by L. Fergus
“Neptune’s rings,” swore Sheppard. “All ships left in the fleet target new contact bearing zero-seven-six. Shields maximum port side. Close the window.”
Above them, the protective shield moved over the panoramic window.
“Incoming,” announced Anderson.
Kita braced herself, even though she knew she didn’t need to. The enemy fire would hit the shields and wouldn’t be felt inside. The jolt caught everyone off guard. Sailors operating stations were knocked out of their seats. Defiance stumbled as Kita did her best to remain in her seat and connected to the computer.
“What was that?” yelled Defiance.
“A very big kinetic round, Your Highness,” replied Sheppard.
“How’d it get through?”
“The shields are only rated for so much energy.”
“Can we take another one?”
“The shields are at fifty percent. I’d rather not.”
Defiance looked at Kita. “Where are you at, darlin’?”
“Somewhere between just dreaming about numbers and seeing them floating before my eyes.”
“If we were to jump how close can you get us?”
“Ah…” Kita snapped at the sailor operating the FTL computer. He looked up at her surprised. “How close?” demanded Kita.
“A hundred and ten miles.”
“That’s close enough,” said Defiance. “Rene!”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Prepare for FTL jump.”
“We still have two ships waiting to make the wormhole jump.”
“How long?”
“Five minutes.”
“Too long. I’m not losing this ship. Jump!”
Enterprise shook again. This time, Kita fell out of her seat but was able to keep her finger in contact with the computer port. Defiance grabbed a workstation.
“Damage report!” cried Defiance.
“We have hull penetration port side decks three, four, and five. Emergency doors are holding.”
“Kita! Get us out of here!” demanded Defiance.
“Hit it,” Kita ordered the sailors of the FTL section.
The sailors didn’t need any more encouragement. “Aye aye, ma’am.”
Kita felt her stomach in her throat, and the world went black.
“Engineering, where is the damage?” demanded Sheppard.
“Decks three, four, and five, ma’am. Right under runway two.”
“Damn. I need to know the functionality of runway two. I want a full damage report.”
“Aye aye, ma’am.”
“Medical, deploy rescue teams and recover any dead or wounded,” said Sheppard.
“Aye aye, ma’am.”
“Sensors, is the holotable updated?”
“Yes, ma’am. Calibration is complete.”
“Then why don’t I see any ships?”
“Systems report normal, ma’am.”
Sheppard let out a low growl. “Where are the picket ships? Who’s guarding the wormhole?”
Defiance put a hand on Sheppard’s arm. “Easy, Admiral. I’m sure there’s a good explanation. Communications, send out a distress message on all bands including the emergency band. Let them know I’m here and am in danger.”
“This is off to an auspicious start,” said Kita sarcastically. “We haven’t planned for this scenario.”
“We have precious few hours to warn the Shadow Fleet,” said Sheppard.
“I know, Admiral,” said Defiance. “We will make something work. If Collector’s fleet arrives before we have a plan, then we will lead them into our space as slowly as possible. I suggest we follow the plan we developed to trick them.”
“And take them against Black Station Six?” said Sheppard. “That’s a Political Bureau station without any sizeable guard force.”
“I know. The station is a low hanging fruit to lure the cats into a false sense of security.”
“How many days journey is that?” said Kita.
“Four, but if we move cautiously I can make it six,” said Sheppard. “We have to investigate what happened to the picket ships. This wormhole shouldn’t be left unguarded.”
Kita shrugged. “Maybe they had a malfunction, and one had to toe the other in. They could be at Black Station Six.”
“We’ll know soon enough,” said Defiance. “Right now, we should attend to the hole in the ship.”
Kita was happy to leave that problem to the humans. A white and a black cloud rose through the floor. They transformed into Babydoll and Aspen. Kita was surprised to see Aspen. Normally, if she wanted anything, she would call.
“Yes, ladies, what can I do for you?” said Kita amicably.
