Riding the Wind Like a Bell
Thursday, 20 May 2523
Åberg Shipyard and Repairs
Malmo, Aesir
2200hrs, local time
We'd kissed dirt in Malmo after getting the come-ahead from the Åbergs. Landing was a bit tricky. The air over the city was crowded not so much with ships as with fireworks—four days after the Independent victory at Paquin, Aesir was still celebrating. The Åbergs came out to meet us on the tarmac and when they heard we were looking to fuel up and leave, they wouldn't hear of it. Nothing would satisfy them save whisking us away to join the festivities. Such were Jake's people and I was grateful for it. We were all still reeling over our loss and our narrow escape. A little rowdy and a lot of alcohol would do everyone some good. To a man, the Åbergs took us battered souls in and proceeded to make merry.
As usually happened at gatherings like this, people quickly paired off according to interests and temperament. Mother attached herself to Mama Åberg and I had no doubt the two would compare notes on the joys and tribulations of being matriarchs over the herds of cats that were us. Father found kindred spirits among some of the older Åberg uncles and I saw him off to one side in animated—and not quite sober—conversation. From the hand gestures I gathered it had something to do with construction of a sounding box, but I couldn't be sure without inquiring and I was loath to intrude. Svetlana had gravitated toward the brood of Åberg youngsters. Her children adjusted to the situation as only children could—accepting the new faces as new friends and they were playing right along while the mothers and aunts watched and chatted. Dmitri I'd already seen drinking heavily with the rest of the Åbergs and as I made my way through the press of people I wondered when his wicked side would come out under the alcohol and the barbed comments would fly. He wasn't a mean drunk, exactly, just a caustically funny one, and not everyone's sense of humor could tolerate him. I cast an eye over his last known position in the crowd and it didn’t look as if a donnybrook had erupted just yet.
He'll be fine. We're with friends and everyone knows the score.
Nika had very quickly disappeared into the crowd, ostensibly to party and I hoped she was off doing just that. Beglan had melted away just as quickly. Kiera was standing on the fringe of a mob of revelers, nursing a bottle of something and smiling as she watched. Arden was surfing a mosh pit off to the side, thoroughly sloshed and enjoying every second of it. He'd already lost his shirt and if I didn't miss my guess, his trousers would soon be next. Some of the moshers were women who wouldn't mind a piece of Arden and some had already gone off to find a corner for a more private kind of party. I wished him well and kept on walking. I was never my best with huge crowds of people and as much as I loved and appreciated what the Åbergs were doing for my family and my crew, I needed to get away from the chaos. I also needed to find my fiancé. Fireworks boomed and blossomed overhead, lighting the scene on the ground in flashes of red, green, and blue. Joshua had found them fascinating viewing when we'd landed, despite some near hits coming down. He'd slipped away when we got swallowed up by the Åbergs and I had a pretty good idea where he'd gone. Somewhere high, with an unobstructed view of the sky.
Working off my mental map of the place, I found his vantage point: a flat section of garage roof, forty feet off the ground and sheltered from the light and noise below by the bulk of the building. I'd snagged a bottle of wine as I searched for him and getting it up the ladder one-handed was a tricky exercise but I managed. Joshua looked over at the squeal of the roof hatch but smiled when he saw it was me. A few minutes later, we were both settled with our backs against a shed dormer and our eyes glued to the heavens, passing the bottle between us.
Despite the gaiety all around us, war had arrived. I had no way of knowing if this would be our last respite before war's end and I had no guarantee that we would survive to see it arrive. I knew Joshua had fastened onto the wedding as a talisman against misfortune, practically declaring bad luck off limits until we were married. I knew better. The lesson I'd learned from Nikolai's disappearance was simple:
Nothing is as safe as you'd thought. Put nothing important off. Do it now.
So we drank that bottle dry and watched the fireworks bloom and fade overhead and we made some important use of that flat stretch of roof. No one below noticed and if they did, I didn't much care.
Go to Rina's Crew Page
Go back to: Season Six, Aug 2522 to May 2523
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