The atypical mood washed upon and through her early, beginning just about when her eyes fluttered open with the encroachment of the sun, feeling some mysterious need to greet the new day at its first arrival.

Surprising herself, Jahrae rose right at dawn, where a quick look out their eastern windows inspired her mind with a display of colour, leading her to purposefully throw on underwear, running shorts, a sports bra, and white tank top. Jahrae finished her speedy insertion into clothing by reaching in another drawer for white anklet socks, and, moving to her bed, sat on its edge as she pulled the socks on, finishing by lacing on a pair of grey tennies.

A minute later found Jahrae on the lawn, leaning against a tree for support as she worked through warm-up stretching exercises. Deciding her body was ready for the run, she set off on a brisk pace down the exit side of the crown of their cul de sac street, heading into the simple matrix of well-spaced streets in the semi-rural area.

“I must be going daft,” popped into her mind on the downhill, the deprecating self-evaluation humorously threatening to break her near-perfect rhythm of movement. With some effort, she suppressed the laughter fermenting within, refocusing on task and on goal, working up the first signs of a sweat.

Her stride stretched as her body limbered, carrying Jahrae past the fire pond, past the occasional scurrying rabbit and one surprised solitudinous deer, the sizeable animal wasting no time in steering clear of her perceived pathway.

Turning and following as the road made a radical shift left, she headed up another hill, curling back towards the right on the continuing upward climb. Reaching the top, Jahrae entered an area where several short streets broke off the main, as if the limbs of a two dimensional and horizontal tree. Changing her mind on route, she reversed direction, retracing her steps to the hill bottom, where she turned left, into the forest.

Following a relatively short pathway, she slowed her pace enough to descend a steep, two-metre embankment, levelling onto an old, no longer used roadway that circled the watershed pond just off to her right.

The change of pace proved a momentary disruption, her previous rhythm resumed as if her legs were on cruise control, enabling Jahrae to circle the pond, a distance of three kilometres, in excellent time. Returning to her start point at the pond, she followed the path outward and back into semi-rural civilisation, turning right, heading up the hill, and eventually completing a circuitous route back to her home, the overall run covering a distance of eight kilometres.

Coming to a stop in front of her home, Jahrae chose to walk to the end of the cul de sac to wind down, rounding it and walking back the short distance to her home. Feeling better than she had in days, she made her way to the master bedroom, craving a shower, her mind now as active as if mid-day.

Peeling off her sweaty clothing, Jahrae climbed into the shower before opening the water flow, uncaring whether the initial burst of water was cold or warm.

Forty minutes later, she sat down to their Athenaeum interface, ready to catch up on Arrhazonan doings. Looking at the time on the fireplace mantle clock, Jahrae realised it was still earlier than the usual time she began her day. Based on how she felt, her mornings would be different going forward; llhaesa would have an early morning run-partner.

Llhaesa. Fifty-two days had passed since they were last together, and what unfolded when last together still stung somewhere deep inside.

Her stomach tightened as memory called her back to the experience, when raw emotion clawed at each of them as they attempted to cope with the reality of the shooting of M’traliel.

Both realised they crossed a line that day, and subsequently worked it out from afar, but Jahrae felt they still needed to be face to face before she would feel the healing complete, the incident expunged.

Jahrae missed llhaesa more than ever, and the separation relentlessly chiselled away at her soul, especially on days such as this, when the children were with Ronnie and Elsrensia. Her PTSD issues challenged, the direct initial causation llhaesa’s loss, while the causation of recurrence was their current separation.

Shaking her head to chase away these thoughts, her mobile rang off, demanding her attention elsewhere. Grateful for the distraction, Jahrae reached for the mobile that lay in front of her on the interface table, centimetres from her hands.

Absent-mindedly moving to answer, Jahrae flipped the mobile open to find her partner identified as the patient caller waiting for her to acknowledge the call.

“Hello?” she unnecessarily greeted, following time-hewed rote.

“Well, it is about time, sleepy-head. Did I wake you out of loving dreams of me?”

“Well, yes…and no. I have been up for a bit over two hours now.”

“Either you jest, or a solicitous and well-armed bee flew into the bed.”

“Very funny, ‘essa. I actually went running at dawn, up and around the pond, through the homes up behind us, came back and showered, and now attempt to read and catch up on things on Arrhazon.”

