// Please note, this thread is closed to all non-invited parties. We don't like unexpected guests.
"The Lambert House" is a small compound on Planet Denver. It sits roughly eight miles from the town of Brookside, a small town of about a thousand that sits several hundred miles from Crichton Springs. Brookside is small and simple, and downtown consists of a few small stores, a school, and two bars. The surrounding countryside is pristine, unspoiled alpine wilderness.
The Lambert House
The house sits on a wooded hill overlooking the town in the valley below. It is new construction, a fusion of classic and modern designs. It sits on two acres of property, all fenced in and monitored by advanced security systems. There is a small landing pad and hanger near the house, offering direct access to small spacecraft. However, a small installation of surface-to-air missiles sits by the hanger, watching the sky for potential intruders.
All of this security was originally put into place by the previous owner, a paranoid Cryer executive who used the house as a private retreat. The interior is suitably comfortable, featuring advanced climate control systems, computer control options, and all the other conveniences of modern life.
The living room of the house.
The layout is fairly simple, with a large living area, large kitchen, and two guest bedrooms on the bottom floor, and a large master suite on the second floor in the "loft".
The master suite.
James Lambert, a Navy primary fleet officer with a small self-made fortune recently purchased the home from repossession, after the Cryer executive who previously owned it disappeared from Liberty. The house was purchased with most of the existing furniture intact, but has already seen some redecoration. The girl Pita, Lambert's ward of-sorts, lives in one of the downstairs rooms while Lambert lives upstairs. The girl stays at the house most of the time, for she isn't currently enrolled in school and only rarely joins Lambert in space.
Pita's room.
Visitors to the house are welcome so long as they're known to Lambert and have been personally approved ahead of time. Any unscheduled visitors run the risk of injury or death from the automated security systems, as the signs ringing the property clearly state.
Reginald Lewis steps out of the cab near the estate. He'd helped James in the selection of house, and hence had been invited to visit it sometime. It'd taken a while, but he'd finally pondered it and went groundside on Denver. It'd been a while since he was on this planet...
The air felt the same, at least. Slightly cool and fresh. He breathed in deeply, and smoothed his shirt. He wasn't sporting navy fatigues at the moment, instead opting for simple and casual clothing.
As far as he knew, James should be home at this hour, along with the child he was taking care of. Lewis walked up to the door and knocked three times, firmly.
James Lambert was relaxing on the couch. He wasn't on duty today, and had spent the morning on a short nature walk with Pita. The girl was still in awe of the sheer amount of life on Planet Denver, and honestly he was too, if to a lesser degree. The temperate zone of the planet was absolutely gorgeous during autumn, and again he reflected on how good of a choice moving here had been.
Pita was taking a nap, and he had chosen to spend this part of his afternoon in the living room, sprawled out on the couch with a book reader in hand. He was halfway through The Great Gatsby now, which he had never read before despite his love of classical pre-space works. He really felt that he understood the titular...
His train of thought was interrupted by a series of knocks on the front door. He frowned, setting the book reader aside and stood, looking towards the door. His expression relaxed a bit when he realized that the small panel next to the door showed a blinking light that was unmistakably a hue of green. The advanced security system had identified his visitor, and apparently whoever it was happened to be on the list of people he'd selected as permissible.
He moved to the door, and surreptitiously poked his head around to peer out the window at his guest. Recognizing the man immediately, he unlocked and opened the door with a smile.
"Reginald! Glad to see you finally made it by for a visit."
He extended his hand to the older man for a warm handshake, then said, "Please, come on in."
Both men entered the house's living room, dominated by a large fireplace, plush couch, and chairs.
Lewis returns the handshake firmly, and grinned a little, somewhat tiredly.
"Looks like you found yourself quite the house..."
He walks in after Lambert and looks around, nodding in approval. He liked what he was seeing.
"Was a long drive here, a drink wouldn't be a bad idea" He says easily, relaxing into a couch.
He looks out of one of the windows for a while, contemplating. His reverie is broken by James' return, and he shakes his head. This introspection was becoming an increasingly common theme with him these days...it was part of the reason why he'd come here.
The two men take seats opposite, saying nothing for a while. Lewis finally breaks the silence.
