Payback Is A Bitch (The Kurtherian Endgame Book 1)

by Michael Anderle

  Payback Is A Bitch

  The Kurtherian Endgame Book One

  Michael Anderle

  Payback Is A Bitch (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2018 Michael Anderle

  Cover by Andrew Dobell, www.creativeedgestudios.co.uk

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact support@lmbpn.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, May 2018

  The Kurtherian Gambit (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2015-2018 by Michael T. Anderle and LMBPN Publishing.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Editor Notes - Lynne Stiegler

  Books by Michael Anderle

  Connect with Michael Anderle

  Payback Is A Bitch Team

  Thanks to our Beta Readers

  Bree Buras

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Tom Dickerson

  Dorene Johnson

  Diane Velasquez

  Nat Roberts

  Thanks to the JIT Readers

  Kelly O'Donnell

  Sarah Weir

  James Caplan

  Peter Manis

  Tim Bischoff

  Kelly Bowerman

  Kim Boyer

  John Ashmore

  Daniel Weigert

  Thomas Ogden

  Larry Omans

  Sherry Foster

  Micky Cocker

  Michael Pendergrass

  If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know!

  Editor

  Lynne Stiegler

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  Characters and Races

  ●ADAM - AI, TOM's partner, Bethany Anne's advisor, resource, presently resides in organic Kurtherian computer in Bethany Anne’s body (which was placed there by TOM [see below] when she was enhanced).

  ●Addix - enhanced Ixtali, Spymistress for High Tortuga, fighter for Bethany Anne.

  ●Akio - Michael's sidekick, Elite Guard, Queen’s Bitch, human vampire, originally from Japan.

  ●Anne - enhanced human, saved by Bethany Anne in Las Vegas, now heads her own R&D team.

  ●ArchAngel - Ship's AI and battleship lost in the war with the Yollin upper caste Rebuilt by General Lance Reynolds and used in covert ops.

  ●ArchAngel II - AI, and the superdreadnought ArchAngel II, Admiral Thomas’ ship.

  ●Az, Az Th’loo - Leath, Head of KGB company, CEO and President.

  ●Baba Yaga - Bethany Anne's alter-ego, Witch of the Empire, Empress’ Witch.

  ●Bach (Old Patch-Eye) - Shrillexian, mercenary on Kiss my Ass.

  ●Barnabas - Changed by Michael into a vampire, super-enhanced human, one of the seven first-born, former monk.

  ●Bartholomew Thomas, Admiral - Admiral of the Etheric Empire Fleet. Semi-retired - BA wants him back on board.

  ●Bethany Anne (Nacht) - Heroine, main character, super-enhanced human (vampire), altered by TOM on Earth. Carrying Kurtherian symbiont TOM (see below) resides physically in her body, and she also carries an organic Kurtherian computer implanted by TOM when she was enhanced. Other Titles: Empress, Queen, Queen Bitch. Approximately two hundred years old in this story. Can walk through Etheric dimension.

  ●Ch'urn - Zhyn, pirate.

  ●Charles - Security Pit worker.

  ●Darryl Jackson - Queen's Bitch (enhanced fighter/personal bodyguard for Bethany Anne after events in Florida Everglades). African-American.

  ●David (Nacht) - Human vampire. Michael’s son, who tried to kill him after escorting BA to TOM’s ship.

  ●Drock - Ch'urn's cousin, pirate.

  ●Eric Escobar - Queen's Bitch (enhanced fighter/personal bodyguard for Bethany Anne after events in Florida Everglades). Hispanic.

  ●Eve - EI in short human android body, Yuko's companion. Created by ADAM before they parted when ADAM went to space.

  ●G'het - Works for KGB Corp, P'rok's partner.

  ●Gabrielle Escobar - Bethany Anne’s friend, Stephen's daughter, head of the Queen's Bitches, human vampire, took husband’s name on marriage instead of Nacht.

  ●Glorious Pain in the Ass - Kurtherian belonging to TOM's clan. Found him while Bethany Anne and her people were setting up the BYPS satellite protection system around Earth.

  ●Gorath - Captain of Pirate ship Kiss My Ass, Skaine.

  ●H'ick - Zhyn, works in Engines, pirate.

  ●Hirotoshi - Elite Guard, super-enhanced human vampire, one of Tabitha's advisors.

  ●Humans - originally from Earth, but have now spread throughout several galaxies after Gating into Yollin space from the Loop (Milky Way) Galaxy.

  ●Imon - Shrillexian, KGB Senior Partner in charge of Security.

  ● Ixtalis - alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  ●J'erlong - Zhyn, works in Engines, pirate.

  ●Jacqueline - Were, Pricolici, daughter of Gerry (New York), Mark’s significant other.

