K'aia watched quietly, waiting for the answer.
Bethany Anne shook her head, smiling ruefully. “Not a chance. I have an important task for the three of you, though. Addix is on her way to the bridge to chaperone, but for all intents and purposes the ship is under your command until we return.”
Alexis’ mouth opened and closed.
“But…” Gabriel began.
Michael held up a hand to stop their protests. “There is no room for discussion on the matter. You three are not trained for this yet.”
K’aia shrugged. “If you say so.”
The twins looked at K’aia like she was two Cokes short of a six-pack.
K’aia shrugged again, deeper this time. “Your mom and dad know I can fight. If they say I can’t handle this, then my Yollin behind is remaining right here, where it gets to stay in one piece. ”
Bethany Anne gave Alexis and Gabriel the Look. “If you want to fight once you’re ready, I won’t hold you back. But you’re not ready yet. What if anything happened to you because we let you go out there too soon? What would we do?”
The twins nodded, unhappy but understanding.
Michael nodded, satisfied that Alexis and Gabriel would cooperate. He looked down at his shipsuit, then back at Bethany Anne. “I think a short diversion to the armory before we leave would be apropos to the mission.”
Bethany Anne grinned. “I was thinking the same thing.” She paused a beat for effect. “How do you feel about couples’ outfits?”
Michael regarded his wife coolly. “I hope you did not actually have Jean make us matching sets of armor.”
Bethany Anne’s mouth twitched. “Would I do a thing like that?”
Alexis giggled, and Gabriel out and out cracked up at the barely repressed smirk on their mother’s face.
Michael sighed and touched his fingers to his forehead. “Yes. Yes, you would.”
Federation Deep Space Research Outpost, Ooken Ship
Bethany Anne stepped out of the Etheric with her Jean Dukes’ at head height.
It would be unfortunate for any Ooken who happened to be there since the height difference meant she would be aiming closer to their groins.
The cargo bay Bethany Anne had chosen was empty, meaning that the absent guards' capacity to reproduce got a reprieve for the second.
She lowered her weapons fractionally and waited for Michael.
Michael emerged in the next moment, and Bethany Anne admired the view as he turned a slow circle to assess their surroundings. That armor looks good on you.
Michael gave her a dry look. I didn't think we would be out here in matching armor.
Bethany Anne smirked. I'd love to say it was my idea, but all the credit goes to Jean on this one.
Michael made a noise of disapproval. Then I will be certain to thank her appropriately when we return to QT2.
Bethany Anne rolled her eyes. It’s not so bad. If you quit being so moody, I’ll show you something cool.
She fed a trickle of Etheric energy into her armor’s gauntlets, grinning at Michael’s expression when they shifted to form a hooded blade for each hand. Activate them just like your gauntlets.
Michael did, and the blades came into being in his hands. I always liked katars, he told her, testing the oversize blades for balance. This is a nice take on them. Very effective.
You know Jean. If she doesn't improve the deadliness of a design, it doesn't make it past the prototype stage. Bethany Anne sheathed her blades and reached out with her mind to scan the immediate area outside the cargo bay, which she found to be empty of life. We're clear to move.
She pulled up short when the hatch swung inward and they got their first look at the interior of the ship. Holy…
There were no corridors to link the levels. Instead, something resembling tree limbs grew horizontally, vertically, and diagonally from a series of wide trunks that linked the metal walkways that ran every which way across the impossibly large space.
Bethany Anne and Michael peered over the edge of the walkway outside the bay, which dropped off with no warning onto a huge length of cargo netting that joined the gently glowing branches below, forming yet more links between levels.
She hesitated to choose a direction. We need a map. There's nothing here to tell us where we are.
The Ooken are telepathic, Michael supplied. I'm not sure they even have a written language.
Bethany Anne raised her eyebrow. How would you know?
He indicated the path to their left. I had TOM help me learn what we know of their spoken language from the seeker ADAM captured.
Good, Bethany Anne replied. We should grab one and find out where we need to be to blow up this homage to the living rainforest. She shrugged at the look he gave her. What?
Michael lifted his head. There’s an Ooken on the next walkway down. Almost directly below us.
Bethany Anne grinned at him and dropped to a crouch. Oh, goody. That saves us the effort of going looking for one. She grabbed the edge of the walkway they were on and swung herself over the edge.
Michael winced at the slight crunch as Bethany Anne landed feet-first on the Ooken’s bulging head and moved to join her on the walkway below.
Bethany Anne came to her feet in a smooth roll and turned to catch the Ooken by the tentacles before it plummeted over the edge and alerted the rest of the crew.
What is it with this species? She hoisted its awkward body back to the center of the branch and shook off the suckers that had attached themselves to her armor. I've seen some out-there evolutionary quirks, but these tentacles top the list. What fucked-up environment makes a species select for that?
Michael dropped onto the branch beside her. Knowing as we do that the Kurtherians have had some involvement with this species, I think we can safely surmise that it was our old enemy who did the selecting.
Bethany Anne grimaced. Mmhmm. We’ve got our Ooken, but I still don’t like how quiet it is. Where are the rest of the crew?
