Distant Shores - Marco Palmieri [140]
Or, perhaps that’s the Infield Fly Rule.
Where was I? Oh, yes. Cherusa kelo. From a defensive standpoint, Akree’s position is quite important. A bad guard could cost a team games, and Mountain is in the middle of an important series against their archrivals, Lakeside.
Ah, Lakeside. A psychologist would love them. There is a tremendous rivalry between Mountain and Lakeside, two of Central Protectorate’s premiere teams. According to the record, Mountain has won the most championships, and whenever Lakeside has begun to look as though they’re getting close to challenging Mountain’s standing, something always happens and they inevitably drop away from the running.
What’s interesting is that it’s never the same thing going wrong twice, which has some Lakeside supporters talking about ghosts that follow the team and make things go so tragically wrong.
It astonishes me how some cultures will so easily revert to a belief in the supernatural when something they don’t understand happens.
It has, however, made Lakeside supporters occasionally hostile. In retrospect, perhaps a Mountain/Lakeside game was not the best choice for Jason’s first sports outing. There were insults hurled by both sides in such foul language that it doesn’t bear repeating.
Still, Jason seemed to enjoy himself. He sat on Mareeza’s lap most of the time, nibbling on a fried tuber, smiling and clapping whenever Akree or one of his teammates did something beneficial, pouting whenever they did not. The little one is apparently a quick study, as in those moments when Lakeside had something go their way, Jason would give them what I believe Mr. Paris referred to as a “raspberry.”
I see Akree has already been an excellent influence on the child.
No matter. He has been there for Mareeza ever since the missile attack and I believe he will continue to be there for her after I’m gone. I intend to speak to him about it, once I figure out exactly how to tell him. The least I can do is make sure my son is taken care of.
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- Stardate 53501.3328065134
Day 1000
As of this afternoon, I’ve been on Tahal-Meeroj for one thousand days. Voyager has had almost eighteen minutes to fix the problem that keeps me here. I will very likely be beamed back before Jason is old enough to realize he has a father. It was that realization that motivated me to finally act on something that I’ve been putting off.
Ever since he helped me recover the victims of the missile attacks two years ago, Akree has proven himself to be more than adequate in that regard. He has been reliable to a fault, and I had to ask him if he could continue to be that way in the future.
I’ve seen the way he looks at Mareeza. Many of the men on Voyager-and even some of the women, now that I think about it-get that same expression whenever Seven walks into the room. It’s obvious that Akree and I both care about Mareeza and Jason, but he’s the one in the position to take care of them on a long-term basis. One year of his salary would put Jason through as much schooling as he ever wanted, and artistic pursuits, while spiritually gratifying, are too capricious to rely on for a child’s upbringing.
I had a very difficult discussion with Akree today. Without explaining why, I told him that there was a possibility that I would have to leave the city with no warning one day soon. He accepted that Mareeza knew the whole story and understood the risks. Surprisingly, he even accepted that I couldn’t tell him what was really going to happen. Fortunately, he also agreed that Jason needed a father if that day should ever come. He was honored to accept the responsibility. I know Akree will do well by Jason, which is all I could hope for.
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- Stardate 53504.04
At least I was able to say goodbye.
Mareeza was taking her curtain call when Voyager finally beamed me back. The finest opera house in the protectorate had finally agreed to allow her to debut her magnificent ode to the Sky Ship, and the most famous