“Sorry, Kita,” said Babydoll. “I’ve kept them talking as long as possible, but I’ve run out of arguments.”
“Oh?” said Kita curiously. What has the Valkyries in a twist?
“Yeah, they want to talk to you.”
“I’m kind of busy. We just arrived in the Sol system.”
Babydoll’s face lit. “Really?”
“We’re at the Alicorn Wormhole waiting for the Shadow Fleet to contact us.”
“Then you have time to talk to us,” said Aspen.
“About what?”
“About what happened in the hangar.”
“I don’t have to explain myself to anyone,” said Kita stiffly.
“We are your friends. After what you did to us I think you owe us one.”
Kita’s eyes narrowed as she ground her teeth.
Defiance put a hand on Kita’s arm. “She’ll come and talk. I won’t guarantee you she’ll tell you what you want to know, but she will talk to you.” Kita gave Defiance an exasperated look. “It won’t hurt you. We’re not doing anything anyway. Come on, Rene. Captain Anderson, you have the bridge.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Babydoll fell in next to Kita as they walked to the elevator.
“I’m sorry,” said Babydoll. “I’ve tried to get them to drop if for days. I should never have said anything.”
“And what did you say?” said Kita raising an eyebrow.
“I reported what happened when I tried to break free from you in my god form. I couldn’t, and when I looked for the energy you were using in the equation, I didn’t see any subequation.”
Kita huffed. She couldn’t blame Babydoll. Reporting and recording experiences were what the gods did.
Kita was the last to enter the wardroom. The Angels with Kita sat. Everyone was here. Will the new Angels even understand what we’re about to talk about? Sarge came over and licked Kita’s fingertips. She rewarded him with a head scratch. Not hiding her anger, Kita moved to the center of the room.
“You have me here,” said Kita. “What do you want?”
“Kita, we’re not here to make you angry,” said Panther.
“It’s too late,” Kita snapped.
“We just want answers,” said Tenshi.
“Yeah? So do I, but I’m not going to get them. Why should you be different?”
“I don’t understand. What answers do you seek?” said Panther.
“I want to know what went wrong with Kylee!” Kita yelled.
“Nothing was wrong with Kylee,” replied Valentine.
“I did not raise a genocidal psychopath. She was fine when I left. Something must have happened under your care. You even admit she became more destructive while she was with you and none of you did anything about it.”
“We tried to,” said Valentine harshly. “She wouldn’t be swayed. This destructiveness must have been deep-rooted—probably since she was a child. This isn’t our fault. You missed it. Maybe if you’d been there more often for her, you would have caught it.”
“You saw her more often than I did,” Kita snarled.
“No, I didn’t. I was chained to her.” Valentine pointed to Sheppard.
“Are you saying you loved her and didn’t know she harbored this kind of destructive desire?”
“I co
uldn’t read her mind.”
“Did you even talk to her beyond what video game to play next?”
“This is not my fault,” Valentine yelled. “You’re the one who sent her away. If you want answers, you should have left her here.”
“And what? Be like all of you and validate what she did?” said Kita coldly.
“We objected!” said Tenshi.
“But you did nothing!” cried Kita.
Anthrax raised a hand. “We lacked any way of punishing her. I’d been in this position before—with you.”
“I knew she’d get in trouble—eventually,” said Toxic. She held Stormy’s hand, who was smiling proudly at her.
“Mom, I don’t think anyone has an issue that Kylee was punished,” said Kamikaze, “just the way she was punished. I know it’s your choice, but it was shocking to lose a sister.”
“Sometimes the only way to fix a broken unit is to tear it down to its core and rebuild,” said Blitz.
“That doesn’t mean she had to take her from me,” yelled Valentine.
“You admitted Kylee was too much for you to handle,” said Sheppard. “You just remember the good parts of the relationship.”
“Like you would know, traitor.”
