“I don’t want him to refrain from speaking his mind just to be diplomatic. And don’t you say anything regardless of the insults or lies he may spew.”
“I understand.”
“One more thing. I may have to goad him into saying what he truly believes. That means I might say something that you’ll find offensive. Please . . . please understand it’s just my way to force his hand and has nothing to do with what I believe.”
“Your Majesty, my respect for you is absolute . . . as is my trust. Do and say what you must.”
“Thank you. Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” She opened a channel to Kreed. “Captain, pipe him to my viewer.”
“Here he comes. Good luck, your Majesty.”
The view screen came alive with the puffy face of the President of the Federation. “Your Majesty, may I be the first to congratulate you on your ascension to the Throne of Aerianna.”
“You are very kind. However, technically I have yet to be coronated.”
“A mere formality. Your ship is still a day away, how may I serve you?”
“After my speech on Peekaboo Prime, I am headed for the Outer Reaches.”
“Oh my. Why would you do that?”
“That is a private matter. However, I have no experience with the peoples of those planets. I thought you might help me to understand what I will encounter.”
“May I speak freely?”
“I insist.”
“Thank you. They are three of the most disgusting species I have ever met. Between you and me, if I could rid the Federation of their presence, I would.”
Egg glanced at Zwam without moving her head. The blue lady sat there impassively as if she was not hearing anything that surprised her. “That is a harsh assessment. Could you elaborate?”
“Indeed. They are trans-evolutionary. Need I say more?”
Egg tried not to laugh. “Were we not all trans-evolutionary at one time? Is it not possible that when they have reached their final stage of development, they will be so extraordinary that we would be glad that we kept them close?”
“You are being . . . generous with your assessment. Considering what they are today, the chance that the end product will be substantially better is beyond incredulous. No, we would be far better off without them. They have had the audacity to ask to mingle in our societies to observe how a proper civilization conducts itself. It is simply absurd.”
“Correct me if I misunderstand the Charter of the Federation. Does it not say that all members are to be treated equally and without prejudice?”
“An absurd covenant placed into it by none other than your mother-in-law, the good lady Rose’Alynnia.”
“Be that as it may, it is still part of the charter.”
There was a noticeable pause before the President responded. “Why are you defending these miserable beings?”
Egg didn’t answer. Instead she kept attacking – politely. “Is it true that the Federation has denied them assistance? That in time of need they are charged prices above that which others pay? That they are shunned when they ask for a helping hand?”
The President cleared his throat. “Madam, you are venturing into the body politic that is outside your purview. I strongly suggest you postpone your trip to the Outer Reaches until you have had the opportunity to meet the delegates from their neighboring planets. You will quickly come to the same conclusions as them.”
“In point of fact, I have come to a conclusion, though I believe it differs from the rest of you.” She signaled Zwam to come over. The look on the President’s face upon seeing her was quite comical. He knew he had been played. “This is General Zwam. She has just begun a revolution against the Federation.”
“What? That’s absurd. Their technology is second hand at best. Besides, they have no standing army. This . . . this thing . . . can’t possibly have any military training. Send her home before I have her ships destroyed.”
“Sorry, you puffy-faced, spineless, sniveling snake, she does have the technology. Moreover, she has me to lead her army.”
“Are you, the Queen of Aerianna, declaring war on the Federation?”
“No, not the Queen of Aerianna. Just me . . . Flying Girl.”
“Good grief woman. Are you crazy?”
“No. My mother had me tested.”
*****
“Captain Ax’gard,” Egg called over the intercom.
“Ma’am?”
“Prepare for war.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
To Zwam, Egg said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I failed with diplomacy and I’m sorry you had to hear that drivel.”
“Your diplomacy was something to behold. The fact that he responded as he did only proves his inferiority. As to the insults, they fall on deaf ears.”
“Well, I’m not deaf. Let’s make a plan.”
*****
Nau’tika, terminus of the Space Tunnel
Bree and Meggy entered a Floaterium Bubble that would take them to Q’umulus. The ride to the surface of the water took a bit of time. Since the city was so deep, the occupants (assuming they weren’t serpents) took a while to decompress.
Both women were standing in the front looking at the underwater scenery. “That is odd,” said the Queen Regent.
“What’s odd?”
“All those serpents . . . there must be thousands of them lining our route.” As the bubble passed each individual, they bowed their heads. Meggy wasn’t dumb and she soon realized that her sea citizens were paying her respect. She turned to her companion. “Did you know of this?”
“Meggy, your people love you. Wherever we went to solicit votes for Egg, we were always asked about you. They wanted to do something to show their love and gratitude. It was Tee’ka who suggested this.”
The Queen turned to look out the window . . . and timidly waved to the throngs of serpents. “I am stunned.”
Bree laughed. “Then wait till you see what the Dragons and Humans have in store for you.”
Meggy again turned back to her companion and gave her hug. “I do thank you and the other sisters for arranging this. It means a great deal to me.”
