3: Remy Chooses the Bear

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.”

————-

Back at the Irregulars’ mountain hangar, Leah took in the scene.  Her mech, despite going untouched for a dozen years, was still the most capable machine the Irregulars had available.  Most were old mining and industrial machines repurposed for war.  Remy’s command mech stood out as one of the few that was a purely military design, but it had been built and rebuilt so many times that it only vaguely resembled anything a sane person would employ on a battlefield.  Leah’s machine, conversely, was a top-of-the-line model, dangerous even by the advanced standards of the occupying forces the Irregulars would face.

“You sure you didn’t just want her back in your plans?  Is this even about me?”

“Ma belle, of course it’s about you.  Nobody else in this unit would know what to do with her, anyway.”

Remy laughed at the implication.  When asked about the Irregulars, he always said their success or failure was “ten percent firepower, twenty percent planning, and thirty percent trust.”  When asked what the other forty percent was, he’d reply “crazy.”  Still, anything that made the job easier was a good thing, and having more guns definitely made the job easier.

“So, about the chain of command…”

Remy winced as he brought up the subject.  He was only a “commander” in name, and absolutely hated dealing with matters of rank and recognition.  He did not want to upset the balance of the Irregulars in the midst of this conflict by shuffling duties and titles.

“Remy, I don’t want anything to do with it.  You’re Kreiya’s problem there, and I don’t see why we’d need to do a thing about that.”

“When you put it that way, I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

—————-

The Irregulars assembled in the command room that evening to officially welcome “Mama Bear” back to active duty.  Remy had disappeared to work on a meal for his mercenaries and their militia hosts, and the smell of roasting garlic and smoky spice filled the room.

“I’ve only heard him swear a half dozen times… it’s not going to be that good,” Kreiya quipped.

“Give it time, it ramps up as he gets closer to the end,” Leah replied.

“Huhuhuh… that’s what she said!” Serah finally burst out, as the three women burst into laughter at Remy’s expense.

“This, this I missed,” Leah said, as she leaned back and took a drag off of a smoke, a sly smile on her face.

The night wore on, and Remy and Okaanen soon brought out the spread.  The CO spoke quickly as Sammy and Dusk set the table, not wanting to be the last thing between his company and their meal.

“Mama Bear was one of our best, and she stayed behind and kept the lights on here while taking care of our children.  Without her blessing, none of us would be here, now, with a shot to take back a homeland for ourselves in this mess of a universe.  And now, we get to welcome her back to the team. It’s my honor to…”

“This sucks!  I’m back, let’s eat!” Leah cut her husband off, and the rest of the squad joined in her mutiny of mischief, starting the meal before Remy could finish.

Stories of the “Pomme de Terre Incident” and other jobs gone sideways were shared over drinks and a hearty meal, and Dusk made an instant positive impression on Leah when she elbowed Remy in the throat as he tried to steal a wing from her plate.  After choking on his own foolishness, Commander Remy Duciel offered up a toast.

“To my wife, to the Irregulars… and to the day Ver Sayles is free once again.”