Bethany Anne wasn’t exactly looking forward to what came next, so she chose to walk and have at least a few more minutes of normality before the shit hit the fan.
ADAM spoke up when she was halfway down the corridor from the hub. >>I’ve got the fleet report if you want to take care of that.<<
That obvious I need a distraction? Bethany Anne forced some of the tension out of her body. Go ahead. What’s the word from the fleet?
>>The gen III squadron confirmed a sixth splinter world, and they picked up the gen II’s latest from the dead drop as planned. They got all the information you requested on the first three planets. I’m translating it for you now.<<
Bethany Anne didn’t want to wait for ADAM to run all the data. Just give me the highlights for now. What’s going on out there? Is it as we suspected?
>>It is,<< ADAM confirmed, giving her the hard data in her internal HUD. >>They’ve been building, too—and they’re ready to move.<<
Bethany Anne tapped a finger against her lips as she scanned ADAM’s report. It was exactly as she’d suspected. You’re right. They could be ready in as soon as a few weeks.
>>It could still be months,<< ADAM countered. >>We don’t know for certain.<<
You’ve seen the messages the scout ships intercepted. They’re after blood for the colony they lost. Bethany Anne clenched her hands into fists. What she would have to put her family through to protect them all was killing her inside. Without action, the Ooken will be free to cause chaos wherever they point those damned ships of theirs.
ADAM spoke slowly, already sure of the answer but needing to hear it from Bethany Anne. >>So, what are you going to do about it?<<
Bethany Anne knew there was no other way around it. There’s only one thing to do, she admitted. Put on my big-girl panties and stop avoiding what needs doing just because we’re all cozy here right now.
We’re going to war.
5
High Tortuga, Space Fleet Base, Western Wall, Guardhouse
Bethany Anne took the shortest route across the base to Tabitha and Peter's home, the action giving her time to get her emotion in check before she arrived.
Walking and thinking was becoming a theme recently, but then her mind was heavy with thought. Alexis was too damned astute, as always.
Bethany Anne hated what she was about to do. However, whether she liked it or not, it was the right choice for everyone involved.
Peter opened the door to the remodeled guardhouse just before she reached it. He smiled warmly as he stood aside for her to enter. “Thanks for doing this all the way out here. Tabitha’s running late, but she'll be back from her thing with Barnabas soon.”
Bethany Anne followed Peter to the living room, where Todd was on the rug doing his best to roll himself onto his stomach. She sat beside the baby, who immediately increased his efforts. “Hey, little man. Just look at you go!”
“I know, right?” Peter swelled with pride. “He’s going to get that any time now. Oh, you should wave to Tabbie. She has CEREBRO livestreaming Todd to her while she’s out.”
Bethany Anne looked up and waved, then returned to cooing at Todd. The baby gurgled in return and waved his arms at her. “I wonder where she got that idea?” she murmured, a small smile escaping her lips as she picked Todd up and settled him in the cradle of her crossed legs.
Peter knew better than to let slip that he knew exactly who’d inspired Tabitha’s twenty-four-hour surveillance of their son. “I wouldn’t know,” he offered in his most diplomatic tone. “It’s nearly time for Todd to eat. Can I get you a drink? I think we have Coke in the fridge.”
“I’m good, thanks.” Bethany Anne supported the baby with her forearms and wriggled her fingers to create a swirling contrail of inert Etheric energy for Todd to grasp at. “Besides, I’m not done for the day yet. I have a few more visits to make when we’re done here.”
Tabitha arrived home in a whirlwind of leather. She blew kisses to Peter and Todd and waved to Bethany Anne. “You wouldn’t believe my day.” She grinned and waved her dirty hands over her blood-spattered clothing. “I’m gross. Ten minutes, promise,” she called as she dashed for the bathroom.
Todd's sunny mood vanished the moment Tabitha left. Bethany Anne distracted him best she could while Peter went to get his food.
True to her word, Tabitha returned clean and fresh ten minutes later, her cruddy work gear replaced by soft sweats. Black, of course. “Hi, baby boy! Mommy missed you!”