They're around, Michael assured her. I’m sure we’ll be eyeballs-deep in the fun soon enough. This one will wake up at some point and alert the rest.
Bethany Anne rolled her eyes. Well, that puts all of my concerns to rest. Now we can pretty much guarantee they’ll come pouring out of the woodwork at exactly the worst moment.
The Ooken twitched, and she laid a boot into its temple to make sure it stayed asleep. Can you read its mind?
I can. Michael frowned, kneeling to put a hand to the Ooken’s bleeding forehead. Surprising.
Bethany Anne crossed her arms. What’s surprising? She started tapping her foot when Michael didn’t answer, falling somewhat short of patience. Well? Don't keep me in suspense.
Michael got to his feet, wiping a spot of the unconscious Ooken’s blood off his hand onto his leg before motioning for Bethany Anne to follow him. You were lucky the Ooken did not see you. The surprising thing was that I was able to access its visual memories. I have our route, but also an insight we did not possess before.
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. This I have to hear. What insight? She swept a hand in front of her to indicate Michael lead the way.
Michael looked over the edge of the walkway, which culminated in a short gap opposite a branch with a net fixed between the two.
He jumped and caught the net to climb over. For one, they seem to operate codependently. The Ooken’s psyche was under considerable stress at being cut off from the rest of its kind.
Bethany Anne chose not to touch the filthy ropes. So our theories about them having some sort of hive mind were on the mark? Her lips pressed together in thought as she floated down. That’s going to be a pain in the ass if even one of them spots us.
Michael let go of the net a little way from the floor and landed gracefully at Bethany Anne's side, smiling wryly. Then I suggest that we stay out of sight, my love.
They made their way deeper into the ship, Michael taking the lead while Bethany Anne kept their backs guarded. It was difficult to navi
gate, since the only way to move around was to work their way along the living walkways, avoiding pockets of Ooken.
Bethany Anne sighed at the sight of yet another turn in the walkway. It feels like we’ve been walking forever, and everything looks the damn same.
Michael swerved around a slick puddle in his path. Watch your step, he told Bethany Anne. There’s something slippery-looking here.
Bethany Anne bent to examine the viscous liquid Michael had avoided. This is the same substance we saw at the colony. I didn’t see the substance they found on Loralei after the initial encounter, but I’d put any money on that being the same stuff as well.
Michael examined the opalescent smear at their feet. It does look the same. Is there any way you can confirm it?
Bethany Anne patted herself down. Yeah…no. I left the lab in my other armor.
TOM interjected. Did you forget I was here? I can analyze it.
I didn’t forget. Bethany Anne sent TOM mental images of every painful way to die she could think of in the space of half a second. And, no, I’m not doing it, so don’t even entertain the idea.
TOM sniffed. Sorry I offered.
Michael cocked his head in confusion. Doing what?
Bethany Anne took a resealable bag from her utility belt and knelt to scoop a sample. TOM can analyze the substance if I get it into my system. Since there’s no way to inject it at the moment, that leaves only one option. I’m telling you both right fucking now that I am not putting the mystery goop in my mouth.
Michael shrugged.
Bethany Anne strode off before either of them could debate it with her. We need to move our asses. The analysis can wait until we get back.
Michael took one last look at the shining puddle and set off after Bethany Anne. It would help if you knew where you were going, he teased as he came up beside her.
Bethany Anne waved a finger toward the glow a few levels down. I’m going to guess we’re headed down there.
Michael paused. Yes, that looks to be the core chamber as I saw it in the Ooken’s mind. However, we are entering an inhabited section of the ship. I can sense other minds ahead.
Bethany Anne looked around, expecting to see an Ooken. We're still good for the moment. What are you going to do when we get into the core chamber?
Michael hesitated before answering. I have a way to destabilize the core, but it takes some concentration to bring into being.
Bethany Anne chose to let the hesitation slide for the time being. How many Ooken can you sense between us and the core?
Michael skimmed lightly over the surrounding portion of the ship. I’m reading twelve, but it’s not clear since their minds are much the same.
Bethany Anne's hands caressed the grips of her Jean Dukes Specials. That’s not so many.
All it takes is one to alert the others, and then we have to work that much harder to complete our objective.
Bethany Anne debated a second, then sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. So we just kick the door in and you do your…whatever it is you’re going to do.
Michael smirked. Nothing more complicated than concentrated Etheric energy contained in a super-hardened shell.
Michael was looking far too pleased with himself for the solution to be so simple. How does that equal a force large enough to destabilize… Oh, unless you… Her eyes narrowed in appreciation. That’s clever, honey. You set the energy to accumulate without any restriction on the draw, then the pressure builds until there’s an explosion of Etheric energy.
Michael nodded. We just need to make a rapid exit once I release my hold on the ball. It can get somewhat messy when there is organic matter involved.
Bethany Anne scrutinized her husband carefully. Why does that sound like the voice of experience talking?
Michael clammed up and focused on his cupped hands.
Bethany Anne snickered as the reason for Michael’s embarrassment occurred to her. I think I just got a bit closer to the truth about your T-rex hunt. You blew it up? Really?
