“Yes,” Gladys replied. “You continue to impress me, Bett.”
“Your praise is the highest of compliments,” Bett said with a deep bow. “I am honored to be able to assist my friends in the defense of our home.”
Nera stepped forward. “Is there any news about Frank?” she asked.
“He is safe in his cell, adapting to the high gravity of Nera,” Gladys answered.
“Frank is adapting?” Hiro asked with a smile. “That is very bad news for the Gotes.”
“My friends,” Gladys started, “we are at war. We aim to remove Korick from power.”
“Sounds good to me,” Hiro replied. “It will be good for everyone if he is gone, right?”
“Certainly. The Gote royalty wants him gone as well.”
“What can we do to help?” Nera asked.
“Unfortunately, only Frank and Constanthos will be able to tolerate the heavy gravity of Vera. You all should stay here in case the Gotes send more soldiers.”
“I am able to quickly adapt,” Bett said.
“Frank would want you to look after his wife,” Gladys replied in a careful tone.
Bett looked over at Nera. “Yes, you are probably right. But I think this one looks after me mostly.” Nera smiled and shrugged.
“Bett,” Gladys said, “I must ask. How did you destroy the warship?”
“Oh, that?” Bett burst into laughter. “I didn't know if it worked, or if you had destroyed it. I used two charges that I stripped out of torpedoes and rigged them with a trip wire. Then I set the ship to return and dock. I suppose some stupid Gote walked into the drop ship to check it out, and triggered the explosives. I had no idea it would destroy the whole warship, though.”
“Genius,” Gladys complimented. “How did you acquire the drop ship?”
Bett looked around at all the humans who were staring at him, anxiously awaiting his response. “I'll just say the kyles were well fed today.”
Nera stepped toward Bett and wrapped her arms as far around him as she could manage. “You truly are the Risen,” she said. He did his best to return the embrace without crushing her.
Miyako was whispering something into her husband's ear. He nodded and turned toward the orb to say, “We would like to stay for the duration, if that is okay.”
“You are aware of the risks?” Gladys asked.
“Yes,” Miyako replied.
“You are two of the finest humans I have ever known,” Gladys said. “If something goes wrong, I want you to know that I love you both.”
“We have nothing except love and respect for the Ford family,” Hiro said with a bow. Miyako mirrored him.
“Just a moment,” Gladys said before she paused for a short while. “Phildan just confirmed that they have destroyed several drop ships on the other continent. You were right once again, Bett.”
Everyone looked at Bett. “It's not always good to be right. I'm glad they were able to neutralize the threat.”
“They took most of them in the air,” Gladys said. “Robert believes they were heading this way.”
“We need to hunt now,” Nera said. “No Gote is to remain alive on Nuun.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Nera looked to the orb and said, “Please, give everyone my love. And please, come back to me.”
* * *
Gladys walked out from the control room and into the garden. She had a casual pace, as she was waiting for Phildan to dock Frank's boat and join her. Before she was halfway to the boat of Constanthos, the door of Frank's boat opened and everyone filed out and joined her.
“Gladys,” Robert called out as he hurried to catch up. “I had Phil open a port so I could shoot my gun. I hope I didn't mess up.”
“You didn't mess up, Robert. I trust that you feel good about your performance?”
“Well, yes, I guess.” Robert curled his brow. “I get how Frank feels now. I don't like the idea of genocide. It's crazy because before, I would have been like, kill them all, or something.”
“I don't believe that,” Gladys said with a smile. “You might think that you may have been that way, but we know better.” Gladys turned to Michelle and smiled. “But you just helped defend a human planet, and the death of the invaders was necessary.”
“Your instincts are uncanny,” Phildan added.
“Thanks, I guess,” Robert replied.
“I would have chosen a different firing order, and I would have been wrong.” Phildan looked up at the tall human and contorted his scales. “I would have been lost without you.”
“Is everyone okay?” Denise asked, standing to her feet.
“Yes,” Gladys replied. “Nera sends her love. The Nakamuras want to stay for the duration.”
“I, uh, wow,” Denise didn't know how to take that.
“They are warriors, Denise,” Robert said. “I could tell from the start, when Hiro showed up to train Frank. He always wanted to be more involved.”
“I suppose,” Denise said. “Miyako is so sweet though.”
“She is very sweet,” Gladys agreed. “But she is also extremely deadly. You might be shocked if you knew her...body count.”
“I don't know what to say,” Denise said. “Why am I even here? I feel like I have nothing to offer.”
“You are absolutely vital,” Constanthos said as she marched toward the threshold. Her form was now extremely muscular, yet very feminine.
“I agree,” said Gladys. “I am afraid to think of where we would be without you.” She gave Denise a loving look. Denise appeared as if she was about to melt.
“You are a well mannered human,” Cindy added, “unbiased and polite. Your mere presence is almost soothing.”
Robert stepped forward and bent down to give Denise a hug. “Soldiers don't normally hug each other during a war. Maybe we should.” She looked over to Michelle to make sure the hug was nothing to cause a controversy. Michelle rushed in and gave her a hug of her own.
