My Ride is a Bitch (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 13)

by Michael Anderle

  "Now," she smiled to the team, "the Achilles' heel of the Yollin society is that anyone who can beat the King is, therefore, suitable to rule."

  Lance spoke up, “Uh oh.” Bethany Anne smiled at him.

  "Soooo…,” Dan continued, “You plan on challenging the king?"

  "It is the least I can do after he attacked my people." She smiled devilishly. “what else is a queen supposed to do when offended by another monarch?"

  Dan turned to Capt. Kael-ven while pointing towards Bethany Anne, "Is what she is proposing allowable in your society?"

  Kael-ven chittered before replying, "Yes. There have been two occasions in our history when other species have challenged Kolin to Kolin.”

  "Why do I feel the other shoe hasn't dropped, yet?" Lance asked the table at large.

  "Probably because it's about 10 feet long and dropping from a thousand feet above us right now, " Bobcat responded.

  "What does this phrase mean, the other shoe hasn't dropped yet?" Capt. Kael-ven asked.

  Jeffrey responded, “It means that we haven't heard the worst part of the information so far."

  "There isn't much more to add," Capt. Kael-ven said, "except that the challenge is to the death, and you are not allowed to bring anything to the fight."

  "So, no weapons, no armor, no protection?" Lance confirmed.

  Capt. Kael-ven's head turned sideways and then turned back upright, "No, nothing as not anything. The way you came into existence."

  John answered from behind Bethany Anne, "The Queen gets to fight in her birthday suit."

  Bethany Anne tried to ignore the many smirks running around the table, "For the record, there will be no video taken of this fight," she declared.

  Capt. Kael-ven added one more item, "Do most of you realize that our king is approximately twice as large as I am?"

  "And, the other shoe has finally landed," William said to a quiet table.

  Bobcat piped up, "Well you know what they say about the larger they are."

  "Yeah, they kick your ass twice as hard," Lance finished.

  "Wow, let's not all think Bethany Anne has a shot at winning this fight or anything. Just because my opponent will stand twelve feet tall, have a bony exoskeleton armor surrounding him, be hellishly fast fighting due to multiple appendages. Well, hell. Yeah, he might make me sweat.”

  Dan asked the question, "Capt. Kael-ven, I understand you and a significant portion of your crew are now vassals connected to Bethany Anne. What would happen if our people best yours in challenges at this point in time? Those that are equivalent caste or higher?"

  This time, most of those at the table recognized that Kiel and Royleen looked to Capt. Kael-ven with curiosity. Apparently, this wasn't something pondered much in Yollin society.

  Capt. Kael-ven opened his mouth and closed it multiple times before finally starting to answer. "The tests would have to be appropriate for the challenges to matter. For example," he waved in scientist Royleen's direction, "it would be inappropriate to require Scientist Royleen to have a challenge related to martial arts. Nor," he waved towards Kiel, "would it be appropriate to have Kiel answer scientific questions for his challenge."

  Capt. Kael-ven turned to each of his fellow aliens and chattered for a moment. Turning back, he said, "I have confirmed with both Kiel and scientist Royleen that they would feel that those who beat them were either higher or in the same caste. If it was apparent they were far superior, they would feel like the individuals were accredited a caste higher than themselves."

  "Where are you going with this, Dan?" Bethany Anne asked across the table.

  "I think that we need to consider a long-term strategy related to Yollin society. I suspect we will be undergoing this effort to beat the Kurtherians for many, many decades, right?" Everyone around the table nodded agreement, "So, I am wondering what we need to do to make sure that the Yollin society attributes humans as being superior across the castes. We can't hope to modify the caste system within the Yollin society without first qualifying how we stand within the Caste system."

  “Don’t just try to tear it down without first showing we are better than it?” Jeffrey asked.

  “Precisely, since we are going to stage the battle station in Yollin space, I would prefer to know we are working towards creating a better society for the Yollins. Rather than only keeping them a beaten opponent under our thumbs."

  "You are thinking about the Japanese after World War II?" Lance asked.

  “Not exactly,” Dan agreed, “But they are as good as any example.”

  Bethany Anne shrugged, "I can understand your logic, but how would we work this out?"

  “Question, Capt. Kael-ven," Dan interjected. He waited until he had the Yollin’s attention, "is it safe to say that the highest level person in any role on your ship, is the best individual for that position?"

  Capt. Kael-ven answered, "If you mean are they the highest ranking within the caste system, the answer is yes. On my ship, I believe it to be true that they are also the best individual for the role. However, I would not suggest you take that qualification and think it applies to every ship we have."

  "So, would your people accept the ranking of say one of our individuals beating one of yours as being superior to themselves as well?"

  Kiel interjected, “So, would Bo’cha’tien accept someone who beat me as being superior to her?”

