Jack of Harts

I went to a funeral yesterday. It took place back where I grew up but haven’t seen in thirty years. And I visited with family I haven’t seen in years. It has been both a good and a hard trip. The grief is real. Sons lost their father. A wife lost her husband. It will always be hard. But there will always be good in there as well. The key is to mix as much good as possible into the grief, and know that nothing will wipe the grief away. It has to be endured. And that is both good and hard.

I am headed down to Kansas right now for the first time since me and Mom left the State 30 years ago. And it is the first time I am traveling alone in years. A few things about traveling alone. When you can’t drive anymore, there is no one to pass off the driving duties to. You are done traveling. You get the hotel room all to yourself. You get the car all to yourself. And you are the only one you get to talk to. It is certainly a different experience traveling alone. And I will be going to one of the three areas of the country that I call home. One of the places I grew up in. Went to school in. Took the first steps towards being a man in. Kansas. It has been a lifetime since I have been in Kansas.

The Roderan spend most of their time being neutral to the other great powers. They live on worlds that few others want, they fly through space that others avoid, and generally do their best to just not become involved in the affairs of others. The War dragged them in, to the profound disappointment of most of their people. But they fought with a cold professionalism that left no doubt as to the fact that enemy ships were not tolerated in territory they defended. They did not win every battle, but they won most, and they always left their mark on any battle they joined. They were hardy opponents and respected by all. It did not take long for the Western Alliance to make it a policy to try to avoid fighting them whenever possible.