by F. E. Arliss
Slowly rolling upright, Winter could feel Jeanie’s deep concern for her. “I’m fine, Jeanie. I can feel your worry. It’s ok. I’m all good,” she said uncertainly. “Oh man, do I need to block out your thoughts!” she exclaimed. “I got a flicker of you missing Commander Quirke. Between you and the Queen I’m getting a whole lot too familiar with you guy’s sex life. Gross!” she added, pulling a face and sticking out her tongue.
“You’re like a kid again,” Jeanie laughed. “Here I thought you were all past that squeamishness.”
“I thought so too,” Winter said with a suddenly serious sigh. “Now that I don’t have to deal with sex, I’m complete grossed out by it. Maybe I’ll never get over that.”
“We’ll see,” Jeanie replied quietly. “We’ll see. It might just take the right person. Love is weird that way.” Urging Winter to her feet, Jeanie said, “The Queen will be here shortly with Dolores to help you learn to block out the thoughts. I don’t think it will be hard for you. It’s going to be, I suspect, a lot like blocking out the real you while working a john. Know what I mean?” she asked Winter, holding her eyes steadily.
“Yes,” I know what you mean, Winter said. “I can do that in my sleep.”
“Try it now, with me,” Jeanie said calmly. After a few seconds pause, she asked, “Anything?”
“Nope. You’re right. Exactly the same. We’ll have to see if it works with the masses,” Winter state matter-of-factly. “Come on, let’s go see,” and with that the two women marched from the room in search of ‘thinkers’.
Queen Altum Juls was amazed to find that Winter needed no extra training to control the ‘thought-invasion’. She informed Winter that some viceroys had trained for years to obtain her current level of ‘blocking’.
Winter would continue working on meditation techniques with Dolores, but for now, she was free to go about her normal studies in the training. “It’s truly impressive,” Queen Altum Juls murmured to her husband. “Very, very impressive. It alters the mission of the Alliance that I had in mind. She’s a very powerful instrument of justice, not just as an ambassador, but as a galaxy-wide law-bringer. We need to figure out how best to deploy that,” she added.
General Freux squeezed the Queen’s hand. “We know how to deploy it. The same way Queen Altum Vis did when she had them,” he said calmly. “It will be fine. It’s just not what you had in mind.” He chuckled as he said this and hugged her to him. “Your human psyche wants to pull people along with alliances and friendship. You can still do that. But now you have Winter. She’s a Viceroy. She’s an empire-builder. Whether you wanted it or not, the universes have spoken. You are the future and Winter is your right hand. Welcome to your empire, Queen Altum Juls.”
“She’s so young. It’s so much responsibility. I had hoped not to have to burden her with this,” the Queen said, letting her head rest wearily against her husband’s neck.
“The helmet will help her understand. You won’t have to do anything. Her capacity to adapt is untrammeled and intact. She’ll go about it as she sees fit. That is something you may have to accept. Winter will not be controlled. You two will truly be soul-mates in a way. All that she will do will be for your rule to flourish. You didn’t decide this, the Universes did. It is out of your control, so just go with it,” Freux said gently. He hugged his wife harder. Dear Universes, the next ‘age’ had begun, the Queen thought
Winter sagged back in the chair as the helmet released her. Her hair was sweaty and plastered to her head. She felt completely drained. Glancing up at Tate’s worried face, she whispered, “I’m fine. Need to rest.” Without pause, Lance’s long form materialized at her side and scooped her up into his arms. He followed Tate’s form down the humid green hall to her quarters and sat her upright on a bench that formed in the side of the shower stall.
“Out, Tate!” Winter demanded. “Geez, give a girl a break!”
Tate withdrew reluctantly, as Cam helped her undress, shower, and then tucked her into her shelf-bed. “Fetch Tate now, please, Cam,” she whispered.
Tate hurried to her side. “Lay next to me, so we communicate with less effort,” she said quietly. “We need to talk.”
