Ensign Probus

by Wendie Nordgren

  I felt a collective wave of rage from my Omnes Videntes, and those present came jogging over to us. Whoever had spat on the ground shared the same father with them, and he was working for the enemy.

  Chapter Twenty

  We had returned to the Empress, and Izaac paced across the deck. Silently, he asked, “Why can’t I sense them?”

  His brothers didn’t have the answer either. They had rejected the idea of neural blockers. The hybrids would never have relented to their use.

  “Worry about it later. For now, we know where to strike. The sample which one of them left was as good as a map. However, it could be a trap, and we all know it. The festivities will allow us to infiltrate unseen. Teagan and her ladies will provide a distraction. I want four guards on each of them at all times. Make that twenty-four eyes on Teagan,” Nico said with a nod of his head to Thunderdrop. “They won’t be able to resist the bait, especially if they are as deranged as the ones who tried to take her on Epopeus. Take them dead or alive. Teams Two and Three will enter the adhesive facility. Their objective is to find the technology and the mind behind it, and I want you with them,” he said to Izaac, Xavier, and Walter. “Kaoti, Zared, and Jazon, I want you to stay with the ladies and ensigns openly as their guard detail. Yukihyo, Fitz, and Clark, you can be your adoring selves but be ready to strike. Dario is in charge of the air. The Inquisitors are going after everything else, those involved, information, schematics, suppliers, and distributors. Are we clear?”

  “Yes, sir!” voices affirmed.

  Nico said, “We leave in two hours. Dismissed.”

  Reaching out, Nico took me by the wrist and gently pulled me aside. I could see in his eyes what he wanted to say. His eyes told me how much I meant to him, how much he loved and needed me, the mother of his son.

  “I’ll be careful. I promise. I know my job. Stay visible and play the part of a tourist, attracting attention while pretending to make an effort at blending in. If they approach us, we take up a defensive position and let the big strong males protect us.” Terre had removed my braids. She had other plans for my hair. Taking advantage of it, Nico combed his fingers through it.

  Lowering his lips to mine, he kissed me, softly and tenderly. Then, he let me go. It proved to me his true strength because I knew it was the last thing he wanted to do.

  “Teagan!” Terre called.

  Lifting my face to his, I kissed him once more. “I love you, Nico Cassian.” Turning, I went to the dining table and took a seat with my ladies.

  “Put your hair up so it doesn’t get in your way,” Violet suggested.

  I brushed my hair up into a ponytail. Then, I watched the tutorial one of my ladies had selected for me on my vid-screen. Terre, Tracy, Sparrow, Violet, and I each had our own special make-up kits beside us. We were painting our own faces so that Ulf, Pierce, and Lorca could help the men. Not all of them required assistance, but that was because they had opted to wear masks.

  “What’s her name, again?” Sparrow asked while applying white paint to her face.

  “Catrina,” I answered without moving my lips.

  I was busy painting black lines over my red lips and was doing my best to make them look like the teeth on a skull. I hit pause on the video while I finished the lines going out from the corners of my mouth. The make-up artist was going too fast for me. Next, I did my eyes. They looked like the black eye sockets of a skull. Terre was an expert. She finished her make-up first and got to work putting Tracy’s hair up into a bun. I painted the swirls of my forehead design in red and bright pink.

  After I’d finally finished, I asked, “How does it look?”

  Eli said, “Terrifyingly beautiful. I know we are on a mission, but the entire meaning behind these festivities is profound.”

  Terre said, “The Day of the Dead is when love and respect for deceased family members is shown according to what I have read. Remembering those who we have lost and keeping them alive in our memories is a tradition we might choose to follow once we return home.” Stepping behind me, she took my ponytail and put it into a bun. Then, she covered my hair with a black lace veil. Next, she took large red blooms and shoved them in, scraping my scalp and making me yelp and fidget. “There. Now, go put on your dress.”