  “Yes, that is what he is asking,” Kael-ven agreed.

  Kiel turned to Dan, “If not, I would beat her myself,” Kiel admitted. “By suggesting she was better than someone who beat me, she is saying that she is better than me and for me to keep my position, it can only be construed as a challenge.”

  “Well, that’s right up a Wechselbalg’s alley,” Peter agreed, saying something for the first time in the meeting. “If you can’t beat the one ahead of you in the pack, you don’t have the right to fight anyone above them until you do.”

  Kiel turned to look at the human, “That would seem like there is much fighting then if it is always required.”

  Peter shrugged, “It isn’t always necessary. For example, those of us who are feistier will ask someone if they want to challenge to keep their spot. Typically, you have seen someone fight before they get to you. If you are in the middle of the pecking order you know if you are going to accept the challenge or allow them to move past you and accept they are better already. If there is any doubt, or you are just stubborn, then you accept all challenges as fights.”

  “Where do you rank?” Kiel asked.

  “Probably equivalent to you, Kiel,” Peter admitted. “I answer to Dan, here, who is the brass so to speak. I’m the muscle.”

  “So, if you challenge me, then we are equal, correct?” Kiel asked.

  “Yes, I’ll challenge you,” Peter said before anyone could get a word in edgewise. “What are the conditions?”

  “What are they normally for your people?”

  “My people?” Peter responded, “The same as for your king, only what you can provide yourself.”

  Captain Kael-ven turned to his other side, “Royleen?”

  “What?” the scientist turned, “You want me to accept a challenge?”

  “Yes, if the humans would consider it. You are the top scientist within our group. If one of them can best you, then we are in agreement.”

  “What about you?” Dan asked.

  “Me?” Kael-ven asked, “I thought it was painfully obvious that I have already been beaten by you. For me, it is leading my ship. I had the element of surprise, tactically superior positions and I accepted my defeat. I am not at the level of Queen Bethany Anne here,” he nodded to her, “so that isn’t a question for me.”

  “I’ll accept the challenge,” Marcus spoke up.

  “You?” William and Bill both blurted out.

  “Way to support your teammate, you two,” Bethany Anne said.

  “It’s not that, boss,” Bobcat said, pointing his thumb back to his friend, “Marcus here hates to play
Monopoly, or checkers, or…”

  “BET,” added William.

  “So yeah, we are a little surprised,” Bobcat finished.

  “Perhaps,” Marcus admitted, “But you guys have never been around scientists when we get confrontational.”

  “Uh, yeah that’s true,” William agreed.

  “Word. And two scoops of hell-yeah to go on top of that. You start drawing in squiggles…” Bobcat began to say.

  “That’s scientific notation, you Neanderthals,” Marcus chuckled.

  “I’ve got that shirt,” Bobcat agreed, “It’s just dirty at the moment.”

  “Oh, sorry about that,” William spoke up, “I think I used it last week to clean up an oil spill.”

  Bobcat turned to William, “Shit, really?”

  “Pretty sure, the grayish-green one?” Bobcat nodded, “It’s gone.”

  “Well, damn.” Bobcat turned back to Marcus, “Sorry, no t-shirt but I’ll just agree with you.”

  Bethany Anne put up a hand to stop the trio and looked to Kael-ven, “What would the challenge look like for the scientists?”

  “They would each pick a subject and then the final question would be agreed upon by the two teams.”

  “Teams?” Bethany Anne asked.

  “Well, yes of course.” Royleen answered, “The scientist always has a second who is subject to the direction of the scientist. It allows the scientist to drive the direction of the research and then move forward with other projects, is this not how you do it?”

  “Well,” Marcus answered, “in some cases. In others, we are our own mini-group as one person. Is there any limitation to whom the support person is?” He pointedly looked at Bobcat and William who both leaned away from Marcus.

  Royleen chittered as he watched the byplay between the three humans, “No. It cannot be mechanical, it must be organic and be able to confirm who it is, but they are allowed to support their lead in any way,” he pointedly looked at the two men leaning away from Marcus, “they possibly can.”

  “Oh, good then.” Marcus smiled.

  Bobcat and William looked at each other, confused.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Chapter 19

  QBS ArchAngel

  It took two days for the groups to get together. They already had half the crew of the Yollin ship with them on the ArchAngel, and for the challenges, most of the rest of the G’laxix Sphaea wanted to be there as well. Since the other half of the G’laxix Sphaea crew had been housed inside fourteen containers on the moon, those on the ship took a few hours to move the ArchAngel in position and transit the aliens up to the ArchAngel for the event.

  Not that the aliens weren’t watched, surreptitiously, by the Guardians to make sure no one decided to go on a walk-about by themselves.

  Fortunately, they did not.