“I will have those embraces soon enough,” Constanthos said in a lighthearted tone as she turned to move toward the array of equipment that was now pushed toward the corner of the room. She lifted the halo from its cradle and placed it on her head. “I would suggest Sungara.”
Gladys looked to Robert, who nodded in agreement. “And then a quick stop at Korbaal. Gladys, I'm sorry, but we have to go back there.”
“I know,” she responded. “Now I know how Frank felt, having to keep going back to the moon of Earth. I want to check in on him first.” There was no dissent.
29.
“They are starting to file in,” Ahn said.
“Were you able to find some Gurdiks to run the tables up top?” Korick asked.
“Unfortunately, no. They won't come anywhere near Vera, including the orbiting casino. I have Gotes running everything.”
“Well, there goes those profits. Not only are they slow, they tend to skim much more than the Gurdiks.”
“I thought of that, Korick. I have soldiers stationed at every table to watch over them.”
“The military presence will scare off all the customers!”
“Relax,” Ahn said in a soothing tone. “They aren't in uniform. Our profits are never very high on those tables anyway. We make way more on intoxicants. And once they are good and inebriated, they will bet more on the tournament.”
“Yes,” Korick agreed. “You are right. I must commend you for being so well prepared.”
“Thank you, but that is what I'm here for.”
“I mean it, Ahn. You know I am not one to throw out meaningless compliments, but having you here gives this place class.”
Ahn knew that Korick was referring to his status as a noble. He also knew he had abdicated his nobility simply by working for Korick. But he forced himself to say it again. “Thank you.”
* * *
“I thought he would never leave,” Jard joked in the slow deliberate cadence of Unified Taltosh.
Frank started stretching. “I really do not know how to take that guy.”
“He speaks out of fear. It is obviously not something that he is accustomed to.”
“I am not accustomed to having others being so afraid of me.”
“I believe you,” Jard replied. “I am not accustomed to having pleasant conversations.”
“But you are so good at it, my friend.” Frank was now standing with his legs straight, and his palms on the floor.
“Mine is not a business where one makes friends. If I agree to take a job after I have researched it, I still have to worry that the one who pays me may try to kill me.”
“That does not sound like much fun,” Frank said. He was swinging his arms, trying to loosen up and realized that his varitherm was once again too tight. He pulled the right sleeve all the way up to his shoulder. The material seemed to relax and as he continued stretching, he noticed that his right arm was now unrecognizable. He could only shake his head.
“I want to finish this job,” Jard continued, “but I do not think I can keep living this way. The solitude is becoming more and more...” His words were cut off with the odd guttural sound that Frank had come to recognize. They were cleaning the cells and had shocked Jard into unconsciousness.
“Frank?” The tone of her voice was so low that Frank could barely hear it.
“Gladys, move closer,” he whispered. “It's so good to hear your voice. I only have a minute before they knock me out to clean my cell.”
“Nera is safe,” Gladys said quickly. “The warship was destroyed and every Gote on the surface is being hunted down.”
“I can't wait to hear those stories,” Frank said with a smile.
“We are going to Sungara next. We'll destroy the warship there. The other warships are hidden though.”
“We'll draw them out of hiding,” Frank said.
“How?”
“They'll come running when you take out the space station.” He was about to elaborate when the jolt hit him. He fell to the floor and was out. Gladys quickly re-positioned her remote above the camera and watched as two very nervous Gotes hastily cleaned Frank's cell. When the cell door was closed, she terminated the connection.
* * *
“Your Highness,” Rando started, “I want to go on record as saying that I do not approve of you going personally.”
Caja smiled at the twins. “You two are acting more like Moldew every day. That isn't a bad thing. Korick would have you all killed. He won't kill me. His soldiers would turn on him instantly if any harm came to me. I am single, you know. And I suppose it doesn't hurt that I am royalty.”
“You are right,” Ran admitted. “But we don't have to like it. Korick has gained too much power. He might not be willing to give it up so easily. Who knows what he is really capable of.”
“I am going to set things right,” Caja said. “It has never been our way to ask for help. But I am going to get assistance in fixing the Problem.”
The twins looked at each other and nodded. “That would be simply amazing,” Rando declared.
“Korick has capitalized on the misery of the male Gote population for too long,” Caja said.
* * *
Winz Prime had been watching the Gotes from the window of his office. Disgusted, he turned in his chair to prop his head upon his hands. Every day was the same. The Gotes took what they wanted and didn't care who they hurt in the process. Pouring himself a drink, he found himself daydreaming about how much he might enjoy killing them all. It was a very undignified line of thought, especially for one in his position. But his citizens were suffering. A knock on his door brought him back to reality.
“Yes?”
“Sir, we are being hailed. She claims to be a Sessik. We aren't seeing any vessels, other than the Gotes.”
“Sessik ships are invisible,” Winz replied. “Put it through in here, please.”
“Right away, sir.” His assistant closed the door behind him.
After a few moments, a light indicated that the transmission was active. “This is Winz Prime.”
