugged her. Her dark brown eyes shone with love. "Miicrone jhiri!" My little ones!

Murkta, Naneth's mate, also stepped forward from the shadows. "Zanto," he growled in his gravelly voice to the group, and Miriya greeted him, taking his clawed hand affectionately in hers.

They walked along ahead as a group to the main area of the etto zants' sheltered homes, tucked away in the forest. Miriya let Bree go on ahead with the two boys. She tried her best to keep up with them, but fell short when they began to run, and ultimately fell on her knees on the forest floor. She cried out in her frustration.

Roy ran on ahead, but Drake, hearing her cry, turned back to help the blonde girl to her feet. Miriya and the Zants watched in fascination.

"It is amazing," Naneth began in her Zentran dialect, "to be able to watch them as younglings; to see them so small and helpless," she confessed to Miriya and her mate.

"It is truly wonderful to be able to do so," Murkta agreed. "It is a blessing from beyond."

"They may be small, but they are not helpless," Miriya said with slight amusement, watching Drake brush Bree's raincoat of leaves and dirt, and after having made sure she was standing, run back to rejoin Roy, Bree looking on worshipfully after him. Miriya couldn't help the smile that came to her face at the sight of Bree's reaction. Children are so innocent.

"We hope that what you say will be proven with time," Murkta said to her pointedly. "They will need training."

"I've already decided how it shall be done, do not worry," Miriya asserted. "For him, at least. She will need to find the path on her own."

"And how do you know she will find it on her own?" Murkta was asking.

Miriya looked on at the children and smiled mysteriously. "Quau'ni."

***

[2]

Rick sighed and smiled.

Lisa was draped over him, her long chestnut locks fanning over her face, his chest, and his arms, which held her loosely. One hand stroked her back lazily in time to their combined breaths and heartbeats.

He loved it when she was like this...peaceful and serene, no longer the stern Admiral or disciplining parent....it was as though this was the side of her only shown to him, and him alone. Her eyes were soft and dreamlike, her whispered words to him gentle and soothing. They talked in whispers to each other, pausing to listen to the sounds of the light rain and wind on their home, safe inside their nest of candlelight and blankets.

She had a similar effect on him when she was like this, so that in these moments he felt as though he were part of her, and they were whole, complete, as if they melted into each other in a perfect blending of oneness.

He felt content. He knew happiness. It was lying in his embrace, with tangled wisps of long brunette hair framing her face, gazing at him with sultry emerald eyes.

Falling into sleep, half-aware, he felt himself saying it. "...happy."

A movement, her fragrant skin against his lips. "Mmm?" she whispered.

He managed to form words despite being nearly lost to sleep. "...happy here....with you." His hand around her back buried itself again in her luxurious hair.

She stirred against him. "Mmmm...thought we'd be up...all night," she whispered teasingly, her arms curling around him again.

Her words drew him briefly into awareness. "Oh just wait," he whispered softly, "...we will be....but have to rest first, 'm an old man, you know..." Her quiet laughter made him chuckle.

"If you're an old man, what does that make me," she whispered chidingly, knowing what he was going to say, and smiling to herself.

"Cradle robber."

After a few more minutes of chuckling, they finally decided they didn't need to sleep anymore.

***

Bree sang hesitantly.

[3]

O fah meena diya
Ts'i kaatchdu te o ver diyaa...
Feyno mo me ti dred, de modee
Di un bre faan ni tei kun....

She shook her head stubbornly...that wasn't right. She tried again in her baby voice:

O fah meena diya
Ts'i kaaytu te o ver deeya...
Uzi ka flan di me veeya grou
Tu ven tree cry ea mo, dee dren no.

Roy looked over at his sister, who was on Nana's lap, singing softly as Nana prompted her. He turned to Miriya. "Why do you guys make her sing all the time? She doesn't have a good voice, you know." Miriya smirked; Roy seemed a bit jealous of the attention Nana lavished on Bree.

"Someday she will," she told Roy. "And these are special songs---Zentraedi songs."

Drake listened in quietly from where he played next to Roy.

"I thought the Zentraedi just liked to fight all the time, and were afraid of songs," Roy stated, remembering his parents telling him about the great war.

Miriya smiled again. "Mostly, that's the case. I used to feel that way, also. But that's not the way things were a long time ago, for the Zentraedi race." She glanced thoughtfully at Drake, whom she knew was absorbing this.

"Why are you teaching them to Bree then and not Drake? He's the Zentraedi," Roy pointed out, and Miriya laughed.

"Because Drake already knows the songs," she said, glancing again at her son, who met her eyes briefly before he got up and wandered off to another area of the clearing. Two pre-adolescent Zants got up to follow him, as was standard practice whenever the young Zentran was in their camp.

What I won't tell you, Roy Hunter, Miriya thought with amusement, is that I only taught Bree one line of the song.

To be continued! ^_^

Thanks so much for being so patient, those of you who have commented and reviewed my fic. I hesitate to tell you that I'll have the next chapter up "in a jiffy", because I don't want to keep breaking my promises. It's very frustrating for me also not to be able to write when I want to.

The next chapter will again skip ahead, this time five years. I have to allow a certain amount of time to pass before I can really get into the action/adventure of the series! ^_^ Hope you can all bear with me!

[1] Jurruuqi - a name for a mythical realm some Zentraedi believe they go to upon death (similar to the Viking legend of Valhalla) [definition taken from RPG data]

I found this surfing the web and instantly took a liking to the idea. I've decided to change it a bit to fit my Zentraedi Mythology that I'm inventing along the way, but I found it interesting that someone almost kinda beat me to the punch! ^_^

[2] "Bells For Her"- Chikyuu Shojou Arjuna Soundtrack 1

[3] "Kuuki to Hoshi" - Chikyuu Shojou Arjuna Soundtrack 1

Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll try to update as soon as I humanly can! ^_~

~Misora