  The largest open area available, besides the Pod Bay, was cleared out and Peter and Kiel were in the middle of the room. It was twenty feet high, 75 feet wide and a hundred long. There were a few spots William had to clean up as he had been using it for ripping apart something mechanical. Eventually, the areas were probably going to be closed in with new walls, but nothing was planned at the moment.

  Bethany Anne sat in the middle of John and Darryl, with Kael-ven on the other side of John and Scott and Eric behind them. “Where is Royleen?” she asked while leaning around John.

  “He is not much into the martial sciences,” Kael-ven answered, “he is busy learning what he can about the gravitic drives which Marcus has selected as his area of expertise.”

  He put a raw potato into his mouth and bit a chunk off. After a couple of crunches, he swallowed. “He was surprised to find out that Marcus was the one responsible for some of the latest changes to the gravitic drives for humans.”

  “He was pretty sure he was going to beat Marcus easily. I take it?” She asked.

  “Yes. Scientists, I think, are always sure of their superiority.”

  “What is his subject?”

  “Old alien languages,” Kael-ven chittered in laughter, “He is sure no human has a knowledge of either aliens or what they say to be able to answer his questions.”

  “I see, and the final subject?”

  “General mathematics. I don’t suppose it can help Marcus at the moment, but gravity is but a small and very precise aspect of math. Royleen must have at least three to four different areas of math that Yollin scientists have been working with for at least four of our centuries. We have yet to encounter any human activity in those disciplines. So, if he can’t figure out the gravitic answers he plans on stumping him there.”

  “I … see,” she said, keeping quiet.

  Kiel had rested the last two days. While he had worked hard to learn from his many, many fights with the humans, he had refrained from using some of the double-jointed moves his kind was capable of accomplishing during martial trials.

  Now, he was going to surprise the human with attacks they had not seen from him.

  As he stood in the middle of the room, he could hear the chitterings and exultations of his people, encouraging him, supporting him.

  It felt good.

  He had nothing against this human in front of him. In fact, he had not even sparred with this human yet. For his age, which seemed young to Kiel, he held a high post in their group, so he expected this to be challenging.

  But, he had personal armor, where a human had nothing but soft skin. He had hard claws that cut and stabbed, the human had soft fingers.

  While he needed to worry about blunt trauma from kicks and punches, at least he didn’t have to worry about knives or swords.

  --

  “Did you hear?” Tabitha asked as she sat down next to Gabrielle, offering her some popcorn as the two watched Kiel and Peter walk to the middle of the room.

  “What, little one?” Gabrielle asked, reaching into the bag and grabbing a handful.

  “We are going to get an eyeful of Peter Candy.”

  “Huh?” Gabrielle asked around her popcorn.

  Tabitha tossed a couple of popped kernels into her mouth, “He has to strip before he fights the alien.”

  “Oh, six-pack solicitousness time?” Gabrielle finally asked after swallowing. “I’m good with that.”

  “No kidding, his stomach could be used for Braille,” Tabitha agreed, popping a couple more kernels into her mouth.

  “Wonder what it would say?”

  Tabitha snorted, “Who cares? Probably ‘you think this is hard?’ or ‘go lower.' No, I mean strip,” she said.

  “OOOOhhhhh.” Gabrielle replied, putting out her hand to push Tabitha back in her seat, “Move back, you're blocking my view.

  “Hey!” Tabitha responded, slapping Gabrielle’s hand, “You’ve got a boyfriend!”

  “Yeah, a boyfriend that is going to be with Bethany Anne if she ever has to fight the King of Yoll and she will be butt-ass naked.”

  “Oh,” Tabitha paused, then leaned back. “Good point.”

  --

  Kiel nodded to the human, who started to take off his clothes and hand them to a person next to him who folded them and walked off the floor.

  Kiel stretched up, raising his legs to their full height and roared a challenge. His people roared back their response, shaking the walls.

  Kiel smiled at the human, who was patiently waiting for Kiel to finish.

  “My turn,” Peter told him as he waited for the noise to die down.

  ---

  The sounds coming from his people impressed Kael-ven. They had come out to support Kiel and Royleen, even those who had chosen to stay locked up on the human’s moon. He checked with them from time to time. Other than the lack of space, which wasn’t too bad considering they had been on the G’laxix Sphaea anyway, they were mostly bored but were not being mistreated.

  He turned to look around John to Bethany Anne, “I think you might want to close your eyes, it could get a little ugly.”

  “I’ll bet you that this is over, and Peter wins, wi
thin twenty human minutes of the start,” she told him, never taking her eyes off of the two on the floor.

  “What do we have to bet?” Kael-ven asked.

  She turned quickly to him, “If Kiel wins, I’ll drop your time of service to two solar years.” She elbowed John when he snorted, “If Peter wins, you have to be willing to listen with an open mind and help me with an idea I have for after I take out your King.”