“Hang in there, Jahrae, I will seek help and will ring Elsrensia immediately; you are obviously feverish!” llhaesa continued the teasing.

“Actually, I decided I like doing this, and so I intend to be your running shadow upon your return. Of course, my price is at least two kisses along the running route, per run.”

“That is a reasonable deal. Oh, and J’har, since you are at the interface already, please connect into the government network.”

“Will do.” Jahrae clicked onto the network, logging in. Seconds later, the screen flickered, and up popped a live image of llhaesa, establishing a two-way video connection.

“Now that is much better, seeing your beautiful godessness spurs me onward through my day, er um, in this case, whatever it is.”

“What is happening in Old City today, and what are your plans, ‘essa?”

“It was cloudy when I left, so I am unsure.”

“Where did you go? How can you be video-connected to the government network-“

“Yes, go on; I am listening, J’har,” llhaesa playfully encouraged, mischief dancing in her eyes. The face of another sidled up alongside llhaesa, filling Jahrae’s screen with the image of two people, and prompting llhaesa to conduct an introduction.

“The reason why I asked for the video-connection was not only to see you in all your beautiful glory; it was to introduce you to Commander Sohrae H’ahlser, who is responsible for getting me back to you…14 days from now.”

Jahrae’s eyes went wide at the time frame; the last she knew, llhaesa would be back in 28 days, not 14. “’Essa?”

“I’m on my way right now, J’har. In fact, we are already a light year closer to you.”

“You…are on Equality right now?”

“Well, no. Equality is in orbit around Arrhazon, awaiting its new captain.”

“OK, I am totally confused. You told me before, when you went to see Brellian – by the way, hello Commander H’ahlser; it is my pleasure to meet you – that Commander H’ahlser was the new captain of Equality.”

“Hello, Jahrae; we meet again. Please…call me Sohrae.”

“We meet again? You both wear grins that suggest you are playing games here, and suspect there are a few drinks in your mutual immediate past. Will someone please explain all of this to me?

“I will do this for you, Jahrae. By the way, your wife insisted I call you Jahrae; she claimed she would growl at me if I used formalities.”

Jahrae pretended to take a tough stand. “Sohrae, start explaining on my count, one, two-“

“No need for the count, I will explain. Yes, we have spent some time in the lounge, but llhaesa wished to wait before calling you, figuring you were happily sleeping.

Thirty hours ago, we informed llhaesa we were ready to leave for Arrkarhara, if she were ready to go. Naturally, llhaesa jumped at the opportunity to get back to you earlier, and just before sunset last evening, left Arrhazon for this ship.”

“How is it the ship is ready now, Sohrae?”

“The changes were easier on a ship with new engines, Jahrae,” Sohrae replied, thinking she gave away little, playing the game for as long as possible. Llhaesa stifled a giggle, knowing they were driving Jahrae wild with their purposeful verbal evasion.

“’On a ship with new engines’, hmmm. OK, that is it, girls. You, Sohrae, claim we have met before. You, my dear ‘essa, plan to arrive back here two weeks earlier than expected. You, Sohrae, supposedly command Equality.

Is that about right?”

“Yes, J’har,” llhaesa affirmed, nodding.

“Interestingly, I see here on the Service duty roster that Commander Sohrae H’ahlser captains the flagship and newest vessel in the fleet, the AISV llhaesa ahrella t’yaeli.

It seems Service commissioned the ship into formal service eight days ago, and it is now on a mission to the Arrkarharan system, departing Arrhazon twelve hours ago, to report on arrival at Arrkarhara to one Jahrae T’srha Khentavra. I have heard that name before, go figure.

Reading your Service biography, Sohrae – which I have access to along with the duty roster, given my new position as Alternate Chief of Government – you fought in the revolution at the age of 19, and were on the roof when we shot down the gunships. Of course, you went by your middle name then, right, Caselra?”

“Damn…you are good, Jahrae!” Sohrae conceded.

Llhaesa burst into laughter, triggering Sohrae to laugh as well. Jahrae started to giggle as she watched the two semi-inebriated new friends, thinking how the world would love to watch this last fifteen minutes of conversation.

“She is indeed good, Sohrae, in more ways than just demonstrated.”

“I can believe that, ‘essa,” Sohrae retorted.

“All right, I deserve this; when we were on Equality, Admiral M’lensa helped me tease llhaesa shamelessly, so this is fair pay back.

