Ashur pressed his head to Bethany Anne’s knee, then looked up and gave her the soulful expression of a dog who’d had experience in the matter. No one understands it until they go through it. Besides, they will always need you. I just had a grandpup on my ship to prove it.
Bethany Anne chuckled. “I heard Dokken was coming to visit you and Bellatrix.”
That’s what I came to talk to you about, Ashur told her. He and Cory headed back to Keeg Station yesterday. Bellatrix and I are leaving to take your message to the Bl’kheth planet.
Bethany Anne was glad to hear that. “You found an engineer?”
Ashur nodded. Ronnie persuaded Stevie she needed a break. I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye since you’ll be gone by the time I get back.
“It’s a long way to go, even with your Gate drive.” Bethany Anne hugged Ashur and got to her feet. “You won’t get back much before I do.”
Ashur padded after Bethany Anne as she left the twins’ quarters and headed for her ready room. Considering I have only one goal, to get to Bl’kheth and back, I think I’ll be back long before you.
Bethany Anne chuckled. “When do you leave?”
Tomorrow, he replied, wagging his tail as he hurried to keep pace with Bethany Anne. Why are you in such a rush?
“I have a call with Jean, remember?” Bethany Anne stopped and laughed. “What am I doing?” She put her hand on Ashur’s back and took them the rest of the way through the Etheric.
Ashur chuffed laughter. That’s more like it.
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow when Ashur hopped onto the couch and circled before settling. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Ashur opened one eye. I have an idea you’re going to be a while.
Jean’s face came up on the wallscreen, diverting Bethany Anne’s retort. She took a seat at her desk and smiled at Jean. “Right on time. Where are my ships?”
“It’s always ‘where are my ships’ with you,” Jean bitched.
Bethany Anne lifted a shoulder. “Well, the one time I tried starting with the pleasantries, your face went all red, and that vein in your temple started pulsing. I thought your brain was going to explode.”
Ashur chuffed again. I can totally see that happening.
“Very fucking funny,” Jean snarked. “The scout fighters are about ready to be shipped to Devon, and I have ten crates to go with them.”
“Thank fuck for that.” Bethany Anne relaxed at the knowledge her closest would be protected. “Ten crates?”
Jean nodded. “Six for the Bitches, a replacement for Michael’s armor, two for the twins, and a little something for you.”
Bethany Anne cocked her head sideways. “Only a little something?”
Jean’s grin grew wider. “Trust me, it’s special.” Her demeanor shifted, the easiness replaced by her usual no-nonsense manner. “Everyone but you needs to spend time calibrating their armor. I’ve never made anything like this before.”
Bethany Anne leaned forward, drawn in by curiosity. “How did the testing go with John?”
“He’s not done,” Jean replied. “He got the call from Barnabas when Reynolds arrived and had to leave for High Tortuga.”
Bethany Anne didn’t miss the excitement in her voice. “But the initial testing went as expected?“
“And then some.” Jean hesitated as she sought an explanation. “It’s more than intuitive because of the Bl’kheth mind running the nanocytes.”
Ashur lifted his head and wagged his tail. What, could they take a missile to the chest and be fine?
Bethany Anne looked at him with amusement. “It’s much better than being able to take a missile to the chest. Those nanocytes have some of the most complex programming ADAM and TOM have ever created. You saw the movie Venom, right? Imagine armor that works with you at the atomic level.”
Ashur’s tongue lolled when his jaw dropped.
“It’s true,” Jean confirmed. “Not only is the armor Etheric-compatible, the nanocytes are fully malleable. ‘Alive’ is the only word I can use to describe it. The user has to learn to work in symbiosis with the EI we created from the print of Sean’s mind. Once they’re in sync, the armor will adapt to pretty much anything they ask of it. With the user and Sean working together, it’s not just protection. It’s an unstoppable weapon.”
“That’s why you’re going to destroy any physical record of it being made,” Bethany Anne told Jean.
Jean snorted. “I’ve already had ADAM do it.”
