The Kurtherian Endgame Boxed Set: Books 1 - 4 - Payback is a Bitch, Compelling Evidence, Through the Fire and Flame, All's Fair in Blood and War

by Michael Anderle

  I have encouraged a lot of fans, and now many of my fans are now authors.

  It started with just four and now the great-grandchild of that effort is continuing with the FANS Write for the FANS projects—but that isn’t the end of my desire.

  No…it isn’t at all. I have a dream, and that dream (perhaps hallucination) would be to party like it’s 1999 in Vegas with a thousand of the most awesome people in the world.

  Readers.

  People just like me, no matter what color, gender, age, ethnicity, political affiliation, or ANY of that shit that bugs the world.

  People who love books, love audio books, love the worlds, the games, the stories, the characters, and the joy reading brings into our lives. We can support each other just by being ourselves.

  I don’t want it to be a normal convention—which is to say I recognize that there are fun parts of conventions and just freaking weird parts.

  I want an LMBPN convention to be entertaining for some, educational for others, relationship-building for all and a place to party year in, year out with each other knowing that if you want something different…

  It’s VEGAS baby!

  You can always find something in that city.

  We have started this by attaching a fan event to the end of the 20BooksTo50k author convention in Vegas in November 2018, which has six hundred or more authors coming from around the world. Some of these authors have yet to hit the button, and others have fifty books or more.

  You can’t be near a 20BooksTo50k convention without stumbling over authors.

  Honest! Many of them go from the sessions to the restrooms and you stumble over them. They are often thinking about some ‘Ah-HA!’ moment from a few minutes ago, or some new concept for a story because they were chatting with another author and they run into shit.

  Or you…

  Whichever one happens first. (Editor’s note: It’s true, and watch your toes!)

  This year 20Books Vegas runs from Tuesday to Thursday, November 6-8th, 2018.

  We are hoping we can get just two hundred of you crazy motherfuckers who love The Kurtherian Gambit, Oriceran, Protected by the Damned, and Mr. Brownstone to come join us and party.

  Many authors involved with LMBPN (and many others) will be in Vegas during that week, having a hell of a time.

  Would you consider joining us?

  Then, I want everyone to look at next year, 2019 to see what we can do together.

  I’m willing to put the money down to grab the dates for the weekend following the 20Booksto50k Convention (early November) to put on an EVENT in 2019 to cherish what brings us together.

  For 2019 I don’t just want to put tables together, but hold an event that merges and blurs the lines between authors, fans, and readers both text and audio.

  Eventually including more “stuff.” However, that’s for the future. For now, what we have are stories…

  And a strong-assed desire to party with our friends.

  If we can get enough people to say “I’m in,” LMBPN will put down money to make this a hell of a party…

  A party to blow the doors off.

  Where new authors get the chance to share their work, find new fans, and make everlasting relationships to grow their fan base.

  For fans to reach out and help new talent become something that they never could without YOU in the mix.

  Where we celebrate everyone who is a part of the massively entertaining activity called “reading” whether we write, edit, do covers, help with beta reading, arc teams, or JIT.

  So…what do you say?

  Does anyone think this might be fun?

  Anyone willing to join us in 2018 to kick this off at the micro level, helping us figure things out and get our feet wet so that maybe in a few years…

  Oh…in a few years….

  We will take over the Las Vegas Convention Center—the largest in the WORLD.

  Because if that isn’t a “H#LY SH!T” goal, what is?

  Ad Aeternitatem,

  MICHAEL TODD ANDERLE

  Editor Notes - Lynne Stiegler

  May 2, 2018

  First, thank you for reading this far! We appreciate your willingness to venture into the jungle at the end of the book. So why are we here?

  A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…wait, wrong universe. In this universe, a woman got a bad case of bronchitis and could do nothing but lie there and read. She had a book on her Kindle by some guy named Anderle, Death Becomes Her, and she finished it really fast. Then she read the next one in the series, and the next, and…

  Forty-eight hours and sixteen books later, she messaged that Anderle guy on Facebook and told him it was a great series (he is one hell of a storyteller) but he needed a good editor. (She didn’t tell him at that point that she used to edit for Baen). Conversations ensued, he sent her a book to edit, and the rest is history.

  Fast forward to present day: I never knew I’d spend any of my time trying to figure out the best way to punctuate “wrinkled-ass llama-sniffing fudge-shoveler.” Or should it be “wrinkle-assed?” Ah, well…that’s a frequent problem, especially with TKG. And Pandora often makes me blush (and cackle) while I edit.

  But seriously… For the last year, I’ve been proud and privileged to be that Anderle guy’s editor. But not only his! To date I have edited over a hundred books for more than twenty authors in the Kurtherian Gambit universe as well as Oriceran (an Anderle/Carr creation, check it out if you haven’t already). Now I’m lucky enough to work with Protected by the Damned and The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone.

  Who’da thunk? Because it was luck. Michael and the LMBPN family are some of the most talented, warmest, and most caring and giving people I’ve ever met in my life. I’m honored to be part of the team.

