The Epsilon-Eridani sun shone brightly that morning, the yellow light over the Fernandez family home making the substantial house look warm and inviting. The heavily upgraded Raptor gunship circled overhead, momentarily shadowing the neatly cropped lawn as Faye brought the white vessel to land on an area highlighted by glowing chevrons. The Raptor touched down on the landing pad, guided to a feathery stop by Faye's meticulous piloting skills.
Calara's old home was located near the equator on Jericho and the winter clothing they'd worn for the ski chalet would have left them sweltering. The girls had quickly changed into flowing summer dresses that accentuated their narrow waists and feminine curves, while John wore stone-coloured linen trousers and a white shirt.
John had been standing beside Calara, looking out of the cockpit canopy and he glanced back to smile at their purple-hued pilot. "Thanks, Faye," he said gratefully.
"You're welcome!" the eager sprite replied, a broad smile on her cute elfin face.
"There she is!" Calara exclaimed, waving through the window at her mother.
John turned to look across the lawn at the attractive Latina who was waiting for them on the patio. Maria spotted her daughter and waved back as she walked towards the landing pad, a huge smile lighting up her face.
"Come on, fiancée!" he said, offering Calara a hand.
She grinned at him and they led the rest of the group from the cockpit, floating down in the grav-tube, then turning left to enter the forward loading area. Maria stood a few metres back from the foot of the loading ramp and Calara ran ahead, bounding down the slope to wrap her mother in a tight hug.
"Callie! It's so wonderful to see you!" Maria gushed, hugging her daughter in delight.
"I missed you so much, Mom!" Calara exclaimed, a blissful smile on her face.
John shared an affectionate glance with Alyssa and they walked down to join the embracing women.
"Hello, Maria," he said, smiling at the older Latina. "Or should I start calling you 'Mom' too?"
"Don't you dare!" she replied, laughing heartily. "Not unless you want me to play the role of ghastly mother-in-law!"
He grinned and quickly shook his head. "Please don't do that. I like you exactly as you are."
Maria gave him a coy smile. "Come here you darling man! I definitely want a hug from my future son-in-law!"
Calara peeled away from her mother as Maria greeted John with a warm hug.
"Thanks for making that conversation so easy," John said, his voice ringing with gratitude.
They parted and her perceptive eyes studied him intently. "The first time I saw you and Callie together, I knew you were the one. I must confess that I warned Jack immediately to let him get used to the idea."
John laughed and gave her a broad smile. "You and Jack were both amazing. It's a shame he can't be here today, but we did manage to catch up with him after the award ceremony."
Her deep brown eyes widened and she gasped, "Oh my gosh! I've watched the whole thing a dozen times, it was magical!" She put her hand on his shoulder and an arm around her daughter as she said earnestly, "Jack and I are so proud of the pair of you. You're both such an inspiration to so many people."
John glanced fondly at Calara. "To be honest, your daughter does most of the hard work. I just sit in a chair and give orders."
Maria grinned at that, giving him a knowing look. "One of the perks of command, Vice Admiral..." Her voice trailed away and she looked stunned for a moment, gaping at him in awe, as if suddenly realising she had a member of the Admiralty standing in her garden. She glanced at Calara and breathed in shock, "You're marrying the Lion of the Federation!"
"Really?" Calara asked wryly. "Thanks for letting me know, I had no idea."
"I'm the same guy I always was," John said gently, patting Maria's arm to reassure her. "Still just as nervous about making a good impression with my fiancée's wonderful parents."
She shook off her shock and blushed furiously. "I'm so sorry! I just got a bit starstruck! You've been on the news almost every day for months." She let out an embarrassed laugh as she added, "I still stay in touch with old friends in the military. When we chat on the holo-net, they can't stop talking about you and they don't even know about your engagement to Calara yet!"
Alyssa gave John a playful smile. "You're making quite the name for yourself, Lion."
"I'm so sorry, Alyssa!" Maria gasped, looking aghast as she rushed over to hug the blonde girl. "You must think I'm terrible! I've not even said hello to you yet!"
Hugging her back affectionately, Alyssa murmured in her ear, "No, I really don't think you're terrible, I think you're lovely. Calara's a very lucky girl."
Maria pulled back to look into Alyssa's blue eyes. She gave the blonde girl a knowing look and brushed her fingers across her cheek. "She really is..."