“Listen up girl. The people wanted to do this; all the sisters did was to help them organize. The citizens of Aerianna love and respect you. Your abdication speech just increased their feelings for you. No one – royal or commoner – could ever imagine someone willingly giving up the position of Queen for the reasons you gave. You are held in awe.”
Meggy said nothing for a full minute. “Bree, would you mind terribly if I sat down for a moment and have a good cry?”
“Cry on your own time, girlfriend. Your subjects expect you to acknowledge them. Start waving.”
“You are a cruel task mistress,” teased the other woman through tear-blurry eyes.
“What a coincidence. Kon’dee said the same thing to me just yesterday.”
*****
Two days in the future, the Royal Yacht
“Kreed, make sure all of Zwam’s ships rendezvous with us as expeditiously as they can.”
“They are on their way . . . all four of them. Did you want me to contact Xara? Perhaps she would lend a hand.”
“I’ll let you know.” Egg turned to the General. “You started a rebellion with a grand total of six ships?”
“It was all we had.”
“How many of those disruptor weapons on each?”
“Just one though we do have a spare on my ship.”
“I’ll take it.” She pressed the intercom. “Kreed, they have one spare disruptor on the General’s ship. Get it over and installed.”
“Your Majesty, we have no knowledge of the device. It could take a while.”
“Zwam, any of your crew up to speed on the weapon?”
“My ship’s mechanic is very knowledgeable. He is Aqua’scalli.”
“Is that his name?”
The blue skimmed woman gave Egg an irritated look. “No, his species. They are the cleverest of the
three life forms of the Outer Reaches.”
“His name?”
“Gilly.”
“Kreed, get their chief mechanic to bring it over. His name is Gilly and he’s something of an expert.”
“As you command.”
“Tell me about the disruptor. Does it cause permanent damage?”
“No. The effects last about thirty minutes.”
“And their range?”
“We have never fully tested them. It’s not all that far.”
“Kreed,” Egg called again.
“Ma’am?”
“Send out a probe. We’ll need advanced notification of the approach of the Federation.”
“Are we heading toward them or away?” he asked.
“Never retreat.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“What is your plan?” asked the General.
“First, I want to be as close to Peekaboo Prime as we can get. Second, I want the bad guys to see us, laugh their fool heads off at our sorry looking navy, surround us and demand we surrender.”
“But you are not surrendering.” It wasn’t a question.
“No. We have the element of surprise on our side. However, we need a way to ray gun all the ships simultaneously. If not, they may start shooting.”
“How can we do that?”
“No idea. But, I have a few friends that may know. Ziz, call Jax’x.”
A few seconds later, the girl’s voice came from the dragonetta. “We got a call from Xara. She says you’re under attack. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Do me a favor and get Serenity and Skotti on this line.”
“They’re doing what they always do.”
“Then throw cold water on them. I need them now.”
“Shame on you. I meant they’re in the lab fiddling with some doohickey or another.”
“Go get them. But if I were you, I’d knock before I enter.”
*****
While they waited, Zwam asked, “I take it that you have trained as a warrior.”
“What? Good grief, no.”
“But you seem so self-assured. You have declared war against the entire Federation and you don’t seem daunted by the task.”
“We’ve faced worst odds. Like I told you before, war is a stupid way to settle disputes. People tend to get hurt.”
“Yet you are.”
“Not really. I don’t intend for anyone to get hurt. Well, not physically at least. The President will probably get his nose out of joint when I relieve him of his office.”
“You are a wonder.”
“Hardly. It’s just that girls can be so much cleverer than guys. The best part is that they never seem to realize it until it’s too late.”
Ziz came alive again. “Here they are.”
“Hey girl, you okay?”
“Yeah, Sparky. I need a little help though.”
“What’s going on?”
“Um, I declared war on the Federation.”
Silence. Then, “That’s a joke, right?”
“Nope. They’re being mean to my new friends,” and Egg explained all that had transpired.
“Are you telling me,” said Skotti in absolute awe, “that you went from prisoner to leader of the revolution in just a few hours?”
“Pretty much. So, here’s my problem. I have seven ships – six very old ones plus the royal yacht – to fight off maybe a hundred very modern, very well crewed ships-of-the line.”
“My advice,” said Jax’x, “is to surrender now. “Tell them it was a silly joke.”
“What’s the fun in that? Besides, I intend to win some respect for these people.”
“Stall for a few days and the sisters will join you. It’ll even out the odds,” suggested Serenity.
“No. I want everyone to stay where they are. If this turns out poorly, I don’t want it to reflect on the Sisterhood or on Aerianna. It’s also one of the reasons I had Xara kidnap my husband.” Egg could hear the other three laughing. “What’s so funny?”
“You, you crazy lady. It’s one thing to go to war against the Federation, but it’s just nuts to make your husband insanely angry. And, he will be.”
“Can’t be helped. Besides, I have just the news to bring him around. It’ll melt is heart.”
“Like what?”
“He gets to hear it first. So, that takes us back to the reason I called. How can I split the beam from seven ships’ cannons to a hundred of the bad guys simultaneously?”
