Michael’s body was ready for the alarm. He felt an odd calm, holding his phone and watching the minutes add up to seven o’clock. He had a peace about him that was unusual. I make a difference. I am somebody. He turned the alarm off the moment it rang. It is going to be a good day.

And it was. For the most part, work was work--which for many means a slog from 9 to 5. Michael liked his work. More than that, he loved it. When things between himself and Jessica were at their worst, work was a safe haven for him. He recalled that one day he told his boss that he felt more respected at work than he did at home. That hadn’t changed. His home life, obviously, had. That said, he did his best to co-parent with Jessica as much as he could. This was his weekend with the kids.

Katherine and Doug were 11 and 8, respectively. Michael remembered that not long after he’d moved out, Jessica had let a boy stay the night with Katherine. “What the hell!” Michael had thought.

“Oh, believe me, it’s not a big deal.” Jessica had said. Believe me. Hell of a thing to say to your ex husband… Eventually, that boy was going with them to a gathering for Katherine’s birthday. Michael met the group at the facade of the Cheesecake Factory.

Together, there was Jessica, Jessica’s friend Anna, Doug, Katherine and her new “friend” Christian. Michael wasn’t one for authority or putting on authoritative airs, but this was a boy who, he could only assume, was making moves on his daughter. Michael nodded his hello’s to the adults, picked up Doug and held out his hand to Christian. In an unnecessarily deep voice, he said, “I’m Katherine’s father, Michael.”

Christian initially refused to meet Michael’s eyes. He did hold his hand out to shake and responded with a lisp, “Hey! I’m Christian.”

Michael took his hand and looked up at Jessica. Her face silently said, “I told you so”. Michael smiled and heartily shook Christian’s hand. It took a bit to keep him from embracing the boy with his free arm. Jessica later told him that Katherine and Christian had stayed up all night knitting together. Doug had spent that evening running into Katherine’s room, farting, then running out.

Michael shook his head, remembering fondly. He did trust Jessica, as much as he had to; he just couldn’t live with her. Her job kept her and the kids taken care of well. Much more flush than he could ever hope to provide. Though, he was paying child support. It’s a shitty thing to do when I earn less than half of what she does, yet I have to pay her because she has custody of the children. Ultimately, he figured that it was the “right” thing to do and kind of literally the least thing he could do to support them.

The work day ended, Michael said his goodbyes, waved to Bill saying, “We’ll see you in a bit.”

Bill nodded back, “Are we going to get the girls as well? Heard anything from them?”

“Nope.” Michael said, checking his phone, texting Jessica to tell her he was out of work and on his way to pick up the kids. Then, thinking aloud, “I don’t actually have their numbers. They just kinda...show up.”

“Fair enough, see you later.” Bill acknowledged before putting on his helmet and mounting his motorcycle.

***

Michael jockeyed with traffic around the southbound bypass of Jacksonville. He had time enough to look while traveling the entire length of the Buckman Bridge toward the Shil’vati base. Where the hell did Rachel make that shot? Even at the end nearest the base-side of the bridge, it seemed an impossible shot. Yet it had happened. Michael could still feel the hot spray on his face. He gritted his teeth and kept forging ahead. Though forging ahead is the only choice many of us have, it’s hard to see when we’re lost in thoughts of what ifs and hows. He took the exit to go south, away from the base and toward his children.

The rest of the drive was a blur. Michael was running on autopilot until he got to the designated pick up spot. He saw the kids excitedly take off their seatbelts and visibly shake with excitement to see him. He was glad he could still do that: to them, for him. It was hard to say who was happier to see whom.

Michael got out of his car and opened their doors. Jessica got out of her side and grabbed the kids’ bags. Doug was getting hard to pick up, but Michael managed it for as long as he could. He couldn’t do the same for Katherine, but she wrapped herself around him when she was out of the car as well. Squeezing hellos aside, he and Jessica exchanged the usual pleasantries before he got the kids in his car and headed out.

Feeling like he should give the kids a heads up before they got to his place, Michael said, “Uh, hey kids, we may have some friends over at my place tonight.”

Katherine started to ask, but was interrupted by Doug, “Who? Who!”

Katherine made an irked face, “Will Tiana and Andrea be there?” Michael thought for a minute, he didn’t actually know. Andrea was Bill’s daughter and Tiana was hers. They would often hang out at his and Bill’s place.

