With this segment of Chapter Seven of Repairing the Legacy, we continue the serialization of Repairing the Legacy. This is a rough draft work in progress and may not reflect the final form. Time period: set after the ending of The Martiniere Legacy main trilogy. I’m breaking longer chapters into sections for readability. This is the third part of Chapter Seven. There will be three parts to this chapter.

New to the series? Chapter order:

Return of the Prodigal Son (2 parts)

Conversations and a Dinner (2 parts)

Dancing into Change (2 parts)

Sisterly Compromises (3 parts)

Conspiracies at the Rodeo (3 parts)

Passing the Baton (4 parts)

RESEARCH COMPLICATIONS

March, 2063

RUBY

No solutions, at least that day.

Gabe and Justine called Brandon privately to discuss the Cho family issues while Ruby visited with Temira. At last, Gabe came out of the room they were using.

“Tine and Bran are making the final arrangements,” he said. “We have two safe locations for Alan and your kids, Temira. Moondance, and Justine’s house in Los Angeles. Both heavily sensored and guarded. The Martiniere Group is picking up the bill for defending your farm. Justine’s sending people and more sensors. Eventually, that should reduce your losses and allow your family to go home.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Not a perfect solution, I’m afraid. I wish we could do more, but it looks like we’ll need to provide defense for you long-term.”

“Gabe, you didn’t have to—” Temira began.

His face hardened. “It’s part of my father’s damn legacy because it’s tied to the Real Truthers and Terence Braun, all right? You’re a Martiniere ally, and it’s not fair to you and Alan to be put in this position. Both Moondance and Justine’s house are spacious and set up for long-term guests. It’s not an imposition.”

“Thank you,” Temira said. “I appreciate this, Gabe.”

“It’s one means of fixing things.” Gabe eyed Ruby. “Meanwhile, it’s getting late. We didn’t come prepared to stay the night.”

“Neither did I,” Temira said.

“Justine will take care of that,” Gabe said. “Rubes, let’s gather up Mike and head for home.” He sighed. “Keep in touch, Temira. I feel responsible for what happened to you, and if there’s anything more the Martiniere Group can do—Brandon and I are both committed to assist you.”

“Getting those legal and civil remedies to work effectively will be one big help,” Temira said.

“Well, let’s hope we can get Pat Markey re-elected,” Gabe said, running his hand through his hair again. “We’ll be talking, Temira. Stay safe.”

“I will.”

It took a few minutes to extract Mike, buried in a build-a-bot game with JoAnn Swait.

“You two can play it online,” Ruby said finally. “Mike, we have to go.”

“You’ll give me access?” Mike asked. Ruby maintained a tight restraint on Mike’s online accesses outside of school and research. But when it came to JoAnn—and this particular game—

“After you do schoolwork, chores, and exercise,” Ruby said. “Understand?”

Mike nodded eagerly.

#

It wasn’t until bedtime that Ruby and Gabe had the time to talk privately.

“I don’t think the Guardians are going to be fully effective for a few more years,” Ruby said as they lay in bed facing each other. “I started working through the potential holes on the way back from Swait’s, based on the newest data from Kevin.”

“It sure seems that way, doesn’t it?” Gabe said. “Let’s hope it doesn’t take the twenty-some years to develop, like the RubyBot did.”

“And more, because we’re still tweaking it.” Ruby paused. “But—things could change. Did you take a look at the bot that Mike and JoAnn were working on in their game?”

“Not very close, I’m afraid.”

“I went through sequences, because I wanted to know the full reach of the game before I gave Mike unlimited access. Potential cybersecurity issues and all that. It’s—interesting.”

“How so?” Gabe propped himself up on one arm, smiling down at her.

“Those two are demonstrating design skills in collaboration that go way beyond what I was capable of doing at that age. Beyond what a lot of adult designers can do. Close to what you and I can do now.”

“Well, Mike is Philip’s clone, after all, and if there is one thing about my sperm donor that I can’t deny—Philip was brilliant, in his own way. Dangerously so.”

“But was Philip much of a bot designer?”

Gabe frowned, chewing his lip thoughtfully. “No. Not really. Programmer, yes. Understanding psychological algorithms, yes.”