Over the next several hours as the bed rejuvenated her, Winter, speaking in Tate’s mind, outlined in detail what she’d learned from the helmet. Tate’s sessions with the helmet focused on helping him learn his role, not hers .
Finally, finished outlining the ramifications and goals of the Viceroy to the Idolum empire, they both rested. Tendrils had crept up Tate’s form too, as the bed sensed his growing agitation. Now the cocoon wrapped both of them tightly and lulled them off to sleep. Tate’s hand crept over and took Winter’s smaller one in his. She squeezed it gently. “Promise me you won’t leave my side.” “I won’t,” Tate said grimly. “Never. No matter what.” Then they both closed their eyes and slept.
When they woke several hours later, both swung out of the platform with purpose. Neither spoke. They simply refreshed themselves. Lance arrived with nanite armor for both of them and an entirely new set of clothes for each. Both outfits were heavily armored, and cleverly concealed a multitude of hiding places for an array of weaponry.
By the time they opened the door to Winter’s suite, neither was as they had been. Tom and Jerry, Tate’s mites, materialized in the corridor and were joined by Lance and Cam. All four mites were now heavily armed and armored and they flanked Tate and Winter front and back. All four sported a shield-shaped badge on their left chest. Black and embroidered with an orange-red, glowing sceptre, the badge radiated power. Tate’s armor bore one as well, though the glowing head of the sceptre sprouted from a broad double-edged axe.
Winter’s earring had transformed. The dangling constellation-like charm at the bottom had morphed once again. Now the flaming sceptre dangled in place, springing from an infinity sign at its base. Tate and Winter both knew what these symbols meant.
The mites wore the symbol of the Viceroy’s Guard. Tate wore the symbol of the Viceroy’s Enforcer, and Winter’s charm now marked her as the Viceroy, one destined to have infinite power. Winter even felt different. Tate had said he also felt different. Vibrating with power, was what he’d described. Winter had to agree. It was an unsettling sensation, but like all sensations that had disturbed her over the last several years, it was easily contained.
Winter had been containing her real feelings as though her life depended on it for years...because it had, and now, still did. She assumed the mantle of power as though born to it, because according to the helmet, she had been. The horrors of the last years had been training by tribulation. This Viceroy had been born of pain, not training. Pain was a searing brand upon the very soul of its bearer. The soul of a Viceroy was now seared into her.
Warriors scrambled out of the way as the six of them drew near. Exiting the habitat, the small group strode toward the open field. Queen Altum Juls, General Freux, Fats, Kor, and Jeanie awaited them in front of a large group of warriors.
Upon the Queen’s order, the warriors fell into ranks. Winter and Tate slowly walked the lines as the Queen introduced each warrior. Winter never so much as whispered, though Tate chatted respectfully with each warrior, the Queen, and General Freux. Jeanie, Kor, and Fats straggled after them talking to warriors that piqued their curiosity.
As the roll-call drew to a close. Tate asked all of the warriors to line up in a long row instead of in ranks. The Queen had not given them a number that their guard should consist of and Tate didn’t think that it would be needed anyway. Winter would simply know whom she should pick. He wasn’t choosing any of them. He’d let her do it all.
As Winter swept down the line, Tate called out which candidates should step forward. At the end of the first pass, twenty-two warriors stood out from the group. As Winter swept down the row of those twenty-two, she paused in front of several. Opening her mind more fully now, she scrutinized these three who had come to the fore of her mind. All three had a fierce loyalty to the Queen. All h
ad an admiration for the human species in some slight way. Winter stopped in front of the middle warrior. “Warrior Sa!”
“Yes, Viceroy!” the warrior responded sharply.
“I do you the honor of requesting your service as a guard to my beloved mother, Jeanie Quirke. Do you accept?” Winter asked gently.
The warrior glanced briefly at the red-haired, older human, and then barked, “I would be deeply honored!” With that he broke off and trotted to stand several feet behind Jeanie.
“Oh honey, you don’t need to do that. Ewan will take good care of me!” Jeanie protested.
