Chapter Seventy-Six: A Hop,Skip, and a Jump

Chapter Seventy-Six: A Hop,Skip, and a Jump

Kentares IV, Draconis March, Federated Suns, December 20th, 3016

"Daddy!" My son David ran up to me, excited to see me after having been gone for nearly eight months.

"David." I scooped him up and wrapped him in my arms, gently squeezing him in a hug. This moment was promptly ruined by a nearly seven year old Melissa Steiner running up with an "Uncle Mark!" And trying to get scooped up as well.

"You're both so big!" I said in an exaggerated voice. "Why, soon you won't love your dear old dad or Uncle Mark anymore."

"You are old." Melissa agreed, to the amusement of Katrina Steiner who was trying to stifle laughter.

"I'm only two years older than your mother. I'll have you know." I said with fake anger.

"Yeah, but she doesn't have gray hairs." Melissa pointed out the silver starting to poke through in parts of my hair and beard. "Neither does dad."

"I have gray hair because I earned it." I told her bluntly. "If you had as much to worry about as I did early on you would have gray hair too." I fake pouted, turning to my son and throwing him up into the air to his squeals of delight.

"I take it you're spending Christmas here?" I asked Katrina, while distracting Mel.

"Yes." Katrina finally got out after she had finished howling with laughter. "We're using this as a getaway until February, then I've got some operations to oversee that I'd like to consult you on."

"Well, I'm going to have to bring David with me." I told Katrina. "I don't like leaving him to his own devices, and I need to start him on some of the schooling that Natasha and I had planned."

"That is fine," Katrina agreed. "I need to work something out with Ian anyway."

"Well, if you're here until February, I need to set up a meeting between you, Thomas Calderon, and Ian Davion." I added as we began the trip to my ducal estate. "Jaime Wolf has some extremely important intelligence to share with the three of you."

"Might as well turn it into a working vacation then." Katrina sighed. "And after I convinced Nondi and Frederick to take over for a couple of months too."

"It'll only take a week or so," I threw in. "It's important, but it's not something that you can deal with while on vacation anyway."

December 25th, 3016

"Merry Christmas!" I woke everyone up in the mansion on the intercom system. "Today's breakfast, homemade from scratch cinnamon rolls, fresh coffee or hot chocolate, and bacon."

"You are awesome!" Arthur Luvon greeted me with a smile, the only other morning person present aside from me. "No staff on Christmas?" He asked me as he helped the bleary eyed Melissa, Katrina, and Elsa into their seats around the small table.

"I give them Christmas off." I agreed . "And I don't get to cook nearly as often as I like, and while I haven't been very good about it over the last couple of years, it's an old family tradition of mine to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas day."

"Really now?" Katrina having had some of the coffee finally perked up. "Why is that?"

"Well, my dad was always a science guy, and when he discovered that baking and cooking was another type of science he had a year long period of baking and cooking everything, and during Christmas time was when he finally managed to perfect his cinnamon rolls. And ever since, that's what we have on Christmas morning."

"Interesting." Katrina said, "Not quite what I expected, but it makes sense."

"If you don't want the kids loaded down with sugar." I added, "I did make some without icing."

"It's Christmas, let them have the sugar." Arthur said, gesturing to where David was almost finished with his cinnamon roll, and was trying to drink his hot chocolate without it burning him.

"Fine." Katrina gave a mock glare at her husband. "But you get to feed Adam." She gave the eighteen month old to her husband for him to feed.

After having a nice and comfortable breakfast, we finally made our way to the massive Christmas tree in the main lobby, I had couched brought in over the week for precisely this moment, and we allowed the children to tear open their presents, their laughter and joy filing the air.

"Why are you sad?" Elena Susanne Steiner, nicknamed Elsa asked me after a moment.

"A little bit." I gave a watery smile as I helped the four year old into my lap. "Auntie Natasha is gone, and she's missing a lot of David's life right now." I told her, "So I'm recording everything so that she can see what he did while she was gone. It's hard to be apart from people you love sometimes." I said with a wan smile.

"It's okay Uncle Mark." Elsa gave me a hug, before scampering off to play with some of the toys that had been opened.

"You ready for your gift?" I asked Katrina. "I finally got authorization from Ian to do this anyway."

"You got us a gift?" Katrina asked. "I already owe you for the list you gave me years ago, don't sink me further into debt now."

"You'll want this gift." I told her, as I handed her a box."

"Wow, a data core." She said sardonically before she glanced down and read the label on the core. "A data core!" her brain had finally clicked into gear, but she had seemingly frozen, not knowing what to do.

"I think you broke her." Arthur chuckled. "The only time I ever managed that was the day I proposed, and hear you've done it twice now." He kept laughing. "Next time you'll have to take me with you on an adventure, so I can give her gifts like this."

"Get in line." I said, "Hanse is first on the list, and the list keeps growing with every House Lord and important person I meet."

January 15th, 3017

"Duke Hull, a pleasure to see you again." Zarantha Calderon said as she walked into my office. "Though you seem to have aged a good deal since our last meeting."

"And you seemed to have aged backwards." I said in reply as I rose and shook her hand. "I heard that Thomas was Protector now, but I didn't expect you to be dropping by for a visit, have a seat, make yourself at home."

"Thank you." She said as I poured her a glass of sweet tea. "This is a vacation of sorts, with me being partially an ambassador for Thomas, and partially me being able to travel and enjoy the galaxy in my slightly advanced age."

"You're what? Sixty-Seven?" I asked. "That's not advanced age."

"It is when you are the ruler of a nation." She said tiredly. "I can see it on you already, and you have only been doing this for a fraction of the time that most rulers do."

"I think I understand what you mean." I said, "Now, seeing as you are already here, it saves me the trouble of having to contact Thomas…"