by L. Fergus
“I promise I’ll be worthy,” said Aspen as she bowed to Kita.
Kita handed Dusk and Dawn to Aspen bowing over each sword as she did.
Aspen flourished them in rapid succession. “Can I turn them white?”
Kita chuckled. “Your swords.”
“Thank you,” said Aspen. “I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t. Come on. Let’s get to the stage.”
Kita and Aspen flew out from under the stand of trees toward a small stage with two curtains on either side. Guests sat waiting for the auction to begin.
“Ok, ladies. We’re coming in. Be ready for action,” said Kita. “Leaf, Vee, take the curtain to the left. Hali, A’ana, get the right. I’ll keep the crowd busy.”
Starlight, Raptor, and Panther jumped from their seats and took flight surprising those around them. They flew to the curtains. Kita turned visible hovering above the stage. She drew Dead and Buried, and slammed the hilts together. Flourishing the double-bladed sword, Kita stopped it parallel to the ground. She pointed the curved ends toward the crowd and whispered the word carved into Crypt’s handle. “Reap.”
A blue cone of light emitted from Crypt. Bluish doppelganger ghosts appeared next to each guest. The ghosts lasted for a second then dissolved into the ether. The remaining bodies of the guests collapsed to the floor.
“Oh, how I’ve missed you,” Kita grinned.
The other Angels removed the curtains revealing Valor and Defiance suspended from the ceiling by their wings. Both had a collar around their necks.
“They’re wearing neural collars. Snap them off, and they should wake up.” Hali flew up to Valor and snapped the collar off. Valor’s eyes opened, and she vomited. Across the stage, Panther did the same thing for Defiance.
“Is that an effect of the collar?” said Panther.
“No,” said Starlight. “They have stasis sickness. A’ana, can you cut her down?”
Raptor broke the harness keeping Valor airborne. Starlight caught Valor and lowered her to the ground.
Kita knelt over Defiance after the others laid her down.
“Casey, can you hear me?”
Defiance moaned. “By the emperor, what did these filthy aliens do to me?”
Kita chuckled. “I think she’ll be fine.” She stroked Defiance’s face tenderly.
“Something I should know?” said Panther.
Kita’s eyes went wide. “Ah…yeah…ah…Casey and I …we were…are…ah…”
“Damn, Kita, just spit it out,” said Defiance. “I’m her girlfriend, Casey. I’d shake your hand, but I think if I move, I’ll puke.”
“Hi,” said Panther. “I’m Vee. Kita’s other girlfriend.”
“No wonder she’s nervous. We’ll have to compare notes. Ugh, I think I’m going to pass out now. Whatever they did to me—”
“Casey?” Kita said alarmed. She could hear a heartbeat and Defiance was still breathing, but Kita couldn’t help but be nervous.
“So…were you going to tell me about this?” said Panther to Kita.
Kita gulped. “Yes, ah, when the time was right.”
“You’re cute when you’re flustered. You know I don’t care, right? As long as I get you some of the time? I know when Jane gets back I won’t see you for a year—”
“Who?”
“Is that who you don’t remember or is that just the excuse you’re going to tell her?”
Kita’s shoulders slumped. “I know there is someone out there that I’m partnered to, I just don’t remember.”
Panther giggled. “Well, when we find her I want to be there. It’ll be a storybook reunion.”
“Freeze! Nobody move!” yelled a guard leading ten more.
“Oops, time to go,” said Kita. “A’ana, Vee, Leaf, can you keep them busy?”
“Can we kill them?” said Panther.
“I don’t see why not. I blew that parameter of our assignment. Collector will have to deal with it.”
“Time to show these kitties a big cat.” Panther morphed into a large black jaguar. She let out a deep rumbling roar and leaped from the stage at the guards.
Raptor jumped into the air and transformed into a t-rex. She smashed chairs and bodies under her feet, and then let out a ground-shaking roar. Charging the guards, she snapped up a Zentonian and ate him whole.