“You are the mother of the Viceroy. It is a wise precaution,” Queen Altum Juls said softly to Jeanie. “Your world may change more than you’re aware now.”
Winter stopped in front of a young human warrior. “Warrior Kravitz! I do you the honor of requesting your service to my beloved mother. Do you accept?” she asked, holding the young man’s brown eyes with hers.
A wide grin broke his slightly sunburned face, “Oh, yes ma’am. I mean, Yes, Viceroy! I will!” he stuttered out, gladly babbling, then trotted to stand behind Warrior Ka at Jeanie’s back.
Jeanie, looking a little bewildered, turned to the warriors behind her and said, ”Warrior Sa, Warrior Kravitz, I am delighted to have you with me.” Winter could have sworn the warriors blushed. Ka with that slight pale green the Idolum had when embarrassed or discomfited, and a brighter pink along Kravitz’s already sunburned ears.
Striding purposefully to the warrior to her right, Winter stopped before him, scrutinized him carefully, then said, “Warrior Ka!”
“Yes, Viceroy!” he replied, back quivering with suppressed tension.
“Will you do me the honor of being of service to safeguard and aid my advisor, Fats Domino?” Winter rapped out, startling Fats into an instant denial of needing any aid.
“I don’ need no help, Miss Winter,” Fats whined in his slow draw.
“Well, take it anyway, please. The next year or two could be very dangerous. It would ease my mind if you had someone to watch your back. Plus, I will need you out combing for intel. You may need a receiver at this end,” Winter added.
“Fine!” Fats grunted grumpily. Warrior Ka tramped happily to stand next to the small man.
“You will also need a human warrior to aid you on missions. Warrior Sawyer has been noted as being quite successful at infiltrating difficult positions. He will aid you,” Winter rapped out, startling Warrior Sawyer into stepping forward automatically.
Fats sighed, then grinned. “Good, he’s a right ferret, that one. He’s a good choice,” the little Cajun agreed. Sawyer trotted happily to Fat’s side, shaking his hand in giddy acceptance.
Turning to the final Warrior that had been called forward, Winter scrutinized him from head to toe. Finally, she raised her eyes to his and said, “Warrior Raven, I have chosen you to guard and aid my Enforcer, Tate Quirke. Will you accept this post?”
“I will,” Warrior Raven replied solemnly, saluted Winter and then stepped behind Tate.
Winter whirled to Tate and made a ‘halting gesture’. It was clear to all who watched that Tate too had protested his ‘guard’. “Lieutenant Kor, please step forward,” Winter demanded. Startled, Kor leapt forward next to Tate.
“I appoint you General Kor, Commander of the Viceroy’s Guard. Do you accept?” Winter asked firmly.
“I do!” General Kor stated clearly, then gripped the hand Tate had thrust out at him and pumped it enthusiastically.
Turning back to the 17 warriors left in the ranks, Winter called out, “You are the Viceroy’s Guard! You will fall under the command of General Kor, and Arch-Guardian Tate Quirke, is that clear?”
A resounding, ‘Aye, Aye’ rang out.
“Tate Quirke! I now pronounce you Arch-Guardian to the Viceroy! Do you accept?” Winter queried.
“I do!” Tate replied, thumping his right fist onto the patch on his left-side chest. “It is my honor!”
Facing the Queen, Winter rang out, “We serve Queen Altum Juls! We bring justice to the universes! We are the right arm of the Empire!” The Viceroy’s Guard all bowed in unison. Winter, rather than curtsey, did the same.
Queen Altum Juls bowed in return. “Thank you for your loyalty Viceroy. I will strive to deserve it,” Altum Juls said earnestly. “Please come with me while we discuss your duties. Tate, join us,” she said, then swept back towards the habitat on General Freux’s arm. They were trailed by Jeanie, Fats, and their four bodyguards.
General Kor mingled with his new troops, congratulating them and discussing plans for training.