  Happy to escape the hair pain she was inflicting on me, I minded her. On my way, I took a moment to appreciate the men in our lives. They were costumed in suits fashioned to resemble the styles of a bygone era, the same one as our dresses. Laid out on my bed was the dress I would wear. It had a wide, full-length skirt which would hide the plasti blasters I had strapped to my thighs and my boots. It had been made of red silk and black lace and gathered beneath the breasts to give my stomach plenty of room. A few such modifications had been necessary for all of our dresses. I was tempted to wear the crown with which Farowyn’s father had presented me, but I was too afraid Terre would insist on putting the flowers back in my hair. Anyway, I’d be able to blend in better with the flowers and veil. I stepped into the dress and pulled it up.

  “I’d toss up your skirt and bury my face between your legs if we had the time,” Zared said from where he watched me.

  I whispered, “Then, I’d have white skeletal face paint all over my lady bits.”

  Zared threw back his head and laughed, dislodging his wide-brimmed black hat. His long, dove-grey hair blended with his frightening skeletal makeup giving him the appearance of a terrifyingly attractive and antiquatedly dressed grim reaper. Standing, he helped me fasten the back of my dress and then gave me his arm. “My lady.”

  Snapping open my red silk fan, I took his arm, and together we left the room and entered the lift where Thunderdrop made himself comfortable on my skirt. I asked, “Aren’t you the least bit frightened? They aren’t all dead. Some of them are out there. What if one of them touches me and makes me insane?”

  Watching me from the transport bay where we exited the lift, Izaac sent me his thoughts. “Remember what Consul Bosh told you. He promised you he could fix anything. He meant it, Teagan. Quinn can fix anything. If one of them confronts you, repeat it to yourself like a mantra.”

  I watched my ladies entering our chartered shuttle with their husbands and looked down into Thunderdrop’s eyes for reassurance. “What if Quaid leaves me? Will Quinn be so eager to help me then?”

  I heard Walter and the others groaning.

  Jazon said, “Will you stop worrying about Quaid? He loves you. He’s not leaving you, and for the last time he’s not cheating on you. Get it through your thick skull.”

  “How do you know?” I snapped.

  Annoyed with me, Jazon said, “He and Eric are avoiding us to keep their mission a secret. It’s why they’ve got Captain Espanoza stalking you. They want to keep you safe, use her to find out what we’re doing, and try to get the weapons schematics and materials before we do. That’s it. Stop obsessing.”

  Lifting her hand to Jazon’s face, Tracy pinched her thumb and finger together and yanked out one of her husband’s nose hairs.

  “Ouch! Damn! What was that for, female?” It looked like his eyes were watering.

  “Don’t condescend to my friend. She’s entitled to explore her feelings and sort out her own thoughts. You have no right to shame her for it,” Tracy scolded.

  I watched the exchange in complete fascination.

  Jazon, formerly known as Knife after a brutal coordinated attack on my husbands and poor Phillip, stood there being scolded by his tiny pregnant wife. I could imagine his dick shrinking. Izaac and Zared hid their smiles at my thoughts. Tracy narrowed her eyes at him, and I assumed they were having a telepathic conversation, one to which I wasn’t privy.

  Then, Jazon said, “I’m sorry, Teagan. I was trying to help. It upsets me when you’re unhappy.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  To me, Terre said, “Don’t make that expression with your lips. You’ll mess them up.”

  I’d been in the process of holding my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing at
Jazon and forced my mouth to relax. I didn’t want to get into trouble.

  Dario had ships in the air, and Nico had soldiers on the ground. My admiral and general had no intentions of allowing harm to come to any of us or of allowing those who had been causing so much strife to escape justice, and neither did my Inquisitors. Together, they had planned for every contingency which they could imagine. All we had to do was draw attention away from them. Everything would be fine.

  Terre caught my attention as I took my seat in the shuttle. She was beautiful in blue silk and black lace. Black roses were along the bodice and hip of her dress where her skirt gathered to show lace and a hint of her long legs. Phillip’s hands never seemed to leave her. He stared at her possessively through his skeletal paint. She’d dressed him in a suit of crushed blue velvet to match her dress, and his black silk shirt was open at the neck to reveal the skeletal hand clutching his throat which he’d had her paint there.