Todd’s grousing turned to delighted squeals when he laid eyes on Tabitha, then to outright joy when Peter came back from the kitchen with a covered container in one hand and a cloth over his shoulder. He grinned at Todd’s reaction. “I guess someone got the hungry gene from their mom.”
Bethany Anne snickered.
“Hey!” Tabitha protested. “You eat way more than I do.”
Peter flashed a grin. “Our food bill says differently.”
Tabitha stuck her tongue out at him. “See if I bring you leftovers again.” She walked over to Bethany Anne and held her hands out for Todd. “Come to Mommy, son.”
Bethany Anne handed Todd to his mother somewhat reluctantly.
Tabitha carried him over to the couch and settled into the corner with the baby in her lap.
“He’s bigger every time I see him,” Bethany Anne told her, getting off the floor to sit in the guest chair she’d been leaning against.
Tabitha adjusted the position of her crossed leg to give Todd a little bit more support. “Yeah, he’s got that fast-growth thing going on. Thankfully Eve has a handle on keeping it steady.”
Bethany Anne nodded. “That’s good to hear. I was dreading hearing he had the same issues as Alexis and Gabriel.”
“I know, right?” Tabitha tickled Todd’s tummy. “Experiencing nine years in the Vid-doc had only one advantage. I’m nine years older than I look.”
Bethany Anne rolled her eyes. “You’ve looked the same age since you were first upgraded.”
Tabitha pouted. “It’s how I feel that counts.”
“If you say so,” Bethany Anne offered. “So, Eve’s certain he won’t have any issues?”
“Eve’s been great,” Peter told her, passing Tabitha the open container and a small spoon. “She learned a lot about the needs of natural-enhanced babies from the twins’ infancy.”
Tabitha jiggled the container, “She even created this for him. It’s balanced exactly for his nutritional needs.”
Bethany Anne made a face. “I remember her ‘nutrition blends.’”
Tabitha maneuvered the spoon past Todd’s grasping hands into his mouth. Todd pushed the orange mush around his mouth a few times and blew a raspberry, covering her in food.
She wiped her face with the cloth Peter had given her. “As you can see, he really loves it.” Todd babbled away on her lap. “Oh, you’re proud of your achievement?”
“Well, obviously,” Peter cut in, snickering. “He got every bit of you. I’d be proud. In fact, I am.”
Bethany Anne snorted. “That’s my nephew!” She sat back and folded her hands in her lap. “Guys, we need to get serious for a moment. I wish I could stay, but I have another stop after this, so I need to get a move on if I’m going to get home for dinner tonight.”
Peter sat down beside Tabitha. “The status review would have waited until family dinner night if you’ve had a full day.”
Bethany Anne made a face. “This isn’t about the review, and it isn’t exactly dinner conversation, either.” She watched Todd for a moment before returning her attention to Peter. “I didn’t want to do this while Alexis and Gabriel were here.”
Tabitha tried not to cringe as she snuck Todd another spoonful of food while Peter distracted him. She relaxed visibly when he accepted it this time. “I already know what you’re going to say. It’s time to move.”
Peter just turned in his seat and gave Todd his pinkie to grab.
Tabitha’s face worked through a series of emotions while she came to
terms with the news. “We knew this was coming,” she managed eventually.
Bethany Anne saved them the agony of saying it. “You two want to sit this one out.” She didn't couch it as a question.
Peter sighed and nodded, slipping his arm around Tabitha. “One of us, at least. Tabitha, if I get my way. But we know where our duty lies.”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow. “Your duty lies wherever I say it does.”
Peter’s face fell, and he held Tabitha and his son a bit closer. “I understand.”
Bethany Anne looked at him like he’d hit his head. Several times. “Don’t be a dumbass, Peter. I'm not going to split your family up. I'm sending you and Tabitha to take care of Devon in my absence.”
High Tortuga, Space Fleet Base, Jean's R&D Lab
Bethany Anne pushed open the door to Jean's lab and made her way down to the third sub-level. She was considering different issues with the fleet arrangement when she heard the sharp ping of metal on metal.