  ●Jean (Dukes/Grimes) - Weapons R&D Genius, creator of the famed Jean Dukes pistols, married to John Grimes, enhanced human.

  ●Jennifer - Security Pit, Communications, Analysis.

  ●Jennifer - Stephen’s mate, Were.

  ●Jesse Verrette - Guardian, Watson's partner.

  ●John Grimes - Queen's Bitch (enhanced fighter/personal bodyguard for Bethany Anne after events in Florida Everglades).

  ●K’rillick - Peaceful alien race, destroyed by the T’sehmion Clan.

  ●Kael-ven - Enhanced Yollin, former and current captain of the G’laxix Sphaea, ex-planetary potentate.

  ●Kiel - Enhanced Yollin mercenary and Marine officer, Weapons officer G'laxix Sphaea.

  ●Kurtherians - Alien race, clans, seven Clans that are selfishly focused on themselves, five clans that focus on the true benefits for others. Some of the Five help prepare species for attacks from the Seven.

  ●Lance Reynolds - Bethany Anne’s father, enhanced human, stayed behind to manage relations of the former Empire with the new Federation. “The General.” Married to Patricia, his former secretary on Earth.

  ●Lady - EI for The Lady Princ
ess.

  ●Leath - Alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  ●Lerr'ek - Zhyn businessman, works for Baba Yaga on High Tortuga to help prepare the base.

  ●Mark - Vampire youth saved in New York by Michael, Jacqueline’s significant other.

  ●Michael (Nacht) - Fiancé of Bethany Anne, father of her offspring, and the original human modified well over a thousand years ago. Can change to a form called Myst and pass through tiny spaces as well as the Etheric dimension. At the time of this book he is about 1500 years old.

  ●Noel-ni - Alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  ●Patricia – Enhanced human, Lance Reynolds’ wife, Bethany Anne’s stepmother. Pregnant when last seen in Book 21 of The Kurtherian Gambit.

  ●P'rok - Works for KGB Corp, G'het's partner.

  ●Peter Silvers - Queen's Bitch, super-enhanced Were, Pricolici. Bethany Anne helped save him from Michael's rules about revealing themselves to humans when he was a youth.

  ●Rahj'k - Radar operator, Kiss my Ass.

  ●Ranger Two - see Tabitha.

  ●Reynolds - EI & superdreadnought that has left to seek Kurtherians.

  ●Ricole - Noel-ni female youth.

  ●Ryu - Elite Guard, super-enhanced vampire, one of Tabitha's advisors.

  ●Sabine - Human with some enhanced abilities, saved by Michael and Akio, trained by Akio, picked up from Earth. Amazing shot.

  ●Scott English - Queen's Bitch (enhanced fighter/personal bodyguard for Bethany Anne after events in Florida Everglades).

  ●Sean Royale (Johnny) - Ranger, worked with Lance, Barnabas and Tabitha, Enhanced/Cyborg.

  ●Shrillexians - Alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  ●Skaines - Alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  ●Stephen (Nacht) – Human changed by Michael into a vampire, one of the seven first born and Michael's genetic sibling.

  ●Tabitha - Super-enhanced human vampire, "Ranger 2" during the Age of the Empire (the 150+ Years between leaving Earth and returning to place a protection system around the planet) Former hacker from Earth, enhanced. Major character, leader of many adventures.

  ●Tar - Communications Specialist, Kiss My Ass

  ●Terry - Security Pit, Communications.

  ●The Queen - See Bethany Anne.

  ●TOM - “Thales of Miletus,” Resident alien entity, Kurtherian, hosted within Bethany Anne’s body. Has unpronounceable name that is mathematical expression so BA calls him “TOM”.

  ●Torcellans - Alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  ●Uleq - Torcellan, KGB Senior Partner, Operations.

  ●Watson Stewart - Guardian, Verrette's Partner.

  ●William - Enhanced human. Part of Team BMW (Bobcat, William, Marcus, and now Tina, Marcus’s wife).

  ●Witch of the Empire – See Baba Yaga.

  ●X'ern - Zhyn, pirate with Drock.

  ●Yaree - Alien race from Pan Galaxy (aka Karillians).

  ●Yollins - Alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  ●Yuko - Enhanced human, Political Liaison in Japan while Bethany Anne was off Earth.

  ●Zhyn - Alien race from Pan Galaxy.

  More information available in the Kurtherian Gambit Wiki at: https://sites.google.com/site/kurtheriangambit/

  1

  Planet Devon, Code-Named “High Tortuga”

  The raven-haired woman stared at the planet below through the docking bay’s forcefield. The field allowed ships to pass from the bay into the vacuum of space.

  Bethany Anne’s alter ego Baba Yaga had begun the process of acquiring a majority interest in most of the interplanetary and interstellar companies on the planet.