“Maybe. I don’t know for sure, but maybe.” He quietly took a breath, “It could be some of my new friends. They’re not like our normal friends.”

“Are they purple, Daddy?” Doug asked earnestly.

Michael cleared his throat before clarifying, “They’re not Shil’vati, but also aren’t from Earth.” He looked back in the rearview mirror to see their faces before moving on. “You know the ones who look kinda like people and kinda like dogs?”

Katherine cheerily replied, “Rakeereeeee! They’re my favorite!”

Doug said in a hushed tone, “Werewolves.”

“They’re not werewolves, dude. They don’t change during the full moon.” Michael held up a hand like a claw and imitated a howl. “Awwooo!”

“Rakiri are so much cuter than the Helkam; they look slimy to me. Though the Shil’vati and the Nighkru are kind of appealing.” Katherine seemed to hum with admiration.

Michael scrunched his face toward her in the rearview. I’m not going to follow what I think I’m hearing right now. That’s a discussion for another day. Katherine did not meet his gaze. Maybe seeing strong females “win” a war was a good thing for an impressionable young woman to see.

***

“Daddy. What happened?”

Aww shit, the bed! Michael grasped, “Oh nothing Katie, Daddy was wrestling too hard and broke the bed.”

“Who were you wrestling with?” Doug asked innocently.

That was not a good dodge. “Nobody. Daddy just broke it getting in the bed.”

Doug giggled, “You’re not that fat!”

“Gee, thanks kid,” Michael felt the duality of lying to his children and them defending him.

From the living room, a voice mocked, “Yeah, who were you wrestling?”

Bill. Fucking Bill is so helpful. “Look, the bed broke. Now it’s on the floor.” Michael stated with finality.

“And some of it’s in the closet too. Hey! I sleep here!” Katherine grumped, “Where am I going to sleep?”

Michael grunted, “Here, I’ll get it.” He slid in beside Katherine and nudged her out of the closet. He grabbed the broken footboard off the twin bed, and stood it on its side. Then, he swung the footboard out of the closet and tried to angle it out the bedroom door. “Hey Doug, you’re a big strong boy. Why don’t you help me out?”

Doug had already turned the Xbox on, “You’re not big enough to break the bed, I bet you can handle that workout on your own.” He crossed his legs and settled on the floor with his back against the bed.

“Mmhmm.” Even my youngest recognizes I need some exercise. Cool.

“Yeah, Dad.” Bill smirked from the couch.

Nostrils flaring, “‘Preciate your help, buddy.”

Bill gave him a slight, two fingered salute. “Don’t hit the wall going down the stairs.”

“I got it.” Michael huffed. He looked at the scar of splintered wood where the rail used to live. Dang. I’ll need a more heavy duty bed if the girls ever come back. Thinking back, what were the beds on the base made of? Where would I get that? Can I afford that?

Thunk.

Out of Michael’s spiral, he looked up. He’d hit a knob of the bed against the underhang of the wall where the upstairs floor met the cut out for the stairs. Shit.

Michael could hear Bill’s eyes rolling, “Yeah, that wall. You wanna be careful of that wall, Mikey.”

“Heh, yeah, sorry. My bad.” Michael called as he deliberately lowered the end of the footboard so that it would fit in the space available.

He managed to get the door open and the bed piece outside. He leaned it against the brick framing the door, between the front door and the garage door. I’ll deal with that later.

He turned around. Forming a silent semicircle around him were the Rakiri. Michael didn’t quite have words to greet them as they’d scared him half to death. “Hey everybody!” He half squeaked at the wall of fur that towered over him. They were all there, even the Staff Sergeant, well, all but the little bug eyed one. They all had, what he would guess to be, bashful smiles on their faces. If he were as tall as they were, it might seem to him that they were hanging their heads.

Linnet began to speak but was interrupted by a push from behind her. What’s the name of the bug eyed one? Michael had to search for the right name before remembering that it was Finley. Finley pushed beyond Linnet, licked his lips and copied the behavior; though this time, he was short enough for Michael to recognize that they all had their heads down. Linnet shuffled her feet to make way and get back in position. “Michael. Hello. We have been told that we may not stay at your home every night.” Her tail was firmly tucked between her legs, as were the tails of all of the others.