“That’s an easy one,” replied Jax’x.
“Before you begin, let me get the weapons expert up here along with Kreed. No use in me trying to retell your instructions.”
A couple of minutes later the two arrived. Zwam introduced her mechanic. “This is Gilly.”
Egg was momentarily taken aback. Gilly looked amazingly like AyBee with a few less arms and tentacles. “The General tells me you’re an expert on the disruptor weapon.”
“I had never seen anything so harmonious, your Ladyship.”
Egg smiled. “Harmonious? In what way?”
“Every part works in perfect concert with the next and the whole thing produces a tuneful electromagnetic resonance. It is wholly pleasing.”
It was obvious this fellow was intelligent. “What do you think of this ship?”
“I could spend my life tinkering with all the systems. It is glorious.”
“Well, when this is all over, maybe I can arrange for you to come to Aerianna and apprentice with some of my friends. They are incredibly bright and the scientific and engineering projects they work on would be endlessly fascinating to someone with your abilities.”
“You would do that for me?”
“That’s what friends do for one another.”
Gilly looked at the General who nodded approvingly. “You do me a great service, your Ladyship.”
“Well, I expect you to become a great asset to your world and to our new alliance. Your first assignment is to listen to my friends who will talk to you through this dragonetta. They will tell you how to split the beam from your weapons so we can hit every Federation ship simultaneously.”
He looked at the mechanical birdie and his eyes lit up. “May I take it apart when we’re finished?”
“EEK,” screamed Ziz. “Touch me and I’ll peck your eyes out.”
Egg laughed. “Sorry, Gilly. Ziz prefers to stay in one piece.”
Chapter 7 – Check and Mate
After the incomprehensible instructions from her resident geniuses, which Gilly seemed to understand with no problem, Egg sent the mechanic to put the process into action. Kreed was going to go with him to ensure it was done right.
“No need. He can handle it. Can’t you Gilly?”
“Yes, Your Ladyship.”
“Then go. Besides Kreed, I want you here as part of my war council.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Yes Zwam?”
“Your kindness to my mechanic . . . is that part of leadership?”
“Sorry?”
“You took time to understand him as a person. In just a few moments you were able to connect with him on a personal level. You offered him the one thing that he treasures above all else – the opportunity to learn. In all likelihood, he is now more loyal to you then to me. Was that your purpose?” It wasn’t meant as an accusation.
“Not at all. He’s part of this crew and he’s doing invaluable work that may save us all. If I’m going to trust him with our lives, I need to take the measure of the man. His answers were wonderful. I got an immediate sense of his abilities. Besides, he’s willing to die for the greater good. I had a chance to offer him a tangible reward. That’s probably a better motivator than the unquantifiable idea of respect that you and I are trying to obtain.”
“I have learned one lesson above all others in our time together. You do not take kindly to compliments. I will leave the one I desire to express clinging to my tongue, out of respect.”
Egg smiled at the phrasing. “Than
k you. Okay guys, I’m pretty sure that after I defeat the Federation’s fleet, I can get everyone involved to the bargaining table. I’m just missing one little thing.”
“Let me guess,” responded snarky Sparky, “You have nothing to bargain with.”
“Yeah. That seems to be a bit of flaw in the grand scheme of things.”
“Egg, or should I say Queen Eloise . . .”
“Thanks for reminding me, Skotti. I’m going to get even with every one of my sisters for getting me elected Queen. There’s no place in the universe you can hide without me finding you. Be warned and be scared.”
At those words, Zwam sat straight up in her chair as if she was getting ready to do battle. Kreed saw it and said, “She’s teasing her friends.”
“Truly? She sounded serious.”
“I am serious,” interjected Egg. “But I’m also kidding.”
“I am confused.”
“She does that a lot to us.”
“Skotti, finish what you were going to say.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Hey, mister, I know where you live too.”
“Sorry, Egg-o. Better?”
“Just finish your thought, please.”
“Sorry. Anyway, there’s a nice sized black hole not too many millions of miles away from the Outer Reaches.”
“I know.”
“As it turns out, it’s the only one we can tap for power.”
“Explain?”
“The technique used by the Rak’nex only works if you are close enough to the source. If we build a Space Tunnel on the Outer Reach’s planet closest to the Black Hole, we can harness infinite power at an incredibly small cost.”
“Why can’t you use the Space Tunnel on Aerianna?”
“Even though it allows you to move great distances in an instant, it still is a great distance. To harness the Black Hole, we have to be close enough to refocus and reharmonize the energy so it can be transferred wherever we want.”
“So once the Outer Reaches does its thing, we can go directly from there to Aerianna or Splendora and bypass all the other planets in the Federation?”
“Exactly. If the Federation wants some of that power, they have to play by whatever rules you set.”
“I could just kiss you, you wonderful, wonderful man.”
“Hey, I’m right here,” complained Serenity.
The Red Queen [Book 7 of Ever After, an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel] Page 6