WotH Chpt 57

==War on the Horizon - Chapter 57==
<<Next Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
----
===Ignoring Politics while recovering===
Date: November 4, 3015/04.11.7954 CRCLocation: Dac, Calamari System (Currently neutral pending Confederacy negotiations),Calamari Sector, Outer Rim Territories
//"My client cannot be held responsible for the actions of terrorists simply because of similar beliefs!"\\ A Confederacy assigned lawyer slammed his fist on the table in front of him dramatically. //"As we know, one of the tenants of our nation is that all are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I ask that the Jury, and the judge keep that in mind as we go about this trial."\\
 
I shut the 'Gram off and rolled back over, burying my face into the cold pillow as I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. But this was the first day of my vacation, and my brain was too focused on what was going on in the galaxy for me to properly relax.
 
"Ugh." I grunted as I finally gave up on sleep, stretching as I yawned and looked out the window at the sandy beaches and crystal clear sea that stretched as far as the eye could see.
 
Slipping into a pair of shorts, I stepped out on the balcony and smiled at the smell of the sea breeze, the salt and somewhat familiar feeling was relaxing in a way.
 
"Now, I don't remember if we stocked this place with foodstuffs." I muttered as I turned around and opened the cooler, grinning as I saw a slab of bacon, sausage, and eggs lying within.
 
"Now we're talkin'." I opened the packages up and ignited the flat top behind me, bringing it to temp before tossing the food onto it.
 
I pulled up a chair and sat down, checking the food periodically as I just allowed my mind to unwind for the first time in a few years.
 
"Hmm," I stood up and started a pot of coffee before finding a pair of sunglasses and reclining once more.
 
"Knock knock!" I heard as someone entered the hut's upper floor.
 
"On the balcony!" I called out, flipping a sausage patty over while grabbing a bowl to scramble some eggs in, cracking them open before tossing the eggshells into a nearby waste bin.
 
"Something smells good," Sheppard walked in, his uniform still on. "Mind if I snag a bite?"
 
"Be my guest," I tapped the plate I'd set some of the food on with my tongs. "What brings you by? I know that you're not due for a vacation, you just finished up one a few months back."
 
"Just wanted to see if you actually were relaxing," he smirked as he snacked on a piece of bacon. "I remember a time when you thought you had to be present for everything."
 
"Delegation is the only superpower that exists," I replied as I finished piling my breakfast onto a plate. "And you're the victim of it at the moment. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to go sit out in the sun for a few hours, get burnt, and then come back in for some sleep."
 
"Have fun!" Sheppard called out as I began walking down the stairs towards a set of beach chairs. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
 
"Uhuh," I muttered. "I'm just here to relax, no funny business here."
----
===Having fun under the sun===
The next day
You're blocking my light," I muttered, glaring at the figure who stood in front of the sun. "Don't you have better things to do than bother me?"
 
"I was told that I should rest as well," Siri shrugged. "And someone dropped by to say hello to me. Colonel Hull, meet Jedi Knight Bant Eerin."
 
"A pleasure," I glanced at the Mon Calamari. "Now, I was about to take a nap, but someone decided to block my light. Now shoo, get. And don't come back unless you've got a gorgeous redhead in tow!"
 
The two [w:c:starwars:Jedi Knight|Jedi Knights]] wandered off further down the beach as I closed my eyes again, a sigh of relief as my stress decreased the further away they got.
 
"Jedi are trouble magnets," I exhaled. "If it's not one thing it's another."
 
I closed my eyes and was just about to nod off when a group of Marksman on leave jogged through, surfboards and other things in hand.
 
"Sorry, Colonel!" a Taurian recruit grinned sheepishly as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "We're teaching them how to surf, and the best waves are on this side of the island."
 
I sat my chair up and looked at the two dozen or so soldiers, the mixture of humans from the Inner Sphere, Outer Rim, and the aliens made it a colorful group both literally and figuratively.
 
"Well," I stood up and shook the sand from my shorts, a wide grin on my face "If y'all like surfing, let me find a boat. We're going to have some fun!"
 
----
"I didn't know you knew how to wakeboard, Colonel!" a young soldier dressed in the black shorts and gold shirt of our PT gear yelled out from the boat.
 
"It's been a few years!" I yelled back, but I think I've still got it!"
 
"What is this?" A Torgrutan asked from the boat as I tossed a line out into the water and began strapping a board to my feet.
 
"This is wakeboarding," I replied. "It's a sport that's a ton of fun. It just normally takes quite a bit of funding to get into."
 
I hopped off the end of the boat and sank into the water, bringing my feet up and allowing the flat part of the board to face the boat, the line slowly extending until it went taut at about forty or so feet of length.
 
"Ready?!" the driver asked.
 
I held up a thumb where he could see it in the mirror and the boat began to pick up speed, allowing me to push off of the now somewhat solid water and get up on the surface.
 
"Awesome!" the driver called out, beginning to take us for a ride as music began to play.
----
===Meeting a lady while remember yesterday===
"Colonel, we're heading back to the on-site housing, you want to come with us and spend some time hanging out?" the soldiers asked as we loaded up the rest of the supplies onto a truck.
 
"Nah," I waved them off. "You kids have fun, I'm going to enjoy the sunset for a bit."
 
Heading back to my beach chair, I sat down and smiled. Today had been fun. I hadn't been able to just cut loose and enjoy things like this in a few years.
 
Then the smile turned a bit melancholy as I remembered the last time I'd been wakeboarding. Of teaching my daughter about the physics of the sport, of my son freaking out when on the board, but loving to go tubing.
 
My heart ached and longed for my family, time heals all wounds, but some are never fully sealed, and the hurt leaks out when you least expect it.
 
A tear dripped down as the local star began to fall below the horizon, a brilliant glow filling the sky as the clouds caught and redirected the light.Picking up my chair, I headed back up into the two story building, putting away the supplies before opening a cabinet and reaching for something I hadn't had in a few years. Pouring a small glass of whiskey, I also pulled out my last cigar and went out to the balcony.
 
I sat down and took a sip before opening a box of matches and lighting the cigar, puffing until the end was lit before I watched the match burning away as I tossed it into the wind.
 
I sipped my whiskey and puffed on my cigar, the lone moon beginning to rise and cast its glow over Dac while I relived decade old memories as if they were yesterday.
 
"You were supposed to last me the whole week." I glanced at the cigar in my fingers. "You're my last one, and I was supposed to wait until the last day of my vacation."
 
My chair creaked back and forth as I finished off the whiskey and set the glass down. I would clean up later after I had cleared my head. Stepping out onto the sands I began walking along the shore as the tides rolled out, exposing crustaceans and other creatures that dwelt within the waters.
 
And so I walked, the thoughts and emotions within driving me forward as I meandered around the beach before finding a spot to sit down and finish off the cigar, the last puff of smoke floating up into the distance as I let the stub finish burning.
 
"I'm pretty sure that those will kill you given time." a feminine voice greeted me.
 
"Maybe if I smoked them all the time," I replied, not shifting from my spot among the sands. "But in moderation, it's a tradition that can bring people together."
 
"Or bring back old memories?" the voice asked as an elvish looking woman stepped into my field of view. "It has been many years since I felt such sorrow from a single being. Let alone one who only rarely gives off emotion that is perceptible to the Force."
 
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," I finally stood up and reached out to shake her hand in introduction. "I'm Mark Hull, and you are?"
 
"Fay," she replied with a gentle smile. "Now, tell me, what troubles you so?"
----
==Note from Author==
*; Author's Note : There are a got a couple of chapters and Then I'm going to call book "One" over.
-----
<<Next Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
Chapter 57