Ssgt Remington spoke next, “It is against Imperial regulation for us to stay with you off base.” He shifted slightly. Michael noticed that his tail was leaving his legs and was tentatively in neutral space. “However, we have petitioned our superiors and the physical plant technicians that we should get our own barracks. It won’t be anything spectacular or luxurious. It will, however, be much colder than the average Shil’vati barracks.”

Michael didn’t know what he was supposed to say to this. Great for you. “That sounds great, gang!” His enthusiasm was completely fake, though he hoped that it didn’t show. He did notice that the previously tucked tails were now positioned precariously close to wagging.

Bel’a interjected, “That’s not all.” Her tail went into full wag mode; so much so that her hips were swinging.

Michael cocked his head to the side. “Oh?”

“There was also another request that has been approved on our end,” Ssgt Remington added, “But it also needs your approval.”

I have no authority here. What could they need me to approve? Trying to hide his obvious lack of confidence, Michael instead pulled his pants up and stood a little taller. “Of course, what’s the request?”

“Our Rakiri collective at the base report to different officers with different roles; we have different functions on base.” The bug eyed private shivered, “We have requested that you be our liaison between offices.”

“Me?” Michael blurted without thinking. “Why me?”

“You have treated us better than the Shil’vati ever have. We are both peoples subjugated under the Shil’vati Imperium.” Fala explained, “They often absorb the locals into their ranks. And though you have no military qualifications, you could mediate relations between ourselves and our Shil’vati commanders.”

Michael was dubious. “Who in the world would approve that idea?”

Linnet stepped in, “We know you don’t know everyone on base, so we can’t imagine you’d know her. Her name is Joph’rena. She’s an intelligence officer. She is in our and Serca’s pod. She’s good. We told her of our… concerns since your first night there and the treatment we’ve received from you in the time since. She thinks it would be a great idea. She pushed it through her chain of command and it seems they agreed.”

Michael didn’t hear anything after ‘Joph’rena’. That bitch. She wants to keep me under her thumb by ‘offering’ a position on base. Fuuuck.

As the possible consequences of this series of events unraveled in Michael’s mind, his audience became aware of his processing face. Harley chimed in, “You don’t have to decide now.” She looked at the rest of her cohort, “And we’d like to bring Bill along too. He does have military experience; we think the two of you could provide the assistance we need as well as blend humans into the ranks of the Imperium.”

The bug eyed one almost cooed, “It would be an honor to work with the former Lieutenant.”

Michael chuckled under his breath. “Ok everybody. It’s getting dark. Are you all available to come in tonight?”

Grins broadened across all of their faces. Tails wagged uncontrollably.

Michael offered a heads up, “I have to tell you, my kids are here.” The Rakiri smiles grew more somehow. “Doug is the boy one. Katherine is the girl one. They are wee.” He looked at all the bared teeth that met him as he talked. “I’m going to need y’all to put the teeth away for a little bit. I know you’re happy, but these kids could be intimidated by all of your pointy pearly whites.”

The pack closed their muzzles, but their tails remained at full tilt.

Michael encouraged his newly begotten entourage to all take a deep breath together before they headed upstairs. When they all did, he pretended like they were going to knock him over. Three little pigs, six wolves, what is my house made of? I hope it’s sturdy enough to handle what I’m about to do to it.

He led them up the stairs. He carefully stepped into the living room, pressing the side of his pointer finger to his lips so that Bill wouldn’t say anything. Bill raised his eyebrows and looked back at the TV. ‘Your funeral,’ he seemed to say.

“Hey Katie, Doug?” Michael called from the living room.

“Yeah dad?” They harmonized.

“Can you come in here? I want you to meet my friends.”

Michael heard a grumble after the sound of gunfire coming from his TV was paused. The first one out the door was Doug.

“Whoa.” Doug stood in silent awe at the wall of fur that stood before him.

Katherine scooted out of the bedroom with her eyes on her phone. When she looked up, she was perplexed. Her brows furrowed for a moment before she squealed, “RAKEEEEEREEEE!”

The Rakiri company bent their ears back defensively. They look pained.

“Katie! We don’t yell at new people!” Michael scolded.

“I’m sorry Daddy, but I’m so excited!” Katherine clasped her hands together.

“Sure honey, but-” Before he could finish his thought, Katherine had scampered up to Bel’a and grabbed her hand.

“Ooh, your pads are so soft!” Katherine approached without asking. “What’s your name?”