“So perhaps Mike is developing different skills from his progenitor, based on being raised in an environment where bot development is a higher priority?”

“Could be,” Gabe said. He stroked Ruby’s cheek with his free hand. “That’s an encouraging thought. He is growing up around research that has a very different emphasis from what Philip did.”

“And—” Ruby paused. “JoAnn brings out a lot of positives in him.”

Gabe chuckled. “Matchmaking, Ruby? It’s way too early.”

She laughed back at him. “Even if the two of them don’t become romantically involved, I think their ability to cooperate bodes well for Barkley-Martiniere-Swait. They work well together. It’s not just something I’ve noticed. Jeff commented on it to me.”

“Building a future.” Gabe stroked her cheek again. “After today—God, Ruby. I thought we could turn things around within a few short years. But it sure seems more complicated than that.”

“Mike, Lily, and the Swait kids are our future.”

“True.” Gabe turned more solemn. “I just wish that I didn’t have this weird foreboding whenever I’m around Lily.” He grimaced. “Martiniere juju. Superstition, tied to the Medicis. All the same—I hope that Bran and Kris are able to have more kids.”

Ruby shivered. She knew what Gabe meant. Their granddaughter was a lovely little girl, but her personality—even at almost three, Lily exhibited mood swings that troubled Ruby.

Her family—Barkleys and Ryders alike—had a load of mental health problems, including early-onset schizophrenia. So did the Martinieres. And then there was the hormonal tampering that had been Kris’s legacy from being sold into indenture by her parents in her early teens. Hopefully Lily was free from those legacies.

Hopefully.

Ruby shivered again.

“You okay?” Gabe asked.

“Just one of those thoughts,” Ruby said.

“Maybe I need to distract you.” Gabe kissed her.

She laughed and kissed him back, hard.

*************************

Like what you’ve read so far? Check out the other stories in The Martiniere Legacy—all links here, both Amazon and other sources.

Justine Fixes Everything: Reflections on Mortality is now available at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo!

What’s it about?

EVEN THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE....

Over the years, Justine Martiniere has become the fixer for the Martinieres. Have a problem? Go to Justine to get it remedied.

But it wasn't always that way.

First, Justine needed to escape the abuses of her father, Philip. She didn't expect to fall in love with the man she married, Donald Atwood. But she did–and then she faced the choice between remaining married to Donald, or stopping her sociopathic, megalomaniac father.

Justine Fixes Everything is in part the unusual love story of Justine and Donald–and in part the saga of her rise to power, viewed in retrospect as she tells the history to Philip's clone Mike, as he recovers from surgery. It's about what she sacrificed to become powerful—and, at the same time, how that past comes to haunt the challenges she faces toward the end of her life.

Want more? How about an alternative Martiniere world where Ruby and Gabe meet in a different manner and meet more challenges?

ANOTHER MARTINIERE LEGACY STORY ON KINDLE VELLA—A DIFFERENT LIFE—WHAT IF?

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LH72GQG

One of the turning points of the Martiniere Legacy series is the death of Gabriel Martiniere's family in a plane crash when Gabe was twelve. That put Gabe's biological father, Philip, into the leadership of the Martiniere Group and the Martiniere Family, and expedited Philip's megalomaniac ambitions. But what if that crash hadn't happened? What would Gabe's relationship with Ruby, the love of his life, look like?

Billionaire nerd with a conscience, unlucky at love, striving to overcome the shadows of his past while trying to find agritech means to fight climate change.

Former rodeo queen, just trying to get her degree in agricultural robotics and make her mark on the world while trying to find agritech means to fight climate change, also unlucky at love and struggling with a shadowy past.

Can Ruby and Gabe successfully negotiate the complexities of the Martiniere Group and launch Ruby’s world-changing biobots without interference from competitors, while maintaining a relationship?

UPDATES ON A DIFFERENT LIFE HAPPEN EVERY WEDNESDAY, THROUGH DECEMBER, THEN MONDAY-WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY STARTING JANUARY 3, 2022. WORK IS COMPLETED, AND EPISODES CONTINUE UNTIL THE CONCLUSION ON FEBRUARY 16, 2022.