"So this is Hoshi Me," Rondu said. The Galactic Patrol Commander studied the boy standing in front of him. Hoshi looked at him shyly.
"Yes," Rob smiled. He put an arm around Hoshi's shoulder to reassure the boy. Hoshi tried very hard not to suck his thumb in front of Rondu.
"And Belladonna," the elven man turned toward the alien woman. She seemed so changed from when he saw her last. Sultry and secretive, the former Shadow agent seemed more humaine than she had been in the past. But if Rob could forgive Belladonna for what she did to him, and if Dia could forgive her, than he --the couple's father-in-law and father-- could also forgive her.
After rescuing Hoshi, Rob and the Orbots had stopped by New Kenya to pick up Dia and Belladonna. Then, they headed back to Earth, going straight to Galactic Patrol Headquarters.
Now, they had to decide where Belladonna was going to live, and with whom Hoshi would stay.
"There is the matter of Belladonna's living quarters," Rondu went on. "Keep in mind that, although we have forgiven her, the general public has not."
"Any ideas, Rondu?" Rob asked.
"There are living quarters here at Galactic Patrol Headquarters for the protection of witnesses in cases involving diplomatic relations. One of these can be converted for Belladonna's apartments."
"Sounds good," Dia replied. She looked over to Belladonna for her reaction. While Rob and the Orbots had gone to rescue Hoshi, Dia and Belladonna had a disscussion about Rob and just who was his mate. Belladonna told Dia that she no longer laid any claim to the Orbots' Commander. This had surprised Dia, and was the first step to peace between the two women.
"Thank you," Belladonna smiled gratefully.
"Now, let's see about Hoshi," Rondu smiled. The boy shyly smiled back. "He should be with both his parents. But with Belladonna here and the Commander living elsewhere, Hoshi cannot live with both."
"He can alternate between the two," Bo suggested.
"Yes," said Rondu thoughtfully. "He spends part of each week with his mother, and the other part with his father."
"And if I actually start coming into work --even if all I do is sit around and wait for something for Mighty Orbots to handle come along -- then I can be with Hoshi, even when he's staying with Belladonna."
"I like that," Belladonna smiled. "Hoshi will have both of us, and it shouldn't interfere with your married lives."
"Does Dia count as a second Mommy?" Hoshi asked.
"Well..." Rob began. He looked over to Rondu, Dia, and Belladonna for help.
"I would be more of an aunt, Hoshi," Dia smiled at him.
"Okay...Aunt Dia!" the boy smiled back.
"Now that we got that settled, what about Tobor?" Rob asked.
At the mention of Tobor, Hoshi looked at the adults in panic. He was Tobor's pilot!
"Tobor will need a thourgh overhaul," Oh-No said. "To wipe out any programing Shadow put in, and reprogrammed. Then a new paint job is in order. We can't have a GP ally in Shadow's colors."
"Then," Rondu said, "we need to choose a pilot."
"But I'm Tobor's pilot!" Hoshi interjected. He looked like he was about to cry.
"We know, honey," Belladonna tried to comfort him.
"He really is a great pilot for Tobor," Rob told them. The Orbots agreed.
"You did say that Hoshi was emotionally still a one-year old baby, didn't you?" Rondu asked.
"Yes," Rob admitted. "But in body and mind, he's seventeen. All he'll need is some adult supervision. I could have Rob build a robot for that." He looked over at Dia, as if to confirm his idea. She nodded, knowing that he was pretending that Rob Simmons was a different person than the Orbots' Commander, in order to keep his true identity a secret.
"Alright, Commander. I trust your judgement. As long as he is supervised, Hoshi will be allowed to continue as Tobor's pilot," Rondu decided.
Hoshi's eyes lit up in happiness. Seeing him like this, one could easily see the child in the apparent teenager.
"Now, Rondu smiled, "I'm sure you'd like to go home and get some rest. Prehaps Hoshi should stay his first night on Earth with Belladonna. He's been away from her for a month. They'll want some time to themselves. Tomorrow, however, he should undergo a thourgh medical examinatiion. We don't know the extent of any damage the age accelleration has done to him, or even if it's permanent."
"You mean," Rob said, looking over at Hoshi, "that Hoshi could revert physically back into a baby?"
"It's unlikely, but still very possible," Rondu answered. "I'll send a team to retrieve the age accellerator for study. We'll need to keep close watch on Hoshi. As the only person to have gone through the process, he may be of some help."
"I'll help all I can!" Hoshi announced eagerly.
"Thank you, Hoshi," Rondu smiled. "Now, time for you all to get some rest. There will be a lot to do in the coming months, especially with Dia's baby due in two months."
After saying their "Good-byes", the Orbots left for their recharge chambers, while Rob, Dia, and Oh-No left for home. This left Rondu with Belladonna and Hoshi.