“Bel’a. I believe you are Katherine.” Bel’a kept an ear back, but looked over at her cohort, her mouth agape at having been chosen first.

“No one calls me ‘Katherine’ except when I’m in trouble. I’m Katie.” Katherine tugged Bel’a toward the bedroom.

Michael reminded, “Katie, you know there’re five other friends to meet.”

Successfully pulling Bel’a from her footing, Katie answered, “I know, there’ll be plenty of time for that. Bel’a’s my new friend.”

Michael tried not to see the swing of Bel’a’s curves as she passed him. Hmm, I don’t understand that girl, Michael shook his head both to resist the vision and trying to understand what would attract Katherine to Bel’a.

“Well Doug, thanks for sticking around.” Michael patted him on the shoulder. “This is Remington, Finley, Harley, Fala, Linnet and you saw Bel’a get dragged away by your sister.”

“Is that real?” Doug asked blankly.

“Yes, of course they’re real, they’re people, you aren’t imagining them.” Michael corrected.

“No, Michael,” Ssgt Remington corrected Michael, “I believe he means this.” He said as he unholstered his laser pistol. “It sure is. Do you want to see it?” He held it out for the child.

Doug nodded his head yes. He looked at Michael for permission. How do I say no? I mean, I’m not going to hand my kid a gun, but what do I know about laser pistols? He’s the professional soldier; he must know what he’s doing. Michael hesitantly nodded Doug forward. Wide eyed, Doug sprang forward and grabbed for the weapon.

Ssgt Remington withheld it for a moment, “Hang on, you don’t just grab a weapon.” He opened the chamber, Michael guessed to check that it wasn’t loaded, and guided Doug’s eyes to the inner workings of the pistol. “You make sure that it’s safe.” There was a slide of hard materials against each other. I sure hope he’s unloading that thing, Michael’s face drew into a mask of fear. He looked to the other Rakiri standing before him. They seem satisfied with what’s going on, I suppose I should relax.

Across the living room, Michael saw a red dot appear on the wall. He recoiled, fearing smoke would rise from the dot. He envisioned the red dot on Amber’s face, the back of her hands. The hole that was removed from her head. He heard the meat of Rachel’s arm hit the desk. “Ah! Don’t let him shoot that!” Michael screamed.

Ssgt Remington raised from his kneeling position with Doug, “It’s ok.” He assured Michael in close whispers, “I’ve got the ammunition. That’s just the sight.”

Michael tried to swallow his heart. “Oh. Ok. I need to sit down.” His head was swimming. He took a few meandering steps toward the couch. Linnet and Fala came to his side to assist him. “I’m ok. I’ll be ok.” He reassured them. “It’s just kind of a lot to take in right now.”

“No problem.” Fala sat down on one side of Michael, between himself and Bill. “Hey Bill, could you get him something to drink?”

Bill gave her the side eye, “Water or something stronger?”

Fala frowned at Bill then turned away from him. “Harley, could you grab some water?” She nodded obediently and retrieved a bottle from the refrigerator. Fala continued with Michael, “How about you take some deep breaths?” Then demonstrated breathing deeply, not dissimilar from how he had demonstrated for them at the front door before they came into the apartment. “Feel the couch. Feel our hands on your arms. Look at the coffee table. You are safe. You are grounded.”

Michael breathed and identified what he could see and feel. “Couch. Table. Controller.” He took another deep breath, “Paws. More couch. Water.” Inhaling more smoothly, “Whew, ok…”, what I was envisioning is in the past. It’s over. It’s not happening now. I can’t change it now. Breathe.

***

The rest of the evening proceeded as one would predict, uneventfully. The Rakiri loved the children as the children loved them. They watched TV together. Played Xbox together. Eventually, they all settled for the night. Bel’a and Katherine crammed together on the twin mattress in Michael’s closet; bliss was written on both of their faces. Michael, Doug and Linnet were piled together on Michael’s bed on the floor of his bedroom. Not sure where Ssgt Remington and Finley ended up, but I’m sure Bill’s got Harley and Fala in his room.

The rest of the weekend went along similarly. Michael took time to ponder the pros and cons of taking the liaison position for the Rakiri on base. Yes, I’d be under Joph’rena’s thumb, the middleman, but also, I might get a real bed. Maybe my own living space. It would be, relatively, a safe place for myself to stay and the children to visit. I wonder what the pay would be? Do I need to keep my day job? Would I be happy if I weren’t interpreting anymore? What kind of rent would I be paying? Who is paying for all this? I don’t know if this is something I want to commit to. And on and on he wondered until Sunday.