Heaving a sigh, Tate held out a hand to Winter, “Come on, girl. It begins,” he added roughly. “I hope we’re up to this.”
“Course we are, stringbean,” Winter replied, squeezing his hands. “I think I’ve found a few new powers in this whole Viceroy thing. I’ll show you later. Ok?” Winter asked, returning Tate’s curious look with a waggle of eyebrows. “It’s cool. You’ll see!”
They headed to the habitat, towards the first of what would become a million meetings around the galaxy.
Chapter Ten
Mission to the Magna Belt
Winter stretched and groaned. It was sooo good to get clean. She’d stood in the shower cubicle a long time. She was beginning to prune. Stepping out, Cam handed her a towel and she thanked him in a voice muffled by its softness.
Wrapping it around her, she walked into the outer room. Tate sat in his customary chair, lounging indolently. Only Idolum could have that easy grace, while remaining completely able to kill you in a split-second. Winter envied that height. She was finding that just as the Queen had predicted, people tended to overlook and underestimate a small female. Especially one with a bald head.
It appeared that they thought her to be some type of slave to Tate. Though Tate tried to walk a couple of inches behind her at the side, it just never dawned on them that Winter was the Viceroy. How little the galaxy had changed!
The ship they’d been assigned by the Queen had its central neural-system, which was just a nicer way of saying ‘brain’, Winter always thought with an internal snort, donated by one of the priestesses from Dolores Kelty’s friends at the Temple to the Universal Mother on Gaiaca. Gaiaica was a large peaceful agricultural planet and this particular priestess had been over a century old, and while her mind was sharp as ever, her body was failing her. The Queen had been happy to accept her sacrifice. Though ‘Sister’ - as the ship insisted on being called - did not view it as a sacrifice, but as a great adventure into another life. Winter loved that mindset.
Their first diplomatic mission had been to Gaiaca to thank the Daughters at the temple for their friend’s donation. The ship was a very sleek, heavily armored sloop of generic origin. Inside, it was a mix of Idolum and other species, at least in the conference areas. The quarters were all Idolum. ‘Thank Universe!’ Winter always thought when she laid on her shelf-bed and was rocked to sleep by the tiny, nurturing tendrils.
Winter had taken a while to get used to calling the ship, ‘Sister’, as that was how it kept referring to itself. Most likely a throwback to its days in the temple with the priestesses always referring to themselves as sisters. Sister had a kind and nurturing nature, though a few times Winter had felt the knife edge of Sister’s human personality come through when visitors were less than respectful of the Universal Mother the temple so cherished.
After that run, they’d gone to Gateca, a highly technological planet populated by an aquatic species that looked very much like upright octopuses. Winter had enjoyed that trip and had swum for hours with the Gatekans in their underwater forays.
Journeys to the Vanguardian homeworld, a mission that had tried Winter’s patience with the honorable but rigid species, had been followed by a less fraught mission to Renegar, Sasha Kelty’s homeworld. Dolores Kelty had been there to welcome them and they had a lovely time soaking in the desert planets hot springs and seeing Tate’s biological sister, Tal
ly.
From there, they headed to Mirage and met Daer Null and Digger Cole, the Idolum Alliance governors of that planet, and several other species. Among them the Mateo, an aquatic species that looked very much like upright walrus, and the Tadswam. The Tadswam were adorable! Small, frog-like people with very loving natures, they tended to climb new visitor’s limbs and hug them closely. It could be disconcerting for those of a less tactile nature. Winter had practically freaked out when they’d swarmed her physically the first time, even though they’d been warned. Only Tate’s restraining hand had settled her instinctual flight long enough for her to gain control of herself.
After that, it had been on to UZ627 and the outpost, Zabados 9. The UZ627 meeting had been the most fraught with tension, but Sasha Kelty’s connections to the Governor and his wife eased the way. None of those worlds had required a show of power. All had been glad of an ally and though many had sought to gauge their power, none had seemed a threat to the Idolum empire.