  Listening in on my thoughts, Jazon muttered, “Better around the throat than the balls.”

  “What was that?” Tracy asked.

  Jazon sighed and shut up.

  After everyone had taken their seats, the shuttle pilot took us up while our tour guide told us about the history of Dia de los Muertos. Having gotten to know us by now, he’d had the catering service provide chips, salsa, guacamole, and virgin margaritas for our enjoyment. He’d also provided plenty of napkins. I broke my chips in half and carefully snacked so as not to mess up my makeup. It wasn’t a long trip.

  We arrived in Mexico at dusk in a city which had been transformed with colorful banners, streams of lights, festive businesses, live music, and people of all ages dressed in costumes with their faces painted. For those who hadn’t painted their own faces, artists beckoned them over to chairs, willing to do it for them for a modest price. I watched a woman walk by while twirling a colorful lace umbrella over her shoulder. Skull earrings dangled from her lobes, and she walked three little dogs who she’d dressed up in skeleton costumes. We had arrived in time to see a parade. People in skeleton costumes danced along the street. The macabre costumes and face paint were a juxtaposition to the overwhelming sense of joy I felt from those around us.

  Zared said, “It’s a celebration of life and the lives of those who we have lost.”

  “Teagan!” Yukihyo called from a nearby street vendor.

  I went to him, and he filled my hands with small, white, painted skulls. Before I could ask him why, to my horror, he popped one into his mouth.

  Phillip laughed. “They’re sugar skulls, candy. Go ahead, ladies. Enjoy, but for the rest of the week you’re all eating healthy.”

  Skeptically, I tried one of the treats and was pleasantly surprised.

  The men led us along the sidewalks, sharing bites of food they purchased, buying us trinkets, and randomly pulling us into crowds of people to dance. Laughing, I forgot about our mission. The sounds, sights, and happiness swirled around us and transported us into a different world.

  I watched as people lit candles in remembrance of loved ones. Noticing, Terre encouraged me to buy a candle. Instinctively, she knew the person who was heavy on my mind. We stepped over to a vendor and purchased one. Borrowing a match, I lit it and placed it with several other candles with their flickering flames. Luca’s flame had burned bright only to be extinguished far too soon. Closing my eyes, I wondered if he felt my love in the afterlife. Reaching down, Terre took my hand and helped me rise. Knowing I’d heard more words about my loss than I could stand, she hugged me instead. It was hard to celebrate his life when it still hurt so much. I wanted to feel the joy around me, but my own feelings of loss overshadowed it.

  Fireworks displays filled the night sky. Then, the sound of weapons fire broke the spell under which I had fallen, jarring me back into reality. They had tried to disguise the sound with the shooting off of fireworks, but for those of us who were familiar with the sound, there was no mistaking it. More fireworks shot up into the night sky, masking the battle which was occurring not too far away in the distance but beneath the revelers’ noses.

  Into our communicators, Nico ordered, “Take cover.”

  While partygoers pointed up at the night sky at the dazzling displays, men and women in dark civilian clothing converged on our location, making their way slowly through the throngs of people. Catching a glimpse of one of them, I noted his weapon’s holster was empty. It wasn’t much of a consolation. All revelers had to relinquish their weapons in order to enter the town and partake in the festivities, but as I had proved with the plasti blasters hidden under my skirt, where there was a will there was a way. If the Inquisitors knew of ways to trick weapon detection scans, I was sure our enemies did as well.

  “Take them inside,” Zared said to Yukihyo and Phillip.

  Taking our hands, they ushered us into a store.

  “Chitter?” Thunderdrop showed me an image of the alien alloy and another of the people who seemed to be coming for us.

  I said, “Yes, I think you’re right. We stirred up the nest, and the hornets have come out to play.”

  Fighting erupted near the front of the store in which we’d taken cover, but it ended quickly. The hired mercenaries were no match for my guards. They carried our attackers off and left them on benches where they looked as though they’d lost consciousness from too much drink.

  Izaac spoke into our minds. “We tried to send them away telepathically, but hey have neural blockers implanted in their skulls….” He sounded confused. His thoughts drifted.