"A fine house, Lt. Maybe a bit too big for just two people...but a nice housewarming party might change that. Have to follow tradition and all..."
He rolls the glass between his fingers for a little.
"How's the girl?" He asks, remembering their conversation in space a few weeks back.
"Pita is doing well, on the whole," he said, with a hint of a smile. "She's taking a nap in her room at the moment, but perhaps she'll be up again before too long."
He paused a moment, looking at Lewis.
"You know, it's kind of astonishing just how far she's come in this short time, especially considering where she started from... I mean, she'd never even been on a planet before, no education of any kind, really, and yet she's sharp Reginald, real sharp."
He sighs, looking around him at the room.
"Never thought I'd wind up in a place like this, that's for sure. It's... different here. A real home, probably the first time I've ever had something like that, really. It's... done a lot for my well-being. Lately I've actually started thinking life might actually turn out okay for a while..."
Pita woke and covered her eyes with her hands, the sun was bright. She looked out the window from her bed for a moment trying to see the bird that was singing in the tree next to her room. She stretched and kicked the covers back, getting out of bed with a yawn.
She got changed, and stood on the bed while she brushed her hair, contemplating tying it in a ponytail but deciding to leave it loose. She jumped off the bed and pulled the covers back up, before tidying up her room a little. She looked out the window again before opening the door and heading out to the living room, grinning slightly.
She stopped as she saw Lewis and waved slightly
"Hi.."
Pita made her way over to a seat by the fireplace. She walked with caution, not recognising the man. She knew he wouldn't be bad - after all, Lambert had let him into the house. Relaxing a bit once she realised this, she looked over at Lambert and poked out her tongue.
"I'm happy to hear she's doing fine, James. Changing the life of someone for the better isn't a chance us Navy people get too often."
Lewis says that softly, with genuine expression on his face.
"I'm sure life will take an upswing for all of us, but our job isn't done yet...there's one more war to fight. Things will get a lot worse before we can make it better. But it is good to have something to come back to, to keep safe..."
Lewis trails off. This wasn't a line of discussion he wanted to pursue. Then he sees Pita enter the room, waving at him uncertainly. He smiles slightly, and raises a hand in greeting.
"Hey..."
He considers what to say to her for a moment...
"I'm Reginald Lewis. I work with James here in the Navy."
He turned to Pita with a grin, poking his tongue out in return. This had turned into a form of greeting between them, as familiar as a wave was to most people.
"Ah, the sleeping princess has awoken!" he exclaimed with a hint of sarcasm.
As Lewis introduced himself, Lambert noted Pita's slight wariness. She still seemed quite wary of other people, especially strangers, and he thought that was something that would have to be dealt with eventually.
As Lewis finished, Lambert smiled reassuringly to Pita. "Yes, Reginald is a friend and colleague of mine from the Navy. And Reginald, this is Pita."
He pauses a moment, then turns again to Pita. "How are you feeling after your nap?" An innocent question, but the look in his eyes indicated that it was important.
Pita smiled slightly and shook her head at Lambert's comment. She couldn't help but contemplate what it would be like being a real princess. Her thoughts interrupted as Reginald introduced himself.
She figured he wasn't a bad person, she trusted Lambert enough to know when he said this man was a friend he would be ok, but she couldn't help being a bit wary. Most of the people she had met before weren't exactly nice and the concept of people being genuinely friendly was taking some getting use to.
"How are you feeling after your nap?"
She shrugged slightly before looking out the window, her face blank. It had been a restless sleep. She didn't feel well and nightmares kept waking her up.
She looked back at Lambert, smiling a little "I'm ok. My tummy still feels a bit funny though...." She stands up again and heads to the kitchen, saying something about getting some juice as she leaves the room.
"Pleased to meet you, Pita" Lewis says, smiling in a relaxed manner. While he had no children of his own, he had played Godfather quite a few times...but still, he hadn't been around for them as much as he'd have liked to...that was a regret for some other time.
"Shy kid, hmm?" He asks Lambert after she is gone. "I imagine that after you told me...that might be the case. Time should fix that."
He looks out into the distance, something clearly on his mind. He says nothing for now though.