She located Jean by sound, walking through the lab until she found her old friend in the largest workshop. Jean continued to yell instructions to her team as she worked deep in the bowels of an enormous freestanding machine.
Bethany Anne assumed that to have Jean working on it, the machine was ridiculously expensive, vitally important, stupidly dangerous, or all of the above. She waited for a few minutes, then pinged Jean when it became obvious that she wasn’t going to be done in there any time soon.
Jean’s frazzled face appeared at the access hatch. “Hey, good to see you. Give me a minute.” She pulled her head back in and climbed up to exit the hatch feet first. “I don’t know if I like that look you have, Bethany Anne.”
Bethany Anne held her hands up, one eyebrow raised in question. “I have no idea what you mean.” She put a hand on Jean’s back and guided her out of the noisy workroom, staying quiet for the moment while Jean issued yet more instructions to be completed in her absence. “Fuck, Jean. Do you want them to die of exhaustion?”
Jean frowned at Bethany Anne in confusion. “This is a slow day. In fact, there’s been less to do since you had so much of the fleet production moved out to QT2.”
Bethany Anne grinned as they entered the marginally quieter corridor. “Funny you should mention that.”
Jean stopped walking and grabbed Bethany Anne by the arms. “Please tell me we’re moving out there.”
Bethany Anne shrugged her off, chuckling. “We’re not. But you are, if you and John are okay with being apart for a while. I’m not going to war without my right hand, but neither do I want to leave anyone but the best in charge of preparing us to face the Kurtherians when we return.”
Jean raised an eyebrow. “You mean I get to play in my lab guilt-free while he goes off kicking ass for a couple of years? I think we’ll both be fine with that. It’s not like we’re newlyweds or short on time.”
Bethany Anne relaxed. “You know, this is going better than I thought so far. I thought I was going to have to fight you, and Peter and Tabitha, to make you stay while I deal with the Ooken.”
Jean waved a hand. “Nah. You’ve been doing this long enough to know where we need to be. I’m just glad I’m not the one moving the pieces on this board. I don’t envy you, BA.”
Bethany Anne looked off for a moment. “Maybe one day I won’t need to do that, either.” She turned back to Jean. “A day will come when the Seven have been wiped from existence and Earth is safe.”
Jean made a sympathetic face and patted Bethany Anne's arm. “You’re getting there,” she offered. She was interrupted by a shout and a loud clang from the workshop. “Shit. I leave for one minute, and they start trashing the place. It’s like having teenagers around the house again.”
“Not in my house,” Bethany Anne replied offhand. “I keep waiting for them to rebel, but I can’t see it happening.”
Jean made a face. “Yeah, well, your two are too busy blowing each other up to do much rebelling.” She grinned. “I’d better get back in there before they set something on fire just to round the day out. But I’ll talk to John. It’s been too quiet around the house. It will be good to have a change of location.”
Bethany Anne lifted a shoulder as Jean walked back to the workroom. “The guys are next on my list.”
Jean waved over her shoulder. “Then you’ll save me the task of telling him.”
With that, she disappeared around the corner, and a second later Bethany Anne heard her yelling instructions once again.
High Tortuga, Space Fleet Base, Rec Room Beta
Bethany Anne strolled in on the final throes of an arm wrestling match between John and Eric. “I challenge the winner,” she announced as she went over to them.
Eric lost his focus for the briefest of seconds and yelled when John tilted his wrist and slammed his hand down on the table. He opened his mouth to complain, but got up from the chair and gestured for Bethany Anne to take his place instead. “All yours, boss.”
He smirked as Bethany Anne sat down and took John’s offered hand. “Sucks to be you,” he teased.
Bethany Anne adjusted her elbow on the table to get a comfortable grip. “I didn’t actually come down here to play ‘who can piss the farthest.’”
John’s eyes crinkled slightly. “We know. We’re heading out to stop the Ooken.” He chuckled, “But sure, I’m willing to bet I can go farther.”
Bethany Anne tightened her grip and applied enough pressure to prevent John from using his dirty trick on her. “How the fuck does news travel around this place faster than I do?”