  Using the wealth she’d acquired as the former Empress of the Etheric Empire, Bethany Anne had spent liberally. Using her Empire’s AIs she crushed the competition, making any operation that shipped to or from High Tortuga a losing proposition.

  Then she bought the remaining shipping companies for a fraction of their previous worth. Some might call what she did immoral or unethical.

  She called it business.

  There was a method to her madness, but those who had witnessed her real madness saw nothing but intelligence in her efforts to hide High Tortuga’s existence.

  She feared that former Etheric Empress Bethany Anne was going to become a pariah in the near future as the Federation stretched its baby legs. She needed a place to stay out of the limelight.

  It had to be far enough away that no one would find her, but close enough to bring down the hammer of her warships if the future brought danger.

  One danger was the collapse of the effort to create a new Federation of Peoples. Aliens and humans working together to become strong together.

  The Kurtherians were still ranging the galaxies taking over other races, and there were most likely other entities willing to overpower others in their quests for domination as well. They might be races no one in the nascent Federation had yet encountered, or they might be from within the Federation itself.

  She and her people would be ready when that time came.

  Bethany Anne turned away from her scrutiny of the planet and headed toward Michael, her lover and the father of their child. He was waiting for her to board the ship which would take them down to the planet below.

  It was time High Tortuga went through its own birthing pains to transform into the planet Bethany Anne believed it could become.

  The prototype for…well, she would be calling it “Utopia” but that was way too formal. She’d just call it the Motherfucking Practical Political System instead, or MPPS, and it would be an advanced but practical form of government she would transplant (if they could accomplish the mechanics) to her home planet of Earth.

  Centuries in the future.

  High Tortuga, Hidden Space Fleet Base, Queen’s Personal Quarters

  Bethany Anne sat down at the conference table and dropped an old-fashioned notebook on it. For whatever reason, doodling notes on the paper-like substances helped her gather her thoughts.

  Michael, on her left, was reviewing some documents on his tablet and Akio was next to him. On her right was Barnabas, who had come back for this, and then Stephen. While more of her people were involved in her plan, she wanted some of the oldest—the ones who had lived through the best and worst of humanity—to listen to and vet a plan she was hatching.

  “ADAM?” She spoke aloud so the AI inside her would do so as well for the benefit of the others.

  “Yes?”

  “Please record these proceedings and discussions and provide my dad with a transcript when possible. Secured, of course.”

  “I will, Bethany Anne.”

  Michael had been modified on Earth by a Kurtherian now known as TOM sometime during the dark ages. TOM had by happenstance piloted his ship to Earth well over a thousand years ago and had crash-landed in a hidden valley.

  Michael had stumbled across the spaceship and TOM had tried to enhance him with nanocytes, but he had not known enough about human physiology to affect a completely successful change.

  By the time Michael had left the ship, the nanocytes had taken control and he needed human blood to continue living. What no one except TOM had known at the time was that what he was drawing from blood was Etheric energy.

  He had been the Earth’s first vampire.

  The vampire mythology was patently false. One example was the Kurtherian alien known as TOM (an acronym for Thales of Miletus, a name TOM took as his Kurtherian name was a mathematical expression.)

  TOM had come to Earth to modify the inhabitants and prepare them to defend themselves against those of the seven Kurtherian clans who would use them for nefarious purposes.

  TOM was presently living inside Bethany Anne, a situation that hadn’t been part of the plan when Michael had brought her to be upgraded by the same ship that had upgraded him.

  Until he’d met up with Bethany Anne again, Michael had been completely unaware that the alien was still alive.

  Bethany Anne knew TOM was loc
ated inside her somewhere near her spine, but having killed a Kurtherian who had taken up residence in another alien, she didn’t really want to know the details.

  She sure hoped the baby or babies she was carrying didn’t put her interior space at a premium.

  Damn! She was going to look like a bowling ball with arms, legs, and a head no matter how small her child.

  Michael was somewhere between thirteen and sixteen hundred years old—he wouldn’t admit his age. Nor would his brother (and vampiric son) Stephen, who was here with her as well. Barnabas wasn’t that much younger. Akio, on the other hand, was about eight hundred years old now.

  Hell, she was close to one-ninety herself.

  Her brows furrowed. TOM?

  YES?

  I’m curious. How old are you? You are obviously older than Michael or you wouldn’t have been out in the galaxy in your spaceship carrying so much responsibility. But are you like a little older than Michael, or a bunch older?

  Ahhhhh… TOM was being evasive again, something that he had been doing more and more since they met the other Kurtherian—the one she had nicknamed “Glorious Pain in the Ass,” back near Earth. I’m older than Michael by at least two.

  Two what? Decades? Centuries?

  Centuries is closer to reality than decades.

  Huh, so that makes you the oldest person at this meeting. You ready to offer your wise insight and thoughts?