Town of Alleghe
Alleghe Wilds, Ver Sayles
18/7/-1
-Lieutenant Colonel Leah “Mama Bear” Duciel-
-Executive Officer (Retired), Allegheny Irregulars-
Leah Duciel paced anxiously in the living room of her home, making every attempt not to throw anything fragile and barely succeeding. She had expected more lead time for this moment. Fuck it though, now that it was closing in on her, she didn’t want to miss her opportunity. Remy left seven years ago, because he couldn’t imagine having to sit still for a change. When Ver Sayles was occupied by the invading forces, all the armed forces stationed on-world were given the choice to stand down or leave the system in exile. Leah chose to be a responsible parent, and take an early retirement so their children could grow up on their home planet. Remy decided to keep fighting, and though “Mama Bear” had given her blessing, she didn’t have to be pleased with only two visits in his seven years of absence. She knew the merc life well, as by all objective standards Leah Duciel was far better at it than her husband. It was likely out of his control, but she felt no obligation to consider that. He had been in constant contact with the children, and husband and wife still loved one another dearly, but goddamnit, it was boring without that asshole causing mayhem daily.
As she heard the sound of a pickup truck pulling up to the house, Leah’s pacing slowed, and she began fidgeting with the vegetables on the half-wall separating her living room from her kitchen. Her hand lingered on a particularly weighty one as she heard a key unlock her front door for the first time in three years.
“Mama Bear, I’m home!”
As Remy Duciel walked into his wife’s home for the first time in half a decade, a particularly weighty potato hit him square in the nose.
“Fuckin’ OUCH, Leah…”
“You’re lucky. I was considering the cantaloupe, shithead.”
“Well, it’s nice to be home, cara mia.”
Remy cautiously entered the living room. He made his way toward the couch, rubbing his nose and shaking his head. Leah reached into her refrigerator and grabbed a beer, tossing it to Remy, softly this time.
“For your nose. Don’t want it to get any bigger.”
“If it’s ever gonna catch my ego, I’m gonna need it to try.”
“It’s good to have you back, asshole.”
The pair’s reunion was far more loving from that point on, and they caught up while working on dinner together as if Remy had just come back from a three-week job, not a dozen-year exile.
Talk wandered to their children, whom Remy hadn’t seen in years but remained in contact with regularly throughout his exile. Both of the Duciel children were currently off-world. Henry, the eldest, was a civil engineer with the Free Reaches Coalition. A neutral free state with no military presence, it was technically occupied but left largely autonomous as a noncombatant entity. Dax, Remy’s “baby girl,” was attending university in the Lehigh Marches, doing graduate studies in extraplanar and multiversal theory. Despite officially being at war with the Remnants, the Marches were relatively safe; they were on the opposite side of the galaxy from the invasion. Remy’s disappointment in their absence was easily outweighed by the relief of knowing they were both out of reach of the war, at least for the moment.
Leah was just as eager to hear of the family she’d left behind to raise her own, the Irregulars. Remy went through the list of new arrivals, beginning with his new XO, Kreiya Marsden. Leah grilled him with qualifying questions at first, but as he described her delight in calling out his foolishness, Mama Bear Duciel nodded in emphatic support.
“Sounds like you found yourself a good one. Don’t make it weird with her. Speaking of, how’s your girlfriend?”
“Serah’s doing great, really settling into her own as part of the command lance. She told me I’d better tell you how much she misses you. Wait, what?”
Mrs. Duciel laughed and playfully threw a punch toward Remy, who ducked underneath it and leaned his head into her.
“I’ve missed this, babe.”
“I know you have, Remy. Me too, I guess.”
“So, the kids are all grown and moved out… it’s just the two of us… you know what I’m thinking, Mama Bear?”
“Oh Remy, I need to clean up, we need to finish dinner, I miss you too, honey, but that’s gotta wait a bit longer…”
“No, no… I mean, yes, please, but I meant coming back to the Irregulars. We’re not leaving. We’re gonna carve out a place here, I’ve got a plan. Part of it works better with someone under the radar, and technically you’re retired. Come back, and pretend to not come back! We’ll have a great time, and you can come teach Kreiya how to pick on me better!”
Leah Duciel sighed. She looked at Remy in shock at first, but as she turned the logic over in her head, and contemplated just how damn bored she’d been in his absence, she knew she had nothing to lose except the monotony of good behavior.
“I’ve still got my mech in the hangar out back. Wouldn’t dare power her up in public, but she’s already on a trailer. Just need a big enough truck to haul her.”
“We’ll get it done. Glad to have you back, honey.”