I warn you, Sohrae, I play these games and as with llhaesa, play them well; I am certain llhaesa has already told you this. ‘Be vigilant’ is all I can counsel, once you arrive.”

“Oooh, be afraid, be very afraid, Sohrae,” llhaesa continued the verbal jousting.

“As for you, my dear wife, I will deal with you in my own way, privately.

Now, changing the subject for however long you two goofs – goddess, it must be contagious – will let me, tell me about the ship and about your time aboard, llhaesa.”

“J’har, it is magnificent. If Equality was awe inspiring, you will find yourself awestruck by this ship.”

“In all seriousness, congratulations, ‘essa; this is an honour for you that is more than well deserved. Of course, I knew of its construction, but was not aware it neared completion.

And congratulations to you on receiving command of this vessel, Sohrae. You served well in the revolution, and yes, I remember you. I am thrilled you serve our world still, and you are a wonderful choice to lead a ship I personally have a vested interest in, one that represents my wife and carries her good name. Best wishes to you on your new command, and I look forward to when we personally meet two weeks hence.

Now, although it is only 7:35 am here, might I interest both of you in one final cocktail? I could go for a bloody mary, a drink llhaesa can explain to you, Sohrae. What is your dual or singular pleasure?”

“Um, I could go for another round, llhaesa; how about you?”

“Count me in, Sohrae; we may as well make it an even ten.”

“Ten?” Jahrae looked at both bemusedly over the viewscreen, her eyes reflecting the humour she felt over this revelation. “When did you two start drinking?”

“What was it, llhaesa? Ten, twelve hours ago now?”

“Yes, I think that is quite right; at any rate, it works for me. Jahrae, we started drinking what she said.”

“Oh, geesh. Llhaesa, you take care of drinks there, I will be right back.”

Three minutes later, Jahrae was back with a bloody mary, which she held up for Sohrae to see.

“Why do you have a plant stalk sticking out of your beverage, Jahrae?” Sohrae innocently asked.

“That vegetable is called ‘celery’ in the Arrkarharan language English, Sohrae,” Jahrae explained. “It is the equivalent of our kjrella.”

“Celery sounds like an Arrhazonan name, Jahrae,” Sohrae observed. “I like the sound, and think I shall name my first child Cehlaehri.”

The comment made llhaesa laugh, which triggered Jahrae, 50 light years away. “You two are a riot. I wish I were there. By the way, Sohrae, when is your next scheduled work shift?”

“Fortunately, not for two days yet, Jahrae; otherwise, my condition would not be a good thing.”

Jahrae drew a sip of bloody mary through a straw, her video companions joining her with pulls of ale.

“I must say this to you, Jahrae,” Sohrae spoke again, growing reflective and sentimental. “I have long admired you for all that you have done for our world. I have admired your partner for the same reasons, including her wonderful music, though of course for too long we thought her lost.

Spending time with her now, I see her human side, beyond what we learn in textbooks. I see her humour, her grace, her intelligence, her empathy and caring. She insisted on meeting my entire crew – my entire crew, all five-hundred-seventy-one of them.

Now that wish meant mush to me, and meant everything to my crew. She is loved as you are loved, and while we might tease and play and prank, please know no two people are more revered than the two of you.”

“Thank you, Sohrae, your words are appreciated, deeply.” Jahrae again giggled at the occasional slurred word, sending her on a different tack. “It meant mush to you, hmmm. Um, when you finish that drink, will you be all right in reaching your quarters?

Llhaesa, make sure you escort Sohrae to her quarters when you two decide to quit for the um… whatever it is for time on ship, or have her sleep in your suite, but do not let her go alone – she is smaller than you are by a fair margin, and the alcohol will affect her more than you.”

Llhaesa took two long pulls on her beer, draining the glass. “That is it for me, J’har.

I am delighted to be on my way home. In all seriousness, we spaced the drinks out, and we aren’t quite as inebriated as the sheer number of drinks suggest.”

Jahrae watched as llhaesa talked, noticing Sohrae lilted off to the right, her eyes glassy, with her head finally disappearing from view, followed a millisecond later by a thud.

“Oh oh, there goes Sohrae; she just fell off her chair. One moment, J’har; let me get her to bed.”

Jahrae could hear scuffling, and a few seconds later watched distantly as llhaesa walked past the video camera with Sohrae slung over her shoulder.