“This is Gladosanthos Mod Suercey.”
“Mistress Suercey, it is an honor. The Mother speaks very highly of you.”
“She has nothing but nice things to say about you, and your race, as well.” Gladys had never spoken with a Sungaran before, but she liked the tone of his voice.
“So what brings you here today?” he asked.
“Have you seen the propaganda video regarding a certain human?” she asked.
“Ah, the Monster, of Earth? You were credited in his creation, if I'm not mistaken.” His tone was very polite.
“He is no monster. He is actually my husband. The Gotes are holding him.”
“I've seen their advertisements. He is to be entered in the upcoming tournament.”
“There will be no tournament. I have declared war on the Gotes of Vera.”
“Oh?” Winz was puzzled. “I didn't think Sessiks did things like that.”
“It isn't a common practice. I aim to remove Korick from power.”
“At the risk of sounding rude, I don't want anything to put us in danger. I am responsible for several hundred million citizens. That warship could end us at any moment.”
“That warship will be ended at any moment,” she replied. “I just wanted to let you know that you are free to defend yourselves now.”
“They will just send another one. I don't like this.”
“There won't be any other ones when we are through. It isn't open for debate. You are about to be liberated whether you like it or not.” The light went off, indicating that she had terminated the transmission.
Winz jumped up from behind his desk and ran out past his assistant, who was working away at his own desk, and headed straight for the next room, where the resident military representative was sitting. “Get eyes on that warship,” Winz ordered as his assistant came in behind him to see what the excitement was all about. The three Sungarans huddled around the view screen just in time to see several torpedoes impacting what seemed to be precise locations on the massive hull. Explosions began to cascade through the warship until finally, it blew apart completely.
“What was that?” the high-ranking military officer asked.
Winz smiled as he answered, “The Monster, of Earth has a wife, and she isn't very happy.” He turned to his assistant. “Could you please fetch me my long rifle? Bring it to my office, please.”
* * *
“Nice shooting, Connie!” Robert exclaimed as he watched from the television in the living room.
“Thank you, Robert. I appreciate your assistance.” Her voice came from an orb that was parked on the refrigerator.
“No problem. I'm going to go back and reload the tubes. I'll check in on Phil while I'm back there.” He walked out into the hall and rounded the bend and went into the room where the tube was located. She had only used the one, so his job was going to be fast. The casing raised up for him and he simply picked up torpedoes from the nearby rack and placed them inside. When he was finished, the casing lowered and resealed itself. He went back out into the hall and went around to Phildan's workshop. “Hey, Phil. You doing alright?”
“Yes, thank you. How is Sungara?”
“Well it looks like a nice enough place. They have a new vacancy in orbit, though.”
Phildan paused, looked at Robert, and contorted his scales into a smile. “That is funny. Yes. That's a good one.” He returned his attention to the shuriken.
“Those look really nice,” Robert complimented.
“Thank you. I hope they work. We can't really test them inside the boat.”
“Look at it this way, Phil. Even if they don't explode, they are still shuriken. That alone is enough to ruin someone's day.”
Phildan nodded. “Yes. That is a very positive outlook.”
“Alright, I'll leave you to it then.” Robert turned and walked back out into the hall. He rounded the bend and went straight into the living room. “We're all loaded up,” he reported. “Phil is in full production mode and
they look downright nasty!”
“Nasty in a good way, right?” Constanthos asked.
“That's right.”
“Wonderful. I will have you docked shortly, and then we are off to Korbaal.”
* * *
“Frank, you awake?” Raymond asked as he slid the tray of meat through the slot.
“Yup. I don't really sleep much.”
“You seem to recover from that collar pretty fast.”
Frank didn't want to let on that he was building up a resistance. “I do?” he asked, faking a surprised tone.
“You ain't fooling me,” Raymond said with a chuckle. “I know you're gifted. Anyway, I have some news for you, if you're interested.”
“Sure,” Frank answered. “What do you got?”
“The warship that went to retake Korbaal is completely destroyed.”
“Yes, I know.”
“I figured you did, but there was also a warship deployed to Nuun.”
“It's been destroyed too.”
“Frank, how could you possibly know the status of that ship? They haven't reported back and no one has gone to check on it.”
“Trust me. The warship at Sungara is also destroyed.”
“What? How did you even know there was a warship at Sungara?”
“Like you said, I'm gifted.”
Raymond paused, not knowing what to make of Frank's claims. “Frank, the princess herself is coming to Vera. She intends to remove Korick from power.”
“I'm afraid that may not end well for her,” Frank said.
“The Gotes are different. The fact that she is a single female is a huge factor.”
“He isn't going to go without a fight. You're going to need my help.”
“Wow.”
“Wow what?” Frank asked.
“You sound just like Moldew. He thinks that Korick is too far gone and will have to be killed.”
“I don't like the idea of killing anything, but this guy really kinda deserves it.”
“That isn't for me to decide. I just want to make sure Caja is safe. She has always treated my Chloe like a sister.”
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