Sheppard shook her head. “I know what it’s like to survive on the good memories after everything goes sour and you become a prisoner of the other person. You have the same look in your eyes that I did for so long. Having to face Kita, you, and the other Angels has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but has been the most beneficial. I feel like I have my life back and I don’t live in fear.”
“I wasn’t a prisoner of Kylee!” screamed Valentine.
“You weren’t happy,” said Kamikaze.
“You don’t know me, and this isn’t about me, it’s about Kita and what she did.”
“I did what I did, and I answer to no one,” a flame lit in Kita’s eyes, “unless you think you can bring punishment down on me.”
“I’ll defend my love,” said Valentine as she jumped to her feet, drawing her pistols.
Kita’s hand curled into a fist, popping her knuckles, but she refused to draw her swords. “Anybody else?”
Tenshi and Panther stood up drawing their weapons.
“Ok, that’s enough,” said Babydoll jumping between the two sides. “This isn’t going to end well for you girls.”
“Get out of the way,” said Tenshi.
“You know your weapons are useless. Kita’s not going to fight fair.”
“She’s not a god,” said Valentine. “She’s an equation that knows a few tricks.”
“Don’t make a stupid mistake,” said Babydoll. “You’re underestimating Kita like everyone else.”
“If you don’t move, I’ll make you move,” said Tenshi.
“You want to add me to this fight?” said Babydoll. “Because I am a god and much older and more experienced than you.”
“You can’t take on three of us,” said Panther.
Kita laughed wickedly, drawing the attention of the room. A throne of bone erupted under Kita’s feet. She sat down and smiled. “You’re fools! You play as gods in universes you create, but you fail to understand the true universe.”
“There is only Infinity,” said Valentine.
“Have you ever asked where you come from? Who created you?”
“We come from the equations,” said Tenshi.
“But what are you made of?” Kita smiled as the gods around the room contemplated the question. “You have no idea. Even gods come from somewhere.”
“Are you saying you know where we originally came from?” said Babydoll to Kita.
“I’m working on it.”
“Are you going to share?”
“Feeling obsolete?” said Kita with a savage grin.
“I warned you, Kerri,” said Snowy from the door. “You make a mistake believing she’s the same as the rest of us. She’s pure evil, and only one person matters—her.”
“Snowy,” Kita purred, “how good of you to join us.”
“I got a message you were behaving badly.”
“No. I think I’ve behaved myself. Others, on the other hand, believe I should be punished for punishing Kylee. They think what I gave them is theirs to keep. I’ve always said my gifts are theirs to have, to do what they want, even use against me, but I never said they were the owners. I’m beginning to think I suddenly have thieves who are stealing what’s mine. Maybe I should return them to where I found them. I’ll send them home to Dad.”
“You can undo a melding?” said Anthrax.
“We’re going to find out,” Kita mused. “It might be a messy affair. What do you say Vee—Re’drum? Shall we find out if you can be split?”
Panther looked worried. “You—you can’t. I don’t want to go back.”
“You think you get a say in the matter?”
“I—” tears fell down Panther’s face. “Don’t do it, please.”
Kita cackled. “Oh, but you were so brave before. Gods ready to tear down a mortal. Now, look at you—blubbering like a schoolgirl.”
Kita stood up from her throne. She walked to Panther and stabbed a finger in her chest. “You think it doesn’t kill me what I did to Kylee? That I wanted to do it? That I enjoyed it? She was my baby that I failed and I can’t make it better! That’s what hurts the most. You’re all so absorbed that I might do it to you that you fail to see what this has done to me. None of you cared about Kylee—only yourselves. I’m not going to do it to you. None of you have ever done anything worthy of it. I will hand it to Kylee, she doesn’t think small. Now, sit down. I don’t want to talk about Kylee again.” Kita spun on her heel and sat. “You have me here. Is there anything else?”
The Angels looked around at each other.
“I have a question,” said Sheppard.
Kita’s throne rotated to face her. “Go ahead.”
“Are Amanda and Kara dating?”
