Jan’s eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. The Leaders nodded and the Welken said, “You were chosen to command. We’ll stop getting in your way. Thank you for discussing this with us.”
Michael sighed, “I know as our preparations move further along, I will have to forego putting myself in danger. I will, like my father before me, have to take a true leadership role.”
The Leaders nodded and the link disappeared. Luke looked at Michael and Jan, “I’m sorry you were forced to make that admission before you were ready.”
Michael looked at Jan and then at Luke, “I had to weigh the benefit versus the consequences. I had to reassure all of you that I wasn’t going to do anything stupid.” Luke nodded, looked at Jan, then turned and left the room with a smiling Averel. Michael looked at Jan, “I’m sorry.”
Jan stared at Michael, “How can you be certain I’m the one you think I am?”
“I’ve watched you since the day you mentioned the Entanglement theory when I talked to you about staying in Fifth Fleets ranks. I’ve seen your total lack of an oversized ego and your love for Jay and Josey. That told me more about your heart than anything else. You are brilliant and we think about things on a very similar level.” Jan stared at him and Michael shrugged, “You are also the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“You had me going until you said that.”
“Jan, ask Jay and Josey. Don’t just take my word for it because you’re right to think that I might be prejudiced.”
“How do I know you’re right for me?”
“That’s why I said I am going to try and convince you. I don’t assume you will choose me.”
Jan smiled and said, “We have time to see, Michael. No one else has caught my attention and you know you have it. Let’s see where this goes without putting pressure on us.”
“Do you have some time off to go with me to work on a project?”
“You decide when I have time off. I report to you.”
“Good. Go change into a swimsuit and meet me at the beach near the officer’s quarters.”
“Why?”
“Where’s your sense of adventure? Meet me there in an hour.”
Jan smiled and stood up, “I’ll see you there.”
Jan left her quarters and walked toward the beach. She hadn’t gone far before she started seeing every male she passed stop and stare at her. It actually became disconcerting. She arrived at the beach and found Michael standing about thirty yards from the beach chairs. She walked up and saw sand toys scattered around him. Michael pointed at lines in the sand that formed a huge square. “What is this, Michael?”
Michael smiled, “After my mother died, my father would bring me down here and I would build sand forts. I was really good at it and it helped me deal with the sense of loss and sorrow at never seeing my mother again. It kept my mind off her loss. One day, my father brought Allison and she got up and helped me build a sand fort.” Jan saw Michael’s joy as he talked about what happened. “The fort the two of us built was incredible and I made her promise to come back and build a bigger one.” Michael paused and looked at her, “Jan, that fort drew a huge crowd. It was beyond anything I ever expected I could do.” Jan looked around and Michael said, “It was building those forts with me that allowed my father to see that he loved Allison. Today, you and I are going to build a bigger fort than Allison and I built.”
Jan stared at him as Michael picked up a small shovel and started packing a form with sand. He put it one foot outside the line he drew in the sand and began filling the form again. “Are you serious?” Michael remained silent and filled the form again. “It’s over ninety degrees out here!” Jan shook her head and started to leave but she couldn’t force herself to do it. She sighed and picked up a shovel and a form.
After six hours, Jan finished the inner sand city and looked at Michael who was working on the wall around the city. Michael looked at her and said, “Are you ready to quit?”
Jan looked at the beautiful city she built and said, “Not on your life.” They began building the wall and soon, officers began walking down to the beach and several offered to help. Jan looked at them and said, “NO! This is ours. Build your own.”
They would take short breaks and eat sandwiches Michael had brought down and drink copious amounts of water. The sun was setting in the west as they worked on the last section of the west wall. “Allison and I finished before the sun completely set.” Jan began filling the forms with a passion and handed them to Michael, who ran them to the wall. The last form was put in place just as the sun disappeared. Jan fell to her knees breathing heavily and Michael fell beside her. “Look at what we’ve done, Jan.” Jan raised her eyes and saw the huge crowd start cheering. The fort was beautiful and she shook her head. Michael looked at her and smiled, “This is like our lives, Jan. Out of nothing but loose sand, we build something beautiful.”
“It will be gone with the tide by morning, Michael.”
Michael took her chin and turned her face to him, “But the memory of this will be with you for the rest of your life. You’ll know that we did this together and neither of us gave up or quit. That should tell you something about me and it tells me volumes about you.”
Jan sighed and nodded, “If I hadn’t wasted so much time at the start, we wouldn’t have had to rush so hard at the end.”
Michael looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes, nodded, and then smiled. Jan replayed what she said and suddenly understood; she shook her head and wondered why she was waiting, “I love you, Michael.”
He took her in his arms and said, “Only love would allow us to do this together and not quit. My father saw it in Allison and I see it in you. I’ve loved you from the moment you charmed the meeting with your speech. I knew at that moment that there would never be anyone else for me.” Jan hugged him tightly and felt her tears start. He was right. She would have left if she didn’t love him enough to build that fort. Her tears began in earnest when he said, “Perhaps, one day, our children will help us build a bigger one.”
Word spread through Fleet Headquarters that Michael and Jan were building a huge sand fort and many went to the beach to watch them. Averel arrived and watched Michael and Jan working hard to beat the sun and she thought, “Chris, I have something that you and Allison should see.”
“What is that?”
Suddenly, Chris and Allison saw Michael and Jan building the sand fort. Allison’s eyes went wide, “That one’s bigger than the one we built!” They watched the images Averel was sending them and both of them began crying when they finished and Michael spoke to Jan.
Chris sighed heavily, “Thank you, Averel. You have no idea how much this means to us.”
“I think I do. Michael has chosen a remarkable woman and I know you’ll be proud of her.”
Averel broke the connection and wiped her eyes. She was going to teach her child, when it was old enough, how to build sand forts. This was a lesson that would send it out into the universe with the hard lessons the effort would teach. The next day the fort was washed away by high tide but the cement trench Averel had placed at the fort’s wall that night would be a reminder for the next ones, what the challenge would be to build one bigger than two lovers.
The Leadership Team was gathered in the Fleet Operations Conference Room and Michael looked at Talel and said, “Welcome to our team Fleet Leader.”
“Thank you for inviting me. I’m excited about our new ships and look forward to seeing them in action.”