The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [101]
“Yes,” Wes growled, and he fixed Mika with an intense look. “I know this as clearly as I know how much I love you. It’s my fault, Mika. I could have prevented it, if only I had made a different choice. I see it like one of Liso’s weavings, the threads of time and past in different colors…”
She backed away a step. “Wesley, you’re scaring me. I’ve never seen you this way.”
His face fell. “Oh, no, please. Mika, no.” The outburst melted away and he came to her, took her in his arms. “Mika, I love you. I’m sorry. It’s just…Sometimes, the regret…”
She kissed him into silence. “If you had not been on Kappa that day, if you had been on Lambda Paz, what would have happened to me?” Mika grasped his hands. “To us? Do you regret that?”
He shook his head. “No. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. You’ve given me something I never had before. Focus. Purpose.” Wesley cupped her hand in his. “I love you, wife. Never doubt that.”
She was trying to find the right words when a discreet knock sounded at the front door.
It was late, and he was already forming a stern rebuke to give to Lakanta for interrupting them at this hour. The wooden door creaked open, and he kept one hand on it, ready to push it closed at a moment’s notice.
His mother stood there on the wide stone step, her hands knotted at her waist, a fragile smile on her lips. “Hello, Wes,” she began. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Mom.” He blinked and glanced around. There was no sign of Jellico, Lieutenant Teku, or anyone else.
“I came alone,” she said by way of explanation. “I asked Geordi to transport me down.”
Wesley’s mouth opened, but the thoughts he had so easily marshaled moments before fled from him. He was at a loss for what to say. Another surge of old, long-buried feelings turned over inside him, threatening to break the banks of his silence.
Just then the door was taken from him and Mika pushed it all the way open. Beverly Crusher’s eyes widened at the sight of the athletic, tawny-skinned girl with her bright smile and her open, elfin face. “Wesley,” she said gently, “you’re being rude.” Mika stepped forward and took his mother’s hands in hers. “Welcome to our home, Doctor Crusher. My name is Mika. I’m your son’s wife.”
He heard the small gasp from his mom’s lips. “Hello, uh, Mika. Call me Beverly, please.”
Mika inclined her head and gestured into the house. “Come in, Beverly. We have tea brewing.”
Wes went to the kitchen to search for an extra cup, and it took him a few moments to find a clean one. He remembered how his mother took her tea and brought the steaming drink back into the room to find the two women sharing a smile over something. Mika was like that; she had a warmth about her that could disarm anyone.
“There’s a lot I want to tell you,” he said as he sat. “A lot of things…that I’m sorry for.”
His mother clasped the cup in her long-fingered hands, and her smile wavered a little. “I’m pleased for you, Wes. You’ve found someone to share your life with. The only thing I was ever afraid of is that you would be lonely out here.”
He glanced at his wife. “I was for a while.”
She put down the cup. “I have to tell you something. I came here tonight because I wanted to see you, but I’m here against Captain Jellico’s orders.”
“Jellico? He’s wasting his time here, Mom. Nothing’s changed. Nobody will evacuate, not now, not in two days.”
Beverly nodded. “He knows that. He’s not even going to try to convince you otherwise. The captain is already making plans to remove everyone down here by force.”
Mika’s jaw dropped in shock. “He can’t do that! It’s illegal!”
“Apparently he has orders from Admiral Dougherty that allow him to suspend certain clauses of colonial law in this situation.”
Wes nodded grimly. “We did declare ourselves outside their jurisdiction. There’s nothing to stop Jellico acting first and dealing with the consequences later.” He stood up. “We have to take this to Athwara and the other elders,