Oh, crap. I forgot. “I, uh, funny story—yes, they are. Sorry. I meant to tell you, but I have an alternative.”
“What’s going on?” said Stormy.
“Rene wanted me to ask you out for her.”
Stormy frowned. “You mean when you asked me it was for her, not Kara?”
Toxic pulled on the strings of her hoodie, and the light went out.
“Of course I was there for Kara,” said Kita.
The light from Toxic’s hood turned back on, and the hood opened some.
“I think everyone would agree you’re a great couple.”
Sheppard did her best to keep her dejection from her face, but Kita felt it. She stood, and went to Sheppard. Sitting down, Kita put her arm around Sheppard’s shoulders.
“Don’t worry, Rene,” Kita whispered. “I’ve got someone else.”
“Who? There are no other Angels who don’t look at me with contempt.”
“She’s not an Angel—yet—but I was thinking Alex.”
“The pilot?” said Sheppard sounding confused.
“Sure, why not?”
“She’s a loose cannon.”
“She’s a good officer and an excellent pilot,” said Kita.
“Do you think we’re compatible?”
“I read her psych profile—”
“How did you get that? Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
Kita patted Sheppard’s hand. “I wanted to make sure she was handling the transition well. She seems to be. Right now, the biggest thing is she doesn’t have a fighter.”
“Would it be abusing my power if I bumped her up the manufacturing list?”
“Very, but I don’t think anyone will mind,” said Kita.
The communications panel next to the door chimed. Stormy looked at Kita. She nodded, and Stormy answered it.
“Admiral, it’s Captain Anderson,” said Stormy.
Kita released Sheppard to answer the call.
“Yes, Captain?”
“There’s a group of Angels here to see the Pr
incess.”
“We’ll be right there, Captain.” Sheppard closed the connection.
“All the Angels are here,” said Babydoll.
“I don’t know,” said Kita as she stood up. She spread her wings across the room. “Everyone grab hold. Let’s go see who it is.”
Kita and the other Angels appeared in front of the holotable on Enterprise’s bridge. The new group of Angels stood near the elevator.
“Oh, hell,” muttered Snowy.
Kita recognized the Angels Talon, Athena, and Talli. There were three Angels she didn’t recognize and a clone of her. One of the Angels she didn’t recognize was a striking beauty, even in the military uniform she wore and was unlike anyone Kita had ever seen. Their eyes met, and the new Angel’s ice blue eyes mesmerized Kita.
A waft of black mist went up Kita’s nose. She lifted off the ground as a cascade of memories flooded her mind. She’d seen those ice blue eyes before, and she fell in love with them. This was her soulmate. The person she’d loved for over ten thousand years. She was Sarin.
Kita flew at Sarin and crashed into her, wrapping her up in a hug. Sarin spun Kita around her.
“Jane,” Kita whispered. Her lips found Sarin’s as she pressed herself against her. Kita opened a cloud connection, and the pair shared the last twelve years of their lives with each other.
“Hello to you too, Momma-Kita,” said Athena with a chuckle.
Kita waved her daughter away.
“Scarlett, you made it,” said Anthrax as she exchanged hugs.
“I had some uncomfortable years as an unwilling pawn of Galina’s until Jane rescued us.”
“You must be Talli,” said Tina.
“I am. I’m sorry. I don’t know most of you.” She was dressed in a black sneak suit with a pair of swords on her back.
“We have some new faces. I see so do you.”
“Ryder Starr,” said the Angel dressed as a cowboy and had her thumbs in her custom pistol belt.
“Cinnamon, but Angels call me Kristi.” She wore black jeans, a midriff shirt with ‘Fireball’ on it, and a leather half-jacket.
Tina introduced the Angels in her group for the newcomers.
“How come I didn’t get a response like that when I showed up?” said the Kita clone as she glared at Kita and Sarin.
“I think deep down Momma-Jane knew you were an AI,” said Athena.