“Well,” Yelena stopped. “Sorry, Kael-ven. You’re the first alien most of the puppies have met, well, physically. It means they want to play with you. So, yeah, she would be okay with being picked up.”
Kael-ven, with his chitinous hands that could easily rip through her skin and crush her, gently picked up the wiggling puppy, cupping his large hands so that he might allow her to try and stand.
Which she did for about five seconds before plopping down, looking at him before she yipped again.
“Do I have a mate?” Kael-ven asked the dog before looking to Yelena. “Is she asking me if I have a, uh…” he stopped, trying to figure out if he was getting the translation wrong.
“She’s asking if you have a special bonded pet, not a wife or someone to procreate with,” Yelena told him.
The captain started chittering. “I suppose I can’t claim that Kiel is my special bonded pet. Although, as Bobcat would say, ‘that is funny as hell’ and Kiel would not be pleased.”
He shook his head. “That just makes it funnier!”
“What do you mean, you choose me?” Kael-ven asked. “What did I just get chosen for?” Again, he turned to Yelena. “Is this one of Bethany Anne’s special projects? Because your Queen has a warped sense of humor.”
Yelena started chuckling, then laughing. She was shaking her head, trying to explain but unable to get the words out. After the minute it took for her to catch her breath, she looked back at the two of them, both staring at her, annoyance on their faces. “No!” she finally got out. “Bethany Anne was the first one to have this happen to her.”
Kael-ven looked down at Snow. “And you want to make me your bonded partner?” Snow yipped. “Why?”
Snow turned in his hands and faced away from Kael-ven and started growling, and barking her little nose off before turning back around to Kael-ven and wagging her tail, little tongue hanging out.
“Because,” Yelena answered the surprised Yollin. “You have the warrior spirit.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Dulce, New Mexico, USA
The destruction around the middle concrete foundation went out for hundreds of meters. There were over a hundred and fifty men and three huge excavation machines working the area.
Annette Wojcieszak stood in her dark three-piece suit, her black flats tapping the ground. She had her badge prominently displayed on her chest, right over her left breast.
She wasn’t pleased at the moment as one of her expensive as hell, brand-new-out-of-the-R&D-labs excavators had thrown one of its two tracks and was out of commission.
She tried to keep the frustration from her face. She didn’t believe that screaming made anyone trust you any more, nor did it get you support when you needed it. What it got you was a bunch of fear, hate, and animosity.
But sometimes, the stress from idiots up the chain just really pushed your buttons, and all you could do was stand and fume.
Like right now.
She heard a car come crunching up the dirt road the equipment had created as they made their way out here. She turned to see what was coming her way and raised an eyebrow. A young Indian woman slid out of the SUV to the ground. Aina Spiles always made her smile.
The spunky little researcher was one of the few people that Annette respected. She was frighteningly intelligent but completely lacked any political smarts. She would tell you exactly what you needed to know, no matter which idiot it hurt.
Even if she was the idiot. You had to be careful with Aina because for her information was either true, opinion, or false. She threw around the labels like little hand grenades in meetings with no concept of the potential trouble.
Annette never missed a meeting Aina called, the stories she walked out with alone were priceless.
“Hello, Agent,” Aina’s high, wispy voice greeted her as she stepped over a large muddy groove one of the excavators created an hour and a half ago.
Annette watched the little researcher. “Hello Aina, what brings you out here?”
Aina stopped next to Annette, who at five foot five inches still towered over her.
“Why Frank Kurns, of course.” she said.
Annette just looked down at the woman who was intently watching all of the activity going on. “Aina?”
“Yes, Agent?” she replied, not looking up at Annette.
“Frank Kurns? Tell me that’s the name of a new agent, not the Frank Kurns whose books you like to read?” Annette asked, concern growing in the back of her mind.
“Well,” Aina looked up at the much taller woman. “What if I say he’s not only the author of my favorite series, but he’s also an agent.” Her little face scrunched up “Or, at least he was an agent.”
“How can he be an agent, or used to be an agent, and is now writing science fiction?” Annette asked. “Wouldn’t his oath of secrecy stop him from writing anything anywhere close enough to the truth so that we wouldn’t know and all of these people working here searching for a secret base,” Annette pointed to the activity around her, “wouldn’t happen?”
“Only if he still worked for our government, Agent Wojcieszak.”
“Aina,” Annette’s voice was harsher, but lower so her voice wouldn’t travel. “Do you know how much money and time these people represent?”
“Of course,” Aina agreed, pointing at one of the excavators. “Just one of those R&D excavators are going to cost 3.245 million dollars for thirty-six hours.”
