In The Beginning, Gail Daley [red white royal blue .TXT] 📗

retribution; I should warn you that Jayla and the other girls aren’t exactly the best of friends. Thankfully, once we arrive on Vensoog, Jayla will not be in your charge any longer. In the meantime, I’ll try to find another mother to help you with the children, and please do enlist the kids to help you amuse your twins. The busier they are the better. I'm going to try to get some games and vids to help keep them occupied aboard ship. If you hear of a good shop in town please let me know."

"And the racing robots, was that them too?"

"Well, both Juliette and Roderick seem to have a working knowledge of programming, so it’s possible."

"And what does Violet show an aptitude for?"

Katherine frowned. "Although of high intelligence, nothing stands out. Violet seems to show a very deep empathic streak. I think that is why her nightmares are so vivid."

A few days later, Jayne informed Katherine that another soldier had told her about a shop in the city that not only sold children’s games and toys, but seemed to specialize in the kind that could be used and stored in the close quarters they would be occupying on shipboard.

Katherine had notified Gideon that she expected the results of the matching program to finish that afternoon, but she already had her own results. Zack had been right; she should have had more faith in her own programing skills. Their results showed a 98% compatibility. She wanted to tell Zack in private but regrettably, he had ridden a shuttle up from the surface to the spaceport on Selene to ensure the entire unit’s personal luggage made it to the Dancing Gryphon.

Katherine wasn’t particularly good at waiting for something she wanted. It was soon evident that the children were picking up her tension, and with Jayne occupied with her teething toddlers, one of whom was running a fever, she decided that what they all needed was an outing to work off the energy. Katherine opted to check out the shop Jayne’s acquaintance had recommended.

"I have a feeling that if I don’t get them out of our quarters there will be bloodshed soon," Katherine said in exasperation after breaking up a squabble between the boys that had come to blows over a vid screen game.

"Do you mind if I don’t come with you?" Jayne asked over the wails of her little boy. "I think I need to take Tom to the Medic to make sure this is just teething. Otherwise, the Captain may be reluctant to take us on the ship in case he’s contagious. I’ll take John with us so you won’t have to bother with him."

"Yes, go," Katherine agreed, making shooing motions at her. "We’ll be fine."

After calling the robocar service, she asked Jayla and Lucas if they wanted to come as well, and was mildly surprised when Jayla agreed. It was true the girl had been more cooperative and friendly since the green dye incident, but Katherine suspected it was the idea of shopping itself that had encouraged her to participate in the outing.

Darla Lister watched them go, unobtrusively standing close enough to hear their first destination. Thoughtfully, she walked over to the two men who had been watching arrivals and departures for several days. Although they dressed the part, they were not members of the service. Standing near enough for the men to hear her, but not so close as to appear talking to them, she said to no one,"They’ll probably be hitting Ben’s Cyclomart before they come home. Might be a good time to catch them."

One of the men said out of the side of his mouth, "What’s it to you where they go?"

Darla shrugged. "Oh, nothing, really. I just thought your pal Grouter might be interested. I hear the kids took something valuable with them when they escaped."

"What do you know about the boss’s business?" the older one demanded.

"Oh, I just hear things. Use it or not, as you please," Darla strolled away.

The two looked at each other. "Boss’d be mighty happy to get that data cube back," Sanders, the younger, shorter one suggested.

"Ben’s is in the Grinder's Turf," the other observed. "Not many security cams there. Didn’t you used to run with the Grinders back in the day? We could maybe hire them for a share of the reward Grouter promised."

"Have to cut them in anyway; it’s their turf," Rogers the older one agreed, and made the call to open negotiations with his old comrades in crime to attack Katherine and the children as a diversion while they grabbed Juliette and as many of the other kids they could.

Katherine dropped Jayne and her boys off at the Medical center before proceeding to a large shopping mall in the center of town. Although she was used to the hustle and bustle of Port Recovery on Vensoog, the sheer volume and variety of the selections here awed her somewhat. She let the children drag her from one display to another.

She found several games and vids of the types she wanted for the children, but discovered that her tastes didn’t match with what the children had in mind. Jayla wanted makeup and jewelry. Juliette and Roderick wanted a set of electronic tools that should have been much too advanced for them to use. Lucinda found a computerized drawing program that would allow her to create paintings on a screen and save them. Lucas and Rupert seemed much more interested in the types of toy weapons and games offered. Violet gave the impression of being overwhelmed by the crowds and clung to Juliette like a leech.

After a consult with Gideon about Jayla and Lucas, Katherine purchased it all and had it sent back to the base.

Diplomatic Immunity

JAYNE WAS sitting in one of the patient compartments waiting for the Medic, and vainly attempting to amuse two cranky children when two voices from the next booth over attracted her attention. The cubicles in the Medical center were divided