Bethany Anne nodded. “Good. As much as I hate to hide your genius, everything we have on the Bl’kheth’s genetic properties has to be lost.”
She sighed, shaking her head at the unfairness of it all.
“Forever.”
Chapter Three
Beyond Federation Borders, Open Space
With Hirotoshi and the other Tontos tied up in returning a favor for Nickie, Akio was taking the opportunity to work his way through his correspondence while out on patrol.
He sent an encouraging reply to Sabine's latest letter, then began his monthly report to Bethany Anne, his captain’s chair turned to a console worn smooth on the edge by decades of Tabitha using it as a footrest.
Akio preferred to type his reports the old-fashioned way, finding that the act of transferring his thoughts from his fingertips to the page gave him the ability to craft them more fully. “Bethany Anne won’t be happy to know that there has been an increase in attacks,” he commented to Achronyx.
“Tabitha used to leave all the after-action reports to me,” Achronyx replied.
Akio chuckled. “And you signed them with her name, no doubt.”
“How did you guess?” Achronyx was quiet for a few minutes, the only sound on the bridge Akio’s typing. “We have an incoming message from Adelaide.”
Akio saved his unfinished report and closed the screen. “Video?”
“Coordinates of an SOS,” Achronyx replied. “Preparing to Gate.”
Akio turned the captain’s chair to face the viewscreen as the Achronyx Gated. “What are we up against?”
Achronyx rattled off the information that came in from his scanners when the ship came out in the middle of an Ooken attack. “Three Kurtherian destroyers spread around the planet. The planet has shielding, but it’s not going to hold against them for long.”
Akio scanned the drones swarming the forcefield. “How many drones?”
“I quit counting those,” Achronyx told him. “’Too many’ is the only answer I have for you.”
Akio was grateful to see that the planetary defenses were deflecting the majority of the drone bombardment, but he knew from experience that the only way to prevent eventual destruction was to take out the destroyers and cut off the Ookens’ means of producing more.
“What are your orders, Captain?” Achronyx asked.
Akio took a moment to check their loadout. “We have three Etheric ship-busters, and there are never enough pucks. Prepare them for deployment and activate the debris scoop.”
“I’ve already begun gathering debris to make extra ammunition for the railguns,” Achronyx informed him. “We don’t want another Garison.”
“True. We certainly do not,” Akio agreed, the corner of his mouth twitching at the memory of being caught between two Ooken ships. “Not without Nickie here to back us up.”
“What we need is permanent backup,” Achronyx bitched as the destroyer on the viewscreen churned out another cloud of drones. “I’m seriously considering replicating myself to spread the load. Is there no end to the supply of those creatures?”
“Apparently not,” Akio replied drily. “Let’s take them out.”
“The ship-busters are ready at your command,” Achronyx informed Akio a moment later.
“Move them into position,” Akio told him.
There was a tense wait while Achronyx maneuvered the missiles through the Etheric, placing them in positions relative to the three destroyers.
“Ready?” Achronyx asked.
“Fire at will,” Akio ordered.
Achronyx gave the missiles the instruction to exit the Etheric. A moment later, they nailed their targets, throwing up a halo of light that surrounded the planet.
“He shoots, he scores!” Achronyx cheered, playing crowd noise over the speakers.
“Nice work.” Akio chuckled. “Tell Adelaide to send in the cleanup crew.”
Achronyx cut the sound effects. “She had them on standby out of the way of the fighting. They’ll be here within minutes.” He paused before continuing, “The Ookens are getting bolder, Akio. We’re out here on the ass-end of the Federation. It won’t take a genius to predict the course the tour will take, which leaves us open to attack. Wouldn’t you choose a sparsely populated area to sneak your army in?”
Akio sighed. “Hai. Four ships are not enough to repel an army if Gödel decides to send one. I cannot wait until my report is due. Call Bethany Anne.”
Achronyx searched for Bethany Anne’s current location and opened a link to the bridge of the Baba Yaga.
Bethany Anne appeared on the screen after a short wait. “Hey, Akio. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you for three more days. Is everything okay?”