Annette blanched, that was over ten million dollars sunk in the project for just the three special excavators. She wondered how the costing was going to go for the broken one.
“Aina!” she hissed. “Your ass is going to be on the line for this!” She squeezed the woman’s shoulder to get her attention. The little researcher turned, looking up at Annette in confusion. Annette continued, “Heads will roll if this isn’t the truth, and when they figure out that you decided this was a good idea because of a science fiction book, your head will be one of them, no matter how often you’ve been right!”
Aina smiled and patted Annette’s hand. “Thank you for caring, Annette. But,” she turned towards the field and pointed at the second excavator, “I think Frank Kurns just gave the hint I wanted.”
Annette looked where she was pointing to see the team on the second excavation tool was excited, and a group of fifteen men seemed to be heading that direction. Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see the name.
It was the lead of excavation group two.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds
“Bethany Anne?” John’s voice called out from the security station outside her suite. Bethany Anne was working at her table, her feet up, one hand rubbing Matrix who was relaxing in her lap. The puppy had turned out to be a good stress reducing agent for Bethany Anne.
Ashur still loved to get his rubdowns, but he was so damned big, she could barely rub his head, neck and just a small portion of his back. He’d fucking smoosh her ass if she tried to put him on her lap.
Matrix she could stroke, from his little head to his tail, easily.
“Yeah?” she replied, looking up from her tablet and dropping out of a conversation with ADAM.
“We’ve got a group that all want to make one last quick trip for personal reasons to Earth. They were wondering if you would mind taking them to the G’laxix Sphaea?”
“Who?” Bethany Anne asked while internally she asked ADAM to track Ashur down and ask him to meet her in the Queen’s Suites Transport Room.
“Well,” John started, “I think Tabitha, Barnabas, Ecaterina, Nathan, Scott and Darryl… Wait, a new request from Team BMW as well.” John ticked off.
Well, too big for her transport room.
ADAM, switch us from my Suites Transport Room to Transport Room 002
>>Understood, Bethany Anne<<
“Wow, what’s everyone doing?” she asked as she lifted Matrix off her lap. “Go to my bedroom, little guy. Too early to get you involved in this.”
Matrix wagged his tail an
d groggily walked into her room. He could just about jump up on her couch, but her bed was way too high. His first attempt to jump on the couch landed short, and he slid back, landing on his butt and rolling over. This time, he was much more awake and made it up on her couch and spun in circles a couple of times, then flopped down.
Should I have warned him? TOM asked
That he shouldn’t sleepwalk and jump?
Yes.
Well, fair question. Was he hurt badly?
No.
Then it was probably okay. Next time, give him one reminder as he walks away and if it doesn’t register, let him try. Soon he’ll be tall enough it won’t matter.
What if he doesn’t grow? TOM worried. Do we put him in the Pod-doc?
Well, if anyone was worried you were slipping to the dark side, TOM, I think you just put those worries to rest.
After a moment, TOM came back, That’s good, right?
—
Bethany Anne and John arrived at Transport Room 002, and she slowed to a stop, looking down. Everyone was there in the middle, ready to go, but Tabitha had a suitcase.
One of the field expedient armor suitcases.
“What’s up, Tabitha?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Trouble in New York, a friend in the NYPD, asking for my help.” Bethany Anne looked over at Barnabas quizzically.
“One problem, One Ranger,” he replied. “I’m going to Mexico.”
“Mexico?” she asked as she walked into the middle. Ashur came up beside her as everyone grabbed a shoulder and worked themselves closer and Tabitha picked up her suitcase.
“I need some information from a contact, and he’s in Cabo San Lucas,” the elder Ranger answered.
“Huh, so not going to any gang area?” she asked.
“Not this time, I don’t think,” he said. “But if I happen to run into a gang, I’ll make sure to leave some Queen’s justice behind.”
“If you run into those fuckers who are cutting heads off,” she told him, “leave a shitload of my justice…” the team disappeared.
G’laxix Sphaea
“…behind,” Bethany Anne finished.
The team checked to make sure everyone was good before most waved to Bethany Anne as they left towards the Pod bay.
“I’ll see that I do,” Queen’s Ranger One replied as he stepped out of the transportation room.
“Where now, boss?” John asked.
Bethany Anne stared out the door of the Transport Room as the yellow lights stopped flashing, and the horn blaring that there were incoming for the Transport Room died down and the doors closed.
“Do we have anyone working on figuring out how to accomplish transferring through the Etheric?” she asked.
“Doing transport?” John asked, and she nodded in reply. “Machine or person?”
“Huh, good question,” she said. “I didn’t think about a person, only a machine. I wonder... since I have such trouble with inorganic, if that’s a hint?”