  I looked to Zared for clarification, be he also seemed suddenly distant. Jazon and Xavier had the same distant looks in their eyes. It was almost as if they were being controlled in the same way they had wanted to control the mercenaries. Icy fingers clawed at my heart as fear stole my breath. The Mad Ones….

  Kaoti whispered to Violet, “Take them out the back and go find someplace safe to hide. Activate the device I gave you.” He pulled two rods from his pockets, and with flicks of his wrists they elongated into fighting staffs and sizzled with electricity.

  “Kaoti,” Violet said in a choked voice, but he didn’t turn to spare her a last glance, and she hurried to obey. He’d drilled it into all of us enough that we knew if he ever gave us such an order that we were to obey him at once for our own safety.

  Clark, Cedrenus, Binder, Ross, Stayton, Tyler, and Levi activated their own staffs and stood with Kaoti against a deadlier threat than any of us had imagined, my own Imperial Guards.

  “Kaoti,” Yukihyo rasped. “I am linked to them. Something is trying to control us. They are fighting it, but I cannot.” He stumbled away from me and through the line Kaoti and my team had formed to the other side.

  Someone grabbed my wrist, shocking me out of the despair losing Yukihyo was causing me. The female’s makeup was identical to my own as was the black lace veil and flowers adorning her hair. Her dress was of a different design, but it was red and black like mine. “Come with me. Hurry.”

  “Fancy seeing you here,” Phillip said to her. He winked at Captain Espanoza while putting an arm around both Terre and Violet.

  “Not now, Svenson.” Captain Espanoza led us out of the store’s back door and into a wide, cobblestone alley. Quickly pulling a blaster from a thigh holster, she shot a male who had been taking aim at us.

  Into my earpiece, Nico said, “Teagan, we’ve got two parties in the mix, our pirate mercenaries who have tracked us down and are out for revenge and the private security fighting the Inquisitors. We’re trying to counter whatever is being done to our boys, but it isn’t any kind of neural blocker that we can detect.”

  Four pirate mercenaries with their weapons drawn ran toward us from a few blocks down the alley, but were taken out by a fighter ship far above. We left the alley where we were easy targets for a crowd of dancers. Phillip still held Terre and Violet close. I drew my weapons and hid them within the folds of my skirt. Sparrow did the same.

  Violet said, “We have to get somewhere safe.”r />
  Leaving the dancers, we found ourselves in a busy square surrounded by kiosks. Vendors yelled out to us, trying to get us to buy their wares.

  “There,” Espanoza said.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “See the steeple? It’s a church. I’ve got a team guarding it. We’ll be safe there. Go, but not all at once,” she said.

  Phillip guided Terre and Violet toward the church, but we lost sight of them when another parade swallowed them up. The revelers had no idea that a battle occurred within their midst, and I fervently hoped it would stay that way.

  Scanning the crowd, I said, “Shit. There’s more of them.” I tugged Sparrow and Tracy down with me behind a fountain to hide. “Ladies, they’re doing something to our men. All of this was planned. It’s an ambush. We need to be careful or else become liabilities. Our forces can’t just swoop down and get us. If they do, innocent lives could be lost. That’s why the mercenaries chose here and now to attack. We should hide but may need to fight our way out.”

  Sparrow said, “As always, I’m ready to fuck some shit up.”

  Captain Espanoza said, “What are you thinking? Are you crazy? I need to get the three of you to that church and to safety.”

  I grabbed her wrist and tugged her down into a crouch as two men scanned for us. Thunderdrop tensed on my shoulders ready to attack. A large group of laughing, rambunctious people came closer, and I motioned for the ladies to get up and use them as cover. Blending in with the group, we walked with them from the square and into a packed bar where we managed to squeeze our way over to a free if not somewhat sticky corner table.

  “The church is that way,” the Captain said while pointing.

  I took a seat, and so did my ladies. Being pregnant was tiring. I shook my head. “While everyone is occupied and trying to avoid the shit that’s hitting the fan, I’m carrying out my own personal mission. I’m afraid if I don’t try now, I won’t get another chance.”