Akio smiled apologetically. “We have a growing situation out here.” He sent her his ship’s logs for the previous month. “The attacks are increasing, as is the area they are occurring over. They’re trying to wear us thin.”
Bethany Anne pressed her lips together. “I knew this was coming. Leave it to me.”
Akio nodded. “I appreciate that. I have called on Nickie far too often recently.”
Bethany Anne grinned. “I can’t imagine she’s too put out by that.”
Akio shrugged. “I believe she finds the opportunity to live out her Ranger fantasies cathartic. But even with her assistance, it’s becoming a full-time effort to keep the Ookens at bay.”
Bethany Anne’s face softened. “I can’t tell you it’s not going to get worse when Gödel figures out I’m locking her out of the Federation. Keep holding out. Help is on the way.”
Akio returned Bethany Anne’s smile. “We understood the challenges when we took the assignment. Ad Aeternitatem.”
Bethany Anne’s eyes turned moist for a moment before she whispered back, “Ad Aeternitatem, my very old friend.”
The moment was there, and then it was gone. He got back to business. “Who do you mean to send?”
“That’s what I need to figure out,” Bethany Anne replied. “I have the Shinigami fleet available, but those ships can’t be given to just anyone.”
Her eyes became unfocused for a second. “No, wait. Maybe I do.” She waved a hand to halt Akio’s question. “It will have to be a surprise. I’m going to be late for the tour briefing.”
Akio leaned on the console after Bethany Anne cut the link. He stood there staring at the viewscreen for a moment after it went blank.
Achronyx observed the slight tightening of the ancient warrior’s spine through the bridge cameras. “What’s made you so uptight?”
Akio looked into the camera. “You’re a smart AI. Work it out.”
Achronyx replayed the call more than two thousand times before he made the connection. “Oh, dear gods, no. Rookies?”
Devon, The Interdiction, QBS Sayomi
Reynolds and his core crew were spread out around the Sayomi’s bridge. Sayomi had declined to put in another appearance after her first contact with Tactical earned him the lockdown Reynolds had promised.
Reynolds shuffled in the pilot’s chair as the planet came into view. “So this is Devon.” He zoomed in on the battlestation hanging in the void and noted the enormous amount of EI traffic when he tapped the web of signals crisscrossing between the planet and the three rings of defense around it.
“That it is,” John agreed. “If you look to your left, we’ll be passing the Baba Yaga in a few minutes.”
Reynolds wasn’t the only one who was lost for words when the Queen’s superdreadnought came into view on the viewscreen.
Ka’nak leaned over Reynolds’ chair. “If you haven’t got gun envy right now, I’m gonna have to revoke your man card.”
“Oh, I’m envying,” Reynolds assured his head of security as he watched a pair of Black Eagles leave the Baba Yaga and head for their location. “Not just her guns. She has better shielding, better engines, better armor… I mean, just look at those lines. A ship the size of a large city has no business looking that graceful, and yet, there she is.”
Jiya and Geroux exchanged amused glances.
“Not to mention her weapons arrays,” Reynolds continued, oblivious to his crew’s sideways looks.
The Baba Yaga was out of sight in the next moment, and they were joined by the Black Eagles for their final approach to First City.
The ground opened up beneath them as they neared the Hexagon, giving the Sayomi room to land in a sublevel hangar. No one aboard the Sayomi wasted time following the instructions the AI had given them from the screens to debark in their teams through the cargo hatches.
John led Reynolds and his core crew to the Black Eagles, where Bethany Anne and Michael were waiting for them with a group of others who had wanted to welcome the crew.
Sabine, Jacqueline, and Ricole stepped forward to greet the officers of the Reynolds with friendly smiles as they arrived, draping a lei over each of them while explaining the custom.
Reynolds noted another, larger group meeting his general crew with a similarly warm welcome. “This is more along the lines of the return I’d imagined,” he admitted, seeing Bethany Anne watching him with curiosity.