"If you will follow me, I'll take you to your appartment. You'll find some clean clothes in the bedrooms. We'll call when it's time to see the doctor. And don't have anything to eat between midnight tonight, until after your appointment. The doctor may want to run some blood tests. And I'll call the Commander and tell him not to eat, either."
"I can't eat anything?" Hoshi asked.
"You can have some water, but that's it. I'll schedule the appointment as early as I can."
They were at the apartment's door, now. After thanking Rondu and saying, "good-night", Belladonna and Hoshi entered their new home.
The doctor was finished with them very early, and they were now back in the apartment. While Rob, Belladonna, and Hoshi were at the doctor's office, Dia and the Orbots were out shopping for new clothes and things for the ex-Shadow agent and her son. Well, the girls did the shopping, Tor and Bort did the carrying, and Crunch just hung out at the food court. Later, after the appointment at the doctor's office, Rob left to work on Tobor, while the male Orbots went back to their recharge chambers. Dia, Belladonna, Hoshi, and the female Orbots went back at Belladonna and Hoshi's apartment.
Now, Hoshi was trying on his new clothes.
"Oh, those look much better!" Belladonna smilled as Hoshi modeled the new outfits. He was dressed in a simple, purple t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
"Yes," Dia agreed. "A lot better than that Shadow flight suit he was wearing!"
"I'm sure he'll get a new flight suit, soon," Bo commented.
"I'm sure he will," Dia replied.
"Like Daddy's?!" Hoshi asked excitedly.
"Yes, Hoshi," Bellasdonna smiled. "'Like Daddy's'."
Bo, Boo, and Oh-No watched with wonder at the three organic beings who spoke of shopping and clothes and other domestic things. They wondered at a former enemy --as suductive and deadly as a charmed cobra-- who was talking with them as easily as a friend.
The most wonder came in the form of the black-haired youth who called their creator "Daddy", even though the boy looked to be seventeen --not much younger than the father, himself. They only had Rob's word that Hoshi was only one month old. But their leader's "word" was good enough for the Orbots.
"Come in," Belladonna invited when she heard the knock on the door. The door automatically slid open, and Rondu and Rob entered the apartment.
"Hello, love," Dia smiled, giving Rob a quick kiss. "We were just having Hoshi try on some of his new clothes." Hoshi proadly showed off the outfit he was wearing to his father.
"It looks great, Hoshi!" Rob smiled approvingly. The boy shyly smiled back.
"We've been fixing a room for Hoshi at the house," Dia told Belladonna. "When he's ready for his first visit, he can come."
"Thank you," Belladonna smiled. Dia and the Commander were so generous --and forgiving. Any other person might not be so open to an ex-Shadow agent, especially with one that had done the things Belladonna had done.
"Today?" Hoshi asked hopefully.
"Hoshi, you just started here," Rob admonished gently. "Stay with your mother for a few more days. I'd like to have a little more time to work on Tobor. The Shadow programing is almost all out, and I've reworked the programing that allows Hoshi to create things for Tobor with his powers so that it won't drain him so much. But there's still some kinks to work out."
"Awww..." Hoshi pouted, disappointed.
"Hey, now..." Rob put his arm around his son's shoulders. "We'll have lots of time together. I promice."
"Okay..."
There was a "beep" on Rondu's wrist communicator. He went into another room to take the call, then reemerged a few minutes later.
"The tests have come in," Rondu said. Everyone gave the elven man their attention. "According to the doctor's findings, the age-acceleration cannot be reversed, nor will the effect reverse itself. But the effect on Hoshi is that the ageing process has stopped. He will still heal --in fact, he will heal extreamely quickly-- but until he reaches the actual age of seventeen, he will remain as he is."
"You mean, until Hoshi's real age catches up to the accelerated age of his body and mind, he'll remain 'seventeen'?" Oh-No asked, her eyes wide.
"I'm afraid so," Rondu answered.
"OH, NO!" the little Orbot cried.
"It won't be so bad, Oh-No," Hoshi grinned. "I'll be a little like Peter Pan!"
"The family had a good laugh. Rob felt contented. He had his wife, a son, his team, and soon, another child.
He still had that work to do on Tobor, though. And a new Galactic Patrol officer to train. Parental pride aside, Rob was sure that Hoshi would make a great pilot for the giant robot.
But will Hoshi be able to handle being a member of the Galactic Patrol?
"Here you are, Hoshi," Rob smiled as he showed Hoshi his room. There was a bed, a desk, a table with chairs, and a bookcase with books and games. One corner had a toy box full of toys.
Despite looking like a seventeen year-old, Hoshi reacted as you would expect a baby to react --with uninhibited joy. He explored the room, looking through the books and games, and digging through the toy box.
"I take it that you like your room," Rob commented from the door.
"Yeah!" Hoshi answered happily, a toy spaceship in his hand.
"We had to guess at what you might like. All we had to go on was what my brothers and I liked as kids."