Sucked to be the creature.
Chapter Fourteen
QBS Izanami, Bridge
Alexis, Gabriel, and K’aia were playing video games on the wraparound screens while Addix worked quietly on one of the couches built for her species when Izanami appeared.
“We have a situation,” the AI announced.
Addix looked up from her tablet, and her mandibles twitched with curiosity when she saw the dark aura surrounding Izanami’s avatar. “What kind of situation?”
“A Leath ship has just entered the system. There are a number of Ooken seekers on a course to intercept.”
Addix shrugged. “The Leath have the best technology apart from Bethany Anne's. They will fight off a few seeker ships easily enough without a need for us to reveal our position.”
Alexis pulled her neural headband off and dropped it on the couch. “Have you got a video feed, Izanami?”
Izanami inclined her head a touch. “I do.”
“Then put it up onscreen, please,” Alexis requested.
The occupants of the Leath ship were oblivious to the danger they were in until it was too late.
The seeker ships shot down the defensive missiles and surrounded the Leath ship. They opened fire, targeting its most vulnerable spots.
The Leath ship was too bulky to shake the seekers off. The seekers dodged the next round of defensive fire, nipping in to cause damage and darting back out again before the Leath could react.
The twins watched in stunned silence.
K’aia paced angrily. “We should go help them.”
Addix shook her head. “The safety of Alexis and Gabriel is my only concern.”
Alexis didn’t like that one bit. She wheeled around with a fierce expression, pointing at the screen. “So those Leath have to die?”
Addix shrugged. “If it means that you and your brother do not, then yes.”
Gabriel's eyes remained on the screen. He spoke up finally. “I don’t think they’re going to die. Look.”
A Gate opened as Gabriel spoke, and the seekers herded the beleaguered Leath ship toward it.
Izanami disappeared in a spray of pixels. She came back a moment later as a dark shape shot away from the Izanami and after the hijacked Leath ship.
“What was that?” Addix inquired.
“That was Loralei,” Izanami informed them. “While I could not allow the children to be discovered, Loralei was available to follow. My Queen will know how best to deal with the matter when she returns.”
Gabriel turned to Alexis after Izanami disappeared again. “Do you think Izanami considered how Mom will react to finding out there are a bunch of Leath who need saving?”
Alexis shook her head, lost for words for once.
They waited and watched nervously to see if Loralei would make it through the Gate.
Her small ship sped toward the shimmering circle, disappearing through the event horizon in the barest second before it snapped shut again.
Location One, Outer Wall
John crept up behind the guard and thrust his knife into what he hoped to hell was its brain stem.
Akio was having none of those problems on the other side of the gatehouse. His swords caught the firelight from the mounted torches as he parted the Ooken on that side from its head.
Both guards slumped.
John punched the air with his knife hand. My guard hit the deck first. Point’s mine.
Akio was about to argue when a keening wail went up inside the walls at the same time a blanket of lights winked on across the colony.
John froze on the edge of the wall. Motherfucking… Did we make that happen?
Akio listened intently to the psychic distress in the air. It appears so. Plan B?
John's sharp vision picked out the Ooken emerging from the lighted buildings. He didn't need Akio's mind reading ability to work out that they were pissed. Plan B, he agreed.
The Pod arrived as the Ooken made the base of the wall.
Akio's feet left the wall a fraction of a second before John took out the tentacles that had been coming for him, along with a huge chunk of the wall.
Akio fixed John with a hard look as he walked past him into the Pod.
John shrugged as he holstered his pistols. “What did you want me to do, let them drag you down there?”
Akio’s face didn’t move.
John rolled his eyes, muttering something about overly dramatic reactions as they made their way to the front of the Pod to get eyes on the Ooken below.
“You know I can hear you,” Akio told him. He turned his back to John and laid his swords out for cleaning.
“Oh, I know,” John replied. He grunted to get Akio's attention as the pucks screamed past at high velocity. “Plan B worked.”
Akio turned to look at the brand new craters exploding into being on the viewscreen. “It would appear so.”
The Pod shot upward, taking them out of range of the spray of debris from the multiple impacts. Wood, metal, and plastic bloomed upward and outward in a hundred-foot circle around the former colony.
John grimaced as the dust settled far below. “That wasn’t the outcome we were hoping for. The point was to get information before obliterating the place.”
Akio didn’t pause in the meticulous cleaning of his swords. “On the contrary, we learned something invaluable to the wider mission. These,” he waved at the destruction below, “are alerted when one of them dies.”
John's brow furrowed. “The others need to know about this. I'm calling it in to the Admiral.”
Federation Deep Space Research Outpost, Ooken Ship
Bethany Anne held a bubble of Etheric energy over the nook they were using as cover, creating a temporary shield to prevent the Ooken from discovering them. Michael.
I'm going as fast as I can, he replied calmly. It's a bit challenging with the noise pollution.
Bethany Anne didn’t tell him she’d dialed down her hearing the second TOM had offered. I know. It sounds like the place fax machines come to die.
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 Page 86