  Many of the authors who publish through LMBPN are new to the game (and indie publishing is a whole new oeuvre anyway), but that Anderle guy has set it up so they can get advice and assistance from word one to post-publication. (Being an author is freakin’ scary, as some of you know. You put your heart and soul out there for everyone to see…and pick at. (Note: I wound up letting my husband, who has been an author for decades, edit these editor notes. Hard on the ego. He says the author has final say, but when the editor is authoring and the author is editing, how does that work, exactly?)

  Not only that, the Anderle guy goes out of his way to help people, although that doesn’t get nearly as much publicity as Bethany Anne’s new baby. Because of his willingness to work with new authors, some of his people have regained a family house, gotten off welfare, and been able to quit their day jobs. He’s given an elderly woman a new lease on life (and vastly improved her vocabulary of expletives). The list goes on and on.

  While I’m at it, I’d like to give a shout-out to Stephen Campbell, LMBPN’s production manager, who doesn’t get mentioned in Author Notes nearly often enough. He’s the backbone of LMBPN, making sure everything is on track and wrestling the alligators at the ‘Zon. It’s due to him that our works get published at all, and I for one appreciate him. Well, I know Michael (and everyone else) does too, and I will speak for him just this once.

  Anyway, enough drabble. Hope you loved the book. I did—kept having to stop just reading and go back to editing. Check us out on Facebook if you haven’t already at https://www.facebook.com/TheKurtherianGambitBooks/. And if you want to play in this universe (and soon Oriceran, which will have its own anthology in about three months), head over to https://www.facebook.com/groups/TKGFansWrite/ and submit your story for consideration for publication in the next anthology. Submission just closed for this one a few days ago, but that gives you enough time to develop a story for the next one.

  And hey…I’ll be your editor! (Grins evilly)

  Ad Aeternitatem,

  Lynne Stiegler

  Compelling Evidence

  Prologue

  High Tortuga, Hidden Space Fleet Base, The Dome (Formerly the Queen’s R&D Lab), Three Months After the Twins’ Birth


  Bethany Anne closed the door on her guards and locked it behind her. She held up a palm and drew energy from the Etheric to light the hallway. As she walked the hundred and thirty steps to the main chamber, she added energy to the ball until it was as large as her head.

  She entered the chamber and released the energy without a thought, muscle memory from the many times she’d made the gesture over the last three months. The ball hit the roof and dissipated into a soft white glow that lit Bethany Anne’s way to the seating pad in the center of the cavern.

  She dropped her robe and sat down in a huff. “I still think Michael got off too easily.”

  TOM’s voice spoke in her mind. You knew there was a possibility that the children would mature rapidly.

  “Yes, but not so rapidly that they’re damned near walking, they are talking, and they’re potty-trained already! I’d hoped he would get more…experience. I’m stuck between feeling bad that we’re racing through the early stages and being pissed that Mother Nature is giving him an easy ride after I did my nine months. My lumbar region is still complaining.”

  She shifted on the pad, cozying into the back support, which was made from the same flame-retardant material as the pad. Lessons had been learned.

  Bethany Anne continued her mini-rant. “When you said it was a likely outcome, I imagined they would grow at a similar rate to Christina—that we’d get at least some kind of normal family life.”

  Are you sure that enjoying Michael’s forays into being a modern man is your only motivation?

  >>I think it has more to do with the distraction from his dinosaur obsession.<<

  Bethany Anne sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Your brain chemistry tells a different story.

  Bethany Anne’s tone became momentarily deeper and raspier. “And what is it telling you right now?”

  I’ll get my pillow. TOM spoke in a resigned voice. Where am I to sleep? The couch?

  “Oh, no.” She pointed a finger. “It’s the yard for you.” When Bethany Anne had awoken to find her Kurtherian tenant some two hundred years ago, one of the first things she’d made sure he understood was what happened to males who pissed off human women. His doghouse might have been metaphorical, but it was still well-used.

  She settled down and rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension. “Be glad I’m not deciding to make it a wet night with a leaky roof. If you must know, I was hoping for a little longer with them as babies.”

  Bethany Anne crossed her legs and let her head drop for a moment, resting her hands on her knees as she put her thoughts in order. “I’m pretty sure that the children are already using the Etheric to communicate mentally with each other and to read us. Alexis in particular. Gabriel is more observant than reactive. So yes, I am concerned.” She sighed, tapping her lips with a finger. “I wish there was some way to predict what other abilities they are going to develop.”

  >> The Pod-cribs are keeping tabs on their development. You are right about Alexis. She has already absorbed most of the curriculum I had prepared for their sleep-learning, and Gabriel is not far behind her.<<

  Bethany Anne smiled. “That’s my girl. It’s just going so damned fast. Every time I turn around one of them has hit a new milestone. You know, I think I’m seeing things a little differently. Maybe staying on-base for a while isn’t such a bad choice after all. If they keep growing and learning at this rate, they’ll be adults before their third birthday. I don’t want to miss any of that.”

  Mini-adults, maybe. It’s more likely that their physical growth will level out once they are fully mobile. Until puberty, that is.

  “Do not talk to me about puberty when my babies are only three months old. I am not looking forward to when they hit dating age. Can you imagine how Michael will react?”