Aspen darted toward the guards. She didn’t attack but flashed bright beams of light from her hands, blinding the guards causing them to stagger. Panther and Raptor pounced on the easy targets.
“Hali, grab Jess and let’s get out of here,” said Kita as she picked up Defiance. “Kami, Kita. We’re coming out hot.”
“Ok, Mom. We’ve been monitoring and will have you covered.”
Kita and Starlight flew toward the front of the mansion guarded by the other Angels.
“Wait,” said Aspen. “We can’t leave the two in the bedroom.”
“Vee, go with her,” ordered Kita.
Panther turned back into an Angel and flew after Aspen. While she waited, Kita flung fireballs around the mansion. The pair returned, each carrying an Aurorian. Under Raptor’s guard, the Angels flew across the mansion. When they reached the front door, the servants scattered.
Raptor smashed the doors with a swipe of her tail. Kita ducked through the wreckage just as a large shuttle landed in the drop-off area. The other Angels followed her down the steps. Guards from atop the mansion and patrolling the grounds opened fire on them. The side of the shuttle opened, and Tenshi, Babydoll, and Valentine exited with pistols and rifles drawn. The three Angels returned fire at the guards as Kita, and the others jumped aboard the shuttle.
“We’re in, girls. Let’s get out of here,” ordered Kami from the pilot’s seat.
The shuttle lifted off as Babydoll, Tenshi, and Valentine flew aboard.
“We’re in. Go!” cried Babydoll.
Kamikaze boosted to maximum and the shuttle launched into the sky as Tec-Sec air cars arrived.
“Did you have any problems?” said Kita as Starlight and Aspen boarded the shuttle. She had Panther’s arm around her and Defiance’s head in her lap.
“No. I filled out the statement and told the officers where I found the girls. I originally got a Tec-Sec Zentonian sergeant, but the lieutenant was an Aurorian and was much more sympathetic. She didn’t ask stupid questions and believed me when I told her where they came from. The incident at Takkat’s mansion hadn’t been reported yet.”
“Good. So the girls will be taken care of?”
“Yeah. Not sure if anything will happen to Takkat over it, but I suppose losing his mansion will teach him.”
“Don’t forget he has no front teeth,” said Aspen.
“I wish I could have seen that.”
“Don’t worry,” said Kita. “I’ve got the replay.”
Kita’s eyes fluttered open. She smiled when she remembered where she was, snuggled up against Panther in bed.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” said Panther. “I must have worn you out.”
“Hmmm, just warm and happy. Your skin is so soft.”
Panther chuckled. “I haven’t done anything to it besides take a quick shower before we started. I’m going to have to get used to being in my routine again. Things you don’t have to worry about when you’re a god.”
Kita raised her head from Panther’s chest and noticed the screen on the wall. “What are you watching? I didn’t mean to leave you alone.”
“It’s no problem. I found a movie about forbidden love between a Zentonian—they’re the squirrels, right?” Kita nodded. “And a Djinn. Not sure what to make of it, other than the Zentonian female breaks all the stupid social norms of the Djinn. I guess it’s supposed to be empowering?”
Kita sighed and laid her head back down. “Yeah. I’m sure it was written by an Aurorian. They love that stuff.”
“I was impressed by Hali. She knows what she’s doing. Where did you find her?”
“She was a friend of Cotton’s on the
Grand Panel. She desperately wanted to join, and hated being a diplomat and loved being a soldier. I told her if she could get me a piece of King Lear’s mane I’d teach her to be an assassin.”
“I take it she got her piece?”
“She took a combat knife, marched into the meeting room, wrangled the cat, and cut off a piece of his mane. Lear was hopping mad. Snowy had to kill him.”
Panther smirked. “Life with you is never dull.”
Kita stuck her tongue out and licked Panther’s nipple.
“Eep!” said Panther as she covered her breast. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Kita snickered.
“Keep laughing, brat.”
The screen on the wall flashed red.
“What’s that mean?” said Panther.
“Incoming call,” said Kita as she pulled a sheet over them. “Answer.”
Anthrax’s image appeared. She raised an eyebrow.