"It's all wonderful!" Hoshi grinned.
That's good," Rob smiled. "Dinner will be ready soon, so you get settled in and I'll call uou when it's ready."
"Okay, Daddy." Hoshi turned back to his exploration of the toybox.
Rob gave one more smile as he watched his son rumage through the toys. Then he left the room.
Hoshi had to stay with Rob and Dia another two weeks because Belladonna caught a cold. During that first week, Rob's mother arrived to help with Dia's baby.
Like most of the galaxy, Lenore Simmons knew about what Belladonna had done to Rob, and that Hoshi was the result. She had decided that, if Rob and Dia could forgive Belladonna, then so could she. She welcomed her age-accellerated grandson with as much enthusiasum as she would any grandchild.
"And 'Hoshi Me' is what Belladonna named him?" Lenore asked.
"Yes, Mom," Rob replied.
"How about giving him yet another name?" she asked. "He is your son as well as hers."
"Well, technically, he's the son of the Orbots' Commander and Belladonna," Rob replied. "Belladonna doesn't know that the Orbots' Commander and Robert Simmons is the same person. And due to his unusual features --namely the cat-eyes and the blue starburst over the left eye-- giving him a secret identity wouldn't work so well."
"True," Lenore admitted. "But it would tie him closer to the rest of the Simmons family to have a name they could claim and use. If you had named him, Rob, what would the name have been?"
Rob thought for a moment. It had never occurred to him to give Hoshi any other name. He did not mind using the name that Belladonna had given the boy, and "Star Eye" did fit him very well. But Hoshi was also a Simmons, by virtue of being sired by a Simmons. So maybe giving him a Simmons family name would also be appropreate.
"Robin," Rob answered. "If I had named him, it would have been 'Robin Simmons'."
"That sounds like a nice name," Dia commented. "And there's nothing wrong with having more than one name."
"Do you like your new name, Hoshi?" Rob asked.
"Yes," the boy answered. "I can use both names?"
"Well," Rob replied, "it might be best if you just use the 'Robin' name around the house and when you are with the Simmons side of your family --my side. The only ones that knows that Rob Simmons is the Orbots' Commander is those in this house, Rondu, and the immediate Simmons family --my parents, grandparents, my brothers, and my sister. Your mother does not know my secret idenity --and don't tell her, either. As far as she knows --and is concerned-- the father of her child is the Orbots' Commander."
"Okay," Hoshi/Robin answered. "Will mother ever know, though?"
"Maybe someday, Robin," Dia answered. "She has proven herself to be a strong ally. She certainly deserves to know the true name of the father of her child, but I'll leave that to Rob. It's his secret to tell."
"Prehaps someday, I'll tell her," Rob agreed. "Now, let's get you settled in, Mom. There's going to be a lot to talk about."
Rob, Dia, and Hoshi --now, Robin-- escourted Lenore to her room, followed by Tor, who was carring Lenore's luggage.
"Well, Robin," Rob smiled at his son, "Tobor's ready for your first Galactic Partrol mission." They stood outside the hanger, staring up at the huge robot. With them were Rondu, Dia, Lenore, and the Orbots.
Both Rob and Robin were wearing their Patrol uniforms --alike in two contrasting colors. Both uniforms was white, but the contrasting color on Rob's sleeves and neck area was magenta, while on Robin, the contrasting color was purple. Tobor was painted so that he looked like Robin in his uniform.
"When can we start?" Robin asked eagerly.
"As soon as your father finishes your robot supervisor," Rondu answered.
"I already have," Rob said. He pressed a button on his wrist communicator. From out of the shadows, a female robot appeared. Although her coloring was blue, she was still very familier.
"Bo?!?" Robin exclaimed.
"No," Rob answered. "Azora. I just used Bo as a base. And while I was at it..." Now, Rob pushed another button. Following Azora was a pink robot girl. This robot looked like Boo.
"Meet Rose. She's going to be the nursemaid helping Dia."
"Rob, I don't really need..." Dia began.
"You'll need someone to help when we're away. A little extra help couldn't hurt."
"Welll...alright," Dia sighed. She knew Rob was doing his best to help, the only way he knew how. And that was by building robots.
"Robin's first Galactic Patrol training session begins as soon as he and Azora gets aboard Tobor," Rob smiled at Robin. The boy grinned back, the ran aboard the waiting mechanical giant, followed by Azora.
"Orbots -- UNITE!" Rob commanded. As the six Orbots twisted and combined inot Mighty Orbots, Rob and Oh-No lept inot the Beamcar. Moments later, they were docked inside the head of the giant robot. With Oh-No providing ignition, the huge, multi-colored metal warrior came to life. Together, Mighty Orbots and Tobor flew into the air as Rondu, Dia, Lenore and Rose watched from the ground.
Chapter 5: Ria. The time has come for Dia's baby.