Alyssa looked uncharacteristically flustered for a moment, so John stepped in and said, "Everyone's been looking forward to seeing you, Maria. You already know Dana and Jade."
Maria had been studying the rest of the group in fascination and she stepped forward to give the redhead then the Nymph a warm hug in greeting. "You two are just as beautiful as ever!"
Jade smiled at the older Latina. "Alyssa's right. I can see why the girls all wish you were-"
"Jade!" Dana hissed, darting an embarrassed glance her way as she cut her off.
"We've expanded the crew since we last visited," John said, smiling at the tawny-haired girl hovering behind Dana. "This is Lieutenant Commander Rachel Voss, our Chief Medical Officer."
"Ah! The gifted doctor you rescued from the Dragon March," Maria said, smiling at the brunette, before glancing back at John. "You've actually already introduced us, while you were on holiday on Oceanus."
He slapped his hand against his forehead. "Of course! I completely forgot you met her on that call!"
"Please just call me Rachel," the tawny-haired girl said, taking in the other woman with smiling grey eyes. "It's wonderful to finally meet you properly, Maria."
After studying Rachel for a moment, Maria shook her head in amazement. "I thought you were a beautiful woman before, but now that I'm meeting you in person, I can see how gorgeous you really are!" She frowned in confusion as she studied the teenager. "And you've grown taller since I last saw you..."
"I went through something of a growth spurt," Rachel replied, her eyes flitting to John before she smiled at Calara's mother.
Maria's eyes narrowed perceptively as she turned to look at Calara. "There seems to be a lot of that going around..."
John quickly moved on, smiling at the Asian girl who was waiting patiently to be introduced. "This is Sakura, our Security Chief."
"It's an honour to meet you, Mrs. Fernandez," Sakura said, giving her a polite bow of her head. "I've heard so much about you from Calara."
"Call me Maria, please," the older woman said, the smile on her face warm and welcoming, but her eyes gleaming with a sharp intelligence as she studied Sakura. "I saw you during the Award Ceremony, but the holo-cameras didn't do your beauty justice."
Sakura blushed and said, "That's kind of you to say, Maria."
"You're so lovely and tall, too! Did you go through a late growth spurt when you joined the crew as well?" she asked, looking intrigued.
"Something like that," the Asian girl replied, unsure how to reply to Maria's probing enquiry. Her quick glance at John was not lost on the insightful Latina.
Turning back to look at John, Maria said airily, "I've served on a number of ships, but I don't remember ever flying with a crew quite like yours before. Are you sure you're not running a modelling agency instead of a starship?"
"I'm quite sure. I've never served with a more gifted crew," John said, looking at the girls with no small amount of pride. "Which brings me to Irillith... and Tashana."
"It's lovely to meet you both," Maria said politely, looking intrigued as she gazed at them. "I didn't want to be rude and stare, but I've never seen people from your species before... I love your eyes, they're enchanting! The two of you are both so beautiful! If you don't mind me asking, what planet are you from?"
"We grew up on Valaden," Tashana replied, giving her a tentative smile.
Blinking in surprise, Maria asked curiously, "Valaden? I've never heard of that world before. Are you from one of the minor empires near Trankaran Space?"
Irillith glanced at John and when he nodded, she said quietly, "Actually, we're from quite a large empire. It used to be called the Maliri Regency, but it's gone through a change of leadership recently and is now called the Maliri Protectorate."
Maria laughed good-naturedly, looking back at Calara and said, "Did you put them up to this? You know it's mean to tease your poor mother!"
Calara walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "They're telling the truth, Mom. This is what the Maliri look like beneath their golden armour..."
"You're really Maliri?!" Maria gasped, gaping at them in awe.
"It's a capital offence to reveal our true appearance to non-Maliri," Irillith explained, looking intently at the stunned Latina. "That's why we wore armour during the Award Ceremony, but John said he trusted you and that we should too."
Maria looked touched as she gave John a grateful smile. Focusing on the twins, she said earnestly, "I promise, I won't tell a soul." After a moment's hesitation, she reached out a trembling hand towards Tashana's arm and asked, "May I?"
"Of course," Tashana replied, stepping forward to let Calara's mother touch her skin.
"I've always been fascinated by the Maliri," Maria murmured, gently brushing her fingers over Tashana's sky-blue skin. "You must have heard all the wild rumours, but you look just like Terrans... except you're so exotic..."
Irillith smiled at her and asked, "Not the hideously deformed monsters you were expecting?"