“Nell, what can I do for you?” said Kita pleasantly.
“Well, that didn’t take long. Hi, Vee,” Anthrax said with a big smile that displayed her shark’s teeth. “I was calling to let you know—after fifteen minutes of trying to understand the messaging system—that Casey is awake. Jess is still under.”
“Thanks, Nell. And, thanks for looking after them.”
Anthrax smiled. “It’s good to practice medicine again. Our host’s equipment is interesting. I’ll get it figured out quick enough. I’m glad I come with my own medical equipment suite.”
“You’re the best,” said Kita. “Does this mean I can see Casey?”
“Give me an hour to run some tests. I want to make sure this stasis sickness hasn’t done anything permanent.”
“Ok. I’ll be there.”
“See you then.” Anthrax’s smile faded to a frown as she tried to disconnect.
“Like this, doctor.” A fuzzy hand reached across the camera and screen went black.
Kita sighed. “Guess I should get cleaned up.”
“In such a hurry to go from one girlfriend to the next?” said Panther with a teasing smile.
“Ah, no. I—”
Panther reached between Kita’s legs. Kita gasped. “Good. You can spend a little more time with me.”
A shiver went down Kita’s spine. “By the Crushing Depths…” Kita whispered.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Panther purred.
Kita and Panther entered the ship’s medical bay. It was empty except for a handful of staff.
Kita approached the on-call doctor. He wore a yellow jumpsuit with a red paw print on the breast, the Djinn symbol for aid.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Doctor Anthrax,” said Kita.
The Djinn looked up from the reader he was studying. “The Angel?”
“Yes.”
“She’s in suite three.”
“Thank you.” Kita took Panther’s hand and led her to suite three. The door was open, so Kita went in.
“Hi, Nell,” said Kita seeing the back of the Angel’s black and white wings. She turned, revealing Defiance. “Casey!” Kita couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice.
“Kita! About time you came and found me. I was getting worried. Hi, Vee.” She winked at Kita. “I bet you were hoping I’d forgotten about that.”
Kita’s ears turned red causing all three other Angels to laugh.
“How are you feeling?” said Kita to Defiance.
“Much better. I don’t feel like throwing up every ten seconds. Now, I’m hungry. Prison food sucks.”
“At least you got some,” said Kita. “They didn’t feed me anything but watery soup.”
“Yeah, what happened to you? They told us you’d been moved.”
“I was moved to a deep space prison, locked in a bubble and slowly starved into submission.”
“Poor baby,” cooed Defiance. She took Kita’s hand and kissed it. “It looks like you’re doing better.”
“Yeah. Snowy and Zen rescued me—”
“They’re ok?” A loud gurgle came from Defiance’s stomach. She blushed. “Sorry. I said I was hungry.”
“We’ll get you something to eat…If the doc says it’s ok.” Kita looked at Anthrax.
“She checks out fine. She’s free to go. I think I’ll go with you right after I check on Jess. I could use a snack.” She turned and left the suite.
Defiance pulled the sheet off her then stopped. “I should have asked her where my clothes were.”
“You didn’t come with any,” said Kita.
Defiance sighed. “Maybe I can borrow some of those twenty-fourth-century patches from Nell.”
Kita chuckled at the reference to Anthrax’s taste in vintage clothing styles. The Angel wore only seven circular patches that didn’t hide anything.
“We can always tie the sheet into a toga,” said Panther.
“By the emperor, I haven’t been to a toga party in decades,” said Defiance.
She got up, folded the sheet, and tied it around her.
“When we find Snowy we’ll get you some real clothes,” said Kita.
“I thought I’d be fighting her for a spot on your arm,” Defiance said with a chuckle.
“She has a girlfriend now.”
“Really?”
“She’s found some Djinn female.”
“Wow. Who would have guessed? What do Djinn females look like?”
“Like Snowy, but sand colored.”
Kita offered her arm to Defiance.
“Really? You should be swinging from my arm.”
Kita laughed. “How about I just hold your hands as I escort you to the galley?”