Darryl shrugged. “Peter called as soon as you left.”
“He wanted to give us time to absorb it before you got here,” John explained in a low voice. The muscle in his jaw twitched.
Bethany Anne winked at him and increased the pressure a touch. “I’ll understand if any of you want to stay out of this.”
Scott dragged the back of his hand over his forehead. “Thank fuck for that. It would have been so boring to take your freaking awesome new ships out for a spin.”
“Yeah,” Eric seconded. “Kicking alien ass is so five minutes ago. Who wants to go through all that?” He looked at his three best friends in feigned confusion. “Anyone?”
Darryl grinned, folding his arms on his chest. “And we're just fiiine with you running off starting a war without us. Sure.”
John grunted. “The vote is in. Looks like you're shit out of luck, Boss.”
Bethany Anne looked around at them all with narrowed eyes. “Very funny, but this isn't the time for jokes.” She relaxed her grip on John's hand. “We could be away for some time.”
John eased her forgotten hand down to the table. “When do we leave?”
She snorted gently and got to her feet. “Any day now, so be prepared.”
John inclined his head a fraction. “Like a Boy Scout,” he promised.
“Wait, what?” Scott almost dropped the drink he'd just picked up as he whipped his head in John’s direction. “Ass, you were never a Boy Scout.”
“How would you know?” John countered. He pointed at Scott's shirt. “You spilled something there.”
Bethany Anne saw the ghost of a smile flirt with the idea of appearing on John's face when Scott looked down at himself.
The internal alarm Bethany Anne had set warned her that it was time to get home.
She turned to leave. “As much as I'd love to stay and hang out with you guys, I'm going to be late for dinner.”
“What's on the menu tonight?” John asked.
Bethany Anne made a face over her shoulder as she walked to the rec room door. “Humble pie. Probably with a generous helping of ‘I told you so.’”
With that, she disappeared.
6
QT2 System, QBBS Helena, Station Manager’s Office
Giselle Foxton-Thomas strode into her office and waved a hand over her desk to activate the holoscreen. “Call my mother,” she instructed, feeling none of the assertiveness she heard in her to
ne.
Helena Foxton appeared on the holoscreen a few moments later. Giselle smoothed her dark blue button-down self-consciously as she waited for the connection to stabilize. “How are you, Mother?”
Helena’s eyes crinkled with joy. “All the better for seeing you, my dear. So, Bunny, are you looking forward to my arrival?”
Giselle repressed the urge to make a face at her childhood nickname. “That’s what I’m calling about, Mother. The announcement went out early this afternoon; we are officially at war. The Queen is on her way to take command of the fleet. I think it might be safer for you to stay in Federation territory.”
Helena snorted elegantly. “I think not, Bunny. You forget I was a journalist during the final years of the Leath War. You’ve seen holovid of some of the absolute cesspits I stayed in. I will manage perfectly adequately on the comparative luxury of a Queen’s battle station.”
Giselle smiled. “Good old Mother. I can always rely on you.”
“Less of the old,” her mother retorted. “I only had rejuvenation therapy fifteen years ago. I’m practically a spring chicken.” Helena arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “Now, I’m sure you have enough to do without being on an endless call to me.”
Giselle’s mouth quirked. “I wasn’t going to say that, but you were always straight to the point.”
Helena tilted her chin. “I should hope so. But go on with your day, Bunny. I will see you in person very soon.”
“Love you, Mother,” Giselle called just as Helena cut the connection. She smiled and gestured for her keyboard to appear.
A portion of Giselle’s thoughts remained on Helena as she worked through the never-ending administrative tasks for the station. Most of them were minor things to be passed on and dealt with by the relevant manager or operator. The ones that remained were the problems no one else could solve.
No one but her. Giselle enjoyed the challenges that crossed her desk. Her work provided the release her sharp mind needed, which made it much easier to be at home with the children. She loved her family incredibly, but there was only so much mental stimulation to be had from three under-fives and a husband whose first responsibility (rightly) lay with his command.
All’s Fair in Blood and War (The Kurtherian Endgame Book 4) Page 6