Katja Pt. 18

Erik nodded, "Sure, anyone else?"

Geoff thought for a minute, "Azlan and Helen I think, they've been in touch with them."

Erik nodded as he stood, "I'll let them know." He turned to Katja, "Why don't you go with them and I'll tell Azlan and see if mom can look after the kids."

Katja nodded and stood, "Okay love, that's sounds good to me."

They went to go wait and Erik walked over to the other table and took hold of Azlan's shoulder, "I hate to break this up, but uncle Geoff wants you and Helen to join us, the shuttles will be here in ten minutes."

Azlan nodded, then Erik said to Cassie, "Mom, we have to go with uncle Geoff, can you keep an on the children?"

Cassie smiled at him, "Of course dear, go do what you need to do."

He came over and kissed her cheek smiling, "Thanks mom, we shouldn't be long." She grinned and stroked his face. Then Azlan, Helen and Erik went to join the others outside.

They joined up with the others and they walked over to the other hanger where they stored their shuttles to wait. In about ten minutes, the PA system in the hanger came on. "Commander, New Tygris shuttle preparing to land."

Uncle Geoff smiled and waved up at the observation window letting them know he heard.

A few minutes later, the shuttle came in and hovered, then landed. The back ramp opened and they smiled as they saw Captain Julius, followed by Commander Kendra and her mate Bob Henderson, Jim Neville and Evie, and finally, Nigel and Mr. Hayes.

Erik and the rest walked over and greeted them, handshakes and hugs were exchanged then Geoff said, "Why don't we move over to the hanger so they can move the shuttle. The next one's should be landing soon."

They did and soon after, the shuttle from Australia, then the European one landed. Geoff and Azlan smiled as Cruz and the rest walked down the ramps and came over to join them. More handshakes and hugs were exchanged, then Geoff said, "Well, since everyone is here, why don't we all go to the other hanger and join the rest."

Once they got there, they were greeted by the others, and they joined them.

Tony and Erik grinned as they looked at their friend Neville, who smiled at them asking, "So, how's my favorite ex-squids doing?"

Tony laughed, "We're doing good jarhead, how you liking civilian life?"

Erik grinned, "Yeah, I suppose you and Bob have your security crew doing PT every morning and dining on crayons."

Bob grinned as he walked up and joined them, "Yeah that's right, luckily we told all the ex-Navy applicants to go push on a rope. We didn't want anybody with all those bad habits."

Katja, Ariel and Evie looked at each other and shook their heads, they had heard this all many times over the past couple of years.

Ariel grinned, "Won't any of you ever grow up?"

The four of them looked at them and said at the same time, "No."

Kendra laughed as she came over to join her mate, "Well, that was quick, you all trying to get it all out of your systems early?"

The all laughed at that, then the newcomers joined them at their tables. Erik and the others introduced them to some of the people there that hadn't met them before, and soon, everyone was talking like old friends. Like normal, the females and the males split up to talk.

Evie asked Katja and Ariel, "Is Callie around?"

Ariel nodded, "She's at her place right now, she's waiting on Bryan to get here. They should be here soon."

Evie grinned, "Good, I missed her. I still can't believe she ever settled down."

Katja grinned back, "You and everyone else."

They all laughed, then Evie asked them, "So, tell me, how are the children?"

Then they laughed at the look on her face as she heard from all the children, "We're good miss Evie."

Evie laughed, "I forgot about that." Then she grinned as the children all came up and she hugged and kissed by them.

Kendra smiled, she had only met Helen's children the one time they had come to the base, so she was introduced to the others.

The Evie looked at her, and she smiled back. "We also have some news, we're both pregnant too. We found out last week."

They were all congratulated by the rest, then they started to give them advice.

Erik and the other males were talking also, then Jim asked both Erik and Tony, "So, how are your children doing? We haven't seen them in a while."

Erik grinned, "Their great, hold on and I call them." He thought out to Geoff, "Son, why don't you and Bryan come here. Mr. Neville is asking about you."

In a couple of minutes, Geoff, Gesa, Bryan, Brigitte came over. Erik grinned, he should have known that Gesa and Brigitte would have followed.

Geoff smiled, "Hi mister Neville."

Jim grinned, "Hello back Geoff, wow, you've grown quite a bit since I last saw you, and who's this?"