“Yeah, whose ship are we aboard anyway?” said Defiance.
“Collector’s.”
“Collector!”
“I’ll explain everything,” said Kita.
“You better. We better not be prisoners, or I’m going to slap you.”
“I like her,” said Panther.
Kita rolled her eyes. “We’re not prisoners…but it’s an uneasy arrangement at best. Collector wants us to lead his forces against the Shadow Fleet.”
“And you agreed to that?” yelled Defiance.
“Yes, but I have a good reason.”
“You’d better. That’s my fleet.”
“Ah, who are you again?” said Panther to Defiance. “Kita’s the only one I’ve ever known with a fleet of anything.”
“Casey Bush, Princess of the UEE.”
Panther’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh. No wonder she’s been so nervous over you.”
“What’s that mean?” said Defiance.
Kita stopped, pulling the other two to a halt. “Before anyone gets the wrong idea, my nervousness had nothing to do with that,” she said firmly. “I was worried about how the two of you would react to each other. I wasn’t sure how you’d both handle it.”
“I knew I wouldn’t be the only one when I signed up,” said Defiance. “I like that I get along with the other girl. I was afraid I would be at war with Cotton.”
“I don’t understand your concern,” said Panther. “I was there when you had Snowy, Roo, and Jane. It didn’t bother me then, and it doesn’t bother me now. I agree with Casey, it’s nice not to be at odds with the other girls. I was always fearful of Jane.”
“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to be in fear of anyone,” said Kita.
“When you remember Jane, you’ll understand my fear,” said Panther.
“I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. No matter who she is. Casey is a princess, but that doesn’t mean you’re anything less. I love you all.”
“Whoa, slow down,” said Defiance. “I didn’t know we were at the L-word.”
Kita chuckled. “Ok, like you all for who you are.”
“I did like that you rescued me. That’s points in your favor.” Defiance winked.
Kita kissed Defiance’s fingers and then Panther’s. “Vee helped.”
“I think we’ll get along just fine,” said Panther.
&n
bsp; Kita smiled as she guided them to the galley. It was a quarter full of off-duty Djinn getting something to eat. In the corner sat Phoenix, with her head in Valentine’s lap, and Toxic. Kita’s group approached the group of younger Angels.
“Hey,” said Phoenix.
“Hi, sweet pea. How are you girls?”
“Eh, the food sucks and so does the entertainment…and you can only have sex for so long before that becomes boring.”
Kita looked at Valentine. “Her words, not mine, but yeah.”
“Kara?” said Kita to Toxic.
“At least they’re having sex. I just get to sit around and stare at the wall.”
“Sorry, girls,” Kita said shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know how long we’ll be aboard this ship. The next step is to get Enterprise back, and there’s more to do aboard her.”
“When’s that?” said Phoenix.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t gotten any information about the ship’s whereabouts. Sheppard and Amanda should be with her.”
“I would like to voice my disdain for allowing Sheppard back into the flock,” said Valentine.
“I know. But she’s repentant and is making amends.”
“For whatever she’s done to you, I am sorry,” said Defiance. “Galina and Sheppard acted in my name, and therefore it’s my responsibility. I promise you she understands the error in her judgment and it won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, but who are you?” said Phoenix.
“Casey Bush, Princess of the UEE.”
“And you’re dating my mom?”
“Yes.”
“Galina’s going to crap herself.”
“Galina’s days are numbered,” said Defiance. “I understand many want a little piece of revenge.”
“Some big pieces,” said Anthrax coming up behind Kita and the others. “She killed my partner and my child.”
“I’m sorry,” said Defiance. “I promise you’ll get your piece.”
Anthrax bared her shark-like teeth. “I plan on ripping it out of her hide.”
Kita led the others to the buffet line.
“Ah, meat, meat, or more meat,” said Defiance.
“And it’s all raw,” said Panther as she grabbed some steak-like slabs. “Luckily I don’t mind it raw.” Her tail lashed behind her eagerly.
“We do have a BBQ on the premises,” said Defiance, poking Kita.