The sight was amusing, but it also led Jahrae to ponder her partner’s physical strength, which Addie now also apparently possessed. Llhaesa was much stronger than anyone realised, even if she were 187.5 centimetres tall; she was still rather lanky, and one would not expect to find such physical strength in her. She could picture llhaesa easily carrying the Commander, carefully putting her to bed, first administering a glass of Cahlsera to preclude the expected hangover once she woke.

Jahrae patiently waited, with llhaesa returning six minutes later. “I was beginning to think you were out as well, llhaesa.”

“Not likely. I am too hot for you to pass out when you are right in front of me, my dear wife.”

“Why, thank you, ‘essa, I am glad the feeling is mutual.”

“You are hot for you, J’har?”

“No, silly, I am hot for you.”

“Oh, ok; that makes sense. I need to pull my serious face on again, because that is where I was when Sohrae passed out.” Llhaesa made a show of using her hands to pretend pull on a new expression.

“J’har, I miss you. I know you know that, but just before I left for Arrhazon, I was rather aloof and well, mean. It bothers me that I said those things to you.

You do not deserve that, ever; in fact, you were gracious through 98% of it, and only when I took off for Arrhazon did you finally get upset to the point of losing your cool.

I know I have apologised, but what happened eats at my soul. I could never hurt you – but I did, and that is not an easy thing to live with, not at all.

“Llhaesa, I understand. You were under severe pressure that day. A lifelong friend was in danger of dying, and you felt powerless.

Our Chief of Government unfortunately blurted out comments she now regrets, and that added fuel to the fire.

You are one who likes to act, to get things done, to accomplish, and doing what felt like nothing whilst your friend’s life was in the balance was something that went against who you are.

Look at this matter another way though; you began the engine modification months before, as if fate led you to tinker with them. You do not normally make use of your science ability, at least not often, but I know when you do, no one is as talented.

You acted before the fact, llhaesa. If you erred at all, it is that you failed to share with me what you did with Chekresu. If there is one thing that I wish you to change, it is not to overlook sharing such things with me, sharing with me the stories little and big from your day.

Do not presume a lack of interest; I am interested in everything you do, proud of everything you do – including how you saved M’traliel’s life. You acted wisely in most everything you did, remarkable under the circumstances.

I do not wish you to go too hard on yourself. I ran this morning because of you. I figured a good way to connect with you, to pull you close to me in thought, was to go do what you do each morning, and it felt good to do this, ‘essa; it felt great, it worked exactly how I wished it to work, mentally.

I can almost smell the sweat of your skin; I can see your hair dripping, laden with moisture after you run, but before you shower. I love the sweet smell of you overpowering my appreciative senses. I need you, ‘essa.

Oh, we can do separations of a type, but beyond a month ones are tough; I think not, not any more. It must be extraordinary circumstance, and this instance does count as one.

I would ask you to please get back here as soon as possible, but you took care of that on your own.”

“I jumped at the chance for an early return because I feel a large part of my life went missing over seven weeks ago. At risk of mimicking your comment, I need you, J’har. If I could make this ship go faster to get me to you, I would.”

“Um, ‘essa? You did make the ship go faster.”

“Oh, yeah, I did do that, didn’t I? Great idea it apparently was! So you went running today, and you wish to run with me when I return?

You do not have to do that, J’har. I know you love me, you know I am enthralled and devoted to you, as you are to me.

That said, if you feel this is something you truly enjoy, and not something you wish to do just to be with me, then I welcome your company; it would make my morning exercise so much better than it has ever been before.

Of course, if you run ahead of me, I get to watch you run, study your stride, your body as it works at a high level of rhythmic motion. Damn, you are making me salivate at the thought!”

“You are such a loveable goof, what with drinking ten beers on your first day of the voyage, your amorous pronunciations and all, my my. You are certainly worth keeping!

“’Essa, did you see my parents before leaving?”

“No, J’har, I did not. I will see them in the morning, however.”

“What? How can you see them in the morning?”

“Your mum and dad are on board, J’har. They arrived not long after the crew vacated the hanger upon greeting me. I have yet to see them; they were exhausted and adjusting to ship’s time.”

“Goddess of Arrhazon, this is great! Mum and dad – are you certain?”

“I am certain, J’har. Check the ship’s passenger manifest.”