Geoff grinned, "This is my friend Gesa."

Jim grinned back, "Well hello Gesa, it's a pleasure to meet you." Gesa smiled shyly, "Hello mister Neville."

Then Jim grinned as he said hello to Bryan and Brigitte, who grinned back, then Brigitte smiled as she gave him a hug. "Hi mister Jim."

Jim grinned, Erik's daughter was such a sweetheart, "Hello Brigitte, have you gotten even prettier?"

Brigitte smiled and hugged him again as they all laughed at her response.

Then Bryan grinned, as he said hello to him. Jim grinned back and looked at Tony, "What are you and Ariel feeding this one? I can't believe how big he's gotten."

Tony grinned back as he hugged his son, "I know, he eats more than I do."

Erik laughed, "I surprised he doesn't have him lifting weights yet."

Then Bob joined them and sat down, "Well, are one of you two going to introduce me?"

Bob hadn't met their children before, Jim did when he came here about a year or so ago.

Erik grinned, "Sure. Kids, this is mister Henderson. He's also a friend." He turned to Bob, "This is my son Geoff and his friend Gesa. She's Axel's and Allie's daughter."

Bob smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you Geoff, Gesa."

Then Tony grinned, "This is my son Bryan and Erik's daughter Brigitte."

Bob smiled at them also, then greeted them. He looked at Jim and he nodded back, "Well, as much as it pains me to say it, I guess we're going to need your advice. Both of us are also going to be parents."

Everyone congratulated them, then Tony grinned at Erik, "How about that, the Marines finally realizing they need the Navy's help."

Erik snorted a laugh, "Didn't they always?"

They laughed once more, then Bryan looked at Jim and Bob a little puzzled, then tugged on his father's shirt. Tony smiled down at him, "Yes Bryan?"

He looked up at his father, "We heard you and uncle Erik talking to them when they first got here. Do they really eat crayons??" He smiled, "We have some over at the other table, I can get them some since they're your friends. Do the different colors taste different?"

Tony started to laugh and Erik grinned laughing at the look on Bob and Jim's face before they started to laugh also.

Once Tony was able to get his laughter under control, he picked up Bryan and hugged him. "No kiddo, uncle Erik and I were just playing with them. But thank you for asking and being so considerate."

Bryan smiled and hugged his daddy back, then he and the others went back to playing together.

Jim watched him go and wiped the laugh tears away, "Oh man, I'm going to tell this story for years. He is such a good kid Tony."

Tony watched him and the others go back to the other table and nodded, "Yes he is Jim. They're all like that, and yours we be the same."

They all talked some more, then Uncle Geoff came over, "The others will be here soon, then we can start. Bill Sharpe said it should be about twenty minutes."

They all nodded, then Erik got up and walked towards the hanger entrance to look out over the tarmac and the adjacent field next to it. There were numerous tents and booths set up, along with picnic tables and chairs. The people were gathered both in the hanger, the tarmac, and the field. The hanger was mainly their people along with some of the people from nearby towns who had become friends with the people here.

He looked over to the platform and dais set up. It was decorated with bunting and streamers with a slew of chairs for the VIP's to sit on while waiting to make their speeches. Then he looked down the road and saw the main gate. There was a small crane near it and it would be hooked to the gate to remove it when the time came. Then he smiled to himself as he sensed Katja come up behind him. He could smell her scent as she put her arms around him to hug him from behind. He turned in her arms and smiled as he bent down slightly to kiss her. "Umm, I love you kitten. Having a good time?"

Katja smiled and kissed him back, "I love you too. Yes, I am. You having a good time love?"

He smiled back, "Yes, actually I am. It was nice to see our other friends again. I suppose Kendra and Evie told you all the good news."

Katja nodded, "Yes, they told us. I guess Jim and Bob told you also."

Erik smiled, "Yeah, they did. So Tony, Azlan and I gave them some advice."

She smiled, "We did the same for Kendra and Evie. Did Celia say what time she'd be here?"

Erik nodded, "Yeah, I talked to her yesterday, Jack and Maria were going to give her a ride in, so they should be here any minute, Jonny said Lucy texted him to let him know she was on the way."

Katja grinned, "That's good." She looked around, "It's amazing how many people are here from all the towns in the area."