John pursed his lips. “Hey TOM?”
“Yes?” he answered from the speakers around the room.
“Could the Pod-doc ascertain if a human would be a good candidate to accomplish Etheric walking, like Bethany Anne?”
There was a pause from the speakers and John looked down at Bethany Anne who shook her head. She wasn’t talking with him.
“Yes.” TOM finally said. “But we would have to do a few more tests on Bethany Anne to confirm a few suppositions on my part. We have most of the records, but there are areas I didn’t think to record about her because I wasn’t looking for the ability. I didn’t know about it at that time.”
Bethany Anne grimaced. “How long?”
“Probably a day and a half, so thirty-six hours.”
Bethany Anne made a face. “Fuck. I really hate going back in that thing,” she said. “Unless it becomes more of a priority, let’s do this testing after my fight with the Yollin King. It isn’t that important.”
“I understand,” TOM said and the speaker beeped off.
“So, now what?” Bethany Anne asked.
“Well,” John looked around, “Darryl and Scott are gone. Eric and Gabrielle are in France on a date. Do you have anything to do for the next few hours?”
“Nothing super important,” she said. “I’m going to take Ashur back so he can be with Bellatrix, why?”
“Want to play hooky one last time?” John asked, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
She pursed her lips. “And do what?” she asked, trying to figure out what he might be thinking.
He spread his arms and shrugged. “Want to go fuck up some terrorists?”
Bethany Anne’s face lit up with glee. “Hell yeah!” She started for the exit, and the doors opened back up. “We can call this additional martial practice on the calendar.”
“I’ve blocked out the next twenty-four hours for martial practice,” ADAM told them as they headed through the doors to leave the transport room.
“We can’t be gone that long,” she replied to ADAM, “but leave it blocked out just in case.”
The doors shut behind them.
——
Inside the ship, Captain Natalia Jakowski, who was taking a few minutes of very private time with her personal Bitch, was interrupted.
“The Queen is looking for you,” EI Sphaea told the ship’s captain.
“Oh crap,” Darryl murmured from beside her.
“What’s oh crap, baby?” Natalia asked as she got out of bed. “She brought you here, right?”
“Yeah, but I’ve successfully hidden our relationship like you asked, and there’s no way John isn’t going to know right away.”
Natalia raised an eyebrow. “Why is John going to know right away?”
“Because,” Darryl admitted as he slid off the bed, “there’s no way I can stop this shit-eating grin.”
Natalia smiled as she buttoned up her jacket. “Stay here a little while, Scott’s hanging in the cafeteria, maybe they’re just saying hi.”
“One can hope.” he said. “Although you know Bethany Anne won’t care, right?”
“Yeah, now. It’s been long enough, and I think my record speaks for itself. But who says I wanted everyone to know who finally got Darryl, hmmm?” She kissed her fingers and reached up to touch his forehead before she walked out of her quarters.
“Like the whole ship doesn’t know,” Darryl murmured when she left.
“The ship might know,” EI Sphaea said to Darryl. “But it wouldn’t dare whisper anything the captain wouldn’t want to share.”
Darryl went back to the bed and sat down, then pulled on his pants. “Well, no one on this ship ever wonders what I see in her.”
“Not likely. They secretly think there isn’t anyone less than a Queen’s Bitch that can be good enough for their captain. So you have a whole ship full of people that would be rather pissed at you if you ever hurt her feelings.”
“Wow,” Darryl snorted as he pulled on his shirt. “No reason for performance anxiety there.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
G’laxix Sphaea
Barnabas grabbed a two-person Pod and headed down towards Baja California. While he didn’t know much about Coca-Cola, he was smart enough to ask a few people and realized that there had been multiple changes to the recipe over the years.
Similar to arguments about all types of food, there was a discussion that Coke produced in Mexico had a better flavor because they still used cane sugar in their recipe over high fructose corn syrup. When he happened to mention THAT ingredient around Dawn, one of the ladies in Jean’s group, he had to politely listen to a five-minute diatribe on all of the evils of high fructose corn syrup.
Barnabas had been sorely tempted to stop the conversation by saying, “You don’t know I’m here, you never talked to me.”
Then disappearing as quick as his vampire legs could move him.
For any person enhanced by nanites would use the energy stored in the body and fix an
y problems, including weight.
Barnabas looked out the Pod’s window and smiled, he could see the sun creeping across the world and it would soon hit Baja California Sur, or the southern lower part of Baja California. It was almost to the west side of the main body of Mexico itself.
The Kurtherian Gambit Omnibus 05 - The Fans Version: My Ride is a Bitch - Don't Cross This Line - Never Submit Page 65