  I fear for any male stupid enough to even breathe the same air as Alexis. And I’m not the only one worried about what will happen when she grows up and introduces someone she’s dating to Michael.

  “I can imagine it now, ‘Hey, Dad, this is (name).’” Bethany Anne made the pantomime of breaking someone’s neck. “Snap.”

  He is rather overprotective. You wouldn’t let him actually kill some poor boy, though.

  She chuckled. “Of course not. But burning his hair off is getting old, and his skills with walking the Etheric have reduced my teaching options drastically.”

  >>You did have him going on the whole “intergalactic diaper service” thing for longer than any of us had in the pool.<<

  Bethany Anne snickered. “That was a good one. His face when he found out—” She cut off mid-thought. “Hang on, you were betting?”

  >>Well, yeah. It’s kind of what we do for fun around here.<<

  “And you didn’t think I’d want a piece of the action?”

  >>It rather defeats the purpose if the person you’re betting on knows you’re doing it.<<

  “Humph. Some friends you two are. See if you like it when I start charging you both rent for living in my body. Maybe I’ll remember how much I love the chili here.”

  TOM whispered to ADAM, She wouldn’t eat it again. She promised! The whole way through the pregnancy it was like I’d been thrown into a volcano.

  >>You do know her, right? Distract her, or you’re going to be in a world of hurt.<<

  TOM focused back on Bethany Anne. The children will be fine, Bethany Anne. They have you and their father and ADAM and me and…well, I could go on all day. The point is that they have all of us to make sure they are healthy, happy, and well adjusted.”

  Bethany Anne’s mouth lifted at the corner. “I know, but a mother worries. Besides, the children are a wonderful distraction from Michael’s outlandish desire to bring ten tons of dinosaur meat into our home.”

  She brushed a strand of hair back from her face and straightened her spine. “Speaking of the children. Michael will be getting them ready for their nap soon, which means they will be pulling every trick in the book to not take a nap. Shall we get started before they completely destroy their father’s sanity?” She closed her eyes and laid her hands flat on her knees. “Ready when you are.”

  TOM’s voice dropped into an almost soothing tone. Very well. I want you to focus on the Etheric. Immerse yourself in the currents but do not allow yourself to drift, just like we practiced.

  Bethany Anne extended her consciousness and connected with the other dimension’s energy. The Etheric swirled in her mind’s eye. Layer upon layer of intertwined energy surrounded her; she felt it brush gently against her psyche as if looking to be molded. It welcomed her, wrapping her in its seductive embrace.

  As always, there was a moment when the temptation to let go was strong. It would be too easy to allow herself to be carried away by the sense of bliss that connecting on this level stirred in the pit of her stomach.

  She anchored herself with the mental image of her children’s faces. I’m in. This is annoying. I’m sick of floating around this place like a Gott Verdammt ghost every time we practice. She concentrated hard for a moment, and the tendrils of her consciousness wound themselves into a shadowy Bethany Anne-shaped outline in the mist.

  >>How did you do that?<<

  Easy, ADAM. I decided it should happen, and it did. Check this shit out…

  She concentrated further and the outline became solid, then features began to form. She snickered at the white noise she was receiving from ADAM and made a final push. She glanced at her hand, which now looked like her hand.

  TOM chuckled in approval. Good to know you’ve been listening. I think you’re ready for the next lesson. Examine the strata and tell me what you see.

  She scrutinized the billowing mists. The energy expanded and contracted, forming tight knots that grew denser until they either imploded or exploded. She blinked—or rather, her avatar did—as her brain refused to acknowledge a darker burst of energy which did both. What the... It’s like the world’s most fucked-up weather system. There are varying concentrations o
f energy, all connected to each other. What are they?

  All in good time. Can you sense the pattern of the connections? Where do they lead?

  Up ahead. She moved her avatar toward the object of her attention. The mist gets darker and more turbulent. Let’s get a closer look.

  NO!

  The fear in TOM’s voice halted Bethany Anne in her tracks. What’s the issue? I’m anchored.

  That is an Etheric storm, Bethany Anne. You don’t want to get up close and personal with it, trust me.

  She looked at the maelstrom skeptically. Why not?

  Any number of reasons. Not much is known about the storms—

  You don’t seem to know much about anything interesting. Maybe I should stick my head in just to see. It’s not like I’m really here.

  >>You don’t want to go in there, BA.<<

  What do you know?

  ADAM was conspicuously silent.

  We will talk about this later. TOM, quit prevaricating and tell me what Kurtherians know about these Etheric storms. What are the dangers here?

  There’s no danger as long as you do not get entangled in one.

  She eyed the boiling mass in the distance, feeling the pull from it. And what if I do?

  You’re not invulnerable. You could be hurt. Not just your psyche, but your body too. Or worse, you could be transported somewhere.

  Bethany Anne’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. What? Where?

  Somewhere you are familiar with, maybe? I can’t say for certain because the storms are too unpredictable to be harnessed in any practical way.

  Meaning your people left them the hell alone?

  Got it in one.

  ADAM had been quiet during the entire exchange. She turned her attention inward to him and found him regarding the storm.

  >>Curious.<<

  Chapter One