Decisions

I've never been good at delivering speeches. Even worse at writing them. I never seem to quite find the tone I'm reaching for when I'm trying to get people to listen. Fortunately, I don't have to deliver a lot of them. The folks on Hale's Moon have never been for long winded speeches in any case. When they elected me Mayor the first time, my acceptance speech consisted of "Thanks, folks. I'll try and do you proud." It went over well.

But now, standing in the midst of two hundred odd colonists packed into Fook Yoo's and damn near everyone else watching on a screen somewhere nearby, I hoped I'd be able to say what I felt. There were so many people here who'd touched my life, saved me from who I'd been when I arrived, made me feel welcome and wanted without caring about who I'd been before. I owed them a lot. More than they owed me, and I sincerely hoped I'd managed to do them proud.

"Relax, Boss, you'll do fine. Now get your skinny ass up there," Genni chided me, giving me a gentle nudge towards the stage. In the two years she'd been my assistant and the three she'd been Deputy Mayor, we'd grown close. Who'd have thought our friendship started after she shot me? Now, years later, I'd be turning the colony over into her capable hands. From disgruntled colonist, to Town Elder and mother of three.

I nodded, gave her a hug, and started working my way through the throng. I knew all these people. Colonists and visitors alike. Folks from Shadow, Washtown, Burnholme, Suzhou, half a dozen other Rim worlds. Folk from Blackburne who'd settled here after the Reavers wrecked their colony four years ago.

The people in this room had changed with me over the last few years. Some more than others. Little Jin, growing from an enthusiastic, gearhead, orphan to a strapping 17 year old who'd learned to shoot from General and Duncan, and learned to wrench from Sabrina. Uncle Sobi and Lady Jade, married two years now, watching the crowd arm in arm from the loft. Krenshar, the machine with a soul, sporting a new skin around the same core chassis. General, talking quietly with Belize in the loft opposite Sobi and Jade, mellower, more mature, the anger that'd driven him now years behind. Lilybell. My Mei Mei. Standing with Krenshar, watching, knowing what I was going to say, a look of both sorrow and joy on her engineered feline features. And somewhere, somewhere unseen, Aurora and Blue, watching as well.

At least I hoped they were watching. Somewhere.

Folks quieted quickly when I stepped up onto the small stage between the two well worn dance poles, voices fading to a murmur then actual quiet, waiting for me to speak.

"Good morning, Citizens. Thank you all for coming here or watching on the feeds," I started, settling into a nice, protective, zen-like calm. "First, thank you for letting me serve as your Mayor for a full term and now re-electing me for another. Can only guess you're glad it gave the folks looking to harm us a better target than your fine selves."

I let the round of light laughter subside. it had been a running joke for years that I'd been elected more for my ability to attract bullets away from the townspeople than my ability to lead. In fact, it wasn't entirely a joke as I'd caught more than one bullet over the years as Mayor.

"As many of you know, I've been offered the Executive Officer position aboard Children of Earth for her mission back to Earth that Was. My wife, Sabrina, and Doctor Carver, have also been offered positions on the crew, as Chief Engineer and Medical Officer. After a lot of soul searching, and talking to the Town Elders, we've decided, all three of us, to take the assignment," I waited a few moments for the crowd to absorb what many of them already knew, and the murmurs to die away.

"To that end, I'll be resigning my position as Mayor of Hale's Moon effective the end of next week. With the Elder's blessing, Genni Foxtrot will take over in my place until you fine folk decide whether to let her finish out my term or to hold another round of elections."

"If we shoot ya again, will ya stay?" I heard from the back of the crowd, followed by a wave of laughter. The familiar voice of Sam Foxtrot, Genni's husband.

"Sorry, Samuel. This decision has been a long time coming. It's been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as your Mayor, and I hope I've managed to keep my promise of doing you folk proud. We've stood together through interesting times. We've fought back to back against enemies and the elements, and I can't think of a finer group of people to have done it with. We've survived some major challenges together. We've shared both suffering and joy on this little slice of Heaven. But the fact was we had to choose before the opportunity burned a hole in the Black, and we've chosen to go."

I looked across the room, the sea of faces. Some smiling, others nodding, showing signs of acceptance or regret. Sadness. Joy. Hope. Loss. These were good folk and I would miss them.

"Some of us have had our differences over the last few years," I said, looking directly at Genni across the room to another round of laughter, bringing a hand up to rub the spot on my chest where she'd put a bullet into my armor. "But the fact is, I'll miss all of you. I've tried to give enough time to get everything in order before we leave, but I know you'll be in good hands. So rather then us dwelling on departures, let's have ourselves a little shindig and celebrate the ongoing prosperity of Hale's Moon."

I waved to a round of friendly cheers and laughter, stepping off the small stage to give Sabrina a hug. It was a brief speech. Probably didn't say all it could have. How could it? I was saying good by to the colony I'd called home for over five years to set of on a one way trip to a world out of legend. Half these folk probably thought I was toppyoushimonai, and I might well have been. Over the next few days I was pretty sure more than one person here would try and talk me out of it, but we'd made the decision. Sabrina and Belize and I. We were going.

Butsuriki help us. We were going.