Succession

Alan drew the door shut softly, hoping not to wake Emma with the sound. She had become so tired at the wake he was afraid she'd be ill and he brought her down to the quarters they had been assigned to. Then she couldn't get to sleep, and something she ate didn't agree with her, giving her heartburn when she lay down. He finally held her until she dozed off into a restless sleep that looked like it was headed for nightmares.

She had taken Tony's death hard, they both had. Alan had just talked to Tony hours before he had died, Tony trying to talk him into coming down for one last visit before winter set in. With Emma expecting twins, Alan had been hesitant about coming. Now Tony was dead and here he and Em were.

John was sitting at the table in the dining area of the apartment pouring a glass of wine. There was a shortage of available quarters and Saskia had asked if the Koenigs and Carters would mind sharing a 2 bedroom apartment.

"Is she asleep?"

"Finally," Alan said quietly, heading to the small refrigerator. He looked hopefully for a bottle of beer, but there was none. He sighed and selected a glass and joined John at the table. "Don't they have any decent beer around here?"

"Tony switched hobbies from beer to wine, which was an improvement."

Alan managed a weak smile. He knew John was as upset about Tony's death as he was. "Where's Helena?"

"Still talking to Maya. It looked like they were headed for one of their marathon sessions and I was just in the way."

"Remember when they used to do that on Alpha and you 'd end up in the ready room with us playing poker all night?"

"Usually they were discussing Tony's latest practical joke on Maya and plotting revenge."

"I always thought some her paybacks had Helena's touch."

Alan poured himself a glass and topped off John's. They sipped the wine in silence for a while, each alone with their own thoughts. Tony was the exact same age as him, and despite the heart problems a few years back, had appeared to be perfectly healthy. Alan thought about the babies Em was now carrying. If something happened to him, he would never seen his sons. That made him feel desperately sad. John was ten years older than him, and vigorously healthy, indestructible, but Tony's death left Alan feeling very vulnerable.

Finally, to say something, to get his thoughts out of the morbid circles they were running in, he said, "Karim has been handling things well, don't you think?"

"Yes," John said slowly, cautiously. "I'll be talking with him in the morning about Dover's status."

Before Alan could comment, John continued. "What would you think about spending a few months or so here as Dover's acting administrator?"

The question shocked Alan. Karim was Tony's hand picked successor, just as Alan had trained Em. John's reluctance to train one of the younger generation to replace him had been something that both Alan and Tony had commented upon many times, both to each other and to John. All wanted to find some way for the Alphans to become self-governing, with some kind of an elected system of government, but there were as many opinions about how that should be accomplished as there were Alphans. Tony had seen his own position on Dover as an administrator, appointed by Alpha, and not an electable position. The Alphans needed to remain unified no matter how much they spread out across this system.

"Do you want my personal opinion or my professional one?"

"I have a feeling I know your personal opinion. How about the professional one?"

"Professionally, I think the idea stinks." It wasn't often he disagreed with John, but this time he was not about to back down. Alan looked John in the eye and elaborated. "If you put me in charge over Karim it will be a slap in the face not only to him, but everyone else on Dover. They'll feel that you don't trust their abilities, or Karim's. Hell, John, you'll put me in the position of taking the job away from the person who would have to tell me what's going on here. I've never agreed that Dover should be a year-round operation, and we're headed into the off season. You need someone here who not only knows what needs to be done, but actually wants to stay.

"John, if you ask me to do this, I'll turn it down. If you're planning to order me to do this, I'll refuse." Alan's tone brooked no argument, even though he knew that John would apply pressure if he really wanted it done.

John looked at him steadily before replying. "He's just so young, Alan-"

"They're all young, John, but if you do this to him, he'll lose any self-confidence he has, and will be useless to you."

"You sound like Helena."

"Have you mentioned this to her?"

"No. There hasn't been time. We haven't had any chance to talk."

"She'll probably have a few choice words about you sending Em down here pregnant, with winter coming." A thought hit him like a swift kick in the gut. John had not exactly approved of his marriage to Emma, but once they were married, he had buried his objections and their friendship had continued as before. "Or had you planned to send just me?"

John's surprised look told Alan that he hadn't thought about that at all, which relieved Alan somewhat. If this was a spur of the moment idea, there would be time to talk him out of it. "You know we don't split up families."

"Then let's talk personal opinions for a moment. I don't want my sons born on this damned planet. You know how I feel about it."

"Like we belong on Alpha more than here?"

"Hell yes. We don't know what else Loki has to throw at us. Alpha was built by us, and is controlled by us. Yes, we need Loki's resources, but we have no business being here during the bad seasons. John, I swear, if you put me in charge here, my first action will be to evacuate everyone to Alpha and C-2 for the coming season."

Alan knew just how to interpret John's uncomfortable look. It was something he'd suspected for some time now, although no one ever talked about it.

"That's not possible, Alan."

"Why not, John? Because Alpha doesn't have room for everyone?"

"We'd have enough for everyone to eat, but no, we don't have the facilities to handle the population for the next three years."

Usually John was the one to pace, but Alan suddenly felt the need for movement. He placed his glass on the table and stood, crossing the room. "How could we possibly let that happen?"

John sat back and sighed. "I have a wife who keeps insisting we need to have as many children as possible. She's in charge of training the next generation of medical personnel. Then there's Tony who was obsessed with making Loki a year-round home because his wife had no wish to return to Alpha. Tony was so insistent that this would work-and so far it has."

"So far. That's why there's no effort to produce a fleet of Eagles that would be able to transport everyone back to Alpha."

"You know what the winters are like. To attempt to land would be suicide a good portion of the time."

"I know, and summers are even worse. John, I won't stay here. Not only would it be wrong, I won't put my family in that kind of danger. I want Em near Medical center while she's pregnant. Leave Loki to those who want it."

"There's no one else-"

"There's Karim. The next generation is going to have to take over one of these days. Let it be now."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"And what if it goes wrong and I'm here? Will it make any difference? I'll have to rely on those here to make decisions. Decisions that Karim can make quicker and easier than I could. If something goes wrong, it goes wrong and we all pick up the pieces and go on." He smiled and tried to bring the conversation to a lighter conclusion. "Really, John. Do you want your grandsons to be nearly three before you get a chance to meet them?"

John sighed and shook his head.

"Talk to Karim. Let him know he has your support. If he asks for help, give it to him. But I have a feeling he's going to want to prove to you that he can do it. Give him the few months before the first of the winter storms, and check with the others here on Loki for their opinions. I'm just a pilot. Let me fly my ships and raise my family."

"I'll-think about it some more. But if you're that set against being here, I'll keep that in mind."

Alan felt himself relax slightly. He was certain that if John considered this more carefully he'd come to the right decision. He wasn't tired, but decided it was time to leave John to his thoughts. "Thanks, John. I think I'll turn in now."

"Good night Alan."

Alan slipped quietly into the bedroom. Emma was watching him from the bed. He crossed to her. "Hey, you're supposed to be asleep."

"I got sick again," she said wearily. "He won't make us come here, will he?" she asked quietly.

"No, he can't make us. It's not a good idea. He'll realize that." Alan pulled off his clothes and crawled into bed beside his wife. "Besides, we just won't go."

She curled up against her husband. "Good."

She finally dropped off to a deeper sleep secure in her husband's arms. Alan remained awake a long time, thinking about a friend he couldn't even try to replace.

Ellen Lindow

November, 1999