Erik nodded, "Yes there are quite a few of them, it was sort of expected. Celia had said a lot of people who came into her shop mentioned they wanted to be here for it. We've got quite a few pagans and heathens that moved into the area."

Then he remembered the baby shower, and said without thinking, "I just hope Lucy doesn't try to do another mass blessing like she did before. She almost drained herself if it wasn't for Geoff helping her."

Katja looked at him confused, "What do you mean love?"

He winced a little, he hadn't mentioned it to her before. He hugged her, "Remember when she did the mass-blessing and the nimbus started to fade?"

She nodded remembering. "Well, what no one knew or saw was that Geoff augmented her power with his own."

Katja looked at him, "Are you serious?"

Erik nodded, "Yes, I talked to him about it afterwards." He looked around, "Apparently, his other "Mother" told him to do it because she was worried about Lucy over reaching herself."

Katja looked a bit stunned, but then nodded her understanding. She smiled at him, "I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to "sharing you" my love."

They both felt warmth, then Brigit said to them, "It's not really sharing dear one. Our mate has always been mine from the beginning. So, technically, I'm sharing him with you. But since you can give him what I can't, I don't mind." Then she giggled.

Erik and Katja grinned at one another, then Erik leaned down and kissed her. Then he felt two sets of arms around him as his "Mates" kissed him back. Erik almost collapsed from the feeling and Katja held him. He looked at her and smiled wanly, "You think you have a hard time getting used to it?"

He heard both their laughter, then all he felt was Katja holding him, along with an empty spot in his soul once Lady Brigit left.

As they held each other, they heard someone call to them. They looked up and smiled as they saw Jack, Maria, Lucy and Celia walking towards them.

They greeted each other warmly and as they did, Jonny walked out of the hanger smiling. "I got your message love."

Lucy laughed and came over and hugged him giving him a kiss.

Then they held hands like always as they came back over. Maria grinned and hugged her soon to be son-in-law and kissed his cheek. Then Jack shook his hand smiling. "I figured she'd let you know."

Jonny smiled, since he had come of age, both of Lucy's parents had treated him like a son. "It's good to see you both also."

Then he smiled as Celia came up and hugged him also. "You haven't been over to the store in a while. I've missed you also."

Jonny grinned, "Well, school has been a little time consuming. When your mother is a teacher, she doesn't cut me any slack."

Lucy laughed, "We're not mated yet and she does the same with me, along with Cassie." She looked at Celia and grinned once more, "Along with my other teacher."

Celia grinned and patted her face, "And I never will dear." Then she hugged her.

Erik grinned as he watched the two of them. He had watched them grow up together and thought of them as his children also. He put an arm around Lucy's shoulders and hugged her, "Don't worry little sister, she did the same to me." Lucy grinned and hugged Erik.

They all laughed and headed into the hanger to head over to the table they were all waiting at. Allie saw Jonny and Lucy together and came over to give her future daughter a hug, then hugged Jack and Maria.

After about a half-hour, Uncle Geoff got another message and smiled as he answered it. He talked for a few minutes and ended the call. "Well, the rest will be here in ten minutes, then we can start."

Ten minutes later, the motorcade stopped in front of the hanger and Uncle Geoff, Erik, and a few others walked out to greet them.

Mr. Sharpe got out followed by Joseph and the state's governor. The second car held the three mayors from the towns around New Lyonn.

Uncle Geoff greeted them, as did Erik and the others. Mr. Sharpe smiled, "Well, it certain seems like a great turnout for the celebration."

Uncle Geoff smiled back, "Yes, we were surprised on how many showed up, it's almost like the yearly gatherings we had on home-world."

The governor smiled also agreeing, "Yes, it's like the state fairs we have every year ourselves. People come from all over to attend."

The mayors came up and greeted Geoff and Erik warmly. They had more frequent dealings with them and had all become friends.

They all talked for a few minutes to catch up, then Geoff said, "I guess since everyone's here, we should get this started. We're all ready, all we need to do is hook the crane up to remove the gate after the speeches."

They agreed, then Uncle Geoff had them pass the word for everyone to gather. The media crews that Victoria had invited to attend, were spaced around the stage, there were reporters and various TV news-crews to report on this special occasion.

Once everyone had gathered by the stage, uncle Geoff and the others all walked up and sat down while Geoff walked up to the podium.