It was time to hand the children over to Jessica.

Katherine and Bel’a nearly shed tears at their departure. Katherine had made several drawings of herself and a large black dog-creature which was obviously supposed to be Bel’a. There were hearts between, around and everywhere else amongst them. That’s cute, Michael thought when he saw them.

Doug and Harley had made some headway on various Halo and Call of Duty missions through the weekend. He was enamoured with the military lifestyle that she shared with him. The thought of traveling vast distances, meeting new people and killing them had massive appeal to Doug. I can’t say I share that perspective, but I understand how that draws a lot of young people; Michael tried to wrap the thought of his only son going off into space. I sure would miss him and I would be afraid for him--but I guess all military parents feel the same way. I guess all I can do is empower him to make decisions that get him where he wants to go and what he wants to do.

All of this drew to a close as Michael parked his car in Orange Park. He opened his door and the trunk to grab the kids’ things.

“How’d your weekend go, my babies?” Jessica asked when the kids got themselves out of the car.

“Momma! Daddy introduced us to his Rakiri friends!” Katherine impulsively answered.

Jessica gave Michael a look. “Oh yeah?”

“Harley and I kicked butt!” Doug pumped his fist and pointed at imaginary targets, “And I got to hold Remington’s laser gun!”

“Oh did you?” Jessica renewed her accusing look at Michael.

“It wasn’t loaded,” Michael responded, sheepishly.

Jessica herded, “Ok kids, hop on in the car. I need to talk to your father.”

Michael braced himself. I should have known better.

Once their doors were closed, Jessica turned to Michael, “I thought we talked about this. What are you doing still fucking around with those Shil’vati?”

Michael tried to parry, “They’re not Shil’vati, exactly, they’re Rakiri.”

“Whatever. Not the point. You do what you need to do, that’s your prerogative, but there’s no need to get the kids mixed up with them.”

Michael tried not to grind his teeth. “Jess, they’ve offered and I’ve decided to accept a position as the middleman between the Rakiri and the Shil’vati.” His decision was made. “I’m going to live on base, so the kids are going to see a lot more of them.”

Jessica scoffed, “Oh, you are a master negotiator.” She drew a breath, seeing that maybe she’d cut a little too deep judging by the face Michael was making. “Fine. Maybe you can do this. I have an opinion, but I’m not the one offering you the job.” She settled down a bit more. “If you think it’s the right decision for you, good luck. I just don’t want you to get in over your head and fuck things up for the kids.”

Michael stood fast, “I won’t know what it looks like until I get there. After all, I thought I’d made solid decisions in the past. And look where that got me. Maybe it’s high time for me to take some risks.”

Jessica looked at the pavement then at the kids shaking her car. “The Shil’vati are buying out my work.”

“The mill?” Michael wondered what the Shil’vati would want with a paper mill in the middle of Florida.

Jessica looked up, “Not just the mill. The whole company.”

“Oh.” Michael was shaken. “Why?”

“Some kind of resource management, I guess it's global.” Jessica waved at the kids to get them to calm down, “Anyway, I’ve been selected for a promotion.”

“Of safety at the mill?”

“Safety in the North American region. I’ll get to stay here for now, but I’ll have a lot more travel in my future.”

Michael did the math in his head. “Oh, so you’re going to be in the Shil’s pocket as well?”

“It’s an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Michael met her eyes with concern. Jessica continued, “They didn’t put a horse’s head in my bed or anything. It’s an opportunity for me to dream bigger.”

Michael probed, “And you’re going to need me to pick up the slack with the children?”

“Not necessarily. What I’m saying is that they need stability. I’m going through changes. You’re going through changes. We’re going to have to work together to give them the best life we can.”

“Agreed. We’re all in this together.”

Michael and Jessica gave each other the kind of acknowledging nod that people give when they agree to disagree. This wasn’t over, but they’d both thrown wrenches in each other’s works for not the first time--nor would it be the last.

“Ok, see you in two weeks.” Michael bid her farewell. “I’ll let you know what gets worked out between now and then.”

“Likewise.” Jessica agreed. “See you in two weeks.”