“Your crew will be taken care of,” Bethany Anne told Reynolds, slipping her arm through his to guide him to the private elevator. “We’ll meet back up with them in a few hours after they’ve had time to settle in and enjoy a taste of what Devon has to offer.”
“We get stuck in a meeting while the crew gets to party?” Ka’nak complained.
Bethany Anne chuckled. “There will be plenty of time for that. The meeting we’re headed to was already scheduled for today, but I would have called one anyway since you’re here to attend. It will give you a better understanding of what we’re doing.”
The elevator took them down, not up as Reynolds had expected.
“This planet’s crust is comprised of layers of super-compressed rock sandwiched between softer aggregates,” Bethany Anne explained. “It made for good excavating when we were keeping our expansion quiet.” She showed them down the corridor and into a large, pleasantly-appointed meeting room.
Reynolds’ eyes fell upon Izanami when they entered the room, her red-gold aura sparkling in the ambient lighting as she walked over to Bethany Anne. “Who is this beauty I see before me?” he murmured, struck by the way the light moved around her.
Quick, Tactical interjected. Ask her if she wants to go halves on a bastard.
I regret bringing you. Reynolds double-checked that Tactical was locked down to his cube and bowed deeply to the AI made of light. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, fair lady. My name is Reynolds.”
Izanami looked Reynolds’ android body over before tilting her chin imperiously. “The pleasure is all yours, I assure you.” She returned her attention to Bethany Anne. “If you will excuse me, my Queen, I must return to the Baba Yaga.“
Bethany Anne nodded, and Izanami left the meeting room without so much as a backward glance.
Reynolds stared at the aura that remained for a fraction of a second after the AI dematerialized, his hand moving to his chest unnoticed. “Be still, my beating heart.”
The crew teased him mercilessly over the comm, all except for Jiya.
I think she’s a tiny bit out of your league, Captain, she told him.
Can AIs even have relationships? Ka'nak asked with curiosity. I mean, do you have the functionality in that android body?
Takal, thankfully, declined to answer.
Reynolds clamped down on Tactical. You dare, and I’ll have you
reintegrated before you can say—
Comes with a full set of moving attachments? Tactical supplied.
Bethany Anne coughed to cover a laugh, causing Reynolds to wheel and face her. “Please tell me you didn’t hear that?”
Bethany Anne tapped her temple with a finger. “ADAM fed me the whole conversation.”
Reynolds groaned. “That’s it. Tactical. You’re dead meat.”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “Um, isn’t he part of your personality?”
“Not a part I need,” Reynolds grumbled.
I was trying to make light of the rejection, Tactical protested. Lift your spirits in a moment of darkness. What is life without humor, I ask?
Bethany Anne gestured for the crew to take seats around the table. “Izanami’s issue has more to do with my refusal to provide her with yet another body than a personal dislike of you,” she assured Reynolds.
John came into the room. “Tabitha’s just clearing the consulate. Nickie can’t make it; she said you’d know why.” He took a seat as Darryl, Scott, Eric, and Gabrielle filed in.
“Queen’s Bitches in the house!” Scott whooped, catching Darryl in a headlock while Reynolds’ crew watched with the politeness of strangers in somebody’s domicile.
Jiya addressed Bethany Anne respectfully. “Your Majesty, may I ask a question?”
Bethany Anne smiled. “You can if you drop the ‘Your Majesty’ shit. My name is Bethany Anne. What’s your question, Jiya Lemaire?”
First Officer Jiya Lemaire - Image by Eric Quigley
Jiya returned Bethany Anne’s smile. “I was wondering why your fiercest warriors refer to themselves with what my Earth culture studies have taught me is a derogatory term.”
Bethany Anne sat back. “Well, damn. I haven’t been asked that in a while.” She gestured to John and the rest. “Why don’t you tell our guests the story?”
By the time they were done, the crew was slack-jawed with amazement, and most of the seats around the table had filled up with the rest of the attendees. They conferred with Reynolds while a trio of men was herded into the meeting room by a harassed-looking blonde woman.
Return Of The Queen: The Kurtherian Endgame™ Book Eight Page 3