He called for everyone's attention, then smiled, "Good afternoon, first, thanks to everyone for joining us in this wonderful occasion. I can't tell you how happy we are to be finished with our new town and the help we've received from the different government officials since our landing from the President down to the local mayors. Saying thank you to all of them seems not enough for all they did for us. From allowing our people to settle here, helping find a place to call our own, and to join this wonderful country."

Everyone applauded and he let them go on for a bit. "I also wish to thank the leaders of the towns around ours, we've become friends with them and their people. They helped us make our town like all the others as we wanted. We've made many friends and some of us on both sides have become more than friends as we were accepted by the people of this country."

More applause started and kept going for a while. Once it died down, Geoff introduced the others on the stage and they all said their piece. Once done, Geoff came back up and said, "Now, please join us in celebrating the opening of New Lyonn." He signaled to a crew, and the crowd watched as the crane started and swung into position and they hooked up the cables to the last gate.

The crew disconnected the last bolts holding it in place, and the crowd broke into cheers as the crane lifted the gate up and swung it to the side. New Lyonn was now open as any other town in the country. The celebration really started from there.

The party was going on for a couple of hours as everyone gathered with friends, family and acquaintances. Geoff, Mr. Sharpe, and Joseph came up to the table were Erik was sitting with the rest of the extended family. Geoff leaned down and said, "Erik, could you join us for a bit?"

Erik looked at the group and sighed, "Yes sir, just let me tell Katja I'll be gone for a few." Erik went to were Katja was talking with the others and leaned down, "I'll be right back love, I need to talk with uncle Geoff and the others."

Katja, looked at the group waiting on him, "Is something wrong?"

Erik shrugged, "Don't know kitten, he just asked me to join them. I'll let you know what it is when I know."

He kissed her, and she said, "Okay love, be careful. And don't say yes, if you don't have to."

He smiled at her, "I don't plan on it."

He walked back and they went to uncle Geoff's office and all had a seat. Erik looked at them all, then said, "Okay, what are you three going to try and convince me to do now? And do I need to call the guy about my own island?"

The three of them smiled, then Uncle Geoff said, "We do have something in mind Erik, and it will be important. William and Joseph here asked me to help convince you."

Erik sighed, then looked at the three of them, "Gentlemen, before you ask anything, I have one thing to say. I'm really getting burnt out, it's so bad that my mate tried to get my best friend to convince me about it. No matter what you three have in mind, I'm going to take a break for a few months or so."

Joseph nodded his understanding, "I really do understand Erik, believe me I do. I'm looking forward to relaxing myself in a few years when the president's term is up."

He smiled at him, "We're both in, sort of, the same line of work."

Erik looked at him and nodded his understanding. "So, that being said, just what do you three have in mind now?"

Uncle Geoff smiled once more, "William here will be retiring in a year, we think you should take his place as ambassador and liaison to our people and the two others when they land."

Erik looked at him wide eyed, "This is a joke, right? Me? What do I know about anything like that?"

Will Sharpe looked at him smiling, "Erik, it's not that hard of position. I can teach you what you need to know between the time you say yes, until I retire. Really all you'd be doing, is being a liaison between them and our government. Plus a few other things, but really nothing you don't already do."

Joseph nodded, "He's right Erik, this isn't like being an ambassador to one of the countries here. You'd just be helping the Kannite's and the Avianne's assimilate into our culture just like you did with the Lyonness. And of course, still helping the Lyonness as you've been doing."

Erik looked between them and sighed. Then he turned to uncle Geoff, "Nothing from your end uncle?"

Geoff smiled, "Not really, except that I think you'd do a marvelous job. If it wasn't for you, we'd wouldn't have had it as easy. That's sort of what convinced me to assist them in convincing you."

Joseph reached into his suit pocket and pulled out an envelope. "I have here a letter from someone else who'd like you to consider it Erik." He held out the envelope to him, and Erik hesitantly took it and opened it taking the letter out. He wasn't surprised to see the Seal of the President of the United States as the letterhead. He sighed and perused the letter, and wasn't surprised to see it say basically the same as they've been discussing, with the president requesting he consider what was being offered and why. He folded the letter up and stuffed it back in the envelope.

He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose; he was getting a headache. He closed his eyes and laid his head back to think. "My Lady, I could use a little advice."