The one wherein I actually listen to someone and stay out of the middle of things

I have never been known for being "obedient."  There is a reason that "and obey" was omitted from my wedding vows both times I got hitched.  Yes, when I was in the service I would obey the orders of my superior officers, but that was a matter of military discipline and personal honor.  It didn't mean, though, that I did so without question.  I am still alive because there were times I interpreted an order, rather than obey it blindly and to the letter.

Simon knew all that, of course.  He'd seen my record.  What of it was accessible, which, for him, was most of it.  When it came to taking or giving orders, or relative ranks meant little.  Nor did our roles as Husband and Wife.  He didn't order me.  I didn't order him.  At least outside very special circumstances.  Circumstances which usually involved items not normally employed outside one's bedroom or some very exclusive clubs.  We would ask.  Strongly suggest.  Sometimes entice, or even cajole, but we didn't order.

The thing was, we hadn't needed to order.  We'd grown to trust one another long before we'd been married.  Initially as professionals, at least from my perspective, then as friends, and finally as a couple.  When Simon came to join me at the secluded little spot I'd found on the far side of Dragon's Egg from the main settlement, he'd come, in part, to suggest, entice, and cajole.

Simon had been spending a lot of time dealing with some of the side action involving Al Raquis, Blue Sun, x0x0, the Ardra AI, and some of my friends over in the Justice unit.  Why?  I could probe and find out, but had consciously chosen not to.  It all tied back to Lily and the data manipulation I'd been doing to make her feeds look legitimate.  For all that effort, it appeared I was doing a more than adequate job as whoever was actively after her was accepting the feeds as legitimate.  Somehow, this also tied back to the Ass Clowns from Cerberus reducing the Alliance's interest in Dragon's Egg, though with Blue Sun's political clout, I wasn't sure why they were necessary.  Though he did confirm the suspected method Blue Sun, through the supposedly "dead" x0x0, would be using to reacquire the IAV Sun Tzu II on the Alliance's behalf.

None of this was actually news to me.  Even if I couldn't personally parse even a tiny fraction of the information we collected, Nora, my long suffering Expert System, did an exceptionally good job of sifting out the items I was actively concerned about.  What, exactly, Simon was so concerned about I couldn't actually tell though.  There was some event that hadn't come fully clear, beyond "it is a Bad Thing^tm," that had him spooked.  To the point of practically begging me to help conduct a "drill" to get people down into the shelter so they wouldn't witness whatever Bad Thing^tm was going to be happening.

I would find out what had him spooked, of course.  It was what I did.  But I would also help get the colonists into the safety of the underground shelters.  Geni Foxtrot would help, as would a few of the other Town Elders.  Many of the original colonists remembered the days back on Hale's Moon and would still respect a request that came from their former Duly Elected Mayor and de facto Colonial Governor.

The question of "why" would be answered in good time.

Time for action nears
Consequences of what though?
Time will make things clear