Admiral The Highlord Harrington, IC LGR DGS GTE CGC DSO* DSC*
Harrington Hall, Lyme Park, England
Earth, Sol System, The Terran Empire
Friday 21st July 2693
Jessica Harrington yawned and placed the pen down on her desk and rubbed her eyes. She was sat in her study in Harrington Hall, formally Lyme Hall, which was the centrepiece of Lyme Park in the North of England. It had been the seat of power for House Harrington on Earth ever since Earth had been reclaimed three years previously and had as large a staff as Harrington House did back on Pike’s Redoubt. In truth it was actually the seat of her husband, the Earl of Manchester, but ironically when they were apart it usually tended to be the other way around, Jessica would be on Earth whilst Jack, her husband, managed affairs on Pike’s Redoubt. In this case however they were both on Earth and for very good reason. Jessica glanced out the window, it was the height of summer so it was still light at this time, and her young Children, Edward and Kara, were still outside playing in the Garden with their father. She smiled fondly as she watched them play, it seemed like only yesterday that they had been born.
As a matter of fact they were nearly six years old. They had begun their education the previous year at the Wetherby School in London and this choice alone had made it clear that Jessica was going to spare no expense where her Children’s education was concerned, and given that they were both very bright they were destined for some of the best public schools in the Empire. It was understandable really, Jessica’s background had totally lacked formal education, her ‘education’ had been a mixture of informal teaching from the street gang that she had fallen in with, practical work and the books and datapads that she had poured over as soon as she had learnt to read. Follow her rescue by the Empire sha had been put through an intensive period of schooling and it was this that had unlocked her intellect properly. Because of all of this Jessica wanted to make sure that her Children had the best possible chances in life, and was more than willing to use her wealth and status to get it for them, it was selfish perhaps, but she felt that she had earned the right to be a little selfish.
Jessica smiled as she leant back in her chair. For all her own humble background when it came to education here she was putting the degree she had worked for in History to good use. She was writing a History of the King’s Own Squadron during the Hegemony War, which she was of course uniquely qualified to speak upon. She had always been an eager historian, lapping up history book after history book in an eager effort to learn more about the past, this was her first real attempt at writing a piece of scholarly work, indeed if all went to plan it would form her doctoral work for her PhD. Fortunately she had sufficient experience at writing, have penned a number of letters to the Proceedings of the Imperial Naval Institute over the recent years and she knew how to put an argument together better than most. This, combined with her access to the Imperial Archives, her own innate knowledge of the source material, and plenty of people to polish the work, meant that it was likely to be a fairly decent seller, and that was without even considering her name and reputation and the selling-power of that alone. Not that she particularly needed a source of income of course.
She glanced back at her desk where there were various tablets spread all over its surface, a old-fashioned paper pad upon which she had been making notes and decided that she had done enough work for the moment. The children would be going to bed soon anyway, so she wanted some time with them before that. Shutting off all of her tablets she stacked them away. She then made her way out of the study and through the corridors of the complex building. It was decorated in the traditional style, with an awful lot of history present in the artwork, various historical relics and the like. But it was still very much a lived in place, and given this it no longer tried to recapture the days past for the public (as the public as a whole weren’t allowed in the Hall itself, although they were allowed in the pubic areas of Lyme Park), and as such where in centuries past there would have been old-fashioned furniture it had been replaced with modern styles in keeping with the general style of the house, but there was also modern equipment and the like.
Jessica descended the steps into the courtyard and turned left, heading out into the expansive private garden. Jack and the children were playing football on the far side of the pond, she smiled fondly and began to walk around it. She nodded to the Harrington Guardsmen who were standing post at the entrance to the Courtyard as she passed. Her children saw her approach and ditched the game and ran over to hug her. She smiled up at he husband as she put her arms around her children. After giving them a tight squeeze she stood up and kissed her husband lightly
“Good game?” She asked with a smile.
“I was losing again,’ Jack commented. “These two are scheming little so-and-sos.”
“Don’t I know that,” Jessica smiled and glanced across at her daughter. “How are you little wolf?”
Little Wolf was the affectionate nickname that Jessica and Jack gave to both their Children.
“Tired,” Kara Harrington replied honestly. “We beat daddy though.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Jessica smiled, she glanced over her daughter’s shoulder as Sir Alexander Blackwell, the Captain of her Guard, approaching. “Alright you two, go with your father.”
Jessica shared a nod with Jack and watched as they headed back towards the house. Sir Alexander waited until they were gone and saluted crisply. As she was not in uniform Jessica simply nodded her appreciation of the sign of respect.
“My Lady, we’ve just received confirmation that Supreme Commander StarNight and Sub-Commander Larson have arrived in the system.” He reported simply. “The Supreme Commander has apparently headed for London, but the Sub-Commander is coming here.”
“Not surprising, it has been a while,” Jessica smiled. “Alright, make the preparations.”
Sir Alexander nodded and headed off, almost immediately issuing orders into his communications gear. Jessica smiled again and made her way back towards the House, crossing the courtyard and passing out into the sweeping drive in front of the house. No doubt Kara Larson, the namesake of her Daughter, would be heading down via Pinnace or shuttle, and in that case it would no doubt land at the end of the drive. As she waited she looked around, Harrington Hall was decked out in it’s summer finest, flying numerous flags, including the Standard of House Harrington, its howling Great Wolf.
Jessica smiled as she felt a nudge against her hip. Looking down she saw Wellington, one of the domesticated Great Wolves that she and her family had adopted after they had been forced to kill their parents following an attack on Pike’s Redoubt. In the years since Wellington had grown a great deal, now being up to her hip at the shoulder. A fully-grown adult he was strong and fast, a deadly predator if he had to be and a loyal companion. She rested a hand on his head and scratched behind his ears, for all his ferociousness he really could be a big softy, although given his size gone were the days when he would curl up on her lap. That hadn’t stopped him from apparently being a cushion for her Children, but then she would have been hard pressed to find a better or more loyal companion for them, and the intelligent Wolf was exceptionally good at looking after them. Wellington looked up at her, clearly knowing that something was going on, and let out a howl that echoed over the Park, promptly responded to by the rest of the pack who would no doubt be racing back here.
In the distance Jessica could see her friend’s craft approaching. The two of them were coming here for the same reason that Jessica and Jack were both on Earth at the same time. Quite simply Edward, the King of Terra, and one of their closest friends, was getting married. To none other than Lady Jennifer Cain, sister of Darien Cain, the Highlord of the Inner Colonies, Duke of Geldan and the Warlord of the Terran Empire. It was the most remarkably fortuitous political match that it was almost impossible to believe that it was actually a result of honest-to-god love between the two. At least until you saw them together, at which point it became obvious that this was indeed the case, that the two were madly in love with each other. The pair had won the hearts of the people and the couple had been warmly received wherever they went. The ceremony and the other celebrations were expecting to bring London, Earth and much of the Empire to a stand-still as people watched and celebrated themselves. There hadn’t been an occasion like this in Centuries, the first Royal Wedding since the Fall of the Empire, literally everyone was looking forward to it..
Jessica smiled as the shuttle came in for a final landing and Kara stepped down onto the drive. She made her way over and immediately embraced her friend as soon as she was within arms reach. It had been a fairly long time since they had been together in person, although they talked frequently through letters and the like.
“Its good to see you again,” She smiled broadly. “It has been far, far too long.”
Jessica glanced back at the house.
“Jack’s just putting the Kids to bed, but please do come in,” Jessica said as she turned back to Kara. “We’ve probably got a lot of catching up to do.”
