Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in Memory: Deadly Food

Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in Memory: Deadly Food
It was the second year of Marceau and Helena’s academy time, and just after Christmas break. Marceau had spent Christmas with the Laursen family. Lucy and her family had gone to Jamaica for Christmas. She had left three days before Marceau’s exams were finished.

Marceau and Helena had gotten back the day before class started, on Sunday. Lucy hadn’t arrived back in San Francisco until Monday afternoon. Marceau had been able to meet her at the airport after class that day.

Today was Wednesday and Marceau and Lucy had agreed to meet for lunch at the Academy’s school lunch area. It was an outdoor area with some shops with different kinds of food. Then tables with four chairs each. Marceau and Lucy sat at a table near the middle under a large umbrella. Lucy had a large salad with dressing over the top and a water. Marceau was having a sandwich and muffin with a soda. They seemed to be having a good time despite some hurt feelings about the separate vacations.

~ Marceau

Second year was going rather smoothly for Helena. She had spent the summer taking extra flight classes to cover what she hadn’t tested out of. That meant that she spent the whole summer (after her and Marceau’s trip to Iceland) in space. Flying shuttles up and down to Alpha station and even did a run to the moon a few times. She had passed with flying colors. The problems with Morgan seemed settled. Helena was taking 4th year flight classes, and was not with any of Morgan’s friends.

Marceau had missed her over the summer, but it had given him a lot of uninterrupted time with Lucy, which they both enjoyed. It had been overall a great summer. Lucy had been upset about his impromptu trip with Helena, but he had managed to calm her down when he told her he’d missed her the whole time and showed her the pictures of the botanical garden and some of the other landscape type pictures they’d taken.

Early at the start of the fall semester that had been some issues with Morgan’s squad harassing her. It was all verbal and more annoying, but because she had promised Marceau, she told him. It had stopped suddenly, but she didn’t know why.

Marceau had been glad when Helena followed through on her word and told him about Morgan’s squad. When she wasn’t around, he’d gone and had a chat with them, and since Helena hadn’t mentioned them harassing him anymore, he knew they weren’t anymore.

Christmas had been great. Her family was thrilled to have Marceau with them again, and he was spoiled just as much as Helena and Edílon. Marceau had gotten to experience perpetual night, with only 3 hours of daylight in the early afternoon. Helena had taken him to the beach again. She left the car running and they sat on the warm hood wrapped in blankets and watched the Northern Lights.

Marceau had loved all of it. Christmas wasn’t like that at his house and he was happy to spend it with them. He had really loved the Northern Lights and had tried to get some good pictures of them.

Now classes were back and things were going well for the start. Helena and Billy were going to be doing a lot of flying together. They had to plan different routes, and it was a puzzle because Helena was cleared for maneuvers Billy wasn’t. They were currently at the lunch area working out a schedule for Helena to give Billy some tutoring flights to give Billy more experience. Billy was one of the best pilot’s Helena had ever met, he just lacked the flight time that brought experience.

Helena

Marceau and Lucy were nearly done with lunch, and then Marceau would have to go back to class. Lucy had class at her school later that day. His muffin was half gone and his sandwich entirely gone. Lucy’s salad was mostly gone.

Lucy’s high pitched, girly, bubbly voice was typically quite distinctive, but today it was unmistakeable, louder than usual, and full of concern and worry: “Marcy? What’s wrong? Marcy!!”

Across the table from her, Marceau gasped hard for breath, pulling at the collar of his shirt as if that might help in some way, but it didn’t seem to be. Frantically, one arm braced against the table he tried to get a full breath but found himself unable to do so, his breaths wheezing and rapid. He felt dizzy, his skin had broken out in hives, and his voice was hoarse when he tried to force words out, “some… thing’s… wrong.”

~ Marceau